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Entries Tagged as 'World Cup'

That Was Ugly: Costa Rica 3, U.S. 1

June 3rd, 2009 · 4 Comments · soccer, World Cup

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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Barcelona 2, Manchester United 0

May 27th, 2009 · 2 Comments · soccer, World Cup

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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Suffer, el tri, Suffer!

April 2nd, 2009 · 7 Comments · soccer, World Cup

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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USA 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0: Size Matters

April 1st, 2009 · 2 Comments · soccer, World Cup

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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My Lineup Changes for U.S. Soccer

March 31st, 2009 · 12 Comments · soccer, World Cup

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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Day 2 in El Salvador

March 28th, 2009 · 6 Comments · Football, soccer, Sports Journalism, World Cup

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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Another Hare-Brained Travel Scheme

March 26th, 2009 · 6 Comments · College football, NFL, soccer, Sports Journalism, World Cup

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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Landon Donovan Returns Home, and Speaks

March 10th, 2009 · 8 Comments · soccer, Sports Journalism, World Cup

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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World Cup Qualifying: USA 2, Mexico 0

February 12th, 2009 · 5 Comments · soccer, World Cup

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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