U.S. Men’s National Team v. Mexico, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 3.26.13

Any sports fan has his or her hobbyhorses, and my own current sports fixation is this: I’m convinced DaMarcus Beasley is a transformative figure when he plays left back for the U.S. men’s national team. I mentioned in my last post that I thought Beasley was man of the match against Costa Rica. Of course any individual performance can be a fluke, especially when it takes place on a field covered with four inches of snow. But just four days after the Costa Rica match, against mighty Mexico in Azteca Stadium, Beasley turned in another remarkable 90 minutes at left back, helping the largely callow U.S. back line deliver another clean sheet. One stellar game may be a fluke, but two stellar games in a row initiate a pattern.

Beasley’s USMNT odyssey at left back may continue for at least another few World Cup qualifiers. In an interview with ESPN after the Mexico match, coach Jurgen Klinsmann was asked to talk about the play of center back Omar Gonzalez, who turned in his own memorable performance on defense. Klinsmann spent more time, however, talking about Beasley: “Outstanding, the back line, outstanding. Matt Besler, Omar. How Beas[ley] played the left-back role, it just seems like his whole life he played that role.”

Klinsmann hit on something with that comment. What makes Beasley so fun to watch, and no doubt coach, is not so much his well known physical quickness as his ability to read and react to the game. In that way, he reminds me of his longtime USMNT teammate Landon Donovan. Both are fast and skilled, but crucially they have high soccer IQs. Beasley is adept at anticipating where opponents and teammates will run or pass, putting himself into a position to take advantage of any given situation.

Sometimes his ability to anticipate is obvious, as in the 50^th minute against Mexico. Beasley calmly stole the ball from Javier Aquino in the penalty box then, seconds later after a Maurice Edu giveaway, he sprinted back into the box, deftly intercepted a cross back to Aquino by heading the ball into the ground, and used his left foot to swipe the ball out of bounds. It was a remarkable physical and mental display that somehow failed to generate comment from ESPN announcers Ian Darke and Taylor Twellman.

There are times when Beasley’s ability to read the game is more subtle. In the 24^th minute, for example, Mexico’s Andrés Guardado sent a sideline-to-sideline pass to a teammate on the U.S. left flank. As the ball sailed through the air towards the Mexico winger and Beasley, you could envision the gears turning in Beasley’s mind. He feinted very slightly as though he were about to head the ball up field, then held his forward motion so that the ball bounced between him and the attacker and out of bounds. The result: a U.S. throw-in and a thwarted Mexico attack.

There are plenty of other things to say about Beasley’s game against Mexico, including a yellow card and a couple of occasions when he got beat inside the box. But the fact remains that Mexico tested him again and again—if I had to guess I’d say he was on or around the ball more than anyone else in this game—but he never made a mental error, he never stopped running, and he and his back line didn’t allow a goal.

That’s enough for now. This goalless draw was notable for other reasons besides Beasley, including the fact that it keeps the U.S. near the top of a tough qualifying group. The result also does something to chip away at the U.S.’s abysmal record at Azteca, which now stands at 1-23-2, though it should be noted that in the last two games there the U.S. is 1-0-1.

More subjectively, there was something about last night’s game that reminded this USMNT fan of old times. I hope it doesn’t sound small-minded to say so, but it was kind of nice to watch a group of outfield players that had no hired guns from the remote-feeling Bundesliga. As Major League Soccer’s website noted, the U.S. side that took on Mexico was a team “completely made up of players born-and-bred in MLS (all 14 players who took the field were made in MLS). Players who perhaps are more in tune with the American soccer identity because of their history in the sport in the United States.” The U.S. players showed occasional quality, but what stood out was their collective effort, one in which nearly everyone hustled from beginning to end in the smog and high altitude of Mexico City. It was exciting and heartening to watch.

