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View Full Version : U.S. put up little fight in ugly loss to Czech Republic



MaNuMaNiAc
06-13-2006, 07:43 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jonah_freedman/06/12/us.openingloss/index.html


GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany -- When it came down to game time, the Czech Republic was the schoolyard bully, and the U.S. was the wimpy kid in the corner handing over his lunch money.

Of course, it didn't help that the wimpy kid was holding wads of hundreds in his hands, essentially asking for a punch in the face.

That was more or less the case when the Americans were throttled by the Czechs 3-0 on Monday in a match where nothing worked for the U.S. The Yanks were sluggish, mistake-prone and completely out of sorts against the No. 2 team in the world, which basically did what it wanted.

The tempo was set from the opening kick. In the months leading up to this match, U.S. coach Bruce Arena had stressed that one of the Czechs' biggest threats was 6-foot-7½ striker Jan Koller. Barely five minutes into the game, Zdenek Grygera sent in a perfect cross from the right wing. Koller slipped between U.S. defenders Eddie Pope and Oguchi Onyewu and, predictably, put his bald pate on the ball, sending it past Kasey Keller. The U.S. defenders started pointing fingers, accusing one another of losing his man. And that was your ball game.

From that point on, the Yanks barely mustered any scoring opportunities, handled the ball poorly and, essentially, looked very little like the No. 5 team in the world (which it never was) and even less like a team that will advance to the second round (which it probably won't). Over the past two World Cups, only one team -- Turkey in 2002 -- moved on after dropping its first game in the group stage.

"I'm very disappointed," the soft-spoken Arena said after the game in one of his biggest-ever understatements. "The Czech Republic took advantage of every play offered them tonight. Our players played pretty hard, but they didn't play well enough. The better team certainly won."

The Czech Republic put on a clinic in near-perfect soccer, demonstrating discipline and patience while relying on its stars to do the damage. Besides Koller, world-class midfielders Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky -- who scored the Czechs' other two goals -- had full run of the pitch, darting in and out of the U.S. defense. On the other side, the Czechs' unwavering defense broke up nearly every play that came its way.

"They just played textbook soccer," said U.S. defender Pablo Mastroeni. "Give them credit -- for as badly as we played, they had more to do with [the result]."


Give Arena credit for taking a gamble, however. After being thoroughly outclassed in the first half, he could have elected to protect the score line in order to save further embarrassment and a further deficit in goal-differential (a key determinant in group-stage tiebreakers). Instead, Arena shifted to a more attack-heavy lineup, a 3-5-2 formation that brought passing whiz John O'Brien into the midfield and 22-year-old Eddie Johnson on as a second striker.

While the U.S. still couldn't get much going in the second half, Johnson showed some promising signs in his first World Cup appearance. He came out aggressive, firing on his first possession and adding another shot on goal later in the half. Neither could pierce the armor of Petr Cech, but Johnson's courage on the big stage could be a surprise weapon for the U.S. in its final two matches -- if Arena chooses to take advantage of it.


But now the going gets really tough. Up next is Italy (which beat Ghana 2-0 on Monday) a team that, when it's clicking, can suffocate its opposition with top-notch possession and bruising defense. That's to say nothing of the Azzurri's Luca Toni, another tall striker who has the flair and mobility to cause the U.S. more problems than Koller did on Monday before he was forced out of the match with a hamstring injury.

"We had been saying all along that hopefully, four points would be enough to get out of the group," said U.S. defender Eddie Lewis. "Now we put this behind us and focus on getting a win and a draw out of the next two games."

Simple as that, right? A draw against Italy and a win against Ghana. We knew all along the U.S. was going to have problems with its killer group. But if things do not improve for the Americans, they're looking at the very real possibility that they may not win a game in Germany. That would be a disaster of epic proportions.

If the U.S. is to continue the growing respect it had started to enjoy throughout the world, it's time to grow up. No one respects the wimpy kid in the corner.


It surprises me how dissapointed American's are about how lackluster its team played, seeing as though most Americans couldn't give a crap about the sport. If your nation isn't backing you up, and really doesn't care how well you perform, what right have they of being dissapointed when you do bad? (No offense to all the Americans that do actually care about the World Cup, but it just doesn't seem to be a priority for most Americans and until that changes, I don't expect these results will http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smidepressed.gif)

ALVAREZ6
06-13-2006, 08:31 PM
The USA team looked so bad, they didn't do shit.



I'll be surprised if they win a single game, those lazy fucks.

rascal
06-13-2006, 08:48 PM
Most Americans don't care about soccer or the world cup. The American sports of baseball, basketball and American football are far more popular sports and more exciting in general. I do like World cup but also realize that the American sports which feature more scoring opportunities are better sports.

