You're Cold War Throwback Friday Goals for April 12, 2013

The Champions Leagues were dominated by teams from Germany, Spain, and Mexico; Baby Kim is saber rattling; and the Iron Lady is gone, time for a throwback to the Cold War edition of your Friday goals.

More after the jump:

Goodbye World Cup Finals 2010: Too Bad We Didn't Get to Host You

Today in Switzerland FIFA announced that Russia would be hosting the 2018 World Cup finals and Qatar would be hosting the 2022 World Cup finals. And with that announcement the dreams and hopes of millions of soccer fans in England and the United States were dashed. The hope of seeing World Cup finals soccer played in a stadium nearby was completely dashed for some and all but dashed for others.

That England had lost out to Russia is not that surprising. Russia's increasing sphere of influence has been increasing lately, and if England is not careful, the RPL could conceivably be a big adversary of the EPL by 2018. A certain segment of the modern Russian society has the kind of money to spend on football and footballers that the upper economic classes in England seem to lack. The increase in foreign investors in EPL highlights the monetary footballing imbalance between England and Russia.

While I don't believe FIFA when they talk about "legacy," the reality is that Russia is a prime market for "growing the game" and holding the finals there would smack of a certain post-Cold War symbolism. In reality though, I think selecting Russia was an easy way for FIFA to give England a figurative slap in the face. English football fans might not like to hear this, but FIFA thinks England has an overgrown sense of entitlement when it comes to the World's game - nobody is allowed to have a bigger sense of entitlement than FIFA, okay.

As for the 2022 World Cup finals, solely on paper, the United States looked like the front runner - a solid, though low profile, professional league; giant stadiums - several with retractable roofs; good transportation infrastructure, good lodging facilities, and sponsorship money galore. Maybe it was politics, maybe it was money, maybe it was this legacy thing, but FIFA went with Qatar over the United States. Qatar has wicked hot summers and is smaller than the state of Connecticut. Not sure what Qatar will do with all the necessary stadiums come mid-July 2022 - they say they'll dismantle them and ship them to smaller, poorer countries, but I got a bridge in Brooklyn I will do that with too.

The biggest loser when it comes to the 2022 World Cup finals is the fan. While Qatar might be small and probably somewhat easy to get around (so long as you don't break down in the desert) it's social environment is alien to a tournament that has witnessed Australians drinking a German restaurant dry. Not to mention that any homosexual soccer fans are essentially unwelcome since homosexuality is illegal in Qatar.

The only bright side - Football folks in England and the US won't feel dirty for spending the next few years in the same grimy bed with FIFA.


UPDATE: Video of Sepp Blatter & Jack Warner celebrating after announcement:

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:

Group C, Round 2: The Day After

All four teams in Group C, which includes the United States, played on Friday in South Africa. The US battled Slovenia to a 2-2 draw while Algeria and England slogged it out for a 0-0 draw.

The US-Slovenia match was an emotional roller coaster ride for the fans of both teams. Slovenia was clearly the better team during the first half of the match. Once again, the US gave up an early goal when Valter Birsa scored in the 13th minute for Slovenia. The US seemed to sleep walk through the first half and were lucky that Slovenia only managed to pick up one more goal when Zlatan Ljubijankic scored in the 42nd minute.

As the second half kicked off, it was clear that the US side had finally woken up and realized they had a big hole to crawl out of in order to have any shot at advancing past the group stage. Landon Donovan set the tone for the second half when he scored a goal in the 48th minute. Meanwhile, Slovenia looked tired, as if they had used the majority of their energy during the first half, and, as a result, the second half became very chippy with three Slovenian players picking up yellow cards. Finally, Michael Bradley managed an incredible goal in the 82nd minute when Jozy Altidore used his head to cross a Donovan free kick to Bradley. Minutes later it appeared that the United States had done the unthinkable, picking up a third, and possibly winning goal, when Maurice Edu put the ball into the goal on a free kick. However, the goal was disallowed by match referee Koman Coulibaly.

It's not clear why Koman Coulibaly called a foul that disallowed Edu's goal, and it appears that we will never get an explanation for his call. While it's understandable that the US team and fans are angry with Coulibaly, had the US played better in the first half, the call might not have mattered as much.

