Let's Analyze Groups!: Group A

Hello all, sorry I haven't posted in a month or so, but life can be busy, you know? So on to Group A, a group that I'll label as The Misfits. Here we have the host nation, a subdued Uruguay, a France team who, after reaching the final of the 2006 World Cup, arguably shouldn't have even qualified for this year's tournament, and... Mexico. Let's start with the host nation, South Africa.

Ranked at a less than appeasing 90 by FIFA, South Africa qualified for this year's World Cup by hosting the tournament. The recent FIFA Confederations Cup should be the most recent measure of their form, right? Well, if it does, the team nicknamed the Bafana Bafana are in good shape to at least make it out of the group stage. They advanced out of their group by beating measly Iraq and New Zealand and a loss to the current Kings of Soccer, Spain. However, the semifinal match showed at least South Africa's defensive competence, only conceding to powerhouse Brazil late on a corner. Also, in the 3rd place match, they led Spain at one point before eventually losing to the Spainards. If this performance is any semblance to how S.A. will play in the World Cup, they look to be in solid shape. I predict that they will surprise Mexico and take the #2 spot in Group A, behind France, despite only having won one game total in previous World Cups. Besides, no host nation has ever failed to move past the group stage.

Speaking of France, remember November 18th, last year? Well, I'll refresh your memory. That was the day on which France and Ireland were playing the 2nd leg of a playoff to get into the Cup. Oh, you're starting to remember? Well, then you probably remember Theirry Henry handling the ball inside the box off of a free kick, then crossing the ball to William Gallas who easily headed it into the twine. If the ball hadn't gone into the net, the playoff would've been tied at 1-1, both away goals, and would've gone to overtime, but instead, France advanced over Ireland and caused international uproar not only from soccer commentators, but also from networks like ESPN who could probably care less about soccer and just common people who don't really follow soccer. Replays of the match were called, Henry was blasted, but nothing was changed, and rightfully so, replaying the game or taking away the goal would go directly against the spontaneity that makes soccer the brilliant sport that it is.
Anyways, enough rambling about that incident, let's look at the actual team. France has obviously been a soccer powerhouse these past few years, being led by huge names such as Patrice Evra, Florent Malouda, and their captain... erm... Theirry Henry! In 2006, France reached the finals of the World Cup, where they faced Italy, and lost in Penalties, it was a compelling game that included the infamous "Zidane headbutt". They didn't qualify for the most recent Confederations Cup, and they barely qualified for the Cup this year, yet they're ranked 10 by FIFA, although I do agree with this, since they are a powerhouse. To add, France is one of the few teams with a World Cup victory, (Uruguay, also in Group A, being another) claiming one in 1998, when they defeated Brazil 3-0 in the final. I believe that the qualifying scare will unite the French and vault them to the top of Group A. That, and the fact that any 11 players that they send out to the pitch are the highest of class.

Now, soccer fans, if I asked you who won the first inaugural World Cup, unless you knew the answer off of the top of your head, you'd most likely tell me a country that has been at the top of the soccer ladder throughout its existence, maybe someone like Brazil, or Argentina, maybe England, who popularized the game. I doubt that you'd ever guess the country with the capital of Montevideo, Uruguay, that is. That's right, the inaugural World Cup(the first recognized by FIFA, any way) was held in none other than Uruguay, where the host nation beat the Argentines 4-2 in the Finals. Uruguay also won the Cup in 1950, winning one of the most famous soccer matches ever against host Brazil, 2-1. Enough said about Uruguay's past though, let's talk about their future. Interestingly enough, their FIFA ranking at the moment is 18, although they only qualified for South Africa through a play-off against Costa Rica (2-1 agg.). It's hard to tell how good their form has been recently, other than their Copa America semi-final appearance in 2007. However, their near-miss on qualification(2 teams trailed them by a mere 1 point to get Uruguay's 5th place in the W.C. group qualifying stages), I don't see them making it very far in this tournament. I'll say 4th place and an early exit in the group stages.



Finally, on to Mexico, who in recent times, has been overshadowed in the international soccer community by their northern neighbors, the U.S. Speaking of the U.S. vs. Mexico, Mexico has bested the U.S. in their last two prominent matches, a 2-1 beating in W.C. qualifying and a 5-0 whooping in the finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, although we have to keep in mind that Mexico was really playing a U.S. C-team. In Mexico's last 4 World Cup appearances, they have made it out of the group stage to the round of 16 and lost there each year. Looking at Mexico's recent form, they didn't qualify for the Confederations Cup and placed 3rd in the 2007 Copa America. They are a strong team, ranked 1 better than Uruguay at 17, but they are also in a strong group, and I don't think they will be able to make it out. I'm predicting a 3rd place finish for the Mexicans and a snapping of their 4 tournament streak of getting to the Round of 16.

