The U.S. men's national team was up a goal at halftime against mighty Italy and feeling pretty good about its performance, but losing Ricardo Clark to a terrible red card call meant the Italians would have 45 minutes to try and pick apart the American defense.
Italy did just that.
Led by American-born striker Giuseppe Rossi, the Italians erased the USA lead and rolled to a 3-1 victory in their opening match of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
Rossi equalized with a beautiful long-range blast after stripping Benny Feilhaber in midfield. Daniele DeRossi gave Italy the lead with his own long-distance strike. Rossi finished the scoring with a perfect volley off a Andrea Pirlo pass to send the Italians to victory.
The U.S. team held a halftime lead after Landon Donovan converted a Jozy Altidore-earned penalty, but a terrible call against Clark saw the Dynamo midfielder sent off eventually proved too much to overcome.
Now the United States will have to at least tie Brazil on Thursday to keep alive its chances of advancing to the knockout round.
What did you think of the U.S. team's performance? Did you consider the red card absurd? Is Giuseppe Rossi the most-hated soccer player in the history of American soccer? Did you come away from today's match feeling better about the U.S. team, or worse?
Share your thoughts below.
What a pitiful and way to avoid the point, the…run. Firstly, we are talking about national teams here and not various club teams. Secondly, we are talking about written hate directed to a specific and real person and not about fans provoking each other during a game. Thirdly, the hate directed agains Rossi seems to represent the norm and not a small minority.
As for Rossi, I repeat:
If Guiseppe Rossi of evident Italian ancestry had been born in the Netherlands, been a dual citizen and played in the Ajax youth system(our best), and had then chosen to play for Italy, we would genuinely have wished him the best of luck.
Dear Peter Bering,
You suggest that the “hateful derangement on this board surpasses that of any fans in the world.”
You bring up Ajax and identify as Dutch.
Surely you know that Ajax are considered — at least symbolically — a Jewish team in the Netherlands.
Surely you know that when Ajax play away they are with some regularity greeted by charming Dutch fans who make a hissing sound meant to invoke the noise of gas entering the gas chambers.
I extend a warm invitation for you to re-consider the charming qualities of the Dutch.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59919-2004Dec12.html
The level of hateful mental derangement on this board surpasses that of any fans in the world. Charmless team. Charmless fans, Charmless country. Aliens.
If Guiseppe Rossi of evident Italian ancestry had been born in the Netherlands, been a dual citizen and played in the Ajax youth system(our best), and had then chosen to play for Italy, we would genuinely have wished him the best of luck.
Especially funny was the sniveling post about “Rossi was given freedom in the USA…”. Oh, and FREEDOM does not include the FREEDOM to play soccer where you want to and are eligible to? Or does freedom only mean doing what a bunch of internet wallys think one should do?
And for you other snivelers, so he went to a public school here. Big deal. That does not make him a slave to the US. If his public school was like most, it was a terrible school anyway.
Posted by: Ron | June 16, 2009 at 08:15 AM
THAT is the post of the day!
CONCACAF definitely sucks. The region does not deserve 4 teams in the world cup.
CONCACAF doesn’t suck?? We deserve 4 teams in the World Cup? The number of European and South American teams that don’t make it would eat the US alive.
People, until you stop believing the hype that beating El Salvador and Mexico on US soil every effing year is a grand accomplishment, please refrain from commenting about football.
Only a Canadian would say CONCACAF sucks. Just because your national team organization is a joke doesn’t mean the rest of the region doesn’t deserve the respect it has earned (such as a 4th qualifying spot).
dude, hate is a strong word and there is no mention of hate in my last post…..The problem i have with him was his frantic celebration…..ok, i can say he is less of a professional than Lukas Podolski who didn’t celebrate when he scored against Poland, his Fatherland. I guess his dad never taught him that…..RESPECT
Lucky sumbi***, he is not Colombia-Italian and that he scored against Colombia (2 goals for that matter), it would have been DEJA VU 1994 when he arrives at the Bogota International airport……
If you “hate” Rossi — you are just being selfish, petty, and jealous.
