It’s Tournament Time!

Not a moment too soon, either for the Revs as (without Twellman) their trip to Kansas City resulted in a dreadful, lackluster 3-1 defeat. After 12 matches, they’re a thoroughly mediocre 4-4-4-16. They weren’t helped by Emmanuel Osei’s red card in the 32nd or by Jeff Larentowicz’ own goal in the 39th…Now, they begin defense of their SuperLiga title at home against Santos Laguna on Sunday the 21st. One of the principal objections toward this tournament is that it is marketed entirely for the Latino audience, rather than a bilingual one. While the matches are televised, there is no English coverage, which automatically excludes anyone who isn’t inclined to listen to the Spanish coverage. At a time when competition for the entertainment dollar is fierce, doesn’t it make sense to be as inclusive as possible?

Anyhow, on to the match. It was a miserable night to play football on the Gillette pitch, with wind-whipped rain and cold and slick conditions. Perhaps the unusually wet and cold climate worked to Revs’ advantage as they took a 1-0 lead into half-time on Larentowicz’ goal, only to fall behind on two quick goals by Santos coming out of the break. Mansally equalized in the 60th and Jay Heaps put Revs up 3-2 just three minutes later when he exploited an opening on the left side and came up to bang a rebound into a wide open goal. Kheli Dube put the icing on the cake with a goal in the 82nd and Revs made a positive first step toward defending their SuperLiga title.

Vs. Kansas City Wizards (6/24/09):

In the second leg of Superliga, Revs hosted Kansas City on another dreary, damp night in Foxboro and there would be issues all night with a slippery pitch. It should be remembered that the MLS sides and the Mexican league sides are in different stages during their respective seasons. MLS sides are in midseason form while the Liga sides are still in preseason training.

Out of the lineup for Revs would be: Chris Albright (knee), Gabriel Badilla (back), Kevin Alston (hamstring), Mauricio Castro (hamstring), Shalrie Joseph (knee), Steve Ralston (hamstring), Taylor Twellman (neck). It would be hard to compete against a tough KC side without the heart of the starting XI, but the show must go on. Michael Videira was red carded in the 34th, which certainly didn’t help the Revs’ cause. They fought through and Kheli Dube put the home side on top one minute into extra time in the first half. Moving further into the second half, the combination of being a man down and being gassed, KC really pressed things in the Revs’ end. On a freak play to the left of Reis, Darrius Barnes attempted to clear the ball from the box, but deflected it behind Reis and KC equalized in the 85th. Ugh. Although Revs should feel somewhat disappointed with the draw, they remained atop Group B. Atlas comes to Foxboro on the 28th with a trip to the semifinals hanging in the balance.

vs. Atlas (6/28/09):

In the final stage of Group play, Revs played Atlas, needing only a tie to move on to the semifinals of the tournament. It was another cool and gloomy day on the Gillette pitch, but there was no precipitation to affect play. Revs (who continue to play with more than half of the regular XI out of the lineup) came out playing very physical. Atlas’ response to every hard tackle was to flop, roll around in agony then play dead, which resulted in three first-half yellow cards for the Revolution. Mansally put Revs ahead in the 32nd when he tok a nice pas from Dube nailed a line drive from outside the box that went through the goalkeeper’s grasp.

In the 53rd, Reis made a brilliant fingertip save off a line drive in the box as Atlas really started pouring on the heat in the Revs’ end. As the second-half continued to unfold, Atlas redoubled their efforts to score the equalizer. In the 83rd, Atlas had another chance on a free kick that turned out to be harmless. Espinoza for Atlas was red carded in the 85th when he blatantly kicked Wells Thompson in the groin will fighting over a loose ball as Revs pressed the action in the Atlas end (for a one of the few times during the half). Following the red card, Atlas played with desperation as they try to equalize, but the Revs’ defense hung tough and came away with the 1-0 victory.

Revs will now face Chicago Fire in the SuperLiga semifinals at Gillette on July 15th. Before that, they face Harrisburg City Islanders of USL-2 in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup in Connecticut on June 30th before traveling to Carson City on July 4th for a holiday date at LA Galaxy.

US Open Cup Third Round 6/30/09

Playing their fourth match in ten days, Revs jumped into the US Open Cup third round tournament with a date in New Britain against Harrisburg City Islanders of USL-2. Coach Nicol’s squad was down to 15 healthy players, and the handicapped lineup proved to be Revs’ Achilles Heel (no pun intended) as Islanders prevailed 2-1 in extra time.

