04/27/24
March 25, 2007
US 3-1 Ecuador: Playing again at the level of 2001-2004 (that is, from leading the Earthquakes to the 2001 and 2003 MLS championships and the US to within a single late goal of the final four in the 2002 World Cup and before his winter visit with Bayern Leverkusen), Landon Donovan scored a hat trick over higher-ranked Ecuador and the US back four plus newcomer Bennie Feilhaber stood up against a strong set of forwards. Sunil Gulati, inquiring minds want to know when you're going to end this absurd search for a permanent coach; with this and the previous 2-0 win over Mexico and his inclusion of young talent, Bob Bradley has earned the removal of the interim tag.
posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 02:14 PM - 21 comments
Nobody has anything else? Man. I've been dogging Landon for a while because of deciding he'd rather live within his comfort zone of Southern California instead of trying to push himself overseas... but since he married Bianca, he seems to have really upped his game. I just want to see how we'll do outside of US borders.
posted by igottheblues at 12:02 AM on March 26, 2007
Come play Ireland, you'll hammer us. And then maybe the team will cop on and start playing again. Or maybe you should play England, they seem to be as crap as us at the moment too.
posted by Fence at 02:59 AM on March 26, 2007
I've bagged Donovan on this site before, but I have always acknowledged he's at his best when running at players through the middle. A couple of his goals were absolute screamers.
posted by owlhouse at 03:05 AM on March 26, 2007
Donovan had a terrific game; the team did well as a whole. He looks like he's gained a step or two. Now he needs to be consistent and he has a chance against Guatemala. Form is temporary. Class is permanent.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 06:02 AM on March 26, 2007
That third goal was something to see. I'm not ready to jump on the Donovan bandwagon just yet. He disappeared for a couple of years and two good games don't mean a return. I do hope, however, that he continues to put good performances together.
posted by trox at 08:56 AM on March 26, 2007
Trox, I'm with you. This summer will be a huge challenge for the US men, with the Gold Cup and Copa America right on top of each other. A win in the first and a good result in the second--getting out of a group with Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia will be challenging--would show the team is climbing back from the misery that was Germany.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:12 AM on March 26, 2007
Oh, do you play real sports in the US too? ;p Decent crowd for a friendly.
posted by Abiezer at 11:05 AM on March 26, 2007
I'm certainly a skeptic when it comes to Donovan's run of form. Two games of dazzle certainly do not mark a return to prior heights. However, I just want so badly to believe that the USMNT is coming together and that we'll have an excellent run over the summer. I don't expect much from the Copa America, though. I don't believe we're sending our first choice players there.
posted by igottheblues at 12:18 PM on March 26, 2007
Of course, we won't have Landon at either the World Cup or the Copa America. So much for showing leadership.
posted by igottheblues at 12:57 PM on March 26, 2007
And those are the exact games where I need to see him play well in order to buy the hype again.
posted by trox at 01:08 PM on March 26, 2007
From blues' link: Los Angeles missed the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time last season. Now that's hard to do.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 04:06 PM on March 26, 2007
No one player is above their team and I think the USMNT has a little bit more importance than the Los Angeles Galaxy. I would love to see Bradley do to Donovan like Domenech did in France with Makalele.
posted by igottheblues at 11:08 PM on March 26, 2007
I would love to see Bradley do to Donovan like Domenech did in France with Makalele Are we talking field positions here? Makalele plays in front of the back four as a holding midfield player. I don't think Donovan does that. That would mean teaching him to tackle, for a start. If he does play, he has to be given a free role somewhere between the midfield and the strikers.
posted by owlhouse at 12:10 AM on March 27, 2007
I think he's talking identured service, rather than positioning Owlhouse. 1 2 3 Makelele retired from international football after France lost to Italy at the World Cup, but Domenech insisted that as long as Makelele was playing at a good enough level, he would keep picking him for France and if he failed to show up he would invoke a FIFA rule that makes a player ineligible for two domestic club games if they don't report for an international call up. So Makelele is still turning out for the French, although he hopes that Domenech will let him retire if he helps the French to qualify for Euro08.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:52 AM on March 27, 2007
Exactly what Bismarck said. If Landon is in good enough shape to be playing for club, he certainly can play for country. Especially if he's going to go around talking about leadership. Although, I think Domenech was in the wrong to force a retired Makalele to come out for Les Blues.
posted by igottheblues at 02:25 AM on March 27, 2007
US soccer is a joke! It's like a college all-star game. They take the best conditioned college players and put them on the field. Landon Donovan is the only player out there with any decent skill. But not much after that. The reason he is comfortable playing in the states is because he is a star. If he goes elsewhere, he is mediocre at best. They always play in the lamest conference to qualify for any of the world cups. They play third world countries that suck. Mexico is their only competition and they don't go anywhere in any of the world cups either. That doesn't say much for the US. Last world cup the US team were so cocky. The problem with that is, you have to show up to play....and win! P.s. That Bruce Arena needs to be let go. His voice and commentating is horrible. Another fine example that the US don't know what talent is and give the job to a hack who put his time in.
posted by koolhandvuk at 08:40 AM on March 27, 2007
Another example of how stupid US Soccer and the league is....Alexi Lalas as president of the LA Galaxy. He was instrumental in negotiating the Beckham deal. What a joke. Lalas was freak when he played and now is a franchise president. Also, Beckham who is past his prime and never was the elit of players in the world but was a poster boy for fame and celebrity is near his career and was benched before siging this huge deal. Another reason US Soccer is a joke. They give big salaries that they can't afford to aging over the hill european players but only pay their current players $60K. What a joke.
posted by koolhandvuk at 08:48 AM on March 27, 2007
That was a cracker of a third goal, and a generally good all-round performance. The problem facing the US national team is that they're throttled by geography and a summer domestic season. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is, let's face it, pretty lame; a good showing in the Copa America would be much more valuable. But if players won't leave their clubs and the coach isn't prepared to put his foot down then the team just stews until World Cup qualification begins.
posted by etagloh at 04:41 PM on March 27, 2007
Igottheblues, you got it right. Nice link. As a longtime Donovan basher, I will preface the following by saying he has played admirably the past few games. I can not imagine that a player that wears the captains armband would choose club over country. As a player that has been to the Cup and underachieved, he should make it a priority to represent his country in those tournaments. I can see sitting out a few friendlies. I guess he forgot his 18 month scoreless streak now that he is the flavor of the month. If he does decide to sit it wouldn't be a terrible thing. We could see better players playing his position and maybe he would lose his starting spot.
posted by urall cloolis at 08:53 PM on March 27, 2007
Thanks for the explanation, guys. I must have missed it when it was in the news. I wish I was good enough for a coach to want to force me to come out of international retirement. Unfortunately Graeme Arnold doesn't scout the Brunswick Valley Over 35s.
posted by owlhouse at 09:03 PM on March 27, 2007
I can't say I enjoy the new blue pinstrip kits.