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Confederations Cup: USA vs. Brazil (Matchday Commentary)

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USA CrestBrazil Logo 

The U.S. men's national team takes on Brazil this morning (9:55am, ESPN2) in what comes close to must-win mode if the Americans want to advance to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup.

Fresh from a disappointing 3-1 loss to Italy, the Americans have some positives to look back on and will get some very good tests from the five-time world champions. Kaka leads the way for Brazil, which also boasts the likes of Robinho, Elano and Dani Alves, and is coming off a 4-3 victory against Egypt on Monday.

I will be providing live commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here, and as always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action:

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FINAL– That's all for me right now. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the match in the comments section below.

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FINAL Brazil 3, USA 0. Just an awful performance today. Some USA players got chances to prove themselves today and some only proved that they don't need to be starting for the U.S. national team anytime soon.

The players weren't the only ones to blame. Bob Bradley made some decisions today that can only be called terrible. He went with DaMarcus Beasley and Sacha Kljestan and neither delivered and each played a major part in the team losing.

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93rd minute– Baptista sends the free kick way high. Mercy kick.

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91st minute– Brazil with a very dangerous free kick late.

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90th minute– You know who enjoyed watching today's game? Mexico.

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89th minute– Casey heads a free kick off the crossbar. SO CLOSE.

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86th Minute– Dempsey just tried and failed to deliver a trick pass when he had Feilhaber just a few years away. What a joke.

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83rd Minute– GREAT sequence by Spector and Donovan, sets up Feilhaber with a chance and he hits the crossbar. WOW, nice sequence. The ball bounced after hitting the crossbar, but bounced outside the goal.

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82nd Minute– What are odds the USA gets a goal in this last eight minutes? I'd say 50/1.

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75th Minute– DeMerit does well to hold up Robinho. He's had a good game today. Donovan, DeMerit and Onyewu have been the only players to really stand out for the USA today.

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75th Minute– Whoever invented the Vuvuzela should be (insert your own violent act here).

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74th Minute– The fact that Dempsey is still playing must mean we won't be seeing him vs. Egypt. There's no way he'll be useful on short rest.

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71st Minute– So the USA is losing 3-0 and plays on Sunday yet Bob Bradley is sitting on an unused sub. What's up with that? Clint Dempsey dosn't need to be on the field at this point.

Harkes rightfully giving Casey a moutful for basically lolligagging around the field.

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71st Minute– Luisao in for Lucio.

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70th Minute– Not a bad free kick in from Donovan, just a bit too high.

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69th Minute– Kaka and Fabiano out, Julio Baptista and Nilmar in. Not bad subs heh?

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67th Minute– What can you say, Brazil is a great team and the USA played like a pub team today.

What can we focus on for the last 23 minutes? Good question.

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62nd Minute- GOAL BRAZIL!!! It's Maicon with the finish. Brazil 3, USA 0. Maicon from close range, the shot is deflected and goes in over Howard's head on the nearpost.

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59th Minute– Dempsey VERY lucky not to give up a penalty on Kaka for a late tackle.

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58th Minute– A man down against Brazil, even worse than being a man down vs. Italy. This game is clearly over but now we'll see who steps up for the USA and plays and who shrivels.

Feilhaber set to come in, hopefully for Dempsey.

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57th Minute– Sacha Kljestan gets sent off for that late challenge. A very late red card. Must have been the fourth official. Ugh.

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55th Minute– SAVE HOWARD!! Great stop on a Kaka shot. Kljestan loses the ball and comes in late on a challenge.

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51st Minute– Bradley sends a long shot just over. The USA needs to take full advantage of the extra space they're getting.

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50th Minute– Some better stuff early. It's clear that BRazil wants to see if the Americans can actually string something together. They're going to look for that third goal on the counter.

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48th Minute– Altidore with a nice chance he sends high off the best USA sequence to date.

It should be noted that Brazil is clearly applying less pressure to start this half.

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48th minute– We're back. 

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HALFTIME– I would have preferred Charlie Davies, but at least Beasley is off the field. As for no Torres or Adu? I'm a but surprised but I'll say once again that this isn't a game for Freddy Adu. Anyone who thinks he will dance around Melo and Silva needs to get a clue. 

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HALFTIME– Conor Casey is in for DaMarcus Beasley. 

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HALFTIME– Brazil 2, USA 0. Bradley's decision to start Beasley has been an outright failure and the Americans look shell-shocked and nothing like the squad that showed so much heart against Italy.

