Bleacher Report - Articles by Greg Crescimanno

Confederations Cup Final: Brazil 3, USA 2

Greg Crescimanno — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:37:06 -0400

The improbable run has come to an end.

The U.S. National Team came away from the Confederations Cup second best, losing to Brazil 3-2.

This loss probably should have never happened. Consider that the U.S. limped their way past the group stage by beating Egypt 3-0, plus getting some extra help from the team they faced today. Then consider the U.S. faced Spain, on a 15 game winning streak, a 35 game unbeaten streak, and FIFA world No. 1 ranking, in the semi-finals.

The Americans were never supposed to win this game.

Finally, consider that at half time in the final against Brazil, the U.S. was winning 2-0. A lead it never should have relinquished.

Brazil started the second half in full force, and within two minutes had struck on target 2-1. The Brazilians were only encouraged by their early goal and continued to bring intense pressure, equalizing in the 74th minute, and taking the lead in the 84th.

The Americans were beaten in the second half, badly. They let themselves down, but so too did the coaching staff.

Almost every time the U.S. team loses or suffers a setback, the “experts” around the world immediately begin using the phrase, “learning experience.” I hate this term because is most cases it doesn’t really apply.

The U.S. team has faced top competition in tournaments such as the Confederations Cup and World Cup in the past. They have advanced past the group stages of these tournaments before. They have played the Italys, Spains, and Brazils of the world, and they have played them on neutral or unfriendly grounds. The fact is that the learning stage should be done. They are past that.

However, on this occasion, we can safely say that this truly was a learning experience. For the first time, the U.S. found themselves playing in a final of a major international tournament, and best of all they were playing the five-time world champions, Brazil. This was new experience, one completely foreign to U.S. players, and despite this final score, there are plenty of positives to take away from the game.

There are, however, plenty of negatives to be addressed as well, which I will do in a later post. But now, we must give praise where praise is due.

The first half of the game was something of a dream. The Americans were playing for keeps, playing with purpose, passion, heart, and courage. They were taking it to the Brazilians, and they were coming out on top. In the first half, the U.S. dominated. They were, in that moment, the best team in the world.

Landon Donovan’s goal may very well be the best goal I’ve ever seen from the U.S. team. The best part is that was almost identical to the way Brazil scored against the U.S. on a break in their group stage match earlier in the Confederations Cup.

Jonathan Spector has been pure class at right back. Clint Dempsey has found his club team form with the national team. I could keep going down the list of virtually every single American starter and heap some form of praise upon them. This tournament did a lot for them, and while they couldn’t quite make the improbable dream a reality, they did themselves proud.

The Americans have had moments where they have shown flashes of brilliance against top opposition. These moments always bring on the discussion of the U.S. being one of the top teams in the world. I say the U.S. is now there.

They are one of the top teams in the world, but as with anything, they must keep earning the right to placed amongst the elite. They have shown the world what they are capable of: greatness.

Bring on 2010! The prospects look great!

USA vs. Egypt Review

Greg Crescimanno — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:35:35 -0400

Better.

First off, congrats to the U.S. national team; they played their best game of the tournament against Egypt, and with a little help from Brazil, have put themselves into the next round.

No matter how stunning it is that the Americans have managed to make it through to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup, it’s important to put this game into perspective.

The U.S. got a great result from a good team, which has been hard to come by in the past for the Americans. However, we must remember that the Egyptians were without their best player, Mohamed Zidan. This is the same as the U.S. team without Landon Donovan (say what you will about Donovan, but when he is not on the field, the U.S. team suffers, period).

Despite the 3-0 victory, I’d have to say the U.S. is probably on par with the Egyptian team, though I will give the edge to the U.S. Both teams have a similar set of players—some quality defenders, a good goalkeeper, better forwards for Egypt, but a stronger midfield for the U.S.

In this game, the U.S. was able to play their game against an equally skilled opponent, and that gave the edge to the Americans. Against Brazil and Italy, the U.S. wasn’t able to play their style, a hardworking, gritty, defense and midfield that frustrates opponents and helps put a mediocre offense into it’s rhythm. The individual skill and tactical superiority of the Brazilians and Italians turned the tables and destroyed any rhythm the U.S. offense tried to get.

Brad Guzan came in for Tim Howard in goal and did quite well for himself. If I were Howard, I might be thinking there finally could be some competition for the starting spot. Hopefully, this will make Howard an even better keeper.

