With Win Over Guatemala The United States Advances to the Hexagonal

United States fans got an early scare on Tuesday night when Carlos Ruiz scored a goal in the 5th minute for Guatemala as it was taking on the United States in Kansas City during their final group stage match of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers for Brasil 2014. In the end, there was no need for US fans to begin the mourner's Kaddish or commission a requiem for the United States National team, because after 90 minutes plus change, it was the United States that was advancing to the Hexagonal thanks to one goal from Carlos Bocanegra and two goals from Clint Dempsey. In fact, the match was pretty much over at halftime with the United States going to the locker room with a 3-1 lead.

Despite their substantial lead at halftime, the United States never really took its foot off the gas and Clint Dempsey came oh so close to picking up a hat trick. The second half highlighted the difference between the USMNT under Jurgen Klinsmann and Bob Bradley - in the Bradley era the US would have gone into bunkering mode with a 2 goal lead in the second half.

Ruiz's early goal caused some dismay among numerous US fans who seem to forget that defense, with the exception of goalkeeper, has not been a strong feature of the USMNT in recent years. Even under Bradley the defense struggled to clear the ball and could leak goals like a sieve. In the world of soccer, defenders rarely get much respect, an issue compounded in the United States where all the parents seem to want their kid to be the team's leading goal scorer. When it comes to the USMNT, spreading the field and keeping pressure on the other team's defense gives the US defense the time, space, and field of vision it needs to keep the lead.

The Hexagonal begins in February 2013 and comes to an end in October 2013 with the top three teams advancing to the World Cup Finals in Brasil. In addition to the United States, the other CONCACAF teams advancing to the Hexagonal are Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Panama. The USMNT's last match of 2012 will likely be a friendly against Russia in Krasnodar on November 14th.

In addition to the Hexagonal in 2013, the CONCACAF Gold Cup will be taking place next summer, giving Klinsmann the opportunity to juggle rosters and look to see which younger US players will be able to provide much needed depth on the US bench.

One big lesson that the USMNT and its fans need to take away from the group stage of CONCACAF qualifiers is that while the USMNT has improved over the years since 1990, so has the rest of CONCACAF and the Hexagonal will be no walk in the park. One of the biggest reasons that the level of soccer in CONCACAF has improved is the presence of Major League Soccer. While MLS is not on the level of the top leagues in Europe, it is better than most of the other top leagues in CONCACAF (except Mexico) and gives more CONCACAF players the much needed opportunity and environment in which to grow the game in the region.

An American in Verona: Who's the Flying Ass Now?

This week it was announced that American midfielder Michael Bradley, who was on the outs with German side Borussia Mönchengladbach, managed to secure a transfer deal to Chievo Verona in Serie A, along with a multi-year contract. Bradley, son of former United States National Team Coach, Bob Bradley, will be the only American playing in Serie A this season. He's the first high-profile American to sign with an top flight Italian side since Oguchi Onyewu's recent, but doomed, signing at Milan. The last high profile American player to see serious playing time in Serie A was Alexi Lalas, who played for Padova for a couple seasons following the 1994 World Cup finals.

Bradley, who is coming off a lackluster loan at Aston Villa, has a bit of a reputation of being a red-ass, so it will be interesting if the 24 year old can keep his temper in check as he adjusts to a new team, a new league, and a new culture. Once criticized for a boring defensive style of play, in recent years Serie A has become known for a more aggressive and open attacking style that, along with financial issues, has created a level of parity not found in most top flight leagues in Europe. If he gets some serious playing time, expect to see growth in both Bradley's technical skills and soccer IQ, which will be a benefit to the U.S. National Team.

Not sure about you, but I'm looking forward to the first time Bradley and Gennaro Gattuso of Milan are on the pitch at the same time, which should be on November 27th, assuming the current player strike comes to a swift end. But before that date, we need to see how quickly Bradley gets playing time. If the player strike gets resolved in time, Chievo Verona is set to host newly promoted Novara on Sunday September 11th at 8:00 a.m. central time.

Here's video of Michael Bradley saying hello to the fans of Chievo Verona (note that the club's nickname is The Flying Donkeys):

Bye Bye Bob: But Imagine if the US had Fallen to No. 37

Today the United States Soccer Federation announced that it had parted ways (fired) US Men's National Team Coach Bob Bradley. The Era of Bob Bradley began after the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany where the US failed to get out of their group. The poor showing in Germany resulted in Bruce Arena being fired and Bob Bradley being named interim coach, and then, in 2007, being named coach.