The toughest part for the U.S. team? The fact that this deficit is a product of USA mistakes. The first goal saw Spector beaten to a cross and Howard failing to get out and clear a ball he could have gotten to. The second goal saw Beasley completely lose focus and give up a Brazil counter attack that left the USA defense helpless.

So why am I not advocating for Freddy Adu's inclusion? I happen to think Torres and Davies are better subs for this game, but I would also like to see Adu get a start against Egypt. I want him to get a full 90 to show what he can do.

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45th Minute– Beasley and Dempsey need to come out of this match. I would go with Davies and Torres as replacements.

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43rd Minute– Melo has the ball fall at his feet but he sends his chance high.

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42nd Minute– Brazil with a dangerous free kick.

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40th Minute– Beasley leaves Maicon alone on the flank and the cross leads to a Silva header that goes high. If Beasley isn't replaced at halftime then Bob Bradley's competence will need to be questioned. I have a feeling he will yank Beasley though.

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39th Minute– Nice run from Donovan, but Spector has his cross cleared. Spector might want to hold it up next time. Lucio's winning everything in the area right now.

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38th Minute– Nice, as if this disaster wasn't enough for USA fans, game announcers have to bring up Giuseppe Rossi. Ouch.

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37th Minute– Howard saves a Fabiano shot.

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35th Minute– Robbie Rogers, Brad Davis and Colin Clark, get ready, you might be getting a call very soon.

Anybody else think John Harkes is starting to get worked up? He'd two-foot a Brazilian right now if he were near the field.

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33rd Minute– USA with some good possession but can't find a chance. Onyewu crunches Felipe Melo and earns a yellow card.

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32nd Minute– At the end of the day, this is a young USA team that just seems to lack the toughness to face tough challenges on a consistent basis. Just too many mistakes and too much timid play.

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27th Minute– Who should come in for Beasley right now? Anybody. Charlie Davies, move Donovan to the left wing. Something needs to be done. Anytime Beasley gets the ball it makes you want to cringe.

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26th Minute– And the game is back on.

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24th Minute– The video feed of the game has gone out on this game. Not sure if that's good or bad for American fans.

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23rd Minute– I know coaches don't like making subs in the first half but Bradley needs to take Beasley off the field immediately.

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21st Minute– Beasley was given the chance today and he has failed badly. We're just 20 minutes in but it is clear that Beasley doesn't belong on the field. You CAN'T make mistakes like that and Beasley has made it a habit of making mistakes recently.

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20th minute- GOAL BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Robinho with the finish on a breakaway started when Beasley completely botched a short corner play. Brazil 2, USA 0.

19th Minute– USA corner.

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17th Minute– Not a lot of off-the-ball movement when the U.S. team has the ball. There needs to be more movement because Americans aren't beating anybody 1-v-1.

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16th Minute– Donovan gets Andres Santos one-v-one on the wing but gets dispossessed rather easily.

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14th Minute– Kaka just torches Kljestan to get a cross off in the box, but it's blocked by DeMerit for a corner.

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13th Minute– USA with no real possession early on. Who will step up in their attack?

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11th Minute– Brazil gets another free kick but it is headed away. Brazil with some threatening moments in the area but the USA clears. Beasley with a bad turnover.

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10th Minute– Near as I can tell, the U.S. lineup looks to be playing in this set-up:

——————-Altidore———————

Beasley———-Dempsey———–Donovan

———–Bradley——-Kljestan————–

Bornstein—Onyewu—DeMerit——Spector

——————–Howard———————

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8th Minute– Melo beats Spector to the back-post for that header. Poor foul call and great service and better header.

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7th Minute- GOAL BRAZIL!!! and it's Felipe Melo with the header off that free kick. Brazil 1, USA 0.

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6th Minute– Ramires falls over himself and gets a free kick.

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5th Minute– Robinho wastes the corner.

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5th Minute– Kaka forces a corner.

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4th Minute– Spector looks to be matching up with Kaka early on.

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2nd Minute– Brazil corner.

Dempsey looks to be starting out in a more central role.

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1st Minute– There is Ramires, showing great quickness to turn on Bornstein.

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1st Minute– And we're off.

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PRE-GAME– The broadcast is showing a 4-3-3 formation. Interesting look if that's what we're going to see:

Donovan———-Altidore———–Dempsey

——————–Kljestan———————

———-Beasley———–Bradley————

Bornstein—Onyewu—–DeMerit—–Spector

——————–Howard———————

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PRE-GAME– Man, those horns are annoying. And has Gilberto Silva aged a day in the past decade?

