We are one week in to the tournament and Spain, the defending champions are already gone, so naturally they have come off my list. 1. USMNT 2. Costa Rica 3. Ghana 4. Italy 5. CH 6. Holland 7. France* 8. Chile *France are on Official Supporter Probation. As long as they continue as they are doing they will move up this list. I expect once they break from their group the probation will be lifted. The bottom four are the same, except there were some changes in the alignment: 29. Mexico 30. Belgium 31. England 32. Portugal Of the Top 8, Ghana is the most likely to be eliminated, and I suspect Germany will take their place in a lower spot by this time next week. By July 2, I suspect my list should look something like this (there will only be eight teams left in the tournament): 1. Germany 2. Italy 3. France 4. Holland 5. Colombia 6. Brazil 7. Argentina 8. Belgium
************ Meanwhile, as for Ingerland, they are sincerely hoping they are not going to be singing this tonight!
All day long, a sweaty smelly husk of a human by the time five PM PDT rolls around today.
Unless the USMNT just completely rolls over and gets waxed today by the Black Stars, which is definitely a legitimate possibility, and then I will be less exhausted husk and more very tired rationalizing philosophizing Alibi Ike.
The key for the USA today is the same as it always for them in the World Cup. They can not concede early goals in these matches. For whatever reason, and despite always having World Class goaltending, the USA's biggest weakness has always been conceding early goals in the World Cup. Much of that has to do with the fact that the US just has not been very good at producing and nurturing top flight defenders, and there probably is a mental thing/nerve sort of thing happening, as well.
I would like to think that coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, has helped the USA over that jitters thing, but we will not know until about twenty minutes in to today's contest with Ghana.
I am just going to have to see the games. The USA could very easily look like Honduras did yesterday, rack up a bunch of cards, have no attacking play whatsoever, and get seriously humiliated in this tournament.
Or, they could score some goals, get some lucky breaks, and make it to the Round of 16, or further.
One thing I can guarantee is that will not get any benefit of the doubt when it comes to difficult or crucial refereeing decisions. FIFA hates the USA, and always will, most likely. But I do not want to be like a whinging England supporter. It is never England's fault when they lose. They are always robbed of greater glory.
So, I accept the difficult situations, and I temper my expectations, and ultimately resign myself to answering the question: Am I proud of them? Did they acquit themselves in an entertaining classy way?
But not with me, or at my house. And, that is because of both my parents, especially my father. Even if I acted out or rebelled against him as a teen, all those lessons on manners really did sink in, and I am still a loyal polite soldier in a world where lots of folks do not seem to know or care any more.
So, here's to William Andrew Spitler. Happy Father's Day to a supreme awesome Dad. And, here is a little Motown for you, too!
Love you, Bud! We will call you today from Renee's folks house.
The list is descending order, thus, if No 1 (USA) met No 2 (CH) in a match, I would support the USA. I will support the USA against all possible opponents, and there is only one team that Switzerland could play wherein I would not support them, the USA.
I like Switzerland because my parents used to live in Basel, and my father still does much of the year; and because I have a weird softness for that bizarre proud country.
I like Spain because their players are beautiful, they play a beautiful brand of football with a goofy nickname -- tika taka -- and they always seem to exude class on and off the pitch.
I like Honduras and Costa Rica because they are tiny nations that seriously over-perform and get very little respect.
Go La Bicolor!
I like Holland for their gorgeous uniforms, and their exciting lively brand of football (even though lately they have become quite goonish), and the way they always have their fans pull marketing stunts in the crowd to piss off their opposition.
Ghana is my favorite African nation. They know how to win, and they are the USA's nemesis.
Ecuador is my favorite Central or South American nation because they are a very tiny nation, too, and get very little respect.
