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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For the last 30 minutes it seemed the US were doomed to one of those matches where seemingly nothing went in.

Clint Dempsey had a goal incorrectly ruled offside (again, I know) that would have made the proceedings much easier. But in the build-up to the play Herculez Gomez, who started in place of the suspended Robbie Findley, should have been able to finish it off. Instead his shot went straight off the goalkeeper and his ensuing cross for Dempsey’s tap-in was what was ruled offside.

Then Donovan and Jozy Altidore got in each others way as the latter fired over the bar from close range on an open goal.

For the second half it seemed things wouldn’t change. The American’s dominated much of play and created chance after chance. Dempsey was sent free in the box but hit the post and his follow-up shot on an empty net was so far off target that many fans would be correct in assuming they could do no worse.

Substitute Edson Buddle brought life, but he too could not find the back of the net as he headed straight at the Algerian keeper. Michael Bradley had a screamer from the edge of the box off a free kick go straight at the goalie as well.

Then, with American hopes and dreams dwindling the break came. Literally. After Algeria capped a nice move with a powerful header saved by Tim Howard, the Everton goalie threw quickly up the right flank. It was latched onto by Donovan who dribbled quickly up and fed beautifully into the box to Altidore.

Jozy crossed to Dempsey and his shot was blocked by the keeper, but right into the path of the on-rushing Donovan. After so many near-goals and blown opportunities the star of the US team scored his 4th career World Cup goal by tucking it into the far, bottom corner.

The American’s were in raptures and after another couple minutes of defense and some Algerian theatrics that saw their captain red-carded the United States were through to the second round as winners of Group C. What a goal. What a match. What a hero.

Landon Donovan, soccer in America owes you a lot.

It isn’t quite Korea/Japan 2002 yet, but this World Cup is beginning to produce an awful lot of surprises. Spain losing to Switzerland. Paraguay drawing Italy. England on level terms with Algeria. Germany losing to Serbia. And France….well that’s for another article (or seven).

But today’s match between New Zealand and Italy tops them all and will go down as one of the most shocking results in World Cup history.

Take this into account.

-New Zealand has no official professional soccer league. They have one team, the Wellington Phoenix, who play in the Australian A-League.

-New Zealand has appeared in one previous World Cup, 28 years ago, and were hammered in all three of their matches.

-The All-Whites most recognized players; Ryan Nelsen and Chris Killen are in the twilight of their careers and play for Blackburn and Middlesborough respectively, an average EPL side and one that was recently in the 2nd division of English soccer. Chris Wood and Tommy Smith are talented, but 18 and 20 years old respectively. Jeremy Christie, who played nearly 20 minutes as a substitute plays for Tampa Bay, a second division side in AMERICA.

-The Kiwi goalie who was so outstanding in this match, Mark Paston, did not begin a professional soccer career until the age of 26.

-The Italian side has a roster consisting entirely of players based in Serie A and was considered good enough to leave home Giuseppe Rossi who scored 2 goals for them in the Confederation’s Cup.

-Oh and the Italians happened to have won the last World Cup and are second only to Brazil in overall titles with four.

The magnitude of this draw, nigh victory, for New Zealand cannot truly be measured yet. A nation of fantastic rugby, but inferior soccer, this result will have the citizens dancing through the night and makes for an easy front-page decision for newspaper editors.

The result technically keeps alive the hopes for all four teams in Group F, Paraguay on 4 points, Italy and New Zealand each with 2, and Slovakia with 1, but it is a result that will go well beyond this in both nations.

Italy must face a talented and now desperate Slovakia side in their final match and New Zealand will be on a high against a Paraguay side with one foot in the 2nd round.

The Italian side has been called old, but most thought the Azzuri’s experience and sheer talent would progress them easily through a seemingly simple group and at least to the quarter-finals. But age played a factor on the negative side when New Zealand took a shock lead in the 7th minute.

A free kick was badly gaffed by none other than Fabio Cannavaro, Italian captain and best player in the last World Cup, and fell nicely to Shane Smeltz who tapped in to roars from the Kiwi fans.

From then it played into the hands of the All-Whites who sat back and defended their hearts out and for the most part Italy didn’t produce many chances. Riccardo Montolivo, a bright spot for the Italians, hit the post in the 27th minute and 2 minutes later Italy were awarded a penalty.

