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DEL.ICIO.USJudgment at Nuremberg
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
www.thegoldenyears.org / The Americans need to get Max(imilan) points from Ghana, or their World Cup verdict will be sealed: guilty of impersonating the No. 5-ranked team in the world.
Off the Ball shamelessly ripped off the name of one of her favorite movies to set up Thursday’s win-or-go-home scenario for the U.S. against Ghana. We are all very familiar with what is at stake. A win by the Yanks, coupled with three points by famously moody Italy over the Czechs, gets them into the second round. ‘Nuff said.
Knocking themselves out, the Yanks are, for the right to get knocked out by Brazil. Amazing sport, this is.
The mystery is, which U.S. team will show up in Bavaria? The one that rolled over against the Czechs, or the one that refused to give in against Italy?
In terms of cinematic analogies, will the Yanks be more like the character played by Burt Lancaster, the brilliant but fatally flawed jurist on trial? Or Richard Widmark, the dogged, almost to a fault, American prosecutor with a take-no-prisoners persona who gets on everybody’s nerves with his self-righteousness? Or his courtroom adversary, played by Maximilian Schell, defiantly and nobly plowing ahead with his defense of a lost cause?
Regardless of the outcome, will you, the American soccer fan, acting as the head of the U.S. World Cup tribunal, render a fair but firm verdict on this odyssey in the same way Spencer Tracy did?
The cry in the American media will be a familiar one should the U.S. not advance, despite the difficulty of this group. Seeing how the Dutch and Argentinians carved up their foes, but that everyone in this foursome is still alive, the U.S. certainly is in the Group of Death.
The dramatic exasperation that has come in the two U.S. games has been most memorable, for very bad and very good reasons. That its play has been far from stellar is no shame. This is the World Cup, where survival is the objective.
Having bloviated about all that, there is one thing for sure: Ghana is scary, and not just after running the Czechs off the field. They are fast, athletic and aggressive, and have nothing to lose. Who starts in this one?. Given the sensational midfield combo of Appiah and Essien, how can the U.S. compensate for the loss of Mastroeni, who was having a great game against Italy until his red card?
Atlanta Silverbacks’ defender Joe Afful is now an American citizen, but admits on Thursday that his heart will be with his homeland. And not just because he’s tight with Essien.
A few other links to chew on: Here’s a good backstory on why FIFA is clamping down so relentlessly on rough play. Rough play is only half the story. A lot of this is overcompensation for sins and corruption of the past that haunts still.
Everybody’s jumping on the Germany bandwagon — well, at least the Germans are warming up to the home team a bit more.
Nearly two weeks in, and it’s obvious: There is no 12-step rehab program for this malady. It is incurable.
Go ahead, and admit it.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Nicholas Irwin
June 22, 2006 2:37 AM | Link to this
I don’t think there’s a rehab program of any steps that will do the trick. I have followed every World Cup since USA ‘94 to some extent. I followed the U.S. team, watched some other games, etc. I probably would have gotten fairly immersed in Korea/Japan ‘02 had the games not been on at the most ungodly hours possible. Anyway, between then and now my taste for the game of soccer developed to where I started following it year-round and this is the first World Cup that I have found myself completely immersed in. At times I have to step back and take a break for a bit, as sometimes I feel like I’m almost in overload. I can only imagine that there will be a severe withdrawal process after this thing is over, made worse by the fact that the Braves (where my summer sporting loyalties normally lie) are a complete shambles and will have gone from in the thick of the playoff hunt (although they were beginning their downward turn) when I went into World Cup mode to completely and utterly finished when I come out of it. In fact, I went to the Braves game tonight with some friends and didn’t even recognize the team I was watching. I do not look forward to the month of July.
Anyway, as far as the American public at large not recognizing that there’s no shame in losing the World Cup, not accepting if the team doesn’t make it back to the quaterfinals, etc., I think some valid points have been made, but in the end, it’s really not all that different from an American sports tournament from a lot of standpoints. I agree that the media and the fans not being happy with the way the team played unless it wins the World Cup is pretty ridiculous. After all, only seven countries have ever won it. It’s just a different type of tournament. However, I sometimes feel that some people have the tendency to settle a little bit too much. For instance, it seems like some people think the U.S. players and coaching staff should be happy with a round of 16 appearance in this World Cup and might as well not even play the game against Brazil, should they get there, because it was a “tremendous accomplishment” getting there. The goal of every team in the World Cup should be to win the World Cup. Every team. Yes, that means Togo; that means Trinidad & Tobago. This is different than the fans expecting it. No team should be happy with a loss. No team should say, “Oh well, we lost to Brazil. There was no point in even trying on that one because we’re not supposed to beat them anyway.” No team should be satisfied with their position once they get there unless that position is atop the podium. The fans and the public do need to realize that it’s ridiculous to say that not winning the World Cup is a failure in a tournament such as this, but at the same time, the players involved can’t be satisfied with a loss. So it’s good that the American players (although they arrogantly trumpeted it around a bit too much in the following four years) were upset that they lost in the quaterfinals and felt that they should’ve moved on. You cannot settle as a team playing in a tournament such as this. If there ever comes a loss where you as a player say to yourself, “I don’t care that we just lost that game, we weren’t supposed to win it anyway,” you should hang it up immediately.
