retired_karamelkel

At least we were finished with the Champion’s Cup, one less thing to worry about. Our game with IP loomed three days later. Since it was a road game and since we would face Chicago two days after, my staff and I decided to start the second team at IP. That meant that Thornton would be the only regular starter along with Akwari, who returned to practice the day before the match. Otherwise, the lineup card would read: Kolodzley at LB, Jolly at RB, Merio at DC, David Johnson, Keenan and Daniels in midfield; Chung at AMC and Beech and Cunningham at the forwards. The bench would be Edwards, Delao, Dartt, Jeff Johnson and White. Kolodzley was named game captain. It was obvious that this lineup wasn’t going to do much, but we had more important games ahead. As it was, the backups weren’t complaining; they were just happy to get playing time.

The game with IP was in the evening, on a frozen pitch with the temperature hovering around the freezing mark. It was cold and inwardly, I was even happier that I hadn’t started my regulars. Given our history, one of them would have pulled or strained something and been out for the rest of the season. As the first half kicked off, IP deployed an unusual formation and tactics. First they broke out a variation of the 5-3-2 formation in which the fullbacks moved up on offense to the midfield, while the CMC moved up to an SC position, in short a 433 on offense. This looked likely to tire the fullbacks out, as they would be hoofing back on defense and out of position quite a bit. To complement this weirdness, they decided not to make tackles and went with the long ball as the best way to pass. Finally, they settled into a normal sort of tempo. For our part I told my team to not bother pressing. If IP thought their style would be enough to stymie us, they were quickly mistaken. On 9, Akwari threw the ball inbounds to Cunningham, who took it in stride and drilled it into the goal. SJ - IP 0. Twenty-five minutes later, Jolly went up the right flank and delivered a deep cross that Cunningham crushed to make the score SJ 2-IP 0. With a two goal lead, we knew we had the game won and we relaxed a bit. IP seemed resigned to their fate and didn’t change a thing. They grimily kept punting the ball up field. In injury time Beech worked a give and go with Cunningham and buried a header to make the score SJ 3 IP 0. That sealed the game for all intents and purposes.

As one might expect, the second half was a defensive game. I told my team to go into defensive mode, not play the trap and to keep men behind the ball. IP shifted to a straight t up attacking 352. It yielded results for them. But it was too late. On 66 Cuellar sprinted onto a cross that had landed in front of him and blasted it into the top corner to give IP a consolation goal. On 89 David Johnson put in a cross that bounced towards Cunningham. His eyes lit up and he whizzed the ball past the keeper’s ear to complete his hat-trick. The final score was SJ 4 IP 1. Cunningham won the MOM for his career game. It was a first class win by our second team, which should give the regulars a morale boost as they prepared to play Chicago in the second game of the semi-final playoffs.

retired_karamelkel

The day before the match with Chicago, a harassed Arena called me to tell me that he was selecting Reyna as part of the US national team for the last two games of qualifying. U wished Arena luck in the two games and went back to my own work. The staff meeting for the Chicago game was one of the shortest on record for us. Because I had rested the regulars in the last couple of games, they were all fit for this important match. Therefore, the lineup would be all regulars, White and Karbasslyoon (as EJ was out). The bench, after a few minutes of talking about whom was excelling in practice, were: Beech, Chung, Daniels, Merio and Thornton. In sum, the meeting lasted 15 minutes. Then all the staff went home to bed. We had to be back in the morning to go over last minute preparations for the afternoon game.

