David Slays Goliath, 2-nil

An historic day for the U.S. Men's National Team as they won a place in the Confederations Cup Finals after defeating #1 rated Spain.

Winning a semi-final spot must have been bittersweet to every US player who picked up a newspaper the next day and saw the words “luck” and “gift” used to describe how they earned a place in the last four. Now it may have been a bit of fortune that Brazil beat Italy 3-0, but Brazil did put at least 3 goals past everyone in their group so why should Italy have been any different? The USA brought the game right down Egypt’s throat with intense play that led to a much-deserved 3-0 victory from the Americans. It just so happened that these games occurred on the last day of the group stage and that the Americans decided that instead of rolling over and exiting the tournament with their tails between their legs it would be better to launch an onslaught into Egyptian territory and have Guissippe Rossi watch them take on Spain in the semi-finals from the comfort of his own home.

I said last week that regardless of the score, Spain is a much more talented team than the USA. The US players all know that; but being talented doesn’t give you a free ride to the Confederations Cup Final. Thankfully for the spectators, Spain did not take this match lightly and gave us all a heart pounding game.

They came at the USA with their usual bag of tricks. Clever ball movement, fantastic shots, and great touches all looked to be too easy for the Spaniards. What didn’t look easy was finding a way inside the American box and creating a golden scoring opportunity. Spain couldn’t find their venom today, and the frustrated faces of David Villa and Fernando Torres told the story of two world class striker who couldn’t create a way to break down the American defenders and fire their team into the finals. That task proved to be just beyond them and that’s in no small part due to the world-class performances of Oguche Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, who seems to have stolen Carlos Bocanegra’s center-back spot.

What makes this victory so sweet for the US players and fans is that Spain did not underestimate the US Men’s National Team. Instead they played with all the vigor and pressure of a world cup final and it wasn’t enough to win. Although Spain is the more skilled and more decorated side, they could not play their way through the beating hearts of the US players who left nothing on the field. The US team did not win because Spain thought this game would be a walk in the park; they won because they were the better team on the pitch.

This game came down to why the US wins all their international “upsets;” they played harder than the other team and the goals came as a result of that. Congratulations lads, you played your hearts out and beat the best team in the world. Even the naysayers have to realize now the when the U.S. plays their game with that kind of intensity and character they can go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world. Raise your glass and have a toast if you are a U.S. soccer fan, today was a great day for the team, the sport, and the country.

- Tim Conley

Going into Spain

A few thoughts about the U.S. Men's National team going into their biggest game since 2006.

What a day for the U.S. Men’s National team. At the beginning of the match the commentators weren’t even entertaining the notion of the U.S. making it into the semi-finals of the Confederation’s Cup, but now the most unlikely of results has catapulted the U.S. into the final four of the tournament. Unfortunately, changes must be made if the U.S. wants to walk off the field with their heads held high after their match with Spain on Wednesday.

Bradley must have gotten the right message through to his players this morning because they applied smart pressure all game. When the Egyptians played Brazil they were able to dance around with triangle passing while the inept Brazilians hurled themselves into hopeless tackles. In the U.S. team’s opening matches they were unable to provide much pressure because they were playing with 10 men most of the time. The way they went about defending the Egyptian attack and putting pressure on the ball led to dozens of bad passes and turnovers for us. They didn’t lunge towards the ball and they didn’t make foolish slide tackles; instead they played smart, organized football and were able to control the game because of it.

This progression must be carried through into the Spain game, because international refs have a track record of red-carding U.S. players for any hard tackles they make. Let us not forget the mystery red card in the last world cup against Italy where the players on the field had no idea who had been carded or why. You can bet that David Villa, Fernando Torres, and half a dozen other Spanish players will be sure to punish the Americans for lunging tackles or for giving them too much room to work with. By applying smart pressure and resisting the urge to throw themselves at the ball, the U.S. team will be able to control the Spain game more and avoid falling victim to the impeccable footwork of the Spaniards. This is lesson one; apply constant pressure without over committing to tackles.

Beyond that the U.S. needs to do a few things if the they want to walk off the field with their heads held high after their match with Spain on Wednesday.

Keep Donovan on the left wing.