By Henry
June 22, 2006 7:40 AM | Link to this
Wendy, first of all lets start spelling countries and cities correctly. We are seeing, just about everyday, how Brasil is to be spelled just look at the Brasilian jerseys. Nurenberg, pronounces Nuerenberg, has no “M” in it. Only one reporter on the ESPN team pronaunces and spells it correctly. Let us Americans spell and pronounce foreign names correctly. We after all corrected Paiking to Baijing, or is it because they were our enemies and they made us look stupid. Back to the World Cup. I do not think our boys will advance nor will Ganas to the next round. We now have been eliminated, at least two times, by p…. poor officiating, wich is a shame, but that is soccer. We have the skills to go all the way, but our luck, real or fanagled, is none existing. Soccer after all is 50% skill and 50% luck. Looking at the brightside, the games are the best I have seen and heard ,on the radio, in my lifetime. That is despite the less than fair officiating.
By Chris
June 22, 2006 9:04 AM | Link to this
My verdict after this World Cup for US soccer will be mission accomplished. Win,lose or draw today. Every game was broadcast and ratings were better than expected, solidifying World Cup coverage in the future. Only 4 years ago the US vs Germany game was almost not shown in Atlanta in favor of the local news until the local station got a flood of bad publicity. The fact that the US media has started to give consistant coverage to the game of soccer during this World Cup is a victory within itself. As happened to Nicholas in 94’ there will be many residence of the US that will start to develop a healthy addiction and the sport in this country will continue to grow. Brian McBrides bloody face will be shown millions of times over the next 4 years further increasing interest in the sport. I was hoping for one glorious US World Cup Sports Center moment to captivate our nation, but I didn’t think it would involve blood. I was hoping for an amazing goal. I guess there are at least 90 minutes left of the tale untold hopefully some more captivating theatre is yet to be written.
By Chris
June 22, 2006 9:46 AM | Link to this
Where is the Offense coming from in this starting 11? I like the Dempsey choice. Donovan up front, wrong. One striker that will be outpaced in the lineup, wrong. Beasley instead of Convey wrong. Maybe I will be incorrect in my judgement but nothing I have seen over the last 5 games would indicate Arena’s offensive lineup decisions to be correct.
USA: Keller, Onyewu, Conrad, Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Dempsey, Reyna, Lewis, Beasley, Donovan, McBride. Subs: Albright, Berhalter, Ching, Convey, Hahnemann, Howard, Johnson, O’Brien, Olsen, Wolff.
By Rutuger
June 22, 2006 10:56 AM | Link to this
What are we supposed to do about these refs? We have been forced to play against two opponents the past two games while the other team just plays us. The anti-American thing among these refs is just out of f*** control—where does it end?? We heroically overcome them in the last game and are forced to settle for a tie, and now—right on cue—after we even it up, they just hand the game to Ghana.
It’s a complete disgrace but FIFA doesn’t care because everyone hates the USA anyways, so we will be the only ones complaining and to them the US is insignificant in the world soccer stage.
He probably received word over his little earpiece that Italy was winning and now playing a man up and knew what he had to do.
I just can’t believe these incompetent biased goons are going to get away scott free for intentionally sending the US home early. These referees shouls be hanged in Times Square.
By Bjorn
June 22, 2006 11:03 AM | Link to this
Agreed Rutuger, that was one of the worst calls I have ever seen. It’s going to be hard to beat Ghana and the refs.
By Horn Guy Dos
June 22, 2006 11:21 AM | Link to this
A win against the Czech Republic and the refs wouldn’t matter.
Why doesn’t anyone mention that?
By Chris
June 22, 2006 12:07 PM | Link to this
Bruce Arena…”Your the weakest link goodbye”
By Chris
June 22, 2006 12:07 PM | Link to this
Bruce Arena…”You are the weakest link goodbye”
By Mike Harvey
June 22, 2006 12:11 PM | Link to this
Ghana’s elimination of the USA in World Cup action and the previous failure of the USA baseball team to represent the Red, White and Blue in the World Baseball Championship goes to prove the the USA only leads the World in War Mongering. Why can we not put as much emphasis in peaceful pursuits as we put in violence? I for one would much rather see the USA bring home the World Cup from Germany than to flex her muscles to bring home one drop of oil from Iraq.
By jocko
June 22, 2006 12:59 PM | Link to this
Hooeee, the comment by Mike Harvey is all the more reason for me to despise soccer.
By Indocumentado
June 25, 2006 8:26 PM | Link to this
No worries, just let us Mexicans, Salvadorans, Croatians, Italians, Irish, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Brazilians, Hondurans, etc, etc, immigrants settle a little here in our new country and our kids will ramp up the capacity of the US team for generations to come, starting with a new coach.