USA/Mexico: Round 1 Million

Ahead of Wednesday’s important World Cup qualifier/grudge match/bounce back game against El Tri the USMNT has plenty of questions to answer: Can the Yanks pick up their first win in The Azteca? Will the team be able to keep up its blistering form from the last three games of the Confederations Cup? Will Landon Donovan be in a throat-slitting mood to backup his comments? How does J.F. Torres fit into Bob Bradley’s view of the team? Have we seen the last of Frankie Hejduk, Sacha Kljestan, or DeMarcus Beasley on the USMNT? Will Jay DeMerit rock a Kid Rock concert tee under his jersey?

Some of these questions will surely be answered on Wednesday… some of them surely will not. The Yanks can expect another tightly fought battle with the Mexicans, much more akin to the 2-0 game from the beginning of WC qualifying than the Gold Cup final. The game should be more exciting than the first half of the Gold Cup match, and much more tightly contested than the second half. And of course it will feature the U.S. first team. But the fact that this one’s being played in The Azteca would lead one to believe that it could be another 2-0 finish, this time for the Spanish speaking dudes.

Here’s why that’s not going to happen. The U.S. has found something with Dempsey on the right and Donovan on the left linking up with the young striker combo of Altidore and Davies. The team is scoring the run-of-play goals that it lacked in the past and is still dangerous on the patented* USA set piece (*patent pending).

But as good as they’ve been in attack as of late, Bradley is still searching for his back four. Seemingly The States are chock full of talented fullbacks, but the four that will start in South Africa in a year need to start playing together and developing the communication they’ll need. I think those four should be Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Onyewu, and Spector. But even if those four start on Wednesday I don’t see Mexico being shut out at home.

El Tri has finally found a good mix of their young Golden Generation (Gio Dos Santos, Carlos Vela, Guillermo Ochoa, etc.) and consistently effective veterans. Conventional wisdom would say that after their confidence building 5-0 drubbing of some version of the American team, Mexico will find the net back at home.

Conventional wisdom might also say that with both teams playing such flowing offensive football lately we could see one of the prettiest USA/Mexico matches ever.

No. Dumb.

Though the sport is the same, USA/Mexico will always look less like Barca/Real and more like Bears/Packers. Expect cards, drama, and pissed off players. In other words, abandon the concept of the beautiful game on Wednesday and getcha popcorn ready.

My prediction: USA 3-1 Mexico. The Yanks get a late goal on the counter-attack with Mexico pushing forward this time.

US Roster Set For Azteca

Bob Bradley wisely waited until the last minute to release this roster for the Yanks qualifier in Mexico City at the fabled Azteca Wednesday. The game can be seen on ESPN.

No real surprises per se on this roster-- Chad Marshall gets the nod over Danny Califf and The Dude in the back, and given that Jermaine Jones is battling a shin knock, he was omitted. Also left out are Benfica exile Freddy Adu, Confed Cup disaster DeMarcus Beasley, and the mystifying Sacha Klejstan, whose form is just puzzling given his vast talent. Jose Francisco Torres is a pleasant surprise, and my inclination is to believe that both his confidence and his comfort level with the opposition will find him on the field at some point Wednesday. I think it's good to bring a Mexican-American who is convinced the Americans will win. I'm excited. Jon Levy with the preview tomorrow.

August Yankette of the Month: Minka Kelly

August's Yankette of the Month Minka Kelly is a truly American story. The Friday Night Lights star (If you don't watch, I'm really, really, really, really sorry for you) describes her childhood as "pretty rough", which is tough to believe when you are the daughter of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay, but it's the story nonetheless. It seems having a difficult relationship with a father extends beyond the Lyla Garrity-Buddy Garrity relationship that is one of the prevalent themes of the best show on network television.

The Los Angeles born Kelly has been linked with Derek Jeter, which leaves her battling with Kate Hudson for starlet priority in that clubhouse-- and it also leaves one to wonder how she feels as a self-proclaimed Mets fan about being tied to the Bronx Bombers clubhouse. Having previously dated John Mayer (who hasn't), I'll just be the guy who says Jeter is an upgrade. Say what you will about the truth to the link, but there is no question that the presence of Hudson and Kelly as potential love interests have the Yankees playing great ball. And when the Yankees play good ball, angels smile on America.

