Neven Subotic: The decision

There have been numerous reports( mostly out of Serbia) about Neven Subotic's decision for who he will devote his international career to. A month or so ago a random report out of Serbia said he had chosen Serbia. That was deemed untrue. More recently a report from the Serbian national team coach had stated that he was playing for Serbia. That rumour was quashed as well.
However this nex one seems too official and formal to deny. It's been stated that Subotic himself said he sent the international transfer papers to Gulati and that Serbia has given the appropriate papers to FIFA. U.S. Soccer fans having been waiting for the decision and if this stands true than it might get ugly.

But why?

In my honest opinion our center back pool has all the essentials. A solid starting pair[Bocanegra/Onyewu] , a backup[DeMerit/Califf](if necessary a back up for our backup[Conrad]), and some young up and coming players to fill in in the future[Parkhurst/Goodson, Orozco/ Marshall vice-versa and whatever].

Now I'm not going to say that Subotic as a central defensive prospect for the U.S. isn't somewhat exciting. He was a hit for Mainz and will/is be huge for Borussia Dortmund. He's dealt with some of the best strikers like Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, etc. Lets admit it, an aspect of his game is his marvelous ability on set pieces. As if we didnt already have a relatively young talent who can do the exact same thing.....anyone seen Oguchi Onyewu?

Anyways its easy to blame people like Thomas Rongen and Sunil Gulati for not pursuing him earlier or insisting on his playing for United States Youth teams. While some of his decision(should it be true, again, this is just a report. things happen) may be based on things like that, be real, the U.S. can't win every player just like the USMNT cant win every game. Players like Rossi who had their mind set that they were going to play for a certain country do come along. Sometimes the pull of a home country and pride can be the 'winner'. If thats the main reason, can you blame him?

Post your thoughts below.

Chicago Fire vs Columbus Crew Eastern Conference Final

Tonight, The Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew will duke it out to see who is the real Beast in the East. Add to that the fact that whoever wins this will move onto the MLS playoff final and you've got quite a match. Chicago Fire is my simple selection due to their stingy defense. However a home advantage for Columbus might be the equalizer in this match. I'll try as hard as possible to do a blog commentary for the game. I've never done that before and this is a first time in while that I've even updated the blog.

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Pre-game: Here's the Columbus Lineup:
GK
RD Hejduk
CD Marshall
CD O'Rourke
LD Padula
DM Carrol
RM Gaven
LM Rogers
CM Evans
CAM Schelloto
ST Moreno


GK Busch
RD Prideaux
CD Conde
CD Soumare
LD Segares
RM Rolfe
CM Thorrington
CM Pause
LM Mapp
CAM Blanco
ST McBride



5th minute- im still not used to gavens buzz cut.
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8th minute- Justin Mapp dribbles through the Columbus D but his shot isnt that much of a threat for Busch

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Sorry guys I have to stop the Blog because Mom needs the computer.

This is only a test.


(#) Minute- GOAL USA!

and its Clint Dempsey of a sweet strike from outside the box!

The Near post

yay

Exclusive Summer Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!

Holden strike puts USA past Japan

The USA played Japan today in their opening game of the Beijing Olympics. Hoping to play better than their female counterparts, they took on a highly unfavored Japanese squad, and with the mostly Chinese crowd that came to see the game, this could easily have been described as Home game for USA. What I particularly liked on USA's side was the way that Marvell Wynne ran at the Japanese defense in the second half. What made it even more entertaining? Marvell Wynne himself was a defender (right back). His blistering run allowed him to provide a cross that was deflected of the Japanese captain and to the feet of Stuart Holden who drilled it into the shaky hands of the Japanese keeper who could only watch as the ball crawled into the side netting. The goal was of course lucky but no one can forget the great Wynne run that lead to that(He can defend too folks!). Despite that goal from the Scottish-American midfielder, USA's midfield still wasnt as good as Peter Nowak, coach of the U-23 team, could have hoped. the central midfield only had the spark of Michael Bradley. Sacha Kljestan, familiar but inexperienced at the central midfield position, made pass after pass that ended off target.(Although one of his passes lead to the sequence that started the goal). My opinion? Kljestan simply wasnt at his preferred postion(Attacking Midfield). Robbie Rogers also recieved criticism due to his lack of service to Overage forward Brian McBride who, without proper service, was practically invisble, other than when he drew fouls. But of any player who stood out on the field it was Maurice Edu, the central midfielder converted to center back. Hardly anything got past the Toronto FC man, with most passing plays and runs ending at the Generation Adidas players immense frame. partnered with Michael Parkhurst in the central defense and you had a pretty solid defense. If Edu and Parkhurst can stay healthy for the entire tournament, then Nowak will have VERY dangerous combo. Michael Orozco the left back wasn't really a standout. A good tackle here ,a good touch there. Orozco practically told the Japanese defense that he wasn't a natural left back. Overall the USA had a pretty iffy game. Possibly tightening up the midfield will give them a good chance against Netherlands. Once Adu is behind two very large easy to target strikers he'll have much more space to work with. Holden can help Orozco more than Rogers did on that wing. Kljestan will be MUCH more comfortable on the wing than he ever was in central midfield. Bradley will be able to stop every one back there and if he doesn't look whose behind him.