After experiencing the emotions of the US-Slovenia match, it was hard to get focused on the England-Algeria match. My general impression was that England looked unfocused despite getting off 6 shots on goal. In the end, England was booed off the pitch by their own fans.

Coming into this World Cup, I was concerned that all the hype surrounding the England-US match would mean that both teams would be on an adrenaline high for that match and would have trouble focusing on the next match or matches. Both England and US did look unfocused on Friday, but the US managed to pull out of their funk while England did not.

The group stage for Group C wraps up on Wednesday when US plays Algeria and England plays Slovenia. Right now, the standings in Group C are as follows:

Slovenia 4 points
US 2 points
England 2 points
Algeria 1 point

The US controls its destiny going into Wednesday's match with Algeria. A win will ensure that the US advances to the knockout stage of the World Cup finals.

It should be noted that American striker Robbie Findley has picked up 2 yellow cards in the first two matches; therefore, he won't be available for Wednesday's match against Algeria. I suspect we will see Edson Buddle get his first World Cup finals start on Wednesday.

In past World Cup finals, had the US gone down 2 goals in the first half, the match would have been over. While it is nice to see that this US team has the ability to bounce back from goal deficits, it would be even nicer to see them take and hold a lead. That's what US needs to do against Algeria on Wednesday.

As for England, it is unclear how they'll look against Slovenia. Despite all the pronouncements in the English media that this World Cup was the one that England was going to win, England is now in a position where they might not even advance past the group stage. England are in need of a serious attitude adjustment if they hope to have a good result against Slovenia on Wednesday.

Here's a look at what the papers in the US and England are saying about Friday's Group C matches:

In Defense of Koman Coulibaly. Sort of. - New York Times

Stunning Rally. Shocking Goal. - New York Times

US Rallies for Tie - Washington Post

Analysis: Referee's call leaves Americans fit to be tied - Bergen County Record

US Rallies to Tie Slovenia - St. Petersburg Times

US players left stunned by referee call - Philadelphia Inquirer

England v. Algeria: fans boo one of their team's most inept performances - The Telegraph

Rooney blasts angry fans - The Telegraph

World Cup 2010 paper view: England Mess up. Blame the the Italian. - The Guardian

Martin Samuel: We were promised Rooney. We got his ghost. - The Daily Mail

Sunday World Cup Video Day

Here in the States we're still basking in the glow of Saturday's 1-1 draw with England, so what better way to enjoy a lazy summer Sunday than with some World Cup related video?

Here's the highlights from Saturday's US-England match:



In the States, the Super Bowl is known for the number of new commercials and advertising campaigns that are aired during the one day affair. While the Cup doesn't have that reputation, there have been some interesting commercials to pop up during the coverage this year:

United States Beats England: 1-1

Okay, I know, technically it was a draw, but it was one of those draws that felt like a win. Going into what was arguably the most anticipated US World Cup match since playing Mexico in 2002, it was hard to nail down how the match would turnout. While England is not the best squad in this tournament, they have players like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, and John Terry, and a ton of expectation riding on their shoulders.

It seemed that the key for the US going into this match was maintaining form in the first 20 minutes. Conventional wisdom had it that if the US could keep England from scoring during the first 20 minutes, they were putting themselves in position to get a result. Unfortunately, the US did give up a goal in the first 20 minutes, the shaky American defense broke down and allowed Gerrard to score in the 4th minute.

Despite the early England goal, the US did not lose focus, instead they drew upon a certain workmanlike maturity that has developed since Bob Bradley replaced Bruce Arena as head coach and plowed on believing that the England lead would not hold. In the 40th minute, Texas native Clint Dempsey took a shot from distance that should have been an easy save for England keeper Robert Green who failed to get a secure grip on the ball, not surprising for Green, allowing the ball to roll into the goal giving the US the equalizer.

Ultimately the key for the US was the fact that they had 12 shots, 4 of which were on goal. While England did outshoot the US, the US never bunkered, they slowed the pace towards the end of the match, but they never bunkered. This is key, because as I noted above, there's problems with the US's backline. By starting Findley today, Bradley was sending a sign that he understands that the US defense is poor and that the team needs to stretch the field, relying on speed up top. While Findley is not the best finisher, his speed did help to keep England honest, keeping them from playing too far up.