Nonetheless, let's hope the talented and classically beautiful Kelly brings the Red, White and Blue luck at the Azteca next week as she keeps up a busy talk show circuit and works on what reportedly will be her final season on Friday Night Lights.

Altidore to Hull City

Yanks forward Jozy Altidore will be loaned out to Hull City, a team starved for offense, and a place where he will really get a shot at making his mark, according to his TWITTER entry four hours ago:

First match is against chelsea subject to a work permit *wink* *wink* lol thanks for the support and love keep it coming. ESPN SOCCERNET has confirmed the story, noting that Hull City was a surprise in not being relegated last season, despite a tepid offensive attack. Indeed, after a start that kept in the top four for nearly fifteen fixtures,including the opening span in which the club lost only once in its first nine league matches, Hull 's inability to score goals led to a fall in the standings through much of the season, and the team finished 17th.

This is a good move for Jozy and should continue his development and improve his fitness, which plagued him in the final thirty minutes of most of his matches during the Yanks impressive Confederations Cup.

July/August Yankette of the Month-- Lady Gaga (July)

Winning the July honors for Yankette of the Month must have been tough, because 23 year old Yonkers, New Yorker and NYU drop out Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta surely would be upset about the lack of Gold Cup entries. After all-- the "B List" team represents the U.S. too... I mean, Lady Gaga used to play West Village clubs and bars, so surely she wouldn't be offended to hang around with B-Listers still even though she's now the new Princess of Pop.

As a sidenote-- "Pokerface", the Cherry Tape Sessions, is the greatest song ever written and Gaga is the greatest artist the world has ever known. Move over Madonna, and it isn't even close. She's a genius I can't even begin to fathom the complexity of. And yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition. And yeah-- it feels so good just to admit the greatness that is Gaga. We also like the fact that she doesn't wear pants.

62 Days of Summer: What Was, and What Will Be

According to one tabulation, if you count the "friendly" games and pre-league tournament play of our boys in red, white and blue-- the summer breaks down to this:

Three Continents
Thirteen Games
29,936 miles (Or once around the world and across America and nearly back)
13 cities
174 Hotel Meals
7 wins
2 runner up trophys
a bronze ball
a golden glove
a newfound identity
some lingering questions.

I will try to answer a few of those questions, or at least identify them, and review the 62 wild days of the U.S. Men's National Team summer as we move within the one year mark to South Africa 2010. It was indeed, an endless summer. And one formidable challenge remains-- the Azteca-- but more on that in a later post. In this blogger's opinion, the U.S. and it's head man Bob Bradley learned a great deal about the team it will send to South Africa in eleven months. As Bradley himself put it after the loss to Brazil-- the Americans felt this summer, "great disappointment, but also great pride." The experience in South Africa, well documented on this blog until the final 45 of the Brazil game, provided great hope for the future. It also showed that conceding an early second half goal against a great opponent, even with the lead after the goal, can spell doom for a team that can't afford even a brief letdown if it hopes to defeat the absolute best in the world.



At the same time, the game showed that the U.S. is capable of playing with absolutely anyone-- even a team with a 35 game unbeaten streak and a veritable "Who's Who" of world class elite players.

Let's look at the positives, and the negatives of the Yanks summer:

Positives:

The Americans found goals in the run of play:

