A Fan’s View of a Special World Cup Moment
This was written by a good friend of mine, Lou Uhler, about how he viewed a certain moment during the 2010 World Cup, an event which started slowly, but by the end captured our imaginations and attentions undivided.
Life is nothing but a series of moments.
Most moments go unacknowledged because they go unoticed. They are uneventful, uninspiring, unimportant, thats why we dont realize them.
We dont see life as a series of moments, but as a long journey, because many moments dont inspire you to remember them, they go by the wayside.
When a point in time that is big enough for you to remember, it sticks out to you, forever in your mind.
The last great moment that many could think of is only two weeks old, but it may as well be two years, or two decades old. Such is the power of those special times. You know that how ever long it goes, you will still remember the moment like it was only two seconds since you went through it.
That moment was June 23, 2010 10:48 AM Central Daylight Time.
At least thats when it began, or when it peaked. Thats the thing about moments, they have no true start time, no true death. They can go on as long as they are remembered, they can go on forever.
This moment has just that, immortality.
I speak of course, of one of the most simple actions ever performed. I speak about a 28 year old guy kicking a ball a few feet on grass, across a painted white line before being snagged by a net.
Sounds simple doesnt it? Until you realize that this man was 10,000 miles from home. And 15 seconds ago, he was looking at a quick trip home. And he had ran about 70 yards in those 15 seconds.
And he had been waiting an extra long 4 years for this moment. And all his career, people said that he could never do something like this. And he was playing along side 10 other men on that field that he had been running around all night on. And he had spent the better part of the last three weeks with 22 other guys that all depended on him
And those 23 together also were told by people that they could never do something like this. And those 23 were also looking at a short trip home. And those 23 together were looking a cold trip home And those 23 together would be seen as disappointing nobodies on their short trip home. And those 23 together never stopped fighting. And those 23 together were the truest of 23 together. And those 23 together formed as one team
And that team carried the weight of a nation on itself. And that team were still known as worldwide pushovers. And that team refused to rollover.
And when that moment peaked, when it came to its full power and full euphoria, you knew exactly what it meant, You knew exactly why you would remember these few seconds, these few minutes, these few days, however long the moment truley is, for the rest of your life.
It is defined by the straining heart at 10:30 in the morning. Defined by the fears of the unknown and the tears and the unthinkable. It is defined by the expected pain, and inevitable loss. Defined by the straining heart at 10:45 in the morning.
It is defined by seeing the ball, in your mind, but not in real life, breach that firewall and into our hearts, only to be reminded by the harsh truth sucking that moment away from you.
It is defined by seeing at one end all your fading hopes fully burning out as the ball this time approaches your touchline, only to fall safely into friendly hands
Ultimatley it is and was, defined by the next 15 seconds and the madness that ensues.
The head that suddenly feels healthy, the heart that finally feels right. The energy that circles your body over and over again. The glance to make sure that this really happened, the double take to make sure this is life. The sounds of bottles breaking. The sounds of screams you didnt know were possible.
The sight of people jumping up and down, hugging, crying, laughing, running, sliding, cheering, smiling, happy, both half a world a way or half a foot away.
The pride you feel wearing your teams colors. The joy you get from the simple words “USA 1-0 ALGERIA” The singing and chanting.
U-S-A.
U-S-A.
The chaos that follows, not knowing who your hugging, who your embracing, who your loving. I dont know too many people who embrace like they are life long friends, when in reality they may have never said a word or even give a look to one another, before that moment peaked.
Its the singing of your countries national anthem, not because of patriotism or politics, but because of who is now representing that song, who is representing you, and the unbelievable task they have just completed.
Its the knowledge that you are not alone. That at this same exact point in time, this same exact moment, people across town, across the country, and across the world are feeling the same exact thing as you. That we are somehow all as one. That just how those 23 men together worked all that time to produce a little kick of a ball across a few blades of grass, that we all took each part of the buildup to create this one moment in time.
It is a moment that is timeless, because we dont know exactly how long it lasted. For some, it ended after the final whistle. For some, it ended that Saturday. I like to think, that as long as there are people who were there, people who remember it, or even just people that can watch the reaction videos on youtube, that the moment will never die.
The only thing next?
Create a new one.
The Race for the Boot
Now that we have entered the quarterfinals stage of the tournament, the true contenders for the golden boot have emerged. The golden boot is given to the tournament’s top goal scorer in each world cup. Miroslav Klose of Germany was the recipient in 2006, netting 5 goals. This year, it seemed to take a little longer for the goals to come, but the race for the golden boot is finally heating up. There are 5 top contenders:
Gonzalo Higuain: Argentina’s striker is also tied for the lead with 4 so far. Higuain has been a bit fortunate with some of his goals. He has been the beneficiary of a few defensive errors, especially that against Mexico, where he was given the ball at Mexico’s 18, and just had to dribble it in. Still, with Argentina’s attacking style and Messi feeding him the ball, he’s got a great shot to win it.
Luis Fabiano: Brazil’s #9 has scored 3 goals so far, and Brazil is just starting to hit their attacking stride. They only scored a total of 5 goals in the group stage, but have already scored 3 in the knockout stages, beating Chile 3-0. With Brazil hitting their stride, and Kaka, Robinho, and Elano supplying Fabiano, I could easily see him passing up Villa and Higuain.
Luis Suarez: Uruguay’s forward has also netted 3 goals. Suarez isn’t the most creative or the fastest player, but he is a pure scorer. That’s why he is on the field. Uruguay are not a high scoring team though, and Suarez faces some tough games ahead of him. He also has Diego Forlan to steal some of Uruguay’s goals away from him. If Suarez were to win the boot, I would be very surprised.
