Inevitably the subject of how high the level of play in American soccer has gotten in this country is where the bickering begins. Kevin thinks that soccer in the U.S. has come a long way. I think they have a long way to go. The more I consider the matter, the more I think that perhaps we are both right. Allow me to explain by using the Men’s National Team as an example…

When I was considerably younger (let’s call this period in history the 1970s and 1980s) the United States was more of a punching bag than a real opponent for the more accomplished national sides of the world. In fact, after their huge upset of England in 1950, the US endured a stretch of 40 long years in which they did not even qualify for the World Cup. That’s right, not even once.

The beginning of respectability for American Soccer came in the form of the 1994 World Cup. Playing at home, the US shocked many by advancing to the round of 16, where Brazil summarily sent them home. Fortunately, they did not have far to travel. But the US had gained confidence. the wheels of change were turning. Youth soccer was growing, coaching was improving, players were beginning to play the game AFTER Elementary School.

17 years or so later, Kevin loves to say that “Now no one wants to play us”. He calls U.S. goalkeepers among the best in the World (I agree on the whole) and says their defense is “expectional” (I agree not at all).

I suppose it would be “cheating” to cherry pick in support of one’s argument like some people do. But we all do it, so what the heck…

I say the recent 4-2 loss (after holding a 2-0 lead) to Mexico is a good example of how far the US has to travel to be a real power. I add that in 2007 the result was 5-0 for “El Tri”. A soccer power? Seriously? I mean, no one beats Italy 5-0 do they?

Kevin argues that the 2-0 result the Nats achieved against powerhouse Spain in 2009 (albeit in a meaningless tournament called the Confederations Cup) was more indicative of how far football in the US has come. I hate to remind him that the Americans lost 3-1 to Italy (a true footaball power) and 3-0 to Brazil (ditto) in the same tournament.

But because I’m a nice guy, and because the US really has made great strides toward becoming a soccer power, I say we call it a 0-0 draw. And that’s why I chose your video. Enjoy the games, Kev!
Jerrito

Click here to view the embedded video.

Can Italy Win It All?

With news that the rebuilding Italian National Team has worked it’s way back in to the top 10 in the FIFA world rankings, we ask ourselves if it’s too soon to hope that they can win the next big trophy on their radar, the 2012 European Cup. Let’s take a look…

Coaching – Italians are quickly warming up to their new National Team Manager, Cesare Prandelli. Typically, the Italian Federation hires big name coaches, and Prandelli’s most prominent job had been with Fiorentina, not exactly one of Italy’s major club powers. But he is quickly winning the affection of fans by infusing youth in to the side and playing a 4-3-3 that looks to keep the ball in the opponent’s half of the pitch. Under his tutelage, players like Giuseppe Rossi and Ricardo Montolivo are making the most of a rare chance at national team glory for Italy. A side that is notorious for sticking with veterans (perhaps to a fault) is getting younger. And a younger, more aggressive Italy can’t be a pleasant sight for opposing countries. If Prandelli can also continue Italy’s traditional dominance on the defensive side of the ball, he will have to do so with only one proven star, Giorgio Chiellini. But if others emerge and step up to the challenge, this will be a balanced and very difficult opponent for any nation in the world. We think Cesare is on the right track. Now about that defense…

Defense – It wins titles, right? That is what the experts in all sports seem to think, and we agree. In Italy’s case, the strength of the team is usually at the back. Will Prandelli’s defense be up to the level of past Italian backlines? While other nations are grateful if they have one, Italian Managers usually have at least a pair of World Class defenders on the pitch at any given time. To match this level, someone like Gamberini or Maggio will need to make a jump in quality to reach that level. But it has been done before. Otherwise, Italy’s defense is average if measured against it’s usual high standards. However…

Offense – There is a rare wealth of offensive talent on the Italian peninsula, and this is what seems to be getting some Italians in a lather. Unfortunately, there are personality issues that could keep the attack from reaching it’s potential. Balotelli’s immaturity and Cassano’s…what the hell do you call a guy who screams at his club president until his contract is voided??? And what of Sebastian Giovinco, a player of whom expectations were soaring just a couple of years ago, but who just hasn’t quite lived up to them? Again, the potential for a powerful attack is there. But so is the possibility of implosion due to personal conflict. The good news is that Giuseppe Rossi is blossoming in to a mature, proven striker at Villareal. He should be a regular for Italy for years. And by all accounts, he GETS ALONG with everyone.