In several qualifying games Bradley would stick Donovan right behind Jozy as a supporting forward. This takes Landon out of his element; if he is constantly receiving the ball with his back to goal, he cannot make the long penetrating runs that create opportunities for the U.S. team. Keep him on the wing where he can receive balls on the counter attack and charge at defenders. He has the pace to cut into the middle and open up play, or carry the ball down the touchline and serve one into the box. Either way, Landon should not be positioned in the middle of the field because it takes him out of his element and denies the U.S. one of their strongest weapons: the pace, fearlessness, and ability of Landon Donovan when he charges forward on the ball.

Take Clint Dempsey off the wing.

He has spent the last three games neglecting his defensive responsibilities and has been bailed out by fantastic performances by Jonathon Spector. He is a creative attacker, but Spector won’t be able to defend alone with David Silva and David Villa coming at him while Clint jogs ten yards behind them. Clint did well to score a goal against Egypt when he was playing up front, but his lack of enthusiasm makes me question whether or not he even wants to wear the shirt. Bob Bradley needs to introduce U.S. National Team Clint Dempsey to Fulham Clint Dempsey.

Don't start Charlie Davies.

I know, I know, he scored a goal. Big whoop. He has the right attitude for the team; that much is for sure. But his touch is terrible, he has no vision, and single handedly killed three or four promising looking U.S. attacks against Egypt. My Romanian soccer coach in middle school used to put me, a natural defender, at striker when his forwards weren’t performing. He would say, “Look at Tim, he has no skill, but he try!” Such is the case with Charlie Davies, he has little skill, but he tries. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Connor Casey has skill and chemistry when he is paired with Jozy, but he doesn’t seem to want to play. He hasn’t been applying the pressure that our strikers need to when we don’t have the ball. What about trying Freddy Adu again? I know he hasn't played regularly lately but we need another creative spark to play off Jozy.

Use two strikers at all times.

It seems Bob Bradley finally got the idea for a striking pair going into the Egyptian game. Altidore is coming along great as a player, but you can’t ask a 19 year old to collect long balls all game with no outlet for support. You can see him getting overwhelmed by defenders quickly in games where we play the Altidore/Donovan supporting forward connection. Keep a pair of strikers on the field as long as we have 11 men so that we can attack with authority.

Stop kicking the long ball.

The U.S. attempted more long balls this tournament than any other team. They also succeeded with fewer long balls than any other team. Sure, every once and a while we get a good one in from Feilhaber and Jozy gets a run at goal, but all it says to the international competition is that we aren’t confident enough to run at defenders and move the ball up the field with smart passing and creative runs. Nothing kills a team spirit more than dumping the ball back to the other team the moment we get possession. You can’t win games by sitting back, absorbing pressure, and hoping that a Hail Mary ball leads to a goal. We proved against Egypt that our passing game is there, it exists, and we can use it as long as we are confident. Guzan in the goal distributing the ball may have been a big factor in that today; hopefully, Howard will take a tip from the youngster on building from the back.

Find someone to pair with Michael Bradley, fast.

I doubt that Ricardo Clark is much more than place filler until Bob Bradley finds a central midfielder that can be as influential as his own son is. Bradley goes hard into every tackle (which sometimes gets him into trouble), distributes the ball well, and is always getting forward. Perhaps the best characteristic the youngster has is that he is never afraid to have a shot. We’ve seen a number of chances come and go because players are afraid to be selfish and take a shot themselves. Bradley wants to score, and is always getting involved in forward play. When he sees a chance, he takes it.

If we can get someone to play next to him that’s half as ambitious as he is, we should be all right. We can’t have players that are as invisible as Ricardo Clark or as inconsistent as Sasha Kljestan. Torres is a possible option, but I haven’t seen enough of him to cement a place in the starting 11 in my mind. Benny Feilhaber is comfortable on the ball, he distributes it as well as anybody, and he is one of the most creative players on the U.S. squad. Creativity is something the U.S. squad can desperately lack at times. Maybe partner him with Michael Bradley in the middle and see what happens?

A few positives to take away:

The U.S. has more depth in their squad than a lot of people thought. Jay DeMerit has been a huge player defensively this tournament. A lot of nervous eyebrows were raised when Bocanegra went out injured, but DeMerit has been more than equal to the task of playing next to Onyewu.

