Get Right

I thought I'd do a bit of follow-up regarding the Confederations Cup and US Soccer...

When I wrote the last post, I was considering touching on the impact that a good game against Spain would have. At the time, I was leery of the reaction that a positive result would have by the media, casual soccer fans and sports fans in general. As much as I wanted the US to win, I was worried what a victory might do. Well, maybe I wasn't worried so much as I was dreading what might already be happening: over-hype. I'm all for people getting excited about soccer but without taking anything away from the US national team, let's keep things in perspective.

First off, it was a great win defeating Spain 2-0 yesterday. The US played a solid game tactically, and played an even better game in terms of effort. To be honest, I don't remember the last time the US played with that much heart and fire. Players like Clark and Bocanegra were throwing themselves at every pass and shot. Players, for the most part, were hustling all over the pitch. The US saw another good game from Donovon, and from Davies as well. Altidore, while still very raw, showed great strength and positioning with his goal. And after another mediocre game overall, Dempsey made a very heads up play in finishing off the game with his second goal in two games. In limited minutes, Feilhaber again impressed with his composure and decision-making. Above all, Onyewu and DeMerit were excellent in back. I'm glad to see DeMerit finally getting a chance to earn a place in the starting line-up (his story is pretty incredible) and I was waiting for Onyewu to "wow" me like has these past few games. The only disappointment for me was Michael Bradley. Even before getting sent off on a questionable call, he didn't really make a mark on the game.

On top of all the positives for the US, Spain didn't play well. David Villa was missing shots. Xavi and Xabi Alonso were extremely quiet. Torres played as poorly as I've ever seen him play. Capdevilla played awful and surprisingly, Puyol and Pique were spotty as well. Ramos had a huge mental lapse that resulted in the second goal. Without any bias (hopefully), I have to say that just about the only player who did anything was Fabregas, placing a few dangerous balls through and over the top of the defense, and he was subbed off midway through the second half. Even with poor performances by the bulk of the team, Spain still dominated possession but they just couldn't break down the US enough to score. To maintain a huge win streak, teams need a few breaks here and there, fortunate bounces, lucky calls, goals off deflections, etc. and yesterday Spain just didn't get any those.

To put it simply, one team played well, the other didn't. I do agree with most that this was an important win, but one of the biggest in the history of American soccer? Sure, I guess it was. But when it comes down to the ultimate goals, becoming an international powerhouse and winning the World Cup, this win doesn't mean much. It does not put the US among the top teams in the world. Despite curbing the incredible unbeaten and win streak of the number one team in the world, it shouldn't overshadow the fact that the US struggles with consistency and has some glaring deficiencies on the field. Even though it was a semi-final victory in an international tournament, it was the Confederations Cup (google "Confederations Cup pointless" to see what people think) and it was the semi-finals.

So beware of the hype. Let's see what happens in the finals before we start thinking about World Cup 2010 success. And before we start thinking about WC 2010, let's see what happens in the Gold Cup this summer, and for that matter, the rest of World Cup Qualifying. It's not that I don't want more people to watch soccer (I do), or that I'm an elitist fan (maybe I am, a little), or that I don't think the US team is improving (they are). Just beware of the hype. Remember what happened after reaching the quarter finals of WC 2002 and winning the Gold Cup in 2002 and 2005? The US bowed out of WC 2006, finished last place in their group (I know it was the Group of Death but still). This team can be good. It has a balanced mix of young talent and experienced veterans, domestic and international club players. I, like most Americans who like soccer, want to see this team succeed but let's just wait and see what happens.