Out with injuries were: Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Taylor Twellman, Kevin Alston, Chris Albright and Mauricio Castro. Wells Thompson was suspended for a red card from last year’s tournament and Jay Heaps was called up to the USMNT for the Gold Cup Tournament. Matt Reis was also given the night off, so that’s basically the regular XI unavailable for the match.

Jeff Larentowicz put Revs on top in the 38th on a free kick, then Coach Nicol elected to use all three substitutes to open the second half. Kheli Dube went down with an ankle injury in the 63rd and Michael Videira went out with a thigh injury in the 81st. Islanders equalized in the 67th and the game went into extra time with Revs two men down. Islanders picked up the go-ahead goal on a header in the 105th, and they move on in the Cup tournament.

With a healthy compliment, matches like these are no more than glorified exhibitions because there’s not much to play for. Revs have already won the US Open Cup and SuperLiga, and their focus is properly on the MLS regular season. They have a July 4th date in LA without most of their regulars. Prior to the match in LA, Revs announced the signing of forward Edgaras Jankauskas from Lithuania. Jankauskas, at 6-4, is a big goal scoring forward who has kicked around with a lot of European clubs over his storied career and ought to help the front wall in Twellman’s extended absence.

At LA Galaxy (MLS Fixture #13) (7/4/09):

The terribly undermanned Revolution traveled to Carson City for a July 4th date with LA Galaxy and lost 1-0, on Alecko Eskandarian’s goal in the 8th. Eskandarian was just acquired from Chivas USA, and the move paid immediate dividends when he picked a cross from Todd Dunivant and fired the ball past Reis. Eskandarian was not even scheduled to start, but filled in only after Gordon suffered an injury in warm-ups. Galaxy were also without Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who was called up for national team duty with Jamaica for the Gold Cup tournament. Galaxy kept the pressure on Revs all night long, and Revs had only one decent scoring opportunity all night as Nyassi's shot from dead on in the 43rd was turned aside by LA’s goalkeeper. Revs picked up their play somewhat in the second half, as Michael Videira’s header in the 73rd was blocked away. Revs desperately tried to score the equalizer in the waning moments, but the level of talent was lacking due to injury. Edgaras Jankauskas made his debut for the Revs in the 61st and it will take him a match or two before getting acclimated to Coach Nicol’s system. Next up is a home date with Kansas City on the 11th.

Vs. KC Wizards (MLS Fixture #14) 7/11/09:

There’s no truth to the rumor that Coach Nicol was dragging warm bodies out of the stands, but it’s getting pretty close to that necessity. Among the missing were: Twellman, Joseph, Heaps, Albright, Castro and Thompson. There was no scoring in first half, and there was a paucity of chances by both sides. Jankauskas entered at the beginning of the second and he was still feeling his way around the pitch. KC came out in the second half and really pushed around the Revs. Reis made a couple of terrific saves midway through the half. Michael Videira went down with a bad hamstring pull and was replaced by Nico Colaluca. In the 75th, Revs had two great chances and came up empty. Mansally slipped Jankauskas a beautiful ball in the box that the striker misplayed. On the rebound, Colaluca missed a wide open net. Ugh! In the 80th, Gomez had a great header try from a corner that Reis picked. In the 81st, KC’s Lance Watson was red carded for a very rough tackle. On the ensuing free kick, the ball was deflected away setting up a corner that was kicked out of trouble. In the 85th, Mansally had a rough collision with KC’s gigantic goaltender and was seeing stars for a few moments. Revs definitely had the better of things after KC went a man down. As the match went into extra time, Revs were denied a chance when the referee failed to call a hand ball on a KC defender in the box. The match ended with a corner kick by KC that was headed away. The best that can be said about this scoreless draw is that the second half was a lot more exciting than the first. Both sides had their chances and at least one point is better than none. Next up will be the SuperLiga semifinal against Chicago on Wednesday night.

