"All Hail The Red, White & Blue!"

Roscoe's Soccer Update

With the English leagues currently on holiday, Roscoe tuned into the knockout-round CONCACAF Gold Cup matches. The Monday quarterfinal matches were played in Foxboro, which Roscoe maintained was a rather unintelligent choice on the part of the promoters. For a sport that is seeking to gain wider acceptance in the States, it doesn’t make much sense to schedule matches in venues that sell about 10% of the available seats. Roscoe said, “It’s the old supply and demand thing. When availability for tickets is scarce, people tend to take greater interest. When people tune into a match and see 98% of the seats are empty, the match appears to be of little interest to the general public.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thank you for your “insightful analysis”, Roscoe. The man has a point. Looking at it from a baseball perspective, when the Indians played in that dreadful horseshoe by the Lake, the Stadium had seating for 80,000 fans but only 5,000 showed up on average. Empty seats have a depressing effect on a team, its fans and the community. The same thing happened in Montréal. The Expos started out in a small makeshift venue that wasn’t the greatest facility for baseball. However, when they were forced to move into the hideously ugly Stade Olympique in ‘76, it was a significant factor leading to the team’s departure. Who would want to watch a baseball game being played under an orange roof? The local soccer entry ought to rent space at one of the universities’ stadiums in town. The park located at BU (the old Braves Field) is perfectly configured for football/soccer and holds the right amount of seats for an endeavor that is just beginning to establish itself as a creditable form of public entertainment. And, it’s centrally located in the heart of the city, not out in the distant suburbs. For what it’s worth, Roscoe has indicated that the editor must leave his soapbox in order that he may continue his report.

In the first quarterfinal on June 16th, Canada disposed of Guatemala 3-0 Ali Gerba scored twice (33, 44) in a match where the normally offensive minded Guatemalan squad took a conservative approach that backfired. In the later match, USA dominated most of the match against Panama, winning 2-1. In the late going, USA became sloppy and complacent in their end allowing Blas Perez to score in the 84th. After a scoreless first half, Landon Donovan broke the ice with a penalty kick (60) and Carlos Bocanegra (62) followed with a score that should’ve sealed the deal. However, USA allowed Panama back into the match and withstood an intense flurry. They’ll need to play with greater consistency if they wish to successfully defend their title in the semifinals on Thursday.

On Sunday the 17th, the action shifted to Houston, where Reliant Stadium was packed almost to capacity with fans. In the opening match, Guadeloupe completely shut down Honduras with two first-half scores by Angloma (17) and Socrier (20). Although the Hondurans tallied late on a goal from Carlos Pavón (71), the outcome of the match had long since been determined. It was a disappointing way for Honduras to bow out, since strikers Pavón and Carlos Costly were among the tournament’s most thrilling players to watch. But once Guadeloupe went up by two, they went into a terrific defensive scheme and cut off every Honduran chance.

The opening match paled in comparison to the Mexico-Costa Rica match. This was a thrilling up-and-down the pitch battle all the way through two extra periods of play. Mexico scored in the 97th on Jared Borguetti’s beautiful goal, but the story was the tremendous goaltending at each end of the pitch. Oswaldo Sánchez and José Porras were amazing, and it’s a shame that Costa Rica had to come out on the short end. It was a physical match, where the Costa Ricans’ foul totals nearly doubled Mexico’s but they played their hearts out against a superior squad.
The tremendous crowd in Houston must have been tremendously encouraging to the tournament organizers. The Mexican squad is obviously a large draw in a region heavily populated by Hispanics. The question that will be answered in time is whether the sport will receive acceptance among a diverse population.

MLS Update:
While the CONCACAF quarters were being contested, Roscoe peeked in on a couple of MLS matches over the weekend. He watched New England blow a two-goal lead late in the match against Columbus in a three-square draw. When advised that three of New England’s stalwarts (Twellman, Parkhurst and Ralston) were off playing with the USA squad, he was not impressed. He has seen all of their matches this season and finds the level of second-half defensive lapses to be unacceptable for professionals.

He also tuned into the Toronto-Dallas match and was pleasantly surprised by the venue and the level of play. BMO Field in Toronto is appropriately sized for a growing sport. It’s big enough to seat about 20,000 patrons comfortably, which Roscoe believes is appropriate rather than many of the concrete canyons where many MLS clubs play. Roscoe believes that such venues are lonely, depressing and not an enjoyable experience.
Nevertheless, FC Toronto (a new MLS entry) playing without several members off to join Canada in the Gold Cup easily blew past FC Dallas 4-nil. He was especially impressed with the play of youngster Maurice Edu, believing that he is a player to keep an eye on for the future. Roscoe did not understand why Edu was yellow-carded for “excessive celebration” for removing his shirt after having scored Toronto’s first goal. Roscoe believes that celebration is a good thing, and thought such punishment would be warranted in the event that Edu pulled down his pants. If a business is trying to promote itself and its product, he feels that adding excitement only enhances the value of the product, so why attempt to stifle it?

