Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Nov. 30. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer. "You play to win the game. Hello!" -- Former NFL coach Herm Edwards
If sources monitoring the Chicago situation are right, Denis Hamlett will soon join Preki in the unemployment line. Maybe if the Fire had reached the MLS Cup final, majority owner Andrew Hauptman would have been reluctant to cut him loose.
At a press conference prior to the Hexagonal finale against Costa Rica in Washington, U.S. Soccer press officer Michael Kammarman pointed out that in 2009, the U.S. would play its 21st competitive match, the most ever in a calendar year.
WASHINGTON -- This was supposed to be a news-free visit to the nation's capital for the U.S. national team. The Yanks had already clinched a World Cup berth on Saturday. Their final qualifier here on Wednesday against Costa Rica was going to be "meaningless."
If you think Honduran defenders are losing sleep over the image of big Conor Casey marauding on goal like a freight train, try being this season's leading scorer in Major League Soccer. With 121 career regular-season goals, FC Dallas' Jeff Cunningham ranks second on the all-time list in MLS. But he readily admits he can't shake the vision of Casey, who's hot on his heels for this year's scoring lead.
A few minutes after Conor Casey bullied in the U.S.' first goal against Honduras on Saturday night, after the cheering died down at the bar where I watched the game, someone shouted out: "Well done, but we still don't rate you!" A few chuckles rang out. Obviously, we weren't in Denver.
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- You'd be forgiven for thinking you had traveled in a time warp back to the 1980s for the U.S.' big World Cup qualifier against Honduras here on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, closed-circuit TV in English and Spanish).
Mired in mediocrity, the U.S. nevertheless pushed to the brink of qualification for the 2010 World Cup when it posted critical wins over Hexagonal minnows El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago last month. Yet questions of selection, confidence and leadership persist.
It's not exactly as if a wave of Hispanic-American athletes has plowed through Team USA, but the number of Mexican-American players currently in the national-team pool is growing by the year. In fact, there are five Americans playing in the Mexican Primera División and three of them have played for the U.S. in international competitions before.
SANDY, Utah -- So who has been the standout for U.S. Soccer this past year? That's the question I need to answer, as my ballot arrived just this past week for the Honda Player of Year, voted on annually by the American soccer media.
Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Nov. 30. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer. "You play to win the game. Hello!" -- Former NFL coach Herm Edwards
If sources monitoring the Chicago situation are right, Denis Hamlett will soon join Preki in the unemployment line. Maybe if the Fire had reached the MLS Cup final, majority owner Andrew Hauptman would have been reluctant to cut him loose.
At a press conference prior to the Hexagonal finale against Costa Rica in Washington, U.S. Soccer press officer Michael Kammarman pointed out that in 2009, the U.S. would play its 21st competitive match, the most ever in a calendar year.
WASHINGTON -- This was supposed to be a news-free visit to the nation's capital for the U.S. national team. The Yanks had already clinched a World Cup berth on Saturday. Their final qualifier here on Wednesday against Costa Rica was going to be "meaningless."
If you think Honduran defenders are losing sleep over the image of big Conor Casey marauding on goal like a freight train, try being this season's leading scorer in Major League Soccer. With 121 career regular-season goals, FC Dallas' Jeff Cunningham ranks second on the all-time list in MLS. But he readily admits he can't shake the vision of Casey, who's hot on his heels for this year's scoring lead.
A few minutes after Conor Casey bullied in the U.S.' first goal against Honduras on Saturday night, after the cheering died down at the bar where I watched the game, someone shouted out: "Well done, but we still don't rate you!" A few chuckles rang out. Obviously, we weren't in Denver.
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- You'd be forgiven for thinking you had traveled in a time warp back to the 1980s for the U.S.' big World Cup qualifier against Honduras here on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, closed-circuit TV in English and Spanish).
Mired in mediocrity, the U.S. nevertheless pushed to the brink of qualification for the 2010 World Cup when it posted critical wins over Hexagonal minnows El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago last month. Yet questions of selection, confidence and leadership persist.
It's not exactly as if a wave of Hispanic-American athletes has plowed through Team USA, but the number of Mexican-American players currently in the national-team pool is growing by the year. In fact, there are five Americans playing in the Mexican Primera División and three of them have played for the U.S. in international competitions before.
SANDY, Utah -- So who has been the standout for U.S. Soccer this past year? That's the question I need to answer, as my ballot arrived just this past week for the Honda Player of Year, voted on annually by the American soccer media.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- It's tough to feel a sense of urgency when you're sitting in a luxury hotel overlooking the Caribbean Sea on a glorious late-summer afternoon. But it's still possible, especially if you're Tim Howard, the goalkeeper whose U.S. national team needs a victory in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago (7 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic, TeleFutura) to feel good about its chances of reaching South Africa 2010.