The afternoon of the 17th was a chilly sort of day. The sun was shining and the pitch gleamed emerald-green, so the chill could be ignored. But something was affected by a freeze deeper than the air. Chicago came out in a standard 442 with an attacking emphasis. But, despite their offensive mindedness Chicago’s offense was strangely lackluster. Their forwards kept speeding up the pitch, only to be caught offside and turn the ball over. For the first time in a while, our offside trap was working to perfection, negating one of the most potent offenses in the league. Chicago got precisely one shot all half and were caught offside 12 times. But they weren’t the only offense in the freezer as our offense wasn’t doing too well either. We kept wasting what good chances we got. In addition, the Chicago defense, noting how the offense was struggling, took their own game to a new level and kept stuffing us in our tracks. It didn’t help us that ex-SJ keeper Conway was in top form, sticking it to the team that had him two seasons earlier. As he made save after save, he would grin at the home fans as if to say “See, I should still be the San Jose goalkeeper.” By halftime, I was willing to concede the point as the score of the game remained 0-0 as we took the 15 minute break.

During the second half, neither team changed anything. As a result, the second half mirrored the first. Conway continued holding a stonewall against us until 68 when Maluleke took a cross from Reyna on the right and headed it past a scrambling Conway to make the score San Jose 1 Chicago 0. Chicago kept trying to attack, but our trap was beautiful to behold as the frustrated forwards kept turning the ball over. In short, the best offense in the league during the regular season was able to muster only 2 shots all night. On 76 I subbed in Beech, Chung and Daniels for Juskowaik, Maluleke and Paule respectively. For the next 15 minutes we nursed our 1-0 lead and held it. The defense had come through when we needed it. They were a clutch group as they drew Chicago offside 20 times throughout the game. The 19,000 away knew that they had seen a defensive gem by both teams. With the win we clichéd our place in the MLS title game against Dallas. We would be entering that game with great momentum.

retired_karamelkel

On the 18th Salinas was cleared to begin his regular practice routine. Nevertheless, neither he nor any of the regulars would play in the Oct 19 game against Necaxa. Once again, my coaches and I decided to start the backups. The game was in Mexico City and I wanted my regulars rested for the Oct 23 Open Cup final against DC United. So, the lineup card read: Thornton, Kolodzley, Jolly, Akwari, Merio, David Johnson, Keenan, Ozimek, Delao, Cunningham and Edwards. The bench consisted of people who normally started: Karbasslyoon, Maluleke, Davis, Pierce and White. The idea was that the regulars might be able to win the game in the second half and remain fresh for the next game. Besides, the backups had won games for us all year, no reason why they shouldn’t be competitive now.

It was a crisp, gusty evening in Mexico City as San Jose warmed up prior to kickoff. The Mexican crowd was in full flow, chanting, singing, waving flags. It was a tough atmosphere to play in, but that was all to the good. But it was something new for me. MLS fans, like their professional counterparts are mostly decorous. The closest equivalent the US has to the soccer crowds in foreign lands is our Division 1 football and basketball crowds who are just as rowdy as any English or Italian crowd. Unfortunately, I attended a small college where sports aren’t a big draw and my soccer coaching career was pretty much off the public radar. I guess the Cruz Azul game should have prepared me, but it didn’t. The Necaxa stadium was a caldron of noise. I looked over the crowd with interest as I gathered my players around me. I told them not to press or play the offside trap. Communication was going to be poor and I didn’t want to take any chances. My players looked as confused as I felt with regard to all the noise. As the Necaxa players strolled out to take their places for the kickoff, they grinned at our discomposure. Who could blame them? I started pacing the sideline, hoping that my team could handle the pressure. As the teams kicked off, I signaled to Kolodzley, my captain, that SJ was to only use short passing because the wind was being unpredictable. Necaxa came out in an attacking 5-3-2 formation with sort passing and a normal tempo. There commenced one of the strangest halves we had seen all year. The crowd nose was deafening everyone it seemed. Both teams would get chances, only to blow them. The goalkeepers and defenses weren’t playing exceptionally well, but they didn’t need to, as nerves did the job for them. I lost track of how many easy sitters there were for both teams- I think a total of ten sounds right. Time and time again, a forward would find himself with an open shot, only to shank it left, right or over. As a result, the score at halftime was 0-0.

