Puro Football

The Los Angeles Galaxy is going through some turbulent times. The team is on an eight game winless streak, and they recently fired Alexi Lalas and lost Ruud Gullit due to “personal reasons.”

Alexi Lalas was a bad hire from the very beginning. His previous stints as GM of the San Jose Earthquakes and the New York Metrostars were failures, as both teams didn’t manage to get above .500 with him at the helm.

His record as GM didn’t improve while in charge of the Galaxy. He actually made the team worse. Before Alexi Lalas arrived, the team made it into the playoffs every single year since the team’s inception and won 2 MLS titles. After he arrived, the team didn’t even manage to make the playoffs.

While Lalas did a good job at helping bring in David Beckham, everything else he did hurt the team. He would always make outlandish and wild statements that would bring the ire of the soccer community here in the US. All he seemed to do was bring negative attention to the club, something that wasn’t needed on top of all of the losing.

Ruud Gullit was yet another bad choice, a coach that had absolutely no idea of what it was like to compete in a league like MLS. Gullit was accustomed to the European leagues where concepts like a salary cap and super draft are non-existent. That much was obvious when Gullit didn’t even show up to the super draft, an event incredibly important for MLS teams.

Of course, his lack of knowledge concerning MLS wasn’t the only issue. Reports of him and Lalas butting heads constantly came out. It’s impossible to have any team harmony if the GM and the head coach are always clashing; this led to a negative atmosphere in the locker room, which piled on top of all of the losing.

The Galaxy needs to take this opportunity to try and repair all of the damage it has brought on itself over the last two years. The time of bringing in old, slow players as a quick fix is over. The team needs to concentrate on bringing in younger talent, and show a bit of patience. Although this will be no easy task considering the pressure they’re under with David Beckham on the squad.

The United States lost its opportunity to advance into the quarterfinals by losing to Nigeria. Not having Freddy Adu in the game hurt the team, but not as much as losing Michael Orozco in the 4th minute to a stupid red card. This put the team in a bind and cost them the game.

The US actually didn’t play that poorly in the early stages of the game. They were able to move the ball down the flanks, but there simply weren’t any bodies in the area to take advantage of the nice crosses.

Nigeria asserted its dominance over the game as it went along because of the man advantage. They got their first goal when Promise Isaac was left to roam the area by himself, and put it in the back of the net in the 39th minute.

The second half presented many opportunities from set plays for the US, but they simply couldn’t capitalize on them.

Nigeria’s Obinna Nsofor got the second goal for his team in the 79th minute, which secured the win for Nigeria. Nsofor was able to get past a tired Michael Parkhurst and put a nice shot into the goal.

The US did well to not give up. After inserting Charlie Davies the team got a nice boost in speed, which allowed them to get behind the Nigerian defense. Maurice Edu was taken down inside the area by the goalkeeper and earned a penalty kick. Sacha Kljestan converted the penalty in the 88th minute.

The last 4 minutes of the game were pretty chaotic. The US got an amazing chance for a set play, but the cross bar denied them the goal. Nigeria also had one of their chances go off the cross bar. It went back and forth until the whistle was blown.

The United States did a great job of playing a man down for almost the entire game. They were able to get close to a win, but they simply didn’t have enough in the tank. It would have been nice to have seen the inclusion of Charlie Davies earlier in the game, as he was able to do some damage against the Nigerian defense.

The US team should be proud of the fact that they didn’t just give up, but should also be upset that they let two precious points get away from them in the game against the Netherlands. Now they have a very long flight back home.

The United States let a golden opportunity slip past them when they played against the Netherlands. The chance to secure passage to the quarterfinals was in their grasp, and it got away from them in the dying moments of the game.

The Netherlands dominated most of the first half because they controlled the midfield. They did this by using a 3-5-2 formation, giving them a man advantage. This allowed them to attack down both flanks and deliver good service into the area, service that Ryan Babel took advantage of by scoring in the 16th minute.

Of course, poor defending attributed to the goal. Ryan Babel was able to comfortably get in between two defenders to score the goal, something that shouldn’t be happening. The US needs to stop teams from exploiting the flanks and giving them easy service, and defenders can’t allow forwards to have so much freedom in the area.

The US was able to regain momentum towards the end of the first half and created some nice opportunities. The solid play continued into the second half, spearheaded by Freddy Adu, who looked a lot more dangerous when given the freedom of being in the midfield.

The first goal scored by the US came in the 64th when Freddy Adu made a wonderful pass to Sacha Kljestan, who did a nice job of putting it past the Dutch goalkeeper.

The second goal came in the 72nd minute when a long throw-in caused some havoc in the Dutch area, Michael Orozco blasted the ball across the mouth of the goal and it bounced off of Jozy Altidore to give the United States the lead.

The US actually could have sealed away the win in the latter stages of the game when Stuart Holden was blazing down the middle of the field with only a defender to beat. Joining him in the attack was Sacha Kljestan, but Holden was unable to get the ball to him.

