For the last 15 minutes, the United States had more in the tank than Portugal did.
Jürgen Klinsmann sent in 20-year-old DeAndre Yeldin, to provide fresh legs, just as the astute Taylor Twellman in the ESPN booth had suggested he should, and the youngster moved the ball to set up Clint Dempsey’s go-ahead goal. In the closing seconds of stoppage time, the legs – and the minds – deserted them. The ball squirted loose from Michael Bradley and the defenders could not keep the ball away from Cristiano Ronaldo on the flank. But any one of three defenders – somebody, pick a number – could have shut down Varela, the only red jersey heading to the box. Three large defenders, three spectators, one header, and Portugal drew the USA, 2-2. For the second straight game, Klinsmann made a great late substitution – John Brooks for the game-winning header against Ghana, Yeldin for the time-killing and aggressive move against Portugal. But the USA did not win, and now the players will have to live with it on a brutal ride back to their base before Thursday’s match against a more rested Germany. Any talk of a potential waltz between Germany’s Joachim Löw and the USA’s Klinsmann, good friends and colleagues, will have to wait. For now there is only the hangover feeling of a superb rally and a last-second giveaway. But before that, there was the superb dribble and hooking shot by Jermaine Jones that got inside the post. I love his swagger and his shoulders, and seeing him blast that goal was like watching Charles Oakley, the old New York Knicks enforcer, dunk from the foul line. Not supposed to happen, but it did. One more thought: this is a great World Cup, isn’t it?
Charlie Accetta
6/22/2014 02:22:19 pm
George - I was ready to eat crow, and happily. And then ... Michael Bradley. When I say that I hate this guy, it goes back to when his father coached the Metro Stars. I get that as a nation, we don't produce a lot of skilled mid-fielders. It's the truth. But when Bob Bradley took this coach's son thing to the national team, there was no way we were going to develop anyone in the next decade to supplant that boy. He got a bunch of caps and a load of experience at a very dear cost to the national program, because the fact is, at the end of the day, he didn't really earn his place and he plays like it in big spots. He disappeared in the Ghana match. He seemed okay in the first half today, but he left his game in the locker room for the start of the second half. I'm not going to throw the missed goal at him, because that stuff happens. It was his miserable play at the end that cost the US. I'm back to being pessimistic, because the Germans won't settle for a draw and they'll bring a much more complex offensive look to Thursday's match. I blame Bradley for that. Not Michael. Bob.
John McDermott
6/22/2014 03:03:28 pm
Charlie and I must have been watching different games today. Michael Bradley was excellent overall, as he has so often been, and he worked his ass off. The notion that he is where he is because of nepotism hasn't been credible, or taken seriously by anyone, for a very long time. And I say that as somebody who thought that Bob was definitely guilty of it at the time when he was calling up Michael when he wasn't playing for his club. But do you really think Klinsmann gives a shit who Bradley's father is? Jürgen's the guy who dumped Donovan, the poster boy of US Soccer Marketing. So Bradley, in the 95th minute of a game played in a steaming cauldron lost control of a ball that he normally would have kept. Where was the left back who should have closed down Ronaldo? Why were there three defenders in the penalty area-Johnson, Cameron and Gonzalez-not paying attention to where Varela was going? Blame them.
George Vecsey
6/22/2014 03:15:48 pm
Charlie, I thought Michael was the best US player in South Africa. His play on goal against Ghana was one of the worst things I ever saw him do...until tonight. But I think he is a valuable US player, and was tonight, until the 95th. Thanks for your opinion. GV
John Wilcockson
6/22/2014 03:44:35 pm
Totally agree with you, George, on all counts. But given the close calls that Tim Howard had, 2-2 was probably a just result. (I'm enjoying your book. Puts the USMNT's current great form and skills into true perspective. Thanks!)
George Vecsey
6/23/2014 12:53:23 am
John, thanks, always great to hear from an esteemed (British) colleague like you. I have loved the concept of a "just result" since I realized it existed. No US sport has that concept. Best, GV 6/22/2014 03:58:30 pm
Spot on George. Hey I went to Grbic's Restaurant yesterday to watch Bosnia play....Fantastic, about 500 folks wearing Bosnia shirts, drinking Bosnian beer...yummy by the way...and smoking like chimneys. I'm gutted by the ending TODAY but WHAT A WORLD CUP??? What do you think of ESPN's coverage?
George Vecsey
6/23/2014 12:57:23 am
Tom, I've been sort of following ESPN's plans for a while. Have some friends there, and love the planning -- and quality people -- they have used -- Jeremy Schaap, Bob Ley, Lalas, Twellman, Foudy. The other day Keller subtly pointed out GK mistakes as they happened. The followup last night was good, too, although it took a while to sort out who should have been where on the killer 95th-minute goal, So many suspects. Don't inhale in the Bosnian pubs. GV
Josh Rubin
6/22/2014 04:25:17 pm
A great world cup. Lots of drama (the good kind), teams are playing to win, less of the usual 20-30 minutes of lollygagging dead time in midfield. I thought US looked sharp at a reasonably fast international pace. I'm enjoying your book, as well.