For all of you saying Rossi is Italian, yes he is through his parents but he is Amrican because he was born in US…..if his parents wanted him to be all Italian, follow the italian culture, eat Italian food, then why come to the US, stay there in Italy and raise your g#$dam% family. I am not against Rossi or whatever but he is a professional, he would have muted his celebration OUT OF RESPECT to his country of birth. Would it be fair it President Obama declares him the enemy of state for what he did…….that would be unfair, absolutely uncalled for but respect, i see is something his dad never taught him. I’m Nigerian -American (Born and bred here in Cleveland) and if i was a soccer player playing for Nigeria against the US, & i scored, I would not have celebrated, or rather mildly OUT OF RESPECT to USA, that clown did not do that hence the hating…..fine he can score as many goals as he wants against us but he a professional that you are and do not do anything that would jeopardize your family safety back home…..he is lucky the United States is not as soccer crazy as other nations, if he was Mexican-American, I’ll bet my left n^* his family would have been targeted or at worst killed especially by the mexican mafia cos of the high profile gambling and betting (Just as in the case of Columbia back in 1994)…..just had to say my piece of mind about that traitor though i understand. For all of you here, it is your right to defend him, or to demonize him, whatever the case may be, pls let’s do it in a civilized way and note that he has the right to do what ever so far as it is within legal content……though I’d love to see a soccer crazy congressman or councilman propose revoking his citizenship, that would be pretty funny but uncalled for….hehehehe, make him sweat a little..
I thought we played well until the 58th minute when Italy made an adjustment. We didn’t, simple as that. Our 2 central players were too high up on the first goal (yes dempsey gave him a difficult ball, but he should have gotten off of it before trying to turn with it)
2nd was brutal. Went through 2 players, Gooch looked silly trying to change feet to kick it.
3rd goal it was over then, and the boys were beaten.
We should have scored more. Simple as that. Italy did take their few chances before the 90th minute. We didn’t. Mini Bradley had a chance that he fluffed when sent in by Donovan and then Altidore did the same on his.
I did think we looked good though for the first 58 minutes. We looked to actually attack them more, so hey we did well. I was actually surprised with Clarks play, he played better than usual IMO. The red was a joke, the guy above who said he wasn’t going for the ball must be Italian, he just missed the ball and Gattuso the wiley vet taught him a lesson. It should have been a yellow….Know who you’re playing…
USA fans, please calm yourselves down. You are so lucky that CONCACAF sucks and every tourney is played in the US. You have such an overblown perception of the US team and no respect for the huge gap in talent from Italy. Please stop seeing the FIFA rankings and believing them. All your points come from beating crappy CONCACAF teams!!!!
You whine that the game was not 11v11. When DeRossi got red carded in WC06 did you complain?
You have scored an own goal and a PK vs Italy, and you think you can HANG with Italy? Score an open play goal for once.
Clark hacked Gattusso’s KNEE. That is a red EVERYTIME!
You hate DeRossi for elbowing McBride. Do you realize that was an accident. You are supposed to bring your arms up when you go for a header. DeRossi is the most sporting player in football. He once told a ref not to count a Roma goal he had scored with his hand!
Stop listening to biased crap from Britain and US (like Ives). Italians are the most gifted technical players alive. Their coaches are everywhere now.
The refs give the Italians tournaments?? How bout the Gold Cup being played in the US and the refs phucking over Canada and whomever the US plays.
You want Giuseppe Rossi?? Give back Monica Seles, Jermaine Jones, Brett Hull, Akeem Olajuwan, Nastia Liukin, etc…
President Obama should make a public declaration revoking the citizenship of Guiseppi Rossi and making him an official enemy of the state!
Posted by: Matt | June 15, 2009 at 04:49 PM
That’s the QUOTE OF THE DAY
SICK OF FIFA EURO FAVORITISM!