U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati's statement at halftime of Saturday's U.S.-El Salvador game that Edgar Castillo had been cleared by FIFA to represent the United States at the senior national-team level was certainly coincidental.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- There are times, when you sit and talk for more than hour with U.S. coach Bob Bradley, that you wonder if he's a sort of soccer version of Rain Man.
PARK CITY, Utah -- It's almost certain that the U.S. won't clinch a World Cup berth in this week's important qualifiers -- that would require two U.S. wins and two Mexico losses -- but the third-place Americans have almost zero margin for error in a tight four-team race for three automatic spots in South Africa 2010.
Jonathan Spector laughs when asked about the father of one of his close friends, who also happens to coach the U.S. national team.
FULLTIME: The whistle blows and Mexico has secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the United States, moving its fading World Cup qualification hopes off life support for the time being. Man of the Match honors go to Miguel Sabah, the Gold Cup hero whose 82nd-minute winner propelled the Mexicans to yet another victory over their northern neighbors at Azteca Stadium. The USMNT falls to 0-19-1 lifetime in Mexico's high-altitude fortress.
I've been around the U.S.-Mexico soccer rivalry for more than a decade now, seen the passion (and, let's be honest, the sporting hatred) gather the force of a hurricane, and yet the buildup around Wednesday's World Cup qualifier (4 p.m. ET, Telemundo, Mun2) seems bigger than ever, almost like a soccer Super Bowl south of the border.
One game away from a chance to win its third straight Gold Cup, the U.S. national team plays Honduras for the third time in the past seven weeks on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel, TeleFutura) with a different team than it used the last two times.
Not for declaration and certainly not for vindication, here's a rundown on the status of certain MLS players as they vie for spots on the 2010 World Cup squad of 23.
Although the U.S. went through the CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage relatively unscathed, the team might not be adequately prepared to face the knockout stages.
In the context of the U.S. national team's glittering performance at the Confederations Cup last month and Oguchi Onyewu's lustrous move to AC Milan on Tuesday, the CONCACAF Gold Cup just doesn't seem that shiny, does it? It's more like a pewter mug: It obviously carries some heft -- this is the continental championship, after all -- but you won't get much for it down at the Acme Pawn Shop.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
After drawing the attention of the world with its stunning run to the Confederations Cup final, the U.S. national team immediately turns its focus to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where it begins its defense of its North and Central American title on July 4.
JOHANNESBURG -- Pedigree matters. If it didn't, we might not have witnessed what happened at Ellis Park on Sunday, an unstoppable rally that gave Brazil the Confederations Cup title in a 3-2 win over the U.S. (RECAP). Heck, when was the last time you saw a team come back from two goals down at halftime in a major final? (Apart from the 2005 Champions League final, that is.)
He went with his veterans against two of the best teams in the world and they let him, and the country, down with a crashing thud.
CHICAGO -- Well, that was a relief. The U.S. national team emerged from its toughest week yet of 2010 World Cup qualifying, bruised but standing tall. After getting abused and flattened in Costa Rica 3-1 last Wednesday, the Americans responded by rallying on Honduras 2-1 Saturday at Soldier Field, its first comeback win in World Cup qualifying in 24 years. The end result is that the U.S. stands in second place halfway through the Hexagonal final round of CONCACAF qualifying with a 3-1-1 record and 10 points.
Contrary to popular belief, there's a very good reason for U.S. coach Bob Bradley not to rely on every MLS player who might be playing well when it comes to assembling a squad for Hexagonal qualifiers. In many cases, they don't measure up.
Just seconds after Costa Rica's third goal in the U.S.' 3-1 loss in Saprissa last week, the knives came out. They came in various forms: texts, emails, tweets, handwritten screeds on bathroom walls. The vitriol was loaded with so much venom you'd have thought Ann Coulter and Arianna Huffington were locked in a steel cage match.
CHICAGO -- A U.S. team, meticulously prepared and riding a wave of confidence, marched into hostile territory and proceeded to get ambushed. The whistle had barely blown before the Americans' game plan fell to pieces and they gave up an early, back-breaking goal.
On the eve of the United States' tough World Cup qualifier in Costa Rica (Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2 and Galavisión), reports surfaced of a legal action filed by American defender Oguchi Onyewu, who claims an opposing player used racial taunts during a Belgian league game.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Last August, the U.S. began the semifinal round of CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying by winning in Guatemala for the first time. Its first away test in the Hexagonal comes Saturday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2, TeleFutura) in San Salvador, a city in which it has won and tied in two previous qualifying visits, so a victory won't be as historic. But it will be no less important, especially should Mexico, which lost 2-0 to the U.S. in Columbus, Ohio, last month, fail to beat Costa Rica in Azteca Stadium.
