Thoughts on US vs. Chile

Let's get something clear from the beginning: It is never ever ok to lose. I've perused a number of articles since the disappointing USMNT match against Chile yesterday that have attempted to convince readers that the American's recent form of 3 losses and 2 draws is ok because we're "making progress." No, it isn't ok. I don't care if we're rebuilding, or experimenting or our players aren't "match fit." There is never an excuse for losing. If you lose, you simply weren't as good as the opposition. And that is a serious problem when we're playing a nearly entire Chile B team. Yes, the preseason has only just begun for the majority of the squad who took the pitch in Rancagua, and yes we were experimenting with a new formation, and yes we were playing a few fairly inexperienced players, but so what? I'm just as supportive as the next guy of the idea of being able to learn things about the team from losses, but don't ever tell me that it's "ok" that we lost.

The 3-5-2 has been all the hype for the past few days. Naturally, those who wanted to explain why we couldn't beat a sub-strength Chile team pointed to the fact that we were experimenting with a new formation, and surely the players weren't ready to play in it yet. Isn't that what this entire training camp has been for? To train the team to play the way the coach wants them to? Regardless, none of the goals Chile scored were as a result of the formation. Their first was plain Jane bad marking on Besler's part. The defense wasn't stretched because there were only three in the back; Besler just didn't track his man into the box. This was the source of so many of our problems in Brazil last summer. Our defense just doesn't seem to be able to concentrate for 90 minutes on marking everyone all the time, and that needs fixing. Quick. The other two goals Chile scored were after we had switched back to our "normal" 4-4-2 that the players were supposed to be more comfortable with. 

The thing about a 3-5-2 is that really it can end up being a 5-3-2, with the wingers tracking back the majority of the time to play defense. The problem yesterday was that we didn't have that. I can remember only a couple times I saw Brek Shea track back, and even Deandre Yedlin, who is supposedly a defender, didn't come back nearly enough. Compound that with three center-backs and you'll get some real problems as the attack comes in from the wings. 

The formation did offer a good deal in attack, and it did seem as though Bradley and Dempsey felt more comfortable in their roles than in the majority of their time in Brazil. Altidore also showed some glimpses of the encouraging heights he reached with the national team in the year leading up to the 2014 World Cup. But we only needed one game to show that all the attacking prowess in the world can't make up for instability in the back.

I wonder how many times Jones will get to leave the defense horribly exposed by one of his marauding runs before Klinnsman will realize that he isn't a proper center back. Yes, he has defensive qualities, but that doesn't make him suited for the center back role. What was wrong with playing him as a defensive mid? We desperately need his mettle in the attack, and when he does have a foray forward, there are still center backs behind him to fill the space. The number of second chances the Chileans got was incredible. Their third goal came when a rebounded shot found a wide open Mark Gonzalez who simply had to slot it home. The Jones experiment has failed. Let it be.

In closing, lets have a shout out for El Capitano, Deuce, Clint Dempsey. There were numerous times when Clint, and keep in mind he's 31, received the ball and cut or twisted his way past Chilean defenders with the dexterity of a 21-year-old. I have nothing but praise for everything Dempsey has done for the national team and for the work he puts in EVERY game. Now that Donovan has retired and Howard isn't currently playing with the national team, Clint deserves to be considered the best we have. 

Joga Bonito.

Dallin

The Ballon d'Or | An Outsider's Perspective

The Ballon d’Or is, perhaps, one of the best events to christen the publication of my first ever “soccer” post. As a newcomer to the soccer world, I certainly lack the years of experience that many lifetime fans and professional analysts boast. But if ever there was a time to start, the Ballon d’Or might as well be the topic.

This season (2014-2015) is the first real season that I have paid attention to professional soccer (or any soccer for that matter), but a series of snowball events mostly involving living near my brother Dallin now has me avidly following the world’s most popular sport. Three months ago, I didn’t even know what the Ballon d’Or was, and Monday I was so intrigued, I had to follow the live feed at work.

The entire ceremony is fascinating—it’s like the Academy Awards for the football world. The categories are both understandable (best player, best coach) and fun (best goal, World XI). To be named the best in any category at the Ballon d’Or is an incredible feat—to be the best at the most popular sport in the world? You can’t really top that.

