Wednesday News & Notes: 2011 Asian Cup, Jones, Dempsey, and More

Here's some news and notes for your Wednesday evening:

2011 AFC Asian Cup Field Set

I'm a little late on this one, but qualification for next year's Asian Cup concluded a week ago.  The tournament hosts, Qatar (ranked 92nd in the world by FIFA), will be joined by the following 15 (FIFA ranking in parentheses):

Australia (23)
Japan (46)
South Korea (53)
Saudi Arabia (57)
Bahrain (63)
Iran (67)
Uzbekistan (75)
China (83)
Iraq (87)
Kuwait (88)
Syria (101)
North Korea (102)
Jordan (106)
UAE (115)
India (132)


While the regional powers like Australia and Japan will surely be in the mix, don't rule out one of the lower ranked teams from making a Cinderella run to the title.  After all, it was 80th ranked Iraq shocking the international soccer community back in 2007 by knocking off Australia, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia en route to winning the tournament and earning a berth in the Confederations Cup.

In addition to hosting Asia's top tournament, Qatar is also making a bid for the 2022 World Cup.  Next summer's Asian Cup, however, won't be an audition for the selection committee, as the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 editions of the World Cup will be chosen months earlier, in December of 2010.  Five venues will be used to host the matches, with four of those located in the captial, Doha.  This will be the first Asian Cup played in the Middle East since 2000, when Lebanon hosted the tournament.

The 16 teams will be drawn into four groups of four on April 23.  At stake are both continental supremacy and a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup.


Cote d'Ivoire Still Searching For a Coach

Once touted as one of the teams poised to make a run in South Africa, Cote d'Ivoire now looks like a team in disarray following the firing of coach Vahid Halilhodzic.  After Halilhodzic guided the team to its second consecutive World Cup berth, his spot at the helm seemed secure.  But a disappointing quarterfinals exit at the Africa Cup of Nations in January spelled the end of his tenure in charge of the Elephants.  I don't think this was a particularly good decision (Halilhodzic lost just one game in two years as coach), but it was done nonetheless and the Cote d'Ivoire FA is now scrambling to find a replacement just three months away from their World Cup opener.

Some big names have been floated around the vacancy, like Guus Hiddink and Sven Goran Eriksson, but to this point no one has been hooked.  The newest name in the conversation is Philippe Troussier.  The Frenchman is best known for his success with Japan from 1998-2002, when he won the 2000 Asian Cup and AFC Coach of the Year award, led his team to a second place finish at the 2001 Confederations Cup, and guided the hosts to the Round of 16 in the '02 World Cup. 

Overall, I think the Cote d'Ivoire FA have really put themselves in a tough spot.  Their players voiced their desire to have Hiddink at the helm (who has since signed with Turkey), so any new coach might have a little bit of an uphill battle in winning over the team.  Further, the team's pre-World Cup preparations are taking a serious hit without any coach.  The Elephants played without a coach against South Korea last week, dropping a 2-0 decision in London.  Whoever gets the job will have a tall task to familiarize themselves with the player pool, select a roster, and prepare the team with just two friendlies (Paraguay and Japan) and three months' time.

I'm sure Brazil, Portugal, and North Korea don't mind seeing their Group G opponent hitting a rough patch so close to the tournament.  For the sake of a full-strength and entertaining Group of Death, though, I'm hoping that Cote d'Ivoire can pull it together before their June 15 opener.


Dempsey Travels With Fulham

Clint Dempsey looks likes he's on track for a return from the knee injury he suffered against Blackburn back in January.  He is traveling with his team for their Europa League match against Juventus, and all indications are that he isn't far from returning to Roy Hodgson's squad.  Hopefully this new bit of news will help some USMNT breath a little easier as the World Cup approaches.  Dempsey should not only be healthy by the time national team camp rolls around, but he'll likely be fully match fit after a month and a half of club games and training.


Jones Says He Wants to Play in South Africa

In an interview with a German newspaper, Jermaine Jones says he still has hopes of playing for the US in the 2010 World Cup.  At this point, though, I just don't see Jones as a part of the 2010 picture.  Months after his initial surgery, he still isn't healthy and it doesn't look like he'll be back on the playing field in the coming weeks.  Even if Jones can somehow get better very quickly, there is no guarantee that he'll even get any club minutes in the final months of the Bundesliga season thanks to some friction with his manager at Schalke.  I can't see Bob Bradley calling in a player with no experience with the USMNT in for the World Cup when other adequate options are available, namely Maurice Edu and Ricardo Clark.