The second half revived both teams. Over the break I had told my team to attack more and it paid off in the opening minutes of the half. On 48, Kolodzley took a pass from David Johnson and volleyed it into goal to give SJ the 1-0 lead. On 63 I subbed in Maluleke and Pierce for Delao and Keenan, who were both having terrible games. On 66 Zyleta tied the score when he dribbled in from midfield and volleyed a low shot past Thornton. On 88 Reyes put back his own rebound to seal the win for Necaxa 2-1. I wasn’t too upset with the loss. It had been a difficult situation for my backups and they had, for the most part, handled it well. Given that we were in first place in the Merconorte table anyhow, a road loss wouldn’t do too much damage. We just had to put the loss behind us and move on.

retired_karamelkel

On Oct. 22, the day before the Open Cup final, Maluleke played in South Africa’s 7-0 win over Zambia. Unfortunately he did not partake of the goalscoring orgy. That night, as Maluleke was flying back to the States, my coaches and I were having a disagreement. The coaces, knowing how important this game to qualifying for international competitions, wanted me to start all the regulars. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be dispute. However, in two days we would be playing Dallas for the whole enchilada and I wanted my regulars well rested for that contest. My coaches argued that our regulars were professional players and should be able to find the energy to play back to back important matches, particularly as I had coddled them all season, never really taxing them matchwise. I retorted that Dallas would be starting a fresh 11 and that I’d be damned if my lineup would be tired. In the end, I won of course. The Open Cup Final would be manned by a backup squad, with regulars sitting on the bench in case we needed a second half spurt. Thus the lineup was Thornton, Kolodzley, Jolly, Akwari(one of two regulars in the lineup) Merio, Jeff Johnson, Keenan, Daniels, Chung, Karbasslyoon (the other reg.) and Cunningham. Sitting on the bench would be: Juskowaik, Davis, Reyna, Pierce, and White. Personally, my mind was on the MLS final, not the game at hand, which is never a good attitude.

retired_karamelkel

The Los Angles evening was cool and crisp. The Rose Bowl was packed with 80,000 fans all hoping for a great game. Once again DC surprised me. They were using a sweeper formation with the sw, 2DC, 2wbs, 3mc 1amc who moved up and 1 sc. They came out attacking. We decided not to use the offside trap. Things started well enough as Cunningham corralled an errant Daniels shot and applied the finish himself to make the game 1-0. However, DC were not to be denied. They were attacking with awesome skill. On 19, Alegria whipped in a left side corner, Barret beat Kolodzley in the air and headed it in to knot the score 1-1. DC continued to control the game by attacking. On 27 they scored again when Quintanilla weaved his way through the defense and laid the ball to a trailing Quaranta who easily scored to put DC ahead 2-1. However, DC wasn’t done yet; they were looking to put the game away. On 33 Alegria lobbed a cross from the left that Quintanilla powered into goal to make it 3-1. Thornton wasn’t playing badly, but his defense was letting him down. DC had 9 shots all on target. A third of the half was spend in our terrority and we weren’t completing passes very well. In short, it seemed that DC just wanted the victory more than we did. It also didn’t help that my gamble of playing the backups was failing spectacularly. During the break, my coaches kept shooting me those “I told you so” looks that are annoying. I ignored the looks and focused on rebuilding my defense’s confidence. They were rightfully shell-shocked and it was up to me to snap them out of it. If we were to have a prayer, we would have to play perfect football in the second half. I didn’t think we could do it. DC was just playing brilliantly. Some days, you just have to tip your hat to the opposition.

