Match Fit USA

Will Bolton move turn promising Ream into pivotal player for USA?

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:35:00 +0000

The first few months of the Jurgen Klinsmann era certainly had its ups and downs, but that should be expected. When a new coach is brought in, he needs time to see what he has to work with, to implement his philosophies, and to see what works and what doesn’t, and as impatient as some are to see instant results, that process is still very much in its infancy for Klinsmann.

But after ending 2011 with an away win against 2010 World Cup foe Slovenia, there is positive momentum, and with 2014 World Cup qualifying and a slate of friendlies that’s already set to include matches against Brazil and Italy, two ties that are sure to attract a lot of football betting, we’re going to learn a lot this year about where things are headed and who’s in Klinsmann’s plans for now and for the future.

The likes of Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Tim Howard will remain automatic selections for the foreseeable future, and for good reason. But there are several places that aren’t as solidified, which means there is an opportunity for a number of players to step up and state their case.

There are some who haven’t yet had an opportunity to establish themselves but have the talent and potential to, and there are others who’ve been in and out of the national team picture but still have time on their side to get back in the fold and stay there.

Among that bunch is New York Red Bulls defender Tim Ream, who picked up six caps in 2011, the last of which came in the 1-0 defeat to Ecuador in October. The 24-year-old had his struggles in national team action, but he still has the potential to be a key player for the U.S. sooner rather than later. Ream is expected to sign for English Premier League side Bolton sometime before the end of the January transfer window, and such a move will prove massive for his national team prospects for the short and long-term future.

It’s a giant leap to go from MLS to the Premier League, but the move itself should be a significant boost for Ream’s confidence, and if he takes full advantage of this opportunity of a lifetime, he could soon cement his place as a key player for his country. And there’s a real chance he could make an immediate impact for Bolton, who currently sit in the relegation places. Bolton have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, having allowed 46 goals in 21 games, and they just sold their star defender, Gary Cahill, to Chelsea, so Owen Coyle could throw Ream right into the fire.

Ream may have only two MLS seasons under his belt, and he’s far from the finished product, so there may be concerns that it’s too early for him to move to a top European league. But at 24, the time is right, and he will become better, tougher, and more polished, and if he can hold his own in England, especially in a tense relegation scrap, it certainly bodes well for his prospects to hold his own with the national team as well.

Previewing 2012 for the USMNT

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:26:00 +0000

The first few months of the Klinsmann era weren’t as successful as many might have hoped in terms of wins and losses, but after ending the 2011 calendar with a respectable 1-0 defeat in France and a solid 3-2 win in Slovenia, there’s definite positive momentum heading into 2012.

The slate for next year is far from finalized, but it will give fans an opportunity to gauge just how much progression is being made and who will play significant roles going forward, as along with multiple friendly matches, the U.S. will begin their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign in the summer.

Friendlies: v. Venezuela and Panmana, 21 and 25 January

While other soccer tickets might be far more appealing, due to Dempsey, Donovan, and others not taking part, these matches definitely bear watching, as some of the U.S.‘ most talented prospects will get a valuable chance to make their case to be under consideration for more important matches later on in the year.

Two January friendlies kick off the 2012 calendar, as the U.S. will face Venezuela at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on 21 January and then face Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City four days later.

The two matches wrap up the U.S.’ January training camp and aren’t on scheduled international fixture dates, so Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, and the other regulars that are based in top European leagues won’t be a part of the squad.

Instead, the squad will be made up of mostly U.S.-based players, so the likes of Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury, Omar Gonzalez, and the in-demand Brek Shea, who all participated in the friendly against Chile this past January are all likely to be involved. So could - and should - Sporting Kansas City forward C.J. Sapong, the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year, along with FC Dallas duo George John and Zach Loyd. Also, Norway-based midfielders Mikkel Diskerud and Josh Gatt could be included, since the Norwegian season doesn’t begin until late March.

As nice as winning both matches would be, it’s secondary to giving prospects an opportunity to show what they’re made of in an international setting, to receive experience that will prove vital, and for Klinsmann to further put his imprint on the present and future of U.S. soccer. That being said, many of Venezuela’s best players are based in Europe, and Panama could also be missing a number of key players, so the opportunity will be there to pick up a pair of victories with quality performances.

U.S. Men’s National Team In 2014 World Cup Qualifying

The road to Brazil 2014 begins in June, when the third round of CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying tournament gets underway. As has been the case recently, the 12 remaining teams have been split into three four-team groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the final round of qualifying.

Qualification for the six-team final round should be a relative breeze, with Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala, and Jamaica the other three sides in the U.S. group. The U.S. will face each side home and away, starting with a home tie against Antigua and Barbuda on June 8 and ending with a home tie against Guatemala on October 16.

The U.S. will no doubt be favored to win all six matches, and with all of the top players being available (barring injury, of course), a perfect run is definitely a doable task. The two ties against Jamaica will likely be the toughest, as that’s the side most likely to take the other spot in the final round, but that certainly doesn’t mean that the other two sides will be taken lightly.

However, with Klinsmann needing to consider the future as much as the present, don’t be surprised if a few key players are rested for a couple of the matches in favor of giving some of the potential stars of tomorrow a chance to shine in a meaningful match, because it's never too early to start looking at the future of the men's national team post-Brazil.

If you’re looking to buy USMNT tickets online, you can find them at TicketBis, an online ticket exchange that lets football fans buy and sell tickets online for many leagues and competitions around the world.

Kaput

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

There’s a piece of accepted truth in the blogging world, one of those bits of conventional wisdom impossible to verify, that the average blog’s lifespan is three years. I’m not sure if this is meant to apply to all blogs, sports blogs, or specifically to soccer blogs, but it’s a “fact” I’ve heard repeated more than a few times during the span of Match Fit USA’s existence, and by extension, the time I have been penning my overwrought missives on the state of American soccer.

Match Fit USA turns three years old today.

And it won’t live to see four.

This, in fact, is the final post here at Match Fit USA, as I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time to turn off the lights. There are many good reasons to do so, but it mostly comes down to a gnawing sense that I just can’t do the place justice anymore. The blog started out as a place for me to spew my obsessive ramblings about topics that I’ve come to think of since as the American soccer blogger’s introductory hobby kit. Topics like promotion and relegation, soccer’s struggles on TV, Eurosnobs and the battle for their hearts and minds, why Americans are hesitant to fully adopt the sport, etc. This blog was specifically started to address big picture items about which I had too many thoughts and no attractive outlet at which to pontificate about them. At the time, having only scratched the surface of soccer-related web content, I was naive enough to think I could do something good, completely on my own, and have it launch me into something approaching a “career” writing about the sport.

I started this blog for the same reasons anyone anywhere has started a blog, with allowances for my being in the smaller segment of people who one day hope to earn a bit of money doing something they love. There was a clear goal in mind, and the blog was simply a vehicle with which to reach it. MFUSA wasn’t intended to be the ends, but the means. I can honestly say that I’ve reached that goal by any reasonable measure, and it’s a significant reason for the blog’s end. When faced with a decision on how to spend the free time I have remaining in light of regular writing gigs and a twice-weekly podcast, there was never any doubt that I would defer to saving just a little bit for my family.

Perhaps if I was still single and didn’t have a toddler to pass my love of soccer on to, there would be time to continue updating the site. In a parallel universe, there’s probably a parallel unattached Jason Davis doing a podcast, writing for three outlets, and maintaining his original blog.

I never expected to become attached to something that has no physical existence. This and every blog is a nothing but a collection of ones and zeros interpreted by a computer and then displayed through the cunning use of excited electrons. It doesn’t have a smell, a texture, or a weight. If and when the blogging service that allows it to live ceases to exist, there will be nothing left for anyone to know it was ever here at all. Somehow though, it has a feel, because the people who used its structures to express themselves--be it as writers, commenters, or both--gave it one. That’s an amazing and humbling thing.

I was tempted to relive the past three years, reminiscing (as much as one can about something only three years old) over the ups and downs of MFUSA, the various directions and tones the blog took (inconsistency which is completely down to my own aimless search for what type of writer/blogging/whatever I wanted to be), and how posting here not only made me a better writer, but how being part of the soccer blogging community (both American and transatlantic) enriched my life in ways I could not have imagined when I tapped out my first nonsensical post on December 14, 2008.

Reliving it all would be naval-gazing of the highest order, would surely devolve into an examination of pained existential questions of interest to only me, and probably end up spoiling whatever good feelings you have for this blog or me, so I’ll spare you.

Instead, I’ll keep it brief and to the point and thank everyone that came here, everyone that wrote here, everyone that nominated the blog for awards it was never good enough to win, and everyone that thought of Match Fit USA--even if only for a brief moment in time--as an asset to soccer writing in America. I cannot begin to frame the sense of astonishment I still feel a ramshackle blog started by a blogging neophyte grew into something to which people paid attention.

This is the blog’s end as a living, breathing outlet for “Examining the State of American Soccer” (my admittedly pretentious mission statement-slash-tag line), but there’s no reason not to leave it up as an archive. All of my typo-laden wordiness will be here (not to mention the dead images - thanks a lot Picapp), waiting for the random Google search or a sudden pang of personal nostalgia. Many others did excellent work here (like Jason Kuenle, Chris Ballard, Keith Hickey, Kevin McCauley, Ben McCormick, et al), and it’s not my place to blink their contributions out of existence.

So that’s it. Find me doing things at KCKRS, writing for US Soccer Players, podcasting on The Best Soccer Show, and just generally bouncing around the world of America soccer internet tomfoolery.

RIP MFUSA. Let it be said that it lived an appropriate amount of time, served it's original purpose beautifully, and had a few insightful things to say about the sport of soccer in American. Can't do much better than that.

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2011 MLS Predictions - So How Did We Do?

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:17:00 +0000

-by Chris Ballard

You might remember that way back in March, Keith, Jason and myself all put forth some predictions regarding the 2011 MLS season. Usually when these things happen it becomes convenient to later forget to revisit them; because it invariably proves that we - as much as anybody else - know pretty much nothing. However, it makes sense to at least crow about the ones we did get right. Even if there aren't very many.

So let's begin.