Yes, Jones has tons of talent and is a fantastic player; there's no denying that.  But with little match experience over the past year and injury issues, would he be more useful than Edu or Clark in South Africa?  There's also the matter of locker room cohesion; how would the team react if a guy who they felt was deserving a spot was left off of the World Cup roster in favor of someone with exactly zero minutes of USMNT experience?  I just don't think it's worth the risk, and choosing him over either of the aforementioned defensive mids would be wishful thinking, at best, at this point.

Maybe Jones will make a miraculous turnaround and force me to rethink my stance.  The way things have gone to this point, though, I really do not see that happening.  I do wonder, however, if we'd be having this discussion if  Jones had joined Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies in rehab with Jim Hashimoto months ago.

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In Bob I Trust

It's no secret that a lot of USMNT fans aren't too fond of Bob Bradley.  I think it's also safe to say that many look back fondly to Bruce Arena's first cycle at the helm.  So, why not compare the numbers and see how the two stack up in terms of competitive matches before their first World Cup?

To remove any sort of skewing due to understrength friendly rosters or the sort of "exhibition game tactics" that sometimes take place when player evaluation is the main goal, I've only included what I just referred to as "competitive" matches.  This includes, for both, World Cup qualification, two Gold Cup tournaments, and one Confederations Cup.

So here are the side-by-side comparisons.  Records are in the W-D-L format:

World Cup qualification:

Bruce: 8-4-4
Bob: 13-2-3

Bob had a pair of extra qualifiers (the second round against Barbados), but even without those two wins he still holds an edge over Arena.

CONCACAF Gold Cup:

Bruce: 7-0-1 (1 title)
Bob: 10-1-1 (1 title)

Despite the fact that Bruce was able to field many more eventual World Cup participants in both Gold Cup squads because of the more MLS-heavy nature of the player pool, he was not able to reach consecutive finals, something that Bob did with the USMNT's run to the final last summer.

Confederations Cup:

Bruce: 3-0-2
Bob: 2-0-3

Bruce has the numerical edge on this one, but the opponents that he faced were not exactly of the same level that Bob Bradley and company faced in South Africa.  Bruce had a quality win against Germany, an understandable loss to Brazil, a close loss to Mexico, and wins over New Zealand and Saudi Arabia (not exactly international soccer titans).  Compare that to Bob's win over Spain, win over two-time defending African champs Egypt, loss to Brazil, unlucky loss to Italy (thank you, soft red card), and close loss to Brazil in the final, and Bruce's edge doesn't seem all that impressive.

Overall:

Bruce: 18-4-7
Bob: 25-3-7

% of Ws

Bruce: 62.1%
Bob: 71.4%

% of Ws/Ds

Bruce: 75.9%
Bob: 80%

Bob played six more competitive matches over the course of his first three years, yet he has the same number of losses as his predecessor.  Overall, it's hard to deny that he's had more success in the build up.

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So why the displeasure?  Is it because expectations have so substantially changed that we demand more than we did a decade or so ago?  Well, yes.  But there isn't much else that Bob could do after winning the Hex, winning a Gold Cup, and reaching the Confederations Cup final.  We're not yet on the same level as Brazil or Italy, so losses against them aren't exactly disappointing.  CONCACAF qualifying is also far too tricky to come out of without a couple of road losses.  Yes, it would have been fantastic if we could have held that lead in Azteca, but it's a little harsh to blame that loss on Bob Bradley.  Let's look at on the bright side instead of focusing on the negative: under Bradley, the US got a lead against Mexico in Mexico City and then were just ten minutes away from earning a draw, all of which happened with a swine-flu ridden Landon Donovan on the field.  It's generally believed that our team is much deeper and more talented than it was back in Bruce's first cycle, and with that growth has come greater expectations.  And despite what many disgruntled fans would like to believe, Bob has gotten the results on the field to match that progress.

Is it because Bob hasn't had the most impressive record in friendlies?  Could be.  Maybe it's just me, though, but I don't care about winning friendlies, I care about winning tournaments.  Yes, results against quality teams in exhibitions are nice, but do they matter?  The main objective of a friendly is not to obtain a good result, it's to evaluate your players and give the team some preparation as a unit.  By my view, I'd say Bob has been doing exactly what he needs to do as a coach.  Sure, it seemed very odd when he pulled Jay DeMerit last week and put Jonathan Bornstein at CB, but it wasn't about the result.  It was about seeing if another outside back could provide some emergency cover at CB if needed in South Africa.  He already saw that Jonathan Spector could do just that in the November friendlies, so this time around he gave the other outside back a look.  It was simply more player evaluation ahead of a big tournament. 

