Photo by ISIphotos.com
The U.S. national team had Brazil on the mat, but the five-time world championship reminded us why its trophy case is full.
The United States' 3-2 loss to Brazil wasn't about subs not made, or made too late. It wasn't about American mistakes. It was about the Brazilians' talent, determination and belief that their beautiful soccer would always help them find a way to win. Could have things broken a certain way to help the Americans pull off a dream victory? Yes, but the fact that they didn't doesn't take away from the progress made and respect earned by the U.S. team on Sunday and throughout the Confederations Cup.
Sure, nobody wants moral victories, and the victories against Egypt and Spain had the U.S. team feeling like it could beat anybody, but the reality is that the U.S. team in South Africa overachieved and pushed itself to new levels that will only help the national team program as it moves toward World Cup 2010.
So what went wrong on Sunday? After a truly impressive first-half of soccer, the Americans were done in by crushing early goal and an unrelenting Brazilian attack that had the weapons to eventually pick apart the previously-stingy U.S. defense.
Luis Fabiano's early second-half goal was absolutely vital because it meant the Brazilians only spent 40 seconds dealing with the burden of erasing a two-goal deficit. Once Fabiano's first strike went in, the Brazilians knew they would find more chances and an inevitable equalizer. That early goal also cast some doubt in the mind of the U.S. team, which had to know Brazil would start pouring on the pressure.
The Brazil attack was brilliant at continuously feeding its most dangerous players, Kaka, Robinho and Maicon, who pumped in service from the flanks seemingly at will. Jonathan Spector and Carlos Bocanegra did all they could to stem the tide in the first half but by the second half the repeated attacks were destined to bear fruit for the Brazilians. When Dunga inserted Dani Alves and Elano to provide even more ammunition to the wing attack (as well as give his team two serious set piece threats), the Americans were bound to cave.
Fabiano's second goal came courtesy of a beautiful Kaka run and cross, and while Spector was the player beaten by Kaka, he was hardly the only one to blame for letting the ball through. Jay DeMerit and Carlos Bocanegra both had opportunities to stop the cross, but neither succeeded, and when Robinho's shot hit the crossbar, Fabiano took advantage of a rare lapse in concentration by Oguchi Onyewu and headed home the equalizer.
Bob Bradley was keenly aware that his team was tiring, and becoming more vulnerable, but he had few options to turn to. Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein were set to come into the match when Fabiano tied the game, and while it is easy to say now that an earlier substitution would have prevented the goal, the fact remains that all the U.S. players involved in Brazil's second goal would have still been on the field.
If Bradley's substitutions revealed anything, it was how thin the U.S. roster actually was in this tournament. With Michael Bradley suspended and DaMarcus Beasley suffering through a terrible run of form, the Americans had few reliable and experienced options to bring off the bench. There is already second-guessing going on about why Jose Francisco Torres and Freddy Adu weren't used, but neither player would have made a bit of difference in stopping Brazil's onslaught on the flanks in the second half. While it can be argued that Torres would have been a better option than Kljestan, Bornstein's inclusion was certainly appropriate given the U.S. team's need for some speed and fresh legs on the flanks.
We should really stop and take a minute to look at the disparity in talent between the two teams. While the U.S. team's nucleus is strong, its fringe and bench players in this tournament were not up to par compared to Brazil (and that would have been the case even if injured options such as Maurice Edu, Brian Ching and Steve Cherundolo were available). Brazil's second-half subs were Dani Alves and Elano, two players worth eight figures on the open market, and Dunga never even used Alexandre Pato. Bradley turned to a pair of MLS players who, while they may actually be headed to Europe this summer or winter, aren't anywhere near the same class (and the same could have been said even it was Torres and Adu instead of Bornstein and Kljestan).
Lucio's game-winning header may have taken away the U.S. team's chance at a moment of glory, but it didn't erase the 225 minutes of inspired soccer the Americans put together from the Egypt match to the Brazil match. That stretch of soccer has given this U.S. team invaluable experience and confidence and is sure to become a seminal moment for this group. The Americans will not only learn from their successes, but also from the second-half failure against Brazil.
Here are the USA player grades for the 3-2 loss to Brazil:
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Tim Howard (8)– Made clutch save after clutch save and deservedly won goalkeeper of the tournament honor.
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Jonathan Spector (6)– Provided a perfect cross on Dempsey's goal and stopped attack after attack from Brazil before finally giving in on Brazil's equalizer. Still a very strong performance.
-
Carlos Bocanegra (5)– Made some key stops but was beaten repeatedly by Maicon, whose pace and ability to get perfect crosses off quickly troubled Bocanegra all match.
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Oguchi Onyewu (6)– Dominated in the air again but had some mental lapses that gave Brazil a few golden chances.
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Jay DeMerit (5.5)– Beaten for Brazil's first goal, DeMerit looked a notch below the player who stifled Spain.
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Clint Dempsey (6.5) – Clutch finish on the first USA goal but he didn't have the same impact defensively he had in previous matches and that hurt the U.S. team.
