SoccerUSA!!!

By Sean Connolly

He’s had it. Lukas Podolski of Bayern Munich and Germany, is tired of coming off the bench for his club team and has said it’s time to get out. He has had trouble getting into the starting lineup seeming that Luca Toni and fellow German Miroslav Klose are Bayern’s starting strikers. Here’s what Podolski had to say in his own words…

I wouldn’t have [signed] had I known that things were going to turn out like this,I would be a bad footballer if I contented myself with sitting on the bench. This is too much! I’m not making any progress here.

Lukas Podolski on his situation with Bayern Munich

With such a talented player, several teams have reportedly shown interest in the striker. So far rumors have circulated that Manchester City, Roma, and Fiorentina will all try to pursue Podolski. Manchester City has been adament on trying to get a big name player as a part of their squad but has failed to do so. During the summer, they tried to acquire Ronaldinho but failed to do so as he signed with AC Milan.

Podolski deserves to be a starter somewhere and it’s a shame he can’t get enough playing time on Bayern Munich. It’s amazing to think that Bayern has one of the most talented young players coming off the bench behind the likes of Toni and Klose. This may be a trade that Manchester City can actually complete as Podolski has shown interest in coming to England to play. He would without a doubt be a starter at City and may be the proper place for him to land at.

By Sean Connolly

David Beckham and the Galaxy haven’t had much luck in the past month. Becks, Landon Donovan, and the Galaxy have fallen from the top of the Western Conference all the way to 5th. Last week head coach Ruud Gullit left the team for personal reasons, a move that Beckham understood but was not happy with.

Obviously, it’s disappointing, it’s disappointing to lose somebody who’s a good coach and a good person.It happens in football clubs and it’s happened here. Maybe it happened too early, but we wish him good luck in whatever he goes on and does.

David Beckham on Ruud Gullit’s Choice to Leave LA Galaxy

Along with Gullit out the door went Alexi Lalas, who was intregal in getting Beckham to the states. With a negative aura surrounding the Galaxy, they had to make a move quick. Thankfully the made the right move in hiring Bruce Arena, former US national team coach. This move puts Arena at the helm in place of the temporary coach, Cobi Jones, who despite his inexperience could turn out to be a good coach in this league very soon.

Now, I’m not a fan of the Galaxy. Quite frankly I’m not a fan of any particular MLS team. What I am a fan of is soccer in the USA. And as of late it seems as if the sports’ success in the USA is reliant on David Beckham and the LA Galaxy. The move was a gamble, and almost an all or nothing effort to intensify the sport of soccer in America. As of today I can easily say the move has been a failure. But all hope isn’t lost. Bruce Arena is a coach who is capable of picking this team up and bringing them into the playoffs.

Arena led DC United to two MLS Championships in the early stages of the MLS as well as rebuilding a US team that seemed doomed after their 1998 performance in the World Cup. As of late he has had some difficulty as the US team failed to get out of the group stage in ‘06 and his last MLS coaching job with the Red Bulls left him with a record of 16-16-10, a record the Red Bulls expected to be better. Despite the recent troubles Arena is still a great coach, arguably the best American coach and is exactly what the Galaxy need right now.

Arena’s first game will be against the Brian McBride and his new team the Chicago Fire on Thursday night. Chicago sits 3rd in the Eastern Conference and look to build around the newly acquired McBride. The Galaxy are winless in their last 8 games and are searching for something. That something will be found by Bruce Arena who if his resume reads correct will turn this Galaxy team around and turn US Soccer around…again.

By Sean Connolly

So, it might not be the most prestigious stage for soccer, but if the US team can make some noise this Olympics it can’t hurt. In their opening game today against Japan, Stuart Holden gave the US a 1-0 victory.

Holden’s goal ended a three game scoreless drought just in time as the US picked up a crucial victory in a difficult group B. Group B includes Netherlands and Nigeria who are heavily favored. Although the US didn’t look strong enough to defeat the Dutch or Nigerians they seemed to sort out whatever kinks they had.

Good news followed the game when Netherlands and Nigeria played after and ended in a draw. This leaves US atop of Group B and now it looks like they have a chance to advance past the group stage. Now the easiest way past is to simply tie their way in. Easier said than done as the Dutch possess a solid young team with speed and talent.

The US team face the Netherlands on Sunday which will be the biggest test of the Olympics. The heavily favored Dutch will look to slaughter the more inexperienced US but the US beg to differ. The US has shown a solid defense and will use that against the Dutch. If Holden can put another goal in the back of the net expect the US to net a victory and an entry past the group stage.

By Sean Connolly

The US Soccer team has been asking for respect for I don’t know, the last ten years. And guess what, they’re not getting any from FIFA. In the new world rankings, FIFA dropped U.S.A to 30th in the world, falling 9 spots from 21st. With a team who showed so much promise before the 2006 World Cup in which they were ranked 4th in the world in April of ‘06, what does falling 26 spots since then and falling below teams like Paraguay, Israel, and the Ivory Coast mean to the U.S. Soccer program?

Looking at the United State’s last game in which they only beat Barbados 1-0, they really need to get their act together. I mean Barbados is a team who is asking citizens of Barbados to step up and play on their website. I’m not joking either, seriously it’s hilarious check it out…http://www.barbadossoccer.com/. They beat Barbados by 8 at home but for some reason when they played in Barbados they looked like a completely different team. I mean, what are they going to expect when they go into Mexico and try to win?

The U.S. played Spain almost one month ago, and showed some hope by only losing 1-0. Spain is now the number one team in the world according to the new FIFA rankings and the U.S. has to look back to that game for hope. In their exhibition matches coming up to the World Cup Qualifiers they played somewhat admirably against Spain, got spanked by England, and then had their best game against Argentina in a 0-0 tie. I really don’t think FIFA should have dropped them 9 places but they shouldn’t have gained any ground either.