The Confederations Cup saw two brilliant young players shine-- Charlie Davies and Jozy Altidore. These are different types of players than the Yanks of the past as well-- while no one doubts Brian McBride's work ethic and certainly he has the European club results to prove his merit-- these two are more than hold the ball up, powerful with their head strikers. Both have great tactical sense (see Altidore's brilliant ability to stay onside and his good sense to turn after Dempsey's pass in the Spain game) and both have good foot skills, though Altidore admittedly is a bit frustrating with his first touch receiving passes at times. Both bring the "McBride" physical element (see Davies plugging away in front of the Egyptian net to score the Americans first in the huge final group stage game, and both possess what no American striker ever has-- quickness and speed with the ball at their feet. Couple this with great counterattacking goals against Brazil and Egypt, and you have a team that can, at times, score breath-taking goals. More importantly, for a team TYAC Contributing writer Jon Levy often calls "Italy Lite"-- they defend, counterattack, and seem comfortable enough with approach play to come from behind if they are forced to. The final point is one they have not proven, with the exception of the Honduras qualifier, but certainly things are looking up offensively for the U.S., and with Davies moving to French side Sochaux, a side particularly reknowned for developing top-level strikers, and Altidore likely to see great amounts of playing time after his impending move from Villareal to Hull City, Everton or Fulham-- the results can only get better.

2nd--While it might not be sexy, the U.S. seems to have decided to play a 4-4-2 with what are functionally two holding midfielders, and it appears to work.

Altidore/Davies, or Altidore/Ching-- it matters not-- each combo scares opposing defenses for different reasons, and the Spain and Egypt games prove they frighten defenses beyond the shores of CONCACAF. As they continue to improve as finishers, it allows one of the holding mids to move forward, though who that will be (Mo Edu, Jermaine Jones, Jose Francisco Torres) remains to be seen. This prevents opposing teams from playing too high a line against the Yanks, and that's a good thing. Jen Chang noted after the Spain game that one of the more interesting comments out of the Red Fury's post-game conference was the World's Finest Striker, Fernando Torres, noting that the U.S. was a totally different team with Davies in the game than they had been in the first two matches against the Azzurri and Brazil.

Third, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are an immense pair in the midfield, and if you think otherwise, you are quite frankly, wrong.

The beat goes on in the "Landon Donovan is a coward for shunning Europe/Lando is overrated" hater train. At this point-- who cares? Let's put the cookies on the lowest shelf-- it's like saying Tim Tebow isn't good at quarterback. It's just wrong and stupid to say. It's like thinking Trigeria is a country in Africa. (There's Nigeria, but I digress...) Donovan's performance and leadership were consistently immense in the Confed Cup, and he was sorely missed in the Gold Cup. He has since carved up Everton's central defense in an all-star game (a tough chore for anyone, even when Merseyside Blue has no Phil Jagielka) and has looked like he belonged on the pitch with the incredible Barca midfield. Donovan has answered the critics with his work rate (incredible), his defense (Spain game) and the fact that he is without question the counterattacking hub of the U.S. team. Stop with the questions now.

As for Deuce-- there were calls for his benching (See the ESPN US SOCCER MESSAGE BOARD) after the Brazil match. The main criticism, and one even a Deuce super fan like me had-- was a question as to whether, like English midfielder Steven Gerrard, Clint was a guy who could play brilliantly for club but not as well on the international level. Dempsey answered the critics with a bronze ball. While Deuce still flails around a bit defensively (at least on the U.S. team)-- there is no question that his job on the U.S. is to provide creativity and a spark. He provides what the team has lacked honestly for six or seven years-- the moment of brilliance. There's no question that he is the Yank most likely to create a goal out of thin air, and his braces against the likes of Chelsea and Blankcheckster City at the club level provide proof that Deuce shows up in big games


Finally, there is good to be had in results, and a note about the U.S. back line:


The level of technical acumen and guts the Yanks needed to even take a 2-0 lead against Selecao after falling 3-0 to the same side only a week before merits great praise. Sure-- they didn't hold on. It is certainly relevant that the Americans lost the lead. However, it should also be noted that Bob Bradley is proving himself to be extremely smart tactically (BEFORE MATCHES) even if he waits a bit too long to make changes in matches. He should have not put an out-of-form Sacha Klejstan on the field for the in form Feilhaber in the second half, and in fact he should have played the creative and steady on the ball Jose Francisco Torres immediately after the Fabiano goal, and his failure to do so has been rightly criticized b/c the Yanks lacked an attacking pulse in the second half.