To recap, I'll give you how I think the group will play out:
1. France
2. South Africa
3. Mexico
4. Uruguay

Regardless of the results, this group is going to be one of the most intriguing of the tournament, with 3 teams ranked in FIFA's top 20, and the host nation, this group surely will not fail to disappoint.

*Photo sources*
http://www.grasshopperimports.com/market/mexico%20flag.jpg
http://www.ee.adfa.edu.au/staff/hrp/Quiz/capitals/flags/uy1.gif
http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac120/alexmoreau/France_flag_300_2.png
http://www.zslic.co.za/mobile/images/south_africa_flag.jpg

The Union's Toughest Opponent is the Union

Four games into the MLS season, and the toughest team the Philadelphia Union has played, is the Philadelphia Union. First game was all Seattle after Stahl was sent off with two yellow cards. The second game, the Union went up 2-0 against their foe DC United only to let the game tie up by stupid mistakes from Orozco and Seitz. Luckily Le Toux could score a hat-trick off of a free kick as the Union would take 3 points at Home vs DC United.

Game 3 vs Toronto FC showed a Philadelphia Union team dominating their opponent. Califf would then make a stupid play which would give him a red card and the team going down to Ten Men. On the free kick, Seitz literally lets the ball slip through his hands and Toronto FC go up a goal. The Union were still the better team even with 10 men, and were able to tie the game by a beautiful cross by Roger Torres to be smashed into the back of the net by Jordan Harvey. Seitz would give up a penalty after missing the ball on a breakaway, allowing De Rosario to score once again, this time on a Penalty Kick. People started to question why Seitz is starting after two huge mistakes, and think Brad Knighton should get a chance between the pipes.

Game 4 vs  the New York Red Bulls showed the Union in control virtually 90% of the game besides the last ten minutes. The stadium appeared to have more Sons of Ben than Red Bull Fans as Le Toux could not score on two golden opportunities in the first half as Seitz made a miraculous save against Juan Pablo Angel. Second half the Red Bulls would be quick to score off of a cross that Seitz should have punched the ball out, instead he hit his teammate. The Union were quick to comeback as Le Toux would score his fourth goal of the season and the game tied 1-1. Once again Orozco would make a stupid play as he would commit hand-ball in the box as he failed to clear it. This would allow Angel to score from a PK and the Red Bulls would go up 2-1. The Union would miss 3 more golden opportunities, as the Red Bulls would capture all three points in the game.

The Philadelphia Union continue to shoot themselves in the foot. This team could be 3-0-1, as they certainly have played that way, but their actual streak is 1-0-3 with two very hard games coming against the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake before the return home against FC Dallas at Lincoln Financial Field. There is no clear weakness on this team. They are making stupid mistakes that should never happen in a soccer game. So far the team keeps handing victories to the other side by their own mistakes, which is why the Philadelphia Union's toughest opponent so far this season, has been themselves.

Christian N.

Christian is a Philadelphia native, and political and sports columnist for several newspapers across North America. He is also a Philadelphia Union Season Ticket Holder and can be followed on Twitter and his Website.

The MLS Labor Strike: USA Soccer now in Team USA's hands

I am sitting here, typing this article not only as a disgruntled, would-be fan of the Philadelphia Union, but as a disgruntled fan of USA Soccer. On March 11, just 5 days ago, the MLS players voted in favor of going on strike if a new labor deal isn't reached by March 22, 3 days before the beginning of the MLS season.
Of course, hearing this as a Philadelphia Union season ticket holder, my first reaction was anger, but not anger at the players who voted to strike, anger at USA Soccer. The MLS is already a league with limited support, New York, a city which normally has maximum support for its many sports teams, only puts up an average of 12,229 fans per Red Bulls game, and who knows how many of those are visiting fans capitalizing on the abysmal Red Bull support? I'm aware that the Red Bulls are getting a new stadium this year, I'm just using them as an example of the minimal respect and support the MLS receives.
Now let's put this into perspective. It could be worse, it could be way worse. Imagine if the year was 2011, and not 2010, and imagine that the US hadn't advanced past the group stage in South Africa. Answer me this question: who would care about USA Soccer? You have a failing league that treats its players in a less than favorable way, and you have a failing team that seemingly cannot win when it matters. What would be the inspiration for upcoming kids playing soccer and upcoming MLS and USA Soccer fans to care? Luckily for us, the World Cup is just about 3 months away. If Team USA does well, it's going to make people care about soccer in this country. However, if Team USA does poorly, and the MLS still hasn't reached a deal with its players yet, what would be the point of watching soccer for many Americans? This being said, the fate of USA Soccer right now rests in Team USA's hands, hopefully they won't disappoint.