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Landon Donovan (7) – Wonderful work on his goal but, like Dempsey, he didn't display the same defensive tenacity he showed against Spain.
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Ricardo Clark (6.5) – Stepped up and put in a ton of work in midfield to help make up for the loss of Michael Bradley, with his smart pass leading to the break on Donovan's goal.
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Benny Feilhaber (6)– Showed very good work rate and ability to provide defensive bite, but he tired in the second half and started fouling, which lead to him being subbed out.
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Charlie Davies (6) – Great pass to assist on Donovan's goal, and showed confidence and fearlessness, but he committed too many turnovers and didn't have many passes aside from his assist.
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Jozy Altidore (5.5) – Drew his share of free kicks but failed to muster any dangerous chances. Fatigue got the better of him in the second half.
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Sacha Kljestan (3) – A turnover machine while he was in the match.
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Jonathan Bornstein (4.5) – Gave the team some energy, and had one decent shot, but he was never going to slow down Brazil.
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Conor Casey (NA)– Not enough time to do anything.
Now that you have had a day to digest and reflect, what did you think of the U.S. team's performance in Sunday's final? Proud of what they accomplished or still upset that they blew the lead? Feeling good about the team's future?
Share your thoughts below.
thats the problem…the us needs to elevate their style…the way they play now is great for getting results with limited talent…which is the situation were in now…but if we want to truly progress to the next level…we have to develop players who can “play.”…not just get stuck in…
and as far as heft and height and central midfield…this is soccer not basketball or football…how big and tall are xavi and iniesta…how tall was makalele…edgar davids…seedorf…mascherano…pirlo…deco…moutinho…i can go on and on and on…its about how you play…and respecting different styles of players…why try to fit the square peg into the round hole…i think its to torres’ benefit that he offers different qualities than the “typical” US central midfielder
Ives
where is my post about Bob Bradley been a racist with guys with the Latinos Last name, I don’t blame Torres, Orozco, Arturo Alverez and now even Vidal or El Gringo Padilla or other guys with Mexican or other latin American Decended don’t want to play for USA. Is because the either are going to play one game and maybe make one mistake that is going to hunt them down for a long time and get bench for always. (Ricardo Clark, Sasha Klejstan, D. Beasley, Dempsey, M. Bradley, Mastroeni, Heyduk) all this have one thing in common and that is they all made a big mistake in big games and not get bench, Either got red card or lost a ball and went for a goal. That is my point. SO NO MORE LATINOS UNTIL THEY GET THE RESPECT.
Xander, I never suggested what you just wrote, but I do think that any “fan” who is only interested in discussing negatives and what’s wrong with the national team and American soccer (such as your penchant for MLS-bashing), and NEVER posts anything remotely positive, even after significant victories, has some serious issues and really isn’t contributing much to the conversation in the grand scheme of things.
There is room for being positive and praising, and room for being negative and criticizing, when both merit it. In your case Xander, you seem only interested in the negative, no matter what is being discussed or what the circumstances are. If anything, the tone of your comments make me wonder how exactly it is that you consider yourself a “fan” when you seemingly hate almost everything about American soccer.
Ives,
So what you’re saying is that unless you’re going to be the sort of fan that glorifies everything in every win and thinks that in every loss, the other team was simply “better”, that there’s no spot for you on this website? Gotcha.
I’ve always been of the mindset that you’re not as bad as your worst and you’re not as good as your best game. That goes in every aspect – if you think it’s ‘self-loathing’ and ‘ultra-negative’ to examine strong performances for what went wrong and needed to be better, then you’re a fool. It’s often the good matches that tell you more than the bad ones. It’s easy to say we played poorly in Costa Rica, and it’s an absolute cop-out to say that Brazil was just “better.” If we’re truly to take the next step as a soccer-playing nation, we must examine why we choked away a two-goal lead and take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
You want to talk about progress as a nation? Fine. I’m proud of the fact that our guys counterattacked well in the first half and capitalized on our opportunities. I’m happy that we learned our lesson from Brazil’s second goal in the group stage by turning it around on them, scoring on a counterattack from their own corner kick.
But the fact of the matter remains that Brazil dominated play, much like Spain did. We’ve shown that we can not maintain possession against a quality team and take the attack to them, but rather play a counterattacking style (which is what most of the world does when playing those teams). There’s nothing wrong with playing that style, but don’t dare call that progress, not when we were doing that 10 years ago when we beat Brazil in the Gold Cup.
How is it that entering this tournament, the United States had yet to lose a game under Bradley when winning at halftime, yet it happened twice in the course of five matches? That’s something that needs to be examined and analyzed so that it doesn’t happen again.
Our players have progressed. Our coaches and tactics have not.
My reasoning is Beasley has played anywhere on the field (he may has not done it well) but none the less he can help in any situation
Adu gives us another F option with an attacking midd possiblity
CT
Wow do you really about soccer or have you ever play before. It take skill and technical and yes I know height can also help a lot but the best player in the world has been short. Messi, Maradona, Kuna Aguerro, Teves, Xavi, Iniesta, Pato, Robinhio, Torrado, Donovan included and the list goes on and on. The point is if you can play and you have the vision you don’t need to be Big and strong, if you have the technic and can hold the ball and know how to move ala Xavi Hernandez you don’t need to be 6″. Soccer is totally different from American Football or basketball where you really to be tall. so please yeah Torres can do the job.