Thomas Mueller: Germany’s young striker has been having a great tournament. He scored a good goal against Australia, and netted 2 against England. Although Mueller is playing very well, he is not a pure goal scorer like Villa, Higuain, Fabiano, and Suarez. All of his goals have come towards the end of games, and hes only scored in games that Germany has scored 4 goals. I don’t see Germany scoring 4 goals in their remaining games, so I don’t see Mueller getting the chances that the other contenders are going to see. The odds are not in Mueller’s favor at this point.
In my opinion, the race is really between Villa, Higuain, and Fabiano. All 3 players play for great attacking sides, and all 3 have great players who supply them the ball. If I were to put money on one of them though, I would put it all on Brazil’s Fabiano.
What Went Wrong
As I’m sure you have heard by now, the U.S. was knocked out of the world cup by Ghana (again) by a score of 2-1, on overtime. As they have all tournament, the U.S. conceded a goal early. They went down 1-0 in just the 5th minute. They were able to level the score in the 62nd minute off 0f a Donovan penalty kick. They took that score to overtime, but once again conceded early. Ghana were able to take the lead only 3 minutes into overtime, and were able to hold on to that lead. As a result, the U.S. went home. After a heartbreaking loss like this, somebody needs to take the bulk of the blame. That person needs to be the head coach, Bob Bradley.
In this world cup, the U.S. made a habit out of starting the game slow, flat, and uninspired. As a result, they conceded a goal in the first 13 minutes in 3 of their 4 games. The only game they didn’t concede an early goal was against Algeria, who hit the post in the 6th minute of play. This pattern of starting slow and falling behind early is a direct reflection of the coach. It wasn’t just a player here and there who started slow. Every single starter did, every game. Bob Bradley should have figured out why this was happening, and fixed it. Due to thesse slow starts, the U.S. had to consistently play from behind and expend more energy as the game went on. Eventually, the U.S. ran out of gas. The start of a game is so important, and we need a coach who can maximize our talent for all 90 minutes of a game.
Another reason is Bradley’s line up choices. Bob Bradley riskily chose Ricardo Clark to partner his son, Michael Bradley, in the center of the midfield against England. Clark was at partial fault for England’s goal in the 4th minute and continued to make defensive mistakes throughout the game. Clark didn’t see the field in the next 2 games. A combination of Maurice Edu and Benny Feilhaber were used to partner Michael Bradley. Both performed well. Out of nowhere, Bradley chose to start Clark once again in center midfield against Ghana. In the 5th minute, Clark was stripped of the ball by Ghana’s Kevin Prince Boateng, who took the ball to goal and scored. Clark was then dealt a yellowcard on an ill-advised tackle. His poor play forced Bradley to bring on Maurice Edu in only the 31st minute. Bradley then brought Benny Feilhaber on after half time. Both midfielders went on to have very strong games. Bradley then took Jozy Altidore off before overtime began, even though Altidore was looking quite lively while Dempsey and Michael Bradley were looking extremely tired and sluggish. Bradley’s terrible line up decisions may have cost the U.S. this game, as it was still theres for the taking, even with all of the coaches mistakes.
Bradley was not able to correct the United States’ mistakes this whole tournament. Instead of correcting them, he contributed to the mistakes with his line up decisions. I have been saying it for years, and hopefully it will now be realized. It is an absolute tragedy to have Bob Bradley as the head coach of a team with so much talent and promise.
Italy, France knocked out
The 2010 world cup has not been kind to the finalists of the 2006 world cup. The previous cup winner, Italy, was knocked out of the tournament with a loss to Slovakia while France was knocked out with a final loss to the host nation, South Africa. Both nations finished last in their group, and this marks the first time in history where both finalists of the previous cup failed to reach get out of the group.
Italy finished the tournament with a record of 0-1-2. This was only the fourth time in world cup history that a defending champion failed to reach the knockout rounds of the tournament. Italy’s tournament was characterized by uninspired play, few goal scoring chances, and falling behind early. Perhaps Italy’s lowest point was their 1-1 draw against New Zealand. New Zealand is only ranked 78th in the world, and their draw against Italy goes down as one of the major upsets in world cup history. Italy’s best stretch of play came in the last 20 minutes of their game against Slovakia. Already looking at a 2 goal deficit though, it proved not to be enough.
France finished the tournament with a 0-2-1 record. They tied Uruguay and lost to Mexico before being eliminated in their final game, losing to the host nation South Africa. France were unable to gel as a team, and had many conflicts with their coach, raymond domenech. Domenech expelled forward Nicolas Anelka after the two argued tactics following their loss to Mexico. When the team protested Anelka’s expulsion, Domenech stripped Patrice Evra of his captaincy then expelled him as well. France went into their final game with South Africa in disarray, and were unable to salvage a win in the tournament. Coach Raymond Domenech has already been replaced by Laurent Blanc.
France and Italy both struggled to mix their young players in with their older, experienced players. Both teams also made some very controversial cuts to their squad before entering the world cup. France cut midfielder Samir Nasri and forward Karim Benzema. Nasri not only plays, but starts for Arsenal in the premiership while Benzema is quite an influential player for La Liga’s Real Madrid. Italy cut forward Guissepe Rossi and defender Fabio Grosso. Grosso scored Italy’s world cup winning penalty kick in 2006 and was a part of their suffocating defense. Rossi is a rising star and could have been quite helpful given Italy’s struggles to find goals this tournament.
Both teams exiting the tournament this early is beyond shocking, and both face a long rebuilding period in the next 4 years.
Magical
The title can sum up the result of Landon Donovan’s oh-so-late finish on a ball loose in the box. With it he scored his second crucial goal, won the US’ first game in 2010, and saved the American’s from a brutal elimination. But it wasn’t always positive vibes coming from the American team and fans. (more…)
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