Monday, April 17, 2006
The Late Show: Instant Classic
Some observations from the soccer weekend that was:
Instant Classic: I stayed up late to watch the L.A. Galaxy / Chivas U.S.A. derby on Saturday night. Apparently Steve Sampson stayed up late the night before thinking of ways to energize his team. Move Landon to the midfield? Move Landon to the midfield? And he came away with a brainstorm...move Landon Donovan back to the midfield. And move Cobi Jones up top. I didn't really matter who LD displaced in the midfield, that was a move that was bound to pay dividends. I hope Sampson didn't think too much about this move, it was one that any pundit could see coming a mile away. When LD went some fifty yards on a solo run in stoppage time and then placed a perfectly weighted chip to Cornell Glen, who did well to volley it right into the side netting, LD showed that the midfield is where he belongs. Period.
Anti-Hero: Even though Cornell had both goals in the come-from-behind 2-1 victory, the game should never have been that close. In the first half, Cornell looked like a world class striker, save for his inability to score on breakaways! Cornell got behind the Chivas defense with the ball on several occasions before halftime but failed to score on any of those forays. In one such instance, Donovan lined up for an easy strike on goal on one Cornell's jaunts but Cornell failed to dish it off. LD covered his eyes in frustration but his two second half assists showed his ability to forgive Cornell's miscues.
Atmosphere: The game presentation was as good as the MLS can offer. The play was good for this point in the season, the stadium was raucous and the goals were well-earned. I even thought the pairing of Rob Stone and Eric Wynalda in the booth provided good commentary as both men weren't afraid to call out mistakes of the other. When Brandi Chastain chimed in to correctly point out that Cobi's added weight through the years is actually rock hard muscle, Eric had to admit his error. That on air admission might have been a first for the erudite Wynalda. Chastain's insight (from lifting weights at the Home Depot Center with Cobi) also may have been her first positive contribution to date.
Easter Monday EPL games: As a new EPL fan, I love the unpredictability of the games. The ambitious schedule can be brutal and the only day of the week that I can remember that didn't have a game this year is Thursday. So there's nothing like going to work on a Monday morning knowing there's still a half dozen or so dayside games going on in England to extend the soccer weekend.
Good News / Bad News for N.E. Revolution: The offensive slowdown in New England may be good news for the Revolution in the end. Taylor Twellman's slump, Steve Ralston's leg woes and Pat Noonon's (pictured above) halftime substitution may mean that none of those three will make the World Cup team. They'll be available for the Revolution all summer long. A month ago, it seemed like two or three of them would go to Germany. My bet is that none of them go. I'd take Chris Rolfe or Brian Ching over Taylor Twellman and Ralston and Noonan were always fringe players that seemingly have been beaten out by Ben Olsen and/or the return of the vaunted John O'Brien.
Josh Wolff's Scoring Woes: Josh misses a PK against N.E. to continue his recent scoring slump in dramatic fashion. I do think that one day soon Josh will break out with a hat trick to put this foolishness to rest. He's a talented forward who is better at setting up teammates than scoring, but is still one of our most dangerous options for Bruce Arena. He's definitely going to Germany, in my humble opinion.
John O'Brien Update: John played the last twenty minutes (10 of those were added time) and did exactly what he did for Bruce Arena Tuesday night. John showed some skill, some nice short passing and some boneheaded longer passes that were easily intercepted. As for John's fitness, we still have no idea if he can go 45 or 90 minutes. But he appears uninjured and that's the most I think we'll learn about John until May.
Up Next: Four MLS teams sit out this weekend, including Chivas and John O'Brien. The league would apparently rather play weekday games in the summer instead of Saturday night games in April. It doesn't make much sense to me. (Bostrom)
