World Cup Matches of the Day; [R]; 6/12/06

[AreliusIV]

11 signs you've gone US Soccer crazy

1. You can't decide if Kasey Keller has the reactions of a cat or if your cat has the reactions of Kasey Keller

2. You thought about not paying the cable bill just so you could buy a special edition "US send-off" jersey. The only reason you did pay the cable bill was so you could watch more soccer matches.

3. Even though you've seen it 40 or more times, you still watch the Gatorade 'Whole New Ballgame' commercial every time it comes on.

4. You wear face paint even when watching the match at home.

5. You wear face paint even when 'watching' the match on match-tracker at work.

6. You have at least two of Bruce Arena's press conferences currently downloaded onto you iPod.

7. You have nicknamed something important (pet, car, girl/boyfriend) 'The Gooch.'

8. Whenever you hear someone talking about Mexico, your first thought is '2-0.'

9. You keep submitting Clint Dempsey's “Don’t Tread” video to Total Request Live.

10. When you hear there has been an accident on the traffic report, your first thought is 'Dear God, I hope John O'Brien wasn't hurt.'

11. When you called into work sick today, you thought about claiming it as a religious holiday.

[SoccerPrime]

I can't tell if I should be mad or supportive of this article... 😕

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

11. When you called into work sick today, you thought about claiming it as a religious holiday.

12. You got up at 4 AM just so you wouldn't have to call in sick, although you feel sick from lack of sleep and anticipation. 1 hour, 38 minutes to go!!!!!!

[Jose Luis Luviano]

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

"I'm an American. I played in England for 12 years. I don't have some dodgy English accent," said Keller. "I'm still speaking with an American accent."

OUCH

.

I remember back in 1995 when I got my first AOL account.

A poster complained about John Harkes' fake English accent.

A fan from the UK responded with "Fake English accent? I thought he had a fake American accent."

[AreliusIV]

U.S. Team to Play Czech Republic in First Match
By JERE LONGMAN
GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany, June 11 — The United States opens World Cup play here Monday against the Czech Republic. One expected matchup will more closely resemble the jostling of a power forward and a small forward, or of a tight end and a linebacker, than of a soccer forward and a defender.

The looming Czech forward Jan Koller stands 6 feet 7½ inches, shaves his thinning hair and carries the nickname Dino, short for dinosaur.

The sturdy United States defender Oguchi Onyewu stands nearly 6-4, wears his hair in cornrows and is nicknamed Gooch, short for his full name, Oguchialu, which in Igbo, a Nigerian language, means "God fights for me."

Their expected cunning and brawny duel may play a decisive role in Monday's outcome, which is vital for both teams. In the past two World Cups, only Turkey (in 2002) lost its first match and still advanced beyond group play.

"It's only three games," United States Manager Bruce Arena said of the round-robin play, which also includes matches against Italy and Ghana. An opening defeat and the desperate pressure to win the next match, Arena added, is "not psychological, it's mathematical."

"It's a little bit of a mountain to climb," he said.

The United States plays a zone defense along its four-man back line, so Onyewu is not expected to be assigned full time to Koller, who has 42 goals in 68 matches for the Czech Republic, which is ranked second in the world. But Onyewu is expected to stick to him on corner kicks and free kicks, when Koller's size and strength make him a vaulting threat on headers.

This became a vulnerability for the United States during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, where five of the seven goals the team allowed came on restarts. A free kick headed by Michael Ballack of Germany eliminated the United States, 1-0, in a quarterfinal match that many believe it should have won.

"We need to do a better job defending restarts," said Glenn Myernick, one of the team's assistant coaches.

That is where Onyewu's disruptive presence could be especially crucial. It is a challenge Onyewu, 24, says he relishes because referees tend to allow more shouldering and elbowing and hand-checking when the forward and defender both shop at the big-and-tall-men's store.

"I like playing against big guys," Onyewu said. "They don't complain as much when they encounter a big defender."

He expressed some frustration playing with Standard Liège in the Belgian league. Onyewu said he received three red cards for fouls that were more about size difference than about rules transgression during the club season that ended last month.

"If it would have been someone smaller than me, they would let it play on," Onyewu said. "Whatever I do, my size amplifies the effect a bit."

News reports indicate that he is negotiating to move to Middlesbrough of the English Premier League. Onyewu has described any pending transfer as speculation. But last month, at the United States team's training camp in Cary, N.C., he spoke longingly of playing in England, which essentially subscribes to the no-harm-no-foul rule of Big Ten basketball.

"They let you play without always blowing the whistle, and I appreciate that," Onyewu said.

The United States players have said they feel they have several advantages against the Czechs: speed, fitness in the building heat and World Cup experience. Half of the squad has played in a previous World Cup, while the Czechs have not participated since 1990; in Italy that year, representing Czechoslovakia, they manhandled a college-based United States team, 5-1. (Czechoslovakia split into two nations in 1993.)

