Footy From the Past Couple Days

Yo what up?.. I'm back from my trip and I figured I'd talk about some goods from the past weeks worth of footy...

Well there's only one place to start that's with the US v Brazil match. I watched it w/ my snoring brother while being occasionally attacked by a cat. Anywho, we proved that we can play with the best. With a dominating first half I was dreaming of that pretty-golden-globe-thing-of-a-trophy. But we were outclassed in the second half like woah.
I'ma start with the goal keeping... and there's not a lot to say. Tim Howard was unreal without him in goal, we're in deep doo-doo.
Defending was great in my opinion, as far as the back four are considered. Gooch won everything in the air while DeMerit fought like a mad man diving every which way to try and keep the ball out of the net. Boca is a natural left back so that pretty much closed out that hole (I've been waiting ages for bradley to move him out there and demerit in the middle to close that damn hole). Lastly, holy Jonny Spector, if he didn't seal his position as the starting right back you'll be sure to hear about it later.
As for the midfield, throughout the tourney I was impressed with Rico Clark. I never liked him as a player until this tournament. Its a shame that Jermain Jones will be throwing him on the bench. Lando=flawless. Benny did his job, nothing more and nothing less. The only player I really had a problem with was Clint Dempsey, I hate to say it but its true. The goal he scored was absolutely great.... but what did he do after that?? (hint: not much).
Jozy worked hard up front, but he needs the move to Fulham if he wants to become a better player or have a bar named after him. I love Charlie Davies, there's one thing in this world you can't teach and he has it.. EFFING SPEED! He just needs to work on the rest of his game... (god please send us a world class finisher.. thanks)
Lastly the coaching was horrid, I understand that he would bring on Bornstein to help defend because when he did stand up we were currently winning. But why the hell would you bring on Sacha?!?! He was clearly the worst player on the pitch the last time you played him why not give someone else a chance.. One other problem was as soon as they scored that goal WHY wouldn't you pull them back and keep what we had out there or make a different change. Cause last time I checked 2-1 is a hell of a lot different then 2-2. Well we lost 3-2 (4-2 cause kaka had one too that didn't count) but everyone knows that.



That's by far my favorite goal of the tourney!

Umm so there's another Beckham book coming out... only its by Grant Wahl.. and its anti-Beckham.. i'm excited and I'll be going to Borders on July 14th to pick it up!.. oh yeah.. here's a bit of a preview

And lastly Real Madrid signed yet another striker Mr. Benzema from Lyon. He's a great investment for the team.... but yet again... who do they have in the back??... idiots....

Ummm.. So We're Going to the Finals??

And I thought the Giants had a better chance beating the Pats two years ago haha.. Well I'm going to have to be a little brief on this one cause I'm practically out the door. I'm sure everyone knows that the US took out Spain today 2-0.. and I have a couple things I'd like to touch on.

First, we defended like we had 3 testicles and the play of Rico and Jay... simply out of this world.. Rico Clark was EVERYWHERE. We were first to every ball in the box and never gave up on anything. When they did break through with a shot or the ball... Timmy was there to save the day.

Secondly.... I don't think Lando had a bad touch for the entire game...??

Thirdly, thank you Sergio Ramos.... hahahahahahahahahah the look on his face was absolutely PRICELESS when Dempsey put that one home hahaha!!

Also, though he came out I thought Charlie Davies played out of his mind also for the time he was on the field. He was a little worn out towards the end but he worked his ass off and well that's all we can really ask for.

And for some awards.. I'll give the Man of the match to Rico Clark.. disagree w/ me please.. thanks.. and the Joe Bulak BEAST Moment of The Game goes to Jozy when he flicked his pinkie and threw Capdevila off of is back and ripped (a horrible shot might I add) it home for the us.

Oh yeah and for some closing words... I think the refs are out to get us.. there were two offside calls late in the game one on Jozy and the other on Connor.. THEY WERE NOT OFFSIDE! and What did Bradley do to earn that red?? I need to get another look maybe i'm wrong.. but I didnt see ANYTHING that desirved a straight red... and its not like he was consistantly fouling the entire game... I dunno.. just something to think about is all...

Well on a brighter note this game gives me an excuse to get black out drunk tonight!!! yyaayy

GO USA!!!

Thoughts Before Wed....