When will this end FIFA? Ricardo is fouled before his “red card”, miss other cardable offenses against Italy in 2nd, and missed a PK call. USA fought hard but what are you gonna do when you’re fighting against two teams, Italy and FIFA BIAS? Red card changed the match and never were able to enjoy the match in a pure sense. Sickens me.
i Hope we can beat Brazil with 8 guys!!! we will certainly have 3 reds and 8 yellow cards…
The ref’s love us..
Are we definitely getting Jones?
People are talking about him like he is a MNT player, may I remind everyone that he is NOT as of this time.
I didn’t think this was absolutely certain at this point in time. As Ives stated, we won’t get him until October at the earliest, that is, IF we get him.
This game was almost like watching a Metro game in the sense that the one guy you don’t want to bite you in your butt, bites you in the butt!
(1) That was not a red-card offense. Dumb challenge, but not a straight red.
(2) Curious move to take alidore off when he showed he was able to cause real problems for defenders.
(3) If Bradley or Altidore makes something of the great chances thay had in the first half . . .
(4) Memo to Dempsey and Feilhaber: sloppiness right in the center of the field leads to bad, bad things.
(5) Howard has go to stop De Rossi’s shot. Screen or no screen, it came from 25 yards or more.
(6) Isn’t it a foul and PK when you climb on someone’s back and send them to the ground in the area, as happened to Donovan in the second half?
(7) I say that whenever a reporter asks about Rossi, Bradley and the players should just say, “Never heard of him. I knew an American guy by that name, but he disappeared.”
It’s the game, we shouldn’t expect to get all the calls in our favor, like it not, well, the u.s. was the not the better team.
You can’t make luck happen. Sure there were some bad calls, but we still deserved to loose regardless. A quality team could overcome such difficulties.
We’re not there yet.
time to fire Bob B!
You Rossi- haters are downright funny. If you were in the same position, a soccer player with dual citzenship, with a chance to play and quite possibly to START for a 4-time World Cup champion virtually ALL of you would play for Italy at tghe drop of a hat. Your only probing question would be, “Where do I sign?”. Get off your high horses.
Especially funny was the sniveling post about “Rossi was given freedom in the USA…”. Oh, and FREEDOM does not include the FREEDOM to play soccer where you want to and are eligible to? Or does freedom only mean doing what a bunch of internet wallys think one should do?
And for you other snivelers, so he went to a public school here. Big deal. That does not make him a slave to the US. If his public school was like most, it was a terrible school anyway.
Red card was harsh – I would have given a yellow, but it was close enough that I can’t complain.
Bottom line, our center midfield sucks. It was the problem against Costa Rica (when we had 11 men) and it was the problem yesterday. They all have good flashes, but are terribly inconsistent. Feilhaber played a good first half, but was an embarrassment in the second half. Clark played good against Hon and got the awful card yesterday. Bradley started strong, but missed an easy sitter and then ran around like a chicken without a head. All in all, our entire center midfield needs to be replaced.
BTW, it is hilarious to compare the Jones threads from the other day to this one. We hate Rossi; we need Jones! Haha.
Rossi = Judas.
BB is an amazing assistant coach. The same cannot be said for his head coaching abilities. This isn’t a knock on him as there are very few quality head coaches out there. But with BB at the helm we’re never going anywhere as a country.
Howard is a great GK. He helped to anchor one of the most stout defenses in England last season. Also, you don’t get signed by Man U if you aren’t of some quality.
Can Landycakes score if it’s not from a PK? He’s such a frustrating player.
Now if Gooch only played like it was a contract year every game…
Up 1-0 at half, down a man and knowing Italy is coming after you, Bob does nothing.
This was a GREAT performance by the U.S. look, they were leading Italy by halftime with 10 men. All Italy’s goals were struck 30 yards out, all LONG DISTANCE GOALS. They didn’t get past our strong defense during the game, except for one at the last second in extra time when it was obvious everyone GAVE UP. But look at the first half regular time when it was even…we were Clearly the best team on the field until the ref robbed us.