U.S. Open Cup Winners: Seattle Sounders
Jason: Seattle Sounders
Keith: Real Salt Lake
Chris: F.C. Dallas

The Founder gets off to a flying start; Seattle recorded their third successive Open Cup victory, helped no doubt by the bid system that meant they played at home in all 4 of their games. Regardless, it's still an impressive feat for the club, and their CONCACAF Champions League qualification shows that taking the competition seriously can bring it's own rewards. Yes, New York, I'm looking at you.

Seattle beat Dallas in the semi-final final game, who had themselves knocked out Real Salt Lake in the previous round.

Supporter's Shield: L.A. Galaxy
Jason: Real Salt Lake
Keith: Real Salt Lake
Chris: New York Red Bulls

I was so confident about this, too. Henry, Marquez, a good core of seasoned MLS players - what could possibly go wrong? Well, a whole lot as it turned out; too many draws in the middle of the season meant that New York were touch and go to even make the playoffs until very late, and the less said about Rafa Marquez this season the better. Real Salt Lake hit a real dodgy patch just after their defeat in the CCL final, and by the time they were back in stride, LA got the Supporters' Shield liquored up and into the taxi.

MLS Cup: L.A. Galaxy or Houston Dynamo
Jason: New York Red Bulls
Keith: Seattle Sounders
Chris: L.A. Galaxy

If you were wondering why I'm putting this up before the MLS Cup Final, here's your reason. I still confident, of course, but I did want to make sure that this prediction was recorded once again. Of my two colleagues, Keith can feel most hard-done by; a shocking performance in the first game against Real Salt Lake pretty much sank Seattle hopes, and despite a revival of sorts in the return game, the damage had already been done. See above re: New York.

Most Valuable Player: Dwayne De Rosario
Jason: Alvaro Saborio
Keith: Javier Morales
Chris: David Beckham

I do feel at least slightly vindicated here. Despite Beckham not making the shortlist for MVP (instead getting the ridiculous "Comeback" award, which to me essentially says "Hey, you sucked for the first 4 years of your contract; have a trophy") I genuinely felt that he should have finished second in the final tally, behind Brad Davies of Houston. That De Rosario was awarded the prize despite not playing for any team with a winning average of over 0.500, suggests that voters didn't quite understand that "Most Valuable" doesn't necessarily mean "Best". Keith's selection went down pretty early thanks to a horrible Mondaini tackle that saw him miss 4 1/2 months, and Saborio didn't figure in MVP talk either, despite a very respectable 11 goals. That being said, Jason did say that the Golden Boot winner would also win MVP, so he got that part dead on.

Golden Boot: Dwayne De Rosario (16 goals)
Jason: Alvaro Saborio (11)
Keith: Sebastian Le Toux(11)
Chris: Charlie Davies (11)

Amazingly, all 3 of us picked players that scored the same number of goals. Charlie Davies started the season with a huge amount of goodwill, but that dissipated at about the same time he flopped to the ground to win a dubious penalty against RSL on June 18th. Le Toux was unlikely to reach the heights of 2010, and his slow beginning made it an even more difficult task, and Saborio didn't really play enough games (23) to give him a fair shout of scoring the most.

Rookie of the Year: CJ Sapong
Jason: Perry Kitchen
Keith: Darlington Nagbe
Chris: Zarek Valentin

Last season's Rookie of the Year was a defender, and in hindsight it was always going to be an attacking player that won this time around. Nagbe had a pretty good season - even picking up the Goal of the Season award - and finished third in the voting. Kitchen and Valentin were both thrown in at the deep end at teams (DC United and Chivas) who had defensive issues last season.

CJ Sapong was a worthy winner, though - his power and pace created many chances in a very good Sporting KC team, although it will be interesting to see next season whether he can avoid the 'difficult sophomore season' that plagued Tim Ream for most of 2011.

Conclusion
18 predictions. With 1, possibly 2 proving to be accurate, this demonstrates that predicting what happens in soccer is always going to be difficult. That being said, with the benefit of hindsight, you could have made a very good case for at least 5 of the winners, and even the 6th was feasible - C.J. Sapong was drafted 10th, after all.

I just hope next season is as much fun.

The Survey Heard 'Round The World

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:12:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

I don't know whether to laugh or cry over the news that MLS sent out surveys looking for information on the strength of Baltimore as an MLS market. On the surface, which is the way 99.9% of the interested parties are viewing it, it looks like a clear sign that United is not long for DC. Should a move up I-95 come to pass, it would represent the biggest sin ever perpetrated against a group of MLS fans. Yes, people were undoubtedly crushed in Miami, Tampa, and San Jose when their teams were ripped away from them. Those situations pale in comparison to taking a team like DC United, with the history of support its has, out of Washington.

And for the uninitiated who might be suggesting that it's not a big deal, Baltimore isn't that far away, it's really not a relocation at all: wrong. Baltimore is not DC, nor should United fans be expected to simply trek up to the Charm City because MLS asks them to.

But there are still more questions than answers here, and the survey doesn't in and of itself confirm that DC definitely is moving to Baltimore. Those who have been paying attention should not be surprised by this news, unless the surprise comes from the rather obvious nature of the survey. Of course MLS knew fans would catch wind of it, because if they didn't, they're naive beyond any reasonable possibility. Here come the questions.

Knowing that dissemination of the survey would get back to DC supporters, did the league simply choose to absorb the negative reaction, or was observing and documenting that reaction part of the point? No one in DC's city leadership, beyond Marion Berry -- whose support for a stadium was about his constituency and not soccer or DC United itself -- has shown an interest in helping the club find a solution within the District. If the league asks fans to give their opinions about MLS in Baltimore and United's rabid fan base rise up to voice their displeasure, could it have a positive impact on the dialog between the city and club? There's an argument to be made that -- either through willful ignorance or unhealthy myopia -- that the city doesn't quite know what it has in United. Pushing aside the debates about public funding and the value of stadiums to a locality, if enough people make enough noise over the survey and its implications, it might give leaders food for thought on soccer's place in the city.

But probably not. While I think some effect is possible, more like this is what it looks like: DC is out of options, Will Chang (and the league itself) is hemorrhaging money, and there is real value in polling soccer fans in the Mid-Atlantic for their thoughts on an MLS team 40 miles north of DC. Whether it was wise to do so in the manner they chose, with the inevitability of it becoming a news item, is a separate can of worms.

The worst part of this, and why I don't begrudge United fans their (over)reaction, is that the fans are utterly powerless. Attendance for United games hasn't been at traditional levels recently, but as the club improves, there's no reason to think the numbers won't climb back into a very respectable range. This isn't FC Dallas. United fans are committed, for better or worse, and the quickest way to turn them against the league is to take their club away. Forty miles might as well be continents for most of them.

Here then, is the crux of the matter and why the survey is ultimately so troubling: we do not know if MLS is doing everything in their power to keep the team in DC. Even protestations to that effect by the club and the league won't assuage fears the MLS and United are anxious to take the path of least resistance and move up the interstate rather than explore each and every possibility in the nation's capital. From there, the questions get trickier, up to and including things like just how far out into the suburbs it would be okay for DC United to build a stadium if doing so enabled them to stay "DC" at least in spirit. Some of the locations bandied about in recent years are in the Dallas-to-Frisco distances, meaning they bring with them the very real possibility that fans in the city proper and the interior suburbs won't make the trek. DC is not Dallas insomuch as they've always been in one place and have always had good support, but that doesn't mean the same fate couldn't befall them.

Chang is looking for investors. If he finds them, does staying RFK become more tolerable? Is MLS helping him in the search, or is he on his own? How much influence does the single-entity all-for-one business model play into determining the threshold for when it becomes more attractive to go rather than stay? I would never assume to think MLS sees the United fan base as replaceable, but perhaps there are delusions about how much of the current fan base would make the drive to Baltimore for home games. DC-based Oriole fans did it for years before baseball returned to DC, so why wouldn't some here swallow the realities of the intransigent DC stadium situation and help fill the gap?

Everyone is trying to flesh out exactly what this thing means. If MLS thought they were muddying the waters by including five different clubs as choices for whom respondents would like to see moved to Baltimore, it was a rather transparent charade. It's inconceivable that the league would move any other team than United and risk cannibalizing the DC-Baltimore soccer fan base, leaving DC United to rot in RFK while FC Dallas or Columbus or the other of the other teams listed moved into new digs in Baltimore. To include Philadelphia and New York on the list is farcical.

Excuse the incomplete thoughts - I thought it important to post something on the survey, but am pressed for the time to spit them out in a more coherent form.

Synchronizing YNTs Vital to Klinsmann Success

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:38:00 +0000

- Ben McCormick

Juergen Klinsmann came to the US National Team with some big ideas. He preached patience, saying he was going to need time to experiment with several different kinds of lineups, formations and tactics. If given time, he justified, he would find the right combination of players to play an attacking style of soccer that was uniquely American.

Then what’s all this “we don’t want to shake up the core structure of the team too much” crap?

Three matches into his USMNT managerial tenure, Klinsi has already found the core of his squad. Through five matches, Klinsmann has capped a total of 26 players with only Danny Williams earning his first ever cap for the US national team. Bob Bradley capped 37 different players in just his first four matches.

For someone who seemed to be preaching sweeping changes, a lot seems to be staying the same. While we continue to see many of the same old faces, young guns like Mix Diskerud, and Josh Gatt can’t even get a sniff of camp.

Logically, all three fit the Klinsmann call-up criteria: starting every week for their clubs at a respectable level. Josh Gatt is first XI for the soon-to-be Norwegian champions and Diskerud has amassed 75 appearances for Stabek in Norway since his first team career started in 2008, becoming one of Stabek’s most important cogs. Diskerud and Gatt also are rumored to have clubs in the very best European leagues after them

So what gives, Juergen? These players play at positions with anything but certainty when it comes to the USMNT, so why aren’t they getting their chance?

At first instinct, you might say Klinsmann doesn’t value youth. Not true. To the contrary, Klinsmann loves youth in his squads. 11 of Klinsmann’s German 23 man roster for the 2006 World Cup were age 25 or younger. Also, on his scouting trip to Germany last month, he took time out to observe and talk to Joe Gyau and Charles Renken, two American youth players at Hoffenheim. Simply, he certainly does not shy away from young players.