Well first off, wtf happened yesterday... jesus. Well I can tell you one thing.. Eric Wynalda's facebook was surely the reason why we played so well haha. But first, hats off to the boys.. they showed that we really do know how to play footy, and that we could finally score during the run of play.

But lets get down to brass tacks. Now that we got in on the slimmest of margins and attaining the least amount of points possible to get a bid into the second round, we get to face the best team in the world. I'm not going to say we can't pull this one out of our, yup, but we have just as much of a chance to beat Spain as we did to qualify for the mini knockout stage. But lets look at the bright side--> We get to play 2 more games against teams that aren't in our region, Charlie Davies showed that we can actually effing work to score a goal (though it was really ugly.. it counts the same on the score board), and Rossi's going home while we're still playing. I'm excited to see what we can pull off against Spain, one thing's for sure... I'm gunna be eatin me some buffalo chicken wings during the game. Well after the most useless post in the history of posts on the blog I'll leave you with this.....

Some Thoughts Before the Trip Home

Well here we sit broken hearted paid a nickle and (only farted?) haven't scored a goal in the run of play in 4 games.

Well its clear that we're not going to beat Egypt by a score of 3-0, and I honestly don't think Brazil will tally more then 3 against Italy. So lets put this game into perspective, this is a game to see who wants to step up. If you're going to play a player like Beasley who has done nothing lately. Why not play Adu? Though he's done nothing for his club or the national team, he's in the same boat as beasley. So I say we give Freddy a run. Next we should send Clint home, let him rest and gather his thoughts and give someone else a run out there. In the back.. lets just keep it that way.. maybe exchange Heath for Johnny. Back to the midfield I'd start Lando and Jozy just in case everyone is magically in form and we run away in the first half. But if that's not the case I would bring in Charlie Davies and Torres.

Oh yeah.. and maybe we could use a game plan specific to a team we're playing against and not just throw players out there and say "play our game"... cause sometimes you need to change your game to win.... but I'll leave that one up to bob-o. and I say this because... after watching the latest action packed games it doesn't seem like we're going out with a game plan. It just seems like he's saying go out there and defend like this and nothing else.

If you watched the Brazil game it was clear what their game plan was.. if you missed it you should never watch a soccer game again.. maybe baseball's more your style. Anywho, Brazil attacked us where we were weakest, our left back. They attacked and attacked as though it was the only way they had a chance of scoring a goal. I just think if we had some if any sort of game plan moving forward we'd have a chance at scoring during the run of play... well I'm done ranting.. if I pissed you off I'll leave you something to make you laugh.. also... thoughts? I'd be nice to have some feedback every now and then...

Still Have a Prayer

Well after another amazing coaching display by Bob-O the US still has a mathematical chance of making it to the second round of the Confederations Cup. With the US at the bottom of the group at a strong -5 goal differential, they need to beat Egypt by a tally of 3-0. That's not it though... we also need Brazil to take out Italy 4-0 to progress by goal differential. Humm..... something tells me that's not going to happen.

Today's game lacked in many places, but what gave up the game is our coaching. I'm not some amazing coach (but I'd prolly be a good one) but coaching the national team isn't about what have you done for me, its more of a matter of what are you doing for me. Well Beasley falls into that category heavily.. WTF has he done at a professional level in the past year. He got hurt and doesn't play for Rangers' first team any more... that about sums it up.. so why the hell is he still starting for the USMNT? god knows. And secondly, why start Sacha? I can't take it away from the kid he did have a great year last year. But lets be serious, he's not in that kind of form anymore, no where near it. Why not give Torres a run, he's been pretty damn consistent and on top of that he was the best player on the pitch when the US played Costa Rica, before bob took him out at half time. He's not the biggest or the strongest guy in the world. BUT HE'S COMPOSED on and off the ball. I dunno maybe its just me..... Thoughts?

I'm gunna go watch some WPS...

I miss you Boca...

Italy 3 - 1 USA Video Higlights

Overall I thought this was the best the US has played all year, even with a man down (oh yea, fuck you ref. Honestly that was the softest red I've ever seen. Whenever we play Italy we always get a soft ass red that ruins the game.) Ultimately a strong performance wasn't enough as things were again ruined by the ref vs Italy and they eventually succumbed to two tremendous strikes from Rossi(Fucking traitor.) and Derossi.

In my opinion I thought everybody presented themselves well, and there was little to not like about the effort put in by the Americans. What do you think? Did they play well? Do they have a shot vs Brazil on Thursday?

