February 7th, 2008 . 9:55 am . By: Buzz Carrick

But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be *the actual* El Guapo! – Lucky Day

I mean honestly does it get any better than this?  USA vs Mexico in front of 70 thousand in Houston.  You gotta love it.

Mexico 2, USA 2

El Bueno (The Good)

This is a win/win game for the US Federation.  Massive sell out gate into the US pockets with a tough “road game” atmosphere to test the team without actually leaving the country.  Learning to play in this kind of atmosphere and under this kind of pressure is key for success in qualifying.

“These kind of games are what the players look forward to and as coaches, we understand that we need this kind of games in order to look hard at our players and our team to find things that we need to improve … We gain experience against a very good team in an atmosphere that was loud and in a great stadium. We talk about big games, and in terms of understanding how to play in those big matches, tonight was an excellent example … It is probably always the same with a 2-2 tie. You see things that you’re happy about, but you see just as many things that you want to see improve.” – Bob Bradley

Benny Feilhaber was quite good in this one for me, perhaps his best individual showing in a US uniform.  He was real clean and fluid, but most importantly he was able to relive midfield pressure. That really helped the US get out of their end a few times.  He’s got more ball skill than Clark or Bradley and was able to make a touch or move into space to create possession and let the US defense out.  I’ll come back to Benny below.

Dempsey, has a real game breaker attitude about him.  He can beat multiple players with the ball and shoot well from range.  His attitude is contagious and he gets the front half of the US team going.  Working in and around a high target works for him in a way, but I think he’s really best running at people from wide in midfield.  He can be so vital out there and he’s playing out of position because of either a lack of US forwards or the desire to get Donovan on the field no matter what.  Imagine how much his ability on the ball would have contributed to the US game in the midfield.

“It was ok. At times it was a bit slow, and they did a better job than us of keeping possession. But at the same time we created some chances, and we always seem to put the ball in the back of the net against them. We put them under pressure, and though a tie isn’t bad, to lead twice and not win the game is a tough one.” – Clint Dempsey

Altidore had a great goal, just a fantastic header.  Nice job rising to the occasion young man.  But he needs to bring more than just the goal at this level.  First I would like to see him be more deliberate and less reactive to play, instinct alone isn’t enough.  He also needs to bring some of those long balls down and play possession so his team can get out of the back.  This is something McBride does so well.  To do this Altidore needs to be more aware of when his teammates are breaking and when they are not.  If he’s alone he needs to hold the ball and keep possession.  Altidore is going to contribute to qualifying, but the real goal is to blood him in preparation for 2010.  Let’s not overly hype him and break him down with unrealistic expectations.  He’s still a project in development.

“It was a tough game and he showed that he deserves to be out on the field. But there are areas now where hopefully he can improve from being in this kind of game. Seeing where the ball is going to come, and then being in a good position to hold off tough defenders – those are things he has to continue to improve upon. As the game wore on, I think he was tired, but we also felt that his presence could still give us a chance so we let him go the full 90 minutes.” – Bob Bradley

Michael Bradley still looks like he’s the best holding midfielder the US has at this point.  He just needs a little help in there with a player with more ball skill.  Either Feilhaber or Donovan would be the perfect foil for him.  Bradley can cover a ton of ground, wins bags of ball, and always plays the simple pass to players who are effective going the other way.  When the player next to him is Clark, a player worse with the ball, the outlets diminish and Bradley doesn’t quite have the ball skill to dribble out of trouble against a team like Mexico.  With the U20s he was left on an island by Adu and Szetela, but the senior side has skill play that can play deep and will play some defense.

I love getting JP Dellacamera back in his rightful place as the top soccer play by play man in the US.  John Harkes was much better than the last time he was doing TV a few years ago.  Thank god he quite saying “as well” every other sentence.  But I do miss Eric Wynalda, I really like his willingness to say exactly what he thinks all the time and who doesn’t want to tell Jim Rome to shove it.  Put him on the set with Stoner and get rid of the worthless Julie Foudy and you got yourself a great crew.  If Wynalda and Harkes don’t like each other, so much the better for the show.

El Camino Central (Middle of the Road)

Our boy Moor had a mixed day.  He hit two very nice crosses that resulted in goals, one of which was called back.  Both were well struck crosses that diped down toward the target.  Unfortunately he was at fault on both set piece goals as his man scored twice.  That’s something that should be fixable.  Interestingly FC Dallas isn’t good at set piece in general, maybe they need to work on that more.  Outside of that Moor was fairly solid against the best team the US every faces short of a world cup, if not for the two breakdowns he would not be getting torn apart.  The few times he was drawn out of position were covering up for Gooch or a picking up an untracked midfielder.  Cherundolo is the first choice right back anyway, but through four matches Moor has been solid for the US except for these two set plays. Moor will likely see more time in some of the qualifiers but isn’t yet up to the biggest and fastest games yet.  That’s ok, the US plays a lot of games below this level. 

