After a week-long jaunt in the London office, I'm back Stateside this morning and just in time no less. We appear to be on the verge of a new dawn here in America, one where the crusty old establishment might be displaced, where a tired, aged veteran is replaced by dynamic new blood bristling with hope, energy and vision. No, I'm not talking about the presidential election, I'm talking about Jozy Altidore's first goal in Spain, which signals his arrival in La Liga.
Altidore came off the bench Saturday in the 90th minute for Villarreal against Athletic Bilbao and promptly scored seconds later, slotting home a defense-splitting pass by Santi Carzola. The game was significant for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the mere fact that Altidore is even starting to see bench time with the first-team squad in La Liga games is meaningful given Villarreal's plethora of forwards -- it's an indication that he's most certainly impressed in training.
Secondly, the clinical nature of his finish must give coach Manuel Pellegrini food for thought in terms of giving him more playing time. I've no doubt that barring injury, Altidore has to be in the starting lineup for the U.S. at the 2010 World Cup if the U.S. is to improve on its '06 performance.
Altidore also seems to be adjusting well to life in Spain, something that can't be said of fellow U.S. teen Freddy Adu, who's struggling at Monaco. Adu was recently named by France Football magazine (the same establishment that presents the prestigious Ballon D'Or Award) as one of the three biggest flops of the season in Ligue 1 (only PSG's Mateja Kezman saved Adu from the dubious honor of the top spot). Anyway here's what else I'm thinking about this Monday morning:
1. What's the big deal about Beckham going to Milan? Call me completely nonplussed about David Beckham's move to Italy amidst all the hand-wringing from observers who somehow seem to think that this means that MLS has failed, that the Designated Player policy has failed, that Beckham has failed in the U.S. and whatever other foolish theories are being put out there.
There's only one downside to this loan agreement, and that's if Beckham gets injured (presumably the Galaxy were savvy enough to negotiate that Milan pay for the rest of his annual salary should this happen, and perhaps also provide loan a fringe first-team squad member as well to compensate). Assuming that Beckham stays healthy and plays well in Serie A, it can only provide an image boost for MLS. For a start, it'd refute those who seem to think that Beckham came to MLS only because he was no longer capable of performing at the highest level, which is of course nonsense.
As for coach Bruce Arena's grumblings about Beckham's absence affecting preseason training for the Galaxy, I don't really buy into that either. The Galaxy's problems are two-fold, a porous defense and a roster that has below-average talent, neither of which is going to be hugely impacted by Beckham playing in a few meaningless preseason games for L.A. Where fans should be miffed is that Beckham appears to have blindsided the Galaxy with his request to move to Milan, and the fact that the Galaxy really didn't have a say in the matter, but by the time he returns in March, that will all be forgotten.
2. Wonder goal? I think not. Last week,
David Bentley scored a goal for Spurs against Arsenal that had pundits touting it as the goal of the season and possibly one of the greatest of all time in English league history. Absolute rubbish, especially considering it was the type of goal that former
Southampton standout Matt Le Tissier scored on a
regular basis.
From my standpoint, Bentley's goal was a hopeful long-range punt (admittedly the initial flick-up to himself was a nice piece of flair) that was eminently savable by just about any good goalkeeper. Such a goalie would have backpedaled and caught it comfortably at shoulder height, as opposed to making a farcical backward dive which served only to make the shot look more spectacular than it actually was.
Herein lies the real problem, Arsenal's Manuel Almunia, who is nothing better than an average keeper and continues to undermine Arsenal's title credentials with his presence in goal. It's shocking that Arsene Wenger has yet to invest in a top-class keeper, particularly considering the healthy cashflow the Gunners have in reserve. Even more surprising is his reluctance to dip into the transfer market to buy a quality defensive midfielder (Abou Diaby, Alex Song and Denilson just don't cut it) to replace Mathieu Flamini, who was the unsung key to Arsenal's play last year. At present, the Gunners still play attractive flair attacking soccer, but are very vulnerable defensively and lack the bite in midfield to support their playmakers. If Wenger doesn't address this in the January transfer window, I'd say you can effectively write off their title chances this season.
Speaking of title chances, this year's Premiership race looks like it'll be an exciting three-way bout between Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United. Liverpool has a far smaller margin of error than the other two, but if Fernando Torres can stay healthy and if Robbie Keane starts to pick up his game, Rafa Benitez's squad can definitely contend this year, despite the surprise setback against Spurs on Saturday.
3. Freelance position in L.A. update. Just a quick update on the ongoing search for a writer based in L.A. I'm still accepting applicants so if you haven't applied yet, there's still time. For those that have applied, and have yet to receive a response, I apologize. There's been a lot of candidates to go through, but expect to hear something either way by the end of this week if you've already sent something in.
Jen Chang