While not as momentous as the 1-0 win over England in the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil, today's draw was a solid result for the US, one they can build on as they look forward to Algeria and Slovenia. Getting a result from their big match with England should give US extra confidence in themselves, and extra swagger in their walk.

Here's a glimpse of what the English press is saying about today's draw:

England Miss out on fine start as USA benefit from Robert Green gaffe - The Guardian

USA tame three lions of England - The Times

606 Football Phone In on BBC 5 Live

Wayne Rooney left frustrated as Americans keep striker subdued - The Telegraph

England 1 - 1 USA: Match Report - The Telegraph

England 1 USA 1, Robert Green's clanger gifts Americans draw in opening Group C clash - The Daily Mail

There even are places where English completely disappears; in America they haven't used it for years.

As most of you know, on June 12, 2010 in Rustenburg, South Africa at Royal Bafokeng Stadium, the United States and England will meet for the first time in the World Cup finals since the US beat England 1-0 at Estádio Independência in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1950. The June 12th match with England is arguably the most anticipated World Cup finals match in America since the US and Mexico faced each other in the Round of Sixteen during the 2002 World Cup finals.

Let's be honest here folks, since the World Cup finals were held in the US in 1994 two primary branches of football fans have developed in the US. To be clear, the type of football fan I'm talking about here is not an American who is an immigrant or a first generation American who grew up in a household where allegiance to the parents' national team was fostered. I'm talking about someone more akin to myself, someone who's family has been in the US for several generations and who discovered the game outside of the sphere of his/her ethnic background.

Since 1994,the growth of the internet and News Corp.'s ventures into sports broadcasting in the US, access to the English Premier League has grown exponentially. In turn, this growth of access to the EPL has resulted in a large following amongst Americans with no real connection to England. The end result being that a substantial number of American born football fans now support England's National Team over the US National Team.

Meanwhile, between the growth of Major League Soccer and the constant presence of the US National Team in the World Cup picture since 1990, a small, but vocal, group of ardent US football fans has developed in the States. The majority of these US fans are not ignorant of the game as it is played in Europe, Mexico, or South America, and while they may support foreign club teams, their heart is with the US National Team. These fans wholeheartedly support the US National Team in friendlies, tournaments, World Cup qualifiers, and, of course, the World Cup finals.

During this period of parallel growth between these two branches of US football fans, there has been some heckling, some ribbing, some light verbal jabs between the two groups, but since the senior England and US squads have not faced off in a meaningful game during this period, there has been no real cause for truly hard feelings, at least when it comes to the national teams (this piece isn't about the EPL v. MLS debate).

Since early December, when the World Cup draw occurred and the match between the US and England was announced, the tension between US fans and American England fans has grown steadily. Arguments between these two camps have popped up in bars, in blogs, on Twitter, on podcasts, and on various social networking sites, and of course that red light district known as Big Soccer.

I'm not here to argue one side over the other. I'm not here to convert those I disagree with to the side I support.

No, I'm here to ask a simple question - "Does it really matter?"

Lets face it folks, if we're totally and completely honest with ourselves, it's highly unlikely that either England or the US will be lifting the World Cup Trophy in Johannesburg on Sunday July 11th.

Since 1990, the US National Team has never been consistent when it comes to the World Cup finals. The US experience in the World Cup has tended to be horrid runs in 1990, 1998, and 2006, punctuated by a decent run in 1994 and a good run in 2002. Going into South Africa 2010, much of the talk about the US squad has focused on the match fitness of players coming back from injury and the lack of depth up front. While I don't doubt that the 23 players who will end up in South Africa would love to raise that trophy, the message from US Soccer, including the players, is that a good Cup run means getting out of the group stage. In other words, realistic expectations at Soccer House in Chicago and at the camp in Princeton are not overly optimistic.