This list will have to change as the tournament progresses, and it will, and I will update it over the next month. It has to change because as even a footy novice will notice, very few of those teams in my Top 8 have any legitimate chance to make it deep in to the tournament. Only Spain and Holland from my list would count as serious contenders. Ghana would be a dark horse. If I had to make a Top 8 of simply legitimate sides, it would look like this:
1. Spain
2. Brazil
3. Ghana
4. Germany
5. Uruguay
6. France
7. Italy
8. Argentina
France is a toughie. Normally they would be in my opening Top 8, but they kind of broke my heart at the last World Cup, with all their prima donna behavior, and mutiny. If they are on their form, and keep it classy, they could move up my list very quickly.
Now, there is a bottom of the list, as well. These are the four nations I like the least, and will be rooting against.
29. Belgium
30. Mexico
31. (tie) England
Portugal
I can not explain it fully, but I can not stand Belgium. Mexico are the USA's mortal enemy, and if England and Portugal met in this year's World Cup, I would hope for a power outage. I hate both of them so much. Portugal for their crappy sportsmanship, and CR7; and England because of their smug nasty homer xenophobic fans.
John Oliver really got it right last Sunday. It is amazing how he did this in a hilarious way right after I had said all of the same things about FIFA to the Wife the day earlier.
I think I like the French(?) guy best, talking about beer.
Had a brilliant World Cup preview inside. It included the excellent profile of the USMNT's coach, Jurgen Klinsmann; had fun graphic Spy Magazine-like charts (they are picking Uruguay to win -- not a bad choice); an article on the new music from Brazil; and, with Lionel Messi on the cover, naturally, an article on why Messi is not loved in Argentina.
Re Messi: We have a supremely sweet Argentine dairy delivery driver at our store, and he has already explained to me why Messi, the greatest footballer on the planet right now, is not loved by his home nation.
The argument is thus: Messi has not performed well in the World Cup Finals tournaments that he has been in, and that is true. Messi also went to Spain at a very early age, and did not play in the Argentine professional leagues. Messi also plays for Barcelona FC, one of the best club teams in the world, and a team that is essentially an international all-star team. So despite Messi absolutely shattering previous Club football goal-scoring records the past few years, Argentines continue to shrug their shoulders. Why?
Because of Maradona. Diego Maradona is arguably the greatest footballer of the Twentieth Century. He is also from Argentina, and he grew up in much worse circumstances than did Messi. The whole slums v suburbs argument again.
And, let us look at Maradona's CV: Maradona is one of the greatest World Cup players ever, who has scored both of the most talked about and celebrated goals in World Cup history. In the same game! (Poor Ingerland.) Sure, one of them might have been illegal, but it still has the coolest nickname: The Hand of God. (There was nothing illegal about the other goal, as Maradona mercilessly shredded the entire England side, essentially one-on-eleven, and calmly slotted the ball in the back of the net.) Maradona won that World Cup as captain, and led the Argentines to a second place finish four years later, despite playing with an injured ankle. Maradona's Club CV includes a decent sized stint with an Argentine club, a trip, also, to Barcelona, where he performed very well even though he and the management were not friendly. Then, Maradona was sold to Napoli in the Italian Serie A. Napoli was not a team of all-stars to say the least. Moreover, no Club team from Southern Italy had ever won the league title, period. Well, that changed. Maradona, nearly by himself, lifted that Napoli side to becoming one of the best teams on the continent.
Of course, there is the whole back page of Maradona's resume, too. That is the page that talks about the suspensions, the drug abuse, the steroids, etc, ... (Messi himself took steroids at a young age due to a growth hormone disorder.)
So, even with Maradona's complicated and tumultuous life off the pitch, he will always be revered over Messi in Argentina, and to me, personally.
I was fortunate enough to watch the Hand of God and the other goal v England in 1986. At home, on teevee, in Austim, Texas; and I have always adored difficult and feisty artists and athletes. Messi may be one of the greatest footballers I have ever seen, but he is no Maradona. I stand with the other Argentines, like that delivery guy.