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PRE-GAME– Anybody else loving the fact that this game is in HD? And why is Jozy Altidore ready to burst out laughing during the anthem? must have seen something pretty funny.

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PRE-GAME– Game is coming on and they're showing the teams in the tunnel. Anybdy else think Julio Cesar looks like a bigger Hunter Freeman? I know, random thought.

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PRE-GAME– Count me among those who is already bored with this adidas/Zidane/Messi commercial.

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PRE-GAME– While Onyewu and DeMerit did well against Italy (at least for the first 60 minutes of the game) it will be a very good test to see how they deal with the speedy and trickiness of Robinho. He presents far different problems than Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni did.

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PRE-GAME– So why Kljestan instead of Feilhaber, Torres or Adu? Feilhaber struggled badly vs. Italy, particularly in the second half and I have a feeling Bradley has concerns about his fitness. As for why no Torres or Adu, Kljestan gets the edge on the defensive side of things over both those players. I have a feeling we will see Kljestan focusing on the defensive side of things, and helping out on Kaka and Ramires, rather than attacking, at least early on.

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PRE-GAME– Kaka and Robinho are clearly Brazil's most dangerous players, but Ramires could wind up being the one who gives the USA problems with his speed and skill.

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PRE-GAME– Keep an eye on Maicon today. The Inter Milan right back is arguably the best right back in the world but he's also coming back from a leg injury that forced him to miss the final two months of the Serie A season. If he's healthy he's a handful, which is probably why Bradley wanted a fast combo like Bornstein-Beasley on that side of the field.

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PRE-GAME– For thos wondering, everybody but Ricardo Clark is on the bench and available for the USA. Everyone but Juan is available for Brazil.

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PRE-GAME– If you noticed a lot of empty seats in the first TV images from the game you aren't imagining things. I'm hearing that there are serious attendance issues at the Confederations Cup and organizers have been doing their best to try and hide that fact, including moving fans into sections where TV cameras stay focused on.

In other words, you probably could have scored some tickets if you had gone, but then you might have jumped out a window after hearing those damned horns in person.

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PRE-GAME– Sorry for all the Brazil factoids but I'm just getting you folks up to speed on the competition. It's a young Brazil lineup as Dunga looks to get some guys rest ahead of the Italy game (something I had a feeling he would do).

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PRE-GAME– So who is the most coveted of these young Brazilians? It probably has to go to Felipe Melo. The Fiorentina defensive midfielder has been targeted by the likes of Inter Milan and Arsenal this summer. He's not THAT young (he turns 26 next month), but he's definitely emerged as someone who will be starting for Brazil come World Cup 2010.

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PRE-GAME– Ramires is another name that may not be familiar to all USA fans. The kid is pretty nasty. A skillful two-way midfielder who just recently moved from Cruzeiro to Benfica, Ramires is just 22 and regarded as one of the best young Brazilians in the pipeline. You may remember him from his appearances in the Olympics.

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PRE-GAME– Wondering who the heck Miranda is? He's a highly-regarded centerback for Sao Paolo who has been linked to a move to AC Milan. A 6-foot-1 defender who is still pretty young (he's 24), Miranda will likely be matched up with Jozy Altidore assuming Lucio keeps tabs on Donovan.

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PRE-GAME– So why Beasley? It's pretty simple. Bob Bradley wants to do two things with that move. He wants to play Donovan next to Altidore and he still wants a speedy threat on the left flank to keep Brazil's overlapping fullbacks honest. Today it's Maicon instead of Dani Alves. IF you're starting Donovan up top and you still want some speed on the left wing Beasley is the only player who fits that bill. Both Jose Francisco Torres and Freddy Adu are left-footed but neither would be considered a natural winger or speedy.

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PRE-GAME– I know there's some confusion about the USA lineup but the lineup on the Confederations Cup website has Beasley starting and NOT Benny Feilhaber.

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PRE-GAME– Here is Brazil's starting lineup:

——–Robinho——Fabiano————

—–Kaka——————Ramires——

———Gilberto—–Felipe————–

Santos—-Lucio—–Miranda—–Maicon

————–Julio Cesar——————

Several changes for Brazil. The following starters from the Egypt game are not starting today: Elano, Kleber, Dani Alves and Juan, who is apparently injured.

