Some Days You Eat the Bear

And some days the bear eats the other guy.

I don't like to get on referees too much - semi-professional courtesy or something like that - but to not acknowledge the, ahem, variable quality of refereeing in the MLS is to ignore the obvious.  Let's put it this way - they're not all Mark Geigers out there.  The Union have been on the wrong side of errant calls several times this year so it only seemed fair when they got the benefit of a questionable decision last Saturday against Chicago.

The Fire had somewhat the better of play in the first half but neither side was able to score.  Chicago took the lead when Chestnut Hill Academy's own Jeff Larentowicz executed a perfect header off a set piece.  The Union did battle gamely and were "rewarded" in the 89th minute when LeToux's shot "was handled" in the box by Chicago defender Segares.  Check out the replay.  How is this remotely to close to "hand to ball?"  He was turning away from the shot, which was at close range (another factor that referees are instructed to take into account when considering a possible infraction for handling). His arm was tucked into his side; his forearm was extended out but the ball struck him where his arm was against his body.  The only way to prevent the ball from hitting his elbow would have been to cut off his arm.  Frankly, I wouldn't have called a hand ball even if the ball had struck his extended forearm because it still wouldn't have been "hand to ball."  But it was called, LeToux converted the PK and the Union got a point on the road, from a losing position no less.

This team could go either way right now.  The rumors of Carlos Valdez returning abound but nothing yet.


The Union's second match this week was a friendly versus English side Crystal Palace.  This was a squad that was promoted last year to the EPL, struggled early, and then came on strong - probably the best side in the last 10 games of the season - to finish 11th, well clear of relegation threat.  We got to see the match live.  Other than the fact the Crystal Palace were bigger, stronger, faster, more technically skilled and more creative, I'd say the sides were evenly matched.  Mackenzie remarked, "It's like they're all from the English Premier League or something."  To their credit, the Union hung tough.  Mostly because of an amazing performance by rookie keeper Andre Blake.  The only guy to beat him was teammate Ethan White.  I have not read exactly what happened on the play - miscommunication, poorly executed header, other - but White's back header was neither to Blake or a clearance but a soft rainbow into the Union net.  To be fair, Crystal Palace deserved the win; Blake robbed them several times on clear cut chances.  The Union also had their chances late but Wheeler's shot hit the side of the net and Hoppenot couldn't get to LeToux's seemingly perfect cross to the far post.  Enjoyable night at the park in any case.

We did not see NBC Sports Premier League host, Rebecca Lowe, but as a lifelong Crystal Palace fan, she may well have been in attendance last night.



Chester Blues

Two weeks away from the season opener versus Newcastle and some personnel decisions remain.  A decent run of friendlies including a draw in Glasgow versus the legendary Rangers.  I did pick up another player who speaks Portuguese and am no longer getting feedback from my assistants that Rui Santos is having trouble communicating with teammates.  Going very slowly because the rules regarding personnel are a little different than in the lower leagues.  Don't want to find myself shorthanded in November because of a mistake in setting up the roster in August. 


Three weeks until the EPL opens.  We've just noticed that there is a Fillebrown Derby - Newcastle v Aston Villa - in the second week of the season.  Precious little time for reverse trash talking - why the other side will win.

And Then It Was Over

How can 64 games go by so quickly?

The consensus at 6911 was that it was a final worthy of this World Cup.  It was a decidedly pro-Argentina crowd; only Jeff H was supporting Germany.  Fortunately, being a Man United fan, Jeff is used to everybody rooting against his team.  Late in the game though, everybody was hoping for a winner - regardless of side - so the match would not come down to PKs and hoping that the winning goal was of high quality.  Though the marking on Goetze was shaky, the run and cross by Schurrle and the trap and finish by Goetze left everybody satisfied, though none more than Jeff.

Argentina had more chances but Germany converted when it counted.  No one was doubting that Germany were the better side in this match and in the tournament as a whole.  I'm going to miss saying "Schweinsteiger" until probably the later stages of the upcoming Champions League campaign.