George Vecsey
6/23/2014 12:58:28 am
Josh, thanks for the nice words. I agree with you about Univision. GV
Andy Tansey
6/22/2014 11:43:29 pm
CR7's cross had to be perfect, and it was. Cameron was among the culpable on both Portugal goals, although the first after his shanked clearance attempt was aided by freakish happenstance for the ball to reach Nani.
George Vecsey
6/23/2014 01:01:03 am
Andy, I had not thought about that, but you are right. Refs waving yellows is not the answer. Players still try to game the refs, but the refs are not going for it.
Andy Tansey
6/23/2014 03:58:09 am
Thank YOU! This site is just right! Calm and stimulating, with the right mix of understandable analysis and passion for an American, but without the flavor of the ultra fanatic my Gooner kid has become.
Fredric Bear
6/23/2014 10:17:03 am
Wonderful WC, excellent commentary and restrained officiating. We've reached a juncture where a draw with Portugal is a cause for disappointment. The final giveaway aside, Bradley has looked indecisive to me...perhaps due in part to long minutes in sapping conditions, plus the unexpected absence of Altidore, who was to be his Plan A target. Cameron victimized twice; Nani, aside from the gimme, stunk the place out, when not busy kvetching and diving.
Ed Martin
6/23/2014 10:30:12 am
Just saw Neymar make 2 goals, before duties pulled me elsewhere. Is WOW an acceptable futbol expression? 6/23/2014 11:17:41 am
George 6/23/2014 05:53:27 pm
I posted this on my Facebook page, and it may be too long, so whatever your decision, I'm good with it:
George Vecsey
6/24/2014 12:49:42 am
George, thanks for putting your reactions here. I know you are a baseball guy -- still playing hardball at your own certain age -- and write Baseball Notes most days during the season. I am enjoying watching friends get involved in the WC. The TV ratings say this is a trend -- been coming on for decades, but now in another generation.
Peter Wilson
6/24/2014 04:20:16 am
George, looking forward to Midtown Scholar tonight. Sorry I missed you in Philly. Great commentary from you throughout the WC. Despite the expanded coverage by the NYT, they still miss your voice and perspective. The US has already "won" the WC in my opinion, gaining new fans and confidence for future success.
John McDermott
6/24/2014 06:44:34 pm
There are two huge, giant gaping holes in the New York Times' coverage of the World Cup. They are the spaces that should have been filled by Rob Hughes and George Vecsey. Juliet Macur is a very good reporter and an expert on cycling. But, like quite a few of the NYT people who are reporting and writing on the event, she lacks deep knowledge of the sport and the event. Honestly speaking, a number of the article published in the NYT's WC coverage just leave me shaking my head. Their new "soccer specialist", Borden, might be promising, but he's still a rookie. And there's a long list of others contributing a mishmash of articles. But NYT's coverage lacks an overriding authoritative voice, and one who also writes really well, something it's always had in the past. 6/24/2014 08:15:23 am
Sorry, I had posted this under the "Who Knew" topic in error.
Fredric Bear
6/24/2014 08:50:43 am
WHAT'S UP WITH SUAREZ??!!!!
Fredric Bear
6/24/2014 08:20:43 am
6/24/2014 08:54:15 am
What a great forum! I agree with most which has been said about one of my favorite players, M Bradley who had a horrible game against Ghana. Watching him more closely against Portugal I couldn't believe how many of his passes gave the defender a chance to close on his intended receiver. But then I interviewed Mike Sorber who played a similar role in 94 and he thought Bradley was "much improved" against Portugal and influential in our scoring. Mike is a LOT smarter than I am but I am just hoping MB comes out of his funk. this WC has created a whole new generation of fans of all ages. 6/24/2014 09:33:05 am
Sam Borden made an interesting point in his June 23, 2014 NYT article; “In Time Warp of Soccer, It Ain’t Over Till ... Who Knows?”
Andy Tansey
6/25/2014 02:29:30 pm
Law 7 requires time to be added for time lost due to substitutions, injury, time to treat injured players, time wasting and other causes. The amount of time to be added is in the discretion of the referee. Who is going to count and account for every second? I agree with Lalas. He is a smart, poised and articulate man. I guess he was good enough to play in Serie A. I prefer his opinions to gesticulations, whining and rolling on the pitch. 6/26/2014 03:49:00 am
With today being the last day of group play, and the World Cup only at the mid-point, the excitement and interest of American fans has been a plasant but not unexpected surprise. Comments are closed.
|
Categories
All
|