What I believe to be two of the main reasons behind the substantial discrepancy in opinions of the two cycles are aesthetics and retrospect.  Bob's defensive style with an emphasis on the counter attack isn't exactly the most appealing, so it's understandable that some might believe a change is necessary.  Heck, Bob is pretty dry in interviews and what not, as well.  But even mighty Brazil learned in 2009 that sometimes it's better to have substance over style (for those without an eye on the Seleção, manager Dunga took some heat from the Brazilian press because his side wasn't playing the "joga bonito" style that has so long accompanied their national team).  It's not the most fun to watch as fans, but the results it has produced, though not the prettiest, are hard to deny.  We don't exactly have the team to get up and down and really push the attack against the elite teams, so why all the anger when Bob opts for a staunchly defensive approach?

It's also a lot easier to have fond memories of Bruce's first cycle in charge thanks to what his team accomplished in Korea/Japan.  That quarterfinals run is what most fans remember about his first cycle in charge.  Had Bruce crashed out in the group stage, we might not have such high opinions of that era.  The bottom line is, though, that to this point, Bob Bradley has been more successful than Bruce Arena was at a comparable point in the '02 cycle.  We don't see it that way, however, because of what happened afterward.  Bob hasn't yet had the opportunity to leave a legacy on the world's biggest stage, but his track record of results in competitive matches should have us hopeful that he can replicate that 2002 run.

Of course, Bob isn't flawless. There have been a few bad decisions (Beasley at LB comes to mind), but those have been placed under such a microscope because of the aforementioned displeasure that they are disproportionately discussed. I'm sure if we took the time to examine 1999-2001, there were a couple of miscues from Il Bruce.  It's just the nature of the position.  You try to find the best combinations and formations; if it works, you're a genius, if not, you're a fool.  At some point, though, it pays to take a couple of lineup risks (Conor Casey in Honduras, anybody?). 

Even if Bob manages to make a deep run in South Africa, I feel like the negative opinions will still persist.  Do people genuinely think that all the success we've had since 2007 has been in spite of Bob Bradley's coaching?  Maybe I'm just not an astute enough observer, but that really seems unlikely. 

Fans have found plenty of reasons over the past three years to dislike the Bob Bradley era.  But when it comes down to it, he's gotten the results (however ugly they may be) and he's left no stone unturned in terms of player selection.  To me, that sounds like an effective national team coach.

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Project 2010: Where Do We Stand?

Today was a rough day at the office so to speak, but I didn't want to deny you that daily fix of USSD that I'm sure you're all jonesing for.  So, while it may not be my best piece of work, here's a post for all you loyal readers that have been coming back and supporting this hack.  Enjoy the ramblings:

Per the suggestion of a couple of folks on Twitter (here are your shout outs, @Jcnyy1979 and @RobertBrown86), I'll spend this post talking about the Outside the Lines feature on Project 2010 from yesterday.  For those who missed it, here it is:



It was a given that once this World Cup rolled around, Project 2010 would come up. While some will be legitimately upset that we're not heading into this tournament as one of the favorites, I think the overwhelming majority of USMNT fans understand that this ambitious development schedule was exactly that: ambitious. While we're not yet of the same ilk as the Brazils, Spains, and Germanys of the world, we've definitely made significant strides in the international game and we are a legitimate top 20 team. To reiterate some of the points I made in this post from last month,we might not have a great chance of World Cup glory, but we've gotten to the point where the idea of the US winning the World Cup isn't just a ludicrous impossibility.  If the Confederations Cup showed us anything, it's that we're capable of rising to the occasion and stringing together a couple of quality performances on a huge stage. Whether you believe we are indeed "positioned to win the World Cup in 2010" is a matter of interpretation, but when you consider some instances in the past, that oft-thought stretch of a statement isn't really that far off.

Sunil Gulati is exactly right when he says that anything can happen; just look back to 2002 for a prime example.  Turkey entered the tournament ranked #22 in the world, with few considering them to be a legitimate threat to lift the trophy at tournament's end.  But it was circumstances outside of their control that helped them reach the brink of FIFA glory.  Like the USMNT this time around, they received a very favorable group stage draw: Brazil, China, and Costa Rica.  They lost their opener against the group favorite and got the two necessary results against the weaker teams in the group to make the Round of 16 (which sounds a lot like what most are saying the US needs to do against the likes of England, Algeria, and Slovenia).  From there, they took advantage of the unpredictability of the tournament, making it all the way to the semifinal without facing off against a truly elite team in the knockout stages.  There, they lost to Brazil in a close semifinal, eventually taking home third place. 

