There Was Soccer This Week?

Between the Copa America and the Euro Championships, some days there were up to five matches.  Too much to address in a comprehensive manner so we will revert to the usual BFS strategy of focusing on random issues and silly themes.


Yankee Stay Home

But first some serious business.

So the USMNT survived Yedlin's sending off and beat Paraguay 1-0 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.  They will play Ecuador on Thursday night in Seattle.  The US is an underdog, if only a slight one here.  Possibly the venue could work in the US favor as it may feel more like a home match, although ticket prices are keeping attendance below what it might have been as discussed here.

Watching the US over these three matches leaves me with a familiar feeling.  As in, the other team always has better soccer players but when the US team feels like grinding it out, they can win. That was the team's trademark and it worked to a certain extent but was never (IMHO, anyway) going to get us to a World Cup final or even a semi-final.  I thought Klinsmann was brought in to change that.  But here it is five years later and we still only have success when we go back to the old ways.  Does that mean he's failed?  Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal; the money quote:

If the idea of staying strong defensively and attempting to exploit openings when they appear sounds familiar, that’s because it comes right out of the playbook of former U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who took the team to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2002. It’s a gameplan that has also been adopted by practically every other coach who has ever led a team saddled with a talent gap, because it can be incredibly effective.

Yes, it can be incredibly effective but I don't think it gets you beyond the quarters in a World Cup.  Until we "unsaddle the talent gap," we may be stuck on a merry go-round.  Lose trying to play a style not supported by the talent or be satisfied winning an occasional Gold Cup or getting out of the group stage at the World Cup.

Okay, on to the more fun stuff.


Iggy Pop Leads Peru Into Quarters

Peru, managed by Iggy Pop twin Ricardo Gareca (see below), pulled off the upset of the Copa America tournament with a 1-0 win against Brazil.  Yes, the winning goal was clearly propelled into the net by the arm of Ruidiaz.  Yes, some type of official review process probably would have overturned the decision.  But they don't have that.  Brazil were eliminated with the result and likely feel hard done by the whole thing but we note a) Peru probably should have been awarded a PK for a foul in the box in the first half and b) Brazil scored exactly zero goals against teams not named Haiti.  A very indifferent performance overall and that  should be Brazil's focus, not the bad call.




Same Hair Stylists

We note that Abby Wambach and Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami obviously have their hair done by the same person.  He has bigger earrings though.




We're Gonna Need a Bigger Stadium

Entire population of Iceland attends opening match

Favorite match from the first round of group stage play was easily Iceland's 1-1 draw against the petulant Ronaldo and Portugal.  Thirty thousand Icelanders, or 10% of the population, were in attendance.  For any other country in the competition, packing that percentage into a stadium would require a much, much bigger venue.  Portugal had them on the ropes but could not add to a 1-0 lead.  At 50 minutes Birkir Bjarnason leveled things, completely against the run of play.  This seemed to reinvigorate "Our Boys" and the defending was resolute to the end.


I'm A Goalie Not A Model

Gabor Kiraly (left)  is Hungary's keeper.  He wears gray sweatpants.  He is known as "Pyjama Man."  He looks like he belongs in a Sunday pick up game.  He also held Austria scoreless on Tuesday.  John Kruk would be proud.


Chester Blues Honor Roll

I counted five current or former Chester Blues making appearances in the first round. Paul Pogba had mostly an indifferent performance for France vs Romania.  John Guidetti came on as a sub for Sweden and wasn't terrible.  Zoltan Gera wore and played the number 10 for Hungary in their fine 2-0 upset of Austria. Check out the excellent "Lambeau Leap" by goal scorer Szalai.  And for the surprising Iceland, we had Gylfi Sigurdsson (not his best but possibly because of spending so much time defending) and Kari Arnason (solid as center defender).


If It's Underachieving, This Must Be Belgium

Sure they have a collection of great players but do they know how to function as a team.  I swear it's like watching Newcastle all over again.  The whole is less than the sum of the parts.  Did you see anything resembling the second ranked team in the world on the pitch against Italy?  Gli Azzurri (The Blues) earned that 2-0 win with an well-organized defense and timely counterattacking.  Wait, didn't I just say that's not the way to win a major tournament? 


More to Come

Too much to go over but everything is on TV.  For Copa check FoxSports1 or 2 and for the Euro Championships, ESPN has you covered.  Streaming is available for both.

Now, where's the remote?