The defensive line played well again. Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu were rock solid in the middle. Jonathan Spector again played very well and made some great runs forward. Jonathan Bornstein played well enough, but not enough to lock up the position with the U.S. team. It may be time to see how the defense plays with Carlos Bocanegra starting at left back, a position he plays with his club team Rennes in France.

The midfield for the U.S. fared pretty well. Michael Bradley was once again a leader in the middle, and took his goal very well. He played the way you want to see a starter play. Ricardo Clark was back in action after his red card against Italy. He was mostly non-existent, but in a good way. No reckless tackles, performed mop-up duty in the middle, and made no major mistakes.

That said, it’s not good enough for a central midfielder with the national team. He must get smarter, and not only when it comes to challenges. He must also become a more two-way player and make a bigger contribution to the offense.

Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were rotating left and right midfield, Dempsey was showing the same lazy attitude and arrogance that he has been showing lately, and for the first 60 minutes was quite disappointing. There were too many tricks, way too many touches on the ball when dribbling, and way too many giveaways.

However, when Bradley put him up top late in the second half, his game changed and he started making more of an impact, so much so that he buried the third goal off a header, which sent the Americans to the semifinals.

Donovan was the player of the match for the U.S. The guy was everywhere, both offensively and defensively. His work rate was top notch. His desire to run at players and beat them on the dribble was fantastic. His assist on Bradley’s goal was beautiful.

When Donovan plays at this level, the rest of the team elevates their game. Donovan has had a very good tournament, one of the only players for the U.S. team that can say that.

Charlie Davies and Jozy Altidore were up top for the U.S. Altidore, again, was giving the Egyptian defense fits. His touch, movement, and hold up play were good. I’d like to see more of a killer instinct in front of goal from him, but being 19 years old and the go to guy for the Americans up front, I’d say he’s done well.

He’s got more developing to do, and a full season of playing with his club will help. I’m not expecting the world from the guy, but here’s hoping he continues to grow and eventually becomes a force for the U.S. team.

Davies brought a great work rate to the game. He’s not the best skilled player out there, but he works hard and brings speed up top. Davies is getting his chances and showing time and time again that he is deserving of the chances he gets. His goal opened the scoring, and while it was hardly pretty, a goal is a goal. His willingness to persevere is what led to the goal—a good quality for a striker to have.

This result should not give Bob Bradley a free pass. He still needs to address a lot of concerns with the team, as well as his own ability as a coach, where I feel there are some glaring weaknesses. I won’t be too hard on him here, because he did have the team up and ready to play, despite the almost impossible task of moving forward in the tournament.

The real test comes Wednesday against Spain. I certainly don’t see the U.S. winning against a team that is as talented and in as good of form as Spain is right now, but a loss isn’t the worst thing that can happen.

The U.S. embarrassed themselves in the second half against Italy, and for the full 90 minutes against Brazil. There’s no shame in losing to the best teams in the world, as long as you go down with a fight, with some dignity, and prove that maybe on another day, you’ll shock them all.

DaMarcus Beasley and Sacha Kljestan: At A Career Crossroads

Greg Crescimanno — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:50:26 -0400

The 3-0 loss to Brazil on Thursday delivered what will hopefully be in the proverbial hammer on DaMarcus Beasley and Sacha Kljestan’s current inclusion with the U.S. National Team.

These two players are on a similary trajectory in form lately, down. However, the two players are markedly different with regards to their current playing situation.

DaMarcus Beasley has been floundering for the past few years, failing to find the good form that he displayed earlier in the decade. He has struggled with the national team as well as with his various club teams, being bounced around a few times before finally settling in with his currently club Rangers of the Scottish Premier League (and my settling in, I mean on the bench).

To give Beasley some credit, he has been plagued with injuries during this long stretch of poor form, but after years without improvement or even a return to past playing ability, one has to question where he stands as a professional player, let alone a player with the national team.

At 27 years of age, he should be hitting his peak, which typically lasts until the player reaches his 30s (although the age of peak form has been decreasing lately with players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Kaka all finding themselves in the discussion of best player in the world at a relatively young age).

Sacha Kljestan has also seen his stock decline significantly since breaking out with the U.S. in 2007 and 2008. Throughout those two years Kljestan asserted himself as the best player in the U.S. talent pool that plays in Major League Soccer.

Unfortunately after a Janurary 2009 friendly against a Sweden B team in which Kljestan scored a hat-trick, his form has been on a steady decline for both club and country (this could be in part to a lack of hair, which Kljestan cut short after the Sweden game, or perhaps is was the publicized trial with Scottish team Celtic which failed to produce a transfer).