Those familiar with my opinion know that I'm not a big fan of Bob Bradley, never have been. I gave him the benefit of the doubt in 2007, pleased he coached the US to a Gold Cup finals victory and giving him a pass on the type of squad he had no choice but to take to the Copa America (anyone notice Mexico had to do the same thing this year thanks to FIFA player vacation rules?). It was the horrible losses to Brazil and Italy in the 2009 Confederations Cup group stage that turned me against Bradley, realizing he was not the guy to take the US to the next step in the world of international football. While many will remember Bradley for the US's win against Spain in the Confederations Cup semifinals, it's those two group stage losses that are most representative of his tenure.

The sins of the Bradley tenure were clear for all to see: questionable roster decisions, conservative play, poor substitution decisions, poor defense, poor in match tactical decisions, lack of backbone in dealing with foreign clubs.

Soccer House should have given Bradley his walking papers after the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010; instead, they gave him a contract extension. Speculation that Bradley was out as US coach hit a high point again in June when the USMNT had a lackluster showing in the group stage of the Gold Cup and then lost, 4-2, to Mexico in the final.

US Soccer is set to make an announcement on Friday. Speculation is that Soccer House will announce the hiring of Jürgen Klinsmann as coach, that Soccer House had quietly taken the month since the embarrassing loss to Mexico to search for a coach and/or come to terms with Klinsmann. If that's what happened, I have to give Soccer House credit for doing so totally under the radar. Yes, US Soccer fan was distracted by the 2011 Women's World Cup finals in Germany, but let's be honest, it's still amazing that such could occur without any leak.

I suspect that Bob Bradley's firing was more a result of the United States falling to No. 30 in the most recent FIFA rankings, which were released on Wednesday. Say what you will about the rankings, but they are important to Soccer House (just as polls are important to the politicians who say they don't care about polls), and a 6 place drop in the rankings was more than Sunil Gulati and friends could stomach. If this is the case, Friday's announcement may concern the process by which Soccer House will go about its search for a new coach for the Men's National Team.

If my suspicion is correct, I ask Soccer House to show some guts and imagination by performing a broad and extensive search for a coach that has what it takes to push US Soccer forward.

2011 Gold Cup Edition of The Zygo Soccer Report - Part 2

The United States Men's National Team beat Panama 1-0 in the semifinals of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday night thanks to a goal from Clint Dempsey. As of the posting time, it appears that Mexico will beat Honduras by 2-0 to also advance to the final. Here is raw, and I mean raw, audio from the US side following their victory. The audio includes Clint Dempsey, Bob Bradley, Sunil Gulati, Eric Lichaj, and Freddy Adu.

Photo by Katy Umaña

2011 Gold Cup Edition of The Zygo Soccer Report - Part 1

Mexico, Panama, Honduras, and the United States are all in Houston for the semifinals of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Got some audio today from Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey, and Sacha Kljestan after the USMNT's practice at Reliant Stadium, as well as the audio from the entire Bob Bradley and Landon Donovan press conference.

Music by Ozomatli, Pat Green, and Calexico.

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup - Night Six: Panama Shocks USA?

Group C wrapped up the second round of Gold Cup group stage matches on Saturday night in Tampa. In the night's opening match, Canada and Guadeloupe were both looking for their first group stage win while the United States and Panama met in the second match with both teams looking for that win that would secure a quarterfinals berth.

The only goal in the Canada-Guadeloupe match came in the 50th minute on a penalty kick that was converted by Dwayne De Rosario. It was De Rosario's 16th international goal. While the Canadian players are happy with the win, it wasn't a convincing win considering Canada played with a man advantage over 85 minutes of the match because Guadeloupe's Jean Luc Lambourde picked up a red card in the 2nd minute after fouling Will Johnson. The win keeps Canada in the mix for advancing to the quarterfinals and they may be helped by the fact that Panama, as detailed below, already qualified and won't have to take Tuesday's match as seriously.

In the hours preceding the United States-Panama match, it was easy to get a sense from US fans on Twitter and Facebook that they considered it a slam dunk win for the United States and that the US would end the night securing a quarterfinals berth. Unfortunately for the United States and its fans, Panama decided it wasn't going to play by that presumed script. Luis Tejada gave the US notice in the 18th minute when he picked up a rebound off of US keeper Tim Howard. It was 2-0 in favor of Panama come halftime thanks to Tim Ream fouling Blas Pérez in the box, giving Panama a penalty kick that was converted by Gabriel Gómez in the 35th minute. The United States wasn't able to get onto the scoreboard until the 67th minute thanks to a Clarence Goodson header. The late goal breathed a certain sense of urgency into the US side, but it was too little too late as they lost a group stage match for the first time in Gold Cup history. The 2-1 victory over the United States secured a quarterfinals spot for Panama.

