Over the past month, a World Cup that has been both electrifying and controversial has enthralled the world. It has been electrifying enough to finally get some of the United States actually interested in the Cup. On the flip side, it has been so controversial and the games have been officiated in such a strange fashion that it has pretty much undone all of the great soccer that has been played. This all leads to a larger discussion about the state of US soccer and the viability of the sport as a whole in this country. I’ll get back to this subject later in this article, but it bears reminding that this is the overtone of the entire World Cup as it pertains to the US.
If your not a soccer fan and watched the US play and still don’t understand what all of the uproar is about in regards to the World Cup, I don’t blame you one bit. If your not a soccer fan and you watched Argentina and still don’t understand what all of the hubbub is about, then I can’t help you. Argentina was the best team in the tournament and played brilliantly throughout the tournament until their coach had Isiah Thomas’ coaching ability all of the sudden magically substituted into his head and he took Riquelme off the field late in the second half and Argentina couldn’t bring the same pace as when he was on the field. In a strange tournament, that might have been the biggest blunder of the World Cup.
Speaking of blunders, England is quickly becoming the Chicago Cubs of world soccer. First off, the English side has been over hyped for years now. By leaving Emil Heskey off the team, they left themselves with no ability to be offensive. Also, by pinning their hopes to the feet of Michael Owen, David Beckham and Wazza (Wayne Rooney) the Brits left themselves helpless if they had to play a team that would attack all of the time causing the English to counter attack. For all of you that thought this might have been England’s year, just remember, Steve Bartman didn’t lose the Cubs the World Series- the Cubs did that all by themselves. By the way, until Wazza controls his temper and becomes a more heady player with the same work ethic he will never be compared to Paul Gascoigne (the original Gaza) although Gaza did have some of the same attributes.
Two teams that came into the Cup with questions about their sides and how they would play have been getting stronger as the tournament has progressed. Both France and Italy, two teams with long tournament resumes, came into Germany looking very vulnerable and have turned into powerhouses as the single elimination stage has taken place. To that, some of the great players of this generation have been playing the way we want to remember them as Thierry Henry and the great Zidane have been extraordinary. For Italy, Luca Toni is now a world-class striker and the play of the rest of the side has been perfect over the past two weeks. With everything that’s going on in Italian soccer and the chance that four of the biggest clubs in the land were fixing matches with referees, this has been therapeutic for the Azzuri fans.
The other two teams in the Final Four of the Cup, Portugal and Germany, have had very different trips to this stage of the tournament. Portugal has not lost in a long time as a national side and Germany came into the Cup as a lame duck team that no one expected to be here. Of course when Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose play at this level, it’s hard to beat Germany. Portugal has one of my favorite players in the world, Luis Figo, although he hasn’t been the player I would have hoped for, the team has still been very hard to play against and very hostile. Portugal has taken a different tact in this Cup by not worrying about the refereeing and playing a very physical game of soccer. This has led to every team they have played becoming increasingly feisty throughout the match and loosing their cool. Portugal, once they have a team in that position, is skilled enough to make people pay. In every game of the tourney, they have.
On to some of the good stories from this tournament and no one beats the Ghana team and their advancement into the elimination round of the Cup. They were my favorite team coming into Germany and they left as my favorite team in the world. Michael Essien is a monster in the midfield and had he not been given two yellow cards in the first round, they may have beaten Brazil in a game they dominated, but Brazil’s will and talent got them the win. Ivory Coast is also a side on the rise. Ecuador showed everyone that they can play at sea level and be a good side. Croatia also showed they should be a force continually throughout World Cups. And we saw the start of a star filled career for Argentine youngster Lionel Messi, the next Marado….
On to the American side and its’ apparent lack of anything resembling a side that can compete on the world stage. It all revolves around a conversation that my father, my brothers and myself used to have on the way to the seemingly million of games we played as teenagers and it goes something like ‘what if Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson and other great US sports stars had decided to play soccer.’ Think about it, if the US got the best athletes to play soccer instead of the other sports in this country, the US would be unbeatable. But, the US Soccer Federation has always relied on the idea that a player has to be the fittest player to make the national side. While this makes for a great track and field program, it doesn’t put the emphasis on skill and, as anyone could see, that was the biggest difference between the US and the rest of the world. There is no offense, there is no real idea of what’s going on and the team was set up in a way that they wanted to win 1-0 or draw 0-0 in every game. In essence, they were batting the pitcher third or throwing the ball on every down in a torrential downpour. If the US is ever going to capture the eyes and hearts of the US public (and respect on the world stage), they are going to need to start getting these dynamic players off the courts for a second and on to the pitch. In essence, the Rodney Carney’s of the country need to be playing soccer to make this team a world force. Oh, and all of you who believed the FIFA world rankings that had the US #5 in the world, need to contact me because I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d love to sell you.
And who wins the Cup? Not the hometown team, the Germans, who won’t make the Finals as they lose to Luca Toni and the Azzuri in the Semis. It also won’t be Portugal, who will not make the Finals as Zidane, Makelele, Ribery and Henry will make the French a Finals team. It will be the French side that will send the best player I’ve ever seen, Zidane, off with glory in his last game as they beat the Azzuri in a stirring Final on July 9th.
And July 9th, thankfully, I will be returned to my regularly scheduled life. As it happens every four years, I have been completely absorbed by the Cup. And in four years, you’ll be seeing this column once again, expect I’ll be in South Africa watching as many games as possible.