When Klisnmann was hired, he said he would establish a new soccer culture. He’s European-ized things about the national team like assigning the starters numbers 1-11 or putting his initials on his coaching clothing. Aside from the fashion changes, though, the biggest change Klinsmann is trying to hard wire into the new American soccer culture is the vitality of the youth national team system.

It’s no secret Klinsmann spearheaded the effort to streamline and invest in the German youth national teams during his time as the German manager. Such efforts on his part resulted in players like Thomas Muller making near-seamless transitions into the full national team. Based on these successes, I pose he’s making a similar effort in the United States.

Skeptical? Wondering why he would spend so much time on the youth teams when the senior team is reeling? You’re in good company. Here’s my best attempt at justifying investing in youth.

The obvious first question to ask is, “why is investing in the youth system important to the full national team?” Let’s take Spain for example. Within 14 months, Spain won the World Cup, the U-21 EURO and U-19 EURO tournaments. Needless to say, they’re a shining example of what a youth program should be about.

Having said all that, try and guess how many members of Spain’s World Cup winning squad never made an appearance for a youth national team. Go on, guess.

I give up. Zero. Not a single member of their World Cup winning squad went without making an appearance for a youth national team. In fact, the average number of youth national team levels represented by a player on Spain’s World Cup team was 3.5. Andres Iniesta represented a team-high seven levels followed by Iker Casillas and Fernando Torres with six. Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez, Juan Mata and David Silva follow up with 5 and three others have represented four levels.

What’s the largest number of levels a 2010 US World Cup player represented? Three. Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Jonathan Spector and Jozy Altidore played at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels. A quarter of the US roster never appeared for any youth national team. Putting that in perspective, only a quarter of Spain’s World Cup roster appeared at less than three youth levels. Four players represented one level and two represented two levels.

There are many excuses for this disparity. The size of the United States makes identifying top talent at the U-15 and U-17 levels extremely difficult. Additionally, Spain has eight total youth levels players can represent whereas the US only has five. It’s unreasonable to expect Klinsmann to establish new youth national team levels, but he can do our YNT system a big favor by synchronizing those levels. This means, ideally, once a player ages out of or becomes too talented for one level, they can transfer into the next level seamlessly.

All of Spain’s youth teams play a similar style, making that transition easier for players. This concept is severely lacking in the US. Since Bob Bradley was hired as national team manger (and arguably before that during the Bruce Arena era), the United States have played a defensive 4-4-2 style with the full national team, attempted Dutch total football at the U-20 level and played a Latin-American 4-3-3 style at the U-17 level, all at the same time.

Given Klinsmann’s sweeping changes to the playing style of the full national team, it’s easy to understand the attraction of calling up a young player who has already gone through the growing pains his new system rather than bringing in a new player who is entirely unfamiliar with it, making a synchronized youth system all the more alluring.

On that same note, the common denominator between the 2010 Spain and US World Cup rosters is the players who represented the most YNT levels appear to be among the best the national team has to offer. Sure, some players are late bloomers (Maurice Edu) or come out of nowhere (Jay DeMerit). Heck, David Villa played at just one level of the Spanish YNT system, but the point remains largely the same, exposure to the same system from an early age produces the best players. Remember, Iker Casillas, Fernando Torres and Andres Iniesta lead Spain in levels represented and Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and DaMarcus Beasley lead the US.

With the rumors of Caleb Porter’s hiring as the U-23 manager and Tab Ramos as the U-20 manager with a possible U-18 appointment still on the way, Klinsmann appears to be starting the process of synchronizing the US Soccer system. Like Klinsmann, Ramos and Porter favor attacking styles with emphasis on possession.

Guys like Diskerud and Gatt may not be snubbed by Klinsmann at the full national team level because of lack of skill or whatever other excuse there is, but rather he wants talent at his youth levels. Give Gatt and Diskerud two or three camps at the U-23 level and watch them transition into the full national team like they’d been there the entire time.

With the full national team, Klinsmann is trying to teach an old dog new tricks, and he knows it. Trying to get players already in their mid-20s or early 30s to play a style unfamiliar to them is like pulling teeth. Where Klinsmann is likely to leave his indelible mark on US Soccer is in introducing the new system to players as early as possible in their careers through the youth national teams.

So instead of lumping Gatt and Diskerud in with the old guard, Klinsmann may well be saving them to learn the new system along with the other young, promising and talented Americans. Don’t be surprised to see guys like Juan Agudelo or in some cases Tim Chandler, Jozy Altidore and Brek Shea go to U-23 camps when there is a full national team camp going on. This way, he can bring the youth through all at once after the Olympics, all entrenched in the system and ready to contribute to his style.

All of this requires a tremendous amount of the patience Klinsmann asked for when he was named manager of the USMNT. Given the track record of success for those countries who commit to the youth national team system, I’ll grant him that patience.

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Foreigners Are Ruining English Football

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:44:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

The world is abuzz this morning with the shocking revelation that "foreign" English Premier League owners would like to see an end to relegation. Among the league's foreign ownership are several Americans, most notably the Glazers at United, Randy Lerner at Aston Villa, and Fenway Sports Group at Liverpool.

I used the word "shocking" - as in its meaning of "surprising" - facetiously, of course, because rich businessmen acting as rich businessmen do proposing to do away with risk is perhaps the least shocking thing you'll hear about this day/week/month/year/decade/century/millennium/whatever is after millennium.

Once we accept that a push for the end of promotion/relegation will always be bandied about by people risking millions of dollars on a soccer club, the better we'll sleep at night. That's not a defense of the owners, or an indication that my personal opinion is that pro/rel should go away in England; quite the opposite, actually. The movement between divisions in English (European) soccer is one of the things that makes English soccer attractive. An end to pro/rel would be tantamount to throwing more than a century of history into the garbage, without regard for how the upward and downward mobility of clubs shaped not only the English game and the biggest clubs of the present day, but the way the sport is played and administrated the world over. Promotion and relegation are as much a part of English soccer as chronically rain-soaked fields, the Boxing Day schedule, or the FA Cup. Taking it away would be a crime.

Ownership in any sport is a risky proposition that is rarely a money-making endeavor. Buyers have an obligation to understand what it is they are buying, and the rules and limitations that will dictate their level of risk. When it comes to soccer in England, acknowledged acceptance that promotion and relegation are a part of the sport - and not just a rule to be changed because it is inconvenient - should be at the top of the fit and proper persons test. Pro/rel is and always will be more important than anyone who controls a club. Ownership is temporary.

The issue of the Premier League and the potential abolition of pro/rel affects me as an American soccer-first American in a couple of ways.

First, reconciling my strong disgust with this "news" (again, it's not shocking as in "surprising", but it is shocking as in "troubling") with the fact that Major League Soccer doesn't have pro/rel, probably won't have pro/rel, and - in my opinion - doesn't need pro/rel, at least not for the foreseeable future. What's good for the goose is not good for the gander, not because pro/rel isn't inherently fascinating and enthralling, but because the environments in which the two leagues operate is so different. That aforementioned history doesn't save English teams from dissolution, but it does allow the country to support more professional clubs in a nation of 50 million than the United States could ever hope to prop up, even ephemerally. Culturally speaking, soccer's footing in England is so solid that while the market may be saturated (to the detriment of small and non-League clubs), possible relegation is a fact of life, a storm to be navigated, and in some cases, an integral part of the character of certain clubs. Man City of 2011 has a different feel if they weren't in the Championship ten years ago. MLS has none of the safety nets, does not have character tied to a system built before communication changed the complexion of the sport globally, and exists in a country that has none of the ingrained sensibilities necessary to supporting pro/rel as a reality. If you're American and you love pro/rel, and you're convinced it wouldn't affect your interest in your club or the level of your support, you're the exception, not the rule.

England should have pro/rel, and America should not. That's a pragmatic determination, and does not mean that I would not want pro/rel in the US and Canada if conditions were different.

Second, the inevitable saddling of Americans with the leadership of the movement towards eliminating relegation from the Premier League, and the reflective shame that engenders in me. Yes, I'm the type that will see screeds against American ownership and their evil plans and feel the burn of flushed cheeks, simply because I happen to share a nationality with the men being castigated for their greed. It doesn't matter that I have more in common with the average English football fan than I do with the Henrys and Lerners of the world. Somehow, I'll still feel some minuscule inkling of responsibility, with the requisite knot in my gut reminding me that they villains in all of this are my countrymen. "Americanization" is a dirty word, and as I'm American, it refers to me.

Of course, it's not just Americans who would benefit from an end to the specter of relegation. Several clubs are owned by Asian concerns who could very easily be at the forefront of the push to change the rules. That won't sway most of the English-soccer loving public, English and American alike, from pinning blame on Yank owners. Fingers are being pointed this way. We've got franchises, Americans owners would no doubt love the business-first aspects of the franchise system to take hold in England, so the whole thing is an American plot to undermine proper football. Americans suck, don't know shit about soccer, and should just go back to their pointyball game.

Look at my straw man. Isn't it beautiful?

The grain of truth in all of that insanity is that Americans will be blamed, in large measure, if the Premier League locks down. I'm not positive how likely such a thing is in the near future, and I wonder about the fairness of which bottom-half teams gets a spot and who gets left out (will it be based simply on who is in the Prem at the time, or will there be some metric applied to deciding who gets a spot?), but it seems inevitable that the issue will remain in play as long as businessman are businessman, regardless of where they originate. The problem with the free market is that people without the proper respect for institutions like pro/rel are free to buy clubs.

From the AP story on today's shocking revelation is this from League Managers' Association chief executive Richard Bevan:

“If you look at sports all around the world and you lot at sports owners trying to work out how to invest to make money, you will find that most of them like the idea of franchises,” Bevan said. “If you take particularly American owners, without doubt, there have been a number of them looking at having more of a franchise situation and that would mean no promotion or relegation."

Talk of the end of promotion and relegation is enough to panic millions, and it comes in an American accent. I'm not too proud to admit this causes me distress, even as I believe the Premier League might have been headed in the same direction without any American influence.

