US loses to Brazil

The United States lost 4-1 to Brazil tonight, some thoughts.

• The result is extremely flattering for Brazil but it does show you the difference in class between the two sides, one an international powerhouse and the other a modest side capable of an upset on their day. Just look at the strikers both teams brought off the bench. Alexandre Pato for Brazil and Terrence Boyd for the US, it says a lot.
• Jose Torres was anonymous for the majority of the game in his wider role. His best moments came when he moved infield. Jurgen should try a midfield three of Torres/Jones/Bradley against weaker teams, on paper its similar to what Arsenal has with Wilshere/Arteta/Song and could help break down stingy defenses in the CONCACAF region.
• Edu is exposed in any midfield position other than destroyer, which adds to my point above. Klinsmann is using these friendlies for world cup qualifying preparation but I sincerely hope he doesn't plan on playing Edu against some of the CONCACAF minnows. He doesn't bring enough to the table for me and there are far better options available, like Sacha Kljestan. 
• Fabian Johnson continues his good play at left back. The US looks to have finally found a fullback with a decent offensive game. It's also important to point out that he can no longer change national allegiances, unlike another German American fullback.
• Bocanegra and Onyewu simply aren't good enough anymore at this level, especially together. The problem for Klinsmann is that all the really good prospects are just that, prospects. Geoff Cameron, Tim Ream, and Omar Gonzalez still have a ways to go before they can lay claim to a starting spot. Ream and Cameron especially as they're actually capable of remaining calm and moving the ball out of the back of the field. Something that plagued the US constantly against Brazil.
• The US gave Brazil way too much respect early on in the game. Coming off an emphatic win I expected more from the US across the board. The second half was much better but the first half felt like I was watching a Bob Bradley team for the most part.

I saw a Chivas USA game.

     There's absolutely nothing on right now sporting wise with Euro's just on the horizon, the Lakers bounced from the playoffs, and baseball not being a sport. So I decided to watch Chivas USA take on the Seattle Sounders at the Home Depot Center.

     Chivas USA is a bit of a joke, they're like the Galaxy's ugly less successful brother, they share the same room (the Home Depot Center) but no one pays them any attention and they can usually be found at the bottom of the western conference table every year (the same place the Galaxy currently occupy, god). They peaked a couple years ago with Sacha Kljestan at the helm but he left like any decent player would and recently won a league championship in Belgium.

     I've never been a fan of Chivas USA for multiple reasons. They don't have their own home and the league decided that they should share the Galaxy's ground because the Mexican population here will come in droves to see a slightly different version of one of their favorite Mexican teams, which is where my other problem comes from. MLS should be trying to forge its own identity, not use the name of a successful team from elsewhere. MLS is also now in a rivalry of sorts with the Mexican league, desperately trying to do everything it can to help MLS teams win the elusive CONCACAF Champions League, so why have a watered down version of one of their teams here?

   They have, however, recently acquired two notable players in Danny Califf and Juan Agudelo which should go along way towards making them relevant again. Danny Califf is a former Galaxy player and was key during the teams impressive 2002 run. He replaces the outgoing Heath Pearce who left to make the Agudelo acquisition possible. Juan Agudelo is the one getting the headlines though as he has been one of the darlings of MLS since bursting onto the scene last year. He wasn't playing in New York though and is now the star offensive piece for Chivas until he bolts for Europe.

Some thoughts from the game...

• Ryan Smith is one of the few out and out wingers in MLS. It was like watching a watered down version of Luis Antonio Valencia. He didn't register a goal or assist though despite troubling Seattle all night, which is probably why he is currently employed by Chivas and not a better club.
• Chivas, despite being a pseudo Mexican team, have jersey's that look frighteningly close to the good ole stars and stripes.
• Eric Wynalda is the worst play by play announcer in MLS hands down. He talks like hes having casual conversation and on top of that hes rarely talking about the game itself. It's no wonder FSC uses him in such limited capacities.
• I had no idea Pete Vagenas was still around. It seems like hes gone from riding the bench in Seattle to starting for Chivas USA. Head coach Robin Fraser did something similar last season with Simon Elliott in nearly the same role that Vagenas is currently playing for Chivas.
• No one goes to Chivas games so now they put these cute covers over sections of the stadium to class it up a little, they're even designed with the clubs logo and colors. I guess they saw Seattle do the same thing and thought it was alright to cover half their seats with designer pool covers. The difference being Seattle plays in a 60,000 seat stadium and regularly has 30,000 plus inside their building. 
• Agudelo scored a goal. Which reminded me that Chivas two best offensive players, Agudelo and Juan Pablo Angel, will both be gone within two years. This makes me happy as a Galaxy fan.

US vs. Scotland

The USMNT trounced Scotland 5-1 this evening in Jacksonville, recording their most impressive win to date under Jurgen Klinsmann. They hounded Scotland from the get go and put all of Klinsmann's thoughts and philosophies into practice tonight against a decent if undermanned opponent in Scotlan. I can't remember the last time the USMNT played so impressively from start to finish in a game, always in control and always dictating the play.

