The United States men's national team had two poor results these past two qualifiers. The US soccer team lost to Costa Rica (3-0) at home and drew (1-1) away to Honduras. One point out of the possible six is utterly pathetic if one wants to be consistent on the standard that the usmnt should be held accountable to. There are a few who feel that Bobby Wood's late equalizer is one of the most important goals in US soccer history for what it means. It means that the usmnt has their fate in their own hands. If the team wins their last two qualifiers against Panama and Trinidad and Tobago in October they will have earned an automatic birth to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The team played poorly in both games and were fortunate to have even leave Honduras with a point. Which is one of the reasons that many feel that Wood's goal is a historic one. To me, it just demonstrates how much the US soccer program still has to go before it can consider itself an actual contender on the international stage. At this point, they need to demonstrate that they are contenders in their own region. The United States currently sit in 4th place which give the team a chance to qualify via a intercontinental playoff against a team from the Asian Football Confederation. The usmnt plays the team that sits right above them, Panama, and the last placed team, Trinidad and Tobago, for their last two games. Honduras, who is tied with the US on points, sits right behind the US, but will face Mexico and Costa Rica for their last two qualifying matches. The odds are in favor for the US to qualify to Russia. However, it will be done in a dramatic fashion and at the very last minute.
The US team has plenty to work on. They have issues from the back line all the way up to the forwards. They don't have quality fullbacks to play four in the back, which means if they want to be competitive at the world cup (if they qualify) Arena needs to experiment and tinker with a system and formation that amplifies the squad's strength. On that note, Arena was awful in his decision making against both Costa Rica and Honduras. I am purposely not saying tactical, because to this day I have no idea what Arena soccer style consists of other than survive and get by. The midfield can't purposely posses the ball to control a match. It could be that Arena hasn't found the right midfield combination, but to be quite frank the US doesn't currently posses any player that can pass above the 85% completion stat. There is hope. Pulisic, Bradley, Nagbe, Acosta and Zusi (if Arena use a 3-5-2 formation and plays him on the right) are good players that can win games. The forwards are great individual players, however, under Arena, there hasn't been a pairing that has worked well together. Woods, Dempsey, Altidore and Morris can all score goals, but just not at a consistent enough rate with one another on the pitch. A lot of this comes down to coaching and Bruce Arena is going to have to figure it out if he wants to have a positive impact at the world cup. These last two games will certainly be a benchmark on where the state of US soccer is at. Under pressure till the end, the usmnt might provide a very dramatic finish in the qualifiers that it will diminish Wood's "historic" goal as a casual last minute goal the US got in Honduras.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Saturday, September 2, 2017
USMNT, JK-"Lol"
The United States men's national team hosted and lost to Costa Rica Friday night at the Red bulls arena. The usmnt team currently sits 3rd in the CONCACAF hexagonal table and the last automatic spot for the 2018 world cup in Russia. I still see the US qualifying for Russia by finishing third. If the US finishes fourth, their path to Russia becomes a bit more exciting. The US will be forced to play a nation from the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) in two games-home and away- in order to qualify for the world cup. If finishing forth isn't exciting enough no need to worry, a possible opponent for the US could be Syria! But, that's living in the "what if" realm. What should be discussed is what happened in the 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica.
The US team wasn't as disappointing as the 2-0 result suggests to those who go simply by the score. The US created chances early on and pressured Los Ticos on their final third, but that allowed for the US to be exposed on the counter-which the Los Ticos did-and fell behind 1-0. The US had no other option but to attack which created the same scenario for the second goal to occur, which it did, in the later minutes of the match. The US team still can't manage to control a match with possession of the ball. They lose it too often which disrupts any real momentum. I would describe the US style of play as counter attacking, but with possession. Which sounds silly, I know, but it describes the current style the US has. The two weakest links for the US were at left back and one of the centerbacks. The US has a history of somehow never finding a player that could play that position well and constantly. Jorge Villafana is the current player tasked for the job and is being overwhelmed by the burden. Decision making is off or too slow, as well as his runs, even with advantage position and possession, when he goes on a run he constantly loses it by being too slow and putting the ball too far ahead or just simply losing the ball to his opponent. On the defensive end Villafana is average at best. Fabian Johnson was quiet as well at the left midfield position. But, based on the players past performances one could judge that the left back hindered any positive play for the player ahead of him. Tim Ream looked awful at centerback. His play looked too casual without any real grit or intensity paired with a few poor decisions that could have added to the deficit. Bruce Arena should see that Ream is a national level player, let alone a starter. Arena would be wise if he were to call up Matt Miazga and give the 22 year old defender a chance to prove himself instead of waiting for him to turn 29 and have him realize he is a Tim Ream. The US will qualify for the world cup, but that doesn't mean there isn't much to improve upon-there is plenty, especially if the US wants to be competitive among the world's best.