CONCACAF Gold Cup Semi-Finals

USA vs. Canada

Roscoe took advantage of the Red Sox having an off-day on Thursday the 21st to tune into the Gold Cup semis and furnish his report. Tonight’s doubleheader was being played at Soldier Field in Chicago, where the first match featured USA vs. Canada. All of the matches are being telecast in Spanish, but Roscoe doesn’t mind as football is played pretty much the same worldwide. There appeared to be about 400 people in the stands at kickoff. USA came out of the gate flying, keeping the ball in Canada’s end over the first ten minutes. Canada withstood the early heat and advanced into the Americans’ end with a couple of chances that were turned aside by Kasey Keller.

Jonathan Bornstein was carded in the 20th which led to a free kick from outside the zone, but the ensuing header try failed. In the 30th, American defender Carlos Bocanegra was carded for tripping Julián De Guzmán, who went ass-over-teakettle. The play became rough, but it appeared as if the Americans were being singled out. Canada had a great opportunity to break the ice in the 32nd on a foul kick from just outside the box. The kick went through the American wall bounced into the possession of a Canadian whose attempt struck the left bar.

In the 40th, USA rushed the Canadian zone. Frankie Hejduk came up from his own end, took a perfect pass from Donovan just outside the box and banged into the left corner of the goal. Donovan was carded in the 41st on a questionable call in front of the Canada goal. In the 45th+, DeMarcus Beasley broke down the left flank with the ball, Canadian goalkeep Pat Onstad tripped him (yellow card) as he entered the box and USA was awarded a penalty kick. Beasley appeared to have shaken up on the play, so Donovan (who has more PK rituals than does Nomar in between pitches) accepted the kick for USA and banged the ball low and to the left to make it 2-nil USA at half-time.

In the 76th, Iain Hume Took a pass from Atiba Hutchinson and banged the ball with his left foot past the sprawling Keller to pull Canada within a goal. USA was clearly stung by their defensive lapse, as they entered the Canadian end with renewed fury. Benny Feilhaber came in for Eddie Johnson in the 80th. Issey-Farran Nakajima had a great chance for Canada in the 85th, as Canada went all out trying for the tying score. In the 86th, , Canada had another great chance as they grabbed the momentum. Twellman entered for Dempsey in the 87th. Michael Bradley (the US coach’s son) was red-carded for a blatant blind-side trip of Julián De Guzmán as Canada really started to pressure the Americans. As the match went to stoppage time, Hedjuk was everywhere for the Americans, stopping Nakajima as he tried to enter the box. Just before the end of the match, Canada appeared to have tied the score. Hutchinson took a pass directly in front of the box; he waited for the ball to cross the line before whistling it past Keller. The referee called Hutchinson off-side and disallowed the tying goal. On the replay, it was clear that Hutchinson entered the zone properly, but the Canadians were royally shafted by a bad call, and they vociferously protested an awful call. Should the Americans have a repeat performance in Sunday’s final, they most assuredly will get a swift butt-kicking.

Mexico vs. Guadeloupe

By the time the Mexico-Guadeloupe convened three hours later, the Soldier Field stands were filled with more patrons than the entire population of Guadeloupe. 99.9% of those in attendance were rooting for the Mexican squad, proudly waving flags and festooned in green and red. When Roscoe inquired in what country “Soldier Field” was located, he became somewhat irate to learn that far more people were in attendance to support a foreign squad than the home nation in their earlier match. Roscoe has nothing against Mexicans in particular or foreigners in general, but he could only speculate the sort of row that would develop in the UK had foreign colors been so prominently displayed. Roscoe said that it’s perfectly ok for people to feel pride in their national origin; however they should also feel a greater degree of pride toward the nation where they have established their lives. Roscoe understands that the Hispanic population is booming in the US, and, as a nation of immigrants, believes that it is good. He also appreciates that they have brought their passion for football to America. However, he is also worried that it is essential for all who emigrate to assimilate into the larger culture so that they may pass the blessings of America to future generations, as has been they case with every other ethnicity who journeyed to America. Roscoe was then told to shut up and enjoy the match.

