FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa

[babam11218719]

Ok and he is still a traitor. I am sorry but dude was Born and Bred in the US. He acquired all of his skill while playing in the American system and as soon ashe is able he commits to Italy. Whatever though he is a great player and I am happy for him but as a fan of American soccer you have to be disappointed.

Italy had three really nice goals. The US played pretty well for a while but it is hard to withstand the pressure when you are a man down for the a whole halfwith a team like Italy.

 

[erascism]

I hope that was the last time I've seen Camoronesi start for Italy. He's been useless for awhile now.

Rossi injected some life in their attack in the 2nd half.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by babam11218719

Ok and he is still a traitor. I am sorry but dude was Born and Bred in the US. He acquired all of his skill while playing in the American system and as soon as he is able he commits to Italy. Whatever though he is a great player and I am happy for him but as a fan of American soccer you have to be disappointed.

Italy had three really nice goals. The US played pretty well for a while but it is hard to withstand the pressure when you are a man down for the a whole half with a team like Italy.

 

[platinumfunk]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly


Pirlo is one of the best 5 players in the world.

What?

.

Classic NT... extrapolating the smallest things to gargantuan proportions.

 

[dat exclusive cat]

Rossi learned to play soccer in the us under the us system?

2003 Italy U-16 05 0(3)
2003-2004 Italy U-17 14 0(6)
2004-2005 Italy U-18 03 0(0)
2006-2008 Italy U-21 22 (11)
2008- Italy 05 0(3)

what dude played ayso for one season?

 

[rothypejc]

nah rossi played for odp region I and on a club team here, no way he learned everything here but it wasnt just ayso

 

[krispacinla]

@ at all the hate the national team gets on this board. Is ok hate all you want,we all know the US could have easily won this game. We had chances we did not convert. Against Italy that is not going to cut it. World class team, World classplayers. No excuses we lost, next game. Brasil.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by PlatinumFunk

Originally Posted by PersiaFly


Pirlo is one of the best 5 players in the world.

What?

.

Classic NT... extrapolating the smallest things to gargantuan proportions.

Do you watch soccer? Name five players, right now, that are better than Pirlo.

 

[craftsy21]

Okay.. random thought time...


I can't help but be angry that Rossi doesn't play for the US side, but what's done is done.. i get that his parents were immigrants, but the US isa country of all different nationalities - there's nobody claiming to be pure American outside of Native Americans. So I kinda think it's a cop out toplay the "immigrant" card if you were born and raised here.

But whatever.. it's over... we'll probably never have a striker with his abilities anytime soon, so it's frustrating to watch him beat us.

The red card was a bad call - period. It's a definite yellow, but only a red 1 out of 1000 times it happens, especially given the way the game was playingand the friendly nature of almost the entire thing.. not like these two teams were at each other's throats at the time or anything.

The Donovan header takedown was not deserving of a PK.. the takedown of Altidore was.. and I thought a yellow should've come out when the guy grabbedJozy's arm on another header attempt later on.

Outside of officiating - Italy outclassed us, but the whole nature of the game changed after the red card so it's hard to really judge this one fairly.

US does not generate enough chances - we are so wasteful with the ball on offense at times.

Howard really disappoints me the last three games - there was nothing he could do on the 1st and 3rd goal.. but the 2nd one he should've done a better jobon. Much like the low roller that got by him in the CR game, he just does not inspire confidence in me whatsoever.. maybe it's just the guys in front ofhim making him look bad, but I've been completely underwhelmed by his abilities the last month, and his punts out of bounds are impressive but worthless.

I have a hard time seeing how the US scores on anything BUT PK's in the near future... just a total lack of skill.

 

[babam11218719]

Off the top of my head

Ronaldo
Messi
Kaka
Iniesta
Xavi
Gerrard
Torres

Pirlo is good and had a great game today. He is no where near the best player in the world anymore. Come on.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by babam11218719

Off the top of my head

Ronaldo
Messi
Kaka
Iniesta
Xavi
Gerrard
Torres

Pirlo is good and had a great game today. He is no where near the best player in the world anymore. Come on.

Ronaldo, Messi, and Kaka, I will concede. But there is at least an argument for Pirlo against any of the other players. Iniesta and Xavi are good, but theyhave each other to take defenders off of them. They also play behind the best striker in the world. Pirlo doesn't have another top-notch midfielder next tohim, and he doesn't have a world-class striker in front of him. But he still gets the same results. Who do you think was the most instrumental player inItaly's WC win? Gerrard is vastly overrated and has done nothing on an international stage. His team didn't even make Euro 2008. Disqualified. Torresis a striker and I would hesitate to put him in this conversation to begin with, because he doesn't create for other players the way midfielders do. Wouldyou include a goalkeeper in this discussion? Why do you think Pirlo is inferior to Xavi, Iniesta, or Gerard?