@Steve
I’d guess Beasley (for veteran), and Adu make it
Take 2 on prior post:
I don’t want your HEAD I want you to use it.
Bob – I don’t want your I want you to use it!
No more Klejstan! Give Torres a shot!
Locks for 23 man squad for 2010:
G – Howard, Guzan,
D – Gooch, Demerit, Bocanegra, Spector, Cherondolo, Hejduk, Bornstein
M – Donovan, Bradley, Clark, Jones, Torres, Feilhaber, Dempsey, Edu
F – Altidore, Davies, Ching
3 spots still up for grabs (and I’m sure I missed someone obvious) Ones a 3rd goalie so that’s 2 to go.
Angel, I believe some reporter asked Bradley about the Torres situation, and his response was “no comment, I don’t talk about individual players” or something along those lines.
Btw, the games Torres played for Pachuca at the Club World Cup, he did very well for himself from what I remember. He also does not give the ball away cheaply, and retaining possession is what we needed at that point in the game, in order to relieve pressure on the defense.
understood: Ok, so Torres is a 5’5″ player that weighs 135 pounds who is going to make the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the goal. Given that the USMNT style is to have everyone stick in and defend except for the striker(s), will Torres really make that big an improvement?
Look, I’ve go no love for Kljestan. He’s way out of form right now. But would Torres playing alongside a gassed Altidore, Donovan, Davies and Dempsey and being needed to track back and handle someone like Lucio or Melo or Silva defensively have really made that much difference? If you think so, great. I’m withholding judgment until I see more of Torres.
Ives, You are a reported and you need to inform us of what really happen in Costa Rica with Torres. Why Bob Bradley call him for this tournament and not used him. It feel like Marcus Allen when he was with the Raiders and Mr. Davis had something against him and kept him at the bench. I think that something happen between Donovan and Torres when Torres took the free kick. But is time to us know what really happen and please as a reporter all of you guys from ESPN, Fox Sport, SI, & even You Ives need to get tuft question and crictized the Coach of USA. Let’s not just ask question but be more aggressive and with him. like the Mexican Media they are always asking the right question to their coach.
I knew when Shasha entered the game that the anxiety medication I took earlier wouldn’t be enough.
I began drinking heavily.
as to your first point…just for arguments sake…who from chivas usa could crack pachuca’s line up?…i think central defense and in goal you could argue your side…but when it comes to flank play and attacking play the gulf is wider than youre giving it credit for
as to torres, thats another thing that US fans have wrong about him…hes not an attacking midfielder…and hes definitely not a winger…hes a central midfield possession guy…hes a claudio reyna xavi hernandez type of player…i think a lot of US fans have him misplaced because relative to what we have…his technical ability makes him seems like hes a tricky dribbler and a guy who can send the penetrating through ball…but hes more of a guy thats gonna make the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the goal
(1) No way Altidore deserves a 5.5. He was ineffective and overmatched.
(2) Bradley took way too long to make any adjustments. Sure, his cupboard was almost bare, but Klejstan? There’s not much you can do against Brazil, but with your lead cut to 2-1 and your team clearly tired and back on its heels, you can do more than nothing. How about: Altidore out, Dempsey (who was not tracking back anyway) up top, Torres as a wide MF — something to shore up the fatigued wide defenders and MFs.
(3) Disappointing how the squad wilted at 2-1. Fatigue was a factor, yes, but the team seemed to lose its will and energy all at once, and was content (or felt desperate enough) to keep pounding long balls ahead to the aforementioned Altidore. Overall, whether it was coaching or players or both, no matter how good Brazil is, there’s no way you concede 3 (or 4) goals in a half.
What went wrong?
Bradley although ahead 2-0, needed to make drastic defensive changes at halftime (Maicon had way too much time to cross). He didn’t. At 2-1 he didn’t ajust. At 2-2 he started to bring in his personal favorites. At 2-3 he completely lost the picture.
Bradley has shown in other matches that he freezes up tactically when things turn sour, (Costa Rica, Italy, Brazil I, and II). Those claiming that he had no bench curiously overlook the fact that he made all the roster selections. Without the facts, I suspect he played the fewest players (in minutes) of all
ConFed Cup teams.
To sum up,
Bradley freezes in games.
He makes poor, late substitutions.
He makes poor roster selections.
He’s willing to play his favorites at the expense of the team.
Can he change in one year? The insertion of Kljestan and Bornstein with the game still in reach does not look good.
understood:
We’re talking about individual players, not teams. Are you saying that every single player for Pachuca is better than every single player for Chivas USA? If you are, I just don’t agree.