As the second half began, I told the team to quit pressing and to attack. We needed to catch up in a hurry. For their part DC went to a normal tempo and decided to absorb our pressure and counter attack. Our attacking actually worked as we caught up in a hurry. Cunningham scored again on 57 and Karbasslyoon followed suit on 66 when he caught the loose ball off a challenge and buried it in low to make the score SJ-3 DC-3. After Karbasslyoon finished celebrating and the teams got ready for kick-off I subbed in Reyna and Davis for Keenan and Daniels. I hoped that the superstar subs would turn the tide. The second decision of the night worked as Davis put us ahead on 77when Jolly put in a cross to the far post while Davis worked free and then dropped the ball into goal to make it 4-3 San Jose. Reyna added the final nail in the DC coffin five minutes later when Davis put in a curler that Reyna caught and volleyed into goal. We won 5-3. The second half was all ours. 35% of the half was spent in DC territory and 9-5 shooting while DC had only 2-1 shooting. We had played that perfect half that we had needed. The defense had stiffened and the offense had finally clicked. We had now qualified for international competitions. As a bonus, the game was a great showcase for soccer in the United States. This game had shown that soccer could be exciting and offensive. Anyone watching the game on the internet or TV could no longer deny that soccer is a staid boring, defensive struggle. In fact, neither teams’ defense came out looking good. The real stars of the game were the midfields and forwards, led by MOM Cunningham. I hoped that the kids in the crowd and TV audience might be compelled to think of soccer as a career, not just a summer diversion. If they weren’t convinced, we would have chance to show them again in a few days. The MLS Cup final between Dallas and San Jose would also be broadcast nationally, this time on network TV.

retired_karamelkel

We threw ourselves into preparing for the biggest game of the year. If we beat Dallas, and there was no reason to think we would, we would be the MLS champions for 2005. I spent restless nights studying game flim, analyzing tendencies and tactics. But there was no real need. We knew that we had to worry about three players on the Dallas team: Vaca, the sensational Bolivian midfielder, Glinton, a young forward who could be great one day, and Alvarez, the forward most likely to stick it to us. If we neutralized those three, the game would be relatively easy. If those players ran wild, we would have a battle on our hands. My staff and I knew all this and imparted the knowledge to the players in an endless stream of position meetings in the run up to the game. We were taking no chances of our players being unprepared. In addition, we named the starting lineup earlier than we normally would have, in order to foster a bit more team and tactical cohesiveness. Not that the regulars really needed it; they had been playing well together all year. But, with EJ still out, I put Cunningham, who was on great form in the lineup and he needed time to adjust to the regulars, who are more skilled than the backups with whom Cunningham had played with all year. Whit was also named to the starting lineup, but as he had been in the rotation all year, he would have no problem working well with the others.

The evening of the 25th was a cool breezy affair in Los Angles. The Rose Bowl was packwd with about 95,000 fans. Some were diehard supporters of the teams, the majority were family, friends and corporate hangers-on of members of the two teams. Flashbulbs and TV cameras lit the night sky as San Jose and Dallas warmed up on opposite sides of the pitch. For us, this was almost routine, we had been to the MLS final three out of four years, counting this appearance. We had won one and lost one with this appearance still undecided. For Dallas, this was their first appearance in the final. While my players seemed to be calmly confident and professional about the whole affair, the Dallas side exuded nervous and giddy energy. As I watched the two teams warm up, I began to feel uneasy in the pit of my stomach. Dallas seemed to care more about the game than we did and will and determination are not to be dismissed lightly. Dallas came out with their 3-5-2. They set an attacking pace and moved the ball with short passes. Dallas struck early on 2 when AMC Vaca latched onto a low Alvarez cross and put it past White to go up 1-0. It was apparent that at least two of the players I feared most on the Dallas squad were going to have big days. We didn’t panic and calmly continued to play a probing game designed to scapel the defense to sheds. However, the Dallas defense was doing a good ob of denying our forwards any chances, we managed to tie the game on 30 when Cunningham found Reyna open in the area and Reyna blasted it low and hard. After the game was tied both teams played at midfield until injury time began to tick off the clock. Ginton went on a run and blistered the ball into the top corner to make the score 2-1 as the halftime horn sounded. To sum up the half it would be fair to say that defense dominated he half. In addition, towards the end of the half, our nerves began to show as our players began to get a bit frustrated. Dallas was stoked as this was their first final. They didn’t know how to be nervous for this kind of game and as a result were playing losse and easy with nothing to lose. If they could keep that mindset, there was a very good chance they could bet us.