 

[18key]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Howard really disappoints me the last three games - there was nothing he could do on the 1st and 3rd goal.. but the 2nd one he should've done a better job on. Much like the low roller that got by him in the CR game, he just does not inspire confidence in me whatsoever.. maybe it's just the guys in front of him making him look bad, but I've been completely underwhelmed by his abilities the last month, and his punts out of bounds are impressive but worthless.

I have a hard time seeing how the US scores on anything BUT PK's in the near future... just a total lack of skill.

Agreed. Howard's been disappointing, to say the least. He cant create confidence in the fans, or his defense. He needs to start directingpeople when the line starts falling apart, instead of letting them rush 3 on 1 leaving 2 more opponent open at a time. Maybe it just takes time to learn, buthis time is running out. Fast. He needs to get his defense under control by next summer if the US wants to have a chance to win more than a game. And ourdefense needs to get better in general.
Oh well, Italy knew how to expose us, and did.

 

[babam11218719]

Right now I would say those three have been better the last few seasons. You are going to say that Gerrard is not as good as Pirlo because of lack of successwith England and not making Euro? I mean Italy made it to Euro and what happened with them? Pirlo is getting up there in age and is slowing a bit. Milan hasnot been the same team for the last few years and they do have a lot good amount of talent on that team. Obviously he is still a great player but if I were tohave a team I would rather have Gerrard, Xavi and Iniesta over Pirlo. Right now, I haven't heard anyone else say Pirlo was one of the 5 best players inthe world.



Honestly overall, I think Howard has been fine. It is debateable in my opinion that the second goal was his fault. He made some really nice saves after thatsecond goal when the US D was gassed and stopped playing.

 

[cruzair13]

5 players right now better than pirlo.

kaka
messi
c ronaldo even though i despise him.
torres
ibrahimovic
lampard
gerrard

he had a good game today but he is not top 5 today, maybe 3 or 4 years back
he's past his prime in a sense, (30)
but he in my opinion
is the best set pieces player of right now. he's an artist. one of the most intelligent players.

 

[rothypejc]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21


US does not generate enough chances - we are so wasteful with the ball on offense at times.

Howard really disappoints me the last three games - there was nothing he could do on the 1st and 3rd goal.. but the 2nd one he should've done a better job on. Much like the low roller that got by him in the CR game, he just does not inspire confidence in me whatsoever.. maybe it's just the guys in front of him making him look bad, but I've been completely underwhelmed by his abilities the last month, and his punts out of bounds are impressive but worthless.

I thought finishing was a bigger problem than creating chances especially in the 1st half. Bradley and especially Jozy couldve done better. It's alreadygoing to be hard enough for the US to get a lot of chances vs Italy 11v11 and then its a shooting gallery for the Italians out there when they're up a manbut the US still got a couple chances in the 2nd half.
I'm satisfied with Howard's performance. The scoreline definitely could've been uglier if not for him.

 

[platinumfunk]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by babam11218719

Off the top of my head

Ronaldo
Messi
Kaka
Iniesta
Xavi
Gerrard
Torres

Pirlo is good and had a great game today. He is no where near the best player in the world anymore. Come on.

Ronaldo, Messi, and Kaka, I will concede. But there is at least an argument for Pirlo against any of the other players. Iniesta and Xavi are good, but they have each other to take defenders off of them. They also play behind the best striker in the world. Pirlo doesn't have another top-notch midfielder next to him, and he doesn't have a world-class striker in front of him. But he still gets the same results. Who do you think was the most instrumental player in Italy's WC win? Gerrard is vastly overrated and has done nothing on an international stage. His team didn't even make Euro 2008. Disqualified. Torres is a striker and I would hesitate to put him in this conversation to begin with, because he doesn't create for other players the way midfielders do. Would you include a goalkeeper in this discussion? Why do you think Pirlo is inferior to Xavi, Iniesta, or Gerard?

. Just let it go, you made a dumb statement because you gotexcited, that's fine.

Just for arguments sake, you said top 5 "player", not midfielder. So I'm free to put Buffon, Julio Cesar, etc. above Pirlo if I wish in terms ofvalue to their respective teams. Sure, Pirlo is an amazing tactical player, but at this point he's far too slow to be a legitimate threat and he's aliability on defense.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by cruzair13

5 players right now better than pirlo.

kaka
messi
c ronaldo even though i despise him.
torres
ibrahimovic
lampard
gerrard

he had a good game today but he is not top 5 today, maybe 3 or 4 years back
he's past his prime in a sense, (30)
but he in my opinion
is the best set pieces player of right now. he's an artist. one of the most intelligent players.