-----------------Altidore---McBride-----------

------------------------Adu--------------------

Holden---------------------------------Kljestan

----------------------Bradley-------------------

Orozco---------Parkhurst---Edu----------Wynne

------------------------Guzan--------------------

Something like this.

Bradley needs to do something about Beasley and Johnson

DaMarcus Beasley and Eddie Johnson used to be the go to guys for Bob Bradley in their individual positions. However, Beasley, the speedy left winger, has recently had a drop in form. To make matters worse for the Glasgow Ranger, Eddie Lewis' performance has been quite noticeable as of late, with a goal against Barbados in that 1-0 game. Its ironic seeing as how Eddie Lewis' hopes of playing time were being threatened by Beasley's performance just 1 or 2 years ago. Lewis even tried to find sanctuary at the left back position but with Heath Pearce's performances there, it wasn't likely Lewis would find any where other than the substitute bench. Now the tables have turned and I HIGHLY doubt Beasley is even going to think of asking Pearce for his position there.

Eddie Johnson, the ambidextrous Fulham and former Kansas City Wizards striker, had drawn the attention of many clubs. He even had clubs in La Liga interested in his transfer. Right now though, he has had competition at that position and, unlike Clint Dempsey, another competitor for the forward spot, he lacks the versatility to play in the midfield area. Competition from the above as well as, Brian Ching( Houston Dynamo) Landon Donovan(Los Angeles Galaxy) and even Jozy Altidore(Villareal C.F.) has Johnsons chances as a striker looking dim.


So what do these players do? Beasley is fresh of a knee surgery so he is just getting used to moving again. Johnson transfered to Fulham in January and is still getting used to the enviroment. is it possible that these two might see more of the game from the bench than from the pitch?


feel free to comment.

Euro Final 2008 Spain Germany.

When i think of Spain i think of the fire of the playing style, the heart and determination of her players. When i think of Germany i think of the technical side of soccer, the strategic visionaries. So I thought 'which would conquer'. It simply depended on who played their style better. Simply put it was Spain who filled that requirement. The largest example, as some of you might of guessed already, was Xavi's imaginative through ball and Fernando Torres' inspired run. Many players would have given up, would have submitted to the speed of the left back Phillip Lahm (fresh off of a semi final winning goal). However, thats where the Spain's determination, heart, and fire came in. Torres gingerly brushed aside Lahm in delicately chipped the ball over the experienced veteran goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Truly, the Shot Heard Round the World. Or at least Europe. Throughout that match, Spain held a constant goal threat. Torres nearly pulled it off again. Marcus Senna's swing and miss that looked a certain goal. Sergio Ramos' header. Those are just a few examples. Germany's effort was, in my opinion, lackluster at best. They held a threat in the first 25 minutes but none of which, as you can see, they capitalized on. Even the captain, Michael Ballack, struggled. Most likely partially to do with the bloody wound he recieved. HOWEVER(Yes, there's more) if I were to rate this final i would give it an 8 for the effort both teams put forth. It was entertaining to the end. Congratulations again spain. Enjoy the cup Casillas. Viva Espania.

USMNT Soccer - Coaching

This is the first of many posts by me so here goes:

I know some of you are on both sides with this. Some of you are on the "Bob Bradley is simply thinking ahead" side. Some of you are on the "Bradley isn't putting the right people in the line up" side. Now i will say that when i saw the lineup of friendlies coming up I at first thought Bradley was a bit over the top. However, when i saw how the score sheets went in that "Triad by Fire" as some call it, I realized that Bradley was on the right track. Think, the scores went in this order: VS. England 2-0, VS. Spain 1-0, VS. Argentina 0-0.0-0.....that was not only the score in that final friendly before World Cup qualifying for the USA but also the look on my face when i saw not just the effort USA put forth, but the plan Bradley had put together. Of course he knew that Barbados wasn't a HUGE threat, but he also realized that the USA had needed to realize themselves that this is how it was going to be if they ever did make it to a WC final. So for those of you on the "FIRE BB" side, i say that you need to look ahead as Bob Bradley does.

RightWinger8 2-0,1-0,0-0......