CARSON, Calif. -- It's MLS preseason here in Southern California, and there are several things to report:
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Another World Cup qualifier vs. Mexico at Crew Stadium, another 2-0 U.S. win. Here are five things we learned from a game that opened with a torrential thunderstorm, continued with gale-force winds and concluded with a near-brawl outside the locker rooms.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- To put it bluntly, Brian Ching isn't a favorite among most fans of the U.S. national team. There are Web threads in his honor entitled "Why Brian Ching Sucks" or "I Hate Brian Ching."
It was in the 69th minute of the U.S.' game in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium in 1997 that the Americans pulled it off. They got the Mexican fans, who numbered 114,000, to turn on their own team.
If there's one United States international who may best understand the significance of U.S. vs. Mexico, it would be Frankie Hejduk.
Watching Sacha Kljestan take apart Sweden on Saturday at the Home Depot Center could convince anyone he's primed and ready for a move overseas. Yet success isn't preordained for young Americans going to top-flight teams.
Sacha Kljestan turned his 13th U.S. national-team appearance into his lucky day, scoring his first three international goals all in the same match, a 3-2 win over Sweden in Saturday's friendly.
In CONCACAF, the latter part of 2008 was a contrast in styles between the top two nations. The U.S. breezed through World Cup qualifying and secured a spot in this year's final Hexagonal round with two games to spare. The Americans were able to use the last two qualifiers as proving ground for their youngsters and untested internationals and finished the year on a high note.
CARSON, Calif. -- José Francisco Torres knew that if he chose badly, he'd cost Pachuca a win in the InterLiga finals and the chance at the prestigious Copa Libertadores tournament.
1. The U.S. will win in the Estadio Azteca for the first time. History is actually on Bob Bradley's side when the U.S. plays at Mexico in 2010 World Cup qualifying on Aug. 12. The last two times an American coach took a team down to its personal hell of a venue for the first time were the last two times the U.S. had a real shot at a result. Steve Sampson guided the team to its only point at the Azteca in 1997 with a 0-0 draw, and Bruce Arena's best and only real shot of a win there came two years later in his first trip to Mexico City, as Mexico won 1-0 in extra time of a Confederations Cup '99 semifinal. Bradley will prepare his team well, the Americans will extend their dominance over El Tri onto Mexican soil and Landon Donovan will become an even greater villain by scoring the game-winning goal.
Police have pleaded for peace, fines have been meted out and sanctions issued. Enough controversy has been generated by outspoken coaches in Europe to make any fan long for similar drama in Major League Soccer. But sadly, it's unlikely to happen.
In the next few days, names of players summoned by U.S. coach Bob Bradley for the next two CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers will begin to leak out, with the inclusion or lack thereof of Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Johnson and Kenny Cooper drawing the most interest.
When the U.S. takes on Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2, Galavision), all eyes will be on Eddie Johnson -- whether he takes the field or not.
HAVANA -- The most impressive performance from the U.S. after Saturday's 1-0 win over Cuba came after the game, when Landon Donovan kept a straight face as he said, "I thought we played very well."
On Thursday evening, the U.S. national team arrived at the Hotel Melia Cohiba, two blocks from Havana's charming Malecón, the four-mile waterfront walkway. Before heading for the team dinner, coach Bob Bradley discussed the significance of Saturday's Cuba-U.S. game (8 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic and Galavision), which will most likely be one of the U.S.' 18 games in 2010 World Cup qualifying.
Not too long ago, the U.S. hung a big number on Guatemala, but by all indications it won't happen Wednesday in Guatemala City when the nations kick off the semifinal round of CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2 and Galavision). The U.S. has won only once in nine trips to the Central American nation of 13 million people, and that lone 1-0 victory came 20 years ago on a goal by Jeff Agoos, a rarity indeed. It tied 0-0 three years ago and 1-1 in 2000 on its last two qualifying visits.
The U.S. national team's quest for a berth in the 2010 World Cup begins on Wednesday with a match against Guatemala, and I, for one, can't wait. Finally -- finally! -- we all get to see where this team really is, learn how far it's come since beating Mexico in last summer's Gold Cup final.
It took a fraction of a second to build Benny Feilhaber up into the Next Big Thing in American soccer. And 11 months to bring him back down to earth.
Two years ago a changing of the guard for the U.S. men's national team began, with the retirement of several veterans following a disappointing showing at the 2006 World Cup. On the eve of qualifying play for the 2010 tournament, not all of the questions that faced the national team at that time have been answered.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- In the end, it was just a little flick of the hand that said the most. After the final whistle had blown at Sunday's U.S.-Argentina match, Freddy Adu fed off the energy of 78,000 fans at Giants Stadium and dismissed Argentina's Fernando Gago with the simplest of gestures. For me, it was the most vivid moment on a night that had hundreds of them.
The U.S. begins its quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup on June 15 against a team ranked 117th in the world. On Wednesday, the U.S. faces No. 4-ranked Spain (live on espn360.com at 4 p.m. ET, on delay on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m.).