I’m a Houston Dynamo fan and have seen the Dynamo play many Mexican League teams over the past three years. There is a difference in quality, but the difference is not that great and the Dynamo have won several of those games (including games in Mexico). As a result, I don’t automatically assume that a MLS player is inferior to a Mexican league player simply because of the league the player plays in. That’s not blind patriotism; it’s just common sense and opinion based on observation.
Having said all of that, I agree that we need to see Torres play more in order to get a better feel for where he ranks on the USMNT. I plan to watch Pachuca play in Apertura 2009 and assess Torres myself. In Clausura 2009 he played in all but 6 of Pachuca’s games but only scored 1 goal.
I love my country, and I love the US mens national team. Nothing bad can come from the Confederations Cup. Looking forward to seeing them live again next week at RFK.
CT: I agree with your assessment of Adu. He’s not ready. But what I have seen with Torres in the few games he has played for the US (and that has been more than just Costa Rica), it that he is calm on the ball and can keep possession better than most people on the team. He may not turn out to be the answer, but he has shown more than Kljestain has against good competition.
Torres has obviously done something to upset Bradley, whether it was complaining about being taken off at halftime in Costa Rica, or pouting during training. It’s not just me who sees this, plenty of columnists have mentioned it and question why Torres hasn’t been given a minute.
I actually thought the subs were (as) effective (as they could be)…
Bornstein was reasonably effective going forward, and was a capable defender going back.
Sacha’s giveaway was rough, but he looked good in most other aspects.
And I still don’t get the Casey hate. He’s there to eat up space on a set piece, and finish with the head if the opportunity arises.
If we win a corner late, I don’t think Freddy Adu’s stepovers or Marvell Wynne’s speed would have done us a damn bit of good. Let it go.
I saw heart from every American that stepped on that field yesterday.
Kudos, boys.
Once we were up 2 at the half, I did not care what the final score was. We had done everything that had been missing in the first 2 games and the previous set of qualifiers (and for that matter any away qualifier in the last 2 years). We played with heart and attacked. Hopefully this is the end of the 4-5-1. We need 2 attackers. They boys played well and left everything out there. It was great to see us play well and I am really excited going forward.
J Jones will only help, Edu coming back and Cherundolo makes us deeper. I think Torres and Adu and Jozy will all progress, play more and get better. Finally I think BB will be forced to go outside of his old players and use some of the new up and comers and that makes us better.
GO USA!
I think one overlooked reason the US played so well in the last few games, and yes I think the 7 goals from the run of play is something REALLY positive, is that they finally played together a lot. They started to understand each other better and learn where each person was going to be etc. In the last year BB has tinkered a lot and that had to affect chemistry.
Heck we almost did it anyway. In the csecond half, Dempsey was close, Davies was 1 toe poke away from a big chance, and Gooch should have tied it at the very end.
Of course, Kaka scored a goal that did nto could and Timmy stoned Fabiano on a breakaway! So maybe the score should have been 5-4!
Yves, got to disagree slightly. I agree that the 23 players that Brazil brought to the tournament are way deeper than the US team. However a different sub strategy could have made a difference. As soon as Sacha got up I started yelling no at the TV. I liked his play at the Olympics, but we needed to hold the ball, and he just does not do that. Torres had to be as good, or better.
At halftime I started trying to figure out who BB could bring in, and the only thing I could come up with was Bornstein. The basic roster, with MB out, just was not good enough. But Bornstein could help slow dowwn Maicon who was a real problem. The defensive scheme just left too much space on the wings, and where Spain does not like to cross the ball into the box, Brazil is good at it. It was just a matter of time before USA would go down.
Yves, maybe you could do a piece on why Adu and Torres were on the team at all. Were they just there to see what it was like? Why couldn’t BB take players he was actually going to use?
Great posting keep of the good work. Will look forward to your work on the Gold Cup and with the transfers of US player abroad.
CT…
you dont think pachuca is a better team than chivas usa? (and by extention you dont think playing consistently for pachuca is better than being BENCHED by chivas usa?) you dont think the mexican league is better than MLS? (remember were talking club teams not national teams)…
you dont have to be a blind patriot to be a good USMNT fan
The fact that Sacha, Casey, and Bornstein even played is a farce.
On the other side of things, I’m kind of surprised by the behavior of Brazil. When down they played like a bunch of whiny little children, then they celebrated like they just cured cancer after the match. Ditto for their fans. I’m not saying it’s something I’ve never seen before, but I found it strange that after decades of being arguably the best national team in existence that they can be as petty as any other team or its fans. I don’t even necessarily have a problem with it beyond a couple of dirty plays and temper tantrums that I thought were useless.
All analysis aside, today I am Proud to be a Yank. Great effort boys.
Dan: As I said in another post, we don’t really know much about Torres (unless there’s someone out there that follows Pachuca). I believe we have only seen him play 1/2 of 2 games for the USMNT. We cannot assume that just because a player plays in Mexico he’s by definition better than a US player (Need I remind you about Mexico’s record against the US recently?) So there is no evidence to support your claim that Torres would have been better at holding the ball than other alternatives. You’re just presuming he’s better b/c he plays in Mexico.