PRE-GAME– Here is the USA starting lineup:

———–Altidore———–Donovan—————-

Beasley—————————————Dempsey

—————–Bradley—-Kljestan——————

Bornstein—Onyewu———DeMerit——-Spector

———————–Howard—————————

Carlos Bocanegra is still not in the lineup as he recovers from his hamstring injury. Beasley gets a somewhat surprising nod while Sacha Kljestan gets the call ahead of Benny Feilhaber (and others).

I had a feeling Bradley would call on Beasley for this match. I was a bit worried about that, but moreso about the possibility of him playing left back. Having him in the lineup allows Donovan to play up top with Altidore.

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PRE-GAME– STill waiting on lineups as we move to within an hour of kickoff.

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Comments

  1. I called and emailed US Soccer.

    Bradley’s time is up i’m afraid. I think our expectations for the national team should be reasonable,Brazil and Italy are world class teams, but when our team doesn’t even show up to play something has got to change.

    Fire Bradley now! Or after Egypt anyway. His squad selection has been baffling, and his tactical acumen does not belong on the world stage.

  2. Adu needs to Play Now. He is the only one on this team that has a nasty first tocuh with instant Creativity. Conor Casey????????????he was walking out their as a sub with Fresh legs….let this be a lesson BOb……Skill/talent(Adu) beats MLS in-for guys(Casey) anytime anywhere..i guess thats why your doing such a bad job so far..cuz you cant see what freddy Brings that we are really missing.

  3. Phone: (312) 808-1300

    The switchboard operator is very nice.

    If Sunil’s box is full,

    just ask for Ms. Sanchez

  6. ko-

    youre questioning my literacy, yet youre attributing quotes (“yankees/red sox”) and accusations (“cheering against the US”) to me that have no basis in fact…i.e. you cant quote me on saying any of that stuff…youre the type of douchebag that thinks youre intelligent because you drop big complex words like “ad-hominem” and “colloquialism” in your posts…youre hilarious dude…anyway its good to see youre still alive and well and that you came out of hiding 800 posts into a national game thread…and i gotta give you credit…at least youre not a hypocrite like JPC who attacked me for daring to question the direction of the team, yet come today after brazil is singing a different tune…kudos to you…

    and do us all a favor…and please dont respond to this message…because im done with you…i dont wanna clog up IVES’ site with personal acrimony (hey i just used a big word…are you impressed with my intelligence now?) just take your L…lick your wounds…and go crawl back under that rock you were hiding under today

  8. PETER NOWAK, PLEASE COME BACK
    fart on rossi, i hope those dirty play loving italians lose. Egypt played beautiful creative attacking football against brasil…unless us. hope they win today. we will get destroyed by them sunday if we play like we did today. they are hungrier than brasil!

  10. Anyone notice that the U.S. has been dreadful on the offensive end as of late? Even in World Cup qualifying, the team has struggled to even score more than once a game.

    Bradley needs to make changes up front. Dempsey should be moved to a different spot or replaced. He’s been a ghost who barely gets the ball and fails produce positive results when he gets it.

    Altidore needs a partner up front, and I think they should experiment with Charlie Davies as a second striker.

    Feilhaber needs to be a permanent fixture in the midfield. He was stellar in the Honduras match, set up the goal against Italy, and blazed a shot off the crossbar against Brazil. There’s absolutely no reason for him to be on the bench while Clark and Klejstan foul themselves and the team out of matches.

    Bob Bradley, your team has no offensive flair or punch. Why not give Adu and Torres some time? They’re the future of the team, not DaMarcus Beasley, Conor Casey and Clint Dempsey.

  11. WHAT THE HELL BEASLEY SUUUUUCCCKKKKSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FIRE BOBO BRADLEY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

  12. i heard scolari will be coaching in uzbekistan next season. no, i’m serious. we would be far better with scolari than bradley.

  13. About an hour ago somewhere a phone rings:

    “Hallo, Klinsi”

    “Yes, may I speak with Mr. Klinsmann?”

    “Ja, I just said this is Klinsi.”

    “Oh, sorry Mr. klinsmann. This is Sunil Gulati of US Soccer.”

    “Ja, I know. i just vatched you-or team play za Brazil team over dare in Sout Afreeka. Zay ver very bad – except Landon. He is fine. I like him ver much. Oh, ja… I vas expecting yoor call. How much money you got Herr Gulati?”