Three years ago, during preparations for a match against England, U.S. striker Eddie Johnson suffered an ankle injury from which he, and the national team, have yet to recover.
World Soccer's Paul Gardner recently sat down with U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati to discuss the U.S. national team, coach Bob Bradley, MLS and the growing prestige of the game in America -- both inside and outside our borders.
Of the 18 players named to the U.S. roster to face Poland Wednesday in Krakow (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel), perhaps the most obvious selection is the one who should have been omitted: Landon Donovan.
When Clint Dempsey played a seemingly innocuous ball to him near the sideline early in his national team debut against China last June, Sacha Kljestan knew what to do: Find the man on the move.
LOS ANGELES -- Ah, preseason. A chance to play "name that camp invitee," watch grown men stretch their groins together and start the David Beckham watch again.
Benny Feilhaber, who turned 23 in January, has already made 15 U.S. national team appearances. He scored the 2007 Gold Cup winner and has played in Europe since 2005. But he's now struggling for playing time at English Premier League last-place club Derby. Soccer America's Mike Woitalla spoke with Feilhaber after his 27 minutes of action against Mexico on Wednesday.
Five things we learned from a thoroughly entertaining 2-2 tie between the U.S. and Mexico in Houston on Wednesday night:
HOUSTON -- Both coaches agree that controlling midfield play is likely to decide Wednesday's U.S.-Mexico friendly (ESPN2, Univision, 9 p.m. ET).
Two players have left camp and at least one other is injured, so the choices for U.S. coach Bob Bradley will be limited somewhat when he names his 18 players who will face Sweden on Saturday at Home Depot Center (Fox Soccer Channel, 8:30 p.m. ET).
Bob Bradley looks back on his first year at the helm of the U.S. national team, the challenges going into World Cup 2010 qualifying, and the state of the U.S. game in general.
If 2007 was an important and memorable year for the U.S. national team -- hired a new coach, Benny Feilhaber's miracle volley in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, the Copa América (mis)adventure -- then '08 is shaping up to be the complete opposite: 12 months of pick-up games in the backyard.
It's the holiday season. A time to celebrate family. A time to think of those less fortunate than yourself. A time to rejoice in the brotherhood of ma...
MANCHESTER, England -- They make money hand over fist, drive fancy cars and generally live the high life. But anyone who's tempted to characterize English Premier League players as being arrogant, flashy, nouveau riche, tawdry or coarse should meet Tim Howard.
You've got questions, I've got answers. Let's dig in ....
LOS ANGELES -- For the first 18 years of his life, Edgar Castillo developed a passion and knack for soccer.
I can't believe I'm writing this: The U.S.' 4-2 loss to Brazil on Sunday in Chicago was much closer than the score indicated. Here are my five thoughts from the most entertaining performance Team USA has put on in months.
We're still unpacking at our new digs in Baltimore, where the big news is that Kima and Bunk from The Wire live in our building (separately, of course). Oh, and we're also putting the finishing touches on Sports Illustrated's David Beckham story for next week. (Beckham recently gave me an exclusive hour-long interview for the article.) But there's never a bad time for a Mailbag, so let's dig in ...
One hundred percent.
Like most American soccer fans, I have a regular crew that plays Monday morning quarterback after every U.S. national-team game. (They'll probably hound me for using a football analogy, but, hey, SI.com is home of the best MMQB in the biz.)
Gillette Stadium's "Curva Sud," as I like to think of the south end in Foxborough, was reserved for Panamanian fans during Saturday's U.S.-Panama Gold Cup quarterfinal match.
Forgive Steve Ralston if he looked a little disoriented on Saturday. After all, the veteran New England Revolution midfielder only rolled into U.S. national-team camp a few days ago, nearly a week later than his teammates.
The U.S. is going to win the World Cup.
Like it or not, the Bob Bradley Era of the U.S. national team officially begins this week, as the 23 players he called in for the CONCACAF Gold Cup report to camp on Monday.
Who do you like in the Champions League final (ESPN2, Wednesday, 2 p.m. ET): Liverpool or AC Milan? -- Jon-Claud Nix, Hartford, Conn.
One hundred and sixty days.
"Change is indubitable, whereas progress is a matter of controversy."
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The strangest thing happened in the U.S.'s 2-0 win over Mexico: An interim coach (U.S. manager Bob Bradley) acted like he had already won the job, while a supposedly secure coach (Mexico's Hugo Sánchez) acted like ... an interim coach.
Remember a few months ago when everyone was wringing their hands and scratching their heads in the wake of the debacle in Deutschland? We were like a flock of Chicken Littles, running amok and scared that the sky was going to fall and the entire soccer movement was going to be trampled by the brutal realities of the international game, as if we had forgotten those brutal realities after the successes of 2002.
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