italy v. u.s.

amazing football in this one, to say the least. it may not have been the cleanest, most error-free, most concise, most ingenious football match ever, but, boy, was it entertaining. an own goal, three red cards, a goal disallowed on a dubious offsides (i’ll elaborate in a moment), some decent goalkeeper saves, a lot of poor finishing, and tons of effort and heart the pitch over. though it was after sunrise when it finished here in korea, i was inspired enough to go outside immediately and play a little footie myself…

despite my feelings toward the u.s. in general, i’ve always been an admirer of u.s. footballers because they toil in anonymity in a country that could care less about “soccer.” they are, essentially, the black sheep of american sports–and, being a black sheep myself, i usually find myself taking u.s. football to heart on the big stage. and this morning’s match gave me no reason not to continue doing so, though i’m going to have a tough time in the next match because i want both ghana and the u.s. to go through and it’s impossible for both of them to do so. tough choice, but that’s for later.

this match might be the match that will start the international football pundits on their way to begin acknowledging that while the u.s. might not a footie superpower–overall, as a nation–the football climate that does exist in the u.s., small though it may be, might be on par, in its own way, to that of any nation whose entire populace is mesmerised by the game. while watching the match on television, i was amazed to hear, throughout most of the second half, that it was the american fans doing most of the rowdy singing, not the lazy gits from southern europe. the atmosphere inside the kaiserslautern stadium was usually not one reserved for a match involving the u.s and seemed fantastic.

and, from that, the u.s., down to eight men within 90 seconds of the restart, made what had theretofore seemed impossible: eight outfielders nearly running nine ragged. for most of the second half, it seemed like it was nine-on-nine in the outfield. i honestly couldn’t tell that the u.s. only had eight players. they won loose balls, they tackled with conviction, they played with heart and character that many thought they didn’t have.

it was an entertaining game because it was never dull. it did seem like the u.s. got a little gassed toward the end, because the italians seemed destined to nick the entire three points, only to have u.s. goalkeeper, kasey keller, make several key saves in the final ten minutes. it was a well-deserved point for the u.s.; after their dismal showing against czech republic, they proved their mettle, their detractors wrong, and that the second round will be poorer if they’re not in it.

now about the red cards and the offside call: de rossi’s red card was well-deserved and he should be banned from the rest of the tournament. it was a blatant cheap shot and it could have cost the italians the game, and, ultimately, a shot at the next round. mastroeni’s red was not hard for me to argue with, either, because it was a cynical, two-footed lunge that got no ball and all opponent. i have no beef with it; in fact, were i bruce arena, the u.s. gaffer, i would be (still) very put out with mastroeni for such an idiotic play when there was still more than a half to play for italy being a man down. the u.s. could have done to italy what ghana had done to the czechs the game previous and run them into the ground and perhaps gotten a goal or two more.

the second red on a u.s. player, just after the restart, was rubbish. pope’s tackle warranted no yellow; it was an overly harsh, unnecessary decision by the uruguayan ref. though there were numerous fouls and plenty of bookings, this was not one i felt deserved a booking. it had a profound effect on the match; with what the u.s. did to italy when down to eight men, imagine what damage they could have wreaked if there had been nine outfielders for each squad.

as for the offside call that disallowed the u.s. a goal in the 65th minute, i’m not sure about that one, either. yes, mcbride was clearly not onside, but he was not involved in the play and, if he didn’t get a touch on the ball, under the new rules for offside established in the last year or so, it should not have been called offside.

however, and i never saw a replay that confirmed or disputed this, if mcbride did get a touch on it, then, sure, it’s definitely offside. i think FIFA need to clear this up because it seems too often as if we are awaiting the outcomes of such incidences to rely on judgment calls made by linemen who are often on the other side of the pitch from the play or from referees who are out of position, too far behind the play, or whose direct line of sight are blocked. it was a heartbreaking decision for a team down to eight outfielders, yet were outplaying the gits who still had nine.

nevertheless, the result, considering the circumstances and the way the italians came so close in the last ten minutes to scoring, is a fantastic one for the yanks and sets up a still-intriguing final match in this second ”group of death” (group C–argentina, holland, ivory coast–is the other group of death–and, no, serbinegro’s two results earn them no mention in the group of death now).

what to avoid tonight: a dull and lack-of-quality match in japan v. croatia; an oz foul-fest against whingey and potential drama queens, brasil; booking a hotel near city hall in seoul in hopes of having a fitful, undisturbed sleep; having your pic plastered all over the internet should your team get a result and you get carried away celebrating, in public; no wild celebrations in apgujeong, for that will mean korea have won.

things to hope for tonight: oz to get a result in a well-played match with brasil; a result, as well, from japan-croatia so that the third games in this group will also mean something; france to break their 360-odd minute scoring duck against the koreans; more intelligent reaction from koreans, regardless of outcome, when analysing the game (look, a plethora of stats are great–and relevant–in baseball, american football, basketball, clogging, ice dancing, piggy-back riding, and growing marijuana, but not in football, so spare me the stats crap when talking footie; it only shows your football ignorance). the only stat that truly matters is the scoreline and how much heart each team play with.