I didn’t say much at halftime. The veterans on the San Jose team knew what they had to do to win. They needed to shake Dallas’ confidence and score a couple more goals. It wasn’t rocket science by any means. As the second half started, it became clear that neither team was gojg to change any tactics or style of play. It would be attacking verses patient probing for the next 45 minutes. Our surgical precision continued to get us nowhere as the Dallas defense refused to be split open. Meanwhile Dallas offense was still continued to brim with confidence and play with vigor. To be quite honest, they looked like champions. On 78, I put in Beech (Juskowaik) Chung (Davis) and Daniels (Paule). I hoped the new subs could shake up the team. Davis, our superstar this year was haing a pedestrian game at exactly the wrong time. Juskowaik was having no luck getting free from the Dallas defense. Both were our two best players available and when both have ordinary games, San Jose was apt to struggle, just like now. I also told the team to attack and go direct. But Martino converted a penalty on 88 to seal the win for Dallas. This is the second time we have lost a Final, but that didn’t make the gut-wrenching feeling any easier. I knew I wan’t going to be watching the tape of this game anytime soon. There was nothing I could say to my players afterwards except to remind them that we had a couple more games to play. But, to be honest, I wasn’t sure they really cared. I know that I didn’t really care. For all the hoopla about continental competitions, the real prize remains the league title, and we had lost it. Back home in my apartment, I stared at the bottom of a bourbon bottle and thought about the game again and again. The only conclusions I could draw were the following: What killed us was 11-2 shooting and nerves. What also didn’t help was the plain and simple truth that when the best players on your roster have ordinary games, there’s not much you can do to win a ballgame. As I drank, I did raise my glass to the MOM, who was Dallas defender Steve Johnson. He had harried Juskowaik into a bad game and given Dallas the victory.

retired_w0lfpack1

Unlucky.

Bummer that news - as a real-life Earthquakes fan this story is as good as it's gonna get for me anytime soon!

retired_karamelkel

Amarog- I did consider using an editor to move the Quakes to Houston, but I couldn't figure out how to do it in the save game. I know they moved to Houston because of stadium issues, but why they picked a place that is only slightly more tolerable than the dephs of hell during the summer is beyond me.

The next few weeks are muddled in my memory. The shock of losing another final weighed on my mind. I know we walloped Alanza Lima 4-0 at home and followed that up with a 3-0 pasting of IP. The two wins qualified us for the Meronorte Cup semifinals. While all this was going on, the US national team was having difficulty wrapping up their WC bid. They belted Mexico 4-0 to move up to 2nd in qualifying, then dropped a game 2-0 to bottom feeders El Salvador. By this time, the media was moaning about how Arena’s team selection had gone stale. His job came down to the last qualifier; a home game against Canada. The US lost the game 1-0, but managed to sneak into the World Cup as the third-place team. That wasn’t good enough to satisfy that poobahs at the USSA, who handed Arena his walking papers. Still in a post-MLS season fog, I applied for the national team job. By this time, given the board’s last monthly review, I was applying for jobs all over the English speaking world. The resume that was sent to the USSA also went to Grimsby Town and Margate. As the reality sank in-that no one outside the MLS was going to hire me, I began to ease out of the fog. Eddie Johnson began practicing and I began to prepare for our MC semifinal against Paucha.

The day after Thanksgiving, I received a call from the USSA. They were impressed with my resume and offered me the national team job. I stared at the phone for about a minute before I choked out, “I’ll take it.”

That night I convened a special meeting of the board. As they filed into the room with the big mahogany table, I sat quietly, holding a single sheet of paper. Jamison called the meeting to order and asked me why I had called this meeting. He informed me that he would not approve stadium excxpansion or upgrading the practice facility, so if that was what I was after, then the meeting was over. Jamison seemed irritated and in a hurry. I repled that this wouldn’t take long. I glanced down at my notes and said:

”Mr. Jamison, you have frenquently told me that soccer is a business, not a sport. Today I make a business decision of my own. Effective immediately, I hereby resign my position as manager of the San Jose Earthquakes in order to devote my full attention upoin manging the United States in the 2006 World Cup. I do not leave this job with any regrets and I will appreciate the chance to view soccer as a game and not a business.”