We shall see what the future holds. Italy leads their Euro 2012 qualifying group with relative ease. The future could be bright. But without answers to some very important questions, it could also turn out to be like Pompeii in 79 AD…

Enjoy the Games

Jerrito

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The hardest thing to watch in football has to be watching your talented side get drubbed. And that is exactly what happened to Italy in the 1970 World Cup final. I am happy that I was only 3 years old at the time, and my passion for the game and the Italian National team were still a few years from sprouting…

To begin with, this team had the world’s best player (ever, mind you) in Pele. Not the 16 year old, supremely talented but wide eyed youth who dropped jaws at the 1962 World Cup. No, this was a supremely confident, more mature artist who had learned to use his mind and take full advantage of the enormous talent Brazil had managed to assemble around him. This man was now so remarkably unstoppable that a strong Italian defense would bow to his greatness. But back to that “talent players surround him” thing…

The names Jairzinho, Rivelino, Gerson, Carlos Alberto and Tostao garner regular mentions in the “best player” or “best player at this position ever” discussions you hear at bars and coffee houses around the world. Along with Pele, they formed the nucleus of what many consider the best national team side in the history of the game. At the very least, they were the best attacking side of all those to have participated in a World Cup.

This team had won all 6 of their qualifiers before the tournament began. They then proceeded to win the first 6 games of the tournament itself. But the next test would be tough, because the team they were to face was like to kryptonite to Superman. It was a solid, talented, DEFENSIVE side. Surely Italy could slow down this squads’ assault on opponent’s goals, no? No.

Reading about that World Cup is like doing research on Brazilian football. Italy’s high points in the match are rarely mentioned. Brazil’s are highlighted. Both are deserved. In a 4-1 final, Pele opened the scoring and assisted on 2 other goals to cement his place as a big game superstar and a player without peer, even 40 years later. But the 1970 World Cup was not about a single player, but of a nation which loved football with a passion and played it beautifully. And efficiently. Ask any Italian (or at least those a few years older than yours truly).

Enjoy the Games!

Jerrito

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Kenny reminds me so much of the famous Bill Shankly, the man who I believe made Liverpool Football Club one of the most admired teams in Europe.  Shankly said when he retired, “I was only in the game for the love of football”. But he instinctively knew the people of Liverpool and though he realized they were hard working and tough [as in strong of spirit] as they come, the City had no doubt taken a beating from the Luftwaffe bombs during World War II. So barely a decade later, Shankly seized an opportunity to boost morale and promote some local pride in his adopted home town through football, “I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool” he said. And that’s just how Kenny thinks, it’s also why he’s so well respected by so many people and not least of all why they refer to him as “King Kenny!”

I’ve been an avid supporter of Liverpool Football Club for as long as I can remember – Saturday afternoons could not come around quick enough for me. My friends and I had our favourite spot in the ‘Spion Kop’ – positioning ourselves exactly ten rows back directly behind the goal mouth [it was standing room only in those days - no seating]. We always made sure we were at the ground at least an hour before kick-off, so we could join in with the impromptu sing-a-longs. This was in the early sixties, so we were singing along with The Beatles and other local groups, who were all part of what became known around the world as the Merseybeat, their latest hits belting out over the PA system. The atmosphere inside Anfield Road Stadium I find hard to describe. You have to be there to really appreciate it – to be amongst 40 – 45,000 fans singing in unison, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

I’ll always remember one Saturday back in the early sixties when one of the opposition players [can’t remember which team we were playing], went down with a severe leg cramp. No sooner had the trainer begun massaging his thigh muscle in the middle of the pitch, the Liverpool supporters began belting out a very loud impromptu rendition of “He loves, You, Yeh, Yeh, Yeh!”