Kljestan is 23-years-old, four years younger than Beasley’s 27. That’s a lifetime in the world of professional soccer, and Kljestan still have plenty of time to be a vital part of the U.S. team, but at this point neither he nor Beasley should be considered.

Both players must figure out their game, work the kinks out, get back to form, and back to improving as players. For this to happen, both need to be off the table in terms of national team play. Let both players get back to the basics and minimize the expectations that are currently on both of them; Beasley to return to past glory and Kljestan to become a leader of the U.S. national team.

Here’s hoping both happen, Beasley can come back to the team and take on a role as super-sub. If he can regain his form, Beasley coming off the bench and terrorizing teams down the left side of the field could be devastating to opponents, and a very valuable asset for the Americans.

Kljestan could still become a great player for the national team and may even find success as a field player in Europe, but he, like his game, must mature.

USA vs Brazil Review

Greg Crescimanno — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:25:37 -0400

After the 3-0 loss to Brazil, the U.S. has been virtually eliminated from the Confederations Cup. The U.S. got out-classed and out-coached in their first game against Italy. However, in that loss the U.S. showed plenty of positives and experienced a few tough breaks and a few bad decisions that changed the game.

In the Brazil match, the U.S. showed no positive signs, and continued to raise questions about their ability to play in big games, their ability to score goals (set plays or in the run of play), as well as questions about their discipline.

Before kick off, Coach Bob Bradley already raised some eyebrows with his choices for the starting line up, most notably, DaMarcus Beasley. It’s no surprise to any fan who has been following the U.S. National Team that Beasley’s form has been off and declining for over a year. He has lost speed, vision, touch, and confidence and until all of those return Beasley should not be a part of the national team.

The game started off as expected with Brazil controlling possessions and keeping the ball in the U.S. half. The Americans had a tough time putting passes together and getting any kind of control. This dominance led to a quick goal from Brazil off a free kick.

On replay, it appeared as though there was no foul, but you have to deal with the calls you get and the U.S. didn’t deal well with this one. A beautiful, pin point cross from Maicon found Felipe Melo who headed the ball past Tim Howard.

Jonathan Spector got beat by a step or two from Melo and Howard looked as though he was already a step inside the goal by the time the ball from Maicon found its target. I won’t fault either Spector or Howard too much, because the service from Maicon was absolutely brilliant, and it’s very hard to defend such quality.

Ten minutes after Brazil’s first strike the U.S. finally found a bit of game, only to be betrayed by the plague that is DaMarcus Beasley. A short pass to Beasley off a U.S. corner kick was lost as he let the ball roll under his foot.

The ensuing six seconds went by in a flash with quick touches from Brazil until Kaka released Ramires and he was off on a breakaway on goal. Spector did all he could to defend a two on one situation, but was helpless as Ramires squared the ball to Robinho who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

I was already fuming about the choice of Beasley as a starter, but at this point, I was screaming at my TV for him to get off the field, but it was not to be. A gritty effort kept the Brazilians from scoring again before half.

I got a call from a family member wanting to discuss the first half and I said then that Beasley and Kljestan needed to get taken off. No one U.S. player was particularly good in the first half, but these two were so abysmal I couldn’t see how they could possibly stay out on the field.

Upon the start of the second half, Conor Casey came in for Beasley, but Kljestan remained on the field. It seemed as if Kljestan knew he shouldn’t be out there and promptly committed a hard, late foul and got himself taken off the field with a red card.

I have absolutely no idea how Kljestan didn’t learn anything from watching what happened to Ricardo Clark in the game against Italy. It is obvious, in every, single international match, that referees are quick with cards, there are certain types of fouls that will not be tolerated, and those that come seconds too late are almost always a red.

The sad part about this whole event is that the U.S. had started to string some passes together. Granted, Brazil was allowing the U.S. to have more space to make decisions and passes, but still they were putting together something that resembled professional level soccer.

Bradley decided to bring on Benny Feilhaber, a central midfield player, for Jozy Altidore, the most promising striker. This really felt like a “stop-the-bleeding” sub. Eerily reminicsent of the Bruce Arena era leading up to World Cup 2006. The mentality being that it’s ok to lose to Brazil, it’s not ok to get blown out. A straight PR move to save face, which is not what the U.S. needs right now, they need a wake-up a call, they need to be shaken, they need something.

Shortly after the red card, Brazil scored it’s third goal and significantly backed off. This gave a glimmer of hope for the U.S. as they started to control some possession in Brazil’s half. This led to two chances on goal that both hit the crossbar.

