U.S.A. Soccer turns into a Bust
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by user BigPPup
On the biggest stage in American soccer history the United States soccer team laid an egg against the Czech Rep. The U.S. team made their 2006 World Cup appearance in Germany on Monday, and for those of you who took a long break from work to watch the game, I apologize, because what you saw was an absolute disgraceful performance. This was supposed to be the U.S.’s coming out party to the world. The best team the country has put together for international play in history, yet on the field they looked like the same squad that finished dead last in the 1998 World Cup.
Czech Rep. Striker Jan Koller got the ball moving for the Czechs with a goal in the fifth minute of the game off a header. The Czechs never looked back from that point, piling on two more goals in route to a 3-0 victory over the U.S. team. Many of us on this side of the pond in America forgot that the Czechs were ranked second in the world, and the we all got a reminder of that, through their dominate play.
The U.S. is coming off the biggest soccer build up in the country’s history. After the debacle in 1998, everyone was up in arms, and the U.S. changed the way they looked at soccer. Money was being dumped into programs at all levels to help create a program that could hoist the American flag with pride. In the 2002 World Cup, we saw the begging of the fruits from the buildups effort. The Americans stunned Portugal in their opening game and advanced to the Quarter Finals.
2006 was to be the next big for American soccer, and while they still have a chance to make history, the U.S. soccer team dug themselves into a massive hole. Going into the Cup Group E that the U.S. is playing in was labeled “the group of death” with USA Czech Rep, Italy and Ghana playing in it. The top 2 teams advance into the next round. Italy is a squad under a lot of adversity due to scandals in the lower leagues, but they will be a formidable opponent for anyone to face. The U.S. needed to split their games between Czech and Italy and win against Ghana in order to advance. Now they much win out and get a little bit help from some other teams.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the day was not the fact the U.S. lost, but in the manor they did. Anyone who saw the match saw an U.S. team that was hesitant and lackadaisical on the pitch. There was no sense of urgency from the American players. Once the Czech team jumped out to a 1-0 lead the Americans never got back on track.
The only legitimate attempt at a shot on goal for the U.S. came in the 29th minute courtesy of National team veteran Reyna. Reyna’s shot curved by an outstretched goalie and bounced off the post. That goal would have tied the game at 1-1. A typical occurrence it seems for the American Soccer program. Rather than tieing the game at 1 a piece, the U.S. let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers. The result was you could feel the energy escape from the stadium and the U.S. team seemed to give up from that point on never mounting a serious attack from then on.
The lost on Monday will be a tremendous blow to American soccer on the whole. Soccer is a growing sport that has struggled to gain attention on the national level. The World Cup gave American soccer players a chance to showcase themselves for international fans, but more important the common American sports fan the opportunity to watch and follow the sport. Soccer needed the exposure of a successful appearance. Instead the worse circumstance took place.
The U.S. needed a respectable showing. Of course ideally a win would have been great, but a tie, or a close lost would have been fine. The sporting public loves heartbreak stories of near fortune, close games, and bouncing back from adversity. What the typical American fan does not like is a team that lacks heart, or fails to play hard. There is no quicker way to gain the ire of the American fan than to quite while on the playing field. The Americans quite on Monday, there was no effort, and short of a small handful of players it appeared there was a complete lack of caring. Americans love the Rocky story, but Rocky never gave up.
With a sport that already has an image of being soft, and if often considered weak because of the flops and lapse of physical contact, it could not afford the questions of lack of heart. American soccer has dug itself into a deep hole due to the abysmal showing on Monday. Now it reaches a critical point in the sports history. A monumental effort will be needed on Saturday to beat Italy. An early exit from the World Cup could mean an early and permanent record from the American fans consciousness.
Date
Mon 06/12/06, 12:29 pm EST