SuperLiga Semifinal v. Chicago Fire (7/15/09):

Revs lost 2-1 on Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s free kick in the 63rd, but they did play well considering the injuries and other absences to the regular starting XI. It was nonetheless disappointing to lose since three Revolution shots either hit the post or the crossbar, they had their opportunities to win the match. The player of the match was Blanco, as he assisted on Brian McBride’s goal in the 36th. Revs equalized just as time expired in the first half when Edgaras Jankauskas scored his first goal for the club when he grabbed a nice ball from Chris Tierney and blew the ball past Jon Busch in the Chicago goal. Jankauskas looks more comfortable with each match and ought to provide a real offensive threat for the team coming down the stretch. The Revs carried the momentum into the second half until Barnes fouled McBride about 20 yards out. Chicago had a free kick and Blanco just froze everyone with a brilliant curveball into the upper right hand corner, putting the Fire ahead. The Revs didn’t quit however, and had three golden chances to equalize and just couldn’t get the ball past Buch. They did their level best with the talent that was available and really can’t be faulted for losing to the Beasts of the East. Chicago hosts the final against Tigres UANL on August 5th. Revs host Chivas USA on Sunday the 19th.

Vs. Chivas USA (MLS Fixture #15) 7/19/09:

Sunday night’s match against Chivas can be summed up in two words: Shalrie Joseph. After both sides played a dull half of football, Shalrie entered in the second half and was the key to a 2-0 win. Edgaras Jankauskas was kept out of the lineup with a hamstring pull suffered in the Superliga semifinal. Revs went on top in the 61st as Kheli Dube took a beautiful ball from Joseph and streaked down the left flank and buried the ball past Zach Thornton (who looks far more like a linebacker than a goalkeeper). Joseph also set up Ralston’s goal in the 77th, when he fed Dube, whose deflected pass fell within Ralston’s purview and it was 2-0. The defense held down the fort and allowed Chivas little or no running room in the closing moments of the match and the team came away with a satisfying victory. Revs are now 5-5-5-20, and while currently outside of a playoff spot have a number of games in hand to make up the difference.

At Houston Dynamo (MLS Fixture #16) 7/25/09:

Dynamo are always a tough nut to crack, especially at home where they haven’t lost in over a year. At first glance, this one looked like it would be in the bag for the home side, considering New England’s injuries and other absences. But give the Revs credit, they came to play and ended up winning 1-0 on Kheli Dube’s goal in the 76th. Revs had the only real opportunity in the first half as Dube narrowly missed heading Mansally’s cross at the half-hour mark. As was the case last week, Shalrie Joseph entered at the beginning of the second half and the tide started turning in the Revs’ direction. There was a quality chance by Mansally at the beginning of the second half when his shot hit the post. Houston had their first chance to score in the 56th when Ricardo Clark’s header was snatched away by Reis. Revs finally broke the ice twenty minutes later as Alston started with the ball in the Revs’ end, connected with Ralston on a long pass, who popped the ball to Dube in the box. Dube easily pushed the ball past Pat Onstad and Revs were up 1-nil. Following the goal, Houston ratcheted up the intensity but Reis stood tall and the Revs came away with a terrific 1-0 win.

Vs. Toronto FC (MLS Fixture #17) 8/1/09:

Thanks to another well-played second half and a goal from Edgaras Jankauskas, Revs were able to come away with a hard fought 1-1 draw with TFC at Gillette on Saturday night. Dwayne De Rosario put TFC on top in the 34th when he picked up a deflection and stuffed the ball past Reis. In the second half, Shalrie Joseph entered the match, and he positively affects New England’s attack every time he steps on the pitch. Chad Barrett received his second yellow of the match in the 50th, giving Revs a distinct opportunity to equalize. At that point, Coach Nicol moved the team into a 3-5-2 and with the man advantage, they slowly began to increase the pressure in TFC’s end before Jankauskas
Knocked in a rebound off of Joseph’s header in the 76th. With the draw, Revs are now 6-5-6-24, good for 5th Place in MLS East. Next week, Donovan, Beckham and the Galaxy come to Gillette in what ought to be a fun match.
USA Men’s National Team Tournaments

USMNT Confederation Cup (South Africa)

USA also “competed” (a term used quite loosely at times) in the FIFA’s Confederation Cup, a warmup tournament for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. While USA was in a killer group that included Brazil and Italy and not expected to contend, there was really no excuse for how poorly they played against the superpowers during the group stage. In their opening round match against Italy (6/15), the sides played evenly until Ricardo Clark was red carded for dumping Gennaro Ivan Gattuso. It was definitely not a disqualifying foul, but something calculated by the (allegedly corrupt) FIFA official to give the Italians a tactical advantage. In the short term, being a man down didn’t hurt the Americans as Chiellini knocked down Jozy Altidore in the box in the 39th and USA was awarded a penalty kick. Landon Donovan did the honors and USA took a 1-nil lead into the dressing room at half-time. But it was too much to ask for the Americans to stay in the hunt down a man. Traitor Giuseppe Rossi from New Jersey equalized for Azzurri in the 58th, Daniele De Rossi put the Italians on top in the 71st. Rossi scored again in extra time for the 3-1 final.