With Jones fixing the problems in the middle, paired up with Bradley’s hustle, our team is really strong. When you look at it this way, why is everyone pissed about an exhibition game ? Cant wait for 2010.
Red card was a joke and anyone who thinks otherwise needs their head checked. Not in England, Italy or Spain. No way.
Rossi’s celebration was disrespectful. He was born in NJ and lived here till he was a teenager. Wish he had left the match w/ boot marks in his leg.
News for you guys: ever consider that it wasn’t Rossi’s decision alone to move to Italy and play for the Azzurri? Inside info is that Bruce Arena had quite a little sway in that decision, screaming at him & his father during several conversations. He basically told Rossi that he was not going to play for the US. Get all the facts before you judge.
1. Not a good red card but a terrible decision by Clark. Against a top level team, you can’t play that stupid. Bad play by Rico.
2. I can’t believe Jason’s argument that we needed to put in Adu. That just shows the level of unsophistication of some American fans. Put in 1 skilled player wasn’t going to transform our attack. For instance, Donovan played himself a heckuva a match but didn’t get good support. I’m talking about…showing for the ball,…smart runs off the ball…passes to set up other good passes….switching play. You don’t see much of those things by the USA against a good team. Okay, a little bit of that is due to fatigue and 9 guys chasing the ball. Most of that is the team–we’re not a sophisticated attacking team that scores goals in the run of play against good teams (and this Italy is likely a “good” team, not a “great” one).
It’s like Nowak said when Oroczo was tossed…he said that the game plan goes out the window. At the point you’re playing 10 men against Italy, you go for guys who can defend, cover a lot of ground defensively, provide high pressure, and have high workrates. Adu has a lot of pluses but those are none of them.
3. No, Howard didn’t have a poor game. Nor is he just an average GK. And no, Merit didn’t fail to close on all 3 goals. Basically we had too much space in front of our backline. You can argue that Gooch and Merit should have stepped up but then you’re arguing for us playing a gambling backline rather than having players track back to help out.
4. Rossi’s goal celebration was too much. Not classy on his part.
Hey Rossi, thanks for the kick in the balls dude!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Clark doesn’t get the red card, I say the US comes away with at least one point. A missed PK in the second half, scuffed chances by Bradley and Jozy.
But there are no excuses to be made, a loss is a loss. The game is played over 90 minutes.
The most important thing for me, looking back at the game, is that the whole team worked their butts off and showed heart, something they haven’t done before, especially no. 10.
The disappearance of Torres is a mystery to me…
Howard-so sad to have a world class keeper, but not have the team in front of him be world class..he made some great saves, but guys help him!
Spector-he plays like a Cherundolo, solid, but doesn’t get into the attack enough
Guch-Thought overall played strong, but that awkward attempt to clear on De Rossi’s shot made me put my head down
Demerit-gosh i don’t know what to say, he looks tough with the tats, but looks dumb as well…kinda sums it up for me.
Bornstein-really Bradley? maybe he’s the starting back for Chivas USA…but for Team USA…no no no no. He’s actually way too “soft” he plays like a lil boy and I don’t see any fight in this guy one bit. I just see awkward when he plays
Dempsey-gosh I don’t know, but he really has never impressed me that much, he’s just “filler”
Bradley-He had some wonderful tackles, he needs to be our defensive mid in all the games and bench or remove Clark/Pablo from the team.
Feilhaber-He had a few nice passes but thats about it, I need to see more energy and bite from him.
Altidore-wish Landicakes was up with Jozy more often to give him support. I hope a club buys Jozy this summer and PLAYS HIM! Jozy will only get better with more games.
Donovan-I have to say besides Bradley, Donovan was all over the field, normally I’m not a Donovan fan but tonight I was. Boys….let’s get those PKS more often! lol
Subs:
Davies-I really want him to be more than what he is…I see him play and I see….gosh get him a through ball, but thats all I see…him running onto a ball, not creating anything for himself
Sacha-had a decent shot, but will probably be the last guy named to the WC squad.