I find it interesting though when you consider a football player’s wages back in 1953, just eight years after the end of World War II, and about when my ‘career’ as a Liverpool fan started proper, was roughly the equivalent cost of dinner for two at  Applebees. Today, some of the top player’s wages hover around the price of building a new house – that would be an average house though, not the kind a footballer or [even more so] their WAG’s [Wives And Girlfriend’s], would likely be expecting them to buy.

One for the Liverpool fans…

Q: What’s the difference between a dead dog in the middle of the road and a dead Manchester United fan in the middle of the road?’

A: There are skid marks in front of the dead dog.

Comment and let us know your favorite memory from a match you’ve attended?

Ray

Ray Evans was born in Liverpool – is an avid fan of LFC and author of Before the Last All Clear

Written from the eyes of a child Before the Last All Clear, tells of Ray’s experiences as a child evacuee in the UK during World War II. He is now 77, but the book covers his time spent in South Wales as an evacuee under the British Government’s Operation Pied Piper – where over 3 million women and children were evacuated away from known Luftwaffe bombing targets such as Ray’s hometown of Liverpool.

Web: RayEvansAuthor.com

Follow Ray: twitter.com/RayEvansAuthor

Video Trailer – 3 minutes:

http://bit.ly/BTLAC3MinTrailer

As his career winds down, we thought this would be a good time to take a look back at the career of this great Italian footballer.Born in Naples, Italy on September 13, 1973.

As a child, Fabio was a ballboy at Napoli. He watched in awe and in person as players like Diego Maradona and Ciro Ferrara led their club to greatness. He matured as a player quickly enough to spend some time with them on the pitch – Napoli signed him to a contract and he began to learn his craft, making his debut in 1993 against Torino.

In 1995 Cannavaro was purchased by Parma, where he really began to stand out. His first taste of high-level personal and team success came here, as he became an important first team regular and with the club won the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup. He was already beginning to get called up on a regular basis by Italy’s national team managers. He also won Seria A Defender of the Year for the first time with Parma…

In 2002 Internazionale paid almost $30 million to dollars to steal him away from Parma. While he reached the Champion’s League semi-finals with the club, his career with Inter was short and beset by injury.

In 2004, he joined Italy’s greatest powerhouse to play for a stacked Juventus side. On a team that included defensive superstars like Buffon, Thuram, and Zambrotta he still managed to stand out. With the club he won two Italian scudetti and was voted Defender of the Year by the Italian press in 2005. When the Turin giant they call the “Old Lady” of Italian Football was beset by a betting scandal in 2006, Fabio felt he had no choice but to leave the club.

He joined Spanish giant Real Madrid and won domestic championships with them in 2006 and 2007.

In 2009, he returned to Juventus, now back in the top flight in Italy. It was his last season in Italy, as his form was finally slipping. At the end of the season, he signed a two year deal with Ahl-Ali in Dubai where it is expected that he will end his professional career.

The greatness of this particular player, like many great footballers, was most obvious when he took the pitch for his national team, and positively glaring at the 2006 World Cup, in which Fabio shone like no other player. He played every minute of every match, aggressively and with incredible reserves of discipline and determination, but without picking up a single yellow or red card. He was Captain of Italy, and leader of a defense that gave up only 2 goals in the entire tournament (an own goal and a penalty kick, for the record.) For his efforts, he was voted to the “All Star Team” of the tournament, and was later voted World Player of the Year in large part because of his national team form. He is Italy’s most capped player of all time.

Our assessment: Fabio Cannavaro will join the likes of Giacinto Facchetti and Gaetano Scirea in the pantheon of Italy’s and indeed the World’s greatest defenders ever to play the game.

Enjoy the Games!

Jerrito