Such is not the case for Adu. We’ve seen him give the ball away countless times in all the competitions in which he has appeared. He dribbles excessively and often dribbles right into pressure and loses the ball. When he loses the ball he falls to the ground, then gets on his knees pleading for a foul call as play continues away from him. If he was such a good player, he would not have languished on the bench for every team he’s ever played for. He’s great for his age group team, but he’s not great against grown men.
Thanks Ives for giving Xander Crews a well deserved spanking. He has been asking for it since day 1. He must be a Mexican spy/trouble maker…
I think Ives has largely got it spot on. In this particular instance, I think, we were undone by our lack of strength in depth and crippling suspensions and injuries to key players (how nice would it have been to be able to slot in Mo Edu, Jermaine Jones, or Mikey Bradley after 60 minutes?).
But in the end, that’s not really what matters. US Soccer took a big step forward this past two weeks. And what’s more, I think this tournament was an accurate indicator of where this team really is — coming into its own and able to take apart any team in the world on its day, but still prone to the lapses and mistakes that separate the good teams from the great ones. We’re not a superpower yet. We have demonstrated the ability to really go at teams and take them off their game. We can play the upstart. But we’re not going to be able to do that on a consistent basis (meaning ALL the time) until there is greater depth and a stronger cultural infrastructure for the game in this country.
There are some very obvious things we need to improve on, and I think this tournament highlighted a couple of them. For one, we need to avoid the naive challenges and mental lapses that result in dubious red cards and crippling goals against. I think the fact that no one was sent off or could have been sent off against Brazil was a promising sign in regard to the former. Hopefully, this experience helped the young core of our team adjust to the speed and intensity of the international game and will put us in good stead for the World Cup next year. Also, I don’t think we’ve shown the ability to come from behind that the superpowers rely on after their own lapses. Time and time again, I’ll watch a team like Bolton take and early lead on Chelsea or watch us go up against Brazil, and I think, “Yeah, but how long will it last? Can they hold on?” And more often than not, those goals lead to the weaker team being punished in the second half. Soccer is a 90 minute game and playing brilliantly for 45 minutes will only get you so far. The best teams can hold that concentration and rally to punish their opposition’s mistakes, even when things don’t start in their favor. They can adapt to the situations that they are confronted with in real time and take advantage of any mistake to assert themselves on a match.
But this all isn’t as important as what we did show this Confederations Cup. I think we showed the world that we are coming into our own as a footballing nation and that we’re a scrappy, competent, hardworking team that deserves respect and preparation from ALL its opponents. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys and hope this is a sign of more improvement to come.
-Davies did exibit some poor judgement in the 2nd half, but i think its due to inexperience at that level. He was still running and showing some speed but again, his decisions were a bit suspect in the 2nd half. Having said that, I think the subs were a complete waste. Defensively, something needed to be done. The winner was a set piece. But the corner was won on Bocas side…the brazillian equalizer was caused by bad defensive positioning on a goalie clearence…I mean, did the 2 goals come directly from the subs, you cant say that…but bringing in the correct players at the correct time may have taken a bit of pressure off our back line. Who knows. Thats why I cant be too critical but i can take away more positives than negatives soo will chack this one up to inexperience (coaching staff and players) with respect to holding a 2 goal lead against a great team. OR any team for that matter
I, like some others have already posted, would also like to know why we did not have a player defending the far post. I would also like to know how Dempsey was the 3rd best player in the tournament and not Donovan.
The best thing that came out of this tournament for me is how we were able to score so many goals with minimal chances. 3 goals in 5 opportunities vs Egypt, 2 in 3 vs Spain, and 2 in 3 vs Brazil. The negative thing about this is how we can only create so few opportunities vs strong nations. We still need a lot of work going forward and I am still not sold on Altidore and Davies.
I think we have the potential to have a good run in the World Cup but I can also see us pulling ’06.
With that said, US did very well in this tournament.
To address Bob Bradley, I don’t think criticizing him takes anything away from the USMNT itself, who I personally am proud of. Bradley did get the team to play hard, but only in 3 out of the 5 games, and only after our backs were against the wall. Luckily for us, those games allowed us to advance. Secondly, it seems like we lucked into having our best team out there due to injuries and red cards, rather than Bradley’s insight. One, example is Jonathon Spector. He is clearly better than Hedjuk, but if Hedjuk is not injured, he plays instead of Spector, and we lose Spector’s crossing and possession ability (and two goals off of great crosses to Dempsey). Second, Beasley has gotten way to much playing time, even after playing poorly the past 5 or so games. Only after he was absolutely terrible did Bradley have no choice but to bench him. I’ll give Bradley credit for not messing up the starting lineup once we did have something that was working.
In regards to the substitution patterns, it has been clear that Kljestian is a turnover factory and is not good enough at this level yet. This has been shown over the past year with his play. 3 goals against Sweden’s C team that I think included 5 Detroit Red Wing players doesn’t make you international level. Torres was arguable our best player that first half against Costa Rica, until he was inexplicably taken off. Yes, he was partially at fault on the first goal in that game, but once he settled in, he played better than Kljestian ever has against a good team. Why does he not deserve a shot, but Kljestian does? It might not have made a difference, but with Kljestian, the result was a foregone conclusion.