Damarcus-since the 02 World Cup…he’s lost it from me…he doesn’t have the pace, the intensity he had back then.
I really want to see Adu partner with Jozy up top and have Landon play in front of Bradley
BOB BRADLEY…………………..please please find us a left back! Is there a U23/U21 Left Back Out there??????????
Sadly, I think Bocanegra is our best option at left back….but i love him in the center.
***************************************************************
BTW….Everyone should know E! named Carlos Bocanegra the 6th Sexiest Athlete in the World!!!!!! or the USA, but I totally agreee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, that hurts.
From Rossi’s website under biography…Last line and i QUOTE
Whenever he has enough time off to take a holiday, the Bomber naturally loves returning home to America, his favourite place, where he would like to buy the house of his dreams in New York or, even better, on the San Diego coast…But at the moment this is just a dream for the future, before then he’s got a lot of games to play, goals to score and, heaven knows how many other pleasures to fulfil!!
HOME??? I Dare him to find me on the streets =)
“the ***hole born in New Jersey who plays for Italy” gets my vote.
We should never use he name of the person who scored two goals against us yesterday. going forward he should be referred to as “the young man born in New Jersey who plays for Italy” or “the *** hole born in New Jersey who plays for Italy”
fu$k you rossi!
i was on the fence about him playing for italy… i was excited about jermaine jones and the remote possibility of castillo playing for us and didn’t want to be hypocritical. however, i just got off work, was checking match the scores…when i saw that he’d scored a brace against us, i felt deep anger. like really intense rage. maybe even hatred. it’s a strong word, i know, but i haven’t and don’t use it in any other context in my life. so i know it’s for real. i feel primal for us soccer. my pride has been hurt by this punk.
we must beat the italians when we play them next. and, if we’re being straight here, i wouldn’t be dissappointed if rossi went down. my conscience tweaks a bit as i advocate the bruising of an opponents body. nonetheless, i can’t honestly say i wouldn’t enjoy it a bit.
so…
fu$k you rossi!
The red card could easily have been a yellow on another day with another ref; but honestly, how much can you complain when you come in hard, late, high, and catch the guy on the knee?!?! While we’re at it, why is Jozy chasing the ref after being awarded the penalty, just begging for a red? pathetic.
I wish my countrymen didn’t whine so much, both on and off the field.
Just so you all know, I live in NYC and I would gladly wear a Rossi jersey anytime. When are people going to wake up and realize that the US team just sucks right now. Even though Rossi was born here, his parents are Italian. And if you know anything about immigrants, you would know that they don’t cut their connections with their home country just because they become American citizens. The kid grew up as an Italian not as an American. And he moved to Parma before he was even a proper teenager. Everything he learned about soccer, he learned in Italy and England, and all of a sudden he’s a traitor because he chose to play for his family’s country? get out of here. He was a smart kid. He did what Adu should have done. And even if Rossi had decided to play for the US, do you honestly think the US team would be any good? Bradley is no Pirlo. He would have been stuck in a team that can’t even pass the ball around the pitch properly.
And a lot of people have been blaming things on the US defence. Wake up. The problem is your attack. You don’t even have to be a soccer fanatic to know this. If you don’t score, you don’t win, it’s that simple. Even when the US is at it’s best, they can’t score. The US does not have a Rossi-like player who’ll take the ball and just make it happen. Even Donovan, who Americans praise so much, can’t compare with Rossi, and that says a lot. Everyone praised Lando for coming back to MLS, what a joke. A Donovan who’s playing at a mid-level European team, would be ten times better than a Donovan who’s playing in MLS.
People need to leave Clark alone. Do you know how many red cards Gattuso has gotten in his career? It’s just part of the game. Clark did what the other players were not doing. He got stuck in there and made sure the Italian players knew he was there, and that’s a lot more than most players on the field did. And if the US is to be considered a half decent squad, they have to be able to play a game with 10 men, or even 9. It’s not easy, but great teams know how to deal with it.
