As I described in my last post, Jonathan Bornstein's 95th minute goal not only put the United States on top of the CONCACAF qualifying region, but also helped send Honduras to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
Want to hear pure joy? The US Men's National Team Blog posted this clip this morning....Below is the Honduran post-game radio broadcast of the Honduras v. El Salvador, where the play-by-play announcers watch Bornstein send them to South Africa. Now, if only all of America was this happy when the US qualified.
In a technically meaningless game, the US Men’s National Team drew inspiration from tragedy. As reported on Tuesday morning, forward Charlie Davies was involved in a horrific one-car accident that put his career in jeopardy and took the life of a young woman. Less than 40 hours after the crash, and having already qualified, the US had to take the field in the final qualification match, which in the standings meant a lot more to Costa Rica. However, the US played their hearts out. Fueled with emotion, the US stunned Costa Rica coming back from a 0-2 deficit to tie and knock the Ticos out of an automatic World Cup berth.
From an American prospective, the first half of the match had one beautiful moment (pictured above) and two very ugly instances. During the 9th minute of the match, fans held up #9 signs (Davies’ number) to honor Davies and wish him well. But the touching gesture was pushed aside quickly as Costa Rica’s Bryan Ruiz added two swift goals within the first 21 minutes, including a beautiful upper-90 strike. The US seemed off their game as both forwards, Jozy Altidore and Conor Casey, missed several opportunities to put their team on the scoreboard.
The second half however, was a completely different game, especially in the last 25 minutes. Jozy Altidore, playing with purpose for his roommate Davies, was a maniac on the field creating chances and drawing several free kicks. Manager Bob Bradley inserted energy late in the half with both Jose Francisco Torres and Robbie Rogers providing the attack some instant impact. In the 72nd minute, Michael Bradley (Bob Bradley’s son) knocked in a rebound off a Landon Donovan shot to pull the US within one goal. Fortunately for the US, five minutes of stoppage time was added to the match and enabled Jonathan Bornstein to head in the equalizer off a corner kick with about 30 seconds left.
Bornstein’s header had a far-reaching impact in CONCACAF: Because Mexico tied Trinidad and Tobago, the US won the qualifying group. Furthermore, because the US tied Costa Rica and Honduras defeated El Salvador, Honduras leap-frogged Costa Rica into the final automatic qualification spot, qualifying for their first World Cup in 28 years. (Costa Rica must now play Uruguay, the fifth place team from South America for a shot at the World Cup.) Bornstein became an instant hero not only at RFK Stadium but throughout Honduras as his goal secured their trip to South Africa. Waving American (and Honduran) flags became part of the celebration in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (pictured above). In the conflict-stricken country, there is no word yet if Bornstein will be offered the key to the city… or the presidency for that matter.
Despite the win, there was one other concern: Defensive anchor Onguchi Onyewu, while trying to chase down a cross, tore his left patella tendon. He will be out for three to four months – plenty of time to get back into the mix for the World Cup. Nonetheless, his injury was a scary scene.
After the match, the team took an emotional victory lap, pulling Davies banners from the crowd to send to him in the hospital. Jozy Altidore summarized his teammates’ and his reaction to the last 48 hours: “Charlie’s really close to all of us and I just realized that at any single second you might not be able to play like you would so you have to make sure you take every opportunity. I realized that, and I realized that the hard way, by my friend not being able to play for five or six months. I’m going to try and make sure that from now on, when I step on the field I will play like it’s my last because you never know.”
2009 has been a breakout year for US Soccer and if there is one thing fans can take away from watching this team - they know how to come back. In three of the last four qualifying matches, the US has come back from one or two goal deficits to win or tie. Surely their experience in these types of matches, as well as matches in the Confederations Cup, will be quite valuable come South Africa. Furthermore, the team knows that giving up the first goal in a match is something they will need to prevent when the group stage begins on June 11. I’m sure Bob Bradley will work on team defending in upcoming friendlies. But in the interim, the US has some time to enjoy what they’ve accomplished.
That’s all for now. You can watch the US v. Costa Rica highlights below.
Horrific news hit US Soccer late yesterday afternoon when information spread about a fatal car accident involving rising star forward Charlie Davies. The accident occurred at 3:15am Tuesday morning when the car Davies was traveling in lost control and smashed into the guardrail on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Washington D.C. Davies was severely injured, while another passenger, 22 year-old Ashley Roberta, was killed. Officials confirmed that neither Davies nor Roberta was driving the vehicle. The identity of the driver, who survived the crash as well, has not been released. Alcohol has not been ruled out as a factor of the crash.
