"Crunch Time"

Roscoe had a busy week, tuning into a number of matches and offers his unique perspective in his latest “World of Soccer” report.

On Saturday night (7/21) Chelsea FC traveled to Los Angeles to meet the MLS Galaxy squad in a friendly. The soccer-only venue (named after one of those corporate entities that rendered the local neighborhood hardware store obsolete) was packed to the sky with assorted regular folks, glitterati and Eurotrash. The match was intended as Beckham’s MLS debut, but he was still nursing an ankle injury and did not make a cameo appearance until the 78th minute. In truth, it was more of an event for the Hollywood celebrities (sitting in luxury suites and sipping champagne from fluted glasses) to be seen than a football match. The only goal in the match came from England’s Captain, John Terry early in the second half and the one-nil lead held up.

One side was playing a meaningless preseason tune up while the other was allegedly was mid-table match fit. Therein lays the difference in talent between the Premiership and MLS.

It was most assuredly a nice payday for the Blue Crew, as well as an opportunity to showcase Beckham’s skill as a footballer. When he finally stepped on the pitch, he hobbled about and was a non-factor in the match, other than being tripped and rolling around as the crowd collectively held their breath. Hopefully, for him, his squad and MLS, that will change shortly. There’s no shortage of talent for Galaxy, as Kobi Jones, Landon Donovan and a number of “name players” already dot their lineup. In addition, they’ve brought in the great Panamanian striker Carlos Pavon, who really turned heads in the Gold Cup tournament. There is no shortage of talent, the question is how well can these disparate parts be integrated.

Roscoe doesn’t wish to “beat a dead horse” or elaborate much more than was stated in his previous post, but again wishes to emphasize that Americans need to recognize that Los Angeles and MLS have bought the services of a consummate “team player” not a temperamental prima donna. His game is making plays, not scoring spectacular highlight-reel goals. The bread-and-butter American soccer fans understand this, but (for this grand experiment to succeed) the media needs to cool the hype and state the truth.

FIFA U-20 Final: Argentina vs. Czech Republic
When last we looked at the Tournament, USA had just lost in the Round of 16 to Austria in extra time. In the ensuing knockout rounds, Argentina and the Czechs made it through

The opening moments were rough, as Argentina’s Sigali was the victim of a rough knock but managed to remain in the match after a quick visit from the physio staff. Kuban was given a yellow by the referee. In the early going, Czechs were playing much more physical so as to inhibit the smooth up-tempo game of the Argentines. In the 10th, Czechs nearly scored on a rebound from a corner, but the try hit the bar to the left. Kudela received the Czech’s second yellow for a blatant tackle in the 14th, and so far they have prevented the Argentines from mustering a sustained attack. In the 17th, Streczik nearly put in a header, and Fenin’s blast in the 19th just went over the bar. Argentina’s Sanchez was carded in the 25th, which led to a brief flurry in front of the Argentine goal. Pietti went down after knocking heads and was seeing stars for a few moments but stayed on. Kalouda then followed with a nice free kick that just sailed over the goal. In the 33rd, Mercado was ticketed for a blind side tackle, he then smacked Fenin in the back of the head for good measure. Predictably, Fenin fell to the pitch as if he had been mugged. While such behavior is commonplace around the world, the dramatic act does not play well in the States. Zarate was carded for Argentina in the 40th for reacting childishly to a foul call. While the match remained scoreless at the half, the Czechs’ brand of rough play kept the high-flying Argentines in tow.

Within the first five minutes, both sides had great chances to score, Kalouda had the Argentine goalkeep dead to rights and misfired. Moralez went down with a head injury and was treated at the side of the pitch, returning to play moments later with his head heavily wrapped in gauze. This is the World Cup, after all. Czechs scored in the 60th on a brilliant left-footed kick by Fenin, picking up Kalouda’s rebound inside the box to the goaltender’s left, spinning about and firing the ball in one motion.

Argentina came right back in the 62nd when Sergio Aguero picked up a pass down the middle on the break and calmly drove the ball in. It was a horrible defensive breakdown for the Czechs, as they seemed to drop their guard once having scored. Argentines then methodically took the momentum and started to apply intense pressure in the Czech end. Moralez has a spectacular try in the 70th that went just wide right. Argentines simply carried the play thereafter. In the 86th, Mauro Zarate picked up a rebound to the right of the Czech goal, wheeled toward the box, fired into a crowd and the ball found its way through. After four minutes of extra-time, Argentina celebrated a dramatic 2-1 victory.

MLS/Revolution v. Houston Dynamo at Foxboro 7/23/07
In a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup finalists, defending champion Houston came to Foxboro in their trade mark orange and white kits to face New England. Coming into the match, Houston’s defense and goaltending has not allowed a goal in the last 695 minutes. Over their last ten matches, they’ve been unbeaten outscoring the opposition 20-3. So far, Dynamo (10-5-3-33) has been the class of MLS while Revs (7-3-5-26) have plodded along over the last six weeks, while still surprisingly maintaining first place in MLS East In the first eight minutes, Revs had three glittering chances to score, as both sides played with intensity and spirit. In the 25th, Noonan had a great try for Revs but his shot whistled over the bar.

Noonan opened the scoring for New England in the 32nd when the Houston’s Onstad was out of position and he flipped the ball over defender Eddie Johnson’s head. Dynamo picked up the play going into the half, as Revs got sloppy in their own end, but after the first 45, New England remained up by a goal.

Houston’s Dwayne DeRosario tied the score in the 49th on an absolutely spectacular goal from 30 yards out. He launched a rocket with his right foot that soared into the upper right corner of the goal. Reis leaped, but had no chance. Two minutes later, Noonan beautifully setup Twellman by taking control of a ball from Eddie Johnson directly in front of the Houston goal. He took adavantage of a rare defensive lapse, wrested control of the ball and flipped it to Twellman on the left who was wide open and popped in the goal. In the 60th, Ching brought Houston level courtesy of a beautiful cross pass from Ngwenya, who had taken Jaqua’s pass on the right flank. Less than a minute later, Ching struck again on a header from the right corner. Where was the New England defense, out to lunch?

In the 64th, DeRosario was called for a hand ball on a free kick and Revs were awarded a penalty kick. Ngwenya was carded for arguing the call. Shalrie Joseph was initially denied by Onstad, but the referee ruled that Houston players rushed the box and were offside. Joseph did not fail on his second try and Revs brought it level. In the 74th, Reis stoned Ngwenya on a running try at the right corner. In the 83rd, it was Onstad’s turn to make a key save, deflecting a shot that nearly made it through a crowd. Revs had another great chance in the 94th, when Cristman took a header from Twellman and knocked the ball wide right. The sides cannot be too disappointed with a draw, though New England’s brief defensive lapses in the second half cost them a chance for three points.

That brief defensive lapse coupled with New York’s 1-0 victory at home vs. DC United meant that Red Bull has pulled into a first-place tie with New England. Somewhere south of Boston, that sound of wailing and gnashing of teeth surely belongs to Coach Nicol. Roscoe will update the latest in Superliga action next time.