The Soccer Thread

[USSoccer]

 

Clint doesn't have Landon's tools. He never has, never will, but because of what he does have inside, he has achieved more than Landon. I don't know if that's a case of two different personalities or if it's an indictment on how we develop players in the US. Here's the poster boy for the system who's growth was, I believe, been [expletive] by a system that allowed him to dictate how he wanted to play simply because of his athleticism vs the poster boy for the outlier ignored by the system who had to develop a fire and work ethic to get where he is today.

 

This is an excellent summary of those two. Its why, if a game were a must win and we had to choose between the two, I'd choose Clint every time.

 

Any predictions on what to expect from Altidore and his toe? Should he be at full-strength for the two early June qualifiers?

 

Even if he's ready I wouldn't play him at the Saprissa unless as a substitute. Saprissa has field turf, probably not the best playing surface. I think you're going to see the standard RoboBob away lineup.

[Guest]

Should be a pretty good Champions League final since both teams don't shy away from attacking. I'm thinking a 3-2 Man U victory.

 

Barcelona's defense is really hurting without Abidal, Alves and Marquez so they're going to have to attack even more than normal. I'm expecting Ferguson to have Man U sit back and defend a lot and be aggressive with their counter attacks. I just don't think Barcelona's defense is going to be able to stop Man U enough to win.

[Exile on Waveland]

Should be a pretty good Champions League final since both teams don't shy away from attacking. I'm thinking a 3-2 Man U victory.

 

Barcelona's defense is really hurting without Abidal, Alves and Marquez so they're going to have to attack even more than normal. I'm expecting Ferguson to have Man U sit back and defend a lot and be aggressive with their counter attacks. I just don't think Barcelona's defense is going to be able to stop Man U enough to win.

 

I hope Barca wins, but it's going to be a struggle with their back line in shambles.

[Guest]

Should be a pretty good Champions League final since both teams don't shy away from attacking. I'm thinking a 3-2 Man U victory.

 

Barcelona's defense is really hurting without Abidal, Alves and Marquez so they're going to have to attack even more than normal. I'm expecting Ferguson to have Man U sit back and defend a lot and be aggressive with their counter attacks. I just don't think Barcelona's defense is going to be able to stop Man U enough to win.

 

I hope Barca wins, but it's going to be a struggle with their back line in shambles.

 

That's pretty much the reason why I picked Man U to win. Man U should be able to get what they want against that back line simply by counter attacking. They shouldn't have to go all out in attack just to get a goal. And since Barcelona's back line isn't looking good, even if they take the lead (unless it's in the last 10 minutes), they can't just sit back. Barcelona's going to have to attack the whole game since all out defending isn't going to win the game. They're not good enough in defense to do that.

[jersey cubs fan]

Sweet heroin addict goal celebration.

[shnsajax]

Sweet, an early goal could open this match up a lot.

[Guest]

Sweet, an early goal could open this match up a lot.

 

This reminds me of the second leg of Man U-Arsenal. Arsenal came out attacking, had the better of the chances, and then the first time Man U went forward, they scored.

[Guest]

Carlos Tevez replaces Anderson at the half. I think that's the first mention Anderson got all game long. Well, probably second after they introduced the Man U starting lineup.

 

Good sub from Ferguson.

[Guest]

Great performance from Barcelona and a disappointing performance from Man U. There wasn't one Man U player that you could say had a good game today.

 

Ronaldo had a few shots early but didn't do anything the last 60-70 minutes. Rooney was invisible. The whole Man U midfield didn't do anything.

 

Barcelona earned that win. I'm really surprised with how well they were able to defend Man U.

[Exile on Waveland]

Great performance from Barcelona and a disappointing performance from Man U. There wasn't one Man U player that you could say had a good game today.

 

Ronaldo had a few shots early but didn't do anything the last 60-70 minutes. Rooney was invisible. The whole Man U midfield didn't do anything.

 

Barcelona earned that win. I'm really surprised with how well they were able to defend Man U.

 

They defended Man U brilliantly. I'm surprised. Also, seems like for such a good player, you can say "Rooney was invisible" too often. May just be me, not like I really get to catch too many Premiership games.

[sethuel1]

Any predictions on what to expect from Altidore and his toe? Should he be at full-strength for the two early June qualifiers?

 

I haven't heard any updated ticket numbers for the match at Soldier Field, but they just started advertising the hell out of it on TV and radio.

I think he's at full strength and has been for several weeks, but they're just continuing to note the injury so that nobody bitches about him not playing for Xerez for the rest of the season.

[Mark Priors Calves]

i've got the match tivo'ed, for those that have seen it, is it worth watching? is it a decent match?

[Guest]

i've got the match tivo'ed, for those that have seen it, is it worth watching? is it a decent match?

 

It's decent, though certainly nothing special. I'd watch it just because it's the CL final.

[Jon]

I wasted a lot of time this morning redownloading the match after my attempt last night never finished and converting the file so I could watch it at the gym only to have it spoiled by walking by a Spanish newspaper on my way to work.

[wolf stansson]

Sweet heroin addict goal celebration.

Heh, that's what I thought too. I was hoping he'd pull the string out of shorts and tie off.

 

USMNT Blog with some fantastic news regarding the Confed's Cup.

ESPN also announced the full broadcast for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise all matches of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup from June 14-28 And to go one step better, all the matches will be available in High Definition.

 

ESPN will televise the the match between the United States and 2006 FIFA World Cup champion Italy (June 15, 2:25 p.m. ET), while ESPN2 will carry the match against Brazil (June 18, 9:55 a.m. ET) and Egypt (June 21, 2:25 p.m. ET).