It will go down as a soft penalty at best, Tommy Smith having a slight hold of Danielle De Rossi’s jersey and the midfielder went down far too easily, even after Smith had released his loose grip. It is certainly something that almost any referee lets go as it is far too common of an occurrence in the box these days. Certainly a few American players, Bocanegra and Bradley especially, will be wishing they had this ref against Slovenia.

No matter the penalty claims, Iaquinta took it brilliantly and the match was leveled. From then on Italy dominated possession but again failed to make much of it.

In the second half Mark Paston made a brilliant save from Montolivo and a couple other decent ones, but for the most part looked very comfortable between the posts.

The last good chance even fell to New Zealand. 18 year old Chris Wood flicked himself into the box and fired just wide in the 83rd minute. It would have been a truly historical goal and perhaps the most memorable 1st goal scored by anyone in any nation in history.

As it was New Zealand had their draw and will be delighted to achieve a second draw against the defending champs when few thought they could get any points at all in South Africa.

And now dare they dream of advancing to the second round? The world shouldn’t be too surprised if it did happen.

Yes the United States should have been allowed that goal. Yes that would have made it 3-2 and likely resulted in a win over Slovenia. Yes that win would have essentially clinched a spot in the 2nd round, potentially as group winners. And: Yes the USA needs a win against Algeria in order to make it. But there are still a ton of positives to take from this match, down-spirited and in disbelief as some American fans may be.

The comeback was still great: No squad in the 2006 World Cup rallied from two goals down to get a result. Sure a win would have been nice, but a draw from such a tough position is still a heck of an accomplishment and should give a boost in spirits to the squad. If not for the disallowed goal, it would have been a result the American’s would gladly have taken.

Never Say Die Attitude: The United States continued to demonstrate the ability to come back. Just like the dramatic equalizer against Costa Rica in qualifiers (you’re welcome Honduras) and the dramatic turn of events that lead to advancing from the group in the Confederation’s Cup the squad showed they will give everything until the final whistle. Great to see since the squad needs a win and will need a mentality like that in the latter stages, should they get there.

Brilliant Attacking Play The first half was solid, though sporadic. Still there were a few chances, highlighted by Robbie Findley’s cross that required a last-ditch clearance to prevent Donovan from scoring. But after the break the team really turned it on. Donovan and Dempsey were pushed further forward in support of Altidore and Feilhaber, Edu, and Bradley linked well in the center. Cherundolo sent a nice ball to Donovan who’s finish on the first goal is up there with the best of them.

Altidore had several scything runs that drew fouls and cards (and coulda-shoulda ejections) and was a constant threat in the second half. He also held play up nicely at times and looked at home with Dempsey and Donovan closer to him. And the young striker headed a perfect ball for Bradley’s strike, capping perhaps the best team-worked goal of the tournament so far. And Donovan and Torres threatened with set pieces, Torres forcing a nice save and Donovan setting up the controversial final no-goal.

Bradley Gambles: For those who protest that Bob Bradley is too rigid with his tactics and formations, the second half provided a fresh breath of air. Desperately needing change, Bradley made two substitutions at halftime. That is almost unheard of as it leaves fewer options and cover for injury later, but Bradley took the risk. He also changed his formation, initially pushing Dempsey up with Altidore and Feilhaber on the wing, before also pushing Donovan up into a 4-3-3 with M. Bradley, Feilhaber, and Edu in the middle. The changes proved the difference maker as the American’s really took it to the Slovenians and looked as good as they have in recent memory after the switches. Late sub Gomez was also on the field for the tying and disallowed goals. So fans, whether you liked him or not, give Bob Bradley a round of applause for this one.

All they need is a win: It is quite simple for USA. Beat Algeria, go through. Who cares what the result of England-Slovenia is, a win guarantees advancement. The Americans should be able to defeat Algeria and if they can’t they probably don’t belong in the 2nd round anyways. But it is not a difficult situation as it was a year ago when they needed to win by 3 over Egypt and hope Brazil demolished Italy (which happened). A 1-0 win works. So does 2-0, 2-1, 10-0, 10-9, whatever you like. Win, move on.

So despite the disappointing finish, the US team and fans should take heart and know they showed a lot, especially in the second half and are in a great spot to go through to the next stage.

Sulk tonight, forget about it and get back to the field tomorrow and work hard towards defeating Algeria on Wednesday.