USA - Italy Webcast Links

We here at the Orange Card want everyone to be able to catch the big Confederations Cup game today so here's some helpful links if you cant make it to a TV with ESPN 2:

If you have Sopcast, TV Ants, or any other p2p streaming program, this site should hold you down:

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=41814&part=sports

And for anyone that wants a straight web streaming option, they can go to Justin TV and simply type in "Confederations Cup."

These links should really help if you want make it to a TV. As for me, I'll be watching @ Nevada Smith's in NYC and pulling for a USA victory.

Schalke's Jermaine Jones to Play for USA?

According to the associated press out of Germany, Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones is switching allegiances to play for the US national team, effective August '09. Personally I know nothing about the guy and how good he is but he seems to be getting plenty of minutes for Schalke so he can only help the national team. The only thing is that he plays defensive mid and god knows we need another person in that position. What do you think? Will Jermaine Jones be a great help to Bob Bradley in the future?

Altidore To Xerez on Loan?

According to this report, Jozy Altidore will be heading out on loan to spanish second division side, Xerez. That cheer you hear is from me and several other US Fans who know that this will only fastrack Jozy's development.

This move should earn him more playing time, and lead to him garnering more consideration from Bob Bradley for the upcoming world cup qualifiers this year and the various other competitions(Confederations Cup, Gold Cup) that make up the packed US Mens Team schedule this year.

Hopefully Monaco will also do the right thing and negotiate a loan for Freddy Adu, so the US can have their young talents playing regular minutes abroad(Although god knows why Adu isn't getting minutes on that team).

What do you think? Is this truly the beginning of Altidore's development into a big time player? Or do you think he should stay at Villarreal and fight for a place in the 18 man roster on game day?

Sexy: Red Bull Arena Animation

I know, I know. I'm mad late and this came out a while ago, but goddamn this stadium looks so sexy that I just had to post it. In 2010, this place will be the definitive cathedral of US Soccer:

USA's Wynne Man of the Match in My Eyes

I'm sure lots of people are stoked that Sacha netted his first, second, and third goals for the national team. Sacha played a great game from starting whistle to the final. But he was not the star of the first half in my eyes. Yeah he scored an absurdly amazing free kick, and later buried a PK. But who earned that PK, who was EVERYWHERE defensively in the first half, who was streaking down the right wing with unhumanlike speed. That would be Marvell Wynne. His first half performance vs Sweden last night was inspiring. The man does not have the greatest technique, but damn does he play with heart, and that's the one thing on the pitch that separated him from everyone. The second half was a different story though, Sacha continued this amazing play and overall he was the best player on the pitch during the second half. But I'm going to have to split the Man of the Match honors and give it to both of them.

Overall great win for the US, it was nice to see the youngins in action

Eddie Who?

I honestly forgot all about Eddie "Grown Ass Man" Johnson, and the fact that he was still playing somewhere over in England.

But apparently someone hasn't forgotten about him and his non-goalscoring ways, and they've written an update on how he is struggling to catch up to the level of the game in England.

WTF happened to this guy?? He used to be the shit when it came to US Soccer, the 'next big thing,' and so quickly he has become the soccer equivalent of Ryan Leaf(look it up, he blew it big time).

Hopefully he can make a Mickey Rourke like comeback and turn it around, because god knows the US can use as many good strikers as it can get right now since Bob Bradley doesn't want to play Jozy for some reason.

What do you think went wrong in the development of the "Grown Ass Man?"

FYI: WE ARE HOSTING OUR FIRST EVER LIVE CHAT ROOM DURING THE MAN UNITED - TOTTENHAM FA CUP GAME THIS SAT STARTING AT 12PM.

US v. Japan thoughts

Well as you all know I'm sure the US is atop their group with a not so convincing win today. For the first 23 minutes or so the United States dominated the game controlling the ball, creating chances, and leaving Japan only with a counter attack. The domination ended with a cheeky set play from a corner which left a Japanese player all alone at the far post with an empty net..... but he was nice enough to put it wide! For the rest of the half McBride got fouled from behind around 72 times and Adu put numerous shots high and wide. In the second half the US jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a rip from Stuart Holden. The game was back and forth from there on out and ended with a 1-0 scoreline.


