U.S. U-20s could reach final
Too many topics to cover today and too little time, so I'm going to a quick sweep through:
a. The U.S. U-20s have a real shot. Aside from the fact that the U-20s are playing extremely well, the elimination-round draw sees the U.S. with a very real shot to reach the final. The U.S.' two biggest obstacles, Argentina and Mexico are on the opposite half and will likely face each other in the quarterfinal. On the U.S. half of the draw, the biggest obstacle will be U-19 European Champions Spain, or a team the U.S. has already beaten in Brazil. Spain plays superb technical attacking soccer, but its defense has looked surprisingly lax so far. Given the way the U.S. is playing, it's favored to beat both Uruguay (though star striker Edinson Cavani is extremely dangerous) in the round of 16 and Gambia in the quarterfinals. Gambia might be trouble, they play an uptempo attacking brand of flair, and are the type of team that can just as easily win 3-0 or lose 3-0. As for the U.S. there remains two potential weak spots. The outside back position is easily the weakest part of the lineup, and the right flank remains vulnerable -- Anthony Wallace's promotion to starter has solidified the left side somewhat now that Tim Ward has been banished to the bench, but Tony Beltran still gets caught out of position way too much on the right side. The other area of uncertainty lies with the U.S. midfield and how it deals with being closed down. The midfield has sparkled the last two games, but had a difficult time against South Korea when pressed. I'd be surprised if you didn't see teams come out with more of a high-pressure, physical approach to try to knock Adu and Co. out of their comfort zone in midfield.
b. Carragher strikes back. That would be Jamie Carragher, Liverpool stalwart and one of England's finest central defenders, although he's been underutilized by the national team for most of his career. Well he's apparently had enough and announced his retirement from international soccer, a declaration that drew apathy in some quarters, cheers from Liverpool fans and criticism from the media. Apparently one such critic, Adrian Durham of talkSPORT, lambasted Carragher as a "bottler" on his radio show, only to find Jamie Carragher himself calling into the show to rebut the insult and invite Durham down to Liverpool for a 'friendly' face-to-face discussion. Great stuff. You can listen to the entire conversation here -- although it comes with a PG rating for those of you who might have a hard time understanding a Scouser accent. I wonder if Carragher will start a new trend among players -- right then, I guess Freddy Adu will be calling me soon.
c. Dwayne De Rosario extends his contract with Houston. Until 2010 no less, which basically scuppers all those De Rosario to hometown Toronto rumors. Too bad really, imagine how good Toronto would be with a midfield of Ronnie O'Brien, De Rosario and rookie Maurice Edu. On that note regarding Edu, he's really coming on as of late. I know I've pegged Benny Feilhaber and Ricardo Clark as the key tandem for the U.S. for the 2010 World Cup, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Edu push Clark and Michael Bradley hard for that spot next to Feilhaber.
d. More big-name signings for MLS? The Revolution's interest in former Liverpool star Robbie Fowler has long been noted. Given that Fowler is currently unemployed and garnering only interest from lower-tier division team Cardiff, surely MLS is looking more and more appealing to him now. For any teams enviously eyeing the Crew's success with 34-year-old Guillermo Barros Schelotto, another name to consider would be his 34-year-old Brazilian equivalent, Juninho Paulista. The little wizard (he's 5-foot-5) is still a viable playmaker (see Palmeiras in 2005-6), and is currently looking for a team (almost recently signing for Hull in England). Let's face it, if he was able to adjust to living in the fashion-mecca that is Middlesbrough with its abundance of sunshine and beaches, and willing to play for Hull, you could put him in Des Moines, Iowa, and it seems he'd be happy. Someone from MLS needs to get on the horn to him now.
Anyway, that's it for me today. I'll be jetting off to L.A. later this week to get involved in the media circus that will surround You Know Who's arrival.
As an additional footnote, I received an email from a reader, Brent Jablonski, who is looking for any soccer-crazed artists that would be up for helping him design a line of soccer T-shirts that he's working on. He's actually willing to pay hard cash for your help and can be reached at brenshiplawnsky@yahoo.com.
Jen Chang