• Landon Donovan was the man of the match, and reminded everyone just who is the best American player ever with a hat trick and an assist on the night. A top quality outing for a player falling out of love with the beautiful game.
• Michael Bradley provided another masterclass in midfield after his domination of the Italians in Italy. The balance he provided was pivotal to the win, he dominated the midfield by keeping things ticking with a 94% pass success rate, and also managed to break up a few of the rare Scottish attacks. His sublime goal and assist at the offensive end just sugar coated it. It makes you wonder where he would be now club wise if Aston Villa knew what they were doing regarding personnel decisions.
• Jermaine Jones scored a goal, had an assist, and managed to not get carded. A very good outing for the midfielder.
• Fabian Johnson had made the left back position his own after so much uncertainty and put in another solid shift. It has to be noted though that he rarely came under any sustained pressure, or any pressure at all for that matter. Wednesday against powerhouse Brazil will provide a much better test for him.

 Here's Bradley's goal, because you need to see it.

The next match is a much bigger challenge for the USMNT, as they welcome powerhouse Brazil. 

Woes continue.

The LA Galaxy lost again today in an MLS Cup rematch against the Houston Dynamo, their only meeting this season due to a lopsided schedule. The Galaxy struck early through Edson Buddle but were completely outplayed from there on out and ended up losing two to one. The second half was by far the most embarrassing part of this torrid run the Galaxy have been on, Houston were never under any trouble and controlled the game against a tired, and emotionally drained Galaxy team.

• Bruce Arena surprisingly gave rookie Kenney Walker a start today when Marcelo Sarvas was expected to start with Juninho out. Walker was solid and rarely made a mistake, moving the ball well and not over complicating things. He was, however, replaced by the more offensive minded Michael Stephens at half time. This ended up being the wrong decision as Stephens wasn't nearly as disciplined as Walker and this helped Houston control the game even more in the second half.
• Mike Magee scored an own goal that got Houston back into the game and will now probably miss some amount of time after acting out late on and throwing the ball away. One game is a  safe bet as he didn't throw it at someone, just acted out of frustration. A frustrating afternoon for the player all around.
• Bryan Jordan has no business starting for such a stacked Galaxy team, he wasn't proactive and made Jimenez's performance on Wednesday look that much better. To top it off he left his post on the Houston corner that resulted in the goal to prevent a short pass. Normally its a smart move but Beckham was already there covering it and the domino effect meant Stephens moved over to guard the near post leaving the back post open for Hainault to score. Obviously you can't be sure it would have been cleared off the line if Stephens was there but Jordan didn't need to be where he was.
• Buddle and Barrett continue to struggle despite the goal and assist. Buddle killed every LA attack and over complicated things throughout. Barrett is a serviceable striker and one I wouldn't mind keeping around but he doesn't have the pedigree or skill set for the salary hes making (more on that in another blog).
• Bryan Gaul was solid again early but was exposed later in the game as inexperience and tired legs got the best of him. He should have seen red for a last man tackle about halfway through the second half. David Junior Lopes was introduced late on to prevent Gaul from seeing red and will probably start the next game to protect the rookie.

Bruce Arena's future as coach has to be under serious scrutiny now as the Galaxy are on their worst run ever under the coach who turned this franchises fortunes around. Seven games without a win, tied for the worst goals against, third worst goal difference, and more losses than every other team bar Toronto. His pedigree and success with the club will probably buy him a bit more time but if the window opens and the Galaxy are still at the foot of the table expect wholesale changes, this team is too good to crash and burn so badly.

Galaxy Reeling.

Here I was thinking the Galaxy were back, they were hounding San Jose like dogs, moving the ball quickly, and looking like the confident team that dominated last year. Until standout performer Hector Jimenez got sent off for a two footed challenge. Even after that Mike Magee was able to put the Galaxy 2-0 up on the counter attack, surely the defending champions wouldn't let a lead like that slip with so little time left? Well nothing is out of the realm of possibility for the Galaxy these days as San Jose scored 3 straight goals, the winner coming in extra time.

• The Galaxy have failed to get a win in six games now and have eight losses in all competitions which ties the Galaxies mark from last year. Time is running thin, a major shake up has to be on the cards if things continue to trend this way.
• Hector Jimenez was fantastic, until he got sent off, which in the end caused the Galaxy to lose three points. I'd like to see Bruce persist with him though as he offers something that the Galaxy haven't had since the incredibly poor Alex Cazumba was here and that is an out and out winger who will stretch the play and take on their man. Both Magee and Donovan like to tuck in a little more and make plays for others or themselves and he could certainly add another element to the team especially off the bench against tired legs.
• Buddle was poor once again, he just looks a tad slow to everything and out of tune with everyone else. The fan favorite was phenomenal before leaving for Germany but has failed to replicate his form from his last MLS stint.
• Robbie Keane is a detriment to the team, as evidenced by the play tonight without him, despite being one of the highest paid players on the team. 
• I hope we see a game without Keane and Buddle in the line up soon, Bruce has been rotating players at every position this season so lets see what Barrett and Donovan can do together.
• Sean Franklin said after the game that they can't really get anything to go their way right now. The no call on Ike Opara in the box, and the call on David Beckham that eventually sunk the Galaxy, is a good example of this.

