Boston-Homer

Hi, excuse me, could you help me up? Give me a hand? My foot is firmly on the wheel I just need one last pull onto the US Soccer bandwagon.

I wrote and have told many people how much I dislike US Soccer. I grew up loving the Irish Team, the team whose players I loved, like Roy Keane. The US Soccer team was the opposite. Kobe Jones, Alexi Lalas, and John Harkes. Yuck. I hated how great they thought they were. I hated how they played, frantic and undisciplined.



Just look at that uniform...


I once brought an Irish cousin of mine to an MLS game. We went to see the Revolution, it was embarrassing. I found myself trying to explain why the standard was so poor.

On the day of maybe the biggest match in US Soccer history (until the next game in this tournament if they pull out a win) I find myself excited. I find myself watching the clock, wanting it to be 2:30 so I can watch the game. So I can watch US Soccer.

This is the biggest game in the history of US Soccer for this reason. They have the country by the balls right now. They won an incredible game against Algeria. Numerous Youtube clips have been flying around of bars bemoning Dempsey's miss then exploding at Donovan's finish (every single youth soccer player should watch Donovan throughout the whole sequence. Outstanding. He finished his run and was rewarded with a goal). The entire country is behind this team. Will this make soccer mainstream? No. Will it improve the popularity? Yes. Will it attract European clubs teams to some new US players? Probably. Will all those things raise the level os US Soccer. Absolutely.



Was anyone else shocked they didnt call Dempsey offside when Donovan scored?
He was in the net...


As you watch the game today, remember what Ghana did to the US 4 years ago. They knocked them out of the round robin stage on two very weak goals to beat the US 2-1. The revenge factor will be high. The US has 7 starters from that game on this squad. Ghana has 9 of their own returning for the rematch.

But what will happen today? The US will win 2-1. I cannot see the US shuting out Ghana. Their defense is a bit weak, which I had talked about in my last post. With Oguchi Onyewu out of the Algeria game the US earned their first clean sheet. I dont think that was a coincidence.

Don't underestimate the fact that Ghana is the only African country remaining. The US will not have most of the crowd on their side, I don't think. Could have a big effect on the game.

Some thoughts about the last past two weeks of the World Cup and the knockout stage too..

FIFA needs to do something about the ball. Introducing a new piece of equipment to the best players in the world four weeks before the sport's showcase event is silly. What is wrong with the balls they use the other four years? It creates controversy immediately. There will never be a ball the players like. Keep the players happy, use a familiar ball. FIFA is finally realizing this...

What is up with the goalies? These are the 32 top teams in the world and they cannot find decent goalies. My God. I just watched the South Korean goalie misplay a ball that Uruguay turned into a goal.

I LOVE that Italy and the French are at home watching teams like Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, United States, and South Korea. Teams that don't use hand balls to score or flop around like fish after being looked at by a defender are still playing. Karma is a bitch...

The South American teams in the First Round were 10-1-6. That is unreal, it goes along with the Hemisphere fact that only Brazil has won outside of their Hemisphere. Which also makes the departure of France and Italy and the struggle of England more palatable for the fans of those countries.


He went scoreless in Euro 2008, until he scored the winner in the final...Just sayin'.


Looking at the bracket one side is LOADED. Portugal, Spain, Germany, England, and Argentina are all on one side. Meaning we wont see any of those teams playing each other in the final. On the other side is the US. A win against Ghana will put them up against South Korea or Uruguay. A run to the semi finals could pit the US against the Netherlands or Brazil. No game is easy in the World Cup, however, this path to the Semis is the easiest compared to the other teams in other sections of the bracket.

Here are my picks for the round of 16:

South Korea-Uruguay... Watching it right now. Wouldn't be right to predict...

US-Ghana: US wins 2-1

Germany-England: A rematch of 1966 Final. Germany wins 2-1. Game will be tied 1-1 after 90 mins. Either a goal or PKs will settle this one...

Argentina-Mexico: Argentina is on a roll. Argentina wins 3-1. Messi dominates yet again and manages this time to score a goal.

Netherlands-Slovakia: When the World Cup was in the US I went to see Germany play Bulgaria. It seemed like a sure thing that Germany would win and advance. It was not. Bulgaria won, and went to the Semi-Finals that year. Netherlands have been disappointing when they are challenged. They possess the ball very well, will the final ball be good enough to score though? The return of Robben could bolster the attack. Netherlands win 1-0. However, this could be a place for a shocking upset...

Brazil-Chile: A South American team will have to lose. Brazil defends and counters. Chile simply attacks relentlessly. This could be a wide open game. Brazil wins 3-1 as their class outshines the pesky Chilians.

Paraguay-Japan: Can an Asian Country win a knockout stage game away from the Asian continent. Not this year. Paraguay has proven their ability to defend and attack. I do like this Japanese team. They are fiesty and play a good brand of soccer. But, I am going with the Hemisphere rule. Paraguay wins 2-0.

Spain-Portugal: The dessert to this Second Round slate. The Iberian Rivalry will prove to be the best game of this round. The Spanish need a good game, Fernando Torres, who shrinks from the lime-light will need to be more productive than he was in the First Round. He impresses with Liverpool, but in the Spanish Red he is soft and goes down easy. David Silva, stole the show against Chile, scoring a great goal. The Spanish will possess the ball, frustrating Ronaldo, whose touches will be few and fa between, making him chase the game. Taking him out of position to be effective. Spain wins 3-2 in overtime. Can't wait for this one...

Links:
Is this video supposed to be funny? German language makes it hard to know for sure. Worth a watch...

Crazy Maradona...

It's always better in Spanish...Donovan's GOOOOAAAAAALLLLL