Confederations Cup 2009 Rewind: USA! USA! USA!

The Confederations Cup 2009 was a great tournament. Especially for US National Team supporters, the Cup provided lows, highs, and highs that quickly turned into despair.

Here at Advantage Played, I like to look to do some of my analysis after the games have all been played. Now that we are moving rapidly away from the Cup, it is easy to look back as the US National Team feed of each other’s negative energy to create something wonderful.

So together with your good pal Graham let’s step back into time and review the games, the highlights, and the emotions.

Game 1: USA v Italy (Group Stage)
The first US game saw a lineup that included familiar faces, some of which US fans were starting to get frustrated and fed up with. After an inconsistent round of World Cup Qualifying, fans and bloggers alike were questioning how we were going to deal with world super power since moments before Costa Rica had slapped us around on a bumpy turf.

The US faced a nemesis in Giuseppe Rossi. He could have been ours, but instead he chooses Italy. His choice really hurt us when he stabbed us over and over. And then he celebrated. How dare he celebrate. Loser.

The Highlights


The Bloggers
Giuseppe Rossi is the devil. He is the spawn of Satan, but he is a beautiful Satan who we would gladly take as our own at a moment’s notice.

Michael Bradley
“Everyone believes in Giuseppe Rossi but no one believes in me, someday I’ll be a real boy”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played : Let’s Kill Giuseppe Rossi

Game 2: USA v Brazil (Group Stage)
The Highlights


The Bloggers
We just lost to the worst team ever, fire Bob Bradley!

Michael Bradley
“We keep losing and yet no one believes in us. Fuck the world. They don’t know what it is really like in the locker room. Without twirling Hejduk's hair through my fingers and getting my kiss I don't feel comfortable on the pitch."

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played: Brazil vs USA: Salary Version

Game 3: USA v Egypt (Group Stage)
After falling to two great teams the US stood up and decided to play. It all came together, a tired Egyptian team, Brazil laying the beat down on Italy

The Highlights


The Bloggers
Don’t fire Bob Bradley!


Michael Bradley
“I will fuel my success with Soccer by Ives message board posts.”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played : Doing It the Hard Way

Game 4: USA v Spain (Semifinal)
With hope on the up no one really gave the US a chance vs Spain. Everyone racked this one up to luck and bit of good play. But with one of the most incredible games in US National Team history... well watch and see.

The Highlights


The Bloggers
Bob Bradley is God!

Michael Bradley
“Those stupid heads with their typing can’t keep me down. Take that internet!”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played: Way too celebratory to write this post

Game 5: USA v Brazil (Final)
For the first time in the history of US soccer, we were in a final. The buildup was huge. Fans watched highlights of Spain losing over and over again while flooding every message board possible. Hope was again washing over the fans but behind all that hope there was still a feeling of dread and dispare.

Two miracles had come and gone, would there be one more?

The Highlights


The Bloggers
Fire Bob Bradley!

Michael Bradley
“Fuck Donavan, I’ll take all the respect I can get.”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played: Confederations Cup 2009 Rewind: USA! USA! USA!

Of Marriage and SuperLiga

Well I am off to get married on Saturday! That means I won't be posting for a week or so. I will see you soon as there are all sorts of excited footballing events going on. Just like every American fan I am excited to see if we can break Spain's record breaking run of good play. My head is brimming with ideas about all sorts of MLS stories I want to write.

If you are going to the Wizard's SuperLiga game Sunday look for me. I'll be at the tailgate with my wife!

Here is a picture of me as I ponder why no one in MLS can cross consistently.

See you there!

Doing It the Hard Way: USA v Egypt Highlights

It's a father's day miracle! The USA pulled out a convincing 3-0 win over Egypt, and combined with Brazil beating Italy by 3 goals, they move on to the next round!

Here are the 10 minute highlights of the USA game:


Of course just as important as beating Egypt was Brazil beating Italy.

Brazil vs USA: Salary Version

10CC Wall Street Shuffle

With two losses in three days and seven goals scored against its no surprise to find message boards full angry American fans. As they passionately call for Bob Bradley’s sacking and kicking Beasley off the team (I can go for that one) we see the true passion and reactions that football causes. In my head I knew that the US was probably going to lose but I still expect the USA to beat the world. Italy and Brazil may be giants, but we are the USA.

As I thought about the Brazil’s win, I started to think about comparing the salary of US players to Brazilian players.

Just how much is the US National Team worth and how much is Brazil worth?