I think this tourney has shown we can compete if we play with heart, but the coaching acumen will end up making the difference between advancing out of the group stages at the WC, or getting to the quarters or further.
hate to be a negative voice…but if anyone thinks the performances we saw against spain and brazil first half are blueprints to success against good teams youre delusional…the only difference between spain and brazil is that brazil had the one moment of brilliance (fabiano’s first) that spain couldnt muster (which we know theyre well capable of)…and brazil was able to set up two scoring opportunites from the flanks that spain was unable to do…but in general…were not gonna consistently win games by being dominated in possession and defending like wild banshees…we played with heart…team spirit…all that…and psychologically it was wonderful for our team to get this experience and learn to play fearlessly against these teams…but were NOT gonna win these games consistenly getting outpossessed 60-40 and outshot by 20+ shots…
also look at our attack going forward…against spain we were 2-2…against brazil we were something like 2-5 or something like that…thats another thing were NOT going to be able to rely on consistently…were not gonna convert such an overwhelming majority of our chances on a consistent basis…were gonna need to eventually play a more skill based technical game to consistenly compete at this level because we need to do a better job of maintaining possession and creating more chances
thats leads me back to coaching decisions…obviously bradley has earned a reprieve and you cant complain about bradley until you see what happens in 2010…because he passed this test and 2010 is really the only true test between now and then (azteca or not there are no scalps to be had in CONCACAF at this point)…BUT having said that…he needs to stop playing favorites and stop insisting on burying torres and playing klejstan over him…if you wanna drink the koolaid and say torres is crap and he cant defend…then what justifies picking klejstan over him…how does somebody who cant start in MLS a better player than someone who gets consistent minutes for one of the hemisphers top 10 teams…weve already seen with bradley that sometimes he needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into making adjustments…or sometimes his teachers pets need to actually get hurt for him to give a chance to the more deserving understudies…HOWEVER…having said that…to bradleys credit…eventhough he makes changes later than he should…if you come in and impress you get more playing time…so heres hoping that somehow…guys like torres…holden…adu…jones…even for me personally guys like simek and rogers and orozco…somehow get chances to get on the field over the next year in order to prove themselves so that our “depth” problem can come closer to a resolution with guys that dont actually suck like beas klejstan bornstein…et al.
Ha, Xander just got pwned. (Mental note, don’t diss Ives.)
EDB makes good point, Brazil had the confidence in their game plan that they would come back Spain were clearly getting furstrated, neither team is used to playing from behind But Brazil clearly was more confident in doing so
Generally, I’m a BB supporter. I agreed with his decision to bring the reserves to the South American championships so the main team could focus on the Gold Cup (and it’s entry to the Confederations Cup). That has proved to be wise move.
I agree with most of his moves, though some are puzzling (Connor Casey over Kenny Cooper?). That said, there’s one move he did / didn’t make that has me scratching his head.
In the 2nd half, Brazil had us under seige. We were getting tired and we needed some energy + offensive bite. What does BB do? He takes out Feilhaber & Altidore and replaces them with Klestjan & Bornstein. It was clear that we got a lost a lot of offense with those moves (and we got worse at that point).
I kept thinking, well, who else could BB bring on? DMB showed he shouldn’t play and Adu/Torres hadn’t gotten a minute of playing time.
As my emotions died down, I realized that there was one mistake that BB did. When we were down 2-0 to Brazil in the 2nd group game and both DMB/Klestjan were awful, he should have replaced at least one of them with Adu or Torres (probably Torres). We knew at the half that Klestjan wasn’t cutting it and that proved again to be the case in the Championship game. Torres & Adu should have gotten some minutes in that game and they may have given BB a chance to figure out if either one could have helped down the road.
I would say that’s the main issue I have with BB’s handling of the squad at the Conf Cup.
Damn you Ives, with your common sense and perspective. I need somebody to blame and this entry doesn’t help me do that.
Seriously, though, the points about the disparity in depth are well made. It makes me laugh to think that Alexandre Pato never made it off the bench in this game, and I don’t think I saw him play the entire tourney.
Some thoughts:
1) I’ve only been an avid USMNT watcher for about a decade, but in that time, I cannot remember ANY instance in which the team scored 7 goals in open play against such high quality competition. No set piece goals, no penalty kicks, no own goals by the opposition. If anything represents progress, that does.
2) In the next year we need to find depth on the wings. We need to go into WC2010 with 4-5 guys who can play offense and defense on the wings at an international level.
3) The US can win without the classic #10 (and Donovan is not a classic #10, see below). But developing skilled, creative, offensive players to work the center of the field should be a big priority for the WC2014 cycle.
4) Landon Donovan is a winger. He could also probably play the holding midfield spot a la Claudio Reyna. He is not a forward, nor is he an offensive central midfielder. Playing out of position for club or country is a waste of time and talent.
