Garrick
Awesome, lid.
USA, USA, USA!!!
A bit down on your international footie as of late, American Evertonians? Sure, we’ve had the securing of the first American Messi to cheer us up, but nobody likes getting routed by a Russian satellite state. And that new away kit for the World Cup? What are we, YugoslaviaMNT? Get it together, Nike. And now you may have heard the recent change among the coaching staff. Rumor has it that assistant manager Martin Vasquez will be demoted to U21 duties, and now we’re bringing in… Berti Vogts, the manager of Azerbaijan, who has accomplished exactly nothing of note during his tenure, except managing to finish ahead of Northern Ireland in World Cup qualification this cycle. Good job on that one, mate.
Also, what the hell is going on?! 74 days until Brazil, cool the jets Klinsy!
Lots to grumble about. How about something to cheer about? How about… Another opportunity to pummel our inferior foes to the direct south using the better half of our prospective World Cup roster? Would you like that? Here it is: United States vs Mexico, live from Phoenix, April 2nd, 2014.
I know nothing makes me smile like a good ol’ fashioned dos-a-cero.
By this point we’ve all heard (and laughed at) the story of Mexican soccer this cycle. I’ll give a short recap: Fail. Squander a bunch of results at your “fortress” Estadio Azteca. New manager. Fail. New manager. Watch your archrivals qualify for the World Cup on the back of your failure. New manager. Dump the European-based players. Barely scrape your way out of the Hex with a stoppage time gift from St. Graham Zusi of Kansas City. Get your proverbial s*** together and bash the Kiwis to finally book your own trip to Brazil. HEY! SUCCESS!
Or, well, something like that. The squad that we will see on the 2nd has very, very little in common with the team we bossed all over the field in Columbus last year. This entirely Liga MX-based squad will have exactly one thing in common, Monterrey midfielder Jesus Zavala. Miguel Herrera’s squad will rely heavily on Club Leon and Club America. It’ll be a lot less flashy than previous sides that included El Tri stars such as Dos Santos and Chicharito, but it’s an infinitely more cohesive unit. The giant egos that have marked past El Tri sides? Gone. This side, oddly enough, looks and plays quite a bit like our own Stars and Stripes. Specifically, the talent is spread out across the entire XI, the defense is on the weak side, and they win and lose depending on how well the midfield can boss the middle third of the field. As always with these half-strength, World Cup audition international friendlies, it’s a fool’s errand to predict the exact lineup, but I’ll put money on America’s Raul Jiminez and UANL’s Alan Pulido forming the strike partnership up top (conveniently, they’re the only two forwards on the roster). These two youngsters will form a partnership not too dissimilar to the Bosnian duo Dzecko and Ibisevic. Jiminez does the holding, and Pulido does the finishing. Again, not the flashiest side that Mexico has ever produced, but we here all know the danger of a cohesive international unit, and it’ll be up to Maurice Edu (you heard that correctly) and the rest of the Yank midfield to dominate play in the middle.
Speaking of Edu, a certain Stoke City reject now with Philly has been given one more chance to revive his international career. After falling out of Klinsmann’s favor due to an inability to secure regular playing time in the Prem, he’s back and is one of a few making a late charge for a spot on the 23-man roster. With the faltering form of Kjelstan and Jones, it’s not out of the question that his loan with option to buy to MLS will pay off and he’ll make his second World Cup appearance. The other two late entries of note are Columbus defender Michael Parkhurst (another beneficiary of an MLS return) and a certain 18 year old Bayern München striker by the name of Julian Green. Save for those three, it’s a mostly predictable, almost all MLS side, featuring USMNT stalwarts like Donovan, Bradley, Rimando, Zusi, and Dempsey. Speaking of Deuce, both him and E Johnson need to prove that their current turbo gash league form doesn’t carry over to the international side of their trade. The defensive unit starring Omar and Besler will have a lot of fears to quell after a pathetic showing by the European side of the backline against Ukraine. I’m one that believes that the better half of United States soccer now plays in MLS, but any sign of defensive weakness will be our undoing when the likes of Ronaldo and Schweinsteiger roll into town this summer.
A couple big admissions of note: Brad Evans is out with injury, and DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco have both been denied a release by their Mexican overlords Puebla. A shortsighted move by Los Camoteros, if you ask me.
Sure, let’s discourage moves from the growing academy system of the financially-constrained league to our north. That will never bite you in the arse. Good going.
Anyway. In summary: Even with a new look, they’re still Mexico. Even with our recent woes, we’re still the United States of America, reigning kings of CONCACAF. Batter them. Batter them hard.