Davies was air-lifted to the hospital and underwent five hours of surgery to repair a lacerated bladder, punctured lung, fractured femur and tibia in his right leg, fractured left elbow, and facial fractures. After the treating doctors released the extent of Davies’ injuries, it’s clear that he is lucky to be alive. In a statement about Davies, Dr. Dan Kalbac said,"Injuries of this nature usually require a recovery period of six to 12 months and extensive rehabilitation. Due to Charlie's fitness level, his prognosis for recovery and his ability to resume high-level competition is substantially improved."
Two comments about the incident….
One, Davies was clearly in violation of a team curfew, no matter what time the US team set. While the news of the crash is saddening, my reaction is more of anger. Consider yourself Charlie Davies... two nights before a match, in which you are supposed to start, would you be out into the early morning – drinking or no drinking aside? First, think about yourself. Since June your career has taken off. You blasted onto the scene in the Confederations Cup with the US National Team and because of your great performance you earned a transfer from the little known Swedish club, Hammarby, to a Ligue 1 French club, Sochaux. You are now a mainstay in the US starting XI and are considered the fastest man on the squad, providing a perfect complement to another rising star Jozy Altidore. Your speed mixed with Altidore’s power possibly makes you two the best forward tandem in US Soccer history. Finally, you and your team just qualified for the World Cup starting next June.
Considering all these great things that just happened to you because of your hard work and your God-given skills, would you risk all of that for a fun night out two nights before a match? If it were me, the answer is absolutely not! Be selfish for a moment. Think about where your career is going. Then be considerate and think about your team and your country! While I am upset for Davies, I continue to find myself upset with Davies as well. Not only has he let himself down, he has let his French club down, his US team down, and the few but passionate US Soccer fans down. As a goalkeeper, I was lucky enough to play against Davies in high school. I got to witness his talents first hand as he scored on me several times. It is a shame that one mistake, one night of breaking the rules, can threaten to take your amazing talents away from you. Davies most likely will now miss the rest of the French soccer season as well as his chance to play in the 2010 World Cup.
Second, I was reading peoples’ reaction to the accident in the comments section online and one observation really struck me. They said, I’m paraphrasing here, “In the US, it’s much different from Europe considering that in England young soccer players are treated like rock stars. They are signed by big clubs in their early teens and through the newspapers over the years are touted to be the next great thing. In the US, upcoming soccer players are basically unknown except to the very few that passionately follow the sport. We, as players growing up, have the pleasure of knowing them and playing on the same field as them in high school and college before they make it to the international stage. Therefore, when horrible things happen to our players, they hit a little closer to home.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
My thoughts are with Charlie and his family, the Roberta family, and any other person directly affected by this tragic incident.
Everyone makes mistakes, I know, but the biggest mistake is not learning from them. Get better quickly, Charlie.
This past weekend was a tough one for me and those I call my Boston kinsman. On Sunday, my beloved Red Sox were eliminated in a terrible series against the Angels and to top off my Sunday night, the Patriots fell in overtime to the Broncos. Looking back on my weekend in sports, the only result that is keeping my head up is the US Men’s National Team 3-2 victory over Honduras. While not many people in the country, including myself, were able to watch the game due to TV rights, the highlights tell the story of a gutsy comeback mixed with a little luck.
The main storyline to come out of San Pedro Sula, Honduras was Manager Bob Bradley’s choice to start MLS forward Conor Casey over fan-favorite Jozy Altidore. The result of Bradley’s decision: the man looks like a genius. With a World Cup birth on the line, Casey exploded in the second half for two goals – his first for the National Team in 14 appearances. Less than two minutes into the second half Julio Leon put Honduras on top 1-0. The result seemed to strike a chord with the US men, who remember all too well about allowing a quick second half goal to Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final in June. Possibly drawing from their experience against Brazil, the US did not panic and calmly resumed the match determined to equalize the score.
Casey struck first for the US when he challenged Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares to a 50-50 ball in midair. Beating Valladares’ hands to the ball, Casey tapped it in with his head in the 58th minute. Seven minutes later, off the combination of two quick passes from Charlie Davies and Landon Donovan, Casey touched the beautiful pass from Donovan clear of the last defender and pushed the ball past Valladares to put the US on top 2-1. Donovan would add a goal off a beautiful free kick, bending the ball around the four-man wall, after catching Valladares cheating to his right.
In the 78th minute, things got a little scary when Leon added his second goal for Honduras. To add to the drama in the 87th minute, Stuart Holden committed an inadvertent handball in the US box, setting up a penalty kick for Carlos Pavon. Luckily for goalkeeper Tim Howard who guessed the wrong direction, Pavon pulled a Roberto Baggio (World Cup ’94 reference for those of you who remember) and sailed the shot over the crossbar. Moments later when the whistle blew, the US men began to celebrate.
