The Let Up

Andrew Dixon gets rhetorical over the Guatemala - United States World Cup Qualifier.

By Andrew Dixon

Hey, Grown Man, how are you?

Oh, hey, what’s up?

Where’ve you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.

You know, taking care of business, watching the Olympics.

So, did you see that match last week?

Which one?

US against Guatemala.

Oh, yeah, I watched it.

Big time win, huh?

I guess.

What you mean, “I guess,”?  The US went on the road and claimed a historic win.

(Shoulder shrug) They won, that’s about all that can be said about it.

Why are you so down on this win?

Because, they basically had no business winning that match.  None. The US was awful offensively.  There was no continuity to the play.  Didn’t John Harkes say that the US had the technical ability to play out of the back against Guatemala? Didn’t see that much, now did we? When did the US actually string passes together and run the hosts ragged?

Um…not till the end of the game.

Thank you! Did they show any kind of great creativity or make any real incisive passes to open up the defense or did they  knock around, get inpatient and send a long ball HOPING that someone gets onto it? At what point were Ching and Dempsey even on the same page as starting forwards?

They didn’t seem to be playing together.

I’m not sure that the US even troubled that wack goal keeper.  Did the US even have a shot on goal in the first half?

They only had like three for the entire game.

Exactly and two of those were by defenders off of set plays. The start to the second half was worse.  While they were troubled only for speed down the flanks in the first half, the US were under the siege for the first 15-20 minutes, watching shot after shot whistle past the post. They were one Tim Howard away from getting run out of there. If Guatemala was any good, they’d have converted a couple of those.

Sounds like you’re down on the US.

Can I be real for a second?

Be real, son.

I’m tired of the US playing down to opponents.  Do you think Mexico comes into G. City and allows GUATEMALA to dictate tempo, style and play to them? You think Mexico shows up and is unable to string more than 4 passes together?  Brother, please.

I’m sorry but Guatemala simply isn’t supposed to be on our level.  Did you see the team we put out there? We had nine overseas based players, who have played in top divisions all over Europe.  Seven of them have played in the World Cup. Could anyone on Guatemala’s roster say that?  And all we can muster is THREE shots on goal, two by defenders?   Naw, man. I’m tired of relaying on set pieces to score because we can’t break down teams like Guatemala.

Can I be real for a second?

Be real, son.

I’m tired of people qualifying every big thing the US does. What is it with you people?

Gutting out a win against Guatemala is big?  And what do you mean, “you people.”

Shut up. Do you remember this corresponding match 8 years ago?

Yeah, I do.

So you recognize that there was a time we’d have lost this game or had to share the points.  That experience that you speak of, that poise, that’s what you should be focusing on.  Without it we don’t win this match and THAT is what most important. We’re not Brazil so we have to work a little harder, play with a little more determination to pull wins like that out.

Oh don’t get me started on that hard work…

And determination, yeah yeah yeah, You don’t like hearing it. But you know what? That commitment is what wins matches when things aren’t working, especially away to places like Guatemala.  Think about what the US was up against in this match.  You had a very wet,  uneven and heavy field due rain.  You had a revved up crowd of 20k.  Steve Cherundolo gets sent off for two infantile yellow cards. Don’t get me started on the antics of the Guatemalans, who hacked the entire game....

They had only six more fouls than we did.

True, but they also cried after every call, as if trying to rile the crowd up. Plus no one from the US was kicking goal keepers or spearing midfielders the way they were.  I looked up Jose Manuel Contreras  in my Spanish dictionary and all I found was a picture of Rafael Marquez.

Funny

What I’m saying is that this was never going to be a game for the US to show this individual skill you demand to see.  Instead of asking WWMD (What Would Mexico Do) you should be asking yourself, “Has the US turned a corner? Have the US learned to keep its composure in the view of a hostile crowd,  dirty play and poor sportsmanship?” Remember a there was a time when US played scared in matches like this.  Not anymore.  They held their nerve, got stuck in and all that.

Get stuck in? Who are you, Martin Tyler?

Seriously, the US’s confidence on the ball and technical ability will continue to improve but so too will the belief that they can win in the toughest of atmospheres.  That’s almost as important as being able to break down a defender, on e on one and helps turns losses into ties and ties into wins.  They’ll need that belief in the next round when the presumably run up against Costa Rica, (whom they’ve also never beaten away) and Mexico.

Besides, we still don’t have any reliable forwards, Freddy Adu wasn’t on the roster and Landon Donovan was stranded out on the wing instead of in the middle where he can do his best work. All in all, to pull three points out of there might not be US-Brazil from 1998, but it’s nothing to shrug your shoulders at either.

I feel you, up to a point.  We shouldn’t have been relying on that get us past a  team ranked 69 places behind us.  Given the team we had out there, it should have been a lot more comfortable. Just One Grown Man’s Opinion.

Maybe, but the players on the field did what they had to do win in the face of adversity.  You said the mark of a great team is getting results in matches they should probably get nothing out of. They did that and need to be commended for it. That too is One Grown Man’s Opinion.

Andrew Dixon is a soccer writer based in Miami and a weekly columnist for USSoccerPlayers.  Contact him at: golnoir@golnoir.net