USMNT’s second match against Brazil (6/18) was dreadful. They started off badly, when Felipe Melo (6) and Robinho (19) scored, putting USA in an intractable hole. By the time Sacha Kljestan was red carded in the 56th, they were already hoping for the referee to whistle fulltime. Maicon’s goal in the 61st simply reinforced the fact that USA had no business competing with the world’s best. They played with no heart and no passion.

On June 21st, Coach Bradley’s team faced a choice in their match against Egypt: they could continue to play without heart, or summon some collective passion and go home with a measure of pride. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=266847&cc=5901
The only way they could make it to the next stage of the tournament was to win by three or more goals and hope that Brazil defeated Italy by at least three goals. What were the odds that USA would move on? Probably 50-1…

USA played with purpose. After pressing the action in Egypt’s end, Charlie Davies picked a rebound to the right of the goal and stuffed the ball past Essam El Hadary to give the Americans an early lead. They never dropped their level of intensity. Michael Bradley scored in the 63rd and “The Deuce” Dempsey put it away with a goal eight minutes later. USA had done their part. And Brazil? Oh, yeah, they downed the Italians 3-0. We sincerely hope that Giuseppe Rossi enjoys that New Jersey “homecoming” vacation a little bit sooner than expected…

As a bonus for making it to the next leg (6/24), USA faced Spain, the #1-ranked team in the world. The Spaniards were riding a 35-game unbeaten streak, and maybe they came into this one thinking that victory was a fait accompli. USA was in a no-lose position, provided that they played with the same degree of intensity that they brought to the match with Egypt. If they played with purpose and lost, well, there’s no shame in losing to the best. In the unlikely event that they upset Spain, it would be front page news across America.

As expected, the first quarter hour was dominated by Spain. Coach Bradley shuffled things up front and it paid big dividends as Dempsey found Jozy Altidore, who worked it through a couple of defenders and beat Casillas to put USA ahead 1-0. Following the goal, USA continued the attack and denied Spain any opportunity to establish any sort of rhythm. Moving into the second half, Spain came out flying looking for the equalizer, but appeared to be out of sync with each advance. Clint Dempsey put USA up 2-0 in the 73rd when he grabbed a loose ball in the box and zipped it into the Spain goal with Casillas out of place. Michael Bradley was red carded in the 86th, just about the time when Spain was throwing everything short of the kitchen sink at the American goal. But, in the end, it was USA’s day. To have witnessed this team play as poorly as they did against Brazil to play with the degree of character and discipline as they played with against Spain is nothing short of astounding. Now, they go to the final against…

…In Thursday’s Brazil-South Africa semifinal, the mighty Brazilians game out flat, played flat and were lucky to come away with a win on a goal by Daniel Alves in the 87th. Give credit to the South Africans, buoyed a loud and passionate home country following, they gave Brazil everything they could muster but in the end, the sheer talent of the Brazilians was simply too much to compete against.

Confederations Cup Final USMNT-Brazil 6/28/09:

USA had a golden opportunity to shock the football world if only they could outlast the mighty Brazilian side. Clint Dempsey put USA up by a goal in the 9th when he took a great pass from Jonathan Spector and put it behind Julio César. Brzail came right back and Robinho took a pass from Kaká and fired one that Howard tipped away. Brazil had the better of play, even if they were somewhat ragged. USA scored again in the 26th when Donovan picked off a ball from a failed corner then hit Charlie Davies with a picture perfect pass. Davies streaked down left flank, found Donovan on the give n’ go, who stuffed the ball into the empty left side, 2-0 USA! Howard made a nice stop off of Robinho in the 34th. As the first half came to an end, USA played every bit as well as they did against Spain, but Brazil seriously needed to pick up their level of play if they were to get back into the match.