Watching the clips of Casey’s goals, I could hear the silence of Bradley and Casey haters alike. Both figures have lately become unjust punching bags for media members and bloggers. For the columnists and experts who have bashed the US team throughout the qualifying period, they answered you in style. They came from behind on hostile and foreign soil to win on Saturday. They are World Cup bound. Bob Bradley (who owns the best record in US Soccer history) should take pride in this moment, as I’m sure he will. For all those who questioned whether he was the right man for the job, I hope he takes pride in knowing he pushed the right buttons, made the right tactical choice, and player selections to silence his critics… for now.
Congatulations to the US Men’s National Team. South Africa bound in 2010. Watch the highlights of the USA v. Honduras match below.
Next opponent: Costa Rica. Wednesday night, 8pm ESPN2. More to come…
Where do I begin? So much has happened in the world of American soccer in just the last two weeks. Let’s start with the big news:
First: The anticipation is building for the World Cup Qualifying match between the US and Honduras on Saturday night. The US, in full training mode down in Miami, will travel to San Pedro Sula, Honduras for their second to last qualifying match. On the surface, the game plan for the US is simple: win and you’re in. Lose and next week’s match against Costa Rica becomes a white-knuckled event.
For those of you who need clarification, if the US wins in Honduras they can book their flights to South Africa for next summer’s World Cup. Lose and US will put themselves into a must-win situation against Costa Rica at RFK Stadium on October 14. And what about a tie scenario? Getting out of Honduras with one point would not be devastating; however the US would leave themselves vulnerable and would still need a win at RFK. Saturday, therefore, is a must win.
Second: The US squad will not be at full strength on Saturday after receiving news that midfielder Clint Dempsey injured his shoulder in last Saturday’s match for his club team Fulham. Dempsey stayed behind in England to aggressively treat his injury in case he is able to play on October 14. Dempsey has been a mainstay in the US starting XI since his debut for the US where he scored the Americans’ lone, yet memorable goal against Ghana in the 2006 World Cup. His creativity and experience will be sorely missed and begs the question: who will replace Dempsey?
Manager Bob Bradley seems to have three good options to replace Dempsey. The general consensus among the knowledgeable soccer-ites seems to be a choice of Houston Dynamo’s Stuart Holden, Pachuca’s Jose Francisco Torres, or AFG’s Benny Feilhaber. Each brings a different skill set to the table that Bob Bradley will have to closely consider.
Holden has impressed in three substitution stints with the top squad against Mexico and El Salvador. He brings great energy and some good crossing and playmaking ability to the field.
Feilhaber has been in and out of the US lineup over the last two years appearing in 18 matches. Having shown flashes of creativity, Feilhaber brings possession skills that the midfield tandem of Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark lack. The US has been without a midfielder who is able to hold the ball and create scoring opportunities since former captain Claudio Reyna retired. (Disclaimer – I am by no stretch comparing Feilhaber to Reyna).
Finally, Torres, the youngest of the trio, brings great speed that can be an advantage to the US on the wing. However, Torres hasn’t seen the field for the US since June 6 against Costa Rica even though he was on the roster for every international match since then.
Is Feilhaber the answer to the lack of US creativity? If Holden or Torres are chosen, will they bring their great work ethic because they know their spot is on the line? Who would you choose if you were Bob Bradley?
Finally, third - there is a problem with the broadcast of Saturday night’s match. According to FIFA rules, the host country of each qualifying match holds the broadcast rights to the match. Therefore Honduras sold the rights to a network called Copa TV. Never heard of it? Yeah, me either. Well, Copa TV decided to broadcast the match on a closed circuit, which means unless you’re at a bar, you will not be watching the US. To add one more hitch to the problem, because Copa TV is charging a ton of money for the rights to show the match (like Pay-per-view), most bars will not be making it available. So far 29 bars in the United States, yes ONLY 29, will be showing the English broadcast and about 200 will be showing the Spanish broadcast. Here are three links to the lists of bars showing the game:
It is an insult to soccer fans across this country that both ESPN (“the worldwide leader in sports”) and Fox Soccer Channel allowed an unheard of network to outbid them for this match, especially since ESPN spent so much money to buy the rights to show every World Cup match next year.
If you’re reading this please contact your local bar or pub and ask them to consider buying the feed to the game. It is absurd that only 29 locations in the United States can watch our boys possibly qualify for their 6th straight World Cup!
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