That said, let's not forget what the Americans did accomplish in South Africa, and to a lesser extent, what a group of guys with hardly any caps did in the Gold Cup. They both made finals. For the Confed Cup side, they found a force in the back (Oneywu) and a brave performer who is rarely ever out of position to complement him (Demerit. As noted, Charlie Davies emerged and provides the perfect complement to the powerful, fast Altidore. What's better-- they found an in-form spark on the bench in Benny Feilhaber, whose ability to immediately dissect a defense was demonstrated most aptly by his 20 minute Gold Cup cameo in which he turned a tense tie into an American victory.

Finally, and credit to Bob Bradley here-- the American defense is in great shape after both tournaments. Chad Marshall played a splendid Gold Cup, was not at fault on a single of the five Mexican goals in the Gold Cup final, and will seriously challenge Danny Califf for the final defensive roster spot. Heath Pearce was so awful against Mexico that I don't dare speak his name and I am glad, quite frankly, that he won't enter the discussion. Mexican Edgar Castillo, initially a member of what the Mexican media dubbed "The Golden Generation" with Carlos Vela and Gio Dos Santos, has decided to play for the U.S. instead and may get a look, which would provide pace and offense to the back line. Jay DeMerit provides the pace Gooch lacks at times and is well-equipped to deal with pacy, physical strikers-- which is a good thing given that the odds are high one such player will find his way into the American Group at next year's World Cup. Jonathan Spector has displayed the class that Manchester United so valued in their youth system and that Gianfranco Zola adores at West Ham.




Spector is healthy now and his skill and positional sense are better than any other American defender not playing for AC Milan. Spector is one of two defensive players in the American World Cup mix that can deliver crosses from the right, and his cross to Dempsey in the Egypt game was nothing short of sensational. Carlos Bocanegra plays left back at Rennes and his leadership proves he understands there is more to life than being really, really, really good looking. While I'm not certain he's the terminal answer, and while I agree that Spector is vulnerable to pace (think what an Ashley Young or Mikel Arteta would do to him, or try it in a video game)-- I think we are beginning to carve out a permanent answer in the American back, and that is unquestionably a good thing. Those are all positives emerging from the past 62 days.

While I've a bit of the bad above, I thought I'd include more of that in the posts before the upcoming Mexico match. Substitutions and a shaky second half and an atrocious second half, even with a "B-Minus" Team, come to mind immediately, and are of concern. Those issues, more, and July and August Yankettes of the Month Lady GaGa and Minka Kelly, later.

End of Summer: 2010 Player Power Ratings

Greetings. There is so much to talk about. Before we review the summer that was-- and we will do so thoroughly-- let's talk about the road ahead-- and I don't just mean the August 12 trip to the Azteca, where the U.S. has never won, and which after the 5-0 embarrassment of a US "B TEAM" in East Rutherford, New Jersey a week ago, is weighing heavily on everyone's mind. After the second tournament of the summer for the USMNT and the second runner-up effort-- it's time to assess exactly where Manager Bob Bradley's outfit stands as we round the corner into the homestretch of World Cup Qualifying before South Africa 2010. Assuming the Yanks qualify-- which is a nearly safe assumption at this point-- the roster is coming into focus and the goal on this blog will be to update a "power ranking" system monthly as the World Cup approaches. There are five qualifying matches left, and a few friendlies next year. The "impact matches" will be the qualifiers-- that is to say-- only the qualifiers, in all likelihood, will have a bearing on who Bradley selects to don the "Don't Tread on Me" shirt next summer. Barring injuries, there are at least 13 spots that appear to be genuine "locks", leaving ten spots up for grabs and a player pool of around 15-20 players vying for those positions. Again, it is extremely unlikely that 2010 friendlies will have any impact on the squad Bradley takes to South Africa next summer. That means the qualifiers and club form are the only "cards" left to play for those whose position is not yet secure.

With the tournament a year away, I thought TYAC would join the masses, put together four collective soccer armchair "experts" (if you could call a group of dudes who have been drinking beers together, braving 5:30AM wake up calls for Beijing together, road-tripping to Nashville together and altogether pouring their fragile hearts into a National Team since a hot day in Barbados last summer a group of "experts") and rank the players 1-23. For a related list of rankings made monthly, much like ours will be, I recommend Ives Galercep's blog Soccer By Ives and his August list.