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Podcast: Free on a Bosman V

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:54:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

The last one. Number five. Jared and I close out the buildup to the debut of The Best Soccer Show on the North American Soccer Network with talk about the USMNT roster and MLS. The debut of TBSS comes with giveways, sweet ones, so make sure you listen to learn how to get your chance at a copy of EA's FIFA 12 and Bumpy Pitch gear.

The new show has a Twitter feed @bestsoccershow and a Facebook page, so be sure to follow and like respectively - details for the contests are on the Facebook page.

Please share this link until you just can't share it anymore. The Best Soccer Show debuts at 8:30 PM EDT on Saturday, October 8th.

Available through the old MFUSA iTunes feed.

Download directly here.

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Podcast: Free on a Bosman IV

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:05:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

The fourth installment of the Free on a Bosman program, enumerated with the classy Roman numeral desigination, is here for your enjoyment.

Jared and I start with the good news and the bad news around the USMNT. Just when Holden gets back, down goes Torres. Gooch is playing well (maybe?), and youngster Tim Ream is mostly not.

We hit MLS topics, including the hypocrisy of DeRo avoiding suspension for his dive, Marquez's comments and suspension, and the state of the playoff race.

Also, Bob Bradley, Michael Bradley, emails, and more.

Be sure you check us out on Twitter for updates. @mfusa @jrodius

The new show also has a Twitter feed @bestsoccershow and a Facebook page, so be sure to follow and like respectively. You're gonna want to. We have stuff to give away.

Please share this link as violently and liberally as you can. New show launches in two weeks following the USMNT game on Saturday, October 8th.

Available through the old MFUSA iTunes feed.

Download directly here.

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Expansion and the MLS Meta

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:29:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

In 2011, after Seattle and Philly and Portland and Vancouver and Montreal and the wave that came before them (yes, San Jose counts) and all of the talk of candidates and fees and ownership groups and stadium plans and color schemes and whether names should be "historical" (since 1975!) or "euro" or plain old American city-and-nickname, I'm tired of expansion. Or, rather, I'm not tired of expansion, I'm over it as a major part of Major League Soccer's future, which means I'm over writing about it. Actually, I'm almost certain that my attention has shifted because there are now enough teams and enough stability that MLS has hardened around the edges and has the consistency of a "real" league.

But the expansion talk continues, whether I remain actively engaged or not (my interest, surprisingly, has no bearing on the rolling expansion train or the discussion surrounding it...who knew). The country is big, MLS will continue to be in the growth phase - in one area or fifty - forever, and there is STILL no team in the Southeast. Oh, and MLSHQ continues to publicly covet another franchise in New York, either because they themselves are sick of having to trek over to Jersey to see a game, or...no, that's probably it. I hear the PATH trains are a disaster.

The latest development in the expansion story is that MLS has no immediate plans to grow beyond the 20 clubs the league will have once Montreal joins in 2012 and someone in New York who was lucky enough to have never met Bernie Madoff finds $100 million to invest. This has come as a shock to some because stopping at 20 only makes sense if MLS is A. retaining the balanced schedule (they're not) B. tired of expansion fees (doubtful) or C. convinced that there are no more cities ready for professional soccer (maybe, but unlikely). Suddenly everything we know about MLS 2.0 is threatened by public statements of conservatism. If MLS isn't expanding, what does that mean exactly?

Richard Whittall, the newly minted editor at The Score's Footy Blog and a top bloke, lays it out pretty simply in a manner I might have had I thought to tackle the story first and wasn't tied up doing other things:

First, no more rotating conversation about viable American (or Canadian) soccer markets, so that MLS can deal with working with its existing markets, and shoring up some of the weaker ones. It gives a sense of fixed identity to the league—this is it, for better or for worse. A little familiarity goes a long way, and as Lorne Michaels apparently said once: “the longer you’re here, the longer you’re here.” Halting expansion seals off MLS and gives the league a sense of permanence.

Richard's point about too much of the coverage of MLS being "meta" is a good one, and although it cuts me personally as this blog was launched to tackle many of the very meta issues he identifies, pushing topics like "who's next" to the periphery is crucial to the graduation of MLS from novelty level to full and tenured member of major professional sports leagues. The sooner MLS can be just about the games, the players, and the coaches (with the occasional distraction of the latest best-small-soccer-stadium-in-the-world opening), the better. Permanence isn't awarded after a certain number of years or teams or even fans is reached; it's an entirely subjective characteristic that only takes hold as a widespread feeling at some indeterminable point when the greater culture finally takes the league's existence for granted. That might require an older generation of sportswriters/editors/talking heads to recede into their retirements where they can't influence an easily manipulated public, or it might just be something that comes when MLS pauses to tidy up the house already built instead of worrying about the next new addition.

Which, judging by the attendance issues in Columbus and Dallas and the (still) unresolved stadium situation in DC (among other things), MLS should do. The NBC TV contract represents an opportunity to buckle down and generate genuine interest in the sport beyond the hardcore locals it has already attracted. Expansion should and must be commensurate with the ability of teams to find and pay for decent talent. That probably means stopping at 20 teams, at least for now.

One less meta issue to bat around and speculate on means less fodder American soccer blogs that can't help themselves. And that's a good thing. MLS still, and probably will for the foreseeable future, feels like more of a counterculture movement than a actual part of the fabric of sport in the United States and Canada. That might give us a greater feeling of solidarity and uniqueness as fans, but it remains a barrier to MLS becoming the legitimate and accepted league it hopes to be.

As long as we're talking about the way the league is run, where it might pop up next, how to pay expensive names to play here, etc., etc. more than we talk about the narratives playing out on the field, MLS won't just be niche, it will feel ephemeral.

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A Sneak Peek At the New Podcast

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:38:00 +0000

Podcast: Free on a Bosman III

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:52:00 +0000

The third installment of FoaB has Jason and Jared talking about the rumors surrounding Timmy Chandler, Klinsmann effort to find dual internationals, Jozy, Beasley, a round up of MLS and the playoff race, the MLS A-Team and much more.

Be sure you check us out on Twitter for updates. @mfusa @jrodius

It might be a good idea to check this and this out as well.

There's date and a name, plus a few places to get connected with the new show before it starts. Go forth and spread the word.

Download the show directly or get it on the MFUSA iTunes feed.

Music:

Segment 1: Summer of the Beatdown (Bru Lei) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Segment 1: Football Boys (Concrete Schoolyard) (My Mind) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Segment 2: Hey Young World Instrumental {6th Sense} (6th Sense) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Segment 2: Them Never Love No Bans - DnB Mix (Germany) (Hot Fire) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Segment 3: Journey To The Moon (DjCode) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Uh-Oh: Landon's Getting Older

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:52:00 +0000

-Ben McCormick

One of the most common questions any US Soccer fan asks is who is going to replace Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey when they retire. They have held the attack together for the past few years and fast approaching is a time when the US will have to rely on someone other than “Deuce” or “’Cakes” for a goal when they need it.

The scary thought is this process might be happening a bit faster than we all thought. Dempsey is still performing at the highest levels and he shows no signs of slowing down, but Donovan on the other hand, is a different story.

Sure, his MLS scoring record this season has been stellar, but I would expect that from a player of his caliber playing on a MLS team that may go down as one of the best in MLS history. Where it has been noticeable his speed may be slowing a half step, though, is in his performances for the USMNT this year.

I know this feels like heresy, but hear me out. He was benched at the Gold Cup, and honestly, the team didn’t perform all that poorly without him. He just wasn’t the young, inventive player we have come to know and love over the years, and the two US matches he has featured in under Juergen Klinsmann have been similarly tough. Donovan was inconsistent against Mexico and the first twenty minutes against Costa Rica were more or less solid before he completely disappeared.

This was to be expected, though. A player like Donovan relies on his speed more than any other athletic skill. As we all know, with athletes, speed tends to begin the deterioration process around age 30, which Donovan, 29, is fast approaching. This isn’t to say he’s not still a quality player capable of magic like we’ve seen against Algeria and Slovenia. All I’m saying is the time we’re going to need to move onto someone else is drawing closer and closer.

Klinsmann has said Donovan will be his creative presence in the middle of the park which, if his speed is in fact deteriorating, is a smart move rather than putting him on the wings where Klinsmann will rely on speed. Remember, by the time 2014 hits Donovan will be 32 and certainly need to rely on his vision and touch more than sheer pace.

Say Donovan takes a serious turn for the worse before the next World Cup. Who might be ready to step in and play that attacking central midfield role? In my mind, there are six known players capable of filling that void.

1. Stu Holden - Stu is the obvious choice. He isn’t a young hot shot prospect anymore, but he earned POY at Bolton despite being injured for a significant portion of the season. He will be back on an EPL pitch very soon, and if he regains his form, he’ll give the US another effective midfield weapon. US fans shouldn’t worry too much if Donovan becomes obsolete and in-form Stu is there to fill the void. His hair is also incredibly cool.

2. Mikkel Diskerud - The young “Mix” has been making the grade at the highest level in Norway for three years now with large clubs reportedly hot on his trail. He showed in his January cap his inventiveness and smoothness on the ball. While Stu is already in his prime, Mix could easily start at the 2022 World Cup for the US at age 31. His hair, too, is magnificent.

3. Freddy Adu - This should be expected. Adu played one of the best games I’ve seen in a US uniform in the Gold Cup final and has fixed his well documented club issues by biting the bullet and coming home to MLS. He’s still very young and has time to develop and make the jump back across the pond. His touch and vision are nearly unrivaled amongst his US counterparts. If Adu’s career continues its upswing, he might not just replace but improve upon Donovan.

4. Luis Gil - From Adu on down, the readiness takes a dive. Gil is Real Salt Lake’s 17 year old playmaker. After signing with MLS last year, Jason Kreis and company have brought Gil along slowly and it has been paying off. Gil, who figures to feature prominently for the US U-20 squad this cycle, was coveted by Arsenal before he signed with MLS. If he continues his current run of form, scoring two goals while starting the last six league matches, we may see him in a full national team jersey sooner than later.

5. Sebastian Lletget - Further away still from Gil is Sebastian Lletget, the young American central midfielder at West Ham. He was a class above in his matches with the US U-20s and played in some West Ham first team friendlies this summer. He’s probably still a year away from official first team minutes at West Ham, but we could see him loaned out this winter to get some minutes instead of just playing for the reserves. He has very high potential, but remains a largely unknown quantity.