Group C wraps up group stage play in Kansas City on Tuesday night with Canada playing Panama and the United States playing Guadeloupe.

Episode 20 of the Zygo Soccer Report: Dynamo 1 - 2 Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes came to Houston on Sunday night and beat the Dynamo, 2-1. Here's some post match audio from Eddie Robinson, Brad Davis, and Dominic Kinnear. Additionally, I give some brief thoughts on the Bob Bradley contract extension.

Episode 19 of the Zygo Soccer Report: Dynamo 4 - 3 Fire

The Houston Dynamo managed to break a 10 game winless streak on Saturday night with a wild 4-3 victory over the Chicago Fire in Houston. This episode includes post match audio from Brian Ching, Lovell Palmer, Bobby Boswell, Pat Onstad, and Coach Dominic Kinnear's entire press conference.

It's Not You, It's Me, Wait, It is You: Moving Beyond the Bradley Era

Last week news and rumors of Bob Bradley resigning from his post as coach of the U.S. National Team were swirling around the internet, both on new media and within so-called traditional news media too, like ESPN's web offerings. So far, Soccer House (i.e. U.S. Soccer) and Bob Bradley's camp have denied the news of his resignation and claim that talks are ongoing. All through this process there was, in my opinion, way too much neurotic hand wringing amongst folks that cover soccer in the U.S. in one capacity or another over how accurate the rumors were and whether it was best to sit back until there was some official word on the matter. A mannerism that, I fear, tends to stifle the creativity and analysis that is needed to elevate soccer beyond boring box scores and match reports within the realm of sports coverage in the US.

Well, I really don't care who breaks a news story first, breaking news isn't a primary focus of what I do, that being said I am of the opinion that it's foolish to ignore a rumor until there is "official word" because official announcements in the world of sports have become mere formalities. Face it, we all knew that Lebron James was headed to Miami (sorry South Beach) before "The Decision" aired on ESPN. Instead, with all this talk of a potential Bradley resignation, this is the prime opportunity for me to state my position that I hope Bradley resigns and that Soccer House takes the search for a new coach seriously this time.

That being said, here's a short list of who Soccer House should interview if Bradley does resign:

- Jürgen Klinsmann
- Sigi Schmid
- Javier Aguirre
- Dominic Kinnear
- Giovanni Trapattoni
- Dunga
- Martin O'Neill
- Luciano Spalletti
- José Pekerman
- Henk ten Cate

Let's face it, if you were to take a poll of U.S. Soccer fans asking who they want to be the team's next coach, Jürgen Klinsmann would be near the top, if not on top, of the poll. Following Bruce Arena's departure after the US's dreadful 2006 group stage experience, Soccer House seemingly put all of its eggs in one basket with said basket being Jürgen Klinsmann. We all know how that went though. In the end Klinsmann wanted certain powers that Soccer House wasn't willing to cede to him. No agreement was reached, so Soccer House took the word "interim" out of Bob Bradley's title. Is Soccer House now willing to cave on Klinsmann's demands? I doubt it, but we shall see if Soccer House now realizes it has to make certain sacrifices to see the team reach the next level.

One final note on Klinsmann, in my opinion, Jürgen is more of a general manager than a coach. That explains why he wants, nay needs, certain concessions from Soccer House in order to achieve any real success with the US National Team. My concern with Klinsmann is that I question how much of Germany's success during his tenure was due to Klinsmann and how much of it was due to Joachim Löw. Since it's unlikely that Löw would leave Germany to help Klinsmann with the US team, I'd be curious as to who Klinsmann would want as his assistant before offering him the US position.

Ever since Bora Milutinović's reign as coach of the US National Team ended in 1995, Soccer House has relied on Americans to steer the US National Team. First it was Steve Sampson, then Bruce Arena, and now Bob Bradley. In light of this recent history, Soccer House will definitely take a look at a couple of Americans with potential to take the National Team to new heights. In particular, Soccer House should interview both Sigi Schmid and Dominic Kinnear. While neither Schmid nor Kinnear were born in the United States, they are naturalized citizens who have carved out their soccer careers as Americans.