Odds and Ends

Favorite goals of the tournament, in no particular order:

van Persie versus Spain - completely laid out to reach the pass and make the header
Brooks versus Ghana - snatching victory from the jaws of a draw
Jones versus Portugal - a lightning bolt that indicated the run of play was turning
Goetze versus Argentina - saved us from PKs
Messi versus Iran - a quality moment late to snatch a win

Speaking of Messi, was he so glum heading up to receive the Golden Ball, awarded to the tournament's best player, because 1) they had just lost the final 2) he didn't think he deserved it 3) Germany had their wives and girlfriends on the field but no one was there to console the Argentines 4) all of the above?  It was a less than popular choice.  Some conspiracy theorists (you FIFA conspiracy theorists - an organization that selected Qatar fair and square to host the 2022 World Cup is beyond reproach) suggest it was all about marketing position for adidas.

I am always a little skeptical of "definitive" player ratings but for what it's worth, this article highlights the top rated players of the tournament.  Germany's Kroos gets the highest score, narrowly, over Arjen Robben, who will face tough competition from Thomas Mueller for the Golden Globe for best actor.

Speaking of best actor, there was only one booking for simulation - Oscar in the third place game - and disappointingly, it looks like he was actually fouled on the play.  Still waiting on Dennis's Ronaldo score but it could be a zero.

And lastly, can there be any doubt that the statue that towers over Rio is not Christ the Redeemer but, in fact, the Patron Saint of Bad Calls.

 



More Newcastle Signings!

The July transfer window continues to be productive for the Magpies.  The deals for Dutch defender Janmaat and Monaco striker Riviere are done.  Janmaat's signing neatly addresses the loss of Debuchy.  Riviere provides the scoring punch that was going to be lacking without Loic Remy.  These signings could put Newcastle on the path to, dare I say it, a solid mid-table finish.  This has been their history - sign young talent at attractive rates, hope to get 2-4 years and then sell them for more than the original transfer fee.  Mostly I'm thrilled to see them active and decisive.


MLS I-95 Derby

Would have to say those were two tired teams that took the field Wednesday night as the New York Harrison Red Bulls traveled south to face the Philadelphia Chester Union (at least the Union play in the same state as their fake home name).  Neither side was particularly dynamic in the first half.  The Red Bulls had the run of play but it was a great combination play from Casey to Wenger back to Casey that resulted in the only goal of the first half.  Both teams looked a little more lively in the second half, more so New York but again the Union scored against the run of play.  At 2-0 up, at home, every Union fan was quaking in his/her shoes because we knew how this was going to end.  NY got their first goal in the 60th minute and were attacking relentlessly.  Too much time left.  Then, we got a big break when Tim Cahill fouled Edu in the box.  Some will say it was a soft call and Edu may have grabbed Cahill first; maybe, but if you don't want to get called, keep your arms down.  LeToux buried the PK (how come he wasn't carded for jumping into the stands afterwards?) and the Union held on for just their second victory at home this season.  They now sit in sixth, one point out of the last playoff spot but everybody above them has played fewer games.  We keep hearing about the return of Carlos Valdez, which would go a long way to settling the back line, but nothing so far.


 A little over four weeks until the EPL starts.  Better get some rest now.

Who Are Those Guys?

They had the yellow jerseys but was that really Brazil?

After a rousing group stage and round of 16, the quarters and semis have been less satisfying.  Not much on my mind in advance of Sunday's final.

I keep waiting to hear about a fight in the Brazilian lockerroom before the Germany match.  Something like one player found out another player was sleeping with his wife/girlfriend/mother.  They were a team only in that they had the same color jerseys.  Lest we forget, Brazil put a lot of pressure on Germany, with an aggressive attack in the first 20 minutes of that match.  Except in retrospect, it was reckless and undisciplined, not aggressive.  Just after the second goal, ESPN's Steve McManaman said Brazil were "going to go down by a lot more if they continue like this."  But they did, so they did.