"In a sense, it was embarrassing," said Arena, who attended that match in Florence as a spectator. "We didn't belong on the field."

Sixteen years after that first World Cup meeting, the United States will have a chance to reassess its standing against the Czechs, this time with Arena as manager. He does not reveal his lineups beforehand and has been particularly secretive before this match.

Defensively, the team knows it must be on alert for Tomas Rosicky, the Czech playmaker, and midfielder Pavel Nedved, the 2003 European player of the year. Each can be as irritating as Internet pop-ups, appearing in front of the goal in the most unpredictable and intrusive ways.

Koller, 33, will be no less menacing, playing as he does with the determination of someone whose success was deferred and interrupted. His scoring will perhaps become more critical Monday, now that his striking partner, Milan Baros, may be absent because of an injured left foot.

Trained as a toolmaker, Koller was once jeered by fans for his ungainliness while playing with Sparta Prague early in his career. He has since developed nimbleness with his feet. His agility and touch passing were evident in a recent 3-0 exhibition victory over Trinidad and Tobago; Koller scored twice, diving onto his stomach to thump a header into the net, and assisted on a goal by Nedved.

"We can't be taken by surprise and think he's only a big guy who heads the ball," midfielder Claudio Reyna, captain of the United States team, said of Koller.

In September, Koller tore a ligament in his left knee and had surgery in October. He returned to Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga in May. Still, Koller says he is in the best shape of his career. He signed Monday with Monaco of the French league.

"He's more powerful than a well-publicized lie, yet has feet so magical he could perform in a sequel to 'The Wizard of Oz,' " The Irish Times once said frothily of Koller.

So how to stop him?

"For the most part, you try to deny him," said United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who faced Koller in the Bundesliga. "He has a way of muscling himself into great positions."

Reyna said it would probably be futile to try to win headers and even-chance balls in the air from Koller. So the United States must be alert to pounce on deflections from his head or body.

"The key to shutting down any forward is not giving them time around the ball," Onyewu said.

Sometimes the best defense is a ruthless offense. Arena said he hoped his players could attack sufficiently to keep the Czechs on their heels. And the United States says it may score a goal of its own from a free kick or corner kick, something Onyewu has shown a capacity to do.

"We're fully aware that on both ends of the field they decide games," Reyna said of set pieces.

Onyewu, whose father played recreational soccer in Nigeria before immigrating to the United States, grew up in suburban Washington. Eventually, he was drawn to soccer and away from basketball and football, he said, because of the collective nature of the sport.

"There's stars, but the only real part is the team," Onyewu said. "That's the part I like."

After two years at Clemson University, he headed to Europe in 2002 — first to France, then Belgium — and encountered the usual pangs of homesickness, a language barrier and a curious respect borne of soccer chauvinism.

"They connected my ability to play with my Nigerian roots, not that I was an American," Onyewu said.

He became one of the top defenders in the Belgian league, but any innocence abroad was shattered this past season by two racial incidents. Once, Onyewu's car was pelted with debris. Another time, he said, he was punched in the face by a fan of the opposing team during a match after waving off the monkey chants directed at him.

"It's sad to see people still have that mentality, and that kind of ignorance still exists," Onyewu said.

His former club team, La Louvière, also became embroiled in a match-fixing corruption scandal in the Belgian league, with coaches being fired and players being barred.

"You don't agree, but you can understand why they did it," Onyewu said. "They're at one of the lower clubs and haven't been paid for three months at a time. Somebody comes in and offers them some money, and they make a bad decision by taking it."

As the United States has risen to as high as fourth in world rankings — it is fifth now — European appreciation has also risen, Onyewu said. But there is still much to prove against Koller and the Czechs.

"We did really well at the last World Cup," Onyewu said. "A lot of Europeans think that was a lot of luck. I don't."

[AreliusIV]

Czechs still dangerous even without Baros

[beaveman]

OK, I'm about to skip 4 hours of classes to cheer on USA and then watch Ghana/Italy (hoping for a Ghana result - win or tie).

Got tired of the Australia-Japan match so took my shower with 10 minutes to go so I could run into school and drop some stuff off. Big mistake!

Good luck USA!!!

[edaw33]

first two goals are pope's fault. bad clear on 2nd and a bad defensive decision mistake on the first

[Jose Luis Luviano]

Of course, we're losing.

We're wearing those ugly blue uniforms.

Have we ever defeated a team in FIFA's Top 50 while wearing those dark blue uniforms?

[Remus]

Originally Posted by edaw33

first two goals are pope's fault. bad clear on 2nd and a bad defensive decision mistake on the first

I thought Gooch cleared the ball to the middle, not Pope?