Aug 21
USA 1-0 Guatemala: The Americans Win A Dirty Game
If you watched the match, this is the place for all post game thoughts. There is really no time for a detailed match report, because I would have fallen asleep if Carlos Ruiz hadn’t made me curse at him. Anyway, if you saw the match, let me know what you think after the jump.
What was positive from the US? What was negative? Is Guatemala a bunch of dirty cheaters, or is that just me? Is Carlos Ruiz an a-hole (pardon the french)? Who was the man of the match? Your thoughts below.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:35 am
For our first improvement: leave Ching in Texas.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:56 am
Confirming reports from many sources:
Yes, Carlos Ruiz, is, indeed, a void surrounded by a schincter.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:14 am
I missed the starting lineup and first few minutes due to the ESPN2 baseball game, so I didn’t even realize Chingy was on the field until almost the 40th minute. Waste of space, for this game at least. We also need a better leftback. On the other hand, I nominate Tim Howard to be god.
Guatemala are dirty, dirty players. As a Galaxy fan, I’d almost forgiven Carlos Ruiz for the way he played the last few years in MLS, because he really seemed to be making an effort to clean up his behavior this year. I was even working my way up to feeling sorry for him for being forced out. After this game I’m thinking, “Don’t let the door hit you in the @$$, dude. Bring on Eddie Lewis!”
August 21st, 2008 at 1:41 am
That was the most painful match I have ever seen. I hope I never have to watch another game like that again. I am so sick of Bradley taking all the imagination and excitement out of the game.
From the kick-off it was obvious Guatemala’s game plan was to play dirty and try to provoke the US squad into taking yellow cards. To make matters worse, the ref was horrible and did not take control of the match early. Had he done so, the match might have actually become enjoyable to watch; for both sides.
I wouldn’t be so quick to harp on Ching. I think the real issue was that Eddie Lewis and Donovan played like total crap. Lewis kept giving the ball away and Donovan was to afraid to run at people. As soon as Lewis was replaced by Beasley, we had much better control of possession in the middle of the field. I also have to side with Dempsey on getting upset at being subbed out. If I were him, I would be thinking that Donovan is the one that needs to go.
The good news is that the US will have no problems getting to the final stage of qualifying. We have 3 points and I fully expect us to take all 9 points from our home matches. And now that half of this team has yellow cards, we will have to turn to the younger guys to hold down the fort when they are out due to accumulation.
Man of the Match (and will remain so through the remainder for WC qualifying) Time Howard
August 21st, 2008 at 2:01 am
Guatemala is full of a bunch of dirty players and cheap shot artists. You saw this in the Gold Cup, too. It blows my mind that refs allow 40 fouls in a match and don’t control it more — that’s a disgraceful displace of incompetenece or a repulsive show of partisanship (or maybe both).
It would be nice if we could just boot out the anti-football hack merchants like Guatemala out of CONCACAF. Besides, who wants to play in Maximum Security Federal Prison Environment for qualifying matches? That’s pathetic….
August 21st, 2008 at 2:57 am
Anybody know where i can watch a replay of the game?
August 21st, 2008 at 5:09 am
I’m up late and have plenty of time, so I’ll do a detailed post on the match for you, Max:
Lets start with Guatemala- Its really a shame that Guatemala has to be such a bunch of hacks, because when they are on the ball, they are really quite good. Unfortunately, at the first hint they may lose the ball or not win it at all, they resort to terrible sportsmanship and frankly, disgraceful behavior. Ruiz should never be allowed near a professional football pitch again.
Now for the US: I really think it would do a world of good to switch Donovan and Dempsey. Dempsey is far more dangerous when he can dribble at defenders, and Donovan is far and away the most dangerous player in CONCACAF when it comes to running behind a defense. I liked the pairing of Mastro and Bradley, as it allowed Bradley to get forward more, but I still think we need a more technical player, like Feilhaber or Kjlestan in the center of the park.
Good news for the USA: DaMarcus Beasley made it through a match unhurt. Knock on wood.
Brian Ching should be used as a late game sub, because his hold up play really can be quite good. His finishing and movement in the run of play are pretty awful though, so no more starts for him. Bocanegra really did have a pretty good game, but I wish he’d get a little smarter with his positioning. He’s just too hit or miss it seems. If only we could make a hybrid of him and Parkhurst…
Here’s the biggie:
I was watching a replay of the England v. Czech game earlier, and I noticed what the US is most sorely lacking as a team. Constant motion. When you watch England, every player save the keeper is in near constant motion, and players interchange their positions on the field regularly. Beckham and Gerrard on the wings switched almost every possession for a stretch in the first half, and Rooney was damn near everywhere on the pitch. Another huge difference is the speed of play… I honestly think that as far as ball skills go, we are not far behind England at all. For some reason though, they just seem much more confident and move much quicker. If we could move like they do, we would have beaten Guatemala into another stratosphere… 6-0 easy.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:04 am
I couldn’t agree more with you Bebo. When an injured player is escorted off the field by 3 military gaurds who have machine guns and shields, you know that you shouldn’t be playing there. They even had the audacity to try to fight with us after they had lost. I would like to be able to say that I’m surprised at there horrible display of gamesmanship, but I can’t. Those Guatemalans are dirty dirty dirty players and that’s all they are. Dirty hacks.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:09 am
Ryan, I think we still have quite a ways to go until we’re at England’s level. Sure, Time Howard would be there starting goalie. Beasley would be a sub, but’s that’s about it. The difference between a team like England and the USA is the passing. There passing 95% of the time goes to right to the man, and usually in a way he can control it and immediately do something with it. EG. pass on the ground to feet. An aerial pass that lands on a chest. The difference in passing is immense. You saw Lewis, Donovan, Dempsey giving the ball away too much, and it was because they’re passing isn’t top quality. That’s why we were so much better off with Beasley. He passes the ball really well not to mention that he’s got unbelieavable speed.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:12 am
Bebo:
I’m not surprised to read stupid and racist comments like this anymore, but I guess from your comments you did not watch the game. You forgot to mention though, that the referee was on your side all the time. I mean, kicking Cabrera out of the game for a non-intentional head crash is really low, even for a non experienced referee like the guy from Surinam.
Anyway, enjoy it while it lasts. This competition has just begun.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:24 am
Herbert:
How about an intentional kick in the face by ruiz on howard. No card at all. The guatemalans flopped around and committed petty fouls. It eventually caught up to them so they got what they deserved.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Herbert,
You are clearly biased. Guatemala played a disgraceful game. Diving, trying to torment US players into stupid fouls (which the 2nd yellow by Cherundolo was a dumb-ass result of) If you think that the foul leading to the red card and the kick to Howard’s head by Ruiz were not both egregious and intentional then you are truly an imbecile.
Racist? You moron. The US has several latino players on the team - it clearly has nothing to do with race, rather it is lack of any class by Guatemalan soccer team and fans specifically and possibly culture. I heard the fans chanting “Puta, Puta” after the game at the ref and/or USA. Really classy.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Eh, Herbert you are completely wrong.
Max, I think you misread me. I didn’t say we were as good as England, I just said as far as ball skills I don’t feel like we’re THAT far behind. You’re completely right about the passing thing, but I don’t think its because our players are bad passers, I think that they are bad at putting themselves in position to receive a pass, which leaves the passer having to make a questionable pass. I really think it all comes down to our movement as a team.