U.S. Men’s National Team v. Costa Rica, Denver, Colorado, 3.22.13

 

The U.S. men’s national team’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Costa Rica will be remembered as a game played in near-whiteout Rocky Mountain conditions. The snow fell so thick and fast it seemed from TV images that at least four inches of heavy-looking accumulation settled onto the field over the course of the match. It all made for a bizarre viewing experience. At one point in the first half the cameras showed a close-up of U.S. center back Clarence Goodson. With snow clinging to his hair and beard, he looked like a man on his way to a trading post to sell beaver pelts.

The image of Goodson was clear, but much of the game was virtually invisible to spectators. The impenetrability of the snow was compounded by the facts that U.S. players wore white jerseys and the ball was a pale yellow. At crucial points during the match I could hardly tell what was going on at all. Clint Dempsey scored the game’s only goal, but I had to wait for replays to even dimly understand how it transpired. (Jozy Altidore struck a shot that got deflected, and Dempsey ran onto the rebound and fed a yawning goalmouth with one of his hallmark borderline-garbage-but-nonetheless-critical scoring strikes.)

The conditions not only drastically cut down visibility, they blunted players’ technical abilities and gave the game a throwback feel. Long balls were repeatedly lumped forward towards the flags and into the penalty boxes. Players slipped and slid around like kids on a sodden playground. As ESPN color man Taylor Twellman noted, not without wistfulness, near the end of the first-half: “It’s like playing at the park right now.” He and his broadcast mate Ian Darke also pointed out that it was the kind of game in which defenders can easily lose their footing and get punished.

Which brings us to the U.S. back line, the most depleted unit of a team without Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Danny Williams, Brek Shea, and others (all except the rusticating Donovan out due to injury). Wide defenders Steve Cherundolo, Fabian Johnson, Timmy Chandler, and Edgar Castillo are injured, and Michael Parkhurst is ailing after a recent flu. Former captain and center back Carlos Bocanegra has no club team. None of them is on the current national team roster. That left coach Jurgen Klinsmann with a shallow pool of defenders for the game against Costa Rica, and he ultimately started Goodson and Omar Gonzalez in the middle and Geoff Cameron on the right. In a mildly surprising move, Klinsmann played longtime U.S. midfielder/attacker DaMarcus Beasley at left back.

The back line was, apart from the snow, the story of the game. Cameron had some shaky moments, occasionally dwelling on the ball too long and/or giving it away, but they played well as a unit and deserved the clean sheet. In the center, Goodson shined, clearing balls with conviction and settling them with surety. Gonzalez also looked strong, but Beasley, playing in his 98^th national team game, outshone them all. He was the man of this match by far, and turned in a remarkable performance that may lead to more on the back line.

Beasley’s match started unpropitiously. In the 8^th minute, Gonzalez clocked him in the jaw with the crown of his head during an aerial challenge, a collision violent enough to send team doctors out to attend to Beasley. In the 21^st minute, the U.S. was beaten down its right flank, and Beasley slipped in the box while attempting to head away the cross. It could have been costly, but Costa Rica couldn’t capitalize.

After that, Beasley was nearly perfect, and you could make a strong case that he was the engine of the team. Despite the snow-covered field, he got forward repeatedly. He created the U.S.’s second best chance of the night in the 42^nd minute, sending a perfect cross into the box towards the back post. The Costa Rica keeper misplayed it, and Dempsey was taken down in the box by New York Red Bulls man Roy Miller. Stunningly, the referee did not call a penalty kick, but Beasley’s cross probably should have helped to effectively put the game out of reach.

Beasley was seemingly everywhere, not only attacking down the flank and sending in smart and dangerous crosses, but defending well. In the 83^rd minute, for example, he made a good run forward, then immediately tracked back to win the ball and clear it. In the 45^th minute he might have saved two points for the U.S. as he broke up the rhythm of Costa Rica attackers in the box, snuffing out what looked to be a promising sequence for them. His work rate was superb. Even in stoppage time and on the snow-covered surface the guy was attacking. In the 92^nd minute he had a good exchange with substitute Maurice Edu that ended with yet another dangerous Beasley cross into the box.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see Beasley play left back again, but I for one hope he’ll start there next Tuesday when the U.S. plays Mexico in Azteca Stadium. Beasley himself may be less than enthused by the prospect. In a 2009 Chicago Tribune article entitled “Beasley prefers the midfield, obviously,” he was quoted as saying: "Yeah, obviously [I would prefer to play midfield]. I’ve never played leftback before. This is my first time I play leftback 90 minutes [sic]. It was different.”