The US team wasn't as disappointing as the 2-0 result suggests to those who go simply by the score. The US created chances early on and pressured Los Ticos on their final third, but that allowed for the US to be exposed on the counter-which the Los Ticos did-and fell behind 1-0. The US had no other option but to attack which created the same scenario for the second goal to occur, which it did, in the later minutes of the match. The US team still can't manage to control a match with possession of the ball. They lose it too often which disrupts any real momentum. I would describe the US style of play as counter attacking, but with possession. Which sounds silly, I know, but it describes the current style the US has. The two weakest links for the US were at left back and one of the centerbacks. The US has a history of somehow never finding a player that could play that position well and constantly. Jorge Villafana is the current player tasked for the job and is being overwhelmed by the burden. Decision making is off or too slow, as well as his runs, even with advantage position and possession, when he goes on a run he constantly loses it by being too slow and putting the ball too far ahead or just simply losing the ball to his opponent. On the defensive end Villafana is average at best. Fabian Johnson was quiet as well at the left midfield position. But, based on the players past performances one could judge that the left back hindered any positive play for the player ahead of him. Tim Ream looked awful at centerback. His play looked too casual without any real grit or intensity paired with a few poor decisions that could have added to the deficit. Bruce Arena should see that Ream is a national level player, let alone a starter. Arena would be wise if he were to call up Matt Miazga and give the 22 year old defender a chance to prove himself instead of waiting for him to turn 29 and have him realize he is a Tim Ream. The US will qualify for the world cup, but that doesn't mean there isn't much to improve upon-there is plenty, especially if the US wants to be competitive among the world's best.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Valencia for top 3
Sunday was a great day for most, if not all, Valencia supporters. Los Che drew against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. The score was 2-2, but could have gone either way even up towards the added stoppage time minutes where both teams had clear opportunities to win the match. The draw isn't the biggest positive surprise-Valencia is actually the team that has taken most points from Real Madrid of any other team in La Liga- it was in the manner and style that the draw was earned that has given Valencia a sense of rebirth. Valencia is a team that throughout most of its history has been a successful team, for a while they were consecutive winners of the "other" league. Which is finishing in 3rd place behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, the last two seasons for los che has been horrendous for the club. It will be part of their history that will not be remembered fondly of, but it happened and it is there. Fans know it, the team knows it and anyone who closely monitors La Liga knows it. Sunday saw a team that was organized, ambitious, and courageous. There are plenty of positives to be taken from the match. But, lets begin with a few obvious factors. First, Real Madrid where without Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo. Second, Karim Benzema had an awful day, missing eight clear opportunities to score. Third, Bale was no where to be found, could it be his speed has really diminished that much as he ages? The conclusive point here is that Real Madrid didn't necessarily executed their game plan in the manner they normally do due to a few set backs and their star players performing their vanishing acts.
That being said, there were plenty of positives for Valencia on the day. The first goal for los che was straight from the academy products. Gaya to Lato to Soler was the brilliant combination that lead to the goal to tie the match at 1-1. The team looked well organized and attacked on the counter. Kondogbia had an excellent debut locking down the midfield forcing Modric to play throught the outside to create chances for Madrid. Kondogbia scored the second goal to put Valencia in the lead at 2-1. Ruben Vezo and Murillo looked solid in the back line as they debuted as the center back pair for the team. The two goals against Valencia, the first one was a bad pass to Kondogbia which allowed Asensio to scoop it up and work his magic with his left foot and the second goal was from a freekick. This is not to take anything away from Real Madrid, they did have more clear opportunities in front of goal to have easily put los che away. But, all that means from a Valencia perspective is that the team remained organized and stayed on their marks to make it as difficult as possible for the home team to score. That is something that was missing from the Valencia side the past two seasons. Now under Marcelino Toral Garcia Valencia really looks competitive. It is still early in the season, only two games have been played, but from what I have seen from this Valencia side has given me hope to be excited for this team going forward.
