"One Tournament Ends…Another Begins..."
Roscoe reports that Copa America began in Venezuela about five minutes after the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament ended last month in Chicago. The Copa tournament features all of the high-powered South and Central American national squads that have dominated World Football for decades. The USA squad (invited as “guests”) features many of the players who successfully competed in the Gold Cup, but make no mistake; the Americans are decided underdogs to make it to the knockout stage.

The quality of the squads in this tournament is vastly superior to the Gold Cup and will be indicative of how much USA Soccer has developed in recent years. The last time USA played in Copa America was in ’95, and they had a decent showing in the tournament despite their inexperience. USA is trying to run with the Big Dogs and it will indeed be interesting to see how well Coach Bradley’s squad competes, especially when most of his best players won’t be making the trip south.

The tournament is being staged at various venues in Venezuela over the next three weeks, surely hostile territory for the Americans. The host country played the opening match and were “greeted” prior thereto by the obese Communist tyrant who now runs the country. If Venezuela failed to win, Roscoe wondered whether the losing squad would face a firing squad by sunrise.

USA faced Argentina in their Group C opening match on June 28th, and actually competed for about sixty minutes before the experience and talent of the Argentines buried the Americans 4-1. Eddie Johnson scored on a penalty kick in the eighth, but that was all the offense USA could muster. As the match went into the final thirty, Argentina’s experience and tradition had the Americans chasing their tails. It was an embarrassing defeat in a country that took special delight in the Americans’ misfortune.

In their second round match on July 2nd, USA faced Paraguay, and while they played much better than the opening match, they still fell two goals shy, losing 3-1. This match was a frustrating case of wasted opportunities, as the Americans had several chances to score but other than Ricardo Clark’s equalizer in the 40th, they came up empty. While the team and supporters could feel encouraged by USA’s rebound, consecutive losses in the Group stage basically foreclosed any hope of advancing in the tournament.

Whatever slim chance USA held of moving on to the knockout round quickly evaporated in their third-round match with Columbia on the 5th of July. Jaime Castrillon's header in the 14th was all the difference, and USA was sent packing, 1-0. Brad Guzan practically stood on his head in the Americans’ goal. Once more, USA simply could not execute when called upon. The most frustrating moment occurred late when Beckerman's tying goal was overturned on an offside call. The highlight of the match occurred moments thereafter when Colombia’s goalkeep Zapata was sent off for wasting time in the 84th. He spent about two minutes tying his shoelaces before the referee had about enough of his stall tactics. It didn’t matter, for if the Americans weren’t deflated before Beckerman’s try, they were done in thereafter. So it’s back to the drawing board for Bradley and USA.

The quarterfinal round matches played over the weekend were all one-sided affairs:

Venezuela 1 - 4 Uruguay
Chile 1 - 6 Brazil
Mexico 6 - 0 Paraguay
Argentina 4 - 0 Peru


The semifinals were tightly contested affairs. In the first match on July 10th, Uruguay and Brazil were tied at 2 and went to penalty kicks to decide the match before Brazil won 5-4 in penalties. The second semifinal on July 11th featured Argentina and Mexico, and the Argentine side had an easy time of it, winning 3-0. On Saturday, Mexico and Uruguay battled for the bronze where the Mexicans stormed back from a goal down to take the match 3-1. Mexico tied the match on Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s goal in the 39th, then took control of the match late in the second on goals from Omar Bravo (69') and Andrés Guardado (75').

Copa America Final: Argentina-Brazil Sunday, July 15, 2007:

The two futbol titans met to claim the gold and decide the glory and continental supremacy before a packed house in Caracas. In reality, it wasn’t much of a match a’tall, as Brazil scored early and often to reclaim their title 3-0. In the 4th, Julio Baptista blasted a marvelous goal from inside the left corner of the box that almost blew a hole through the netting. The Brazilians then harassed, harried and generally thwarted any Argentine attempt to get the offense rolling. To make matters worse, Argentina were credited with an “own goal” just before the half when a defender made a sliding play which inadvertently caused the ball to slide into his own goal. The goaltender’s look of anguish was poignant. If that goal proved to be the difference, perhaps the Argentines would have a legitimate bone of contention, but they came out just as flat in the second half. In the 70th, Vagner Love broke down the left flank and made a beautiful pass to Daniel Alves who banged in the match-breaker.