5) Give Bob Bradley some credit. Is he the best coach in the world? No. But lots of teams would have folded after the first two games and the US didn’t. And the BS excuse that Egypt, Spain, and Brazil were all having off days doesn’t fly either. Dominating Egypt, convincingly whooping Spain, and dominating Brazil for even 1 half takes talent and good play. Period. Those of you who seem to think some foreign coach can take the apple cider that is our player pool and make it taste like champagne every game are completely delusional. Stick with Bradley through 2010, then look at what your options are.
I think the U.S. is a very good team that played well in this tournament. The very first game against Italy they played well until the red card. It is tough for any team to play Italy one man down. The second game against Brazil the U.S. gave them way too much respect, like they did in the second half of the final. The only difference was that in the final the U.S. was gassed. Against Egypt they played great. In the Spain game, the U.S. played well and parked the bus in the second half and got a few breaks and won. Against Brazil, the U.S. was already fatigued, basically using the same line-up. I really think having Maurice Edu, Brian Ching and Steve Cherundolo would have made a difference but it is all academic. The U.S.’s back four were gassed. It is just too much pressure to absorb. If the mid could have relieved some pressure from the back four, it would have been a different story. Hopefully Jones can be a great addition in the mid. The U.S. has one year to improve even more. It is paramount that U.S. players receive consistent playing time for their respective clubs. Even though the U.S, can beat any team in any given day, if the U.S. can improve their midfield, they will be even that much better. By the way, if Brazil does not get that early goal in the second half, the U.S. probably wins. It was a great learning experience for the boys. For me, Spain is still the best team in the world.
Jags,
You say Donovan has gotten his butt kissed, but the only thing I ever hear about him is people like you ripping into him… Have you ever heard a teammate say a negative thing about him??? maybe they have, but I’ve never heard about it… In fact, all i’ve ever heard is how much harder he works than every player in the US… You act as if he is some pre-Madonna, but the facts just don’t support it. You don’t like the fact that he doesn’t get “stuck in” and play defense???? Did you watch the tournament, he was the best defensive player on the field most of the time… Every player has their negatives, LD’s is his size, he’s small, meaning he’s not going to be, nor should he try some sort of menacing tackler?? Criticizing him for that is like criticizing Barry Sanders for not running like John Riggins,,, stupid in other words… Guy plays his ass off, and works harder than anyone, and is by far the best player we have, and that makes him a bad guy who is somehow incapable of getting a shot in Europe???? You criticize his goal celebration b/c you think it was about him. Tell me about any goal celebration that wasn’t about that one player???? any time a player runs into the corner after a goal they are celebrating THEIR personal acheivement, otherwise, players who scored goals would run to their teammates to congradulate them, or just run back to their side to try and get another… You need to Get off it, the argument that you and others like you have been making about Donovan since he came back from Europe the first time just doesn’t stand up to the facts… I get that he’s kind of a dork, and he’s not your typical American sports star, but the hate for it from so many is just astounding
It really amazes me how many of you still think Bob Bradley is incapable. What US coach has accomplished reaching a FIFA tourney final before? None! What do you think he needs to do to keep his job? I think it was VERY clear that he was able to motivate the players to play hard. He found a workable formation and they beat 1 good opponent (Egypt), one excellent opp. (Spain), and played well against the arguably best team in the world right now. Those of you clamoring for Torres weren’t there, you didn’t see his practice sessions or know how he integrates with the rest of the team, yet you pontificate as if you were there. Believe me, Bob wants to win as much as any of us do. I say “Congratulations to the US MNT and to Bob Bradley for a job well done.”
Xander just got pwn’d…..
also the difference between spain and brazil was that spain got frustrated while brazil just kept plugging away.
Xander Crews, not sure if you are aware but matches are 90 minutes long and over the course of 90 minutes Brazil showed its superiority. The USA played a great first 45 minutes but assuming that level could have been maintained for 90 minutes if not for “tactical mistakes” is wrong. Saying Brazil is more talented takes nothing away from what the USA did in the first half. The USA maximized its ability and played at its highest level in the first half and deserves credit for that. In the end though, Brazil found another gear (which can happen when you have the world’s best players) and the Americans were unable to maintain their high level. All your ultra-negative blame-game schtick does is suggest that you think the USA would beat everybody in the world all the time if only they had the right coach running the show. Exactly how naive is that?
Xander, I don’t normally call readers out but you’re self-loathing, super-negative mentality is pretty depressing. I’m not talking about the above comment, I’m talking about the tone of the majority of everything you’ve ever written on SBI. Such as:
“Reading this entry made me want to puke. We beat an undermanned Egyptian side and now you people think we’re going to be able to handle Spain? Please divulge your source for your mind-altering hallucinogens for the rest of us, please…”
and
“For the fans who complained about Rossi’s celebration against the US, how was that any different that the American celebrations yesterday? Did anyone bother to check to see if the Egyptian goalkeeper was fine when he was getting his head stitched?”
and
“That was not a good game. It’s the type of slop that’s acceptable to get through in CONCACAF, but it’ll get us killed in the Confederations Cup. (After USA beat Mexico in February).