What I'm trying to say with that rambling aside is that the results of other groups has perhaps the biggest impact in helping a second tier team like the US make a deep run in the World Cup.  Turkey could have very well met up with England or Argentina in the quarterfinals, but instead it was Senegal.  In South Africa, if Bob Bradley's side makes it the Round of 16, their path to the semifinals could go through the likes of Australia and Mexico; two quality teams, but two teams that many would feel the US has a legitimate shot of defeating.  Then again, the path to the semis could go through Germany and Argentina.  It is all dependent on the upsets and surprises that are inevitable in a month long tournament.  Often we're quick to write off a sizeable chunk of the field before a ball is even kicked, but this assumes that everything will go according to plan, which we all know rarely happens, if ever. 

So, to conclude this round-about post, do I believe that the USMNT is positioned to win the 2010 World Cup?  Yes.  We have talented players and a system that, love it or hate it, has given much more talented teams a run for their money.  Are our chances of winning the World Cup very big?  No, but a lot of things over the opening weeks of June could dictate if those odds improve or worsen.  I don't think many truly believed that Turkey was positioned to win a World Cup back in 2002, and I'm sure most will disagree with me and say that the US isn't in such a spot this time around.  But, as many of the major tournaments over the past decade have shown us, there's always one or two mid-level teams who parlay a fortunate draw and a couple solid results into a semifinal or final appearance.  Greece at Euro 2004, Russia at Euro 2008, Iraq at the 2007 Asian Cup, and South Korea and Turkey at the 2002 World Cup are just a few examples of this (not to mention a certain American team making a surprise run to last summer's Confederations Cup final).

I don't think we need to change our expectations or goals; I think we just need to change how we interpret being "positioned to win a World Cup".  We're not the favorites, but that's not necessarily the question up for debate.  The bottom line is, with good health, some luck, and a well-timed run of form, this team is indeed positioned to duplicate the success of those aforementioned international surprises and carry their run into July.  By my interpretation, that sounds like Project 2010's lofty goal is actually within reach.

I'm sure I'll get some comments calling me crazy or overly optimistic; c'est la vie.  Cut me some slack on what hasn't been one of my better days.

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Yanks in Europe: Landon Says Goodbye to Goodsion Park in Style

Up until the end of February, Landon Donovan's loan with Everton had been nothing but great performances, earning rave reviews from the press and warm ovations from the fans.  The last week and a half were a rough patch, with Landon battling some illness and missing a sitter against Tottenham that thrust him into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.  He made sure, though, that he ended his stint at Goodison Park in style today, turning in one more good game in front of the Toffees faithful.



Landon came on in the 70th minute with his side already leading comfortably by a score of 3-1.  He entered the match to a chorus of "USA! USA!" chants and applause, and it wasn't long before he repaid that support on the field.  In the 82nd minute, a cross from the far wing came all the way through the box to Donovan at the far post.  Unmarked at the edge of the six yard box, he made amends for his miss last weekend by smashing a half-volley into the far side netting for his second goal in an Everton uniform.

As if that wasn't a fitting enough ending for his time in front of the home fans, Landon added an assist just a few minutes later.  He unselfishly passed up a shot inside the 18 and laid off a one-touch pass to Jack Rodwell, who finished to cap off the blow out.  The match finished 5-1 in favor of the hosts, with Donovan taking a lap around Goodison Park after the match to thank the supporters.  He'll play one more away match under David Moyes next weekend before his loan expires, though MLS labor issues could very well mean that today's match wasn't his last home game with Everton.  Either way, it was a great way to bounce back after a rough week and an even better way to thank the fans that have been so quick to embrace him.

As far as the other USMNT players involved in the game, Tim Howard needed to make just two saves on the day.  His first came very early in the game when he came off his line quickly and made a jumping save to stop Richard Garcia's attempt to pop the ball over his head.  His other was an easy catch off a harmless header in the second half.  Everton controlled much of the match, so Howard had little to do on the day otherwise, with the exception of the occasional punch.  Hull's lone goal was off of a spectacular volley from the edge of the box, and Howard couldn't really do much about it. 

Jozy Altidore, meanwhile, entered the match in the 62nd minute, but he was unable to make much a mark in the time that he was on.  He got little service or support up top, and Everton dominated possession in the final half hour.  It was a tough match for Jozy to come into and make an impact, and Hull's lack of an attack makes it difficult to even evaluate his play.  It was one of those games that made me feel sorry that he has to play with this team week in and week out.  On the bright side, Amr Zaki, who got the start over Altidore, was far from impressive on the day, looking slow with and without the ball in the attacking third.