Despite those disparaging remarks, Beasley yesterday helped make clear what anyone who has coached on any level comes to realize quickly: outside backs are vitally important to a soccer team. Bad ones can kill a team, both with their defensive mistakes and with the limitations they impose in the attacking half. Good ones stonewall the other team’s offense and ignite their own. I’m beginning to think no other position on the field is more important than fullback. I hope Beasley, who is now 30 and near the end of his career, has come to share that view.

Revolution at Philadelphia Union, 3.16.13

The New England Revolution deserved to lose this game to the Philadelphia Union, and they did, 1-0. The pivotal moment of the match effaced any of the few moments of quality displayed by New England players up to and after that point. Philadelphia had been pressing for the entire second half, but hadn’t created many decent chances. With a few exceptions, New England’s back line had played in an organized way. But for whatever reason, they and their midfield mates switched off after the Union won a corner kick in the 75^th minute.

As Philadelphia’s Sebastien Le Toux rested the ball near the flag to take the kick, he recognized that the Revolution defenders had formed a loose arc around Jack McInerney, as though preparing to sit down cross-legged and listen to him read them a bedtime story. As a result, McInerney was left standing inside the six, goal side of every New England defender except those manning the posts. A probably disbelieving Le Toux quickly raised his arm and sent in the cross. No fewer than four New England defenders watched—inert and useless—from the area around the near post as the ball sailed over their heads.

Meanwhile, the Unions’ Jeff Parke and Sheanon Williams ran towards New England’s bizarre crescent-shaped defensive formation. Only Williams was disrupted in his run (by Kevin Alston), so that, when Le Toux’s pass arrived, McInerney and Parke were left shockingly wide open in front of the goalmouth. McInerney got on the end of the pass, and New England keeper Bobby Shuttleworth did well to block the shot. But McInerney was still so unencumbered by opponents after the deflection that he easily scored.

I’ll digress a moment to say that one of the appealing aspects of MLS is that its players on average don’t make a lot of money, but they do frequently display a satisfyingly high mix of quality, passion, and discipline. The Revs’ own Lee Nguyen might even be taken as the league’s poster child. I believe he’s New England’s best and most creative player, and one of its hardest working. Last year, though, he had a base salary of just $44,000. Truly, MLS is a league for those who are fed up with lazy prima donna athletes, made rich beyond the dreams of avarice by their bloated guaranteed contracts.

Unfortunately, that mix of quality, passion, and discipline that MLS players often show was entirely lacking on the Union’s goal, at least on one side of the ball. And as a proponent of MLS who took two hours out of his weekend to watch this game, New England’s effort on the play felt tantamount to a personal insult. It’s true that the Revolution back line has one newcomer (Jose Goncalves) and one rookie (Andrew Farrell), but the goal was inexcusable and would have been embarrassing for a team playing at any level.

I’m tempted to vow that I’ll drop New England and follow another team if the Revs display another similar inexplicable defensive lapse this season. That could be my recent disappointment affecting my judgment. But when it’s so easy to turn on the TV and watch teams like the L.A. Galaxy and Houston Dynamo—not to mention Barcelona and Manchester United—it may simply be the logical decision.

Revolution at Chicago Fire, 3.9.13: Andrew Farrell’s MLS Debut

 

If New England’s 2013 season-opening win is any indication, Revolution fans had better enjoy rooting for rookie defender Andrew Farrell while they can. He was the first overall pick in the 2013 MLS draft, and in his first professional game he showed himself to be big, fast, skilled, and composed. After watching him for a mere ninety minutes, I’d be surprised if he’s not playing club soccer in Europe in a few years’ time.