Those are just a few examples. To be honest in reading your comments over the past few months I think most folks might wonder if you’re a fan of American soccer at all.
It’s really up to you how you want to be as a fan, but you might want to try to lighten up and enjoy the positives and the progress American soccer is making rather than spending all your time focusing on everything that you think is wrong with American soccer.
The only Sub i took issue with was casey over a more dynamic striker when we were down a goal. I thought Benny was ok, and sasha. Although I almost would have brought on pearce on the left move boca or demerrit to dmid.. but really i think it was just brazils quality that shined through.
I think you nailed it Ives. Bradley has discovered a truly great starting 11. There is just too much drop off in talented, in form players on the Confederations Cup roster. Having said that, barring a ton of injuries, the US should be in a lot better shape depth wise next summer. There are a lot of midfielders who have a full year to round themselves into form.
For me, three factors did the Americans in. Michael Bradley’s absence, the immediate second-half goal from Brazil, and good old fashioned fatigue.
If MB was holding down the midfield, making timely tackles, and sparking quick counter attacks, the game plays out differently in the second half. That coupled with the magical Failhaber for Altidore sub with Dempsey moving up top could have proved all-important.
For obvious reasons, the Brazil goal directly after second half kickoff was their most important. Demerit had good positioning in the play and made a good, agressive challenge. A combination of skill and luck saw Fabiano’s fantastic turn and shot slip just between Demerits legs and out of Howard’s reach into the back of the net.
The US just didn’t have enough in the tank in the second 45 to keep the kind of pressure on the Brazilian midfield that they were able to put on Spain. As a result, Brazil was relentless in their attacking either flank.
If the US had been able to avoid one or two of these things, they stood a good chance. Having to deal with all three was too much.
In the end, they lost on one of the best headers I have ever seen. The power and precision of Lucios finish was second to none.
Had the same team formation that defeated Spain being on the field, the US might have had a better chance at winning this thing. Michael Bradley’s absence really hurt and it showed tremendously in the second half. Benny needed to come on in the 2nd half like he did against Spain and create some opportunities for US and hold Brazil at bay even for a little while. US had not attacking options in the 2nd half.
but you have to give Brazil due credit. they overloaded the wings, which pulled the centers to go help out Boca and Spector and opened up the middle of the field for Fabiano to take advantage.
That tactic helped. but it was the talent that allowed it to work. in the end, Brazil was the better team.
I am sure this has been posted elsewhere, but is there any reasons to why Torres hasnt sniffed the field since Costa Rica, to be given a starting slot in an important WC qualifier to not seeing any time in the 6 games since, seems odd.
Bringing Sasha on and not Torres was a mistake I think, though a bigger one was bringing Casey on instead of Adu.
Down a goal in a final we need a play, maybe something spectacular and the man to give us that play in that game is NOT Casey. Adu is the only one on the bench there that could have come in and given us that play. Defensive liability doesn’t matter much when you are down in a final.
We’re getting better but we certainly overachieved in this tournament. We will need to tone down our expectations for the world cup.
We were severely outshot in playing both Spain and Brazil. One could look at our ability to score out of very few opportunities as talent but we were also very fortunate (or lucky).
As controversial as it may sound, I think that if we had TIED both matches and had a more balanced number of shots on target, it would represent a bigger evolution in our game.
Now, I know people would then argue about our ability to finish… but think about it first…
Ives, your point is taken about the subs, but I still believe and know based on playing some tough games (albeit at a much lesser level) that if at least one sub (Borstein) was brought in 5 min earlier, it could have brought a disruption to the game that the US dearly needed at that point. (When Brazil subs, the US players need to watch who is coming it to prepare for them so their subbing doesn’t count.) I still feel this way regardless of the drop in quality of the incoming player.
The players needed to be able to recollect their thoughts and spread motivation around. Your story may not have had the space to develop this, but it should have at least acknowledged the value of a break, the soccer world’s equivalent of a time out, especially in a game like this. In fact insert one sub and the second some minutes later. That is two stoppages of play.
Or for that matter, a US player should have gone down for a minute or two to slow the game down. They were men out, always getting up after though challenges out there but sometimes, you should stay down when appropriate to get your under siege team, that mental break. Take a page out of Portugal’s play book!
LD had a great tourney, but do you really think a big club is willing to pay what he makes in the mls.
No, think about it. He has issues; he does not or will not ever get stuck into a player. Have you ever seen him slide a player besides coming from behind. His Def is horrible, look what he did with Maicon. He gave the guy pressure like a forward would. Jog over to him until he releases the ball.
Not to take away from his goal, but he ran to the sideline screaming ME, ME, ME. He is a baby compared to European players.
I have to wonder why the clubs in Europe are not picking him up? Its because they know he wouldnt work out. Two failures in Germany and a third shot only because a friend was helping him out.
I would love to see him go, it would only help him, but he has gotten his butt kissed too much here to become a better player and make it over there.