6. Charles Renken - Renken was poised to be Agudelo 2.0 before knee injuries derailed his meteoric rise through the US youth systems. The creative midfielder, just 17 years old, is now at Hoffenheim in the German Bundesliga. He plays for the U-19 side, but remains very highly rated. Renken may have the most potential out of any of these prospects, but remains the furthest away from first team action. Renken and Gil will make up one of the most exciting midfields the US U-20 team has seen in quite some time.

Donovan is still a top notch player and deserves to be the man the US attack runs through. He may be in the process of losing a bit of his trademark pace, but that process may be slow, taking a few years. It won’t happen all at once. That being said, it never hurts to be prepared.

Soccer Sunday on Fox

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:06:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

As one of those interminable people constantly worried about the popularity of soccer in the United States, I should be thrilled that Fox is giving the sport a run on their flagship over-the-air behemoth of a network starting this Sunday. Manchester United and Chelsea will be shown, on tape delay, right smack in the middle of the usual National Football League window. The footballs are colliding, gigantic robot-style. Most of us (meaning soccer fans who read blogs, soccer previews, and obsessively track every little detail) will have already seen the match or couldn't be bothered to watch either showing. Nevertheless, it's something of a landmark occurrence.

I suppose the thinking is that Fox will take this valuable property to which they hold the (not exactly cheap) rights and double-dip by sticking it next to the country's most popular sport. It certainly can't hurt soccer's popularity, and might even win over a good amount of new fans. If nothing else, it's a sign that soccer's value as television property is on the rise.

Of course, being the cynical and insecure American soccer guy that I am (if you're an American soccer fan who can be classified as something more than "casual" and you're not at least mildly cynical, I'd like some of the happy juice you're drinking, please), I say all that grudgingly. Of course it's the English Premier League that is going to get a Fox roll out on Sunday afternoons when that network has its largest audiences. Of course it's a non-American version of the game that will be first taste some Americans get of the sport on a professional level. Of course MLS is once again the forgotten man as American television executives come around to the idea that this sport might have a bit of a future in the US. A tape-delayed game, something usually anathema to most American sports fans unless they themselves do the taping, is being given the stage during our most hallowed of sports days.

But what if there's a significant new audience to be found? Suppose people either unaware of what soccer has to offer or previously hesitant to even turn on a game are suddenly sucked in by Fox's Premier League ploy? Would that be good or bad for American soccer?

Feeding the monster that is America's predilection for the biggest and best can only lead me to think that - in the short term at least - a new audience of fans taking an interest in soccer through exposure to the Premier League doesn't do the American game any good at all. In the big picture sense, the same picture that gives us things like the World Football Challenge (in a country that calls the game soccer) more interest is more interest is more interest. "Soccer" wins, the subcategory of "American soccer" probably doesn't. That's because new fans introduced to soccer by the Fox game won't go looking for an MLS match the next time, they'll stick with what they've already seen: the pomp, pageantry, and bigness of the English game. For a lot of these people, it won't be about the Anglophilia or Eurosnobbery we usually see in soccer circles, but that the EPL is the most accessible soccer corollary to the NFL. Which is why Fox is slotting into their empty Sunday afternoon slot in the first place.

As an American soccer fan, I know that MLS and the version of the game played here can be a tough sell. If first exposure to professional soccer comes via richest league in the world, that sell goes from tough to nearly impossible. Not amount of shaming or cajoling is going to turn these fans - most of whom won't put in more effort than watching a game or half a game a week - into appreciators of MLS. If they're going to come around to the American league, they're going to have to do it on their own. That means waiting, probably for quite some time, before a gain for Category: Soccer gain means anything for Subcategory: American soccer.

I'm in the process of preparing to launch a new podcast, after leaving the American Soccer Show for a new and more lucrative challenge. A writing colleague, a guy I like and respect, shot me an eamil askin if the new show might be on the Grantland podcast network, which seems to have a new addition every day. It's not, and while I would jump at the chance to do an American soccer podcast for Grantland, I'd be happy to see anything even superficially related to MLS show up there, whether I was involved or not. For me, Grantland (and specifically the man behind it, Bill Simmons) have come to singularly represent the progress and problems of soccer in America.

Soccer is on Grantland, reflecting the encouraging fact that the game at least merits the same treatment as most of the non-Big 3. We might take that for granted in 2011, but 10 or 15 years ago it would be surprising to see a site with the profile of Grantland giving soccer any more than a passing mention. But a scan of the soccer items at the site reveals the troubling fact that MLS still does not exist there. Coverage is almost exclusively limited to the English Premier League and the USMNT.

The one soccer podcast included in their network is an English Premier League show hosted by two Englishman. While I love Brian Phillips as a writer and will read nearly anything he writes on any subject, I don't get the impression he watches too much of the American first division. Carles of Hipster Runoff fame has written on American soccer subjects more than once, but never with MLS more than a tangential concern. The only piece in which MLS is the focus is a story on the Sounder-Timbers rivalry, a phenomenon that transcends soccer and isn't really about MLS at all.

Grantland's approach to soccer reflects the editor-in-chief's attitude. Simmons has made it clear that MLS isn't of any interest to him because it's not the best version of the game on offer (if I remember correctly, he made a minor league baseball analogy). As a relatively new fan to the sport and a casual one, he is a perfect exemplar for the type of sports fan who might tune in to Fox's Premier League presentation. Guys like Simmons aren't going to easily convert to MLS fans.

We're rapidly approaching the point when bringing more Americans to soccer isn't really a concern, and bringing more American fans to American soccer should trump the big picture progress. That's why the World Football Challenge and international friendlies during the MLS season are troubling when promoted as anything other than a bald moneymaker; the belief that they'll bring fans of the European game over to MLS is spurious at best, with no direct evidence (and to be fair, I'm not sure there's a way to measure it) that they do anything for the amount of interest in MLS.

Here's my disclaimer, which renders almost everything I've written to this point null and void: My attitude on Fox's tape-delay gambit is probably ridiculous. I'm certain I'm overstating any possible effects such a thing will have on the size of the soccer fan base in America. More soccer in more places exposed to more eyeballs can never be an entirely bad thing, no matter my nonsense concerns about a new wave of English-focused fans emerging from Middle America. My angst over this issue is misplaced and disproportionate to the EPL on Fox, hours after the game broadcast has ended.

But someone, somewhere, is bound to be intrigued by it. My own love affair with soccer started because I flipped by an EPL game on some random weekend years ago. I quickly migrated to the American game and MLS, so perhaps I should have some hope that those sucked in by the Fox broadcast will eventually find themselves watching MLS as well.

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Davis & DuBois: Free on a Bosman II

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:32:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

Jared and I are back, with Free on a Bosman, our interim show while we build up to our new show, for which details will be released slowly over the next couple of weeks. Still with me?

Good.

In this edition, we talk 9/11 (hafta), Bobby Rhine (again, hafta), the US loss to Belgium and the state of the team at the moment, the MLS playoff picture, and more. Apparently Gooch played this weekend for Sporting Lisbon. We talk about that, too.

Please remember that the show doesn't have a regular iTunes feed while we're in the interim phases. You can, however, get the show at a long forgotten iTunes feed under the Match Fit USA banner (hey! old logo guy!) at this link right here.

Other ways to listen can be found below. Here's a half spoiler: we drop the date of our upcoming new show's debut. Woohoo.

Help spread the word on the new show by sharing this episode of the interim show via the handy sharing buttons below. You can follow both Jared and me on Twitter for further updates as events warrant.

Jason (@mfusa) on Twitter

Jared (@jrodius) on Twitter

Download it directly

Style, The Image of Character

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:54:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

The theme most prevalent thus far in Jurgen Klinsmann's tenure as USMNT head coach - all month and change of it - is the movement towards integrating America's abundant Latin soccer influence into the team. In part because Klinsmann has made it his cause cause célèbre (in concert with imbuing in the team a more attacking, fluid style - more on that in a minute), we can't go more than a few hours without a new piece waxing on about it, without the Paul Gardners of the world bellowing "FINALLY!" at people on the street, or without the overarching generalizations that are part and parcel of sweeping soccer-style speak.

There are only so many ways to describe the possession-based, pass heavy, high pressure, attack-minded style of play that Klismann is intent on imposing on his new team. Barcelona and Spain play the celebrated "tiki-taka", and are the undisputed champions of the modern standard. On this side of the world, it's called the "Latin style" due to the regional influence of Mexico, where possession is valued from the youngest levels of the game all the way through to the national team. Forgiving a nuance here or there lost on 95% of the soccer-viewing public, they're essentially the same thing, an idealized way of playing that embodies more of the "beautiful" in "the beautiful game" than any other style. Hence the appeal, and why Klinsmann's experiment has bought him patience on the part of the USMNT fan base. It a seismic shift. Those only happen slowly, with plenty of upheaval.

Whatever Klinsmann chooses to call it, and I've yet to hear him apply a singular label, the American appreciation of what the transformation entails is complicated by the word "Latin." We've yet to reach a point in the US where we can separate the style itself from the people that purportedly play it; because the style is Latin in name, and because Klinsmann himself has spoken expansively about integrating more of America's players of Latin persuasion into the program, there's a danger that the ethnic backgrounds of players will become more important than their ability to play a possession-based style we're so anxious to have be successful. These two things - Klinsmann's style overhaul and leveraging a long underutilized community of Latin Americans - are intrinsically linked in our minds. There's a feeling that for the style to take and work, the Latin integration must happen. One begets - or at least is fundamental to - the other.

Practically speaking, for the near future, it's probably true. The USMNT isn't going to go from defend-and-counter to possess-and-attack without at least a few of the available Mexican-bred players (because, while the word "Latin" is used almost exclusively when talking about the style, it's the Mexican-American players that are the crux of the movement) stepping in to important roles. Jose Francisco Torres is finally getting the opportunity to prove himself capable of playing in the center of the US midfield, and shows signs of being the skilled player the Americans need there. Torres fits the style-shift because of the way he plays, and he fits the initiative to bring in more Latin influence because he's Latino. The former is product of the latter, mostly because it facilitated Torres developing in Mexico rather than in a kick-and-rush, overly physical philosphy that typically holds sway in the US at the youth levels (and because Torres went to Pachuca at an age when American players would still be playing club soccer - I'm not going to assume that Torres would have played for a Texan club [perhaps Mexican-American in character] that played a possession game). Latino players are crucial to the the success of the style overhaul in the short term because the player pool is finite, and those most ready now to play Klinsmann's game happen to be Latino, developed in a Latin atmosphere and therefore bring a "Latin" mindset.