Thats why the US will never be a soccer power. Because the best athletes will play the other sports.

And soccer should be called football. But the Americans want to call another game football. Makes no sense why football is called football in America when the rest of the world already was calling soccer football.

MaNuMaNiAc
06-13-2006, 08:56 PM
Most Americans don't care about soccer or the world cup. The American sports of baseball, basketball and American football are far more popular sports and more exciting in general. I do like World cup but also realize that the American sports which feature more scoring oppotunities are better sports.

Thats why the US will never be a soccer power. Because the best athletes will play the other sports.
WTF?? that has to be one of the most ignorant statements made in this forum, and that is saying a lot. Better sports?? pfff..

rascal
06-13-2006, 08:57 PM
Yes.
Baseball is the greatest game ever created.

rascal
06-13-2006, 08:59 PM
You can't even use your hands in soccer.

NuGGeTs-FaN
06-13-2006, 09:00 PM
and more exciting in general. I do like World cup but also realize that the American sports which feature more scoring oppotunities are better sports.


:rolleyes thats your typical hick USA sporting fan comment.....

"our sports is better than anything else" :drunk

its the same with this crap "world series of baseball" and the "world champions" of basketball etc. :drunk

last i heard the USA team only got 3rd in the Olympics so they cant even claim the 'Worlds Best' title, let alone an NBA team claiming that.

Soccer takes way more skill than the popular sports in USA. Any game where you can only use your feet is much more difficult to master than one where you can use your hands.

I know the USA attitude of "we are the best" will never stop but it gets beyond a joke when you claim the sports there are better. On a world basis i can guarantee soccer is more popular than basketball, baseball, hockey or American Football

rascal
06-13-2006, 09:01 PM
I'm an American and I want the US to lose. They are not any good and were hyped up.

Of course soccer is more popular. Its a far older game. The other games are only about 100 years old (baseball in the late 1800's) or less and they are American sports. I do not like US arrogance and i'll tell you I am not arrogant. I want the Yankees to go home as soon as possible.

You could have guys hop around on one leg and play soccer that way that would be more difficult than socer is now but would it be better? Of course not. I like sports where you use your hands and legs.

ALVAREZ6
06-13-2006, 09:08 PM
Yes.
Baseball is the greatest game ever created.
Are you kidding me????






Baseball is the lamest game invented ever in Earth's history.


rascal, your comments are pathetic, you really are stupid fuck.


If soccer is a bad game with few scoring opportunities, then why is it BY FAR, BY FAR the most popular sport in the world?

Maybe you think there's no scoring involved because you've been watching team USA, that's not my fault.

MannyIsGod
06-13-2006, 09:12 PM
ManuMania, as I've said over and over it wasn't that they lost, but how they lost and how they looked in losing. They fell apart really quickly and just didn't look intersted in competing. I think Reyna was one of the few people who I felt tried his ass off. When Eddie Johnson came in I thought he also played his ass off.

In games as big as the World Cup, it isn't all about talent. It is about how much you want it. Desire can take you a long way in events like this. There was very little desire aparent in the US team and after feeling like we arrived in 2002, that was very dissapointing to see.

Everyone who cares about this team is severely dissapointed. You should have seen Alexi Lalas in studio yesterday. He was insanely mad and he's just a former player! I could almost gather from him that he was upset that the steps his teams laid for this current one were being squandered.

I just felt there was little effort on the US's part. And that was severely dissapointing.

ALVAREZ6
06-13-2006, 09:13 PM
and :lmao at the "you can't even use your hands in soccer" comment...

dude it's just a different game, you can't use your feet in basketball.



In baseball, you don't even use any part of your body. It's a game for lazy, fat fucks. Half the time you are sitting in the dug out, waiting to bat. That takes up half of your game.

Then, according to your position determines if you do much else. If you play in the outfield, you see rare action, you'll have to chase a few balls every once in a while.

You have some weak arguments rascal.

rascal
06-13-2006, 09:18 PM
Don't call me a stupid fuck just because you disagree. Yes, baseball is the greatest game.

I told you why. Soccer is an older sport. The other sports are relatively new games, and American games.
The other sports are just starting to catch on in other countries but they have a long way to go.

ALVAREZ6
06-13-2006, 09:19 PM
baseball will never be more popular than it is right now.

ALVAREZ6
06-13-2006, 09:23 PM
Anyways, let's not ruin the thread.




USA wad very disappointing yesterday. I thought they might actually try, but the 5th ranked team in the world simply didn't have any desire in winning. It really doesn't matter though, because Americans don't care about soccer.

A lot of people here in America could have said that they are excited about seeing the World Cup and cheering on USA, but they are just bandwagoners to the team and the sport in general. Once they lost yesterday, I bet a lot of people jumped off and are talking trash on the team.