A furious and brilliant comeback by a spirited American squad was somewhat dampened by a dis-allowed goal that had no reason not to stand, preventing what would have been an astonishing come-from-behind victory.

In the end the United States still gathered a crucial point with a 2-2 draw against Slovenia and combined with England’s lackluster 0-0 draw with Algeria need only to beat the African side in their final group match in order to advance.

The game did not begin in a fashion that would have suggested American victory however. Poor passing, marking, and tackling lead to early Slovenian pressure, accumulating in the first goal for the European side. Valter Birsa found space in the midfield and continued his run as no US defender seemed willing to step up and he unleashed a terrific shot that caught Tim Howard out of his goal with no chance of a save.

After the goal the match evened off for a while, the USA with a little more possession and pressure, but Slovenia still threatening. Jose Torres, a starter in place of Ricardo Clark, forced a good save with a well-struck free kick, and Donovan was unlucky not to connect for a tap-in on a nice cross from Robbie Findley.

Slovenia would make the Americans pay as Ljubijankic made a mess of the US offside trap and slotted calmly under Howard to make it 2-0 at halftime. Changes were needed and were made with Findley and Torres coming off, replaced by Benny Feilhaber and Maurice Edu. It did not take long for the changes to pay dividends.

A nicely weighted pass from Cherundolo found Landon Donovan home free down the right side and he dribbled all the way in and smashed a spectacular strike right over the head of the goalie and the US had a lifeline.

Jozy Altidore, silent for much of the 1st half, was suddenly the game’s most active and best player, running with and without the ball and causing havoc for a stout but slow Slovenian defense. He drew two yellow cards on the European nation and should have drawn a red when Suler hauled him down violently on the edge of the box, appearing to be the last man back.

In the end Altidore made his impact count. With time running low and Herculez Gomez thrown into the equation, Jozy headed a nice ball from Donovan perfectly as Michael Bradley sprinted up the middle. The coaches son lifted the ball beautifully over the Slovenian keeper and into the back of the net, sending the American’s into raptures. A beautiful goal and the US hopes were re-kindled.

But it should have been more. With the tiring Slovenians resigned to hacking the US attackers Donovan took up a free kick from 30 yards out on the right flank. A perfect cross was met by an on-rushing Maurice Edu who finished easily into the back of the net, sending the Yanks into a state of delirium.

Then the phantom call. Edu had no foul. Michael Bradley was immobile as he was being bear-hugged. As were two other US players. Where the foul or offsides came from we will never know. Edu was denied the goal, the US was denied a deserved win.

But its a comeback the team and nation can be proud of and springs fresh hope for qualification to the knockout stages.

Next up Algeria. All they have to do is win.

The game isn’t played on paper. That old cliché has never been more true than after Switzerland gave Spain a 1-0 loss in their world cup opener on June 16 in Durban. Switzerland’s Gelson Fernandez scored the games only goal in the 52^nd minute, against the run of play. Spain was not only favored to win this game handedly, but are also considered the favorites to win the world cup.

Spain enjoyed 63% of the possession, and out shot Switzerland 25-9. Spain dominated Switzerland in every aspect of the game except for one, defending. The Swiss were content to let Spain possess the ball and attack, while trying to counter. They stayed extremely organized and compact on defense, and tried to catch the Spanish defense off guard when they were dispossessed. It was a dangerous strategy and they needed a bit of luck, but it paid off in the end for the Swiss. Perhaps their luckiest moment came in the 70^th minute when Spain’s Xabi Alonso hit the cross bar on a strike from 20 yards away. Spain had many attempts on goal from players such as Villa, Torres, and Silva, but Alonso’s post was their best chance. They also had a great attempt when their center back, Pique, received a through ball inside Switzerland’s penalty box, turned towards goal, and shot. His shot didn’t even reach goal because Switzerland’s keeper, Diego Benaglio, rushed off his line and stopped the attempt instantly. Thanks to Benaglio and the defense, Switzerland were able to secure a 1-0 win, and give the world cup it’s first major upset.

Although Spain suffered a defeat in their first game, I still believe they will advance out of the group without a problem and contend for the cup. The odds are massively against them now though. Not only are Spain notorious for underachieving in the world cup, but no team has ever lost their opening match and gone on to win the world cup. Despite all of the odds against them, my money is still on Spain to win it all. They are the most talented team in the tournament, and it is just a matter of time until they put it together.