The US-eligible players most versed in possession are Latino, but not all Latino US-eligible players are versed in possession (or, in some cases, good enough for it matter). More important than their surnames or from where their parents came is in what environment they learned the game; Torres fits, so it's not unreasonable to think players like Edgar Castillo or Orozco-Fiscal would as well. Neither of those players, however, have impressed during their respective opportunities under Klinsmann, and despite their provenance, can't be regulars in the team just because they are Latino and grew up with the Latin style. Klinsmann might be guilty of forcing them into the team get more of the Latin-American influence, but as long as he's willing to move on quickly, recognizing that there might be other non-Latino or non-Latin developed players better suited to the style shift, we needn't worry that the coach sees a Latin infusion of players as the only way to effect his desired change. In other words, as long as he's wary of the trap of conflating Latino players with Latin-style to the exclusion of better non-Latin players, than the more important of the two goals - the one that has to do with winning - can be met.

Both goals, changing the American style to one of possession and precision passing and increasing the Latin influence on the team, wholly independent of each other, are noble. Latino-American players should be better integrated into the US program, both because they're underrepresented and because doing so should help influence the choices of dual nationals down the line. Actively including Latino-American players might not only make the team better, it will improve the perception of the USMNT in communities that have long cultural ties to the game by bringing the program closer to the American ideal of inclusion. It can and should be done, but only because it will make the team better in the long run, and not as a type of affirmative action simply meant to right a wrong. Latino-Americans, in many cases, are a better stylistic fit for Klinsmann's plan, so it's natural he should want to increase their role in the program. But if the style shift is going to take and remain in place long after Klinsmann, the "Latin style" has to become the norm for American players of all type and background.

The US should include Latino players an essential part of any national team, because they are an essential part of America's soccer fabric. But the US should also strive to play whichever style it decides without using a player's ethnicity as a factor in choosing him.

As a society and as soccer fans anxious to see our team succeed, we're obsessively attuned to any perceived prejudice in the negative, especially is the excluded group carries promise to improve the team. Latino players are, and have been for some time, a focus of those concerns. But prejudice can just as easily work in the positive in the form of preferential or predetermined treatment masquerading as good soccer policy. That condition is no more preferable than the alternative if it leads to the pendulum swinging too far.

Reyna's Revolution

While Klinsmann works with what is available to him, methodically shaving square pegs to fit into round holes, it is Claudio Reyna and his youth development plan that are more key to the long term success of a new American style. Klinsmann, for all his experimentation now, at a time when he can be forgiven for the team's lack of offensive output, still must win games when it matters. The could mean compromising dreams of fluid attacking soccer if need be, if and when the shift in style refuses to give the team the best chance to win. Reyna, meanwhile, has formulated a new curriculum for coaching players as young as six that emphasizes technique and skill over the traditionally valued American characteristics of speed and power. The closer the American soccer culture gets to valuing the ability to control and pass the ball as much as it does speed and strength, the better equipped it will be to play the style Klinsmann is attempting to make stick at the highest level. Playing a "Latin style" by relying on Latino players is a temporary solution akin to placing a band-aid on a gaping wound. Reyna's plan, should it change the culture for the better and produce players - regardless of background - capable of passing, moving, and attacking with the verve that only Latino players are perceived to possess now, would leave little sign a wound was ever there.

If Reyna's plan works, we can toss the problem of needing Latino players to play a Latin style in the dustbin. The two issues can be completely divorced from one another, and with a predominance of quality American players emerging as senior professionals ready and able to kick the ball around like our Mexican rivals, having a Latin flavor to the program will be more about including a passionate part of the American soccer community than it is about leaning on their particular style of play. Player selection can be, as it should, about picking the best American players to fit into a cohesive team structure rather than notions of ethnic background and style of play.

Positional Pigeonholes

Miriti Murungi of Nutmeg Radio deftly tackled some of the issues stemming from generalizing players based on race in a piece where he discussed the lack of African-American playmaking midfielders, as compared to the long-held prejudice against black quarterbacks in American football. Flawed thinking and cultural bias about intelligence and athleticism kept African-Americans out of American football's marquee position throughout much of the post-integration history of that sport. The set of questions Miriti poses crystallizes the troubling fact that black American players are largely (completely?) missing from the number 10 position in the United States, perhaps due to some of the same nonsensical thinking that nearly made Warren Moon a wide receiver. Football eventually woke up to the stupidity of that prejudice. American soccer can hardly afford, never mind the terrible unfairness involved, to have one just like it.

The flip-side of pushing talented black players out from the center is pushing Latin players in towards it, based simply on their ethnicity.

Included in Miriti's piece is a quote from Brad Rothenberg, founder of Alianza de Futbol, a program that runs tournaments and tryouts for Latin American players, to Soccer America.

"Latinos offer three unique ingredients: 1. Latino kids have superior ball skills and are more comfortable in tight spaces. That seems to be taken as gospel now by the soccer cognoscenti. 2. Latino kids “need” the game to bring them opportunity. 3. Those same kids often play — are even given no option but to play — “unstructured” soccer where they develop a confidence and style that elevates their game — much like African-American kids playing on inner-city blacktops changed basketball and the NBA."

Most glaring in this quote is Rothenberg's position that "Latino kids have superior ball skills and are more comfortable in tight spaces"; if he's implying that they have those skills simply because they're Latino, he's guilty of the same type of stereotypical thinking that led to prejudice against black quarterbacks and might now explain the lack of African-American playmakers in soccer. Ball skills are learned, not inherited, so Latino-American players are no more predisposed to them than non-Latino-Americans. It is true, however, that Latin players tend to have better ball skills once they reach a certain age, when playing the game in their communities has imbued them with an ability to possess and move the ball in a way that is a traditional part of the futbol heritage. While promoting Latino-American players up the ranks of the US system make sense in part because of that fact, it shouldn't discourage American soccer as whole from working to give all kids - again, regardless of background - an environment that promotes those skills. It's dangerous to say "Latino kids have superior balls skills" as a blanket statement, or, as Rothenberg says the "soccer cognoscenti" has done, take it as gospel. Doing so could lead to a type of reverse discrimination wherein Latino players are put in positions that require better ball skills, simply because they're Latino and not because their talent warrants it. One of American soccer's strengths should be its diversity; allowing ethnic generalizations to bleed over into choosing positions for young player - when they reach the crucial age of establishing what it is they do best - turns that diversity into a glaring weakness.

Players should play where their skills are best suited. Period, end of story, no questions or prevarications allowed or forgiven.

***

The phrase "pay to play" was intentionally left out until this point specifically because it colors everything that American soccer is and can be, and while it remains an obstacle to be dismantled, it should not exert influence on how kids that do have the ability to connect with a prominent club are treated individually. Including it here, as detrimental as it is to the United States developing a truly organic and egalitarian environment in which soccer players can grow, would distract from the point that equal opportunity isn't limited to access. Equal opportunity should be part of the game at every and all points, from appreciating who is capable of playing whatever style is en vogue on the day to which kids are put in which positions and why. Systemic prejudice, in this case socioeconomic and therefore tied directly to race and class in the United States, is insidious. But the failings of the system shouldn't preclude those within it from shaking off the chains of bias.

American soccer faces the same problems, in the microcosm of a sports context, that society does on a much larger scale. Utopia is not possible, and subconscious biases cannot be wished, legislated, or ordered away. Claudio Reyna's curriculum could be absolutely perfect, the best plan for youth development the world has ever seen, and still fail because the culture refuses to budge from deep-seated beliefs hammered into it by decades of doing it wrong. Breaking old habits is hard, and it will take constant pressure from Reyna and US Soccer to prevent coaches at levels from under-6 on up from defaulting to their basic settings of preconceived notions. The bulk of Reyna's job isn't really about setting out the teaching plan at all; it's about convincing coaches to follow it, keeping them on task when they do, and tackling all of the subtle and annoyingly ambiguous irritations bound to pop up across a vast country with its millions and millions of youth soccer players. If this is going to work, the culture has to police itself. It has to want to change. Utopia is impossible, but we should never stop trying to reach it.

Fortunately, it won't take utopia for the situation to get better, for American players to get better, and by extension, for the USMNT to get better.

Jurgen Klinsmann wants to impose a new style on the USMNT. He'll go about his task by looking for players capable of executing his plan. If he wants to win, he can't afford to worry about hitching the new style directly to his other aim - integrating more of America's Latino flavor into the team. He can do both, but he should be careful that he doesn't send the message that the style can only come with Latin flavor. American soccer is already rife with stereotype and generalization. If Klinsmann falls victim to them or even appears to, it will only reinforce beliefs that will hold back the sport here in the years and decades to come. That will only make Claudio Reyna's job harder, handicapping a program already facing an uphill road to success.

Let's go for that attractive style Klinsmann wants to play, and let's do so with all the abandon for which the American people - be they Latino, black, white, or other - are known. But let's keep in mind that style, as Edward Gibbons once said, is the image of character. American soccer's character should be inclusion, inclusion, inclusion; inclusion to the degree that the word no longer applies because there simply is no bias, and therefore, no need to label the role of any particular group of people as "included" as if some other group is being excluded.

Let our style truly reflect our character, be the product of it. If not the one we have, the one to which we aspire.

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We May Have Gotten Ahead of Ourselves

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:06:00 +0000

-Ben McCormick

Admittedly, it’s been awhile since my last post, so I’ll take a brief moment to toot my own horn. Fabian Johnson was stealthily called into the US squad after my piece on him. Is Juergen Klinsmann reading my writing? Probably not, but still, instant gratification feels pretty good.

On to more pressing matters. For the first time since 1980-something, the USMNT is three matches into a new regime without a win. Oh heavens no, what ever are we going to do? What use is an attacking style that doesn’t score goals?

