England Czech friendly

So I just finished watching the England game and was not at all impressed. The second half was 44 of the most boring minutes of soccer I've seen in a while, to the point where I'm even more excited to watch the US Guatemala game tonight because maybe there'll be some flair and excitement in that one. There have been several articles in the last 24 hours about Terry getting the armband over Rio, but really, that's not what Capello should be focusing on. David James, Gerrard, Barry, Beckham, Rio, Terry, and even late-sub Jermaine Jenas regularly wear the armband for their clubs. Picking one leader from 7 shouldn't be a big deal. If you're a captain, you should live by the philosophy of anything for the team, yet this doesn't seem to fly in the English locker room. Perhaps because 350 days a year, the starting XI are bitter rivals, but for two weeks a year are supposed to have this magical chemistry to produce poetry. Also, when was the last time England played a friendly outside of London? Just seems to me that the entire organization needs to get off it's collective high horse, put petty differences and club rivalries aside and focus on being English. For those two weeks a year, they all wear the same crest on their shirt. They have the most talented team in Europe with the least amount of heart and soul, which is why teams like Croatia can knock them out. The way Turkey played in the Euros was amazing; half the talent, three times the desire. Fabio should learn something from them.

US Olympic Performance

I can't believe that Angela Hucles is the leading scorer in the Olympic games. She is terrible. Her story about being a squad player for years and now suddenly, under Pia, becoming our main offensive weapon because she finally got the chance to play it bogus. Yeah, she has four goals, but seriously, the two against Japan in the semi's were a gift. Obviously, Abby is our #1, but she's out for a while. I watched the last tune-up game vs Brazil, as well as most of every game in the Olympics and every player on the field works harder than Hucles, especially A-Rod. That girl busts her butt from whistle to whistle. She doesn't give up on balls destined for the end line, pressures every defender and forced a few key turnovers late in that Brazil tune-up. Going back to World Cup qualifying, I have been terrified of Natasha Kai. Maybe it's the pace she plays at that prevents her from going a full 90min, but the entire dynamic of the team changes when she comes on the field. Usually subbing in for Tarpley and pushing Hucles out to the left, Kai and A-Rod work extremely well together...both have speed, intensity, confidence, and a nose for goal. Hucles just stands around. Watch her after she turns the ball over. She'll stand there. A-Rod, Kai, and especially Abby, would never be caught dead giving up on a play like Hucles does.

There was one sequence in the Brazil tune up by Abby that truly separates her from every other striker, men's and women's, in the world, and it's an example that A-Rod and Kai have learned from while Hucles is still trying to figure out how to take an effective corner. Abby was fouled just left of center about 25yds out while trying to split two Brazilian defenders. She took the free kick and sent it into the 10th row. After turning and jogging back up field, she realized the goal kick was played short to a defender on the American's left. Abby, being the closest American, turned and defended, but in doing so, the ball became free and lead to a 4 v 3 Brazilian counter. From just outside Brazil's 18, Abby out-ran everyone on the field to make the decisive header to clear a cross at the top of our 18. Hucles hasn't run that much in 5 games combined. Anyway, I hope she has a more inspired performance against Brazil on Thursday.

Speaking of Thursday, Hope Solo has probably been dreaming about this game since before the whistle blew to start the WC semi-final. I can't imagine a game with more self-imposed pressure than this one. This is her chance to prove everyone right and her coach wrong. If she fails, then her image is going to take a huge hit. Coaches and managers are trusted to know everything about their players, even the things the players don't know about themselves. Did I agree with benching Solo for Scurry, no, and there's never going to be a way to tell the outcome had she started, but if she gets lit up for 2, 3, or 4 goals and we lose, well, that's a different story. The first real chance Brazil gets will dictate the rest of the game. Brazil, in my opinion, should come out firing and test her early and often. If they can put one in, questions of confidence are gonna start to creep in, but if she saves them, then I expect the US to walk away with Gold. The back four, especially on the outsides, has been very solid, but Boxx and Lloyd in the middle are gonna need to help lock down the middle a little more than they have been to cover any late runs or runs from the mid-field as well as preventing any slicing through balls.

Welcome!

so basically, i love soccer. probably about half of my energy while i'm awake is spent on reading, watching, or thinking about soccer. i'd never been one to post comments on articles or read blogs at all, but lately, i've just had too many thoughts on too many topics and no real venue to share them. which brings me to where i am now.

i don't really have a plan for this site, just an idea, and that is whenever i read an article or posting or watch a game etc all of my thoughts on that topic will finally have a place to go. i'll probably try for 1-2 posts per day for now, but we'll see how it goes. so feel free to respond to anything and everything i say and hopefully we'll end up with some good discussions.

with that said, welcome to the inner workings of my soccer head.

murph