Netherlands did an excellent job containing Messi in the second semi.  But they generated nothing themselves.  And the Dutch were out of subs before the shoot out so Tim Krul could not save them this time.  Aston Villa's Ron "Ikea Bookcase" Vlaar had an excellent tournament so it was a little sad to see him miss the first PK in the shoot out.  Dennis, I worry that the Villans will be able to keep him long-term.  One of those nasty top tier EPL squads is going to snatch him away.

Interesting segment on last week's Men in Blazers podcast asking what would you say to Chris Wondolowski if you ran into him on the street.  Rog and Davo didn't say it exactly this way but I took the gist of the discussion to be that we'll know soccer has come of age in the US when a play like that missed shot generates the same level of notoriety as say, Bill Buckner's error in game six of the 1986 World Series.


Not Cabaye, not Remy, but Remy Cabella

Newcastle seem to have finally acquired key transfer target Remy Cabella.  This would complete a long and circuitous journey that began back in January shortly after the departure of Yohan Cabaye.  Along with the addition of Siem De Jong, the Magpies have made significant strides to improve the team.  But, Debuchy is probably lost to Arsenal so the right back spot will need to be filled and we still need a quality striker.

...plus c'est la même chose

The Union under interim manager Jim Curtin have had some successes but ultimately the team hasn't really changed.  Take tonight's 3-3 draw with Colorado.  At 77 minutes, they were sitting on a 3-1 lead.  Two of the Union goals were high quality.  On one, Casey switched the field with a pass out to Gaddis on the right, then continued his run into the box in time to receive a perfect return cross from Gaddis; the second was a beautiful corner from Maidana that Williams had time to run onto and head into the far corner.  But alas, a defensive mistake by Fabinho allowed one back, Lahoud's rash challenge in the box yielded a PK and a red card and with the man advantage Colorado got the equalizer (Mackenzie's least favorite word) in the 86th minute.  Two more points lost from a winning position at home.  The Union are interesting to watch partly because they are capable of attractive attacking play and partly out of morbid curiousity as to how when they will self-destruct.

Speaking of MLS, here's a reminder for when the World Cup is over.  MLS is not the same as World Cup soccer.  It's not going to, ever, have the same level of quality or intensity.  If you turn on MLS expecting to have the same product as the World Cup, you're going to be disappointed, big time.  I suspect it partially explains the graph below from Doghouse Diaries:



I would have a slight quibble that the non-World Cup year levels have crept up slightly each year but the basic point is correct.  The same thing happens to Olympic sports like track and field or gymnastics.  I would suggest in Europe there is a drop off too but probably not anywhere near to the same extent.  Not sure what my point is here - I guess it's partly managing expectations.  You can't expect the MLS to simply capture many fans off of the World Cup.  You have to build the fan base from the ground up.



Hoping it is an interesting WC Final.

Howay the lads

Or lad anyway.  Tim Krul, regular keeper for Newcastle, was at the center of a dramatic finish between Costa Rica and the Netherlands as he stopped two of five Costa Rican kicks from the spot.  Of the four quarter final matches, only the Costa Rica - Netherlands contest delivered drama like we saw in the Round of Sixteen.



Even though the other matches were all decided by one goal, they were decidedly lacking in excitement.  France seemed thoroughly bored with the whole thing and didn't even mount serious challenges in the final minutes despite being down just 0-1.  Are the Germans that good?

Brazil - Columbia was a thugfest that featured 31 fouls by Brazil and 23 from Columbia.  Spanish referee Carballo came under heavy fire, for any number of transgressions - allowing Neymar to get hacked, allowing Rodriguez to get hacked, not issuing yellow cards sooner to possibly stem the hacking.  Laura O. offers a FIFA conspiracy explanation: the referee was informed by FIFA officials before the match to be careful with the yellow cards because so many Brazil players were carrying a yellow card and another would put them out of the semi-finals.  FIFA and conspiracy?  I would be shocked.  Shocked.  A touching, literally, moment afterwards as David Luiz consoled a distraught James Rodriguez.