Adding It Up
Because football is a business, and because the market value of each player is one way to measure quality, I decided to look at the fiscal worth of each player. How far behind is the USA financially?

USA v Brazil
USA
Donovan 900k----------Altidore-10 mill----------Dempsey 4 mill

--------------------Kljestan-170k--------------------

----------Beasley-1.4 mill----------Bradley-4.4 mill-----------

Bornstein-90k--Onyewu-3-4 mill----DeMerit-3-4 mill?----Spector 500k

--------------------Howard—5-10 mill?-------------------

Combined Squad Worth: 40 Million


Brazil
--------Robinho-57.5 mill-----Fabiano-40 mill-----------

-----Kaka-91.5 mill-----------------Ramires—10.4 mill----

---------Gilberto-7.3 mill----Felipe—11.1 mill------------

Santos-??---Lucio-12 mill----Miranda-??----Maicon 12 mill

--------------Julio Cesar??------------------

Combined Squad Worth: 250 Million +

That’s a lot of Money

With 250 million, the Brazil’s National Team could buy the US 6.25 times over. Three Brazilian players make as much as the whole US squad. Combined, Robinho, Fabiano, and Kaka make 189 million, almost 5 times as much as the US squad.

What does that tell us? The market sure thinks Brazil is better than the USA.

Let's Kill Giuseppe Rossi

Monday afternoon saw US hopes raised, dashed, and slaughtered in quick order. As Bruce over at du Nord pointed out it’s the first time the US has lost when scoring first in over 75 games. It was disappointing but the US still looked strong despite going a man down. Altidore looked ferocious up front and he could have easily put the US up early on but squandered an incredible chance.

(Yes 10 minutes of highlights)

Giuseppe Rossi

In the end an American stole the show, an American playing for the Italians Giuseppe Rossi himself. It hurts to get beat by any team but when you are stuck and then the knife is twisted by a footballer who could have been playing for your team it hurts even more.

Outrage has erupted from within the American fans all over the internet. Calls for blood; cries of traitor; and discussions of inappropriate celebration. "This tournament means nothing,” they say, “why would he celebrate with no regards towards our tender feelings?" In football the politics and vision we hold can be much different than those viewed by those on the pitch.

Friends and Enemies

How do the American players feel about being killed by a former compatriot? Surely they feel disappointed that he is not one of them, especially after his killing shots took over the game. But I don’t think that the US National team players think of him as a real traitor. Rossi had the balls and confidence in himself throw away a sure thing with the USA and prove himself at the highest level on the Italian National Team.

While we hate, we forget that Rossi and Altidore are friends. Altidore has often spoken of how nice Rossi was to him and how he helped him become acclimated to Spain. Although they may be enemies while they have national team jerseys on they are friends when not on the pitch.

What are we Really Feeling?
What place do these emotions of ours have in the basis of real life? Calling for the blood of a young man who did nothing more than go and play for a country that no one on the American team could start for? Football is more of a business than many of us like to realize.

While all players call for fame and glory while playing for their National side often these big tournaments server as places to drive up your price. The real prize is money, not just glory and adoration.

Recently, a German national team player, Jermaine Jones, has switched sides and we welcomed him with open arms. He is basically doing the same thing as Giuseppe Rossi except instead of trying for the best he is falling back on his second choice. There are no cries for how disloyal he is.

We aren’t angry.

We are jealous.

What's Happened To Advantage Played?

Hey everyone (well those still reading). I'm here to give you a short State of Advantage played.

In the past, the skies were full of magic and wonder. Every day I would update with glorious tales of football and the heros and villians that ran the pitches. Then the skies grew dark. Lightning flashed. Updates came less frequently. Where has Graham and our frequent updates gone? Will he ever return?

Yes its all too true I'm not updating as much recently. But it's a good sacrifice and I still believe I will be back to updating very frequently. Recently I:

• Got a professional full time job
• Move to Kansas City
• Got engaged
• Had a death in the family
• And I'm getting married at the end of this month

As you can imagine, its severly cutting down on the time and energy I once had to update. Not all is lost though. The sky will clear, and I will decend again in a glorious rain of gold. Post will flow like the cash out of Eddie Johnson's pockets.

I shall return to my frequent posting ways. Really.

USA: Stuck On The Tracks?

Last night as I was going to sleep the call of the internet got the best of me, and my Blackberry meant I didn’t even have to get out of bed. I thumbed to Soccernet.com and skipped right to the USA section to read the latest soccer news. There I read an interesting, disturbing, and brave article by Steve Davis.

