All-Purpose, Never-Ending Soccer Thread

Already did that in the Gold Cup final. Did you miss that?
This was a weird, weird game.
I don't ever remember being that thrilled by so much of a USMNT performance and that frustrated by the result. The U.S. played a lot of beautiful soccer, but poor finishing and three horrific decisions -- especially Paraguay goal No. 2, when Bornstein, Conrad and Keller all failed to communicate -- led to the 3-1 result.
Paraguay was barely in the game, and still won 3-1.
Very weird.

 

Paraguay did what teams are supposed to do: finish on the chances. The US just couldn't do it last night. I am not quite sure why they couldn't do it or what happened, but it was just downright awful.

As all have stated already, the game was equally brilliant and frustrating. I just don't know what to make of it.

Feilhaber continued to impress me. Ricardo Clark was another player that seriously stepped up. Ben Olsen was great, aside from his inability to stay in the whole game.

In all seriousness, after watching the first 6-minutes I wanted Eddie Johnson off the pitch. I just couldn't take it.

I thought Bornstein had a great game, except for the utter screw-up which resulted in a goal.

Justin Mapp brought some great energy off of the bench. He should have been able to finish the wonderful opportunity that he created for himself. But, that just goes to show that this team can't put the ball in the back of the damn net.

 

This comment comes a game late, but I was struck by the fact that the US has never produced a player like Tevez -- and Argentina brings him off the bench to beat us.

I was talking with a soccer coach I respect tremendously last night and he said the kids ages 5-9 he saw in the academy program he ran in Tennessee were way ahead of where high school-age players were. He said this latest generation of MNT players is ahead of where the last one was at their age, we just have to be patient.

 

It is all about patience. That is needed. Each generation improves upon the last. As the US team increases in quality, it will create further interest.

 

A BLOG! claims to have the new Galaxy kit ... http://www.football-shirts.co.uk/fans/288

 

Wonderful. Another team that is looking to add blue.


Well, at least the U-20 team plays in another 45-minutes.

 

LA: Blue, white, gold
CUSA: Red, white, blue
Houston: Orange, white
Dallas: Red, white, blue
Colorado: Maroon, gray, white
RSL: Red, blue, gold

Toronto: Red, white, gray
DC: Black, white, red
New England: Blue, white, red
Chicago: Red, white
KC: Blue, white
NY/NJ: Blue, white, red
Columbus: Yellow, black

As Henry Rollins once said, "Not a lot of side-to-side motion going on there."

 

Nothing erases that. A nice showing in 2010 salves the wound.

And sending these kids to the Copa America in Venezuela, whose loudmouth leader has been spouting anti-American diatribes for a while now . . . . . let's just say we just created a whole new group of young players who will not be intimidated by World Cup qualifiers in Guatemala, Costa Rica, et. al. to add to the group we already had. In one fell swoop, we have learned just how far we can expand our player pool, they have not embarrassed us, and the Gold Cup (and Confederations Cup berth) are well in hand.

As for the new Galaxy jerseys: Eh.

 

Columbus, Chicago & Houston have the best kits in MLS. I like Chicago and Columbus for the fact that they haven't changed. Houston is nice for the fact that it is different (same goes for Columbus as well). The rest, well, not much creativity is going on.

 

Maybe it's the American consumer in me coming out, but I wouldn't buy that Galaxy kit because of the sponsor. I catch myself nixing some jersey purchases due to a dislike of the sponsor. Perhaps it's because I'm still bitter over buying an "ntl:home Digital TV" jersey a year before Celtic switched to Carling beer.

 

I'll do you one better: I have McEwan's Lager, NTL:Home Digital TV and Carling kits. I would hate it if I cared.

The one I am not too happy about owning is: Red Bull New York. I like the kit, honestly. But damn do I feel like a fecking schill wearing the damn thing.

Oh well.

 

The Baby Nats are showing up to play today!

Sure, it only took them five minutes to leave Seitz on an island, but what a response! First Danny Szetela starts to look like the Danny Szetela Premiership teams were fighting over, and now a beauty of a spin and golazo by Adu!

I still think Thomas wRongen should be banned from coaching in in America for, well, ever, but at least now these kids are showing some fight.