The horror, the horror. Explore my heart of darkness. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
GAME ONE: South Korea vs Uruguay.
God. I don't even want to write about this stupid game. Who cares what happened? Some fucking team played some other fucking team, but neither of them are going to end up playing the US, so why should I give a shit?
If forced, I suppose you should know three things:
1) Uruguay deserved to win. They were the classier, more dangerous team. It's all about effectiveness. South Korea had more shots and more possession, but aside from an agonizingly close free kick in the 5th minute, they couldn't break down Uruguay's compact defense.
2) Luis Suarez is coming alive (thanks to Diego Forlan). He's obviously the lesser of the striking pair, but with SoKor's defense so focused on tracking the Captain around the pitch, Suarez kept finding himself in good positions to score. When you factor in Forlan's status as (maybe) the best passing forward we've seen at the tournament, and you can see how Suarez scored two goals.
3) Defense has been the key to Uruguay's success. They absorb pressure, absorb pressure, absorb pressure, then play a great ball out of the back to Forlan's feet, and they're off. South Korea is the first team to score on Le Celeste in four games at the tournament. Maybe Uruguay's play could best be described as South American Catenaccio. Look it up.
GAME TWO: USA vs Ghana.
I think you all know what happened in this game. The US lost 2-1 in extra time. It's the second time in a row Ghana has knocked us out of the World Cup by that scoreline. That said, prepare for the free from analysis.
Feelings
I'm really disappointed, but I feel like I should qualify that statement.
Going into today's game, it seemed like things were lining up perfectly for the US. They were in the weakest quadrant of the elimination stages, they were riding an emotional high and they had a strong, cohesive team that, especially in the final two games, really seemed to be gelling. I couldn't help but feel as if this was the best chance we would have to do well at the World Cup over the next 20 years. Maybe that's a little pessimistic in reference to the state of our national game, but whatever. I'm being honest.
Future aside, in the here and how, I felt hope. Against my better judgement, I allowed myself to dream, which, as a lifelong fan of American soccer, I should have known better than to do. Of course, it backfired. We lost. We lost in heartbreaking fashion. Which brings us back to the disappointment.
I'm not mad at the players. I still love them all (well, most of them). They had a good tournament, overall. The international game is all about incremental improvements, and hopefully we can build off winning our group when we go to Brazil in 2014. This is definitely the end of the road for some of our players:
Steve Cherundolo - 31
Carlos Bocanegra - 31
Jay Demerit - 31
Marcus Hahneman - 38
For others, the future is murky.
Oguchi Onyewu - 28
DaMarcus Beasley - 28
Clint Dempsey - 27
Herculez Gomez - 28
Landon Donovan - 28
Ricardo Clark - 26
Edson Buddle - 29
Clarence Goodson - 28
And I'll be sad to see them go.
My disappointment has everything to do with the situation and nothing to do with the players. Including the whole Ricardo Clark/Jonathon Bornstein situation (which I'll get to later). Here's my thesis statement: I really wanted it to happen this year, which, I suppose, is no different than any year, but THIS YEAR, I actually thought it COULD.
It hurts. It hurts real bad.
Animosity
I have a feeling that, after this game, Ghana is going to become one of those teams that American soccer fans all collectively hate. For the record, I'm not buying into that bullshit.
Despite the fact that they've beaten us two World Cups in a row, I can't really see why they're deserving of ire. Especially this year. The way I see it, the US beat itself. Ghana just happened to be on the field.
If we hadn't been drawn against Ghana in the second round, I would have been rooting for them to go as far as they could. Now with the US out of the picture, I don't see why I should suddenly change my mind.
So, Ghana, I'm going to root for you. Am I happy about it? No. Am I doing it? As hard as I can.
Why, God? Why?
In two words: Bob Bradley.
And I don't say that with hate in my heart. And I'm not necessarily calling for his job. The man made a couple of mistakes. He has limitations. Just like the players he chose to play.
Contentious decision #1 - Oguchi Onyewu
You know, I'm not sure that I would have done it, but I respect Bradley's choice in this matter. Gooch was not at full speed, and he was responsible for giving up 1.5 of the goals in the Slovenia game. It's a tough call, but I can see the logic. However.