The article, “Current U.S. team no better than the 2006 version”, caught my attention and held it. Steve sets forth a vision of American soccer that calls out the American National team as complacent and having lost its way.

Where Are We In This Dense Fog?

Davis’ main contention is that we are too hopeful. While the American soccer public is ever hopeful that the National Team is on an upward trend he sees the team sitting in the middle or a long straight barren highway. Yes there are occasional oasis but in the end we are right back in the desert.

Has the National Team really stalled out? Are all of our players too old with no replacements in sight? And why do we keep seeing Beasly and Eddie Johnson after they have failed to gain any significant playing time at their current clubs?

The answers to these questions are hard to find the in dense fog of the present. How do the politics of a football team work? Who is really in control and what is Bob Bradley’s vision? When does a former star and the trust that was placed in him expire?

I don’t have the answers to these questions.

Where Are We In This Thick Forest?

The problem with trying to say exactly what the state of the US National team is that the present is hard to judge. The past is easy. Everything has played out. We can judge with almost full knowledge of what has happened.

Do the back and forth qualifying results mean we are back where we were years ago? Is Landon Donovan a better player than he used to be? Are all our experienced players too old and our young stars too young? We don’t know until the games have played out.

Despite all the problems, the to and fro, the ties and losses, we won’t know exactly where the US stands until after the World Cup is played. The US will qualify for the World Cup. Our win over Honduras solidifies our position. At the World Cup we will be tested and our true strengths and weakness will shine.

There is Passion

Davis contends that the US National team has lost its drive and passion. I don’t believe that for one second. In all of the US National team players I see drive and passion. After the winning goal against Honduras we saw the joy. We saw fight and bite after beating Mexico in Columbus. No one can tell me that Franky Hejduk doesn’t have passion and drive.

You can’t go to Costa Rica, lose, and then say that the US is not an underdog. We may be the medium sized fish in a small pond but every single game against quality European opponents brings out that underdog fight.

Do You Still Feel It?
In the end, I will continue to believe. If there is to be a time when I throw aside my love for the team and say, “That’s it, we are done and everything is lost” that time is not now.

When the coaches and players are simply going through the motions, when the press and media make me hate the sport, when I no longer leap from the couch at every goal, then I will turn my back on the National team and walk away.

Hope and passion is the heart of soccer. Hold onto it.

USA vs Honduras Preview

Hey ya'll, head on over to du Nord and check out my USA vs Honduras preview.

Enjoy your weekend of international and MLS action.

Onyewu Sues: Racism Exposed

You may not have heard the news that is screaming through the American soccer world right now, but Mr. Onyewu is suing an Andrelicht player for calling him a “monkey” three times during a playoff game. Onyewu reported that he told the referee but he took no action. He wanted to walk off the field but his teammates convinced him to stay.

One week after the incident, I saw on Soccer by Ives that Gooch took his complaint to the legal system. The Soccer by Ives thread was already had almost as many comments as the Galaxy have ties and I knew before I clicked what I was going to find.

There is something about the internet that draws out the racial cowards among us. Most of the people who leave racist Youtube.com comments would never say the same thing in real life. The internet gives racists bravery and a voice. They might just cower in fear when a homeless person walks past their car but give them a keyboard and they become the grandmaster of the Klu Kux Klan.

Onyewu: Typical American?

Over and over I read how Gooch was a typical American who just loved to sue people. He should just have think skin. He has facial hair so he just kinda looks like a monkey. Surely it wasn’t anything personal. Come on get over it, talking racist trash is acceptable on the playing field.

It makes me sick. Onyewu is doing the right thing by standing up for himself. We’ve seen over and over that FIFA will not take any real action for racism. Oh, they fight in name, they may give out minor fines, but in the end money rules all. If it wasn’t for bad press FIFA could care less if whole stadium make monkey chants or throw bananas.

It doesn’t matter the situation. It is never acceptable to use any form of racial slurs.

Onward to Court

The Belgium league obviously doesn’t care. Gooch’s former team doesn’t seem to care. You have to fight for yourself. Gooch wasn’t taunted into a physical fight, but that doesn’t mean he’s a coward. By taking the fight to the legal system he is doing the honorable thing and exposing himself to media and personal fire. No doubt this lawsuit will even affect his playing career.

Because the world is filled to the brim with racism, teams will wonder if he can compete in a hostile environment. He will be labeled as a typical American always suing when things don’t go his way.

Don’t be fooled. I support Onyewu. You should to.