It was almost as if the U.S. national soccer team was channeling the Lakers: Hardly showing up for a road game they really didn’t have to win — and getting hammered. It’s tough to play in Costa Rica. The Ticos are one of the top three soccer nations in CONCACAF, and carried into the match […]

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I just watched the entire Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before — watch a Champions League match from start to finish. I’ve always been about international soccer, and the World Cup, and club soccer … well, it’s not big in the U.S., and I’m also […]

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I’m not usually big on schadenfreude in sports. I make exceptions for the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Celtics … And the Mexican national soccer team. All of them can lose every time out for a very long time, and their suffering would please me. That was el tri that was spanked, 3-1, by Honduras […]

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That was much better. And it wasn’t only about playing at home. Bob Bradley chose to follow only some of my suggestions, but he got the main one right — getting Jozy Altidore into the lineup. As it turns out, I believe I now understand at least part of what Bradley is trying to do […]

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I believe Bob Bradley needs some help, and I’m here for him. What are my qualifications?  I coached AYSO teams at Division 7 (kindergarten) and Division 6 (6-7 year olds), and I might even have put in a season or two in Division 5. Plus, I believe I had a winning record at least once. […]

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Great atmosphere. Tremendous energy in the stadium, a packed-out old venue that looks as if it might fall over in the next earthquake. Or hard wind. And a crazy game. U.S. 2, El Salvador 2. The Salvadorans took a 2-0 lead while dominating the first 70-some minutes, but the home team tried to sit on […]

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Just because it is logistically possible to make a road trip … doesn’t mean you ought to. A couple of weeks ahead of that theoretically possible trip, I never remember that idea, above. A couple hours before I leave … then I remember, but the money has been spent and I’m committed and, well, here […]

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I made the quick trip over to Carson this afternoon for a press conference featuring two of the three or four most important guys in U.S. soccer — Galaxy forward Landon Donovan and Galaxy coach/general manager Bruce Arena. (I mean, really, who else are straws that stir the soccer drink the way those guys do? […]

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This is another one of those “great day!” results. Like the Lakers beating the Celtics or USC defeating Notre Dame — back when Notre Dame was a worthy opponent. Which reminds me: Once we get past the instinctive “beating Mexico is always good news” … it occurs to us that Mexico is barely a worthy […]

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