And for the hypocrites out there who are so happy about Jermaine Jones coming to play for the US, take a chill pill. I watch the Bundesliga on a regular basis during the season. He couldn’t make it for Germany, because there are so many players in the setup who are better than him. He’s no golden child, believe me. He’s an average player at best. He might be a great addition to the US team, but honestly Edu can play on the same field with this cat, so don’t get too happy.
The US needs to produce players that can score. The team needs less Ching/Casey type players. Being big and talentless means nothing. That right I said it, Ching sucks. Big time. He sucks so much I can’t think of superlatives for him. Players with technical skills like Adu and Torres will have major impacts if they get playing time with their clubs. But knowing how American coaches like to play, it’s not likely that we’ll see the US stroking the ball around like Spain anytime soon.
And for the people who hate Rossi, hate him all he wants. This kid is on his way to the top. He’s playing for a great club, and Man U is already thinking about buying him back. He’s doing something with his career that no American player can. Maybe Altidore might get there if he wakes up and stops listening to Bob Bradley and his American coaches. If he learns how to actually play the game of soccer the way it’s supposed to be played and stops with the stupid pass backs that killed Eddie Johnson’s game, he’ll get there. And if Adu purges himself of all the crap the American media planted in his head, he just might find himself on a good squad in Europe.
@ The Truth:
Freddy Adu’s family moved to the US when he was 8 and his mother finally won the LOTTERY to earn a green card. That’s the thing about the US: it is so attractive that lottery systems are devised to decide who wins the chance to come here. Adu would be an American citizen regardless of whether or not he had developed into a soccer player.
Rossi’s parents were among the millions who fled Italy for greater opportunities in the US. When their American born son showed potential as a soccer player, the elder Rossi began grooming him to return to Italy. Had he not developed into a soccer player, he’d likely be working an intro job in NJ or NY like his former classmates. The two situations are completely different.
The Truth–
If you can’t understand the difference between fleeing a 3rd world country at the age of 8 versus leaving the USA at age 13 to train while your mother and sister continue to live in the USA then you are clueless.
So, I didn’t read the 300 comments, but if Ives wants to take a look I just wanted to add my voice in to let him know that yes, Guiseppe Rossi is the most hated soccer player on the planet for me, and yes, I hate that Ives continues to mention him as an American playing for another country.
Giuseppe Rossi was born in the United States and his parents immigrated here for some reason. I’d like to think that it is the land of opportunity. He was asked to play for the USA and rejected that request. He is a quality player who would be starting for us right now. He is a traitor. If his “dream” was to play for the Azzurri then his parents brought him up incorrectly and deserve the blame as well. Once you become an American citizen you should have loyalty to the USA first. His dream should have been to play for the USMNT.
And screw the NYT for their ridiculous puff piece on him.
(violin resonates*) Represent don’t alienate! The dude can play and we choke–that simple.
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq4gSZHDwG4&feature=related
Regarding Rossi…
I have no problems with him playing for Italy, or his celebrations, or anything. If you’re good enough to play for a country that has a chance to not just be in a World Cup, but to actually WIN the thing, if you told me you wouldn’t do that, I’d call you a two-faced liar. It’s not like he changed all of a sudden because Italy came calling – his goal all along was to play for the Azurri. Good for him that he was able to fulfill his dream.
Regarding Clark’s red card…
I don’t think it was necessarily a bad call. It was a stupid, bone-headed, MLS-caliber play. That type of crap doesn’t belong at the international level and should be punished as such. Show a little bit of skill, would you? That challenge was an embarrassment. Sending off Clark also stemmed a lot of the dirty play between the two teams, sending a message that if you’re not going to play the game, you’re going to watch from the dressing room.
