2010 Soccer

[Doombear]

Meh, Eto'o getting double yellow cards early... has made this Portugal v Cameroon friendly much less exciting. Of course Portugal is having one of their infrequent good games so there is still good football to see, it is just not as exciting as it could have been had Eto'o not complained and gotten himself a 2nd yellow and thus the red.

[volcanicweather]

A little over a week left... how is everyone going to watch all the matches? I'm going to sign up for MobiTV for my iphone for a month... it costs $8 and gives you access to ESPN mobile which will allow you to watch every match live whereever you are. I tested the free version today on the AT&T 3G network and it ran surprisingly smooth. Looking forward to missing as little of the World Cup as possible

[Doombear]

I SHOULD be able to watch the majority of weekday games on a second monitor at work... weekends in HD. We will see though, may have to catch some replays on the new "ESPN360" or just wait for HD replays in the evening (if they have them).

[Alvinho]

Well, Brazil pretty much breathes football, so I'm sure it'll just be a matter of "where" and not "how" for me, though I'll probably end up watching non-Brazil games at home, or at my girlfriend's house. She actually likes/knows football, so it's not a problem at all.

[FallingHigher]

I'm gonna try watch as many matches as poss, England or non-England games. I'm actually working for the game v USA next weekend but the redeeming thing is I work in a bar which will be showing the match on a big screen in hd, so will catch glimpses of it when I'm not busy serving.

[volcanicweather]

Well looks like Drogba is out of the world cup so that changes a lot of things for me...

Also from what I hear Rio Ferdinand is out of the world cup too, but honestly the guy hasn't been a top-class defender this year so it could be a bit of a blessing in disguise.

[Doombear]

Yeah just read that headline... that really quite sucks for Drogba and Ivory Coast. Losing your captain the week before the first game is horrible. Personally not my favorite player around, but i still feel for the absolute heartbreak he must be feeling.

[Alvinho]

Drogba might still be able to make it, according to what I just read. Rio Ferdinand is out, and Pirlo (Italy) might be cut as well. These pre-world cup injuries suck ass; I can't imagine what's going on in these guys' heads at the moment.

Edit: Also, lolFrance 0 x 1 China.

[Gadritan]

Edit: Also, lolFrance 0 x 1 China.

Yeah, I watched that one. France dominated possession...which makes it that much more sad. They looked horrible. Definitely not the kind of send off you want for the WC.

[Dense]

Well looks like Drogba is out of the world cup so that changes a lot of things for me...

Also from what I hear Rio Ferdinand is out of the world cup too, but honestly the guy hasn't been a top-class defender this year so it could be a bit of a blessing in disguise.

I'm a huge Drogba fan. Utterly devastating. I no longer rate the Ivory Coast to finish second in their group.

I'm not sure that Dawson is an upgrade over Rio, even with Rio's poor form. He had leadership, loads of experience and knows how to play well with Terry.

The amount of injuries to extremely influential players for this World Cup is absolutely staggering:

Drogba
Essien
Rio/Beckham
Torres
Lassana Diarra (okay not really super influential but still a nice backup option)
Ballack

Wow, you would almost think that Abramovich had something to do with this >_____>

[Darwinion]

How do you NAs think USA will do? I think they have a half decent team and they could definitely give us a bloody nose if we aren't on our game. If England play well though I expect us to win reasonably comfortably (2-0).

I liken USA to an average European nation like Poland or Bulgaria. They aren't great but they aren't complete shit either. Underestimate sides like this at your peril.

[Doombear]

I admit i have my hopes up. They aren't my pick or anything, but after the amazing run they put in in the Confederation Cup (beating Rank 1 Spain, and leading Brazil at half in the final) I will say I do see them having a shot to do well.

It was a different team, sure, but a lot of that talent is fit and World Cup ready. American Soccer is looking more and more promising. Next year I will finally have a GD MLS team in town... can't wait. And this year in MLS we see the very first product of a US Academy program, Andy Najar. Exciting to say the least.

[Velgadess]

How do you NAs think USA will do? I think they have a half decent team and they could definitely give us a bloody nose if we aren't on our game. If England play well though I expect us to win reasonably comfortably (2-0).

I liken USA to an average European nation like Poland or Bulgaria. They aren't great but they aren't complete shit either. Underestimate sides like this at your peril.

they have a shot. I think USA does well in the underdog role. ESPN has a promo for the upcomming game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yc8LIjoGDQ

[Gadritan]

American Soccer is looking more and more promising.

This is how we see it. At least, those of us that are informed. A lot of new fans, however, don't understand how far behind the US is in soccer.