As I finished my statement, I looked around and saw blank stares meeting my eyes. If they weren’t paying attention now, they never would. I turned on my heel and strode out of the room. My office and apartment were cleaned out and I had sent everything back to my Missouri farm. I would take a couple of weeks off, then head to Europe on a scouting vacation. All in all, it was nice to begin a new challenge.

Here's where things get interesting. The story now enters a "real-time" phase where I will write the updates as I play. Stay tuned!


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ********************************************** San Jose Earthquakes - Friday 25th November 2005********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2005 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Akwari, Nelson 28 (4) 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 7.13 - Beech, Patrick 6 (5) 7 0 0 2 2 0 0 7.64 - Chung, Mark 9 (14) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.78 - Cunningham, Jeff 13 (10) 9 0 0 4 1 0 5 7.35 - Daniels, Christopher 8 (19) 0 0 0 7 0 0 1 7.04 - Dartt, Ralph 2 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Davis, Brad 36 (2) 6 0 1 (1) 21 4 0 7 7.58 - Delao, Chris 2 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Eddie Johnson 30 (3) 13 0 2 (2) 3 0 0 3 7.55 - Edwards, Jake 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Giuliano, Frank 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.33 - Huff, Tim 7 (3) 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.30 - Ibsen, Zak 32 1 0 0 7 4 1 1 7.22 - Johnson, David 11 (2) 1 0 1 (0) 5 0 1 0 7.00 - Johnson, Jeff 4 (3) 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.86 - Johnson, Jim 4 (3) 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.29 - Jolley, Carlos 16 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 6.50 - Joseph, Jeremy 2 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Juskowiak, Andrzej 36 (2) 25 0 0 7 0 0 6 7.68 - Karbassiyoon, Danny 14 (5) 9 0 1 (1) 1 0 0 0 7.42 - Keenan, Tommy 7 (1) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 6.63 - Kolodziey, Greg 7 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.29 - Landon, Eric 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Maluleke, Ishmael 35 (6) 19 0 0 2 0 0 4 7.39 - Merlo, Marco 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.57 - Ozimek, Erik 9 (3) 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.92 - Paule, Ross 40 4 0 0 8 0 0 1 7.03 - Pierce, Rusty 42 (2) 0 0 0 4 3 1 1 7.20 - Reyna, Claudio 11 (1) 7 0 0 3 1 0 2 7.58 - Salinas, Raúl Alberto 37 (1) 2 0 0 1 2 1 0 7.18 - Thornton, Zach 25 (1) 0 31 0 0 0 0 0 6.88 - Walsh, Diego 21 (3) 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6.79 - White, Eric 25 (1) 0 31 0 0 0 0 0 7.04 </pre>

retired_karamelkel

December 2005:

I knew there wouldn’t be much to do at first as the national team manager. We had no games scheduled until the World Cup and the MLS season was over, so there went the idea of domestic scouting. However, the European seasons were in full-swing. So, I decided to go to Europe during January and February to look at possible national team selections. My itinerary was relatively simple as England, France and Germany were the hotbeds for ex-pat American soccer stars. As I sat on my front porch at my Missouri farmhouse, I began to make phone calls arranging a tour of Europe and one surprise. My first stop would be in Manchester on January 4. I would watch Tim Howard as Manchester United hosted Coventry. On the 7th, I would travel to Chesterfield to watch David Mcdougall take on WBA in a FA Cup game. After that, I would spend a week in Scotland as a plain old Yank tourist before heading to France to watch the First Division contest between Nice and Marseille at Nice. I would be watching Obiemu, an American defender for Nice and John O’Brien, a midfielder for Marseille. I would then travel back to Manchester to watch Blackburn and Brad Friedel take on Man City. After that, I would head down to Germany to watch a laundry list of players. That portion of the trip had not been planned yet. I finalized all arrangements just in time to view the World Cup draw. We got what I consider an average draw. Argentina was going to be tough, but Japan and Yugoslavia were beatable.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ================================================== ============================================== 2006 Tables============================================ ================================================== ==Group APos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group BPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Mexico 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group CPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Algeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th South Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group DPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd Ghana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Holland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th Peru 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group EPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th Tunisia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group FPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Morocco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd Saudi Arabia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group GPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st England 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd Guatemala 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Paraguay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group HPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Argentina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd U.S.A. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th Yugoslavia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 </pre>