Brazil got on the board almost right after the second half kickoff as Luis Fabiano took a ball from Maicon, wheeled and fired it past Howard as the American defenders were on their heels coming out of the break. After the goal, Brazil smelled blood in the water as they went after the equalizer. After a number of tantalizing chances, Brazil tied it in the 73rd when Kaká blew past Spector and fired on goal. Robinho failed to pick up the cross, but Fabiano was waiting and banged the ball home. Moments later, Coach Bradley brought Bornstein and Kljestan on to replace Feilhaber and Altidore as the Americans seemed to be getting gassed out there. The fresh bodies did little to impede Brazil’s advances as Fabiano nailed the go-ahead goal on a corner in the 83rd. Now all Brazil needed to do was play keep away down the stretch. USA had one final chance in the 88th when Onyewu’s header went over the bar. After three minutes of stoppage time, the referee whistled the conclusion, and Brazil retained their Confederations Cup, winning for a record third time.

Perhaps it's too much to ask USA to compete with one of the world's finest sides for 90 minutes. Brazil had 24 shots compared to USA’s 8, so Tim Howard couldn’t be faulted in the loss. Rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment, Coach Bradley's crew should feel angry and upset after blowing a two-nil lead in the second half. They ought to leave South Africa with a sour taste in their mouths because opportunities such as these to not present themselves every year. http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/news/story?id=657942&sec=global&cc=5901
The crew that will go to the World Cup next year ought to replay the second half over and over to learn from their mistakes and realize that when they play with focus and intensity, they can play with anyone. The Cup was theirs for the taking but they let the Brazilians back into the match where it all slipped away in the final minutes. Now a reconstituted national team begins Gold Cup play starting July 4th.

USMNT Gold Cup Tournament:

Coach Bradley’s roster for the Gold Cup will only feature a handful of players from the Confederations Cup squad, including 15 players from MLS. This is essentially USA’s “B Team” who will be looking to retain their title with a couple of players looking to impress the Coach and maybe earn one of those few final openings on the “A Team”.

The team opens up Cup play with a match against Grenada on July 4th in Seattle

Gold Cup Match Day 1 Group B: USMNT v. Grenada (7/4/09):

USA won 4-0 in a match that was essentially target practice. Freddy Adu scored in the 6th, Stuart Holden in the 30th, then Robbie Rogers scored in the 59th and Charlie Davies mercifully capped things off in the 67th. As expected, USA dominated the action from start to finish, out shooting the “Spice Boyz” 12 (7) to 2 (1). Steve Cherundolo returned from injury and played over sixty minutes.

Gold Cup Match Day 2 Group B: USMNT v. Honduras (7/8/09):

In USA’s second group stage match in Washington, the Hondurans definitely provided a stiffer challenge, though USA ultimately prevailed late, 2-0. The first half wasn’t exactly a thriller, both sides had a couple of chances but all in all, it was pretty tame. Honduras’ Walter Martinez missed a wide open net in the 30th that could’ve been a game-changer. Credit to Honduras for playing a style that disrupted USA’s game (or maybe USA thought the Hondurans would be a pushover). In the second half, USA must’ve got the message that Honduras was not cannon fodder, as they stepped up their intensity and pressed hard in Honduras’ end. USA finally broke the ice when Santino Quaranta banged one in the 73rd in from about 20 yards out on a nice one-time feed. It’s nice to see someone who has overcome some personal demons rise to the top of his game once more. A few minutes later, USA went up 2-0 on a magnificent header from Brian Ching and USA came away with a hard fought win. USA concludes group play on Saturday night against Haiti in Foxboro.

Gold Cup Match Day 3 Group B: USMNT v. Haiti (7/11/09):

USA wrapped up group stage play on Saturday the 11th against Haiti in Foxboro, directly following the Revs’ scoreless draw with Kansas City. Coach Bradley shifted around the XI and Jay Heaps was given his first start for USA, playing alongside former Rev Michael Parkhurst in the rearguard. The first five minutes were played at a frantic pace. Davy Arnaud put USA on top in the 6th when he took a beautiful ball from Holden and blew it past Haiti’s goalkeeper Jean Dominique Zephirin with his left foot. Following the goal, the pace stepped down somewhat as USA went into ball control mode. Arnaud was yellow carded in the 26th after he tried pulling down a Haiti player by the shirt. In the 30th, Holden fired a bullet from 30 yards out that hit the crossbar. The Haitians came right back and tested Luis Robles in the USA goal. This try gave Haiti the momentum and they pressed hard in USA’s end. In the 32nd, Parkhurst fouled a Haitian player as he entered the box setting up a free kick from just outside, but the kick went wide right. Conrad had a header try in the 45th from a corner that went over the bar by two inches. In the 48th, Haiti had two glorious chances to equalize, the first was turned aside by Robles, the rebound (while Robles was down and out) went high and to the right. So USA dodged a major bullet as the first half expired.