    Posted by: Turtle | June 18, 2009 at 01:42 PM
    Nice

  16. Egypt lineup according to Coach B and Coach A

    ——————————-Donovan—————————–
    Lewis—Kjlestan—-Balboa—–Reyna—-Beasley ———Goose——-Califf———Pope—–Wynne—–
    Howard

  17. A truly embarrasiong performance by the players and our coaching staff… we have went backwards since 2002. We were lazy, tactically naive and technically and physically outclassed. I knew that we would be technically outclassed, but I thought we would could match Brazil’s work rate and phsyical desire. I was wrong. The last 4 qualifiers and these past two debacles in South Africa can not be sugar coated. We are in trouble. We need a new mentality, a better tactical approach and a stiff drink of realism before we can improve. A bold stroke is neccessary from the USSF… fire Bradley, open your wallet and get somebody in here who can prevent this ship wreck from happening.

  18. Losing to Italy and Brazil isn’t that bad, especially considering we were hamstrung by the early red in the Italy game.
    It’s not the results that bother me, it’s things I see on the field game in and game out that make me question Bradley’s capability to handle inter-conference play. Notable problems:
    Very questionable personnel calls – Beasley, Sacha, Casey (in my opinion); and on a broader level, the fact that after three years we’re still changing the squad every other week. One way to make up for a lack of talent is to play well as a unit, which is hard when the team and thus the tactics are in constant flux.
    Strategy: The CONCACAF/MLS approach simply won’t cut it at the inter-conference level. Bradley coach doesn’t seem to understand this. How could he, given that teams like those in South American and Europe don’t exist in CONCACAF or the MLS? On defense it’s all about shape, poise, ball possession. In any given game we consistently have problems with our shape, closing down attackers, tracking runs off the ball, guiding attacking players away from our weaknesses, recovering on counterattacks, man marking in the box. On offense it’s all about playing to the strengths of your attacking players. Altidore looks great up there, and isn’t a bad target guy for long balls (but he’s young). Donovan has had some good incisive play but he’s also had some lackluster invisible stretches. Bradley has had some good cracks and good runs and keeps improving. Dempsey looks lost, like he’s playing in a scheme he doesn’t fit in or hasn’t been told what to do in. There are a lot of options – using speed players up the wing backed up by forward-looking fullbacks, playing for the counterattack with the Bradley’s ability to win some balls in midfield, Donovan’s speed, Altidore’s size up front. Trouble is, whenever there are flickers of an offensive scheme, they disappear within minutes and it’s back to boot the ball forward.
    And finally the valid argument that we reached a plateau and have been there for ten years, so it’s time for some new thinking in terms of coaches, players, tactics – if only to shake things up and broaden our approach, which has been consistently narrow and dogmatic for a very long time from the college level up.
    If we can Bradley, which I’m in favor of doing (but maybe not right now as there aren’t a plethora of good coaches available this close to the World Cup) I think we should go for a coach with European experience in the mold of Gus Hiddink. If we want someone to unlock the secrets of the higher echelons of football then we need someone who knows them, which isn’t an MLS coach but a coach whose seen and had some success against the better international squads and the better club-level squads in the world. This is the approach taken by a lot of “minnows” over the last ten years with very good results. Not to mention the added benefit of giving a respected, European-based coach a very good eye-level look at our best talent (as well as allowing them to play the type of football that European clubs look for) in hopes of expanding their opportunities nearer to the epicenter of football.

  20. any coach who trots out a lineup with one striker up front shows you he has no balls.

    Go all out or go home

  21. Look, our lineup is what it is: a few good industrious players (Dempsey, Bradley, Spector) who look OK in Europe with good talent around them, a few talented youngsters who aren’t developing as well as we had hoped (Altidore, Adu, etc), and quite a few people who would never see national team time in a major team (just about everyone else). Even Landon Donovan, who is a decent player when feeling a role on a good team, isn’t a world class star and is not ever going to be one. That’s just reality.

    That does not mean that we cannot be a competitive team. We do need a good coach who can get a maximum out of what we have. Too bad Hiddink isn’t available now, but we should make a run at him after the WC. In the mean time, I’d look to try Klinsmann or may be someone like Dick Advokaat or Leo Beenhakker (who recently worked with T&T) for the WC 2010.

  22. no wynne or califf. wynne has the touch of a u-12 player and the positioning sense of my grandma. god rest her soul.

  23. I have liked Bradley up to this point because he has done a good job thusfar. He has maintained the US at a decent level in CONCACAF. Compare him to Sven and Hugo Sanchez who managed to work wonders with Mexico. After the Mexico game no one was saying any of this. We looked like we were ready to take the world by the balls. HOWEVER… the last few games have been horrendous and not just because of the results (which do matter too). The lineups have been stagnant and substitutions have been wasted.