FIFPRO World XI

The World XI was, perhaps, the most exciting event for me to follow. I think the best player and best coach were pretty obvious this year, but best player in each position was a big unknown and really fun to see. Knowing that Neuer probably wasn’t going to win the Ballon d’Or this year (more on that later) was softened by his appointment as keeper in the World XI. And the appointment is well-deserved. Of course each of these awards is ultimately opinion-based, but Neuer is, without a doubt, the greatest keeper in the sport today. I’d say he’s the greatest ever, but my working knowledge of the soccer world extends back seven months so I am not qualified to make such a claim. The man is a master both in the box and in the midfield. And honestly, he’d probably be scoring goals in Bundesliga 2.

Courtois made reserve keeper which is also exciting, as he, too, is one of the best and it’s great to see a Chelsea player on the pitch.

Once again, I don’t really know anything about last season, but to have two Brazilians on the World XI defense seems interesting. To quote Goal.com’s Paul Macdonald, “I'm sure there's some German forwards who might have something to say about those two Brazilian selections...” Granted, Silva was noticeably absent from Brazil’s 7-1 record-setting loss to Germany and PSG had a great season in France. But with as much clout as the World Cup has on Ballon d’Or results and Brazil only posting one clean sheet the entire tournament (two without Marcelo’s slip), at the very least, Luiz’ inclusion seems interesting.

Otherwise, I was thrilled (albeit not surprised) to see Robben at the top with Ronaldo and Messi. Considering Ronaldo’s and Messi’s Ballon d’Or nominations (and the fact that they’re incredible footballers), they were a given, but Robben is a well-deserving forward and hands-down one of my favorite players to watch.

Puskás Goal

Puskás Goal was another fun event. Who doesn’t like to watch amazing goals? The outcome, however, was more puzzling to me than the appointment of both Brazilians on the World XI. My vote was Roche, Van Persie, and Rodriguez in that order. I thought Van Persie might take it over Roche, simply because Van Persie’s was in the World Cup and I’m sure that defender/keeper skill and the stress level of the game probably play a part in selection. But to have Rodriguez over Van Persie and Roche was surprising to me.

I am not debating the skill level of the goal, nor do I even have a slight insight into the difficulty of a chest touch and volley into the back of the net from outside the 18. The goal is incredible and the nomination is well deserved. But to beat Stephanie’s three-touch, over-the-shoulder, 270 spin, volley into the back of the net? And the Flying Dutchman? At full sprint, Van Persie received a pass from 70 yards (there should be a passing and/or assist award as well and Blind deserves a nomination there) and, dove-headed it into goal. Whew. I would have put my money on either of those goals over Rodriguez's.

Just because each of these goals are insane, here you go (in the order I picked them):

Ballon d'Or and World Coach

The last two events, as stated earlier, were more or less a given for me. Based on what I know of last season, Messi didn’t really win much with Barca and although he did take his team to the World Cup championship, his World Cup performance wasn’t necessarily spectacular. He’s an amazing player, but so is Ronaldo and Ronaldo won the Champions League and set the single-season league-scoring record, beat Ibrahimovich to put Portugal in the World Cup finals, and won the Copa del Rey (I assume people care about that).

His speech was lukewarm. I haven't been around long enough to see for myself if there's any backing to those who criticize Ronaldo for being conceited--I'd like to think the naysayers are just being critical and jealous, but leaving out Messi and Neuer from his speech doesn't help his argument. I did think the yell was a bit strange, if not a bit forced...

Since football is a striker’s game, I didn’t expect Neuer to win. Really, any keeper making it to the top 3 is a feat in and of itself. No one will argue a keeper’s value, but how often do you Youtube “amazing saves?” No, everyone’s interested in amazing goals. A keeper would probably have to win the World Cup and get a triple to have a chance at winning the Ballon d’Or. And have none of the same teammates do the same.

Joachim Low deserved best coach, no argument. Germany has a team, not a couple of stars. Of course the talent on the team is a large part of the team’s success, but to be able to harness the talent, suppress the egos, and create a team where everyone contributes and works together and there are no obvious stars or slackers is a mark of a World Coach of the Year.

The most notable mention of the entire ceremony, however, is Messi’s red tux. #classy

Thoughts on the FIFA Awards Gala

Every year while movie and television stars are getting fitted for tuxedos and ball gowns in preparation for the "award season," another awards ceremony takes place. Equally or perhaps more glitzy and glamorous, but definitely not nearly as well known in the United States, the FIFA Awards Gala invites the year's very best performers from the beautiful game to celebrate the best the previous year had to offer. Here are some of my thoughts on this year's winner:

The FIFPro World XI
Allow me a moment to make one thing very clear: BRAZIL DOES NOT ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD TEAM!! There is a disease of thought that plagues mostly the American nation, but also many other soccer fans around the world, and I have to assume is to blame for David Luiz and Thiago Silva being voted into the World XI. Many mistakenly assume that because Brazil has the most successful history in the World Cup, they will be good enough to win every World Cup they play in. THIS IS FALSE. Again, THIS IS FALSE. Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn't know anything about soccer, or is Brazilian (which is the only circumstance under which it is excusable to think this every 4 years).