The Donovan Experiment

Back in 2007, Major League Soccer would sign soccer star David Beckham for a 5 year deal to the Los Angles Galaxy. The league would create new rules as to how players of Beckham's caliber could be signed by any team, and not greatly impact the team's salary cap. Some would say the " Beckham Experiment" has failed because the club has failed to win a championship, and even missed the playoffs in Beckham's first season with the Galaxy.

There would also be a ton of controversy when Beckham said he would like to remain with AC Milan after being loaned to them. Landon Donovon even questioned Beckham's commitment to the Galaxy, MLS, and even soccer in America.

Flash-forward in winter of 2009/2010. Donovan signs a $1,000,000+ contract with the LA Galaxy. Everton FC, one of the most successful clubs in England, suffers many injuries to its roster, and at one point, some feared, the club that has played the most top-flight soccer games in the country, could be relegated. Manager David Moyes would turn to the American Star to help his club in the January transfer window, where they would agree to a loan until mid March.

The "Donovan Experiment" at Everton has been incredibly successful. Since joining the club, the team has won 6 games, lost 3, and tied 1. The club, fans, manager, Donovan, even Americans want to see him stay at Everton, but it appears he will return to Los Angeles unless there is a work stoppage in MLS.

If you were able to watch the match vs Hull City, Landon would come on at about the 70th minute with a 3-1 lead and the entire stadium chanting USA USA USA!. Landon would make a cross to Yakubu, only to see Yakubu's shot go into the stands. Landon would then score a beautiful goal with teammate Phil Neville saying USA USA USA meanwhile the fans chanting "Sign him up!"

Donovan's work in under 20 minutes was not done. What could have been his second goal, Landon would instead pass it to his teammate Rodwell, where the ball would go in the back of the net. Rodwell then picked Landon and carried him to the stands.

I never would have guessed England should be the place the USA team should play its home games because you don't here that passion in the states.

While Beckham must be thinking "what goes around, comes around" everyone is on Donovan's side. Either way, The Beckham-Donovan feud and experiments will be continued in the very near future either in MLS, or the USA/England World Cup Match on June 12.

Either way, expect Donovan to return to Everton, even if he should play in Los Angeles this season, because the Donovan Experiment has worked for the toffees.

Bob Bradley and the Yanks

After watching the United States take on the Netherlands, Bob Bradley has some  issues with the Yanks. There were some positive moments in the game, but I don't know if Bradley is willing to change his coaching philosophy because of them.

The negatives are that if we do not have our A-team healthy and match fit, the United States is probably not going to make it past the group stage. We just don't have the depth on the roster that can comfortably fill some spots in the top 11. The good news is most should be ready with the big question mark on Charlie Davies return. If Charlie cannot make it back, it could be very hard for us to score. My solution would be to place Clint Dempsey up top along with Jozy Altidore, and have Brian Ching on the bench. The yanks (and Bob Bradley) like to play a 4-5-1, which I cannot stand. I fear this is what Bradley will use unless Davies can return, because it fits right into Bob Bradley's bunker mentality. Don't let them score, and pray the one good chance we get in 90 minutes will go in the back of the net. Unfortunately, while our defense isn't horrible, it can't stop many teams outside of CONCACAF for the entire match.

There were some positives coming from the game vs the Dutch. When the U.S. was down 0-2, with about 15 minutes left to play, we actually started to go on the offensive. When we did, we had the #3 team in the World playing on their heels and backpedaling. We would score one goal, and had two other fantastic opportunities. The U.S. could have won the game in the last 15 minutes. If we played like that for the entire 90 minutes, winning would have been within our grasp. We can play good offensive soccer against ANY team in the world, and the Confederations Cup proved that against Egypt and Brazil.

Unfortunately, attacking is not in Bob Bradley's philosophy, and he probably wants to use the 4-5-1, the exact formation Bruce Arena used in 2006, and it did not get us into the round of 16. If Charlie Davies can play, we will use the 4-4-2, which gives me much more hope this team will play with some offense in their mind. The United States is very dangerous on the attack, and if they can play like that before and during the World Cup, I like our chances making the quarter-finals, which is not an easy task.