    Look I know beating Brazil and Italy was a monumental task. I didn’t expect that. But I want my National Team to hang in there and fight. We did that in the first half against Italy. Nothing since.

  24. AI17 please watch the game then post….there is no excuse for how bad this team has been Playing i dont care who you’re playing against atleast show effort….Beasly,Sasha, and Casey have no buissness on the national team that’s the coach’s fault!!!! especially when Adu & Torres are on the bench!!!!

  25. Heartless performance vs. an indifferent Brazil effort. Brazil really did not seem to nor need to play very hard. Can’t fire the players so it’s got to be the coach who we know the USSF won’t do. The lack of passion today was just appalling. Where are the fighters on this team?

    Gooch has gotten better. Donovan tries hard. Demerit does his best with what God gave him. Spector has promise. That’ s pretty much it.

    We are just awful with no fight and no pride. We really should give our qualifying WC slot to a more deserving African team.

    You really cannot go overboard today with negative appraisals of the condition of U.S. soccer. I think we should clean house and start over again.

    Anyone see the Seattle/DC match last night? Now that was a passionate, creative and high level soccer match. Compare that with today’s match and you can really see how bad it was.

    I am just so disgusted but in a dispassionate way.

  26. Yeah. I think we need to get on our knees and beg Bora to come back to us…

    Back in his day he had no attacking options— now we have a bunch of them, but this coach doesn’t want to use them. I think Bora would do fine, better than Klinsmann I think.

    Do something Gulati.

  27. I haven’t seen the game yet, but it is clear that today’s performance leaves question marks. I don’t understand why Bradley will not play Torres, Adu, Feilhaber in some combination (maybe not all three at once, maybe.) Combined with Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley they give us five guys who can hold possession of the ball and thus relieve pressure. Dempsey, Klejstan and Beasley
    really equal a lot of give aways. Worse yet, they tend to happen in midfield when everyone is moving forward in support position. Therefore, when they cough it up, we are very susceptible to giving up a good opportunity. Also, the team’s confidence erodes so we start forcing the ball to guys who have to attack the opposing defense with inferior numbers– always hard to do.

  28. Al17,
    Why shouldn’t people suggest Hodgson? Sure, it is completely unrealistic, but his tactical ability as a coach but BB to shame.

  29. as for only scoring off PKs and set pieces- where are the goals going to come from?

    Bradley coaches these guys for 10 games a year, they play 50+ for their clubs and guess what, these guys aren’t exactly lighting up the scoreboards in Europe these days, this season we got Dempsey’s 8 and Bradley’s 5- not quite Golden Boot candidates there… and Altidore and are sitting on the bench for their clubs-Bradley’s fault?

    He’s not stifling explosive offensive talent, he’s playing with what he’s got…

  30. FIRE BOB.

    Seriously…

    NOW IS THE TIME.

    We are a year out. If not…

    we are just waiting until we go three and out at the World Cup.

  31. It bears noting that some of the US biggest stinkers have occurred since Piotr Nowak accepted the job with the Philadelphia MLS club. Since then we just don’t seem to have the same purpose and energy on the field.

    Just a thought…

    NM

  33. Understood,

    Where am I? I am at work…working. You clearly still have not read a single one of my posts, and quite frankly, it is a waste of my time to bother responding to you. But, I just grabbed lunch, so I will make an exception.

    First, forgive the ad hominem attack, but are you literate on any level? Did you READ my posts without having ten fingers on the keyboard, waiting to whip out a poorly thought-out response? No. You didn’t.

    I am not an apologist. I am a fan. I am just as devastated about the loss and the tactical decisions as everyone else here. I made that clear in my posts that I had no problem with deep discussions.

    My problem is people like you. You were cheering against the U.S. today so you could prove some type of point (which, as I noted above, you failed to do). My problem is with people like you and Michael, who say

    “I’m done with this team. No heart, no soul, no intelligence. they can’t even play as a team, let alone a Country.”

    Posted by: Michael | June 18, 2009 at 01:32 PM

    I am happy to trade critiques back and forth, but, for the final time, I am a U.S. fan and I love the team, no matter whether they get beat by Brazil 3-0 or beat Barbados by 7 goals. That’s the difference. You mentioned the Yankees and Red Sox yesterday. How many Red Sox fans, the day after the team loses, says “I am done with the Red Sox”? NONE of them. They waited a hundred years or something like that for a World Series ring and then reveled in their passion and dedication for the team when the team won.