That being said, there were plenty of positives for Valencia on the day. The first goal for los che was straight from the academy products. Gaya to Lato to Soler was the brilliant combination that lead to the goal to tie the match at 1-1. The team looked well organized and attacked on the counter. Kondogbia had an excellent debut locking down the midfield forcing Modric to play throught the outside to create chances for Madrid. Kondogbia scored the second goal to put Valencia in the lead at 2-1. Ruben Vezo and Murillo looked solid in the back line as they debuted as the center back pair for the team. The two goals against Valencia, the first one was a bad pass to Kondogbia which allowed Asensio to scoop it up and work his magic with his left foot and the second goal was from a freekick. This is not to take anything away from Real Madrid, they did have more clear opportunities in front of goal to have easily put los che away. But, all that means from a Valencia perspective is that the team remained organized and stayed on their marks to make it as difficult as possible for the home team to score. That is something that was missing from the Valencia side the past two seasons. Now under Marcelino Toral Garcia Valencia really looks competitive. It is still early in the season, only two games have been played, but from what I have seen from this Valencia side has given me hope to be excited for this team going forward.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
2017-2018 Champions League draw is complete
The UEFA champions league group stage is set. The draw has come to a conclusion. Group A through group H has familiar foes lined up to play each other later in on in up and coming months. Group A contains Benifica, Manchester United, Basel, and CSKA Moskva. At the moment, the best team is Manchester United. The season is still too early to predict a team's form, but the last two games the red devils were world class. I see them winning the group.
Group B contains Bayern, Paris St Germain, Anderlecht, and the Scottish team, Celtic. I am curious to watch Moussa Dembele play in the champions league stage. He is a young Frenchman that shares the name as another highly regarded french player that Barcelona is after. However, as much as I would like to see the minnow succeed and perform well, Bayern and PSG are loaded with talent and I see them both qualifying to the knockout rounds. The only uncertainty this group has to offer is which team finishes first and second between the German and French giants.
For some reason it feels as if group C tends to be filled with teams that play each other often in the champions league. Almost as if we have been here before. Chelsea, Athletico, Roma, and Qarabag make up the group. This is one of the few groups that can go either way. I must apologize to Qarabag, this is a three team group where the Azerbaijan team will not have much say in this group. They may play the part of hindering another team's chances if they can pull off an away draw. But, this group is up in the air. Roma, Athletico, and Chelsea will all be competing for the top two spots. Chelsea seems to be the team that seems to have internal problems with the whole Diego Costa saga and rumors of the head Coach Conte not getting along with the board members. If the team can ignore those issues Chelsea has good chance of coming out out of this group. However, one slip up could see them entering the Europa League.
Group D contains Juventus, Barcelona, Olympiacos, and Sporting CP. If one, such as myself, predicts this group based on paper then Juventus and Barcelona will finish in the top two spots. Sporting could surprise a few, but at the end of the six games will most likely finish third. Barcelona is going through a few issues on their own. From the board members lying about Messi signing a new contract, teams telling them no in the summer transfer window, new coach, and an aging team that seems to not having any real reinforcements. That being said Barcelona is still a great club with extremely talented players and should have enough to make it out of the group. Juventus is well organized and talented enough to force Barcelona to be content with second place.
Group E was described as a typical Europa League group by a friend of mine. Liverpool, Spartak Moskva, Sevilla, Maribor make up this group that might be described as one of the weaker groups in the tournament. However, depending on how these teams perform during their domestic league the top two spots are in sight for all four club teams. I predict that Liverpool and Sevilla will come out of it. These two teams may not be seen serious title contenders in their respective leagues, but they have enough talent to make it out of the group stage.
Group F may seem like a cake walk for Manchester city, and that's because it should be. Manchester City is a clear favorite to come out on top of this group that contains Shakhtar Donetsk, Napoli, and Feyenoord. Napoli is the only team the poses a threat to the citizens of Manchester, but I don't think they have enough to topple Manchester City from winning the group. Feyenoord is no team to sleep on, young talented squad the plays very attractive dutch soccer can make for entertaining group stage games against Manchester City and Napoli.