While both Schmid and Kinnear have managed similar achievements as coaches in Major League Soccer, they have taken very different paths towards becoming the coaches they are today. Schmid, who never played professional soccer or international soccer, launched his coaching career at UCLA in 1977, spending the next twenty plus years in Westwood until the opportunity to coach the US U-20 squad came along in 1998. Shmid would again coach the U-20 team between his coaching stints at L.A. Galaxy and Columbus Crew. Kinnear, on the other hand, spent 14 years playing professional soccer in the United States and abroad, retiring in 2000 after playing for the Tampa Bay Mutiny. Additionally, Kinnear was a member of the U.S. National Team between 1990 and 1993, getting cut from the squad prior to the 1994 World Cup finals. Kinnear had no interest in coaching, but in 2001 his long time friend, Frank Yallop, convinced him to be an assistant coach for the San Jose Earthquakes, now the Houston Dynamo.

The main argument in favor of hiring an American to coach the US National Team is familiarity with the pool of American players. While I believe an open minded foreign coach could become very familiar with the pool of American players, I admit that it would be nice to see what either Schmid or Kinnear could achieve when set free of the salary cap and bizarre rules of MLS. As I mentioned above, Kinnear was cut from the US Team prior to US 1994, a fact that would give Kinnear a bit of a Herb Brooks vibe should he become the National Team coach.

Probably the most controversial name on the above list is that of Javier Aguirre, the former coach of the Mexico National Team. I've tossed Aguirre's name out there on the radio and on twitter, and while I've received some positive responses I have also received some responses indicating that a chunk of the US National Team's fan base would not be happy with a former Mexico coach in charge of the US National Team. While I can understand where this sentiment comes from, I believe that the fact that Aguirre has coached Mexico might make him the perfect replacement for Bradley.

Aguirre is a foreign coach who is obviously familiar with American players and their skill sets; additionally, Aguirre is familiar with CONCACAF and what it takes to advance out of the region and into the World Cup finals. More importantly, Aguirre is familiar with the Mexican team and its weaknesses. US fans long for a solid victory against Mexico at the Azteca in Mexico City, Aguirre might be the only coach who can deliver such a victory at this point in time.

It helps that Aguirre makes his home in Florida, not all that far from Bradenton, potentially giving him a great platform for scouting America's untapped soccer talent. In particular, the Aguirre era could result in expanding Soccer House's scouting focus beyond the traditional youth soccer systems in the US. Finally, after years of having to deal with the Mexican press corps, it might be a pleasant experience for Aguirre to have a coaching job where the local press is not as rabid (something that could make the US job attractive to Dunga).

I'll spare you, good reader, a breakdown of all the names I've listed above, choosing instead to focus on the potential top runners and my personal favorite. Should Bradley move on, as I hope he does, I want to see Soccer House take several months to perform its search for a new coach. Interviewing several candidates, especially some of the ones I listed above, would raise the profile of the US coaching job, which is important when clubs consider dragging their heels in releasing players for national team duty. But more importantly, when you cast a big net, you might unexpectedly end up with the perfect catch.

So, who do you think Soccer House should interview should Bradley move on?

Landon Donovan and the Bejeweled Vuvuzela

So the Knock Out stage of South Africa 2010 ended on Tuesday, and despite the return of Major League Soccer and the US Open Cup, it seems many football fans are going into withdrawals since they no longer get to wake up early everyday to watch a couple World Cup finals matches. This is the perfect time then to highlight the new craze: Landon Donovan and the Bejeweled Vuvuzela!

Since returning to the United States after the US National Team got knocked out of the tournament, 2-1, by Ghana during the Knock Out stage, it seems like you cannot turn on a television in the United States without seeing . . . . .

Landon Donovan on The Early Show (okay, this was last week, but):



Landon Donovan on the David Letterman Show:



Landon Donovan on Live with Regis & Kelly (Who does this guy think he is? David Beckham?):



Landon Donovan on The Daily Show (with Bob Bradley):

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Landon Donovan & Bob Bradley
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Meanwhile, it seems that people either love the vuvuzela or hate the vuvuzela, there isn't much of a middle ground. Getting into a detailed discussion on whether the vuvuzela is a good thing or a bad thing is to American soccer circles what discussing Democrats v. Republicans is to so-called "news" shows on radio and television. I want to avoid that, so instead, I present you with the crazy story of paying 17000 Euros for a vuvuzela - yes, you read right, 17000 Euros.

It seems somebody in Russia, with way too much money on his hands, bought a vuvuzela covered in white gold and diamonds from a goldsmith, with way too much time on his hands, in Linz, Austria. Apparently, the Russian intends on giving said bejeweled vuvazela to a South African business partner.

Here's the Reuter's piece on the bejewelled vuvuzela.