Lampard doesn't even belong in this conversation, IMO. Gerrard at his finest is top 5, but how often do we see him at his finest? I have seen him disappearfar too many times to think of him on that level. I don't really think he belongs in the conversation either. Xavi and Iniesta, again, play with theabsolute finest on club and international level. You think if Pirlo had Messi-Eto'o-Henry in front of him, he wouldn't perform like they do? What aboutTorres? Has Pirlo enjoyed that sort of company? If he had Kaka to play with, in front of them was Inzaghi.

Or a washed up Ronaldinho. And Ibra... he has thetalent, but what has he accomplished? A cheeky flick against Italy, and that's about it on big stages. What has he done in the CL? Pirlo was absolutely amaster in WC2006. He was brilliant in their CL victory. He belongs in the top 5, even if he is getting a bit up there.

 

[platinumfunk]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by cruzair13

5 players right now better than pirlo.

kaka
messi
c ronaldo even though i despise him.
torres
ibrahimovic
lampard
gerrard

he had a good game today but he is not top 5 today, maybe 3 or 4 years back
he's past his prime in a sense, (30)
but he in my opinion
is the best set pieces player of right now. he's an artist. one of the most intelligent players.

Lampard doesn't even belong in this conversation, IMO. Gerrard at his finest is top 5, but how often do we see him at his finest? I have seen him disappear far too many times to think of him on that level. I don't really think he belongs in the conversation either. Xavi and Iniesta, again, play with the absolute finest on club and international level. You think if Pirlo had Messi-Eto'o-Henry in front of him, he wouldn't perform like they do? What about Torres? Has Pirlo enjoyed that sort of company? If he had Kaka to play with, in front of them was Inzaghi.

Or a washed up Ronaldinho. And Ibra... he has the talent, but what has he accomplished? A cheeky flick against Italy, and that's about it on big stages. What has he done in the CL? Pirlo was absolutely a master in WC2006. He was brilliant in their CL victory. He belongs in the top 5, even if he is getting a bit up there.

No, he doesn't.

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by rothypejc

Originally Posted by Craftsy21


US does not generate enough chances - we are so wasteful with the ball on offense at times.

Howard really disappoints me the last three games - there was nothing he could do on the 1st and 3rd goal.. but the 2nd one he should've done a better job on. Much like the low roller that got by him in the CR game, he just does not inspire confidence in me whatsoever.. maybe it's just the guys in front of him making him look bad, but I've been completely underwhelmed by his abilities the last month, and his punts out of bounds are impressive but worthless.

I thought finishing was a bigger problem than creating chances especially in the 1st half. Bradley and especially Jozy couldve done better. It's already going to be hard enough for the US to get a lot of chances vs Italy 11v11 and then its a shooting gallery for the Italians out there when they're up a man but the US still got a couple chances in the 2nd half.
I'm satisfied with Howard's performance. The scoreline definitely could've been uglier if not for him.

I don't disagree that we did a better job generating chances today, especially given the circumstances... but still.. you watch other teamswho force the defense to adjust, and it seems like defenses are always making US adjust..

True we missed a few finishes - and we have NO finishers on the team of any real international quality - but we have a couple guys middle of the road enough toscore if you gave them more decent chances... better crosses, better build-up... too may times when we cross mid-field are we willing to just throw up a prayerinto the box from straight on, with Jozy fighting off 3 defenders, or a 40 yard through ball attempt that has NO chance...

If we were to give our guys more uncontested pops from 20 yards we'd see more rebound chances, and even a few sneak by the keepers. I just want to seemore shots on goal..

 

[rothypejc]

^ I think the tactics are Bob's fault. We use the long ball too much under him and he loves the two d-mids in the middle.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by PlatinumFunk

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by babam11218719

Off the top of my head

Ronaldo
Messi
Kaka
Iniesta
Xavi
Gerrard
Torres

Pirlo is good and had a great game today. He is no where near the best player in the world anymore. Come on.