Group G will put Monaco, Porto, Besiktas, and RB Leipzig against each other in the fall and winter months. RB Leipzig were a surprise in the German Bundesliga giving the German giants, Bayern, a bit of a scare. Yet, I don't think RB Leipzig has enough magic left in them to pull that off in the champions league. Besiktas and RB Leipzig will compete for a spot in the Europa League while Monaco and Porto will fight for the top two positions.
Group H resembles somewhat a little bit of group C. Three very talented teams with a minnow team that hopes to perform well enough in their domestic league in order to qualify and receive a better draw next year. APOEL, Real Madrid, Dortmund, and Tottenham make up the final group. Unlike group C, group H has a predictable clear first place team in Real Madrid. This team under the watch of Zinedine Zidane has become a team flourishing with talent. A mixture of solid veterans and young talent this team is going to compete for every trophy this year. A string of bad luck is the only way of slowing this Madrid team at the moment. There is plenty of time still of course and the season is long, but of all the teams favored to win it, Real Madrid is a safe bet. That leaves second place up for grabs between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham. Both teams are talented teams and could have easily claim the top two spots if it weren't for being drawn into the same group as Real Madrid. I see Dortmund taking the second place spot leaving Tottenham to compete in the Europa League.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
2017-2018 Predictions for Club Football
English Premier League August, 15, 2017 predictions made
1. Manchester City June 1, 2018 Actual standings (1), (2)...
2. Manchester United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea
6. Tottenham
7. Everton
La Liga
1. Real Madrid
2. Athletico Madrid
3. FC Barcelona
4. Valencia CF
5. Sevilla
6. Villareal
7. Real Sociedad
Serie A
1. Juventus
2. AS Roma
3. Napoli
4. AC Milan
5. Lazio
6. Internazionale
7. Fiorentina
Bundesliga
1. Bayern Munich
2. Borussia Dortmund
3. Schalke 04
4. RB Leipzig
5. 1899 Hoffenheim
6. FC Kolin
7. Bayer Leverkusen
Ligue 1
1. Paris Saint-Germain
2. Nice
3. Monaco
4. Lyon
5. Marseille
6. Saint-Etienne
7. Bordeaux
1. Manchester City June 1, 2018 Actual standings (1), (2)...
2. Manchester United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea
6. Tottenham
7. Everton
La Liga
1. Real Madrid
2. Athletico Madrid
3. FC Barcelona
4. Valencia CF
5. Sevilla
6. Villareal
7. Real Sociedad
Serie A
1. Juventus
2. AS Roma
3. Napoli
4. AC Milan
5. Lazio
6. Internazionale
7. Fiorentina
Bundesliga
1. Bayern Munich
2. Borussia Dortmund
3. Schalke 04
4. RB Leipzig
5. 1899 Hoffenheim
6. FC Kolin
7. Bayer Leverkusen
Ligue 1
1. Paris Saint-Germain
2. Nice
3. Monaco
4. Lyon
5. Marseille
6. Saint-Etienne
7. Bordeaux
Friday, August 11, 2017
Best regular season teams vs World Series Champions
Traditions are important. They can have a significant impact on a community. In the baseball community, there tends to be treasured traditions that are held in high regard. I will not list each baseball tradition and debate its morality and importance. That is not the point here. Sports are a tradition themselves and there isn't anything wrong or wicked in that. I do want to question the number of games played in a regular Major League Baseball season. 162. At first, 162 may seem like a random number to the outside spectator, but it does have its purpose. One of those purposes is that it determines which teams make the play-offs for an opportunity to be the world series champion. That is where my interest peaked. Do the best teams during the regular season win the world series ?
I collected data from 39 seasons (1977-2016) as my sample size. From the information that I gathered, only 9 out of the 39 seasons or 23% or (.231), of the best regular season teams went on to become the world series champions. The Chicago Cubs (2016), New York Yankees (1978, 1998, 2009), Detroit Tigers (1984), New York Mets (1986), Oakland Athletics (1989), and the Boston Red Sox (2007, 2013) are the teams that make up the 9 seasons when a team held the best regular season record and won the world series. Note that the two season the Boston Red Sox pulled off the double, their best regular season record was tied with the Cleveland Indians (2007) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2013) respectively for those seasons. The regular season is long and it can take a toll on the players and the ball clubs. I am not stating nor taking a stand against the number 162. I enjoy baseball, I am aware of the criticism that baseball encounters; "the pace of the game is too slow.." and "the season is too long.." However, whether I agree or disagree with either of those criticisms isn't the topic for today. I am stating that the regular season isn't seen as important as it should be.