JONATHAN BORNSTEIN!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?
Play ANYONE besides Bornstein. Play Spector, play Goodson, play DaMarcus Beasley, for fuck's sake. Bornstein is just not good enough for the international game. He's slow, his passing is subpar and his poise on the ball is extremely lacking. An outside back in the modern game needs to be able to run up the wing and provide quality service to the forwards. He does not have this ability, and therefore, should not have been playing. It stunted us as a team.
It's not his fault, though; he should never have seen the field. For some reason, he's been Bradley's pet throughout qualifying, and I can't say that I was surprised. But his being on the field instead of Gooch or anyone of the other options directly contributed to our loss. Believe that.
Contentious Decision #2 - Ricardo Clark
Sometimes, I wonder if Bradley watches his own games. Clark is another example of one of his pet players, a guy with limited talent that somehow sees the field before players with superior skill sets.
In case you're an idiot, Maurice Edu has made a huge difference in every game he's played. When he came on at half versus Slovenia, we turned things around. He did an excellent job working behind Michael Bradley versus Algeria. Yet, somehow, he didn't start. Clark got put back in (which I called, by the way), and we all know the rest. He loses the ball in midfield, Ghana goes on the counter and scores. Bradley subs him out around the thirty minute mark, and suddenly, we're a much better team.
Once again, this is not Ricardo Clark's fault. It's all on Bob Bradley. He needs to understand his team better than that. Clark will never have Edu's class. He should not have started the game.
Contentious Decision #3 - Robbie Findley
The whole tournament.
He was only there as a substitute for Charlie Davies. The man has never been good enough to play at this level. I would have preferred Conor Casey over Findley. Brian Ching. 60% CD9. The ghost of Digital Takawira.
Before the tournament, I was convinced that Demspey should have been up top with Altidore, and I stick by that sentiment. Benny Feilhaber on the wings brought so much more to the attack than Findley up top. It was a sad experiment that should have never happened. Findley missed three one on one shots versus the keeper this tournament. That's UNCONSCIONABLE.
No, really. Why?
Lack of preparation, lack of poise.
Ghana scored two shitty goals. The finishes, in and of themselves, were well taken, but the goals were still shitty. Let me explain why.
Goal 1: Ricardo Clark dribbles directly into Kevin Prince-Boateng, who took the ball the on the counter and slid it low and hard past Howard on the near post.
Clark made an idiot mistake. He dribbled away from one player and directly into another. But that's not where the problems ended. What was Howard doing, giving up so much of his near post? It was STRANGE. I hate to say it, but this goal was not so much a good shot, but an adequate shot with a goalkeeper error. Timmay's positioning was terrible.
Shitty-Give-Away + Shitty Goalkeeping = Shitty Goal
Goal 2: Some fucking guy blindly kicks the ball up the field, our Bocanegra and Demerit are strangely 30 yards apart, the ball luckily falls to Gyan's chest who shrugs off a late Bocanegra challenge and finishes off the volley.
I will never be able to tell you why our center backs were so far away from each other. It continues to haunt me. I will never be able to fully express how lucky that pass was. The man was not even looking when he kicked it. I will never be able to tell you why Bocanegra didn't take Gyan out. I will never be able to tell you why I am so upset by all this.
Lucky Blind Pass + Shitty Positioning + Lucky Run + Bad Defending = Shitty, Lucky Goal.
Look.
There are so many other things that I probably should say, but I just won't. Ultimately, I can't approach this game cooly and analytically. Do I think that the US should have won? Yes, I do. Is that a fair assessment? I'm not sure.
I'm tired, friends. I don't want to write anymore. If the US hadn't made the knock out stage, it would have been easier for me to take. Just write it off. No big deal. But this IS A HUGE DEAL TO ME. We should have done better. We were better. This was our year.
Life is not fair, but I don't want to be a sore loser. Congratulations to Ghana. The fact of the matter is that you scored more goals and won the game. Good luck.
We fucked it all up. I still love you guys, but you fucked it all up.
I'm done. I'm out.
Goodbye forever.
-ZGS
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