Finally, the US might be out of the World Cup finals, but - You're Welcome, World Cup

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
You're Welcome - World Cup
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

USA v. Algeria Preview & One Goal: The Road to South Africa

Today's the day, the day the US National Team finds out if it gets to stay a little longer in South Africa or if it is packing up its bags and coming home. Today's the day that the US National Team has to build on the success it has had in South Africa by picking up its first win of this year's World Cup finals. Today's the day that the US's defense needs to step up and ensure that they do not give up an early goal to Algeria.

With two draws in its past two matches the US holds its destiny in its hands, all it has to do is win today's match with Algeria to advance to the knockout stage. Yes, it is possible for the US to advance even if it picks up another draw, but most of the casual sports fans who have been sucked in by this US team have indicated to me that they really want a win, not another draw. Besides, if the US is serious about getting beyond the knockout stage, it would be a good idea to start winning now.

The good news is that since a win ensures survival, the US will start the match on the attack, and one thing we've seen over the past year or so is that when the US comes out with its attacking game, they tend to do pretty good. They do good because the US's attacking style usual limits the amount of time the ball spends near the US's net. We all know that the US's defense has been suspect, so the more its role is diminished, the better for the US.

Meanwhile, Algeria's odds of advancing are slim, but a win could possibly get them to the knockout stage. This means they'll come out on the attack too. Slovenia came out on the attack last Friday, and that resulted in two first half goals for Slovenia. That being said, the half-asleep US team we saw during the first half of the Slovenia match most likely will not be replicated today.

The 3-5-2 formation employed by Algeria could cause the US some trouble, but it can also be exploited by the US. The key to this match will be control of the midfield. While the US will, technically, be outnumbered in the midfield, it can rely on some help from Edson Buddle who has the speed to assist the top end of the midfield and close the gap with Jozy Altidore. Yes, since Robbie Findley is not available due to yellow card accumulation, I suspect that Buddle will get the start up top today. Meanwhile, Coach Bob Bradley should start Maurice Edu who, in Friday's match with Slovenia, showed he's capable of working in the midfield while assisting the defense when needed. Finally, when it comes to scoring, Altidore and Buddle can throw their size around when facing Algeria's three defenders.

The final key to this match is stamina. On Friday, we saw Slovenia worn down come the second half. The US was able to rely on its superior conditioning to come back from a two goal deficit and almost win that match. That being said, last year we saw the US wear itself down in the first half of the Confederations Cup final against Brazil, giving up a two goal lead. In recent matches it seems that the US has learned to pace themselves in the first half and Algeria isn't Brazil, so the US will likely outlast Algeria. If Algeria is losing pace to the US, the match could get chippy, like the second half against Slovenia did, increasing the potential number of set pieces for the US.

I expect the US to win this match by one goal, but it won't be easy. Algeria is no pushover, look at how they held England to a 0-0 draw last Friday. Of course, England looked to be sleep walking through that entire match, but still, Algeria is a competent team that still has a glimmer of hope at advancing.

To bide your time until the match starts, here's some video to watch, One Goal: The Road to South Africa:

The Zygo Soccer Report Podcast Episode 14 - The Brian Ching Episode

My take on Bob Bradley's moronic decision to leave Brian Ching off the 23 man roster and my take on the rest of the roster, along with audio from Brian Ching and Dominic Kinnear.

Featured music from 2Pac, Public Enemy, Wale, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg, & NWA.

Episode 14 of The Zygo Soccer Report

The Zygo Soccer Report

Bob Bradley's Potential 30

On Tuesday May 11, Bob Bradley and USSF have to submit their preliminary 30 man World Cup finals roster to FIFA. While those of us outside the team don't get to see the roster until it becomes public, the players getting called up typically find out several weeks in advance of the roster going public. There have been some hints, if you've looked closely, as to who has been called up, but the entire roster is still a mystery at this point.

So, for the heck of it, I've thrown together my prediction of who will make up the initial 30:

GOALKEEPERS:

Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, & Marcus Hahnemann.

DEFENDERS:

Jonathan Bornsein, Carlos Bocanegra, Jay DeMerit, Heath Pearce, Jonathan Spector, Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson, & Oguchi Onyewu.

MIDFIELDERS:

Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Stuart Holden, DaMarcus Beasley, Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber, Maurice Edu, Jose Francisco Torres, Sacha Kljestan, & Alejandro Bedoya.

FORWARDS:

Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Brian Ching, Herculez Gomez, Edson Buddle, Conor Casey, Eddie Johnson, & Robbie Findley.

Who's in your 30?