Hotmail
Gold Cup's first weekend lacks punching power
CONCACAF Gold Cup
One might wonder why the USA is taking its regional championship so lightly. After all, the Gold Cup is the big one in this region, and the USA has a long track record of success that dates back to its inception in 1991.
Part of it is scheduling. The Gold Cup is a biennial competition and winning the 2007 crown got the USA into the Confederations Cup, but there is no similar prize to be had this time around.
But part of it is the fact that the Gold Cup seems increasingly out of step as the sport grows in America. The Gold Cup was once a bigger deal — and an important measuring stick — for an American team that needed all the competition it could get. Now, it seems to be more of a chore for the USA while it has become a big deal for Mexico. How times change.
The Americans and Mexicans have dominated the competition with four wins each, but the U.S. has won three out of the past four (the only other nation ever to win a Gold Cup is Canada, in a flukey 2000 outing that featured invitees Colombia and South Korea and a bunch of upsets).
Most people expect this tournament to be an American-Mexican showdown once again — and on the evidence of the opening weekend, they're right.
Sadly, the opening games have been less than spectacular, especially when set next to the FIFA show of the previous weeks. The best game, the USA's 4-0 win over Grenada, was a slaughter. That match never saw the Yanks take it out of first gear against an unfit and inept side, but also saw the much-changed American eleven actually complete passes, cross the ball and make shots on target. That kind of play has been rare.
Fans who hoped to learn something about the 'B's from the game are also bound to be disappointed. This Grenada couldn't beat a USL-2 team, much less a national side of any caliber. And the Americans who took the field — while looking far, far better than every other team in the tournament — also got a lot of chances to show off thanks to nonexistent defense.
Robbie Rogers completed several deadly crosses to set up goals, and looked good doing so, right enough. But he was also allowed acres of space by a Grenadian defense that simply conceded. Rogers faces tighter marking with the Columbus Crew, so while he ably took his chances, it's hard to get any sort of feeling for his play out of this one match.
Likewise, Freddy Adu was the most capable player on the field, making the passes no other American player seems to think of. He also looked like a kid trying far too hard, a player badly out of form from his lack of high-level match practice. The fact that he soared against a team that wasn't able to tackle him can't be taken as an indication of anything.
If he gets to play another four or five games, Adu hopefully will show the flair that everyone believes he is capable of. It's been clear for some time that Adu needs to be a part of the 2010 effort for the USA to have a real chance. But it's also clear that he must play regularly in 2009-10 — consider the Gold Cup his audition for a European team that needs help.
Other standouts on the night included Stuart Holden, who seems to gamely be making progress and Heath Pearce, who is efficient and solid. And we know what Charlie Davies and Steve Cherundolo bring to the table — they did not disappoint.
The ones who did tended to be guys who were already so far on the fringe. Kyle Beckerman has a tremendous commitment, but shows little sense of the game. He spent the evening spraying wasted passes and after too many strange decisions when on the ball. Logan Pause rarely got into the game, and while Chad Marshall and Clarence Goodson were decent, they weren't guys you would swap out for the A-listers, either.
The rest of the games have served to demonstrate, again, how much this region really needs to grow, and not just at the player level. Friday, Canada and Jamaica kicked things off with a poorly refereed, virtually unwatchable game that will have have failed to please the tournament organizers. Terry Vaughn is one of the top American referees, but on the evidence of this game that fact is an indictment of our entire development system. His colleague, Paul Ward, also MLS-trained, had similar struggles in the Nicaragua-Mexico game on Sunday, gifting a phantom penalty to the Tricolores.
This may not be fair to either man. There are still few opportunities for coaches, referees and the vast majority of CONCACAF players to get any kind of meaningful play at the top level. Ward and Vaughn are hardly exceptions, as the roster of officials show that only four men — veteran Mexicans Benito Archundia and Marco Rodriguez, American Jair Marrufo and Salvadoran Joel Aguilar — have had true, significant experience outside of the CONCACAF region.
USA vs. Grenada
And not one of the officials taking the field this month is likely to get a chance to improve his skills, either. Vaughn isn't going to get a shot in the Mexican first division any more than Marrufo would get a chance to guest in the Premiership.
The Gold Cup remains important for just this reason. Without it, the Panamas and the Wards of the region can't improve. But for Mexico and the USA — who outgrew the competition at the turn of this century — it's simply a good opportunity to test roster depth. Except in Mexico's case this time as a wobbly start in the CONCACAF hexagonal has them badly needing wins to gain confidence and quiet the critics at home.
The USA won't learn a great deal even if they do prevail in the final. For Bob Bradley's team, the next real test comes when the 'A' team heads to the Azteca next month. This group — except for Adu — is just marking time until that day.
Jamie Trecker's newest book, "Love and Blood: At the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans and Freaks" is out now from Harcourt. Jamie is assisted by Jerry and Janice Trecker. Contact Jamie at jamie.trecker@gmail.com and visit his blog and website at www.jamietrecker.com.
The views and opinions expressed by Jamie Trecker do not necessarily reflect those of the Fox Soccer Channel or FoxSoccer.com.
Add a comment
advertisement
