Have you ever noticed that when a favored team doesn't dominate, it's rarely taken as a statement about the surprising quality of the opposition?
By Andrew Dixon
MIAMI, FL (Jun 12, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- You know what this Grown Man looks forward to?
I look forward to the day where I can be a soccer snob.
Not that I ever would. I just want the option.
I welcome the day when the United States becomes a dominant force in international soccer and I have the opportunity to look down on other nations.
I want to have the right be able to dismiss the achievements of inferior soccer nations, effect a supercilious facial expression at lower soccer nation’s claims of equal footing with American, soccer and give patronizing statements like “wow, it looks like they’ve learned how to play football…a little”
I long for the day we as a footballing nation get to this point because, MAN, am I tired of hearing it from fans of nations in the top 10 whenever they don’t beat the US 8-0. It seems that unless we roll over like dogs for the big name football nations and lose by some catastrophic score line akin to an Australia v. Solomon Islands aggregate from earlier this decade, it’s automatically due to some deficiency in the other team rather than anything the US did.
This is far from a new phenomenon. Respect and US soccer rarely are found in the same sentence outside of these shores despite the gains American soccer has made over the past 20 years. Yes, one quarterfinal finish doesn’t automatically make you a world contender, but it also doesn't put you in the pack with the no opers striving for something resembling respectability.
After the Argentina game at Exit 16W on Sunday, I sent a text to an Argentine friend who was there. His immediate response was how Argentina took off all of their players in the 2nd half. Had they stayed on, he continued, Argentina would have scored two or three times. I emailed another friend of mine I’ve known since college who said that it wasn’t a good game for Argentina.
Even the Argentine media outlet Clarin jumped in, saying that the US and Argentina were boring. Really? Four first half saves, a cross bar, two sending offs and we get boring?
Now, the first cat was born here but bleeds albiceleste through and through while the second was born in Argentina, so these statements were about what I expected. Neither made much sense considering that first half. Didn’t Argentine attackers carve our defense to shreds with their brilliant off the ball runs and deft passing in the first half? Didn’t Julio Cruz have four chances on goal by himself? Didn’t Argentina play 15 minutes up a man due to that mysterious red card given to Pablo Mastroeni?
If you’re the #1 team in the world, exactly how many more opportunities do you need to score? How much time do you need to beat a supposedly inferior team? Yes, Lionel Messi came off after 45 minutes. Then again, when you have players like Gabriel Heinze, Ferando Gago, and Maxi Lopez still on the field and bring on Javiar Zanetti as a second half sub, you’re not exactly playing out the string with the scrubs.
Besides, I don’t think it was a great game for the US. Our midfield didn’t create many chances for our forward(s), and when they did they weren’t even close to converted. Our best chances were a deflection off of Heinze’s heel and Oguchi Onyewu’s header off the cross bar. The US battled, held possession against a team that was technically superior, and at times made Argentina a bit uncomfortable.
The game against Spain was more of the same. The press reports all talked about how Spain was “unconvincing” in their win over the US, how they were sluggish in the first half. That ignored the fact that defensively the US was able to maintain possession for decent periods of time while frustrating the Spanish side to the extent that the hosts were left lobbing long balls towards lone striker Fernando Torres.
So where’s the love? Oh, that’s right. We’re not at THAT level. So the snobbery continues.
The thing is, this superciliousness isn’t limited to teams that don’t blow the US out. It’s really all the big sides. Take Italy for example. The Italian press all but guaranteed a victory. The Dutch defense is weak and their past lacked attacking flair , said Il Gazzetto. After the Azzurri got whipped, they predictably lamented the absence of Fabio Cannavaro, blamed the referee especially regarding the opening goal. Here's coach Roberto Donadoni, saying that Holland was “anything but irresistible, and was certainly a long way from the spectacular teams of Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens.”
Really? Because it looked to this Grown Man that Holland came out the more aggressive, winning all the 50/50 balls, keeping possession and killing the game not with a controversial own goal but, with a coast to coast fast break counter attack the Lakers would appreciate. I’m sorry, but didn’t Holland come into this one ranked 10th in the world?
It appears that the the big nations haven’t quite gotten the memo that the world of football is getting smaller. Players from all over the world are making their marks in some of the world’s biggest leagues, from the smaller nations of the Caribbean and Central America to the countries of Asia and Africa. While there will always be the haves and have nots in international football, even countries will less international success step on to the field of play with the ability to do positive things.
Even when a top team doesn’t play to its highest level, the lesser regarded side still has to make plays to and put the favorites in uncomfortable positions. Holland didn’t just show up and walk away with a 3-0 win. Similarly the US did some positive things to get a result against the #1 team in the world. Why is that so hard to see?
So bring on Barbados. I want the US to blow out the Bajan Rockets over the two legs. However, I will give Barbados their props for whatever positive things they do over the two legs. As a fan of the United States, I know what it’s like to have your good play ignored.
I am not a soccer snob. I’m just One Grown Man who appreciates everyone who plays the beautiful game.
Andrew Dixon is a soccer writer based in Miami and a weekly columnist for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at: golnoir@golnoir.net
