Copa de Oro Redux

Hello soccer fans. I'm back. If only because I'm done with finals. But I'm back, so no more complaining about how I never post anything. Brian. You're the only one who reads this anyway.


But on to the Gold Cup. What a great performance from the US squad last night in their 4-0 crushing of El Salvador. El Salvador is spanish for "The Savior", but there was no savior for the poor Central Americans last night.

ES came out needing a tie to move on to the next round of the competition. Logically, this meant that they packed 10 players behind the ball and made no attempt to go forward in numbers. Thankfully, the Americans have progressed enough technically (in other words, Clint Dempsey is my Salvador) to break down some of the teams that try and pack it in against us. First half goals came by way of DaMarcus Beasley (who may be moving to Scotland and Rangers) and Landon Donovan. After that it was pretty much over, as El Salvador pressed for the opening 20 minutes of the second half before running out of gas. Taylor Twellman and DaMarcus Beasley finished off the scoring and our small of stature opponents.

First, my players of the game. Clint Dempsey is a clear choice. His ability to show back to the ball, control and distribute, is for the most part unrivaled by any current American forwards. Kind of sad really. He also was able to break down the Salvadorenos with some clinical passing and some deft dribbling maneuvers. His pass to DaMarcus Beasley to set up the second goal was perfect, as were some of his earlier passes that people chose to blast over the bar. He continues to be our most creative and composed player, and he always seems to be in position to score or assist.

Second has to be Michael Parkhurst. You barely noticed him at all. Which is great for central defenders. Especially those earning their second cap. He looked much better then Oguchi Onyewu, who likes to put his teammates in awkward situations and continues to make strange tackles, averaging a yellow card a game at this point.
Parkhurst won headers and took the ball away from dribbling latino midgets. He did his job well.

And how could I recap the game without talking about the goat? DaMarcus Beasley. I don't care if he scored twice. He showed no desire to get in on tackles, actually jumping out of the way of several tackles throughout the game. His passing was terrible. Most of his passes appeared as though aimed towards Salvadoran defenders. He refused to take people on, which is problematic for a guy who's most known for his quickness and ability to break down defenders. His first touch was worse than Onyewu's. And despite his two goals, he couldn't shoot. His first goal at least appeared aimed for the corner that it ultimately hit, but the shot had nothing on it. I actually spent the five minutes prior to his goal complaining about his ineffectual play on the wing, only to be reminded by Nate that Beasley always seems to be half terrible, half good.

And then of course he scores. Well, I refuse to credit him for it. The shot was weak. I was justified in my spite by two blown opportunities by Beasley in the next 10 minutes. In both situations, he was given the ball in space with only the goalie to beat (one the result of a perfectly placed, weighted ball from My Man Clint), and sent the shot at least 15 yards above the target. Only to outdo himself again shortly thereafter and again in the second half. His second goal came on another perfect pass from Dempsey, one which any player worthy of wearing the national team kit could finish with their eyes closed. Congrats Beasley, you scored a sitter. At least you didn't kick it over. All in all, Beasley ends the game with 2 of 7 shots on target, but should have emerged from the game with at least 4 goals. I can't celebrate his minor breakthrough. He's had no confidence since 2002. He needs to figure it out.

All things considered, the team looked solid. Replace Beasley with Mapp and figure out who to play in the middle instead of Onyewu (bench him and give him some motivation), and this team will win the Gold Cup. I love it. American regional dominance, trudging around Central America with a big stick, whacking our small brown brethren on the head. Teddy Roosevelt would be so proud.