I’ve Soiled Myself
Tags: Bob Bradley, Brad Guzan, Brazil, Egypt, Italy, Spain, Tim Howard, USA
US 3-Egypt 0. Brazil 3-Italy 0. And the place goes nuts, only problem is no one here seems to care. It was without a doubt one of the most unexpected wins in the history of the national team. Sure if they only had to score a goal or try for a tie, then the possibility of the team advancing would not have been too implausible. But you had to win by three and hope, hope mind you that Brazil thumps the current world champions by three. In other words you needed everything that could go right to go right, and anything less than that and Bob Bradley is in the unemployment line. And how confident was the Brad Man? He started Brad Guzan in the net, benching Tim Howard for the game.
I’ve said this before, Bradley needs to create some serious waves for him to keep his job. And while beating Egypt may not be akin to beating Spain, the circumstances the team faced may be the spark the team and coach need to make a strong statement for next year’s World Cup.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:25 am
Sang, I didn’t think you cared about international play. might you be getting world cup fever already, after Pakistan’s Cricket championship?
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:07 am
We do this every time international play comes up. I’ve always espoused a streamlining of the qualification process. Whether you’re Lionel Messi or Jozy Altidore, playing an inordinate amount of games for club AND country will increase chances of injury. What you have in CONCACAFF and COMEBAL are in essence where players are playing the equivalent of two seasons in one calendar year. And the vast majority of these players don’t play for Liverpool.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 am
Hopefully this will not end in a reprieve for Bradley. I smacked my head on the table when, up 2-0, he pulled a striker for a midfielder. Not to say the striker wasn’t tired (Altidore) or that the MF isn’t a good player (I like Benny perhaps more than I should), but when you need a third goal to make the result meaningful in any way, them’s some questionable tactics. Fortunately the players knew what was at stake even when the leader didn’t.
And, in a preview of what’s to come with the BPL on ESPN, we’ll need more discussion of Michael Bradley scoring goals for Dad on Father’s Day every year. My MUTE button isn’t loud enough.
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Hey the team won. Does Bradley get fired, I believe so. The US is trying to get the 2022 World Cup and an underachieving national team in no way helps.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:25 am
[...] Some of that came from Crocodile Lisandro, who claimed his first bracelet on behalf of Australia, but his second for Italy. Not sure how that will work out with taxes – but hey, if he wants to spread it around in the official standings, what can ya do? On that same day, Italy lost 0-3 to Brazil. [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:14 am
So you think international play is subpar and stupid?
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I really want to know how you get from point A to B sometimes.