Category Archives: USMNT

Time to Dust Off Your Kickstarter Account & Launch Eleven Quarterly

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We have been down this path before. Remember last fall, when you generously agreed to kickstart a little site known as The Classical? Since then, the site has rocked, gotten sponsors, and produced some quality writing. Now, a promising North American soccer quarterly needs your crowdsourced dollars. I speak, of course, of Eleven Quarterly. Continue reading “Time to Dust Off Your Kickstarter Account & Launch Eleven Quarterly” »

The US National Team Proudly Presents 23 Under 23

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The United States National Team roster for Olympic qualifying features twenty-three young players who capture the inventiveness and the vitality of contemporary American soccer. Each of the twenty-three players answered a brief questionnaire about there past, present, and future. Our editors have included highlights from the Q & A and also links to their stories. We also invite you to read a conversation by the editor that ultimately selected these young men.

Thus, enjoy this special 23 under 23 edition. Continue reading “The US National Team Proudly Presents 23 Under 23” »

US vs. France – Indisputably Objective Player Ratings Ratings

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Grades. Is there anything more cruel? An entire semester of work, and a little symbol reflects your homework, your exams, your term papers, and maybe your participation. Naturally, I can understand why some people in the soccersphere have objected to the application of “grades” to soccer player performances. For example, Slate poked fun at how widely two different writers could rate the same player for the same game. Richard Whittall went one step further and questioned the philosophical underpinnings of the entire enterprise.

I myself have poked fun at player ratings and power rankings, but see them as useful tidbits for folks that haven’t followed a league too closely or who missed a game but want more than a recap. Yet I also think that Slate & Richard have a deeper problem with grades – the lack of accountability for the graders themselves. After all, even in universities, students get to fill out a professor evaluation form at the end of the semester. Thus, for the US-France game last Friday, I present grades for players’ grades. Enjoy. Continue reading “US vs. France – Indisputably Objective Player Ratings Ratings” »

OWN GOALS – Timely Footy Links For Your Reading Pleasure

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If you blow into the Ocarina, then you will find a link to the past. However, no matter how hard you blow into your respective Kindle, PC, iPad, or cell phone, you are stuck here in the present with me. Don’t get too depressed now, because I’ve put together a neat list of link-worthy footy topics for your consumption. Bon apetit. Continue reading “OWN GOALS – Timely Footy Links For Your Reading Pleasure” »

Why Are There Only White Stars on the American Flag?

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So, I have a two-post series at FoxSoccer about the US, and US soccer, and our twisted, bizarre, schizophrenic, and bipolar relationship with Mexico and Mexican Americans. I give Fox credit for letting me be candid, honest, and frank about both sides of the equation – I address how and why Hispanics have been somewhat excluded in the current US setup. I also speculate as to how they can be un-excluded. In the end, I’m optimistic about the future, so don’t go call BP and give them my IP Address just yet. Part 1 is available here.

However, the US vs. Honduras game presented a related & pressing topic not addressed in those posts. I speak, of course, about the banter about “Can the US play a home game at home?” Basically, how should we deal with complaints that the stadium composition for US games against Latin teams is “too ethnic” and there’s no “home field advantage.” Is it true? Is it a genuine problem? Or does the framing of this “problem” reveal deep-rooted prejudices?

I’m really just gonna shoot from the hip on this topic because 1) I’m still deciding myself how I feel, and 2) Your input & perspective have just as much to teach me. Please comment. Unless, of course, you hate America. Which you say you don’t but your frequent trips to go shopping in Europe suggest otherwise. Buckle up & here we go. Continue reading “Why Are There Only White Stars on the American Flag?” »

The Gold Cup Final – Some Bitter Sweet Pico de Gallo

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I wrote a guest post at the Good Men Project on my unusual feelings every time the US and Mexico square off. As a chicano with fair-skinned guero-itis, my life has been a series of chameleon assimilation acts, with the star confused as to his real persona. When the US and Mexico face off, I am forced to pull off mask after mask. Inevitably, the audience is disappointed when there’s nothing left to look at. The sensation on the eve of this “rivalry” is not so much pedaling a paddle boat against a downriver current, but rather a riptide tugging my legs towards the deep sea while the surface pulls my arms  ashore. Inevitably, I sit on the fence and am rendered a neutered neutral. When a team scores, I want to shout with joy and then shout in anger. But I remain silent.

How bad does it get? I actually used to wear a Landon Donovan jersey for one half and a Rafa Marquez jersey for the other. Then my little brother stole my Rafa Marquez jersey. Now I wear neither.

That stuff aside, it was a helluva game with great goals. We can all get sad that the US didn’t play a super defensive game plan, but a look at the age and experience of the US defenders will show why Bradley gambled on Dempsey, Donovan, and Adu to outscore the opposition. And since when is positive soccer a negative? Read more here.

Gold Cup Quarterfinals – US v. Jamaica: Player Grades

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It’s been too long. Not since the last World Cup have my always accurate and enlightening Player Grades graced these pages. Allow me to briefly explain: I take the NYTimes Goal blog and ESPN Soccernet grades as a baseline, and then use a highly complex algorithm to merge them to arrive at perfectly accurate ratings. I won’t bore you with the details of the formula, but the accuracy is normally within 0.01 of a fraction of a point. Guaranteed. Each time. Always.

The US run in the Gold Cup has experienced ups & downs – the loss to Panama left a bitter taste in the mouth, yet the victory over Guadaloupe was sweet as can be. In that vain, we present US Player Rating vs. Jamaica based on the delectable history of Parisian les patisseries fine. Bon apetit. Continue reading “Gold Cup Quarterfinals – US v. Jamaica: Player Grades” »