So this weekend's action across Europe was overshadowed by the World Cup draw and probably Thanksgiving for most of you (that and there really wasn't much in the way of any particularly intriguing clashes), so here's what I think this fine day:
1. The U.S. draw. To be honest, I didn't really pay much attention to the ramifications for Bob Bradley's crew. OK, so the opener is going to be against Barbados or Dominica, with a likely semifinal matchup with Cuba. Either way, the chances of the U.S. not being one of the three automatic qualifiers from the CONCACAF region for the World Cup are about as likely as Pacman Jones becoming a UNICEF ambassador. The advantage that the U.S. has compared to some other regional powers is that the majority of its qualifying games will be cakewalks and allows for a lot of potential experimentation with lineups and formations. Biggest issues that Bradley will have to focus on before World Cup? Finding a true international-caliber left back is one, the other will be how to juggle Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey in the same lineup assuming Adu and Altidore develop as expected.
2. England a has-been, an underachiever, or overrated all along? The smoke has yet to clear from the debacle otherwise known as England's European Championship qualifying failure. The question outside of the obvious managerial missteps along the way by Steve McClaren are just what malady afflicts the English team.
Is it as Irish legend Roy Keane suggests, a simple fact that the current English national team is filled with too many selfish individuals who care only about how much money they earn? Or is it as former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano suggests, down to the simple fact that English players are overrated?
One more interesting theory is proposed by South Africa's coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira who thinks that the problem is due to the lack of English players playing abroad outside of the Premiership (hmm ... this argument should be familiar to U.S. fans although technically you can't call Parreira a 'Eurosnob' for advocating this). Parrerira has a point though -- going back through history how many great English players have gone abroad and really made an impact? The answer is not that many and an example of one that did -- the late Laurie Cunningham -- was inexplicably given only six caps at national team level.
All of which leads to one more key question -- just why is it that the U.S. youth coaching system at all levels seems to model itself on English-style soccer. Is this really what the U.S. should be striving to achieve? Call me silly, but maybe mimicking the Brazilian model as Japan has done, is a far more sensible approach.
3. Rafa Benitez in trouble at Liverpool? In no ordinary world would Spanish tactician Rafa Benitez have any questions of job security in Merseyside. At this point in time the Liverpool squad and youth academy (keep an eye on phenoms Daniel Pacheco and Gerardo Bruna down the line) is more talented and deeper than at any point since the Kenny Dalglish era ended in 1991. Add to that Champions League success, Liverpool's highest-point total ever in the EPL and the fact that this year's edition is unbeaten and still poised to make a run at the title under Benitez and you'd have to be crazy to think about getting rid of him.
Well unfortunately crazy has arrived in the shape of new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett who have recently fallen out with Benitez over his demands for more transfer funds in the January window and the result has been an ugly back-and-forth this past week in the British press with the co-owners releasing a couple of press statements that could best be interpreted as belittling Benitez and pointedly refusing to give him a vote of confidence. The rumor on Merseyside is that Benitez is livid and has contemplated walking out -- while Hicks and Gillett are said to have wanted to fire him last week for daring to criticize them.
As things stand, it's likely Benitez will finish the season but if he doesn't win the league, I can definitely see him getting fired by the comedy duo of Hicks and Gillett. Looking at it from the owner's standpoint, the argument is that Liverpool spent a club-record 50 million pounds in the summer on new players and that Benitez has been given every tool to challenge for the title. However, the reality is they also sold approx. 24 million pounds worth of players -- which puts the teams net spending at around 26 million pounds.This is a total on a par with how much Liverpool usually spends every summer and in the current EPL financial climate arguably behind teams like Man City, Spurs and West Ham in terms of spending power.
At this point, it's hard to side with Hicks and Gillett -- their track record with some of their other sports franchises (the Texas Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens) isn't exactly awe-inspiring and the pair have already reneged on their pre-takeover pledge not to place the club into debt. They've also failed to deliver the massive transfer funds available as promised (which was presumably the main reason why the Liverpool board foolishly decided to accept their offer in the first place -- kudos to Arsenal's board for not giving in to similar temptation). One can surmise that the logic for their irrational train of thought appears to be the blow to their egos from Benitez's refusal to be cowed.
Here's my prediction -- if Hicks and Gillett release Benitez, you'll see a near riot/backlash from the Liverpool fans that will make the venom Manchester United fans directed at Malcolm Glazer seem positively tame by comparison. The laughable thing about all of this? Apparently the duo want Jose Mourinho to replace Benitez -- if they can't handle Benitez who's hardly known for being outspoken, how on earth do they expect to cope with Mourinho?
Player Pimping
This week's guy that MLS teams should have on radar is Joao Soares da Mota Neto, otherwise known as
Mota. Mota is a Brazilian forward who can play anywhere across the line, or on the wing and stars in the K-League for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, where he's regularly one of the top scorers. He's still fairly young (27), has good pedigree -- having played in the past for Cruzeiro and in La Liga with Mallorca -- and had a loan spell with Sporting Lisbon in 2005.
Jen Chang
