By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Nov 28, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Turkey, stuffing, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, some pie, and a nap. That is how Thanksgiving is supposed to play out. Luckily, things went according to plan yesterday for myself and the proper indulgence took place. With that sort of spread on display it is easy to forget what this holiday is really all about. Cowboys and Indians, right?
No, seriously. I’ve always thought and been taught that Thanksgiving is an opportunity to take a step or two back and think about all the things that one should be thankful for. Health, happiness, family, prosperity, all those things could make the list. With that theme in mind, it felt like the right time to lay out a list of a few things American soccer fans should be thankful for in this festive season.
Let’s get cliché, shall we? Here are 5 things that fans of American soccer should be thankful for this year:
1. Best Team Won: The Columbus Crew are the 13th champion in Major League Soccer history, and lets face it, the best team won. Things looked a bit shaky when the dreadful New York Red Bulls snuck into the final, but justice prevailed in the end. The Crew were paced by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the Most Valuable Player in 2008. Those of you screaming for a single table format for deciding the leagues champion can relax. For this year at least, the rightful champions were crowned.
2. Donovan To Deutschland: Ya’ll can finally calm down. It looks like Landon Donovan is going to make another foray back into European football with Germany‘s Bayern Munich. The most polarizing figure amongst US soccer circles, Donovan has been (too much maligned for his perceived inability to perform on the biggest stages. He was blamed far too much for the US team’s less than thrilling performance in the 2006 World Cup and is continually chided for not making the jump across the pond. Well, he is going back and it’s his time to prove all of you wrong. Plus, it’s fun to say Bastian Schweinsteiger.
3. National Team Rolling: The Men’s National team cruised through the third round of World Cup qualifying winning five out of their six games and scored 14 goals in the process while only giving up three. They were onto the fourth and final round of qualifying after only four games and were able to blood in a few younger players in the final two round three matches. Overly expectant fans of the National Team will say that they should have passed through round three with ease. Maybe, but qualifying is still an arduous process that cannot be taken for granted. So far it looks like the US Men are up to the task.
4. Young Players Play: Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu have been given an opportunity to shine in the past few matches for the Men’s national team. They haven’t taken any single game by storm, but they have shown the flashes of potential and youthful exuberance which we all know they possess. Other players like Kenny Cooper and Charlie Davies have also been handed brief cameo’s towards the tail end of qualifying. In the end, getting to the World Cup is a “here and now” thing. The players with the most experience will ultimately be given the bulk of minutes when a result is on the line. Still, it’s nice to see a “few for future” afforded the opportunity to show that their time may come a bit quicker than any of us would have expected.
5. Seattle Joining The Fun: Seattle Sounders FC will join the MLS fray in 2009. They already have their designated player in former Arsenal and West Ham midfielder Freddie Ljungberg. They’ve also signed Pacific Northwest native Kasey Keller to play between the pipes. The expansion draft was held last week and the Sounders brass did a decent job with most of their picks. Snagging Nate Jaqua away from the Houston Dynamo was a no-brainer as he gives the new team an established target forward who has proven his ability to hold the ball at this level. They also did well to select young players like Stephen King and Tyson Wahl who have big potential and low salaries.
The head scratcher picks for me were Khano Smith (really? Peter Vagenas (big money, low production and Jarrod Smith. Also, the selection of Jeff Parke boggles the mind a bit as he is out of contract and will most likely take a shot at Europe in the off-season. If he does stay, he will command a salary north of $100,000 and is suspended for the first five games of next season. It will be interesting to see how things go in the first year of MLS soccer in the Emerald City.
There you have it. My picks for what US soccer fans should be thankful for this holiday season. What are you thankful for?
Graig Carbino covers American Abroad and writes a weekly column for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at graiger11@yahoo.com.