retired_karamelkel

I rang in the New Year with a 10 hour journey from Kansas City to Manchester. Connections and delays made the trip a very long ordeal. I left KC at 6am and arrived in Manchester 10pm Brit time. At least I didn’t have to wait too long to clear customs. I hailed a cab, went to my hotel and fell asleep as soon as I got to my room. The next morning, the 3rd, I ate an “English” breakfast. To be fair, eggs, bacon, sausages and toast are the same everywhere. The only non-American twist was the tea really, and that wasn’t so bad, though I had to drink more tea to match the caffeine I get from coffee. I spent the day touring Manchester and trying to shake off jet lag.

The next day, I attended the evening fixture between Manchester United and Coventry at Old Trafford. I arrived early, mainly to walk around the stadium. The only real difference from an American stadium was the food (pies and such) and the fact that no alcohol was served in the stadium. Otherwise, except for the fact that it was a soccer stadium, Old Trafford would not look out of place in an American city- a testament to how global sports have become. Indeed, as I showed an usher my scouting pass and was directed to my seat, I couldn’t help but notice how the crowd was similar to a New York Yankees crowd. Both are curious mix of corporate suits, diehard fans and bandwagon fans that only support winners. Since Coventry was bottom of the league, there was little real enthusiasm shown except for the few fans that had clearly spent two hours in the pub prior to the game. I sat down, pulled a small pad and pen from my pocket. No one paid any attention to me, except to look at my John Deere baseball hat. Otherwise, I appeared to be your normal Yank tourist. As I watched Tim Howard stretch and field passes and shots during warm-ups, I did confirm a couple of things. Howard is indeed a superb keeper. His physical tools are excellent, including speed, which most goalkeepers don’t have. His judgment appeared sound and his keeping ability did look world-class.

It was fortunate that I observed Howard during the pre game, as he didn’t do much during the actual game. I couldn’t tell you all that much about the action as I focused on Howard and the defense. During the first half, the Man U defense made Howard’s job easy as Coventry only had a couple shots, none on goal. Not that the defense was being pretty about it. They resorted to hacking away, and were duly booked with about three yellows. Howard did show nice jumping and anticipation when he snagged a cross that came in from the right side. Manchester took a 2-0 lead behind Nistlerooy’s brace and began to cruise late in the half. At halftime I wandered the stadium until I came across a coffee stand. I bought a large cup and went back to my seat, figuring that the extra caffeine might keep me awake during the second half. By the end of the game, the coffee had come in handy. Whatever the Coventry manager had said during the break had inspired his troops and they came out attacking. The Manchester defense, with three yellows to its credit, played ole defense, which gave Howard an opportunity to showcase his skills. He made a couple of routine saves, including a parry. He kept himself from having to save all that much as more than once he sprinted out and tackled the man with the ball- winning all three of his challenges. Howard didn’t get much rest all half as Coventry kept up the pressure. Most goalkeepers would have cracked, not Howard, he kept calm and earned his clean sheet. Towards the end of the contest, Coventry nearly scored when the forward took a cross and broke through the defense. He took one second too long to line up his shot and Howard recovered, dove to his right and got his fingertips on the ball. That save, plus the shutout, got Howard an 8 rating in the media. I walked out of Old Trafford convinced that Howard was the clear number one choice for US keeper.