FIFA U-20 World Cup
On a positive note, the Americans’ U-20 squad is having a tremendous run in the U-20 World Cup in Canada. In Coach Rongen’s one-striker system, Freddy Adu, Danny Szetela and Jozy Altidore provide the firepower. Robbie Rogers and Sal Zizzo have contributed on the wings, while Nate Sturgis, Tony Beltran, Ofori Sarkodie, and Anthony Wallace man the defense in front of goalkeeper Chris Seitz.

On Friday night (7/6), they defeated Brazil 2-1 before a packed house in Ottawa and made it out of Group D relatively unscathed into the first knockout stage. Prior to their dramatic win over Brazil, the US hammered Poland by a 6-1 score in Montreal on July 3rd. They moved on to the Round of 16 on July 11th with a match against Uruguay (1-1-1 in Group B play). The team understands that, moving forward it can ill-afford to consider any opponent lightly. The matches get progressively tougher.

And Wednesday night’s match with the Uruguay U-20’s proved to be just that. USA did not play with any degree of consistency yet still found a way to win 2-1 overtime victory on Bradley’s goal (coming from Wallace who adeptly took Adu’s corner and quickly passed the ball to Bradley). Since the game was not televised locally, Roscoe kept abreast of the match via internet updates. According to reports, the game was unusually physical and there were numerous fouls. The referee allowed the rough tactics to continue until Jozy Altidore was injured. Once Bradley’s goal put USA ahead, the team went into shutdown mode, causing the Uruguayans to foul with greater frequency. At full time, reports indicated that Uruguay were spoilsports, refusing to behave like gracious, dignified gentlemen in defeat. On the other hand, USA showed great resolve in not folding under the pressure of the event or their opponents, even on a night when they did not play their best football. USA next moves on to the quarters where they will face Austria on Saturday afternoon in Toronto.

…and that is when the dream ended for USA. In a driving rain, the Americans fell 2-1 in extra-time. Things were looking great when Jozy Altidore (15’) put USA ahead, but after his goal, whether due to the rain or a change in strategy, the Americans seemed to lose their zip. Just before half-time, Rubin Okotie (43’) banged in the equalizer. The match remained square at one through full-time and well into extra-time. In the 104th, USA’s Anthony Wallace was sent off (2d yellow) leaving USA shorthanded, and Erwin Hoffer (who had entered the match just moments earlier) scored the winning goal in the 105th. It was a sad way for the Americans to bow out, as they were a better squad (on paper) than were the Austrians. The good news is that USA may have found a core group around which they can build for the next decade. The National squad has more talent and potential than at any previous time, and they have an opportunity to field a genuinely competitive side for 2010’s World Cup. Things are only looking up for Team Red, White & Blue.

MLS/Revolution:
When Roscoe last reviewed the performance of the hometown squad, they were mired in stretch of poor-to-mediocre play. Many of their stars had either returned from Gold Cup or moved on to Copa America, leaving a depleted lineup. Roscoe watched their last three matches and (once more) came away unimpressed.

On June 23rd, the Revs had an easy time of it, whipping FC Toronto 3-nil on two goals from Andy Dorman (13), (81) and one from Pat Noonan (33). The following Saturday, the squad traveled to California where they were routed 2-nil by Chivas USA. It was a frustrating match for Revs, as they couldn’t get any sustained attack at all. Even with defender Claudio Suarez having been sent off with a red in the 81st, Revs could not take advantage. The following Saturday (7/7) Chivas came to Foxboro, but this time Revs played much better. Claudio Suarez scored early (4) and the match went back and forth for the remainder of the first half and well into the second. Twellman entered for Cristman in the 56th, and Revs finally started to get their act in gear. Andy Dorman (64) hit the equalizer and the teams played to a somewhat uneventful draw. Chivas must’ve been thrilled taking four points out of the last two matches while the New Englanders left the pitch scratching their heads. It’s getting late in the MLS year for a squad (for whom much was expected) to be wandering aimlessly. The club may bemoan the loss of their stars to nation club tournament play, yet the same is pretty much true with every squad. Coach Nichol seems to be the sort of chap who won’t tolerate this sort of play much longer, so it’s time to stop making excuses and begin playing with greater consistency.