A BFS disgression.  My first reaction to the Neymar foul was to yell at him to get up.  I felt bad for a few minutes after he was carried to the lockerroom on a stretcher and later when the news came out that he had a fracture vertebrae.  But here's the thing.  Neymar (and many others) react the same way to phantom fouls or trifling contact.  Sure he's rolling on the pitch in agony but how many times do you see him limp off only to reappear - fresh as daisy - as soon as play restarts?  Here's my ranking of  injury-related misbehavior:

1) Grabbing a body part in agony that clearly wasn't contacted (i.e. contact on the shoulder grab the face)
2) Grabbing any body part in agony when there clearly was no contact
3) Grabbing any body part in agony when the force of the contact was no stronger than a six month old baby could deliver

When these practices stop, we might be more sympathetic to your plight.  We now return to your regular programming.

Ah, Belgium.  They did not go down as meekly as the French but it was close.  Perhaps nothing exemplified the Belgians' disappointment more than the substitution of Eden Hazard in the 75th minute after another less than overwhelming performance.  Much credit to Higuain for the winning tally; unlike many others in this tournament, he was unafraid to fire away as soon as the ball was on his foot.  If he had taken a touch to assess the situation, the opening would likely have disappeared; he knew where he was, the goal is where it always is, no need to calibrate, just shoot.


What Was He Thinking? Brilliant Strategy

In the closing stages of the second extra period in the Netherlands - Costa Rica match, the camera showed the Dutch back up keeper warming up on the sidelines.  Surely, van Gaal is not going to substitute Krul for the impending shoot-out.  Except that he is.  Dennis wonders if he's overthinking this.  I wonder why he still has a substitute left; might not have a set of fresh legs provided the extra edge for a goal in the run of play?  The announcers note that Krul was 0-5 last year in the EPL and 2-20 in his career at stopping PKs.  Okay, he's two inches taller than Cillessen.  But Cillessen had just made a game saving stop and Krul was coming in cold.  The cons seemingly outweigh the pros by a wide margin.

Then of course, Krul goes the right way on every attempt, saving two, at pretty much full horizontal extension.  So much could have gone wrong but it didn't and van Gaal looks like an effing genius.  The web is full of additional reasons why the Dutch manager did this and some of them make sense.

A. Any Costa Rican preparation for a shoot-out would have likely been based on videos of Cillessen.  This moved might have rendered the scouting information useless.
B. The switch might have surprised the Costa Ricans, possibly creating uncertainty in their minds.
C. By making such an audacious move, van Gaal was trying to take the pressure off the players - if we lose it's because of this crazy tactic.
D. Krul is better at the mind games during a shoot-out
E. Krul speaks better Spanish than Cillessen and would be more effective in his trash talking.

Okay, I made the last one up.  Doesn't mean it might not be true though.  Krul is taking some heat for his behavior.  I was a bit surprised that the referee allowed him to get so close to the players.  But it is standard practice for keepers to have a some antics to distract the shooters and, though I didn't notice it, some observers said Navas tried similar, if not as bold, tactics on the Dutch.

The puns are flying but I will leave you with just one: I have always maintained that shoot-outs are a Krul way to decide a winner.

Are You Not Entertained?

Russell Crowe could not have said it better.  A riveting Round of 16.  Five of the eight matches went to extra time and two of those went to kicks from the spot.  One of the three that didn't go to extra time was decided in stoppage time. Technically no upsets as all the group stage winners managed to move on to the quarter finals but some of the pre-tournament favorites were taken to the limit.

What Could Have Been

The following is no way intended to pin the US loss entirely on Chris Wondolowski, just to note the cruel irony of the timing.  At 91:44 Ian Darke said of Wondo, "Bet he's thinking,'Just show me one chance. One chance.'" At 92:21 that one chance came. At 92:40 Mackenzie said, "You had just one job. One job."


