Two Super Power Nations Go Head-to-Head
The cover of The Economist last week read America's Fear of China. The artwork displayed a giant panda bear clinging to the Empire State Building with ominous helicopters in the distance. Quite dramatic and a bit startling. Probably not as startling as it is for the readers of Vein of Form to discover that I read The Economist. And not just the cover when it could be applied to a blog entry. I actually subscribe to the damn thing and am confident it has made me a smarter football viewer.
If only we lived in a reality where a cover such as this would be followed by stories previewing a match such as the one taking place this Saturday between the USA and China in Carson, California. The talent on the pitch will not come close to having the global influence the economies and militaries of the represented nations possess off it. Far from it to be precise. USA head coach, Bob Bradley, has picked a mixed bag of players - some that will be part of the line up in the Gold Cup (beginning in about a week) and some that may have an outside shot at featuring in the Copa America tournament taking place later this summer in Venezuela.
Goalkeeper Tim Howard should be brimming with confidence after the season he had for UEFA cup bound Everton. While defender Carlos Bocanegra and midfielder Clint Dempsey will want to put in a good showing in hopes of keeping a place at Fulham for next season's fight for survival in the Premiership. Defender Jay DeMerit should be one to watch. He was very solid for relegated Watford this season, and will more than likely have a chance to stay in the Premiership with a bottom half of the table side should he desire to escape Watford and Championship football.
There are some other interesting players to watch considering the past domestic season. DaMarcus Beasley jumps to mind. Manchester City opted not to keep him despite some decent showings. Beasley just isn't built for English football, but will have earned another chance at Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Remember, Beasley was featuring heavily for PSV in a strong run in the Champions League just a couple seasons ago. A falling out with Ronald Koeman and a loss of confidence set him back a great deal, but the player looked revitalized at Manchester City and scored a few goals. Keeping with the "Couldn't Hack it in the EPL" theme, defender Oguchi Onyewu has been shipped back to Belgium side Standard de Liege after a terrible experience at Newcastle. Some might argue he didn't have enough time to settle in. I would argue no amount of time was going to cure what was obviously a player out of his depth. The massive American was arguably the best player in the squad at the World Cup. Perhaps a solid Gold Cup and better coaching than what he got from Glenn Roeder, and Onyewu may get a look from an elite club again.
The position to watch will be the forwards. Ante Razov, the third leading goalscorer in MLS history, will have an opportunity add to his six national team goals in 24 appearances. Razov has been the model of consistency in MLS but has never been able to secure a spot on the national team. A few young guns have been brought in as well. Kamani Hill of VfL Wolfsburg (Germany), Lee Nguyen of PSV Eindhoven and Charlie Davies of Hammarby IF (Sweden) will all see minutes against China. These three are the great unknown right now in American soccer. Could they form a goalscoring force - along with DC United's 17 year old stud Jozy Alitdore - the likes of which this glory starved nation has yet to experience?
This remains to be seen and will most certainly not be answered against China. But that isn't to say the match won't pose some interesting talking points in this dire time otherwise known as the off season.
If only we lived in a reality where a cover such as this would be followed by stories previewing a match such as the one taking place this Saturday between the USA and China in Carson, California. The talent on the pitch will not come close to having the global influence the economies and militaries of the represented nations possess off it. Far from it to be precise. USA head coach, Bob Bradley, has picked a mixed bag of players - some that will be part of the line up in the Gold Cup (beginning in about a week) and some that may have an outside shot at featuring in the Copa America tournament taking place later this summer in Venezuela.
Goalkeeper Tim Howard should be brimming with confidence after the season he had for UEFA cup bound Everton. While defender Carlos Bocanegra and midfielder Clint Dempsey will want to put in a good showing in hopes of keeping a place at Fulham for next season's fight for survival in the Premiership. Defender Jay DeMerit should be one to watch. He was very solid for relegated Watford this season, and will more than likely have a chance to stay in the Premiership with a bottom half of the table side should he desire to escape Watford and Championship football.
There are some other interesting players to watch considering the past domestic season. DaMarcus Beasley jumps to mind. Manchester City opted not to keep him despite some decent showings. Beasley just isn't built for English football, but will have earned another chance at Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Remember, Beasley was featuring heavily for PSV in a strong run in the Champions League just a couple seasons ago. A falling out with Ronald Koeman and a loss of confidence set him back a great deal, but the player looked revitalized at Manchester City and scored a few goals. Keeping with the "Couldn't Hack it in the EPL" theme, defender Oguchi Onyewu has been shipped back to Belgium side Standard de Liege after a terrible experience at Newcastle. Some might argue he didn't have enough time to settle in. I would argue no amount of time was going to cure what was obviously a player out of his depth. The massive American was arguably the best player in the squad at the World Cup. Perhaps a solid Gold Cup and better coaching than what he got from Glenn Roeder, and Onyewu may get a look from an elite club again.
The position to watch will be the forwards. Ante Razov, the third leading goalscorer in MLS history, will have an opportunity add to his six national team goals in 24 appearances. Razov has been the model of consistency in MLS but has never been able to secure a spot on the national team. A few young guns have been brought in as well. Kamani Hill of VfL Wolfsburg (Germany), Lee Nguyen of PSV Eindhoven and Charlie Davies of Hammarby IF (Sweden) will all see minutes against China. These three are the great unknown right now in American soccer. Could they form a goalscoring force - along with DC United's 17 year old stud Jozy Alitdore - the likes of which this glory starved nation has yet to experience?
This remains to be seen and will most certainly not be answered against China. But that isn't to say the match won't pose some interesting talking points in this dire time otherwise known as the off season.
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