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Injured/Did Not Play

Brad Guzan (unused substitute)
Benny Feilhaber (ankle injury)

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Yanks in Europe: Bocanegra Scores the Game-Winner

What defensive miscues are to Jonathan Bornstein, Yanks in Europe posts are to Saturdays (or something like that).  Enjoy:

Jonathan Spector started and went 90 minutes for West Ham in their 2-1 loss to Bolton.  Spector was not at fault on either Bolton goal, and he did a decent job containing Chung-Yong Lee on the wing.  He got forward on a few occasions and whipped in a dangerous cross, but these offensive contributions came to nothing.  All in all, it was a game where you didn't hear Spector's name called too much, but when you did, it was because he was making a timely clearance or tackle.  In comparison to his teammates in the back line, who committed some errors on the Bolton goals, Spector was solid.

In the Championship, Jay DeMerit went the distance in Watford's 2-0 loss to Derby County.  Unfortunately, he was involved in a goal allowed once again, as he slipped while trying to take care of a long ball, allowing an opposing striker to take the loose ball in on goal and double the Derby lead.  Frank Simek, meanwhile, came on as a halftime substitute for Sheffield Wednesday in their match against Leicester City.  He did his part to preserve a clean sheet victory, and he may be in line for more minutes in the near future, as he was brought on due to an injury to RB Tommy Spurr.

Marcus Hahnemann and Wolves faced a tall task as they played host to Manchester United this afternoon.  Hahnemann made three saves on the day and was close to earning a clean sheet and a crucial point in the relegation battle, but a poor clearance in the 73rd minute by one of his defenders sent the ball right to Paul Scholes' feet inside the box.  The Manchester United midfielder made no mistake, burying the open shot from 7 yards out past a helpless Hahnemann to give the visitors a 1-0 victory.

In France, Carlos Bocanegra continued his goalscoring ways by getting the slightest of touches on a 28th minute free kick to find the back of the net in Rennes' 1-0 win over Monaco.  Bocanegra did very well in the attack on the day, nearly scoring on a cross from the wing and putting a header wide in the second half.  He got the job done on the defensive end, as well, doing his part in the shutout.  All in all, a good day at LB for Bocanegra, who was the lone Yank in Europe to get on the score sheet on a busy Saturday.  This solid showing will only enforce the belief that he should line up at that position with the national team for the World Cup. 

DaMarcus Beasley picked up where he left off with the USMNT, turning in another strong performance on the wing in a start for Rangers against St. Mirren this morning.  Beasley drew numerous fouls in the attacking third and was very lively on the wing, providing width to the Rangers attack.  He nearly scored early in the second half, but his header hit the post.  Beasley was taken off in the 64th minute, with Maurice Edu entering the game at the same time.  Edu was solid in the middle, with some good one touch passing and defensive work.  He was composed in the midfield, helping secure what would finish as a 3-1 victory for his team.

In Germany, Michael Bradley started at CM in Borussia Monchengladbach's match against Borussia Dortmund.  It was a rough game for the US international and BMG, as Dortmund controlled the match.  Bradley's touch was not at its best, though he did have a couple of nice passes in the attacking end.  He earned a yellow in the 50th minute for what seemed like an aggressive but controlled, legal tackle.  He was also guilty of a little overzealous defending in the second half when he lunged in aggressively at Mohamed Zidan at the edge of the 18.  The Dortmund player made a simple cut central, leaving Bradley behind before lashing a left-footed shot into the back of the net.  Bradley was substituted off soon thereafter (the 64th minute, to be exact), capping off a sub-par performance by his standards. 

Elsewhere, Steve Cherundolo returned to the field for Hannover after several weeks on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury.  He came on in the 79th minute and helped preserve a 2-1 win victory over Freiburg.  While he didn't do anything overly remarkable in that time, USMNT fans will just be glad that he is healthy and playing once again.

Last, but not least, Eddie Johnson came on as a sub in the 80th minute Aris' match with Kavala.  He was very active up front and made some good runs in the attacking half, but he and his teammates were unable to find a goal, as the match finished in a 1-1 draw.

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Injured/Did Not Play

Gale Agbossoumonde (unused substitute)
Stuart Holden (broken leg)
Charlie Davies (multiple injuries)
Oguchi Onyewu (knee injury)
Clint Dempsey (knee injury)
Freddy Adu (unused substitute)
Ricardo Clark (unused substitute)

As I said on Twitter yesterday, it's a great sign of progress that Agbossoumonde, at just 18 years old, got called into the match day squad for a title contender.
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