Of course there were other reasons we didn't advance.  Turnovers, inability to possess the ball, not putting shots on frame.  Some will lay/have laid the blame squarely at the feet of Klinsmann.  The argument goes that we would have done better if he did a better job of developing talent, picking the right personnel, employing more aggressive tactics on the pitch, etc.  And for all we know a bear can drive a car if we can only figure out how to give him instructions in "bear."


I had hoped to see more of the vision and skill that we saw in the qualifying and friendlies.  And some of the personnel decisions, on the margin, might have been better.  But we made it out of a tougher group than 2002 or 2010 - when the odds clearly suggested a less than 50/50 chance - and took one of the better sides in the world to extra time.  And, it's not Klinsmann's fault (at least not yet) that we can't replace an Altidore with a Lukaku.  Comparisons with other countries aren't relevant at this point, as long as the NBA and the NFL essentially get first dibs on talent.  If LeBron James was from Costa Rica, he would have been an attacking forward alright, just in a different sport - we'd know him as Lebron James (pronounced "HAM-ez").

Side note - maybe we need to focus on our physio staff.  About 20% of our roster had hamstring problems.  What's up with that.  Full disclosure - I tore my hamstring last fall but I am two or three times older than these guys and while I have a decent exercise regimen, I have to fit it in as best I can.  It's their job to be fit and the job of the physios to help keep them fit.



Arjen Robben, Patrick Stewart and the PK




Separated at birth?  That possibility is much more flattering for Stewart, aged 73 than for Robben, who is just 30.  Similarities go beyond looks.  They are both well-paid for their thespian activities.  There's also a football connection; Stewart is a life-long fan of Huddersfield Town (2nd division in English football).

While I agree that Robben totally embellished the play in the box late versus Mexico, I will also suggest that the two pictures below indicate that it was still a foul.



It was a careless challenge by Marquez with no chance of getting the ball; he stuck his leg out between Robben and the ball.  That Robben then executed a perfect swan dive doesn't negate the foul.  Herrera was furious with the referee but some would argue he took dos Santos out too early, sacrificing offense for defense and allowing the Dutch to attack relentlessly for the last half hour.


Cooling Breaks

Some seem offended by this.  Maybe they should be offended by FIFA's practice of scheduling games in hot weather climates and then, doubling down on the decision, playing them at the hottest part of the day.  I've allowed them a few times in intramural matches, especially when teams are low on subs.


Mark Geiger

Got an assignment in the Round of 16 (France vs Nigeria), first ever for an American.  I thought he did okay, maybe not as well as he did in his two earlier matches.  The Nigerian coach wasn't too pleased, feeling Geiger didn't whistle the French for several fouls. There was a hard foul by Matuidi that might have deserved a red instead of yellow card.   I haven't seen all the assignments for the quarter finals but wonder whether something like that will end his tournament, especially with so few matches left.


Most Valuable Fan Award  - Four Legged Division

Can show this now that the goal doesn't hurt so much.  Man's best friend indeed.



The Quarter Finals

Friday noon - France vs Germany (want France - Newcastle connection and all)
Friday 4 pm - Columbia vs Brazil (want Columbia - new blood in semis)
Saturday noon - Argentina vs Belgium (want Belgium - been following them for a couple of years now)
Saturday 4 pm - Netherlands vs Costa Rica (slight preference for Netherlands)


In Other News

The Union played well on the road with LeToux getting a brace of goals on the way to a 3-1 win over the Revolution.

And in case you haven't noticed, the EPL transfer window is open.  Diego Costa has moved from Atletico to Chelsea for a mere 35 million pounds.  Liverpool, adding, ahem, more teeth to their attack signed Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.  Poor Southampton - coming off the club's best finish in club history - have lost their manager and several key players (Luke Shaw has gone to Man Utd).  No wonder the top six positions are impossible to crack. Newcastle added Siem de Jong (Luuk,I am your brother - no really, he is the older brother of Luuk de Jong, who underwhelmed in his loan stint with the Magpies in the second half of last season).



Chew on this conservative pundits - I'll be spending the Fourth of July watching football.  And you should too.