The Galaxy play again on NBC sports this weekend against the Houston Dynamo in a rematch of last years MLS Cup, which could finally give the Galaxy the boost necessary to get their season back on track. 

Galaxy Problems.

The Los Angeles Galaxy were the heavy favorites to repeat as MLS Cup Champions after an off season with much uncertainty. Everything fell into place though, Sean Franklin signed a new deal, Juninho returned after his dreams of playing for hometown club Sao Paulo never came to fruition, Beckham opted against a return to Europe to play for French giants PSG, and if that wasn't enough fan favorite Edson Buddle was brought back from an unsavory spell in Germany to provide even more fire power alongside Irishman Robbie Keane. The only negative was losing MLS Defender of the Year Omar Gonzalez for nearly the entire regular season, but surely the Galaxies impressive depth from last season would carry over and help cover up the loss.

Looks can be deceiving though as the Galaxy have slumped to a three, five, and one record, and went crashing out of the CONCACAF Champions League in pathetic fashion losing to currently win less Toronto FC. Perhaps the most embarrassing loss though came last weekend when the Galaxy lost at home against severely undermanned New York Red Bull team after resting a lot of key players in a midweek match against the Seattle Sounders. The marquee match up for the league, the same Red Bulls that the Galaxy dispatched en route to a famous MLS Cup run that saw them dominate the regular season and win the trophy in front of their home fans in Carson California.

So what is the problem then?

The biggest problem has to be the defense. Losing Omar Gonzalez, probably the best defender in the league, has had a much bigger impact than initially expected. Gregg Berhalter isn't around anymore so the Galaxy brought in Andrew Boyens and drafted Tommy Meyer. Neither were expected to challenge for a starting role, and neither are capable after seeing them play this season. Boyens got the starting job originally but was quickly phased out in favor of rookie Tommy Meyer. Meyer should have had the job from the start, simply because his ceiling is much higher and he could become a decent MLS defender down the line from what I have seen. The biggest strength of Omar Gonzalez and AJ De La Garza's pairing is that they have played together for so long and know each other so well, by constantly rotating the two defenders Bruce Arena never gave either a real shot to lock down the starting job. Arena made a move and brought in Chivas USA defender David Junior Lopes. He's known for lapses though, one of which has already cost the Galaxy 2 points in a game against F.C Dallas that should have been all 3 instead of 1. Los Angeles will also welcome back defender Leonardo from a long term injury. He will give Arena yet another option to work with and could end up being the answer until Omar Gonzalez can get back on his feet.

The attack hasn't been stunning either considering the amount of attacking weapons Bruce Arena has at his disposal. Even as a defense minded coach there is no excuse to have an offense that is so poor. Edson Buddle and Robbie Keane's partnership is the biggest problem, clearly. They're both forwards who like to touch the ball and this doesn't work well when they're both on the field as Buddle is isolated up top and often looks like he doesn't know exactly what he should be doing. The fact that the offense looked a lot better when Chad Barrett was on the field, a much less talented but much more direct forward, says a lot about the problem. But the Galaxy are in a bind here as both are in situations that make them tough to trade and or dispose of. Buddle would be the more likely of the two but even then hes probably on a decent salary that most teams won't want to take on for a player that hasn't shown a whole lot since coming back from Germany.

Maybe these questions will be answered this weekend when the Galaxy take on league newcomers Montreal tomorrow in their only meeting of the season. A loss here could be devastating, at this point a squad and or personnel change up can't be ruled out if this trend continues. This team is simply too good and too star studded to fail.

The Avengers

The first juggernaut of the summer movie season, The Avengers, opened to both critical and commercial success over the weekend. All of Marvels heavy hitters feature in a movie that has been in the works since 2008's Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth all reprise their roles as Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Robert Downey Jr. stole the show once again, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, hes perfect as Tony Stark. Captain and Thor both are solid, nothing spectacular. Captain American in particular is incorporated very well after the ending to his solo film, it couldn't have been done any better. Mark Ruffalo as Hulk was stellar after Eric Bana and Ed Norton failed to bring the green monster to the big screen. His ability to portray Bruce Banner as a helpless man overcome by a monster has been the best effort so far, but it remains to be seen if his Hulk can carry a movie all by itself. A movie where Banner learns to control himself as Hulk is a necessity before the inevitable second team up happens.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is how all the supporting characters had their moments and weren't overcome by the heroes. Black Widow and Hawkeye were both given their own moments to shine and their own story line outside of the main story which went a long way in legitimizing them despite not having any actual powers. Jackson as Nick Fury did a great job considering the weight of his material, he delivered it very well and was believable as the head honcho without too much screen time.

Joss Whedon, a name not previously associated with big budget blockbusters did a great job both writing and directing this movie. Bringing together all these other movies and stories into a cohesive and believable plot was a very tough task and I thought he did everything well, my only gripe being the comedic relief bordered on being too much. Captain America tipping Nick Fury in particular really made me cringe. The audience in my theater ate it up though so I am probably not in the majority when it comes to that. He had a great understanding of what he needed to give to generic movie goers and the hard core fans to make this movie great.

8/10