Slow down. Let’s put this in perspective.

Juergen was hired with precious few days to prepare for a friendly against Mexico. He spoke of the growing pains that would occur, almost promising fans there would be speed bumps on the road to qualifying, and Mexico looked to be as tough of a match as any US fan could ask for. In the words of a friend of mine, “no good can come of this,” and yet, somehow, it did.

After a shaky start, the US played some of the best soccer it’s ever played against almighty Mexico, which had been up on a pedestal after the 4-2 victory in the Gold Cup final. Players like Andres Guardado, Gio Dos Santos and Pablo Barrera made their attack among the most potent Mexico ever had, and yet the US managed to equalize and seemingly level the playing field with its fellow CONCACAF giant. After playing so well, US fans forgot about the growing pains, assuming they already suffered them in the first 60 minutes against Mexico. Fans wondered, “man, once we get Dempsey and an in-form Altidore back in the fold, just how good are we going to be?”

Then came Costa Rica and Belgium less than a month later. The first half against Costa Rica showed considerable promise, but the growing pains came roaring back. A decimated defense gave up a goal, the offense looked comfortable in possession but was severely lacking in the final third. The Americans, who take pride in superior conditioning, looked tired. Fans pointed to Edgar Castillo as Juergen’s Jonny Bornstein, Robbie Rogers as another one of his “favorites”. Concerns rose immediately around Juergen forcing a system on the players after Landon Donovan struggled to make an impact.

Against Belgium, Juergen not only chose to take Castillo out of the lineup, but chose not to dress him altogether. He showed some creativity in trying Timmy Chandler on the left side. The circumstances surrounding the match didn’t help his cause, the extensively long flight and hardcore jet lag combined with Belgium being a side with young quality players made for unfavorable conditions. The loss itself overshadowed the changes Juergen made. In many ways, the draw with Mexico created a sense of false hope, like we had emerged as a complete side far sooner than we should have.

Look, the attacking style of play Juergen is implementing is unlike any other system the US has ever played. It’s going to take time because the players aren’t accustomed to it. When transitioning from Bruce Arena to Bob Bradley, was there really a beat for the US to miss? Juergen needs time, and as fans we need to give him that. Remember, he is still yet to have both Donovan and Dempsey available, surely the best field players on the team, available for the same match. Could you evaluate any sports manager after three matches where he/she didn’t have all of his/her best players for any of them.

Juergen is still trying to find that “American” style of play. It’s a process, and it’s going to take more than three matches to figure out whether Donovan and Dempsey function best in the middle or on the wings with a single striker formation. With players like Kyle Beckerman, Jose Torres, Brek Shea and Mo Edu showing encouraging play while players like Michael Bradley and Stu Holden on their way back to the national team with prospects like Mikkel Diskerud, Fabian Johnson and Josh Gatt knocking on the door, one, two or three matches isn’t enough to find a starting XI for qualifying.

We’re seeing positive signs already. Moments and periods where we dominate matches or play a beautiful style like we never have before. With over eight months until qualifying, that should be more than enough for us. There needs to be multiple trials and errors before we can succeed.

Be patient and give it time, the results will come.

New Podcast: Our Big News and USMNT

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:05:00 +0000

Jared and I aren't doing the American Soccer Show anymore, but that doesn't mean we don't feel the need to give you something involving our voices between the old show and the new one.

Entitled "Free on a Bosman" because Jared thought that was clever, this show is partly an update about our future and partly about the USMNT.

We beg of you to please help spread the word on this pod; people who just waited for the American Soccer Show iTunes feed will have no idea this show exists without everyone pitching in to spread the news as wide as possible. Hit the "play" button below to listen.

Download it directly

Again, please use the handy social sharing buttons at the bottom of the post to post this on every social network you're on - the better to let everyone that listened to us on The American Soccer Show know about it. Make sure you follow both myself and Jared on Twitter to get updates on where and when we'll be landing in our new permanent home.

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An Announcement of the Podcasting Variety

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:50:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

Where have I been, you might be asking. What have I been up to, you've surely thought. How come the frequency of MFUSA post has so much in common with the frequency of Chad Barrett goals, you can't help but wonder.

Well, I'll tell you. There's just a lot going on that keeps me from writing here as often as I'd like. But since you don't want to hear excuses, I'll stop making them. Just look for my stuff at KCKRS and US Soccer Players and bear with me.

I have news.

As of today, Jared DuBois (my co-host) and I are no longer hosts of The American Soccer Show.

That does not mean we are ending our podcast careers, just that we won't be the hosts of that particular show moving forward. The American Soccer Show belongs to the Champions Soccer Radio Network, so the name and the hosts are necessarily separate. There was an incarnation before I took the reigns with Zach Woosley in 2009, and there will surely be another incarnation now that I'm moving on.

Because that's what this is - Jared and I moving on. Details will follow, so please keep your ears to the ground.

Let me go ahead and take this opportunity to say that being a part of the CSRN family was a great experience for me as a podcaster and soccer fan. Jared and I have nothing but good things to say about the shows on that network and the people working behind the scenes to make it go. The decision to stop doing The American Soccer Show wasn't easy.

I made some very good friends through my association with CSRN, and wouldn't trade my stint there for the world. In this case, we were just presented with an opportunity we couldn't pass up.

Keep in mind that this means there won't be an episode of The American Soccer Show next week, at least not one featuring me and Jared. We do, however, expect to record a special show that will be available here at MFUSA and perhaps one or two other places. Again, keep your ear to the ground and to our individual Twitter feeds (me here, Jared here). This is most crucial for those of you that got the show through the AmSoc iTunes feed.

Robbie Keane and Soccer Happy America

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:39:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

Robbie Keane landed in LA yesterday. The Irish forward was greeted by a small collection of Galaxy supporters sporting scarves and (I imagine) chanting his name. I'm in danger of making this blog a little too Keane-heavy, but as I do see his signing as a seminal moment in the history of a league with the reputation of Scrooge McDuck when it comes to transfer fees, it's a hard development to ignore.

The "Welcome Robbie" contingent reportedly surprised Keane, who was no doubt expecting the anonymity footballers typically enjoy in the States (though, with his wife on his arm, it's not like he could go unnoticed). Rather than point to that fact and turn it into yet another "the game is growing" pillar, let me instead focus on the tenor of the crowd.

Watch me spin what was admittedly a tiny welcome party compared to that which Keane would have received in most other countries into a commentary on the character of American soccer in the present day.

The phrase "soccer/football mad" is thrown around quite a bit. Almost universally, especially when used by someone within the soccer community, it's meant as compliment. Cities are "soccer mad." Nations are "soccer mad." Cultures, particularly, are "soccer mad."

Ours, from a national and mainstream perspective, is not. We have pockets of soccer support that seem notably more intense than those in other places, but even they falls far short of "soccer mad" as determined by standards established elsewhere.

Which is bad, or so goes the implication. Because the United States (and let's throw Canada in there too) is never given the "soccer mad" tag, it matters less as a soccer-playing nation. The soccer mad countries care about the game more, in the sense that a greater proportion of their population is engaged in the sport. "Soccer mad" is code for "legitimate."

But even the most passionate among American soccer fans aren't so much "soccer mad" as we are "soccer happy." There's cheery border of clouds and rainbows framing our fandom that gives us small groups of very excited, very jovial people showing up at LAX to hand their new Irish striker a scarf and politely ask him for his autograph, their faces frozen in perma-smile. Far be it for me to imply those fans aren't as passionate as their counterparts around the world; the passion simply manifests as sweet and nerdy rather than frenzied and exclusive. In Greece, Turkey, et al, Keane would have have been smothered by heaving masses of humanity, the type that is so fervently engaged in their expressing their joy over a new signing that a sinister edge clings to every song and chant. There's a fine line between "welcoming party" and "mob" in many of those places.

That's "soccer mad" at it's maddest. As stellar an example of idealized passion as it might be, it's also obsession to the point of dangerous tribalism. That's the kind of "passion" that breeds violent fan conflict.

I'm not here to make a value judgement about whether it's better to be "soccer mad" or "soccer happy." Each comes with inherent negatives that make neither a preferable condition. "Soccer mad" might mean better players, a more successful national team (though not always), a stronger reputation around the world, etc. "Soccer happy" is a handicap when it comes to breeding talent and filling stadiums.

Can American soccer still be just as fun if it transitions from "soccer happy" to "soccer mad"? More than likely we'll never have to find out. Rather than lament that fact, perhaps we should be striving for a happy medium, where "soccer mad" is no longer the goal.

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A Win In Mexico

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:41:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

An American club went to Mexico and won a game last night. We should be doing back flips, right? Throwing ragers, cracking the seal on our best bottles of special edition liqueur, inviting the breakers of "The Streak" (FC Dallas, in case you hadn't heard) to our homes to eat our food and sleep with our wives. Finally, finally, FINALLY, the nightmare is over. MLS CAN win in Mexico, and now we have the proof. Everyone breathe.

Of course, because of the circumstances, what should be a day of rampant and debaucherous celebration is instead a ho hum Thursday with a couple of half-hearted attempts to fire up the fan base. It's really not much of a story, even though FCD's win was the first of its kind in MLS history. Hyndman and company slayed the dragon. Marvin Chavez is an American soccer hero.

Yawn?

Perhaps FC Dallas isn't sexy enough to get the blood of American soccer fans pumping. I suppose the reserve side UNAM Pumas sent out against FCD takes the sting out of a one-goal win. Maybe it was the late Wednesday night start, or the fact that the game wasn't on live TV anywhere. Seriously, why wasn't that game on live TV anywhere. If I'm going to be up until midnight on a school night watching soccer, I shouldn't have to go searching for skeevy streams to do it.

Let me propose another possibility for why the excitement over FCD's accomplishment is at levels more appropriate for a win over a USL side in the Open Cup: maybe we're not feeling as inferior as we used to. There's reason to be pretty high on MLS at the moment, and while the o-fer in Mexico hung over the league's head like a cartoon rain cloud, it's not as directly connected to American soccer's relative quality as it once was. If Fabian Espindola didn't turn into a pumpkin at exactly the wrong time earlier this year, RSL would have beaten Monterrey. They nearly did anyway. So we're not as anxious about that Mexico thing anymore.