The first came from some incredible link up play between Landon Donovan and Spector on the right side, leading to a pass to an on running Feilhaber who struck it well, but came up unlucky as the ball slammed off the underside of the crossbar. Minutes later Casey had an chance off a header from a cross that also hit the crossbar. It would be the last time the U.S. would threaten the Brazilian goal.

The game ended dismally. There were some moments of quality, but overall, left everyone disappointed. It comes down to the fact that the U.S. is not ready or able to compete with the best teams in the world, something that can not be fixed easily.

Bob Bradley Vs. Marcello Lippi

Greg Crescimanno — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:19:59 -0400

I want to talk about the coaching ability of Bob Bradley in comparison to the ability of the Italian coach Marcello Lippi. In the past year or so, it has become apparent to me that the U.S. really has a problem when it comes to their coaching staff. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Bob Bradley, I think he’s a great guy, a good steward of the national team, in fact, he’s probably the best American manager currently out there. The problem is that at his best he is nothing more than a pretty decent coach.

Never has this fact been more glaring that in Monday’s loss to Italy. He was completely outcoached by a colleague with superior skills. For the average fan, Lippi’s substitutions were masterful, especially bringing on young striker Giuseppi Rossi. However, the way in which Lippi changed his team’s style of play to start the second half directly led to the Italian dominance.

Lippi understood what the mentality of the Americans would be starting the second half. Ahead 1-0 and down a man after the Ricardo Clark red card, emphasis would be placed on preserving the lead and only getting forward when opportunities presented themselves. Lippi played his team against this mentality and within five minutes it was starting to work. The Americans started the second half playing like they had at end of the first, but Lippi had his team break up U.S possession and then hold the ball in the middle third.

Just across the half line is where the Italians would begin to break down the U.S. defense, passing across the field and slowly pushing all 10 U.S. players into their defensive third. After 10 minutes, any attacking threat the U.S. might have mustered was long gone, playing in a defensive shell in hopes to preserve the 1-0 lead. It was at this point that Lippi made his attacking substitutions taking off players who skills were no longer needed on the field. (This plays into the fact that the Italian team is deep with talent, they don’t have a best 11 players, they have a best 18 players that they can mix and match at anytime to exploit other teams).

At this point the damage had been done. If it were a game of chess, Lippi just put Bradley in check, all that was left was just a few more rounds and then…checkmate.

Bradley should have had his team prepared for what Lippi would do. Bradley should have had his players mentally focused on taking it to the Italians. To keep taking risks, to keep the pressure. Instead, he took a page from the U.S. soccer coaches handbook: “Preserve the lead, defend, and wait for opportunities to counterattack.” You hear it all the time in American sports, “Defense wins championships.”

Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works in the world’s game. You see, in baseball, basketball and American football each team always gets a turn. (It’s very fair, isn’t it?) In basketball each team gets 24 seconds to score then the other team gets 24 seconds, called the shot clock. In baseball, your team gets three outs, and then the other team gets three outs. In American football, it’s four downs, then the other team gets four downs. That’s not how it works in soccer. Neither team is guaranteed their turn to attack, to get a chance on goal. It’s not fair, and that’s part of why they call it the beautiful game.

The live and die by defense mentality isn’t unique to Americans but it’s the go to method in the clutch, so much so, that it has become incredibly predictable. Bradley let his team fall into the trap, and the Italians took control. Game over.

I would love to give Bradley the benefit of the doubt, maybe he did tell his team at halftime to take it to the Italians, to go on the attack, to preserve the shape and keep playing their game. Unfortunately, I can’t do that. Bradley’s substitution choices go hand in hand with the defensive mindset. Charlie Davies for Jozy Altidore, the one player that was giving the Italian defense fits.

The player who had the ability (and was utilizing it) to hold the ball up on the attack while the midfield pushed forward. Charlie Davies is a smaller, speedy player, who is more geared towards the counterattacking philosophy with quick breaks. DeMarcus Beasley for Benny Feilhaber. A creative visionary passer, yes, he struggled at times against better, more talented opposition, but his passing was opening up the attack for the U.S. Beasley is player who is past his prime, and seeing how he has been used as a defender in the past few games, I hardly see this as a move to create more attacking opportunities. Sacha Kljestan for Jonathan Bornstein is an attacking move, but as it happened in the 86th minute, it was too little too late.