“It was a very, very good ball into the box from Drew Moor.” – Bob Bradley

“His positioning is not great [on the set plays], but it was more just the reaction.  You never want to give up those in set pieces. That ability to put yourself in the right spot and react faster is what happens at this level.” – Bob Bradley

“The thing is they scored on set pieces, and we can eradicate that. We’ll take positives: the young guys came in and did well.” – Carlos Bocanegra

Donovan had what I consider a typical game for him, Not a whole lot of impact for most of the game and then several moments of glory.  He was at times very effective and was the only US midfielder up to the speed and pressure in the first half.  Some of it has to do with his domestic game, but a major part of it is where they are playing him.  Why Bradley insists on playing him wide right I can’t fathom, didn’t we learn from Arena in the last World Cup not to do that?  Donovan just can’t get enough of the ball out there. Now I know Bradley likes a two holders formation, but Donovan plays enough defense he could be in there and his ability to hold the ball, distribute, dictate pace, make timely runs, and score goals from the middle could really elevate this team. 

“Aside from his assist on Onyewu’s goal, Donovan the Mexico-killer was mostly ineffectual the rest of the evening. Is it really worth continuing to play him out of position on the right side?” – Grant Whal

No Tan Bueno (It’s Not Good)

Note to Mr Adu: when Landon Donovan is the wide midfielder and he shreds some guy to get free on the line, don’t run over there and cover up his space with your tracking defender in tow.  You’ve just killed the play and a scoring chance.  You’re not the MVP here, get out of the way and let Donovan run and create.  That’s 12 year old tactics son.  Why is it gifted US players don’t learn basic tactics?

I am not a big fan of the Gooch and Bocanegra combination against a high level, fast pressure, possession team like Mexico. Both players are strong and tough and great defenders, but neither is good enough with ball at his feet in either touch or passing.  One of the two players in there at least, and maybe both, needs to be a better passer.  Compare them to the Mexican center backs, particularly Marquez, and you see that both fall short of what’s needed.  The ball is so valuable at this level and if you can’t pass and build out of the back you end up with either long balls to no one or instant turnovers that results in scoring chances or fouls, both of which we saw far to much.  The US tied this game because they gave up to many set pieces, the inability to pass out of the back was a major reason.

I am convinced more than ever Bobby Convey doesn’t have enough for the big international games. He’s just not fast or quick enough to have any effectiveness. He can’t beat a player on the dribble, he can’t get to the end and cross, and he isn’t strong enough on the ball to play in possession.  Even playing out of the back he isn’t capable of fast enough combination play to get the team out of danger.  In short his only asset is positional understanding.  At least he knows what he should be doing, he just cant do it.  Bradley seems to cut him a break though.

“This is the first game Bobby has started since the Mexico game last year [in Glendale, Ariz.]. He’s had some injuries, and he’s still working his way back into the national team. It’s difficult when you’re out for awhile. I thought he worked hard tonight. For him in his road back, that is a good start.”

Corrales is far too slow with the mental speed of the game.  He’s a terrific MLS player and could factor in qualifiers, but like Moor and Convey isn’t up for the highest tip top level.

Possession was downright atrocious for the US, they have to value the ball more.  Far too many long balls were played out of the back and most of them were just headed on to no one.  Mexico was able to come at the defense again and again because the US would immediately turn the ball back over.  Far to many free kicks cost the US the game.  Speed of mind and touch are vital at this level.  Dempsey, Donovan, and Feilhaber were the only US players with enough to handle the possession pressure in this one.

““There were a couple of set pieces in difficult positions tonight. They did a good job of creating options, and their delivery was quite good. That’s a challenge when you come together quickly as a team just before a game. They were able to take advantage twice.  Their ability to play under pressure is very good.  They have some skillful players and when we play Mexico, that’s always a challenge. We have to continue to work on playing and connecting faster when they put us under pressure.” – Bob Bradley

Ricardo Clark, a player I love despite him kicking Ruiz, was overmatched in this one.  He spent the entire time chasing around behind the play.  Not once did I see him read the play in advance and cut off the Mexican transition game.  Gooch and company had to cover up unmarked midfielders all day long.  As I’ve mentioned, there were far too many penalties, usually on penetration from the Mexican midfield.  That means the midfield shape was not good and from where I sat it was Clark who far too often was chasing players.

Categories: 120 Fahrenheit.

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