[Jon]

Fantastico. I've been waiting for TV information on that. I also saw that the Chicago qualifier, listed on ussoccer.com as being an ESPN Classic broadcast, will be on ESPN HD. Won't matter since I'll be there, but it's nice exposure on a Saturday night. The June 3 match will be on ESPN (non-HD, of course).

[shnsajax]

Fantastico. I've been waiting for TV information on that. I also saw that the Chicago qualifier, listed on ussoccer.com as being an ESPN Classic broadcast, will be on ESPN HD. Won't matter since I'll be there, but it's nice exposure on a Saturday night. The June 3 match will be on ESPN (non-HD, of course).

 

Hi-Def camara's in Costa Rica are sure to be stolen.

 

I hope they are ready for this game, it is one that I am worried about.

[brinoch]

I think you have to assume that games in Azteca and Saprissa are extremely likely to be losses.

 

Getting a draw or a win against Costa Rica on the road would be phenomenal. If, somehow, the USMNT manages to win against both CR and Honduras, they've basically qualified for South Africa. Seriously, a draw against CR would be a great result.

[Guest]

I think you have to assume that games in Azteca and Saprissa are extremely likely to be losses.

 

Getting a draw or a win against Costa Rica on the road would be phenomenal. If, somehow, the USMNT manages to win against both CR and Honduras, they've basically qualified for South Africa. Seriously, a draw against CR would be a great result.

 

Isn't the US' record at the Saprissa similar to that at the Azteca in terms of never winning there? I thought I saw something that said the US had picked up a couple more draws at the Saprissa than the one all time at the Azteca, but yeah, the US never wins at either place.

 

I know in 2006 qualifying the US lost twice in the final round, at CR and Mexico.

 

It would be great to get a draw, but I'm fully expecting a loss.

[brinoch]

We've never won at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa.

 

Not that this will happen, but the projected seeds for WC10 are:

 

1. Germany

2. Brazil

3. Italy

4. Spain

5. England

6. Argentina

7. France

x. (South Africa)

-----

8. Netherlands

9. Mexico

10. USA

 

There's a very real chance that France will not advance to the WC next year. They are currently sitting second, and I think they'll have a tough time passing Serbia to win the group. Likewise, Mexico are playing with fire. I could see them placing 4th and losing the play-in. They shouldn't fail, but it's not inconceivable.

 

That said, there's basically no way that Germany, Brazil, Italy, Spain, England, Argentina and the Netherlands fail to qualify. Which would leave us one out of the seeding. It would take an epic collapse for any of these 7 to miss qualification at this point.

 

So, if they continue to use confederations to determine pot size, the best way to avoid getting stuck in the same pot (again) with Asia is for a CONCACAF team to win the playoff against CONMEBOL and for the Asian #5 to defeat New Zealand. If this happens, you'll have:

 

Pot A -- 5 UEFA, 2 CONMEBOL, Host - South Africa

Pot B -- 8 from UEFA

 

You'll then need to cobble together two pots from:

2 - CONMEBOL

4 - CONCACAF

5 - CAF

5 - AFC

 

Otherwise, if New Zealand and CONMEBOL #5 win, you'll have:

 

Pot A -- 5 UEFA, 2 CONMEBOL, Host - South Africa

Pot B -- 8 from UEFA

 

You'll then need to cobble together two pots from:

3 - CONMEBOL

3 - CONCACAF

5 - CAF

4 - AFC

1 - New Zealand

 

I suppose they could pair CONCACAF and CAF together this time, but I tend to doubt it. That might make things tougher for the UEFA teams.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I can't wait for Mexico to get the seed that we deserve and get another cake draw to the elimination stage, ensuring that they continue to get seeds that we deserve.

[brinoch]

I can't wait for Mexico to get the seed that we deserve and get another cake draw to the elimination stage, ensuring that they continue to get seeds that we deserve.

 

I'm pretty sure that won't happen. Two of the top ten I listed would have to miss qualification. I could see France missing, but they are probably a favorite to make it out of the second place head-to-head round robin -- of course they could get a tough draw...

[circlechange]

Great performance from Barcelona and a disappointing performance from Man U. There wasn't one Man U player that you could say had a good game today.

 

Ronaldo had a few shots early but didn't do anything the last 60-70 minutes. Rooney was invisible. The whole Man U midfield didn't do anything.

 

Barcelona earned that win. I'm really surprised with how well they were able to defend Man U.

 

They defended Man U brilliantly. I'm surprised. Also, seems like for such a good player, you can say "Rooney was invisible" too often. May just be me, not like I really get to catch too many Premiership games.

I really don't think Rooney goes missing more than any other top forward tends to, it's just that he's so hyped in the English and American circles he often can't live up to it. He has been very influential in many games this year, though. That said, he was pretty invisible on Wednesday. Then again, after 10 minutes most of the United team were poor. Both Barca goals were poorly defended, imo, but I don't mean to take anything away from them. Barca outplayed United and the Barca midfield was dominant. So dominant in fact that it really seemed to help their defense which I too though would be suspect going into the game. Overall I thought Van der Sar and Ronaldo were the only respectable United performances, Xavi and Iniesta were magnificent, Messi wasn't that impressive, and Puyol was really annoying. Congrats to Barcelona, and on to the transfer drama.

 

Btw, I was at Fado for the game and stood right in front of a Fire poster the whole time. It got me thinking about attending a game this year, something I've wanted to do but never have. I don't follow MLS more than background tv when it's on, is there any good rivalry to look for or seating tips or any other random advice for the uninitiated?

[chuckywang]

Really great Chicago Fire vs. Chivas USA game on ESPN 2 if anybody cares.

[Marco4]

Rooney is often played out of his natural position for Manchester Utd, too (that second striker role) so his workrate doesn't bring the dividends it might otherwise do - compare his performances for England with those for his club and there's a vast difference.