Friday, June 29, 2007

Copa America: US Falls to Argentina 4-1


After a really long travel day yesterday, I stayed up to watch the Copa America, US v Argentina game which we had DVR'd. At 2 AM CDT, the final score was 4-1 Argentina. It is a shame that we did not take our full squad to this tournament. We had Argentina 1-1 a decent portion into the second and lacked any depth to finish the last 30 minutes. Some quick thoughts on the game:

1. Depth - like I said, we had none. We subbed in Eddie Gaven and their left flank ate our lunch. It was the turning point of the game.
2. Ben Olsen - awesome game. I've always liked Ben even though he is sometimes a dirty player.
3. Benny Feilhaber - A number of great passes but just not visible enough in the second half.
4. Bornstein - Did a great job on Messi in the first half, which is a tribute to the talent JB has. Messi switched sides in the second half.
5. Keller - Weak off of his line all game. Has he lost his edge?
6. Messi - Looked on the verge of a game changing moment every time he touched the ball. This guy is so fun to watch...when he is not playing us.
7. Eddie Johnson - Continued to receive great passes from our midfield and then seem poised to be on a race to the net...but always followed by him mysteriously slowing down. He must lack confidence. I certainly have no confidence in him.
8. Twellman - No material impact on the game. So far he has been unable to steup up to this level. I do like his work rate and determination though. At least with him you know he is trying. If I had to pick either him or EJ for future squads, I would take Twellman.
9. Our new subscription to the Spanish channel package on Cox - Love it. For $3/month, we now get even more soccer. The only channel we don't get at this point is GolTV, which would require us to switch to Dish...hmmm...

2 comments:

rc said...

Gaven looked like he was going to vomit when he entered the field he was so scared.

EJ has perfected the art of killing an attack w/ a perfectly timed back pass to the outside middie.

I think Benny is proving he can play, and w/ the right supporting cast, he may grow into our playmaker.

How would you feel if you just went 70 minutes against Messi and Crespo, and on trots a FRESH Tevez, who looks like an amazonian creature in a roid rage? I have never felt so bad for a defender.

Overall I not that disappointed in the result. The experience will pay dividends in WC Qualifying.

Unknown said...

Gaven always looks like that. It makes me think he is string out on smack.

Tevez would scare me no matter when he steps on the field. If only we had that kind of substitute capability...