Side Kicks: Painting an American canvas
by Robert Burns and John Juhasz, FoxSoccer.com
No, I'm not xenophobic in any way, shape or form, but leaving here makes it so much more clear how many wonderful things exist right here in our own backyard.
FoxSoccer.com editor Robert Burns and FoxSports.com fantasy editor John Juhasz answer all your random questions about the Beautiful Game every Friday!
Side Kicks - Ask us anything about the Beautiful Game.
That in mind, I'm concentrating on two very American events this week — the U.S. World Cup qualifier against Guatemala, and Sunday's MLS Cup.
Wasn't it great to see the pairing we've all been clamoring for actually play together in a meaningful match? The strike tandem of Jozy Altidore and Kenny Cooper paid some dividends and offered a pretty good glimpse of the future.
Yes, it was Guatemala, but that's irrelevant. Everyone knows that the game belongs to the kids now and that's exactly what the U.S. has to do in order to compete on the world stage. I might be looking at things with rose-colored glasses, but actually seeing some bite and skill from up-and-coming young Americans proved quite a treat on Wednesday night.
Many thanks to Brian Ching and Josh Wolff and all the others who served on the U.S. front line over the years, but it's time to realize that we've already gotten out of those players everything we're going to get. It was a step in the right direction, but it's time to move forward. Let's hope Bob Bradley does the same when it really counts at the Azteca next year.
Domestically, I'm looking forward to this Sunday's MLS Cup, which I will be covering live from the HDC. Why so much hate towards New York since they had a very average regular season and happened to turn it on during the playoffs?
Is that any different than the Knicks going to the NBA finals around a decade ago when they finished 8th in the east? Is it any different than a wild card NFL team making it all the way to the Super Bowl, or the Marlins winning the World Series twice with anything but the best team in baseball?
If you're the best team, then you win when it matters most, and Houston and Real Salt Lake failed to do that against the Red Bulls. New York earned the right to be in Carson this Sunday and face a very big task against a well-oiled Columbus machine.
Personally, I think the Crew will simply put a glorious cap on a great season and Sigi Schmid will grin the widest after winning the title in L.A. (the same team that fired him while in first place a few years ago). Good for him ...
Columbus 3, Red Bulls 1.
By the way, Johnny is off to Vegas again this weekend to bet on how long Gallas stays Arsenal's captain ... he's getting great odds.
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs
| Eastern Conference Final | |
| Thu., Nov. 13 | |
| Columbus 2-1 Chicago | Recap |
| Western Conference Final | |
| Sat., Nov. 15 | |
| Real Salt Lake 0-1 New York | Recap |
| MLS Cup | |
| Sun., Nov. 23 | |
| Columbus 3-1 New York | Recap |
| *Airs on FSC | MLS Cup photos | |
Let's do this thing ...
Do you think the MLS would be better served if it were to bring in more quality players from markets like Romania (which has some very good footballers) rather than a few big signings every once in a while?
John of Vienna, Va.
Robert: Bulgaria, yes. Romania? I'm not sold on it. But seriously, MLS moving for young, hungry players either in Europe or South America is not only a good thing, it's essential.
In Europe, the ideal player to bring over is someone in their mid to late twenties who's perhaps languishing on the bench behind real good players on some of the better clubs. Juan Pablo Angel was a perfect example of this ... these guys want to play first-team football and may just be so far out of the picture that a move to MLS is the perfect tonic.
That being said, I think it will be very difficult to pry up-and-coming young stars from any country in Europe as they will still see their opportunities with one of the 'Big Four' leagues closer to home.
In South America, there must be hordes of young players who aren't making a lot of money for any of the mid-table clubs just about anywhere on that continent, and they surely must be tired of not getting paid on time or worrying about the ever-present threat of someone in their family getting kidnapped.
Convincing them that they can overcome the cultural differences is probably the hardest part, but with more and more South Americans coming to play in the U.S., that should become much easier in the near future.
European League Coverage
But as much as we need to look for talents abroad to build up our league, let's never lose sight of the fact that MLS is for the development of the American player first and foremost.
Is there a rule that the half/game can only end while the ball's in play? For instance, if the ball goes out for a goal kick in stoppage time, the ref almost always waits until the keeper kicks it before blowing the whistle to end the game. Why not just end the game when the ball goes out since the ref obviously knows it's over? Also, I've recently seen a couple matches where a team is pushing forward near the goal and the ref blows the whistle. Usually, it seems they won't end the game when a team has a chance to score. I assume there is a protocol here.
Matt of Louisville, Ky.
Robert: There is no set law that the ball must be in play when the whistle sounds — it's completely up to the referee's discretion. I've seen every case imaginable here and it's just more fuel to the fire when it comes to the zebras and their decisions affecting matches.
You're right though, Matt. In most cases the referee will usually let the offensive team get one more crack at goal if they're pressing, but once the ball has left the danger zone, it's all over.
Now that all six CONCACAF teams have been decided for the 'hex' in World Cup qualifying, is there any chance for a team outside the U.S., Mexico or Costa Rica to make it to South Africa in 2010?
Aaron Potter of Coral Gables, Fla.
Robert: It's tough to really gauge how strong the Ticos are right now since they played in the most Mickey Mouse group in the CONCACAF semifinals. Haiti and Suriname, while Canada got Honduras, Jamaica and Mexico? Whoever drew that up should be fired immediately.
I don't think there's any doubt that Mexico and the U.S. will go 1 and 2, but if anyone can give Costa Rica a run for their money for the third spot, it's Honduras. They looked very good against Mexico on Wednesday night and if they can put together that kind of performance during the hex, they just might force the Ticos to play against Chile or Uruguay in the playoffs.
El Salvador got lucky by being drawn into Group C as well and will find it hard to earn any points outside of their home match against the Soca Warriors. And speaking of T&T, I think they might have peaked already and don't expect a lot from them during the hex, although they could easily spoil someone else's ticket.
Robert Burns is the editor of FoxSoccer.com and John Juhasz is a fantasy writer for FoxSports.com.
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