You might hear over and over again the argument that the reason why the U.S. had to play defensively and preserve the lead is because they were down a man. They couldn’t take too many chances and they couldn’t risk becoming too fatigued to keep pace with the Italians. That is a terrible excuse by the way. For anyone who has ever played the game competitively, you know that’s a terrible excuse. The fact remains that even with 10 men on the field, these players are conditioned enough to play the full 90 minutes all out. The fact that they are playing on the international stage for their country adds even more gas to the tank. Look to the World Cup, or the CONCACAF Gold Cup, or Euro 2008, when games go into overtime. An extra 30 minutes? Does plays suffer then? No, because players are conditioned and ready to go. Period.

I picked on JP Dellacamera already so let me pick on his counterpart in the moronic duo - John Harkes. In the telecast John Harkes said something along the lines of staying in their defensive shape and waiting for a chance to go forward. No, John! The best teams in the world keep their shape and MAKE their chances to go forward. Italy didn’t wait, they made it happen. Brazil and Spain do too. The U.S. should take note.

Giuseppe Rossi: A Failed U.S. Experiment

Greg Crescimanno — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:55:14 -0400

The U.S. got burned in their game against Italy by a young striker born in New Jersey. A lot has been said about Giuseppe Rossi after Monday’s Confederations Cup game—some good, some bad, and some just downright hateful and despicable.

There are plenty of facts: Rossi was born in Teaneck, NJ to Italian immigrant parents. He left the States to go play for Parma of the Italian league’s youth system. He was asked to participate in a training camp with U.S. just prior to the 2006 World Cup, but declined; prompting then coach Bruce Arena to publicly state the U.S. would not chase players who didn’t want to play for the U.S.

Let’s face it, we’d all be better off today if the powers that be had at least attempted to chase this gifted player. The fact of the matter is the U.S is sorely lacking in player development and scouting. Rossi never should have been off the U.S. radar after he went to train with Parma’s youth academy, and he should have been on the U.S. radar well before that.

I don’t have any special inner knowledge of U.S. player scouting and multi-national player courting, but I do know that every effort should be made towards every single player that has potential to be just a contributor to the national team, let alone a starter or potential world superstar as in the case of Rossi.

While it is widely believed, and Rossi has even said himself, that his heart was always in it to play for Italy, it should not have stopped U.S. soccer from fighting for his services.

Case in point: Following the 2002 World Cup, the U.S. National Team was riding high. A quarterfinal appearance led to a homecoming for a team and sport that was never the topic of national conversation. After their return, members of the team were seen EVERYWHERE, from “Good Morning America” to the cover of Sports Illustrated.

I can’t think of a better time to reach out to the top young players, especially those with dual citizenships. In fact, the U.S. showing at the 2002 World Cup was better than that of the Italians, who crashed out in the round of 16. You can argue pedigree for the Italians, but in that moment, the U.S. was actually the more attractive choice.

Meanwhile, Freddy Adu, the tween phenom, was being touted as the Michael Jordan of soccer, and Rossi was spending his time playing day in and day out, working and getting better and better.

Imagine if the U.S. team had reached out to Rossi when he was 12-years-old, much like they did with Freddy Adu. Not with the hype and expectations, but something, some form of appreciation and guidance. Build a relationship, a good one, not one that ends with being called out to the press.

Maybe then, when Rossi was approaching his 21st birthday he would have had a real decision to make, maybe he still would have chosen Italy. Honestly, he most likely still would have chosen Italy, but I guarantee that he would have at least given the U.S. serious thought.

Regardless, the Giuseppe Rossi situation only highlights a massive problem facing the United States Soccer Federation. A decade of abrasive and arrogant treatment of young athletes, from utter dismissal to even worse, public humiliation, by calling a player out to the press (as happened with both Rossi and another dual citizen player, Serbian defender, and former U.S. Youth National Team product Neven Subotic).

I’m sorry, but coaches should never, EVER single out an individual player to the public. Unless that player is named Kobe Bryant or Cristiano Ronaldo and has already established themselves as a world great/team leader and they need a little fire lit under their asses. Not to a 16, 17, 18-year-old kid.

So we lost Rossi (and Subotic). A player that could have been a real difference maker for the U.S. against a team like Italy. Let’s hope this is a wake-up call to those in power at U.S. Soccer. A realization that we aren’t a world power in this sport, to lose the abrasiveness and arrogance they have displayed at times, and to reform their development and scouting methods in order to produce better quality players and to ensure those players don’t fly under the radar.

Until then, let’s just call Giuseppe Rossi a failed U.S. experiment.