The Americans would regret icing the game away when the referee gave a free kick to the Netherlands in the 93rd minute. Gerald Sibon made them pay by scoring on the free kick, saving a point for the Dutch.

Unfortunately, instead of being able to relax a bit in their last game, they’re going to have to go and give everything they’ve got against a tough Nigerian squad.

The United States started off poorly, but was able to turn things around. It’s obvious that Freddy Adu has to be placed in the midfield and allowed to run at defenses, while Jozy Altidore should be up top with Brian McBride. This gives the US the best offensive threat, and makes them legitimate contenders for a medal.

Group B kicked off with the United States facing off against Japan. The US was fortunate to win the game because they had some favorable calls in the last few minutes of the game, and Japan missed on all of their opportunities.

Despite having some good possession, the US didn’t really create a lot of goal scoring chances. The goal came in the 47th minutes when a Japanese defender poorly cleared the ball right into the area, which Stuart Holden capitalized on.

The reason the US wasn’t playing better was because some player were playing out of position.

Maurice Edu typically plays in the midfield, but was put at centerback for this game. He did a solid job for most of the game, but almost gave away the game with his defending in the penalty area.

Freddy Adu, who is also accustomed to a midfield role, was playing as a forward. It was clear that he wasn’t very comfortable at that position, and was unable to really create much.

It’s obvious that the coaching staff is trying to get as much talent on the field as possible, forcing some players to play in new positions. It especially affects the midfielders, since that is were the vast majority of the talent is.

The Japanese were able to threaten the US goal on many occasions, most of the danger coming from the left and right flanks. They were unable to put anything into the back of the net, though. They were also unfortunate to not get a penalty call in the last few minutes of the game.

The majority of the Japanese chances came because of the service of Atsuto Uchida, who did a wonderful job of utilizing his speed to get into open areas of the right flank.

The win was incredibly important for the US as it sets them off on the right foot. The 3 points gained in this match will go a long way in helping them get out of group B and into the knockout stages.

The battle for North American supremacy will come down to two MLS teams. Both squads have done well to dispatch their competition from the South, and they are both doing very well in their bid to make the playoffs. On the line will be bragging rights and a cool million dollars.

Houston Dynamo vs. New England Revolution
New England has easily been the most impressive team in the entire tournament. The only problem might be that they don’t raise their level of play when faced with an MLS opponent, as they do when they play an international opponent. Houston will look to continue their winning ways, but can be a bit streaky throughout a game. They’ll also be missing a few players due to the Olympics and injuries. New England should win this contest if they play the way they’ve been playing throughout the tournament, and should also be aided by the home fans.

After watching both SuperLiga semifinal games end in shoving matches at midfield, it’s pretty obvious that the Mexican clubs are not very gracious losers.

The Houston and Pachuca semifinal got a little chippy towards the end, but it didn’t seem as if anything would come of it after the game finished. Unfortunately, it seems as if Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo) decided to do a bit of show boating at the end, which only added more fuel to the fire.

The referee calling the Houston and Pachuca game was partly to blame. He had a pretty bad night overall, missing a lot of calls. He failed miserably when the fight began to break out after the final whistle, pretty much just standing back and watching the mayhem ensue. It’s his responsibility to keep things under control out on the field.

The New England and Atlante game got incredibly hostile in the second half. Two Atlante players were given red cards. One was ejected for head butting Shalrie Joseph and another for committing a very hard foul on Shalrie Joseph. New England was also mad because after one of their players went down an Atlante player continued to play when everyone thought he would throw the ball out of bounds. Most of the hostility was coming from the Atlante players who were obviously angry about not being able to score against New England.

All hell broke lose once the game ended, and a little shoving match started. Things got worse when Atlante goalkeeper, Federico Vilar, came up from behind and started pushing and slapping New England players. The Mexican squad was completely out of control; even some of the coaching staff was out on the field causing trouble. Fortunately, the referee in this game didn’t just sit there and do nothing, but it was hard for him to regain control.

These two situations were caused because the Mexican clubs were angry about losing to MLS teams, who they believe are far inferior to them. It’s time for them to realize that MLS isn’t as bad as they think it is, and for them to learn a bit of sportsmanship.

Note: If you’d like to see most of what happened, then click here. Select “Revs advance to Finals with 1-0 triumph.” Unfortunately, you won’t catch the brawl at the end because they cut it out, but you will see the nasty plays by the Atlante players.

The quest for bragging rights in North America will continue this week when Pachuca CF meet the Houston Dynamo, while the New England Revolution will square off against Atlante.