Yet, Revs found a way of making it to the quarters of the US Cup by defeating Rochester (a USL-1 club) 4-2 on July 11th. While all MLS clubs automatically qualify for the tournament, more often than not the squads’ top XI’s sit the matches out. In many ways, US Cup is modeled after the FA Cup format, where (theoretically) an amateur club could compete against a Championship League powerhouse for supremacy. The lower division squads fight it out for one chance at slaying a football Goliath. So far, three MLS squads have already been defeated in the third round, so it appears as if the MLS doesn’t really consider the US Cup to have much prestige. Revs move onto face “Harrisburg City Islanders” in the quarters on August 7.

On July 14th, Revs travels to the Meadowlands for a match with their arch-rivals, Red Bull New York. Andy Dorman scored in the 38th, and New England posted a 1-nil victory. Steve Ralston collected his 115th assist on Dorman’s goal, setting a new all-time MLS record. Matt Reis had a fine night in goal, and Revs conclude the first half of MLS 2007 as follows:

Eastern Conference Standings
Team P W D L Pts
1. New England 15 7 5 3 26
2. Kansas City 16 7 4 5 25
3. D.C. United 15 7 3 5 24
4. New York 16 7 3 6 24
5. Columbus 17 5 7 5 22
6. Toronto FC 16 5 4 7 19
7. Chicago 16 4 4 8 16

Western Conference Standings
Team P W D L Pts
1. Houston 18 10 3 5 33
2. FC Dallas 18 9 3 6 30
3. Chivas USA 15 7 3 5 24
4. Colorado 17 4 5 8 17
5. Los Angeles 12 3 4 5 13
6. Real Salt Lake 15 1 6 8 9


Moving forward from here, the English Leagues begin play in less than four weeks, and Roscoe has a dog in that fight (Wrexham, League Two). The next “big” tournament is the inaugural North American Superliga, which pits four selected MLS squads against four of Mexico’s best, in a format modeled after the UEFA Champions League.

From MLS
DC United
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
Los Angeles Galaxy

From Mexico
CA Morelia
CF Pachuca
Club America
CD Guadalajara

Last, Roscoe wanted to briefly comment of the whole “Beckham Saga” and the related hysteria that is currently surrounding one of the most hyped events in history. Certainly, MLS has scored a coup by enticing the World’s Most Famous Player to Hollywood. His presence lends an air of world-class status to a league and a country where the sport is regarded slightly above the curiosity level. Yet such a commitment on the part of the player and the League is not without significant risk. The problem is, most Americans don’t know who he is or what he does on a soccer field. At best, he and his wife are presently “celebrities”. He is a midfielder by trade, not a goal scorer. His game is different than Pele’s. As part of a balanced squad, his contribution can be invaluable (as was most recently witnessed this year with Real Madrid and England in the Euro tournament). At 32, he is in “the twilight of a great career” and should not be expected to carry the fortunes of a squad (or an entire League) on his shoulders. He has not had an “off-season” of which to speak, having played a full year in Spain augmented with national team competitions. At present, the squad he is joining is poor. They have one marketable “star” (Donovan) and a cast of relegation-side castoffs.

Beyond marketing his name, MLS had best put their energies in defining his role on the squad. While soccer fans know how well he performs as an attacking midfielder, most people who don’t pay attention to the sport (currently about 99% of the American population) may be under the impression that Mr. Beckham is a goal-scoring machine (which he most assuredly is not). If the news reports that he hasn’t scored at least five goals in every match, curious people will turn their attention elsewhere. While his reputation around the world is secure, if Americans fail to understand what his game is all about, then the reputation of MLS and US Soccer may be tarnished. Here’s wishing him well.