Yes, they have had incredible teams and ridiculously talented players down the years. But especially these last two World Cups they have had average squads. And average teams don't win the World Cup. Before the World Cup in both 2010 and 2014, the majority of people I talked to reassured me that Brazil was in fact going to win the tournament. When I asked them why they would think such a thing I received such responses as: "have you seen Neymar?" or "because it's Brazil bro, what else needs to be said?" Hmmm... Good question. How about the fact that they are relying on an MLS caliber keeper? Or that 90% of the World Cup audience had no idea who their first choice striker, Fred, was. (here's some info for those of you who still don't know. Don't worry, neither did I). Or that, other than Neymar, their squad was terribly average. The only reason they even made it out of the group stages was because of some awful decisions by the referee. That's it. Finally, a 7-1 clobbering at the hands of Die Mannschaft revealed their true colors.

I appreciate any who made it through that rant, but it was necessary to expose the wrong decision it was to include Luiz and Silva (a better case can be made for Silva, but he still doesn't deserve to be there) in the World XI, and to try and understand why those who voted them in did so. Voters, take note. Luiz played half the year as a third string center back at Chelsea, and has won 0 trophies. What about Diego Godin, who was the driving force behind Atletico Madrid's breathtaking run to the Champions League final and La Liga trophy and, in fact, scored the goals to secure La Liga and take the lead in the Champions League final?

I can agree mostly with the remainder of the squad, although I'm having trouble remembering what Iniesta accomplished this past year to deserve a spot. In fact, someone needs to check if Robben is aging like the rest of the human population; the guy continues to be a phenomenol player year after year.

The Puskas Award
This is my absolute favorite award. If you'd like to know why, kindly view the following video:

Am I right?! I could watch that over and over all da..... oh I have been. The best thing about it is that a case could be made for every one of those goals to win the Puskas. The Flying Dutchman was as extraordinary as it was unexpected. The MLS contribution from our friends in Vancouver is testament to how far Major League Soccer has come. I'm afraid Zlatan Ibrahimovich is undone by his own achievements. His goal undoubtedly had us (and him for that matter) saying: "That's just Zlatan being Zlatan." Stephanie Ro.... hold on.

Stephanie Roche deserves a paragraph all her own. To be in a small league as she is and to juggle the ball over her head not once but TWICE and subsequently full volley it in from outside the 18 yard box is UNHEARD OF. Let us not be mistakenly pulled into the thought that her goal took any less technical skill than the Rodriguez goal that won the award required. Stephanie received 1.1 million votes. That's almost ONE THIRD of the votes that were cast. Hats off to Ms. Roche.

The prodigious James Rodriguez had circumstance on his side. Not taking anything away from the enormous amount of skill it takes to pick a ball out of the air like that with as much power and placement as he did, the fact that it was scored in the largest tournament in the world pushed it into the winners circle.

The Ballon D'Or
Was there ever any question? Yes, Neuer is slave to history (a keeper hasn't won the award since Lev Yashin won it in 1963), but Ronaldo was head and shoulders above the competition. What can be said about this guy?! He defies superlative. Perhaps this video begins to tell the tale:

There are innumerable articles detailing the statistics, the best one (and probably the most fun to read) is here, so I won't go into that. I will highlight that he scored 9 of his 61 goals last year with his weaker foot. NINE! Also, that he averaged over a goal a game in both La Liga and the Champions League. Think about how many goals you usually see in a soccer match. Now let the realization sink in that for ONE PLAYER to average over a goal a game is pretty special. He also led the charge to the Champions League trophy. One thing you'll soon realize as you look at previous winners is that most often the winner led his team to a major trophy. Messi is exquisitely  talented, but his numbers don't stack up, and Barcelona didn't win anything last year.


In closing, I'm hoping to get back to posting fairly regularly again. I realize that all my readers (Mom and Dad) have probably missed my mindless drabble on this wonderful sport, but mostly I just really miss writing about it.

As always, Joga Bonito.

-Dallin