This new ranking will do either two things. One, get the team so demoralized that they feel like there’s nothing they can do to get respect in the soccer community and play poorly. Two, they use this ranking as fuel to the fire, and use it as motivation to get to the next stage which is making a significant impact in the 2010 World Cup. The Barbados Soccer website says to give Barbados a chance, I think it’s time for U.S. to pick up the same slogan. Give U.S. Soccer a chance!

By Sean Connolly

Soccer in America is rising, but it will never be where England is and yesterday’s game proved it. In a friendly match at Wembley Stadium in England, the U.S. soccer team came out flat and got straight up beat by a much better squad 2-0. Personally, I have been looking forward to this game thinking that the U.S. could pull out an upset. Unforunately that wasn’t the case.

This game was so frustrating for so many reasons if you’re a fan of American soccer. First off the game wasn’t even slightly competitive. England ran circles around the U.S. and not at one point were they ever in danger of falling behind. Without Landon Donavon in the lineup, pulled groin, the American side had no offense and couldn’t threaten at all. Being a fan of English soccer and American soccer, I have always dreamed of a true competitive rivalry between the two sides. Instead, England just proves that Americans can’t play soccer and will never be up to their level.

It seems whenever the U.S. is building up a solid team and garnering some respect in the soccer community, they are given a great challenge and they fail. In the 2006 World Cup against Germany U.S. again failed to make a significant impact on the biggest soccer stage.

In the game, John Terry made up for his missed penalty shot for Chelsea in last weeks championship final. He headed in a goal from a free kick from, ironically, the possible savior of U.S. soccer, David Beckham. Steven Gerard scored also as a simple triangle pass picked the U.S. defense apart and gave Gerard an easy break away.

Some good news came from this game though as Brian McBride, one of America’s greatest players, announced that he will be leaving Fulham F.C. in the English Premiership to come to the MLS. I guess he liked where the MLS was headed, and it would be great to see him on a team like the New York Red Bulls.

With the World Cup qualifiers coming up soon, the U.S. soccer team better get their act together and realize that the time is now to show the world that American soccer is for real. Beckham, the world’s biggest soccer star, is playing in the United States and all eyes are on the national team to perform. If they keep playing like this they will be lucky to make it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Unfortunately, or fortunately if you’re the Los Angeles Galaxy, it’s hard to talk about soccer in the U.S. without talking about David Beckham. That’s the price we all pay as part of Galaxy’s high-priced gamble to bring prime-time glitz to the sport.

David Beckham at Colorado – Photo: Getty/Steve Dykes

Of course, the debate continues about why Americans seem always to resist the world’s game.

In this week’s installment of the continuing conversation, Marty Mercado over at football.co.uk writes passionately about what we in the States are missing:

Moans are heard in Milan, Melbourne, and Moscow as an opportunity for a goal is missed. Liverpool, Lyon and Lisbon sing songs of victory as the final whistle is blown while Athens, Adelaide, and Aberdeen groan in defeat. Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Portland, however, remain silent. Not a peep is heard in Memphis, Miami, or Minneapolis. As the world watches twenty-two of the world’s greatest athletes partake of the “beautiful game” that is football, Americans refuse to pay any attention to another boring soccer game.

This is all true but what many soccer lovers forget is that Americans do care deeply about sports, it’s just the sport they’re moaning or cheering about is not soccer. Talk to a committed member of Red Sox nation, or a long-suffering New York Knicks fan: they’ll match their love/madness with the best soccer fan.

Mercado tries to figure out why it is Americans have taken to soccer. He’s got an interesting theory:

Soccer has never been a big sport in American culture and there seems to be a genuine dislike from most Americans towards the sport. This is because soccer is seen by Americans as a sport that stands for four things that they dislike: absence of big business, an overabundance of foreigners, homosexuals, and a lack of initiative.

Chelsea celebrates its victory over Arsenal

A bit contemptuous don’t you think? America – the country of immigrants. With its own smoldering – if most often underground -contempt for the very, very wealthy. If they were so beloved, would they have to live in fortified gated communities? Let’s give homophobia to Mercado.

Now maybe I’m missing something but isn’t Manchester United a shining example of big, big business. 330 million supporters worldwide, 5% of the world’s population, the second richest sports club.

Mercado does have another reasons that is a bit more compelling: the lack of opportunity for TV advertisers to peddle their wares. Every major sport that’s broadcast here in the States provides ample time for advertisers. The leagues have bent over backwards to transform the games to create TV timeouts to sell. If you’ve ever gone to the stadium to see a professional football game, you are treated to agonizing stoppages to allow the TV audience to see commercials they would love to skip. No wonder sports fans by the droves have become addicted to their TIVOs and digital video recorders – record the show, wait a half-hour or forty-five minutes after kickoff and watch your recorded version while blessedly missing the ads.

What works for baseball, football, and basketball just won’t work for soccer. You’d have to destroy to game to exploit it.
Given this dilemma, Beckham was worth a shot. When in doubt, use hype and celebrity. Unfortunately, Britney isn’t good enough and doesn’t seem to care. But Beckham, although lower on the radar than Brintey, is nevertheless a star, and U.S. sports teams have a history of throwing money at players. Witness the New York Knicks who have wasted a fortune assembling a team that just seems to get worse.

Beckham’s 100th cap vs. France

My guess is there is just no short-term answer. With time – and I may be talking decades – young Americans who play and love soccer will share their passion with others. In the meantime, let’s hope Beckham can help L.A. win.