    You are a fair-weather, band-wagon, disloyal person. And so are those who support ideas like those stated by “michael.” So, please be done with the team. I couldn’t stomach standing next to you at the next U.S. game, while you cheer until you can get back to the anonymity of your keyboard and write that this team will never win, or should lose, or that you can’t stand the team.

  34. Wow… did I hear Harkes almost curse out loud talking about Conor Casey’s effort??…. That’s because Harkes is a winner and always played with heart for the US.

    I said it earlier on this board that this team is tired, and playing without heart. That kind of madness didn’t even happen under Steve Sampson (possibly the worst coach to rep the US since Italia ’90 when I first started watching soccer).

    I think the coach needs to be out. I don’t care if they even ask Arena back (although I wouldn’t since he ran the team for 8 years for goodness’ sakes!!). Like I said, although he has his favorites, the team never played tired, players never were on the pitch if they were out of form, and he never made unquestionably bad coaching gaffes. Unfortunately, in 2006, Bocanegra and Onyewu were in terrible form, so we went behind early against Czech Rep, and Mastroeni put us in a rough spot against Italy. Look at the list of our last few coaches: Arena and Milutinovic (both world-class coaches) and Sampson and Bradley (terrible). Arena was probably the best coach ever of the national team, and we go from him to Bradley??? Give me a break. I thought we were supposed to be making progress.

    Here’s a post from today I must absolutely take issue with:

    I have yet to see this match and won’t til the week-end but based on the posts I’ve read, I have to ask. Did we play Brazil or Tibet, Guam, or St. Kitts? The reason why I’m asking is the last time I checked, Brazil is still one of the best teams on planet earth and we’re also limping into this tournament. What did you expect? Now, poor execution from players is not acceptable but this tournament doesn’t mean squat other than an opportunity to learn alot about our team. Bob will have had this group together for over a month and that’s not counting those whom will receive the call up for Gold Cup. I expect those bench European players to play quite a bit in Gold Cup. I don’t give a damn about the result as much as what we’ve learned from this tournament. Next year will be the time to bitch if needed but not over Confederation’s Cup nor this year’s Gold Cup. Bitch galore and rightfully so if we get whipped in Azteca in August for the WCQ but for friendlies, hell no.

    Those of you calling for Bradley’s head, who should be his replacement and why? Oh, those of you screaming Hogsdon, please don’t go there. Just don’t do it.

    Posted by: Al17 | June 18, 2009 at 01:30 PM

    OK… I usually would ignore people who talk without knowing what they’re talking about (he didn’t watch the game, and must not have watched any of the last 5 US matches), but this is just asinine. For all those last five matches, every American soccer writer and fan I’ve read has unequivocally agreed that Beasley and Kljestan should not be playing for this side, and we need some creative players holding possession in the midfield. Who does he put in the game today? Who has he continued to play over the last stretch of recent memory? Furthermore, this team has just been not ready to play in the last two months. We’ve given away early goals in every match except the Italian game!! This is completely unacceptable, and we need to start taking our soccer seriously enough to ask this guy to step down.

    [Excuse the long post, I’m a little upset I wasted so much time in a work day watching this match.]

  35. American soccer took a giant step backwards today. We used to have players with heart, and a never-say-die team attitude. I feel like I need to take a bath in Purell after today’s performance.

    It’s time to bring in a no-nonsense coach who can get the best out of the American players. It’s the only way we’ll be able to make a mark at the next World Cup, if we even qualify.

  37. About an hour ago somewhere a phone rings:

    “Hallo, Klinsi”

    “Yes, may I speak with Mr. Klinsmann?”

    “Ja, I just said this is Klinsi.”

    “Oh, sorry Mr. klinsmann. This is Sunil Gulati of US Soccer.”

    “Ja, I know. i just vatched you-or team play za Brazil team over dare in Sout Afreeka. Zay ver very bad – except Landon. He is fine. I like him ver much. Oh, ja… I vas expecting yoor call. How much money you got Herr Gulati?”

  38. Anyone else catch Dellacamera’s comment that the U.S. was leading the tournament in long balls attempted and was last in completing it’s long ball attempts? Not sure where he got that from, but it sure does not surprise me. Just another example of how poorly we played and why Bob should be sent packing.

  39. Another thing:

    Think about how people used to give crap to Sampson and, especially, Arena for playing Cobi Jones incessantly. But you know what, he worked hard and even though he doesn’t have the ball skills of any of our starting field players (except Beasley of course), a 25 year old COBI JONES would be a welcome addition. He had HEART, ENERGY, ANGER, and PASSION.