While there are some seriously deluded US fans out there, they're clearly outnumbered by the seriously deluded England fans on both sides of the Atlantic. It's somewhat understandable in that England, the fist nation to organize the game of football (note I don't buy into the England creation theory), can still boast one of the biggest football club leagues in the world (while the club leagues of Cricket and Rugby thrive more in the old Commonwealth of England). However, this view is very myopic since it fails to recognize the fact that the top clubs in the EPL are full of non-English players. Yes, there are some English players at Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool, and less then some at Arsenal, who are on the England squad, those clubs rely heavily on non-English talent, and representation of those clubs on the England squad appears to be outnumbered by players from club teams lower on the EPL table. I will concede that Tottenham Hotspur's presence in the top four after this season gives a little more hope to England fans going into South Africa 2010, but do you really want to rely on Spurs players when it comes to The Cup? Despite England's prominence in the early history of the Beautiful Game, the reality is, on the Big Stage, on a global scale, England is good, but not great.

So what's my point? Another question - "Does it matter?"

Does it really matter if you're an American who will be supporting the US or England on June 12th?

Odds are, if you head out to your local/favorite football bar or pub on June 12th, there will be US fans there and there will be American England fans there. There's no real reason to get mad at each other, to argue, to fight. Light ribbing and insults are fine, but in the end, what we really should be rooting for is a good, entertaining match between the US and England. The kind of match that might just grow the game a little more here in the States.

You want a solution from me? Here's my solution in the end - the supporters of the side that win the US - England match buy a round for the the supporters of the side that lose (everyone buys their own drinks if it's a draw.)

So a Eurosnob & an American Soccer Fan Walk into a Bar . . .

It's 2010, it's a FIFA World Cup finals year, and, we must admit, the beautiful game has a higher profile in the United States than it ever has since appearing in Italia '90. Granted, we said that in 2006 and we'll be saying the same thing in 2014, hopefully, since there's still plenty of room for soccer to raise its profile in the United States, but that being said, it's been a good 4 years since the US National Team was knocked out of the group stage in Germany 2006.

Since that inglorious showing in Germany, the US National Team went on to win the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and beat European Champions, Spain, in the Semi-Finals of the Confederations Cup in 2009. Additionally, American players like Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, etc. have managed to find playing time, with mixed results, in European clubs.

Speaking of the club side of the sport, the past four years have seen interesting developments in Major League Soccer. Since 2006, MLS has expanded to Toronto, San Jose, Seattle, and Philadelphia, with plans to expand to Vancouver, Portland, and Montreal. Of course, the expansion to San Jose was like NFL expansion to Cleveland since the old San Jose team had relocated to Houston prior to 2006. In January 2007, MLS announced the creation of the designated player rule, a/k/a the Beckham Rule, as it announced that England National player David Beckham would be joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in July, after wrapping up the season at Real Madrid. Since 2007, the DP Rule has been expanded and the prospect of French National player Thierry Henry joining MLS after the World Cup finals is something the European press is already talking about. Finally, let's not forget the growth in soccer specific stadiums here in the United States, in a few years, only Seattle, New England, and D.C. United won't have soccer specific stadiums, with Seattle and New England being special cases cause of their relationships to the local NFL teams whose stadiums they share.

Meanwhile, since Germany 2006, the popularity of European club football has grown in the United States too. Fox Soccer Channel has seen its ratings for English Premier League matches grow to the extent that ESPN has teamed up with FSC so that it can air at least one EPL match a week. ESPN also developed a similar arrangement with GolTV so that it can air choice La Liga matches. But it's not all peace and harmony amongst the big US sports networks, ESPN saw good ratings from its coverage of the UEFA Champions League, only to lose the competition to Fox Sports, which has been using its network of regional sports stations to push the competition. On May 22nd, for the first time ever, the EUFA Champions League Final will be aired on national network television in the United States when it is broadcast live on the flagship FOX Broadcasting Company.

What's also interesting is that in the past four years it seems that two main cliques have developed among soccer fans in the US: the Eurosnobs and the American soccer fans. To be honest, for some time now, I've felt that the conflict between these two groups has been a bit contrived, a bit shallow,and while I know this fissure is not the result of some conspiracy by the soccer hating American sport fan, like Jim Rome, it does remind me of how the US Government placed the Hopi Indian Reservation so that it was surrounded by the Navajo Indian Reservation, meaning that the two tribes would focus on bickering with each other instead of teaming up against the federalies.