Onyewu has also come into his own as a dominant central defender. In this tournament we have seen the very best out of him, and I hope he can carry this through into his future play. Spector has had a great tournament as well; all but shutting down his side of the field on the defensive end while making threatening attacking runs when his side have the ball. It will be difficult to swap him out when Hejduk is healthy again. Maybe switch him over to Bornstein’s side and have two very fast and talented wing backs? Bornstein has been nothing to write home about this tournament.

Closing thoughts:

Although the U.S. showed great improvement against Egypt they need to keep in mind that Spain is the best team in the world right now and aren't going to go belly-up the way the Pharoahs did. They need to run the legs out of Spain, keep possession of the ball, and take the Spaniards out of their game while playing theirs. Everyone is writing this game off as a 4-nil blowout, but it doesn’t have to be. For as long as I have watched the U.S. Men’s National Team they have been using heart, character, and work ethic to fill in for what they lack in raw talent.

Nothing can change the fact that Spain is going to be the more skilled team on the field. The U.S. team cannot develop dazzling foot skills and perfect chemistry overnight. What they can control is how hard they work, how well they keep their shape, and how they confident they are from the kick-off. They need to walk onto the field without fear and playing to win. If the U.S. squad comes out of the gate against Spain with their full effort, wearing their hearts on their sleeves, and leaving nothing on the field, then they can walk out of the Spain game proud of themselves with a country of fans behind them regardless of what the scoreboard says.

-Tim Conley

Just a little wave, that's all I ask

Most of us don't live in urban areas and rely on our cars to get from A to B. We use cars to get to the grocery store, to commute to work, and to run our weekend errands. And each of us knows of one, if not several, intersections that make driving even short distances a nuisance.

You know this intersection very well. This is that intersection with no stoplight where you need to turn left, and it is impossible to get your left hand turn. Maybe, perhaps once or twice a month the seas will part and we get to this intersection and rejoice as we skip the stop sign altogether and ease our way into the left lane without as much as a pause.

The rest of the time we sit here, sometimes for up to 15 minutes, waiting for the smallest gap in traffic to exploit and get on our way. Either that, or we rely on the good will of a fellow driver who stalls the traffic behind him and allows you to turn in front of him to spare you the torture of another 5 minutes grinding your teeth and gripping your steering wheel until your knuckles turn red.

What do we do when this Good Samaritan grants us passage? We look both ways, proceed into the intersection, look over our shoulder and give them the wave. It’s a simple and effortless of gratitude that tells this driver: “Oh my God, thank you so much. If I had to sit there another minute I’d have driven my car into a tree. Then you came along and freed me from this traffic purgatory and potentially saved the life of every passenger in my car. Thank you good sir, whoever you may be.”

It’s a universally understood motion. Everybody knows the wave. It justifies our letting in the frustrated driver stuck at the most notorious intersection in town. It verifies that we did a good deed; we helped out our fellow man out of an awful situation, and we can then continue on our day feeling a little better about ourselves.

This random act of kindness works well for both parties. The generous driver feels better about himself and the frustrated driver gets to make it to work on time. So why, I ask, do some people not reciprocate the random act of kindness with the wave?

The other day I was driving down the road and past the death intersection and noticed a pause in oncoming traffic. I saw a driver stuck at the stop sign trying to turn left into my lane and I saw the opportunity to make somebody’s day. I slowed to a crawl and created a sizable gap between my car and the car in front of me, and then I motioned for the driver at the stop sign to turn in front of me.

Upon doing this, my mind underwent the following thought process:

“I am such a good person, I feel like patting myself on the back. Look, there he is entering the intersection because of me. He sure is lucky that I came along and rescued him from that horrible left turn. I – wait a minute, did he forget to wave? MOTHER FUCKER!

How dare he? What nerve! Who does he think he is? How the hell can he not recognize me for my great act of unthinkable kindness? He didn’t even look over. No wave, not even a nod. This douche bag is just going to go on driving like nothing even happened. But something DID happen. I ought to ram my minivan right up the ass of his little Saab two door. What kind of a little bitch forty-year-old man drives a two door Saab anyway? Must be a prick.”

That shitbag had me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. I couldn’t believe he could be so rude. I mean honestly, how hard is it to take four fingers off your steering wheel and raise them up in thanks to the people who help us out?

All I ask is for people to reach into their hearts and empathize with those who do good deeds for us, and give the wave. Just a little wave, that’s all I ask.