The regular season isn't a walk in the park and for most of the players isn't a guarantee. Players and teams put in a tremendous amount of work to win those games. The individuals are awarded, such as the Cy youngs, golden gloves, and homerun leaders. Yet, the team that was the best throughout the year tends to be awarded less, if any, and soon enough forgotten and overshadowed by the world series champion. Unless, on the rare occasion, that same team wins it all. From the sample size that I researched and analyzed, one could easily observe that the majority of the teams with the best regular season record do no win the world series.
I am not saying the world series champion isn't deserving of being honored and celebrated throughout the sports world. But, for the sport nerds out there, they can point out that technically the play-offs are a different tournament. Which it is. What I am proposing is that the team with the best regular season record be remembered and recognized by sports historians and fans for what they accomplished. Being the best team all year long. Maybe the two, if they aren't the same team, can have a 3 game series in the spring to determine the best of the best prior to the start of the new season. If that were to ever happen, I am aware that in the spring teams are, well it's spring baseball. But, that's the point. It could be a glorified spring game with some meaning to it.
I collected data from 39 seasons (1977-2016) as my sample size. From the information that I gathered, only 9 out of the 39 seasons or 23% or (.231), of the best regular season teams went on to become the world series champions. The Chicago Cubs (2016), New York Yankees (1978, 1998, 2009), Detroit Tigers (1984), New York Mets (1986), Oakland Athletics (1989), and the Boston Red Sox (2007, 2013) are the teams that make up the 9 seasons when a team held the best regular season record and won the world series. Note that the two season the Boston Red Sox pulled off the double, their best regular season record was tied with the Cleveland Indians (2007) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2013) respectively for those seasons. The regular season is long and it can take a toll on the players and the ball clubs. I am not stating nor taking a stand against the number 162. I enjoy baseball, I am aware of the criticism that baseball encounters; "the pace of the game is too slow.." and "the season is too long.." However, whether I agree or disagree with either of those criticisms isn't the topic for today. I am stating that the regular season isn't seen as important as it should be.
The regular season isn't a walk in the park and for most of the players isn't a guarantee. Players and teams put in a tremendous amount of work to win those games. The individuals are awarded, such as the Cy youngs, golden gloves, and homerun leaders. Yet, the team that was the best throughout the year tends to be awarded less, if any, and soon enough forgotten and overshadowed by the world series champion. Unless, on the rare occasion, that same team wins it all. From the sample size that I researched and analyzed, one could easily observe that the majority of the teams with the best regular season record do no win the world series.
I am not saying the world series champion isn't deserving of being honored and celebrated throughout the sports world. But, for the sport nerds out there, they can point out that technically the play-offs are a different tournament. Which it is. What I am proposing is that the team with the best regular season record be remembered and recognized by sports historians and fans for what they accomplished. Being the best team all year long. Maybe the two, if they aren't the same team, can have a 3 game series in the spring to determine the best of the best prior to the start of the new season. If that were to ever happen, I am aware that in the spring teams are, well it's spring baseball. But, that's the point. It could be a glorified spring game with some meaning to it.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Champions League Semi-finals
UEFA Champions league semi-finalist chart from 1999-2017.
-Click on "Chart" for access.
Real Madrid has won 3 of the last 4 Champions league titles. One argument that is brought up repetitively is that the champions league always has the same semi-finalist. Now I will give the benefit of the doubt that those who make that statement do not literally mean that the same four teams always make the semi-finals, but that it is a rotation of the very rich teams. The chart that I made takes into consideration all the teams from 1999 to 2017 that have made it to the semi-finals and how many times each team has respectively participated in one.
-Click on "Chart" for access.
Real Madrid has won 3 of the last 4 Champions league titles. One argument that is brought up repetitively is that the champions league always has the same semi-finalist. Now I will give the benefit of the doubt that those who make that statement do not literally mean that the same four teams always make the semi-finals, but that it is a rotation of the very rich teams. The chart that I made takes into consideration all the teams from 1999 to 2017 that have made it to the semi-finals and how many times each team has respectively participated in one.
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