    I cannot believe I am typing this.

    One more thing: If our team today played against the US 1994 world cup team today they lose 2 or 3-0. That’s how far we haven’t come.

  40. All the talk on Beasley joining the bench is deserved.

    But we need to look at Dempsey more than any other player. He is one of our best players, and he is out there show-boating, ball hogging, doing trick passes when we are losing 3-0, and being embarrassed in front of the entire soccer world.

    He doesn’t care about the team, thinks it is a farse, and believes he is the top dog. He needs to be benched. He needs an awakening just like Feilhaber had.

  41. JB,
    you are completely wrong about Michael. He may not be the best midfielder in the world, but he is the best in a USA jersey for these reasons:
    1 of the only players who fights as hard as he can the whole game
    2. Stamina, can run end to end the whole game and not get tired
    3. Wins lose balls all over the field and in the air
    4. Rarely gives away a careless pass/ loses possession
    5. Can score goals
    6. has heart and pride in his jersey

    Who would you realistically put over him from our talent pool?
    Clark, Sacha, feilhaber, pablo, torres, ???

  42. AI17- the team showed no heart.

    They literally WALKED around when Brazil had the ball. And they TURNED THEIR F-ING BACKS TO THEM when they had the ball!!!!

    I mean come on, pressure, show you care!!!

  43. “…I think Harkes on the commentary made a good point. I’d rather take a team with players who are playing regularly and are hungry rather than established “stars” with experience (see Beasley). Harkes also said that the teams he played on had a spirit that kept them competitive in many games. I tend to agree to a point…his teams were still outclassed against the heavyweights…”

    It’s always a bad idea to quote Harkes.

    This is the same Harkes who played in France when we got smoked and one can question that team’s heart based on the way we played and looked. I still remember the Mike Burns Goal post fiasco and Harkes is one to question the hearts of the guys on this team? I don’t recall Harkes nor any other player ripping Burns a new one (and he should have been ripped hard) for allowing a goal to be scored while he’s on the post.

    Man, I can’t wait to watch this match. People are quoting John Harkes as though he’s a wise sage. We must have stunk up the place today because I have never read so much crazy talk in my life. Quoting Harkes, that’s funny Sh..t to me.

  44. Matt D.
    What the hell are you thinking? At least Bob Bradley can do better than that.
    Starting WYNNE and CALIFF over SPECTOR AND DEMERITT???
    CASEY over ALTIDORE???

    Seriously, what are you thinking?

  45. if we had guys lighting European leagues on fire with goals that we can rightfully complain about only scoring off set-pieces and PKs, but guess what? Our best goal scorers in Europe are Dempsey with 8 and Bradley Jr. with 5… I’m sure it’s Bradley’s fault that all our guys don’t score for their club teams, since he gets to coach them for 10 games a year, while they play 50+ with their clubs…

    It’s also clearly his fault that Jozy and Adu are stuck on the bench and are out of game shape…

    The only thing we should hold Bradley accountable for is effort on the field and Costa Rica and Brazil game can be rightfully held against him, but not enough to get him canned

  46. AL17 –

    I’m an eternal optimist – to a fault. That being said….It was the ugliest EFFORT (I don’t count playing on carpet in CR as a game) I have ever seen from the US. The first have was scary bad.

    BB’s line up was horrible, his sub decisions were bad too. I’ve supported him up until now bubt he’s in over his head. I’m sure Dallas FC or SJ could use him.

  48. Guys this is not Brazil’s A team. This is more or less their B and C team with A quality stars like Kaka and Robinho in there.

    Imagine what they would’ve done if the A team was playing.

    All I expected was an effort. US couldn’t even do that.

  49. A-17, Two things
    1. Watch the game and then tell me you aren’t angry. Its not the beating, its the lack of hustle. You will see. But for sure, let me know.
    2. FIRE BOB BRADLEY AND HIRE ROY HODGESON!!!

  50. Landy should absolutely be playing in the middle of the field and to the right…not the left.

    Dempsey needs to sit a little. He’s my favorite player on the team and one of the best, but he’s been dogging it lately and hasn’t turned in an inspired performance in a while.

    We need to shake up the rest of the team and the depth. We have a lot of young talented guys playing in the MLS, especially in midfield that would be an upgrade over Beasley and Klestjan. I’m thinking of guys like Brad Davis, Robbie Rogers, or even Chris Pontius. The play more, are more consistent, and are probably hungrier. At the very least, they’ll help elevate the guys who are there’s game because they have to compete for spots again.

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