There Is No Off Season

With EPL and MLS overlap there never really was but it seems even crazier these last 18 months.  The Euros and Copa America ended this weekend but Gold Cup started up and runs to August 1.  EPL regular season starts Friday 8/13.  Oh yeah, there'll be Olympic soccer as well from 7/21 to 8/7.   Do not take that as a complaint though.

England Mimic Spurs

It was like watching a Jose Mourinho coached squad all over again.  Luke Shaw gave England a quick lead with a goal in the third minute (and there was much rejoicing).  They played reasonably well for another 15-20 minutes.  Then nothing.  We saw this movie all year with Tottenham. With the same result. 

The good thing about the early goal was it meant we would not see much catatonia catenaccio from Italy.  The Azzurri took a little while to recover from the quick score but slowly gained control of the match.  They were on the front foot from about 30 minutes on; credit to the England back line for keeping them out of the 18 for awhile.  Eventually Italy broke through on a scrum in front of the goal in the 67th minute - deserved if not pretty.  

Fitting for this tournament, we went to extra time (8th time in the 15 knockout games).  Nothing in the extra time.  Fitting for this tournament, we went to a shootout (4th time in the 15 knockout games).  Southgate went tactical and put in two subs in the 119th minute - Rashford and Sancho - who were theoretically solid PK takers.  Except both missed.  So did Saka and Italy took the title 3-2 in the shootout. 

Though I would have preferred to see England prevail, I am happy to see Roberto Mancini achieve success on the world stage.  Same with Chiellini.  And it's not like Italy weren't solid the whole tournament.  My early reads of the English press don't show Southgate getting raked over the coals though many point out some of the team's - and his - shortcomings.  Given this was the first appearance in a final in a long time, one would expect Southgate gets the chance to manage the team through next year's World Cup.

Overall, a fascinating tournament that was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.  

You Know 'Zactly Who I Mean

Not your typical assistant manager

Surprised I did not get to this sooner.  It was hard not to notice Alberico Evani (photo left) on the sidelines advising Roberto Mancini.  He has a very, um, distinctive appearance.  I thought he was straight out of a Peter Sellers movie.  We weren't the only ones who took notice.  Check out this article in Mr. Porter, a British on-line fashion store that apparently also publishes a journal.  So many great lines.  I'll go with this one:

He should be in a piazza in Rome drinking Campari and tutting, not doing anything as vulgar as setting up a training session or telling a defender where to stand on a patch of grass. 

Don't miss the link at the end of the article if you want one of those jackets for yourself.  Also, how many soccer blogs do you know with a quoting fashion journals?

Only If Europe For It

We certainly ran through a lot of puns during the tournament.  Some late entries:

As the Spanish midfielder could not get to a cross in the box:  Apparently things do not go better with Koke

As Denmark are threatening England with incisive attacks: The English are finding the Danish counter is more than a place to get pastries

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

as Jack Grealish enters the Euro Final

Steve:  Here comes the calvery

Dennis: A++++++++++

If I have to explain it, it's no good...

Message on a Bottle (apologies to The Police)

Read any good bottles lately?

Though the practice has been going on for some time, I was not aware that keepers will put notes on
their water bottles about shooters' tendencies on penalty kicks.  Pickford has done it several times.  Ian Darke referenced it before the Italy - England shootout.  Haven't seen anything that says it's illegal. That would seem to be valuable information to have in a shootout, though I wonder if it leads to overthinking.  Seems a bit like rock, scissors, paper, shoot...

That Was Messi

In golf, there's always a discussion about the best player never to have won a major (Masters, US Open, British Open, PGA Championship).  The soccer equivalent dogging Lionel Messi was that for all his accomplishments, he had never won a major title with Argentina.  Fortunately, their 1-0 win over Brazil in the Copa America (South American confederation championship) takes care of that.  Messi himself did not have a great game though he did have a good tournament.  Also kudos to Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez for his work in goal for Argentina.

I did not watch any of Copa America except the final.  Maybe it was a great tournament.  In any case, the final was brutally ugly.  Laura thought it was an NFL game.  There were 41 fouls and nine yellow cards.  At least the game winner from Angel Di Maria was a nice piece of work, calmly settled and deftly lifted over the keeper; we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.

Tin Cup

The CONCACAF Gold Cup looks like a soccer step-child.  Though it is the confederation's championship, it doesn't have the same cachet as the Euros or Copa America.  Add to that, the real focus of these squads is World Cup qualifying which begins in September.  ESPN has a helpful write up here.  I like how Berhalter won't call this his B Team but look at the roster.  They were certainly less than impressive in a 1-0 win over Haiti on Sunday night.  Martinique on Thursday won't be much of a test.  The third group stage match with Canada on Sunday could be interesting.   Until the Olympics start though, this is pretty much all we have, save for some MLS contests.

Textbook Stuff

In the Union's 1-1 draw with the Red Bulls, we saw a textbook case of excessive force when Dru Yearwood absolutely clocked Monteiro.  Unfortunately, it was not called on the field and VAR did not deign to push the issue.  In the second half, with the score still 0-0, we saw a textbook hospital ball from Glesnes back to replacement keeper Freese.  That was followed by a textbook goalie error from Freese as he sought to play the ball rather than hoof it clear.  After failing to play the ball to safety, Freese committed a textbook DOGSO, one that left no doubt in anyone's mind.  The PK was converted and the Union played the rest of the way a man down.  There was a happier ending when Curtin made a textbook "throw caution to the wind" decision to substitute Santos for Flach, clearly reasoning that there's little difference in losing 0-1 or 0-2.  In fact, BFS obtained exclusive video (language!) of Curtin explaining his decision.  The equalizer from Santos can be seen here.

On balance this was a good result.  Somewhat surprised to see Freese taking more of the blame for the mess up; to me it was 50/50 between Glesnes' soft pass and Freese's decision not to clear it.  Yes, Freese could have saved the situation but he shouldn't have been under pressure in the first place.  Good overall play from Gazdag in a purely attacking role and hope that develops more.  A character building moment to come away with a point.  New England, Orlando and NYCFC all lost so the point was useful that way too.

He Seems Outgoing Enough

The Inquirer's Jonathan Tannenwald suggested a role for the Union's Daniel Gazdag as a "withdrawn" forward.  At least that is a real position, unlike the "introverted" winger that Taylor Twellman referenced earlier this season.  Dennis says he played both in high school.

A Breather?

Well, only if you have no intention of following the Gold Cup group stage play.  If you do, there's two matches pretty much every day until next Tuesday.  Even I'm balking at that, though I'll probably tune in selectively.  Certainly will watch US - Martinique (Thursday 9:30 pm) and US - Canada (Sunday at 5 pm).  Costa Rica - Jamaica (Tuesday 7/20 at 7 pm) looks interesting.  Hard pass on Suriname - Guadaloupe.  The knockout stages should bring some more enticing match ups.

I'll be at Subaru Park Saturday night for the Union vs DC United.  On paper, this is supposed to be W for Philly; 538 has it 57% chance.  They will be without Blake and Burke again.  Still,  I think the U have enough to see this one through.  Some other good Eastern Conference stuff too with Atlanta - New England (Saturday at 5 pm) and Columbus - NYCFC (Saturday at 7:30).  Haven't paid much attention to the West yet but I see that Seattle have eight wins, five draws and no losses.  KC and the LA Galaxy also doing well.  

Have you broken the habit of tuning in at 3 pm for the Euro match of the day?