THE YANKS ARE COMING.
A bit down on your international footie as of late, American Evertonians? Sure, we’ve had the securing of the first American Messi to cheer us up, but nobody likes getting routed by a Russian satellite state. And that new away kit for the World Cup? What are we, YugoslaviaMNT? Get it together, Nike. And now you may have heard the recent change among the coaching staff. Rumor has it that assistant manager Martin Vasquez will be demoted to U21 duties, and now we’re bringing in… Berti Vogts, the manager of Azerbaijan, who has accomplished exactly nothing of note during his tenure, except managing to finish ahead of Northern Ireland in World Cup qualification this cycle. Good job on that one, mate.
Also, what the hell is going on?! 74 days until Brazil, cool the jets Klinsy!
Lots to grumble about. How about something to cheer about? How about… Another opportunity to pummel our inferior foes to the direct south using the better half of our prospective World Cup roster? Would you like that? Here it is: United States vs Mexico, live from Phoenix, April 2nd, 2014.
I know nothing makes me smile like a good ol’ fashioned dos-a-cero.
By this point we’ve all heard (and laughed at) the story of Mexican soccer this cycle. I’ll give a short recap: Fail. Squander a bunch of results at your “fortress” Estadio Azteca. New manager. Fail. New manager. Watch your archrivals qualify for the World Cup on the back of your failure. New manager. Dump the European-based players. Barely scrape your way out of the Hex with a stoppage time gift from St. Graham Zusi of Kansas City. Get your proverbial s*** together and bash the Kiwis to finally book your own trip to Brazil. HEY! SUCCESS!
Or, well, something like that. The squad that we will see on the 2nd has very, very little in common with the team we bossed all over the field in Columbus last year. This entirely Liga MX-based squad will have exactly one thing in common, Monterrey midfielder Jesus Zavala. Miguel Herrera’s squad will rely heavily on Club Leon and Club America. It’ll be a lot less flashy than previous sides that included El Tri stars such as Dos Santos and Chicharito, but it’s an infinitely more cohesive unit. The giant egos that have marked past El Tri sides? Gone. This side, oddly enough, looks and plays quite a bit like our own Stars and Stripes. Specifically, the talent is spread out across the entire XI, the defense is on the weak side, and they win and lose depending on how well the midfield can boss the middle third of the field. As always with these half-strength, World Cup audition international friendlies, it’s a fool’s errand to predict the exact lineup, but I’ll put money on America’s Raul Jiminez and UANL’s Alan Pulido forming the strike partnership up top (conveniently, they’re the only two forwards on the roster). These two youngsters will form a partnership not too dissimilar to the Bosnian duo Dzecko and Ibisevic. Jiminez does the holding, and Pulido does the finishing. Again, not the flashiest side that Mexico has ever produced, but we here all know the danger of a cohesive international unit, and it’ll be up to Maurice Edu (you heard that correctly) and the rest of the Yank midfield to dominate play in the middle.
Speaking of Edu, a certain Stoke City reject now with Philly has been given one more chance to revive his international career. After falling out of Klinsmann’s favor due to an inability to secure regular playing time in the Prem, he’s back and is one of a few making a late charge for a spot on the 23-man roster. With the faltering form of Kjelstan and Jones, it’s not out of the question that his loan with option to buy to MLS will pay off and he’ll make his second World Cup appearance. The other two late entries of note are Columbus defender Michael Parkhurst (another beneficiary of an MLS return) and a certain 18 year old Bayern München striker by the name of Julian Green. Save for those three, it’s a mostly predictable, almost all MLS side, featuring USMNT stalwarts like Donovan, Bradley, Rimando, Zusi, and Dempsey. Speaking of Deuce, both him and E Johnson need to prove that their current turbo gash league form doesn’t carry over to the international side of their trade. The defensive unit starring Omar and Besler will have a lot of fears to quell after a pathetic showing by the European side of the backline against Ukraine. I’m one that believes that the better half of United States soccer now plays in MLS, but any sign of defensive weakness will be our undoing when the likes of Ronaldo and Schweinsteiger roll into town this summer.
A couple big admissions of note: Brad Evans is out with injury, and DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco have both been denied a release by their Mexican overlords Puebla. A shortsighted move by Los Camoteros, if you ask me.
Sure, let’s discourage moves from the growing academy system of the financially-constrained league to our north. That will never bite you in the arse. Good going.
Anyway. In summary: Even with a new look, they’re still Mexico. Even with our recent woes, we’re still the United States of America, reigning kings of CONCACAF. Batter them. Batter them hard.
THE YANKS ARE COMING.
.