Pachuca CF vs. Houston Dynamo
These two teams are no strangers to one another. They’ve played against each other 3 times last season during the CONCAF Champions’ Cup tournament. The Houston Dynamo is coming into the game with a few battered players, but they have a deep enough roster that it shouldn’t be much of an issue. The thing that Houston does have to worry about is the amount of experience Pachuca players have in playing in big time international tournaments. Pachuca hasn’t set the world on fire with their play, but they manage to continually find a way to win. Look for Pachuca to just barely nudge Houston out.

New England Revolution vs. Atlante
New England was by far the most impressive team in the tournament, leaving both their Mexican and American foes in the dust. Atlante on the other hand was able to right the ship after getting stomped 4-0 in their first game. Despite their wonderful bounce back, don’t look for Atlante to win this one. New England has the home field advantage, literally. The Mexican club will have a hard time dealing with the artificial turf, making their battle even tougher. New England should easily get by this one with their skill, but will also have some help from the fact that the Mexican club will have to adapt because of the playing surface.

MLS squads were keen on making a good impression after faltering earlier in the year in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Once the group stage was finished two teams from each league advanced to the semifinals.

Group A:
Houston Dynamo (6 pts.)
Atlante (6 pts.)
Guadalajara (6 pts.)
DC United (0 pts.)

The Houston Dynamo and Atlante were the winners of this group. Guadalajara looked like a sure thing after winning their first two games, but failed to secure their passage when they lost their final game to Atlante. DC United struggled throughout the entire group stage because they were missing their midfield catalyst, Marcelo Gallardo. Houston played solidly throughout, while Atlante got off to a shaky start but finished strong. Houston definitely looked like the best team in the group.

Group B:
New England Revolution (7 pts.)
Pachuca (4 pts.)
Chivas USA (4 pts.)
Santos Laguna (1pt.)

Pachuca and the New England Revolution came out on top of group B. The New England Revolution really dominated this group with their speed and skill. Pachuca on the other hand relied on their vast experience in international tournaments to help them get through. Chivas USA played well, but their downfall came from losing their first game against Pachuca. Santos Laguna played exactly as they should have, nothing more than a team still in their pre-season, of course their coaching staff and fans expect much better than that.

The New England Revolution will now take on Atlante, while the Houston Dynamo will take on Pachuca in the semifinals.

The 2010 World Cup has been scheduled to take place in South Africa, but as of late FIFA has made it clear that that they do have a plan B. They say it’s necessary in case of a natural disaster, but it’s most likely because South Africa is having problems dealing with rampant crime, stadiums that are being delayed, and the possibility of random power outages.

FIFA has stated that it has spoken to 3 other nations about their ability of hosting the World Cup with only two years of preparation should the need arise. There really aren’t that many countries that could handle the logistics, but the United States is one of them.

The United States has made great strides in the game as of late. There are plenty of soccer specific venues to choose from. If those aren’t big enough then FIFA would have hundreds of large venues at their disposal, from the coliseum in Los Angeles to the colossal new stadium Jerry Jones is building down in Texas.

The U.S. also has all of the necessary infrastructure to host such an event. There are plenty of big roads to haul all of the traffic, plenty of hotels, restaurants, and a myriad of activities. There also isn’t going to be any worries about security here, either.

The people in this country are also lot more knowledgeable about the game. Regardless of the fact that MLS isn’t one of the big sports in the country, people still know a lot more about the game than they did when the World Cup was hosted here back in 1994.

It would be a shame to see South Africa lose out on the World Cup because of the instability in that nation. Although if a plan B is in fact enacted, then hopefully FIFA will bring the event to the United States. Hopefully this will give South Africa more time to get prepared to host it a later date (maybe 2018?).

I was disgusted with the field condition at the Home Depot Center while watching Chivas USA play against San Jose. The field had to be at least four different hues of green in various patches across the field, with some brown spots thrown in for good measure. Really, how hard is it to keep some grass in good condition in Southern California? It’s not like they have to deal with incessant rain, nor do they have to deal with other sports tearing up the field.

Of course, there are other offenders throughout MLS. Most of those share their field with other sports, but it still doesn’t excuse the ugly playing surfaces.

A great example would be Real Salt Lake. While watching them play at home fans can marvel at the ugly yellow lines that signify the boundaries and playing areas. There are also all of the markings for the University of Utah football team to boot. Is it really necessary for the college football lines and numbers to be placed on the field when the season doesn’t start for another two months? The New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo have the same problem with their fields, too.

Another problem is the artificial turf. Teams currently playing on that type of surface are Real Salt Lake, the New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC, and Seattle Sounders FC will also have to deal with it when they begin playing in 2009. This playing surface just doesn’t lend itself to playing soccer. The ball runs way too quick on it, plus players constantly complain about how much it takes out of them.

If MLS wants to be taken more seriously in the US and around the world then they’re going to have to improve the field conditions, as the beauty of the pitch is one of the most important parts of the game. They need to communicate with whoever they’re sharing the field with that they need to hold off on all of the markings until completely necessary. The best way to solve this problem is for all of the teams to have their own soccer specific stadiums.