Christian N.
Christian is a Philadelphia native, and political and sports columnist for several newspapers across North America. He is also a Philadelphia Union Season Ticket Holder and can be followed on Twitter and his Website.

The Big Questions

As the World Cup approaches, I will attempt to examine some of the major questions surrounding the upcoming tournament. So, my big questions are as follows:
Will the U.S. be able to get out of the group stage?

Can the U.S. finally prove that it can play in a tournament that matters?

Will South Africa be able to host the World Cup without a disaster?

Who will be wearing the captain's band for England when June comes around? Rooney? Rio Ferdinand?

Can anybody stop Brazil and Spain? If so, who?

Will England be able to break its recent history of early World Cup departures and failures?

Who will emerge from the Group of Death? (This time around, be very weary of Group G, featuring Brazil, Portugal, the Ivory Coast, and the not-so-threatening North Korea)

Speaking of North Korea, will they score a goal?

Does France deserve to be in this tournament?

Feel free to post up any questions, as I'm sure I'm missing some, and comment on any of the questions. I'll be posting up a response to these questions relatively soon, so stay tuned.

Yanks Abroad: Looking Across the Pond for the World Cup

The one huge difference for the United States in World Cup 2010 compared to 2006 is where the yanks play. In 2006, 12 players on the roster played outside of the United States with 11 players based in MLS and the reserve roster contained all MLS players. Of the 12 players who played overseas in 2006, 4 would return to play in the MLS. 


After a very disappointing result in the World Cup, Bob Bradley would replace Bruce Arena as coach of the team. Despite many criticisms of coach Bradley, the one thing he insisted was players playing in Europe. 


Assuming these player are not injured by June, (which many are at the moment), including what appears to be a miraculous comeback by Charlie Davies after a deadly car crash, here is a look of the potential roster for the team.

Altidore
Davies
Donovan
Clark
Bradley
Dempsey
Spector
Bocanegra
Onyewu
Cherundolo
Howard

Of the starting 11, all play in Europe (Donovan plays for LA Galaxy but is currently loaned to Everton FC and Clark left MLS after the 2009 season). 


Even potential substitutes such as Jermaine Jones, Jay DeMerit, Edgar Castillo, Clarence Goodson, Stuart Holden*, Jose Francisco Torres, and Benny Feilhaber play outside MLS. Our best goalkeepers currently play for Premier side teams such as Howard, Friedel, Hahnemann, and Brad Guzan is a backup behind Brad Friedel. Expect the Yanks to have a roster filled with players who play outside of the United States.


Because of this, the team should perform much better in this World Cup compared to 2006, even though they were ranked 4th in '06 and will be about 16th by the time the World Cup begins in June. While the MLS is young, stable league, that has potential in the future. We simply cannot rely on it for players in huge international competitions.  


Just to compare, the United States came in second place in the 2009 Confederations Cup with a roster similar to stated above. They beat the #1 team in the world Spain in the semi-final, and dominated Brazil in the first half of the final only to blow it in the second half. 


A few weeks later, the roster would be filled with MLS stars in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a competition of nations in North America. While this team would make the final, their competition was very weak getting there, the only competition coming from Mexico in the Final. The United States would lose 5-0.


MLS players just cant compete on the Worlds Stage, although it is a great league to show the world the potential United States players have, and players can prove their talent to European Clubs. This is why the United States should should continue to look across the pond for their players. If they can compete with the best in club competiton, the Yanks will be able to compete with the best in International competition.


In the next few months, The US team is playing some huge opponents that will provide a great litmus test for the World Cup. Here is their schedule: 

March 3, 2010	U.S. Men vs. Netherlands	2:30 p.m. ET	Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam, Netherlands	ESPN2 and Galavision
May 25, 2010	U.S. Men vs. Czech Republic	TBD
May 29, 2010	U.S. Men vs. Turkey	2 p.m. ET	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, Pa.	ESPN2 and Galavision

The games in May will probably consist the starting lineup for the World Cup, and since I am from Philadelphia, hopefully I can cheer on the yanks in their final home game before heading off to South Africa.


In order for the United States to improve in international soccer competitions, they need to look towards Europe, not in the MLS, and that is why I predict the Yanks could make it beyond the round of 16 in South Africa.


Christian N.
Christian is a Philadelphia native, and political and sports columnist for several newspapers across North America. He is also a Philadelphia Union Season Ticket Holder and can be followed on Twitter and his Website.


Contact Christian






[*=left MLS after 2009 Season]