Haiti did equalize in the first minute of the second half on Sirin Vaniel’s header from a cross. Haiti scored again just four minutes later on Mones Chery’s blast from about 25 yards out. The complexion of the match changed dramatically at that point as the Americans really spent the better part of the second half pressing the play in Haiti’s end, to no avail as the Haitians had a response to every thrust USA put forth. As the match went into extra time, it looked as if USA would lose in Gold Cup competition for the first time. But Stuart Holden grabbed a loose ball about 10 yards out and fired it past Zephirin into the upper right hand corner of the net and USA equalized in spectacular fashion. The Gillette Stadium crowd (approximately 20,000) went berserk. Holden’s goal was the stuff of legend and now USA moves on to the quarterfinals against Panama next Saturday night.

Gold Cup Quartefinals vs. Panama

With most of the “B Team” players having returned to their clubs, a variant of MLS All-Stars took to the pitch for a crucial showdown with the Panamanians. USA ended up winning 2-1, but it wasn’t until Kenny Cooper’s penalty kick in the 103rd that the match was decided. Blas Pérez put Panama ahead right before the break, but USA equalized three minutes into the second half on a goal from Kyle Beckerman. The sides played through full-time tied and on to extra time. In the first extra-time session, Kenny Cooper was moving into the box with a serious try when he was kicked in the stomach by Roman Torres trying to break up the play. Mr. Archundia immediately whistled for a penalty kick, which Cooper stuffed into the low left corner past Jaime Penedo Cano. USA hung on for the win and now faces Honduras on Thursday night in Chicago.

Gold Cup Semifinal vs. Honduras (7/23/09):

USA had a dominant outing, easily downing Honduras 2-0 before a big crowd at Soldier Field in Chicago on Thursday night. Clarence Goodson put USA ahead right before the end of the first half when he headed Holden’s corner Donis Slatiel Escober. In the second half, USA continued to control the tempo and shut down the Hondurans cold. Their only real opportunity came with about five minutes remaining when the dangerous Carlos Costly was robbed on a shot by Troy Perkins and Jay Heaps cleared away the rebound. Kenny Cooper put the match out of reach in the 89th when he took a perfect ball from Holden and blew it past Escober to make it 2-nil, and another trip to the finals was in the offing.

Gold Cup Final vs. Mexico (7/26/09):

It was a perfect day for football at the Meadowlands as Giants Stadium was banged out for the Gold Cup Final. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Mexico and they had a delightful afternoon as the Mexicans blasted USA off the pitch with five second half goals to take home the Copa Oro. Congratulations to the Mexican side as they dominated the Americans on this afternoon. It’s hard for an American fan to have walked away from this match without feeling a real sting. It doesn’t matter whether the XI Coach Bradley sent out on the pitch was America’s “C” Team (virtually none of these players will suit up for next month’s WCQ in Mexico City). If you’re privileged enough to don a national kit, at least you should play with a modicum of national pride. Precious too little of that was evident. The Americans wandered without much purpose in the first half as the sides played to a scoreless draw. The Americans started the second half back on their heels as a Mexican goal appeared to be inevitable. In the 57th, the referee awarded a penalty kick to Mexico after one of their forwards elbowed Jay Heaps in the head while entering the box. Heaps dragged the jugador down and the ref whistled a penalty. After Mexico scored on the penalty, the Americans tried to push the ball, but the Mexican defenders easily stymied every offensive thrust. At a point shortly after the hour mark, it appeared as if the American side was gassed, and Mexico poured it on with a vengeance. Bang-bang-bang-bang, four more goals and the humiliated American side couldn’t wait to depart. The failure to show up for a tournament final will hurt the American program in the short run. There’s no shame in losing, but there definitely is shame in having been humiliated such as this.

On a brighter note, anyone who contends that soccer has no future in America has rocks in his head or hasn’t bothered to watch the first World Football Challenge that played to packed venues all over America to witness three of Europe most storied sides (AC Milan, Chelsea and Inter Milan) as well as Club America from Mexico stage a series of round robin friendlies during the last week of July. Even though it’s still preseason for these four football giants, the level of competition is vastly superior to that which MLS produces. Every match was fiercely contested and American audiences got a chance to witness the sort of world-class football that Europeans take for granted. Since this tournament proved to be a lot of fun to watch as well as a huge moneymaker for everyone around, look for this to be an annual event.