It's like that for every sport. If team USA doesn't win it all, then fuck it, seems to be the American attitude. Just like the Olympics in the summer of 04 in basketball. They all jumped off and basically didn't care much for USA basketball, but come august or whenever the World Championships in Japan start, everyone will be back on.

rascal
06-13-2006, 09:28 PM
and :lmao at the "you can't even use your hands in soccer" comment...

dude it's just a different game, you can't use your feet in basketball.



In baseball, you don't even use any part of your body. It's a game for lazy, fat fucks. Half the time you are sitting in the dug out, waiting to bat. That takes up half of your game.

Then, according to your position determines if you do much else. If you play in the outfield, you see rare action, you'll have to chase a few balls every once in a while.

You have some weak arguments rascal.

Not weak at all. What is your argument that soccer is better because they have to be in better shape? You want to be in shape, be a marathon runner. Now is that more demanding than soccer? Of course it is. Is it a better sport? No way. You're argument is weak.

Baseball does not have a time limit. It is the only game where the defense has the ball. There are more possibilities to score and interesting scenarios that can happen in baseball than in soccer.

I like watching american football more than baseball but it doesn't effect my attitude that baseball is the best team sport ever created. There is no sport like it. Hocky is alot like soccer except they skate.

rascal
06-13-2006, 09:35 PM
baseball will never be more popular than it is right now.

Baseball may become more popular but it won't be more popular than soccer across the world. Soccer has deeper, older roots. Being more popular does not make it a better game.

Now back to the general topic of this thread.

ALVAREZ6
06-13-2006, 09:38 PM
Baseball may become more popular but it won't be more popular than soccer across the world. Soccer has deeper, older roots. Being more popular does not make it a better game.

Now back to the general topic of this thread.
Popularity is the only way to think of it as a better game, but I agree, it doesn't really mean anything.



But then what does???


Everything is an opinion.

rascal
06-13-2006, 09:39 PM
Popularity is the only way to think of it as a better game, but I agree, it doesn't really mean anything.



But then what does???


Everything is an opinion.

Agree. Except with the part saying that popularity is the only way to think of it as a better game.

MaNuMaNiAc
06-13-2006, 09:46 PM
Rascal you can think whatever you want, but its just your opinion. There is no fact about which sport is "better". Personally I laugh you thinking baseball is the greatest sport ever created, I think that's bullshit, but again, that's what I think, not a fact.

ALVAREZ6
06-13-2006, 09:49 PM
Agree. Except with the part saying that popularity is the only way to think of it as a better game.
I'm saying that popularity is the only fact that can be considered a factor in determining which sport is better.




everything else is opinion.



popularity is more of a statistic.


you can't determine which is a better sport based on how many points are scored.

rascal
06-14-2006, 06:03 AM
You are not considering the whys of why soccer is more popular than other american sports and when you factor in these considerations you see that being the more popular sport is not a stat worth considering when determining which game is better.

Its all opinion anyways. There are no statistics which determine which sport is better, just a personal analization of the games against one another.

Gerryatrics
06-14-2006, 06:14 AM
Just because soccer isn't the most popular sport in the US doesn't mean people here don't care about their World Cup team. Soccer is a lot more popular here that the football elitists would like you to think. Soccer is becoming a more and more popular sport among young people, we have MLS and almost everyone - even if they don't really care about soccer - wants to see the US do well in the World Cup.

TDMVPDPOY
06-14-2006, 07:42 AM
Rascal you can think whatever you want, but its just your opinion. There is no fact about which sport is "better". Personally I laugh you thinking baseball is the greatest sport ever created, I think that's bullshit, but again, that's what I think, not a fact.

im pretty sure there are plenty of other sports > usa sports

eg. rugby union > nfl guys who wear helmets? hahahahah

Ariel
06-14-2006, 07:43 AM
You are not considering the whys of why soccer is more popular than other american sports and when you factor in these considerations you see that being the more popular sport is not a stat worth considering when determining which game is better.
Soccer as currently defined doesn't go back further in time than baseball, it was defined in the 19th century and it's popularity exploded in the 20th century. As for cultural ties, that works both ways, you could say that the main reason baseball has the following it has in the USA instead of soccer or other sports, is more closely related to culture and history than the game itself.

Personally, I have played most sports, and I find baseball to be one of the most boring games if not the most boring of them all. I find it to be too rigid, not as reliant on skills as other sports (basketball, soccer, etc.)... it's just not a 'flowing' game. The only fun part is batting, and to me, watching a game is excrutiating. But, of course, this is a matter of opinion, so I won't pretend that's any other than my own subjective view.

ALVAREZ6
06-14-2006, 07:58 AM
Batting is the only fun part in baseball.




But you couldn't pay me enough to watch a full baseball game.