At halftime of Farrell’s MLS debut, former New England defender and current New England head coach Jay Heaps—normally poker-faced or even sullen in front of a microphone—could not contain his enthusiasm. When a sideline reporter asked him to assess Farrell’s first-half performance, Heaps said, nodding and grinning, “I think Andrew’s looking good. He’s quick, he’s good to the ball. You can see what kind of player he is. He’s very smart.”

Heaps made these remarks even in the face of a number of mistakes committed by his rookie right back over the first 45 minutes. It is a truth universally acknowledged that as you move up through the ranks of soccer—from kindergarten leagues all the way to the pros—the pace of the game increases at each stage and players are allowed less and less time on the ball. After watching Farrell play against Chicago, you got the sense that he probably had all the time he cared to use at the college level, and maybe could have played there effectively with a newspaper in one hand a full coffee cup in the other. Against the Fire, he consistently and unhesitatingly chose to attack opponents rather than simply clear or cross the ball. And in each instance, he did in fact initially beat his man. But in a couple of cases he was dispossessed after dwelling too long on the ball or making a dubious pass.

In the 31^st minute the Revs were nearly punished for one of his mistakes. Chicago played the ball to the Revolution’s right corner flag and Farrell tracked it down. With a striker in close pursuit, Farrell calmly cut the ball back towards his own goal and left his opponent flat-footed in his wake. Then, however, Farrell passed towards the middle of his own crowded back third. Chicago’s Chris Rolfe intercepted the incautious ball and laid it off to Dilly Duka, who slammed a shot from about 25 yards out that was saved dramatically by Matt Reis. About seven minutes later, Chicago played another ball to the flag, creating an almost identical situation. Farrell used a couple of skillful juggling touches to settle the ball, and then he beat his man. Again, though, he turned the ball into the middle of the field. This time, Rolfe picked Farrell’s pocket off the dribble and side-footed a pass to the Fire’s recently acquired midfielder Joel Lindpere, who got off a decent shot.

These kinds of mistakes are of course common for rookies getting used to the pace of a new league. But Farrell’s composure and comfort on the ball suggest it will take him a lot less time than most to adjust. Simply put, his talent is so electrifying and obvious his mistakes are easily overlooked.

And the man can get forward. In the 56^th minute, he was involved in some brilliant combination play that might have led to a goal. Second-year Revs’ midfielder Lee Nguyen played a pass back to Farrell, who used a couple of deft touches to blow by Duka. Once again, Farrell held the ball a shade too long and was dispossessed. However, he recovered, put himself into a good position, and regained possession. In heavy traffic, he took a touch and wisely played a quick pass to veteran Juan Toja, who worked rapid-fire back to back give-and-goes, first with Nguyen, then with left back Kevin Alston. As Toja received the final pass at the six, NBC announcer Arlo White excitedly and rightly proclaimed the sequence to be “great football!” It surely would have ended in a goal were it not for the flawlessly timed slide tackle of Chicago’s Austin Berry. Later in the game, the Revs’ midfield proved this bit of combination play no fluke when they scored the game’s only goal. It was an impressive sequence punctuated by an effortless chip to the back post by Kelyn Rowe and a Jerry Bengtson header.

Bengtson was named man of the match by NBC, and he had plenty of competition from teammates Rowe, Toja, Nguyen, and center back A.J. Soares, all of whom played excellent games. But the subject of this post should make it clear that, for me, Andrew Farrell was the game’s most compelling player. All the others guys I mentioned were known quantities, not him. Revolution management thought enough of him to trade up in the draft—he’s the first number one overall pick in franchise history—and in the first game at least he came through. It seems to me he’s a player to get excited about, someone a knowledgable soccer fan will go out of his or her way to watch, and maybe a player to make Revolution soccer relevant again in MLS.