"As for myself ... I am first a great charlatan, although one with great flair; second, I am a great charmer; third, I've a great nerve; fourth, I'm a man with a great deal of logic and few principles; and fifth, I think I lack talent; but if you like I think I've found my real calling -- patronage of the arts."
Note: I got this wonderful quote from Lisa Chaney's splendid biography of Coco Chanel, Chanel An Intimate Life
Is the greatest soccer player the United States has ever produced, and yet, unlike his friend and teammate, DaMarcus Beasley, Donovan will not be playing in his fourth FIFA World Cup Finals.
Donovan's World Cup CV is astounding, as well. It is not as if he was just coasting through his nation's most important matches. In fact, he has scored more goals in the World Cup Finals than some of the more illustrious strikers from other nations, including Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But, there has always been a nagging sense that as great as Donovan was, that he still could have been even better. That he could have been, in addition to being the greatest US soccer player ever, he might have been one of the world's best footballers, period.
If that is the case, then what was it that held him down? I believe it is the same thing that is keeping him out of the 2014 World Cup Finals: Attitude.
Donovan has always carried with him an attitude that suggests he is cocky, or a bit of a diva. Lots of the world's greatest athletes have attitudes like that. Many argue it may be essential to reaching elite achievement in sport, or art, or business, or life.
The first real instance of it possibly impairing Donovan's career advancement, though, came when he was playing in Germany in the Bundesliga. He was young, and had already scored goals in the World Cup, and, even by then, was probably considered one ofthe greatest US-born footballer's ever.
He did not play well in Germany. He sulked and moaned and bitched about probably everything in the entire experience of big-time European Club Football.
Unfortunately for him, the current USMNT coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, was working in the Bundesliga at the time, and was, I am sure, privy to every single Donovan story coming out of Leverkusen.
But it gets worse. Right on the eve of the USMNT's 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign, Donovan told Klinsmann that he was burned out and needed some time off. Even if it is not technically the case, that attitude smacks of someone who does not want to rehearse, and expects to be the star when the lights go on.
Klinsmann was not impressed. By the time Donovan was ready to return to the national side, the US were cruising through the Hex, and well on their way to Brazil. Klinsmann, in a sense, demoted Donovan by forcing him to play in the Gold Cup, with essentially the US B-team. Donovan did as he was told, and was the star of the tournament, which the US won.
It was not enough. Klinsmann left Donovan off the team for Brazil. Cue hue and cry!
The last time the media called for Klinsmann's head the USMNT ran off twelve wins in a row, so I am keen to give Klinsmann the benefit of the doubt, even though I bloody well know that the United States will not win this World Cup Finals, or possibly even make it out of their brutal group.
Klinsmann has a plan for the future that sees the USMNT as legitimate World Cup contenders in 2018 and 2022. Contenders in the sense that they could reach the Semis, the Finals, or win the whole damn thing. I am not kidding.
As much as I wish Landon Donovan was in Brazil, I understand why he is not, and I think it was the right decision by Klinsmann. Even if the USMNT are unable to break from their group this month, I still think Klinsmann made the right call.
I have always loved difficult or feisty artists and athletes, and I will always love Landon Donovan, and all his brilliant goals, and the way he got under the skin of every Mexican El Tri supporter. Despite the uneasy small feeling that he could have even been better, I consider myself lucky to have been able to witness the greatest footballer from the United States ever.
My favorite Donovan goal? As much as I love his dagger in El Tri's heart in 2002, I have to go with his goal against Slovenia in 2006. When it looked as if the World Cup was slipping away from the US he point blank scored one on one with a laser of a top shelf strike that literally had the goalkeeper going backwards in a pathetic effort to stop it. After the goal, as Donovan was being congratulated by his teammates, Donovan seemed to shrug them off, and kept pointing to his head, yelling at the entire team, as if to say, "What the fuck? Where are you guys? Use your head! Am the only guy playing here?"