Seriously, I’m giving up on this team as long as Papa Bradley keeps trotting out the same crap players over and over again. I’m stunned that Klejstian and Beasley still get called up for these teams, and then, to make matters worse, they actually get in the games! I’m absolutely baffled by these moves – does Sacha have pictures of Bob Bradley in a compromising position or something? Because that’s getting to be the only explanation…
I’ve said it time and again, but MLS players have no business being out at this level – and sure enough, the worst players on the field today were MLS guys. But hey, if we ever get into a penalty kick competition, it’s great that we’ve got Landycakes… seems that’s all the guy practices…
The red card sucked. US had played very well up to that point. Italy may have still won, but would have been great to seem the teams play at even strength. Rico had played well, but he is prone to make some bad decisions which is unfortunate as he can play at this level.
It hurt to see Rossi score those goals. He’s a tremendous player, and it hurts me to write that.
Those giving Howard blame are crazy. Both of Rossi’s goals were class, and he was screened on De Rossi’s goal.
Equally as crazy are the Adu fans. There is a reason he doesn’t get on the field. He’s so gifted with the ball at his feet, but his work rate defensively has always been an issue. Hopefully it’s something he can continue to work on as he’s got a lot to offer teams at both the club and country level, but he needs to get better. I’d like to see him play as the 2nd forward during the Gold Cup to minimize his defensive liabilities.
Hopefully the same type of effort is given against Brazil and Egypt.
Seriously – People are wishing death upon Rossi and his parents only because he wanted to play for the country that both of his parents were born in and moved back to at age 13. I mean, come on. He had dual citizenship and can do whatever he wants. It’s like saying someone who is born to American parents overseas can only play for that country where they were born – not the US since they were not officially born there even though they maybe move back here… Seriously – are Canadians wishing death upon Owen Hargreaves. He has always played for the Italian youth teams – never entertained playing for the US (probably because US Soccer did such a bad job recruiting him). People need to get over it. I mean, perspective, people.
Additionally, I doubt he was being a jerk to the Americans after – from what I read – he and Jozy were tight while he was still at Villareal.
TimmyTom,
they tried and were solid so i was a bit happy with the effort. But I want to see players who want it more, guys who have that killer instinct — at this point we don’t have too many options but guys like ADU and TORRES would kill for more time.
Tonight proved once again what we all witnessed in ’06. Italy CANNOT beat us 11 v 11. I’m more confident than ever before. They need the advantage. I really think we just match up very well against them. Italy will have to wait a long time to get another shot to prove they can beat us on an even playing field. The US played toe-to-toe once again while down a man nearly the entire game, That says something.
Why did Bradley wait so ;ong to make the last sub. At 2-1, who cares if it is 3-1, go get a goal.
@ colin
YES. YOU ARE AMERICAN. YOU WENT TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL. YOUR PARENTS’ SALARIES (public school teachers in NJ) COME FROM U.S. TAX DOLLARS. I DON’T GIVE A **** WHERE YOUR ANCESTRY IS FROM. If we followed that logic, then NO ONE would play for the USA, could most of us can trace our ancestry outside of the USA. Our squad would consist of Native Americans only, and that’s because we can’t completely confirm/deny the land bridge thingy.
“It’s just really stupid to call Rossi a traitor. He’s a full-blown Italian who just happened to live in America? His dream was to play for Italy? So are we just going to squash it for the sake of where he was born?”
Full-blown Italian? What state issued his birth certificate? New Jersey, USA! Where did he grow up? New Jersey, USA! Where does he hold natural-born citizenship? USA!!!
He didn’t just “happen” to live in the USA. Obviously, for reasons unknown to us, his parents decided to LEAVE Italy and come to the USA. Having a “dream” of playing for Italy doesn’t deny the fact that you’re AMERICAN who should play for the country that helped raise you.
Utter rubbish – the above applies to Adu does it not who was born in Ghana, raised there and came to the U.S. at about the same age as Rossi left for Italy. Adu turned down overtures from Ghana to play for them and chose the U.S. Bunch of U.S. hypocrites.