We've come a long, long way. We're finally starting to get some of the top athletes in the country that previously would have gone on to American football, basketball, or baseball. That's one of the primary reasons American soccer has struggled internationally. Despite having citizens with incredible athletic talent, virtually none of them went to soccer. All that's changing now.

Donovan was born just a few months before me, and it's our generation that has really helped push soccer more to the forefront here. He was also part of the first "farming," system for elite players in the US. So we're just now starting to reap the benefits of this. The next 10 years should be extremely interesting. I've got high hopes. It makes me giggle like a little girl to know that elite teams still have to be on their toes when they play us. Previously you could just count every match against the US as a win.

As far as how I think they'll do this year? I think they have a legitimate shot at getting to the quarter finals. Realistic expectations are they will advance to the knockout stage. It's wonderful to be able to say that and know I'm not in denial, lol.

[Wintermute]

Did the US team manage to sort out the pacing troubles they had in the Confederations cup?

I remember they gave Brazil a run for their money but their pace and consistency let them down in the second half.

[Gadritan]

Did the US team manage to sort out the pacing troubles they had in the Confederations cup?

I remember they gave Brazil a run for their money but their pace and consistency let them down in the second half.

It still needs work, but they're improving. They need more experience protecting a lead against an elite team. I think they were somewhat caught off guard against Brazil, not expecting to have a 2-0 lead at half, and never really adjusted to it properly. I think the main problem was...

I hate to say it, but I think one of the greatest faults is our coach, Bob Bradley. He's a great motivator, but he makes a lot of questionable personnel/strategic decisions. I just don't think he's getting as much from our talent as he could be. i.e. I better see a lot of Jose Torres in the WC. He's been an amazing contributor every time he's stepped on the field. It's always nice to have a lefty with the kind of FK accuracy he has as well.

[Gadritan]

Soooooooooooooooooo...any other US fans feel that way about Bob?

[volcanicweather]

Compared to most people in the U.S., I'm a huge soccer fan. I follow the EPL closely and keep an eye on most of the other main European leagues.

Here's my take:

The US is about equal to Denmark in my opinion as far as overall talent and expectations go. Sure, they'll win some matches, but they have absolutely no chance of winning the entire World Cup. Even when you see an interview with a Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey on TV or read about what Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu have to say online, there's a sense of realism involved where the U.S. just isn't going to win it all and making the quarterfinals is a more realistic goal.

With their tactics and personnel they're a conservative side who is strong in the back and likes to play the ball out wide to their playmakers (Donovan, Dempsey) and cross it in to their target player (currently Altidore). Alongside their target man they like to play a man in the hole ala Rooney + Heskey/Crouch but this guy is almost always all pace and little skill. This is the type of player the U.S. truly needs to become a real force... if they could have a Carlos Tevez type player who possesses not only speed and strength but also technical ability they would be a much stronger side.

As expected, goalkeeping is the strong point but I honestly feel Tim Howard is a bit overrated. I keep hearing how people think he's a top 5 goalkeeper when players like Casillas, Julio Cesar, Buffon etc are far better and have proven themselves on a larger stage. I think a fringe top-10 keeper is a more accurate assessment of his ability.

To follow up on Gad's comment, in my opinion, this tournament will make or break Bob Bradley. Personally, I think sometimes he sticks with the same tactics for too long because he appears hesitant to make changes. If something isn't working, you have to mix it up. Not in the 60th minute, or the 75th minute... it needs to happen now. Also it doesn't always need to come in the form of a substitution - too often in matches he will be slow to change tactics, sitting there with that look on his face, which is why I feel he can be outclassed by some of the veteran managers in the World Cup.

Finally, I don't think soccer will truly be big in the U.S. until we get that one big goal scorer who plays for one of the big European clubs (Man United, Real Madrid, etc) and wins something. The bottom line is in the U.S. we're spoiled with our own sports and we win at everything... if we're not winning we don't care. We've all see what Lance Armstrong has done for cycling in the U.S. and soccer is significantly more mainstream than cycling will ever be. So until we get that player, soccer will remain with tennis and golf as a fringe top 4 sport.

[Jefe]

So the world cup starts tomorrow and the opening game is Mexico VS SA. Hopefully the Mexican team still has the momentum from their victory vs Italy. Fuck it, Mexico will win 2-0.

Edit: Bob is a joke of a coach and will be the downfall of the US in this tourney. Mark my werds.

[wagon]

As promising as american soccer looks, it still has a long way to go. It won't become popular unless people are obsessive about the sport. And that won't happen unless broadcasting conglomerates deem soccer to be worthwhile to televise. Until then, soccer in the US will always remain in that small commercial corner vastly inferior even to hockey.

That said, I am rooting for Spain this year!!!