I for one am getting tired of the bickering between these cliques, and I want to nip this in the bud before the United States and England square off in South Africa on June 12th.

To those of you who find yourself, or put yourself, in the Eurosnob camp, fine, I can understand your desire to spend your soccer viewing time watching some of the best players, best club sides, and best leagues in the world. Heck, I watch as much or more EPL, Serie A, and FMF as I do MLS. As it stands, I'm anxious about Sunday's matches in Serie A, can the stars align giving Roma the Scudetto? And that's kind of my point, the majority of us who follow MLS and the United States National Team, and who are honest with ourselves, know that MLS is not one of the best leagues in the world. We know the quality of play needs to be improved, we know that youth development needs to be improved, and we know that, as it stands, MLS is a feeder league. We know that MLS has bizarre rules that hamstring teams in bringing in high-quality, foreign talent. As for the US National Team, we know it's not the best in the world, we know it will take a miracle and a bunch of luck for them to win the World Cup anytime soon, and we know that the power structure at USSF is a governor on the speed at which the national team will develop.

While MLS is not a top tier league in the world of club football, we can't deny the fact that clubs in EPL, La Liga, and Serie A have been grappling with serious financial issues these past few years. The MLS economic policy might not be a good deal for these top European leagues, but as James Lawton recently pointed out in The Independent, it might be a good idea for EPL to follow the NFL's lead when it comes to finances.

So, my request to you, you so-called Eurosnobs, for this summer is just relax, this isn't a battle of whose is bigger. Most of us know the score, we know the reality, no need to bash those who follow MLS or USMNT. Why would you want to emulate those in the US who ignorantly bash soccer in general with no regard to where or at what level the game is played?

As for you American soccer fans out there, let me tell you story. Over ten years ago I moved from Texas to Wisconsin. While living in Wisconsin, I was constantly accosted by Curling fans trying to recruit me to their sport. I'll be honest, the religiousesque ferocity that they threw into this recruitment turned me off and, for the most part, I steered clear of curling. Since then, I've watched it in the Winter Olympics and have grown to appreciate the sport. I regret that I never took the opportunity to learn the game while living in north central Wisconsin, but I also regret that the fans of the sport approached me as if they were attempting to convert me to another religion.

Let's face it American soccer fans, y'all can be a little pushy sometimes, like evangelicals trying to convert those they deem as nonbelievers. Recently, Travis Rodgers was doing one of his weekly spots on the Sean & John Show on 1560 The Game in Houston and he pointed out that while he could appreciate soccer as a sport requiring high levels of skill, he gets turned off by American soccer fans why incessantly try to sell the game to him. Let's face it American soccer fans, we can be a little, nay, very overbearing at times in our efforts to convert people to the beautiful game.

So, my request to you, the American soccer fan, is to just chill and relax this summer. Yes the World Cup finals can be a good recruitment tool, but please use it properly. Don't demand that your non-soccer fan friends and co-workers watch the World Cup finals. Don't try to explain to them what they are missing, and why they're foolish for not watching these matches. Instead, take the soft approach. Politely invite your friends and co-workers to drink some beer while watching a match, if they say no, politely accept their response and walk away. Don't try to shove the sport down the throats of others, just open the door for them and politely let them to make the decision as to whether they want to walk through that door.

Additionally, American soccer fans don't demand that your so-called Eurosnob fans support the USMNT or even MLS for that matter. Don't accuse them of being traitors. Feel free to hang with them at the local bar during the World Cup matches, drink beer with them, and just enjoy the moment. At the end of the day, politely ask them if they want to see some local soccer for a cheap price, don't push them, they might just say yes.

Finally, I'm declaring a détente between the Eurosnobs and the American soccer fans. Give it a rest this summer, please. Accept your differences, move on, and agree to disagree. While y'all don't have to root for the same countries this summer, at the very least you can link arms and just display your love of the game, without trying to obnoxiously convert others to your way of thinking.

This could be a great summer for the beautiful game in the United States, please fans, don't shoot ourselves in the collective foot.