Mexico had a glorious opportunity in the 8th that was turned aside with a sweeping left-handed save by Guadeloupe’s Franck Grandel. In the 9th and 11th, they two more shots on goal and were dominating the match. In the 23rd, Prodo broke down the left flank uncontested and was broken up at the last moment by Grandel. In the 27th, Prodo struck again, only to have his shot turned away. Through the first 30, Mexico has been toying with Guadeloupe, already having put six shots on goal. The match remained scoreless at half-time, and it appears as if the rope-a-dope strategy Guadeloupe used on Sunday is working tonight. They can thank Grandel for keeping the match scoreless.

CONCACAF Gold Cup Final USA vs. México at Chicago, June 24, 2007

Even though the match is being contested in the “City With Broad Shoulders”, the crowd is overwhelmingly pro-Mexican, and there appears to be a full house. USA will have to do without Frankie Hedjuk who was suspended from the match for accumulating too many yellows. Since he carried the American squad in the semis, his loss is a big blow to the Americans’ hope of recapturing the Cup. In the quarters and semis, USA played well enough to win, but they were especially sloppy in their end of the pitch late in those matches. Mexico is a very skilled squad with a premier goaltender in Oswaldo Sanchez

In the early going, the “tricolore” had much the better of play. They had a glorious chance in the 3rd but a header try went wide right. USA had a great opportunity in the 17th, when Beasley a chance inside the box on a nice pass from Donovan. Alberto Medina was carded for the Mexicans a minute later. Marquez had two header tries from corner kick in the 24th that were tipped over the bar by the American goalkeep Tin Howard.

The Americans’ best chance came in the 26th, when Bornstein’s line drive kick from the left flank just went wide left of Sanchez, but Mexico quickly regained their territorial edge. Mexico’s Boghetti went down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in the later moments of the half. Sanchez made a tremendous save on Dempsey’s swivel kick in the 40th, it was the best chance by either squad so far. Moments later, Neri Castillo came down the left flank on a breakaway and his try went about two inches wide right.

Guardado put Mexico on top in the 44th when a cross pass in the box eluded the American defenders and he was waiting there (all alone) to slam the ball into the top left corner. The play leading up to the goal was a series of passes down the right side that the Americans couldn’t stop. Based on the crowd’s reaction, it would have been easy to assume the match was being played south of the border. Guardado’s goal was the result of another defensive breakdown by the USA midfielders. Coach Bradley is most likely chastising his squad for their half-hearted efforts on defense. These guys need to get their act in gear quickly.

Dempsey and Ching had promising tries early in the second, as USA came out with more offensive pressure. Bradley must’ve really cracked the whip at half-time, as USA is playing like a different squad. In the 59th, Mexico regained momentum and had a series of close calls in front of Howard. In the 61st, Fernando Schwarz dumped Ching as he attempted to score from inside the box. Schwarz was carded and USA was awarded a penalty kick. Donovan was selected to kick, and blew it past Sanchez to pull the match square. Twellman came on for Dempsey in the 68th. There was a terrible head-to-head collision between Guardado and an American going up for the ball. Moments later, USA worked a corner kick. Twellman’s header bounced outside the box where Benny Feilhaber was waiting. He calmly fired the ball into upper left hand corner of the goal. The play happened so quickly that Sanchez never saw the ball whistling past. USA went on top 2-1! Ching had a breakaway chance in the 75th and had Sanchez dead to rights and he hit the bar. He’ll be replaying that in his dreams for the next twenty years. In the 80th, Sanchez was called on to make another terrific stop. As the match entered the 85th, Beasley was carded, and Mexico had a corner try. In the 89th, Mexico’s Batista had a wide open shot on goal and he flipped the ball high. As the match entered extra-time, Donovan had a breakaway that he took the full length of the pitch before slipping a pass to Beasley in the box, and Beasley hit the crossbar. At 92, Bravo was denied on a header try, as Mexico desperately tried to pull even, but they were denied in a thrilling finish. USA retain the Gold Cup and secure a berth in next year’s Confederation Cup to be held in South Africa.

Congratulations to “Los Tricolores” for giving it everything they had, as either club could’ve won. The Mexicans have a fine squad and should feel proud of their effort in the tournament. It was the Americans’ intensity in the second half that made all the difference in the match. For the Red White & Blue, it was a joyous moment as the players (each draped with Old Glory) circled Soldier Field with the Cup. By then most of the capacity crowd had departed, so it was pretty clear which team the fans came to see. That makes the victory even sweeter. Next time, perhaps they’ll be a little more respectful of the United States of America.

All in all, it was a great day for the world’s game in America. An American football stadium was packed and the gringos took home the Gold.