It worked about like you thought it did-- myself, TYAC contributing writer Jon Levy, Intramural center back force, Liverpool super fan and probably the best soccer mind among us who only doesn't contribute b/c he hates "writing shit" and another fine soccer mind, former terror on the high school pitches of upstate New York and Blankcheckster City fan Justin Clar each ranked the players 1-23. We tallied 23 points for first, 22 for second, and so on to 1 point for 23rd, then added the rankings up and put together the August master list.

Because the college football coaches are cowards who make too much money to be cowards-- we are all for visibility, and by each player's name in parentheticals I've listed their highest, and lowest rank and the name of the voter who awarded the high and low, so they can do their best to defend their assigned ranking. Without further adieu, I present the Yanks are Coming's August 2009 version of the US Men's National World Cup 2010 Team:


1. Tim Howard (Everton), Goalkeeper. 92 votes (Unanimous # 1)

2. Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Midfielder, 85 votes (Blackmon # 2/ Levy # 4)

3. Oguchi Oneywu (AC Milan), Center Back, 84 votes (Levy/Crowley # 2, Clar # 4)

4. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Midfield/Forward, 83 votes (Levy/Clar # 3, Blackmon/Crowley # 4)

5. Carlos Bocanegra (FC Rennes), 77 votes (unanimous 5)

6. Jon Spector, side back (West Ham United), 59 votes (Levy # 6, Clar # 12)

7. Michael Bradley, aka "Junior" aka "MB90" holding mid (Borussia Munchengladbach), 56 votes (Blackmon # 6, Crowley # 21)





7. Josmer Altidore, forward (Villareal/Hull City ??), 56 votes, (Clar # 6, Levy # 16)

9. Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers), defensive mid, 55 votes, (Crowley # 6, Clar # 13)

10. Stevie "Walter" Cherundolo (Hannover 96), side back, 54 votes, (Levy # 7, Blackmon # 18)

11. Benny Feilhaber, attacking mid (AGF Aarhus-Denmark), 46 votes, (Levy # 9, Clar # 11)

11. Frankie "The Dude" Hejduk, side back (Columbus Crew), 46 votes (Levy # 8, Blackmon # 15)

13. Charlie Davies (Sochaux), forward, 45 votes, (Blackmon # 7, Crowley # 17)

14. Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Goalkeeper, 44 votes (Clar # 8, Blackmon # 11)

14. Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), forward, 44 votes (Clar/Crowley # 10, Blackmon # 18)

16. Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), holding mid, 38 votes (Blackmon # 11, Levy # 19)

17. Jay DeMerit (Watford), center back, 37 votes (Clar # 13, Levy # 16)

18. Sacha Klejstan (Chivas USA), attacking mid, 29 votes (Crowley # 7, Clar-- not invited)

19. Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), defensive mid, 27 votes (Blackmon # 16, Crowley # 20)

20. Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca), attacking mid, 14 votes (Levy # 18, Blackmon # 21)

21. Danny Califf (Midtjylland-Denmark), center back, 12 votes (Blackmon # 18, Crowley not invited)

22. DeMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), midfielder, 7 votes (Levy # 20, Blackmon/Crowley uninvited)

23. Troy Perkins (Valerenga, Norway), goalkeeper, 3 votes (Levy/Crowley/Clar # 23, Blackmon uninvited)

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Also receiving votes: Stuart Holden MF (Houston Dynamo), 6; Freddy Adu AMF (Benfica), 4; Brian McBride F (Chicago Fire), 2; Marcus Haehnemann GK (Wolverhampton), 1 vote.

That's our current list. Keep an eye on Aston Villa's Eric Lichaj, an under the radar side back who is coming off an immense performance against none other than Our Lady Juve in the Peace Cup Final, and who may have the DeMarcus Beasley 2002 fortune of being the guy who plays his way from nowhere onto the roster.