By Mark Vincent Lincir
It was back to the same old United States team we remembered. A team that can’t hold the ball under pressure…can’t follow their runners on defense, has no real threat up top and relies on a player who has no business trying to playmake (Michael Bradley) to try to be their maestro.
The 2-0 Brazil victory last night over the United States at the New Meadowlands was a good chance for Brazil to showcase just how deep they are at every position, but it was a horrible opportunity for the United States to show how well we can play against the best teams in the world. At least they’re back to CONCACAF once the real games start again.
And can we please stop the Jonathan Bornstein experiment already? I can’t believe that Tigres wants him, but they’ll find out that he simply lacks quality to play at a high level. Is he a good defender on one of the worst teams in MLS? Yes…but can he keep up with the Brazilians or some of the very special outside mids and strikers he will face in Mexico? NO! I must have received ten texts from different people during the game asking why Bornstein was in there, so it’s not just me. And I’m not a hater, he seems like a nice, hard-working kid…but he’s not good enough to be a starter on the U.S. national team.
Speaking of starting…former U.S. National Team midfielder/striker Clint Mathis has started his retired life after hanging them up after the Galaxy played Real Madrid last weekend. I always liked watching Clint play, he was unpredictable (in a good way in his prime) and he had personality. Name a player on the U.S. team now that exhibits personality…Clint Dempsey. That’s one guy…not a good ratio. Landon? He has personality too, but in a different way (take that any way you’d like).
I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again today. Bob Bradley is not going to Aston Villa. But the scenario works out perfectly for US Soccer now to renew him and not catch too much stick from American fans. Because now US Soccer will say that they had to sign him or they would have lost him to Europe. It will once again work out for Bob and US Soccer and not its fans. No European opportunity yet (see, I can be an optimist) for Bob…but he will get his sweet National Team contract renewed.
The Summer of Friendlies…it was fun for a few days to watch the stars come over to our shores in the United States, but now I want to see games with points on the line. And I love how quickly the pressure mounts in leagues such as the EPL. It’ll be two weeks in and the fans wants changes if things aren’t going their club’s way. I love it. It’s one reason I wish MLS would scrap the playoff format…but I know that will NEVER happen. They think Americans love the playoffs too much. We don’t…not in soccer.
Rumors keep swirling all over and at this point I look forward to the end of the transfer window. Just to put to rest a few of the rumors though…this is what I think will happen. Ronaldinho will go to the Los Angeles Galaxy next summer…Landon will go to Everton again in January and then stay for the remainder of the season. Fabregas will go to Barca in January. Bellamy will find his way to Major League Soccer next summer (who wouldn’t pay to see him play and argue with himself?)…Michael Bradley will not be going to the EPL unless his dad becomes a coach there…and most of all, I will watch more soccer than I have in my entire life this season since it’s all in HIGH-DEF NOW!
Mark Vincent Lincir is the Editor-in-Chief of www.90soccer.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter too!
Can we talk about how to help make the USMNT better? Please…Bornstein is terrible, unless he gets about 5 times better, i hope he isn’t the answer at left back. Center midfield…We need two holding midfield players, EDU can be one, but M. Bradley isn’t cut in that mold. I like M. Bradley, i just think he is more useful further up the field. If team USA can adopt a 4-2-3-1 one and play EDU and another defensive minded central midfielder in the holding slots, and then have M. Bradley playing in front of them, i think that would serve the team a lot better. I really think that bradley can be a force in the offensive end of the field. And please put Donovan back out on the wing!!!His one touch passes aren’t what the team needs in that laid back striker role. They need someone that is willing to take on another man, someone like bradley or clint dempsey