Probably not though. That's a windy road I've laid out from Point A to Point B. Really, MLS fans that carried the Mexicurse burden are just too relieved, regardless of the how's or why's, to have much of a reaction at all. It's been an ordeal.

Thank God it's over.

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Erring on Eddie

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:56:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

So Eddie's not coming, and the story is now less about whether or not he'd work for - or be wanted by - an MLS team, and more about the PR mess the premature announcement of his signing has become. Trust the league, that Eddie had all but signed on the dotted line and chose the eleventh hour to back out, or believe Eddie and agent Richard Motzkin that there wasn't a firm deal and someone in New York jumped the gun?

It's funny that the signing of a middling American striker with fewer goals to his name in the last two and a half years than clubs has caused such a furor. It's summer in MLS, the playoffs are looming, and everyone is desperate enough to see even Eddie Johnson as a potential solution. MLS has changed, but MLS hasn't changed at all.

The same league that just signed Robbie Keane to a mega-deal also has a skittish Yank balking at whatever it was MLS offered. Maybe MLS did low ball Johnson. I'm not sure I'd blame them if they did. I also wouldn't blame Johnson if he let the lure of home sway his initial answer only to change his mind with more reflection or a whisper of interest elsewhere. I don't know if there's any real reason to assign blame for why the deal didn't actually happen. The only justifiable criticism goes to MLS for choosing to declare Johnson signed before it was a legally consummated fact.

Luckily, no one will moan over the missed opportunity to bring Johnson back home. Although he's just 27, his profile an American is essentially nil. That's a byproduct of his National Team irrelevance and his inability to stick with a team and score more than the odd goal. Might he have been worth a shot back in MLS, a league he knows and is comfortable in? Sure. But I doubt anyone is losing sleep over missing out.

Eddie Johnson made a lot of money in MLS, earned himself a sale to Europe, couldn't hack it on any reasonably high level abroad, finds himself with limited options and a heaping plate of humility, and is unwilling to take the spatula full American soccer wants to give him. So be it. We'll be just fine without him, and the notion that every moderately talented American player that falls flat in Europe should be given a lifeline in MLS is bad policy. Unless, of course, MLS was offering Johnson a contract that would put him in line with forwards of similar accomplishment already playing in MLS. Sure there's a premium for erstwhile National Teamers. It just should be applied across the board.

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Introducing the DYP

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:21:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

There was a conference call I wasn't on this afternoon. I hear that MLS ExViceP Todd Durbin talked about developments on the player acquisition front. Some of it was of the "Hey! Look at what we did!" variety. Some of it was to announce a change in the Designated Player rule that will allow clubs to identify and sign younger players above the usual salary limits. A tiny bit of it was to reveal that the league has signed Eddie Johnson and that GAM will be allocated by the usual means at some point in the next two days.

Whatever the breakout of time spent talking about each topic actually was, it's the new twist on the DP rule that is obviously the talking point. Owners are naturally adverse to risk, which younger players that require DP designations (usually due to transfer fees hitting the cap) are. Who knows how many times coaches have returned from trips to Central and South America giddy over a young player their club could have had for a reasonable fee, only to be told the cap hit would be too large or the club is holding on to DP slots for "accomplished" names. Maybe not that often, but it certainly happens.

"Fairly regularly particularly over the course of the last 12-to-18 months, we've consistently heard from teams that they've identified players like this," Durbin said.

Hopefully this inspires teams unwilling or unable to go after the Robbie Keanes of the world to do like Dallas and find a Fabian Castillo. Players under 20 will count $150k towards the salary budget, and players 21-23 will count $200k. That's strong a incentive, just as lowering the cap hit and allowing clubs to pay it down further with allocation money was meant as an incentive for clubs to use the DP designations they weren't. It did result in a massive rush to sign big names, but it did give teams the ability to sign players just outside the usual MLS limits. Eric Hassli, for example. It would be hard to argue Hassli hasn't been an asset to the Whitecaps and MLS this season.

The rule change also opens the window for MLS clubs to enter increase the league's profile as a seller. MLS is in a unique position as an upwardly mobile league in a country with a high standard of living that can pluck gems out of the relative obscurity points south. All it takes is a few Fabian Castillo coming good to make MLS an attractive destination for other players like him. If they develop, MLS can sell them on and reap some financial benefit.

The rule change might also mean some young American talent that bolted for Europe and better salaries can be enticed to come back. I'm not sure if this will be much of a factor, but there's always a chance a young American that bounded out of the league's grasp to Scandinavia or competitions similar could return to give MLS a boost on the younger end of the American talent spectrum. Sure, we have Brek Shea. But it might be nice to have Josh Gatt, or Mikkel Diskerud or Alejandro Bedoya, too.

And, thanks to the headline I conjured for this post, I have Michael Jackson stuck in my head. Er, a Michael Jackson song, rather.

--

That CCL Thing

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:36:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

So here we go again. Two MLS teams start their CONCAChampions campaigns tonight. After the thrilling, but ultimately disappointing, story of Real Salt Lake to start the year, the tournament that has remained such an MLS bugaboo is back to twist our gonads.

MLS has five teams in the group stages, a new high. Presumably that means a better chance that one or two of those teams can make strong runs deep into the tournament, though some of that will be down to luck. A couple of these clubs have fairly daunting task ahead of them just to make the knockout rounds. Real Salt Lake was a special team through the 2010-2011 tournament. It remains to be seen if any of the MLS clubs in this edition are worthy of that label.

I'll be honest: it doesn't seem like it from where I'm sitting. LA is a good team, might win the Shield and just added a quality (if pricey) striker to augment their attack. But like any LA team of the last few years, their always good for a shocker every now and then. If they have one at the wrong time in the CCL, there won't be a chance for them to do an RSL. See: last year's qualifying series against Puerto Rico.

So there's hope for the Galaxy, partly because they want to wash the taste of last year's debacle out of their mouths. As for the rest of the MLS contingent, FC Dallas should do the league proud. There's not reason to doubt Hyndman, and although Maicon Santos is cup tied and can't play in the competition, the Hoops have the firepower necessary to get them through. Their group is made of a Tauro (Panama), Toronto FC, and Pumas. One seriously tough out, with second place easily attainable if they put forth a reasonable effort. Pumas is planning on playing a reserve side about FCD tomorrow night. That means winning the group should be the goal.

I don't know what to make of the Sounders' chances. Getting off to a good start tonight is crucial, and I hope to see them come through at home. No reason they shouldn't, though stranger things have happened.

And I'll leave TFC aside. As their rebuilding project continues, it's almost impossible to believe they're ready to surprise in the CCL. The win over Real Salt Lake might provide some confidence, but playing in Panama is no one's idea of a picnic.

Here's a good preview of the group stage from Scott French, complete with first round schedule.

I'm certain to be around on Twitter tonight as the games go one, so go ahead and follow me.
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Robbie Keane, The Galaxy's Newest Star

matchfitusa@gmail.com (matchfitusa@gmail.com) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:20:00 +0000

- Jason Davis

Well hello, Robbie Keane. Come on in. Apparently someone is willing to stuff your pockets full of cash on the chance you'll score a bunch of goals and they'll finally have a championship in LA to go with all that spending.

I'd call LA desperate, but since there's no chance AEG is running out of money anytime soon, I'm not sure the label applies. The Galaxy went all-in on 2011 before the season even started. Since Angel was a massive flop, signing Keane is just about the only way they could have increased the pot. It's not a little bit of money. And they had to pay a transfer fee as well.

If you know MLS, you know that's not something the league likes to do. The league likes freebies. Aging European star with thoughts of playing in America? Sure, we'll have you, but be sure your contract is up first. No need to pay a premium for a older model. It's not the MLS has NEVER payed a transfer fee, it's just that they've never paid a multi-million dollar transfer fee for a 31-year old striker.

We'll see if it is worth it from LA's end. A lot of Irish-Americans and American of Irish descent might buy a Keane-o shirts. That will help recoup some of the investment. But this obviously isn't about selling shirts.

I'll say it now - I think Keane will do fine, LA will win the Shield, and we'll all be tapping them as MLS Cup favorites when the playoffs roll around. Whether then win the crap shoot is something else.

And for all the teeth-gnashing about LA getting away with something outside of the rules (not that I've seen this in a lot of places, but it's out there)*, the league needed a bit of intrigue. Aside from Freddy Adu's return to MLS, there hasn't been much to go all atwitter over this summer (pun somewhat intended). Keane's signing came out of nowhere, hung in the air for a few days with no one quite sure if it would get done, and lands with a boom at just the right time for casual fans to start paying attention. Soccer people have heard of Robbie Keane. That still matters.

It also matters that LA charge forward with New York now a smoldering pile of twisted discarded aluminum. One spectacular big market failure is a story. Two big market failures is a disaster headed into November. With LA just about certain to be in the post-season now, it's just a matter of whether the Galaxy's cash splash routine bears fruit when it really counts.

Keane (according to reports) made sure to ask for what I'm calling the "best of both worlds" clause, giving him the freedom to go out on loan to England (or wherever, but probably England) during the MLS off-season so as to stay in form for Ireland (the Euros are coming, and there's qualifying to do). This is now clearly a thing - thank you Mr. Beckham - so be on the look out for more of it in the future. I doubt any MLS club will "like" dealing with such a request, but if the choice is between signing a big player and letting them spend winters playing on loan and not signing said player, there's not much of an option. At some point an MLS team will hold a firm line on this, but since the precedent is set, it won't be soon. It's either deal with it, or only sign marquee names who have retired from international play.

Leave it to Robbie Keane to live up to the jokes flying around the Twittersphere when his transfer rumors hit the internet. Having declared on many previous occasions that whatever club he was joining was the "club he supported as a boy" and was "where he always dreamed of playing", Keane couldn't quite pull that off with the Galaxy. So he didn't what I predicted he would (with a slight allowance for the particular identifier he chose to use) and said he has "dreamed of playing MLS."

Dream fulfilled! Imagine that.

See? He's already delivering what we expect of him.

*I wrote this sentence before word came down that MLS will make an amendment to the DP rule on Tuesday. So...yeah. Might not be related, but the timing is interesting.

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