For the US here are some Pros and Cons from what I gathered:

First the Cons:

• Our outside backs were thrashed throughout the game getting beaten constantly. Wynne though he played a large part in the goal, was not good enough defending. Orozco did nothing......
  


• Freddy struggled up front I thought. I don't think he had any shots on goal for the duration of the game and he held onto the ball toooooooo long. He needs to be placed in the midfield for Kljestan who as far as I'm concerned was nonexistent all game and place Jozy upfront w/ McBride.
  


• We should have lost the game in a nutshell. The Japanese had much more chances then the US with empty nets and one on one headers that should have been buried. If the Dutch or Nigerians get any of those chances.... we're done.



• We needed to get our subs in earlier then the 75th min. some payers were dragging across the field and we almost paid the ultimate price.
  

Now for the good news.

• Holden and Rogers absolutely dominated the wings at the other end of the pitch. If Rogers keeps playing like he did today I wouldn't be surprised if he gets picked up at the end of the transfer market.



• Edu played great in the back, though towards the end of the game he did get a little chippy and dragged someone down in the box for what should have been a PK.



• We dominated the first 23 min of the game if we could keep that up for a full 90 min we could beat anyone in the tourney. But for now we've got 3 pts and are atop our group, all we need now is a win against either the Netherlands or Nigeria and we're through to the knockout stages.

US Keeps Things Interesting For 80 Minutes; Puts In A Good Showing

The US lost 4-2 to the Samba Boys yesterday in a friendly game which was billed as the "Clash of Champions," or at least I think that was the overstatement they used to promote the game........but anyway, my hat goes off to the Nats who put in a valiant performance and actually played some good futbol throughout the game. You could really see that Deuce's fine form of play recently in the EPL has transitioned nicely over to the international stage, and you just have to feel bad for Onyewu who continues to shoot himself in the foot regarding his starting position. Personally I think Onyewu's starting position in central defense isn't set in stone just because hes an 80 foot herculean man-beast compared to the other players. Honestly I don't believe anybody on the back line has a safe spot except for Cherundolo who played well again yesterday. What do you think about the Nats performance yesterday? Is it a good sign for the future?

US Unveils Roster For Brazil Game; Will Try To Keep Within 5 Goals

The US Mens National Team has named its roster for the friendly against a full strength Brazil squad on Sunday. Thankfully Bob Bradley chose to bring in a full strength roster for the friendly match in Chicago, because if he chose anything less we might have seen a slaughtering of Louisville vs Murray State proportions on Sunday. Personally I think if the US plays good team defense and actually finishes chances a normal pub team player could make, they have a chance to take one from the samba boys. What do you think? Can the US team pull off the upset, or will it be an ugly day at soldier field for the nats?

Big Surprise: US Loses Again In Europe

In a not so suprising turn of events the US Mens National team lost again on european soil, this time to european giants...........Sweeden? Okay, we all know Sweeden is a quality team but if the US team did'nt have the finishing skills of say...........a baby who can't even walk yet let alone kick the ball, they might have had this one in the bag. For the team to be truly succesful on the international level, they need a player who is dangerous all the time and can create their own chances. Some people say we have that in Landon Donovan but he cant do it on his own, and often struggles when he doesnt have a big forward who can hold up the ball and let him make runs off of the ball. In the end, anytime the US isnt playing in the US it is a good learning experience and will ultimately make the team better in the long haul in the qualification for, and participation in the World Cup in 2010......................And on another note, Becks went the full 90 for England yesterday and is probably in flight to LA as we speak so he can play in the "not so super classico" tonight. A full 90 at international pace and a transatlantic flight is good for a bum ankle right?

US Mens Team Tries Not To Stink It Up On European Soil

The US mens national team is in Sweeden today to try to prove to their fans, and doubters, that they can play a game on european soil aganst a good team and not suck ass. If you didnt notice from the blog post title above and the introduction to this post, the US sucks when it plays in europe but is okay when it plays anywhere else. I think the same person who has cursed Landon Donovans hairline, has cursed the mens national team when it comes to playing europe as whenever they play there they just dont seem to play the inspired soccer which has gotten them big wins over the past years in the world cup and in qualifying. Ultimately I believe this will be a good game as both teams are bringing their strongest rosters to the table.......although in the case of the US roster, I wonder why Sal Zizzo made the roster yet Freddy Adu nor Jozy Altidore made it eventhough they had performances at the U-20 World Cup which were equal to and probably better than Zizzo's.