Ronaldo, Messi, and Kaka, I will concede. But there is at least an argument for Pirlo against any of the other players. Iniesta and Xavi are good, but they have each other to take defenders off of them. They also play behind the best striker in the world. Pirlo doesn't have another top-notch midfielder next to him, and he doesn't have a world-class striker in front of him. But he still gets the same results. Who do you think was the most instrumental player in Italy's WC win? Gerrard is vastly overrated and has done nothing on an international stage. His team didn't even make Euro 2008. Disqualified. Torres is a striker and I would hesitate to put him in this conversation to begin with, because he doesn't create for other players the way midfielders do. Would you include a goalkeeper in this discussion? Why do you think Pirlo is inferior to Xavi, Iniesta, or Gerard?

. Just let it go, you made a dumb statement because you got excited, that's fine.

Just for arguments sake, you said top 5 "player", not midfielder. So I'm free to put Buffon, Julio Cesar, etc. above Pirlo if I wish in terms of value to their respective teams. Sure, Pirlo is an amazing tactical player, but at this point he's far too slow to be a legitimate threat and he's a liability on defense.

Yeah, I got really excited over a victory against the USNT.

Pirlo > Gerrard, Iniesta, Xavi, Lampard. Torres you can make an argument for. Sit down.

 

[jjuve]

Giuseppe Rossi is example A why Italy needs to go out with the old and in with the new.

Toni out, Gilardino out, Gattuso out, Legrottaglie out, Zambrotta out.

Rossi in, Giovinco in, Cassano in, Santacrocce in, Santon in, Marchisio in, Balotelli in.

 

[dc1323]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by PlatinumFunk

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by babam11218719

Off the top of my head

Ronaldo
Messi
Kaka
Iniesta
Xavi
Gerrard
Torres

Pirlo is good and had a great game today. He is no where near the best player in the world anymore. Come on.

Ronaldo, Messi, and Kaka, I will concede. But there is at least an argument for Pirlo against any of the other players. Iniesta and Xavi are good, but they have each other to take defenders off of them. They also play behind the best striker in the world. Pirlo doesn't have another top-notch midfielder next to him, and he doesn't have a world-class striker in front of him. But he still gets the same results. Who do you think was the most instrumental player in Italy's WC win? Gerrard is vastly overrated and has done nothing on an international stage. His team didn't even make Euro 2008. Disqualified. Torres is a striker and I would hesitate to put him in this conversation to begin with, because he doesn't create for other players the way midfielders do. Would you include a goalkeeper in this discussion? Why do you think Pirlo is inferior to Xavi, Iniesta, or Gerard?

. Just let it go, you made a dumb statement because you got excited, that's fine.

Just for arguments sake, you said top 5 "player", not midfielder. So I'm free to put Buffon, Julio Cesar, etc. above Pirlo if I wish in terms of value to their respective teams. Sure, Pirlo is an amazing tactical player, but at this point he's far too slow to be a legitimate threat and he's a liability on defense.

Yeah, I got really excited over a victory against the USNT.

Pirlo > Gerrard, Iniesta, Xavi, Lampard. Torres you can make an argument for. Sit down.

Haha.

you need to stop. Pirlo is NOT as good as thoseplayers mentioned. You're entitled to your (ignorant) opinion... but that doesn't make it right. He's NOT up there w/ the said players.

anyway, HORRIBLE red card. USA outplayed italy in many stints of the game. Had they finished their chances (i.e. bradly's and altidores cupcakes,) USA getsthe victory. SAME BS happened at the last WC. Italy gets a favorable call during their game vs. US that leads them to victory. I doubt USA would have lost hadthey played 11v11. Defensively, they were organized. Italy's set pieces were the ONLY real threat to the USs defense.

Italy are not worth being referred to as the Champions of the world.

 

[gabers]

Originally Posted by rothypejc

^ I think the tactics are Bob's fault. We use the long ball too much under him and he loves the two d-mids in the middle.

Yup got Altidore upfront by himself just launching balls in the air in his direction is not gonna cut it. Bradley needs to either
switch up the formation or at least a tweak of it.They need to start laying more balls to the feet so guys can run at people
only thing u can really do with a ball played in the air is settle it then either hold it or pass it back. And that doesn't work
at all imo.

Dempsey

dude has been invisible for like the last 3 USNT games i'veseen him playing in. He might need
to find a seat on the bench next to Beasley if his horrible play continues.

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by gabers

Originally Posted by rothypejc

^ I think the tactics are Bob's fault. We use the long ball too much under him and he loves the two d-mids in the middle.

Yup got Altidore upfront by himself just launching balls in the air in his direction is not gonna cut it. Bradley needs to either
switch up the formation or at least a tweak of it.They need to start laying more balls to the feet so guys can run at people
only thing u can really do with a ball played in the air is settle it then either hold it or pass it back. And that doesn't work
at all imo.

Dempsey

dude has been invisible for like the last 3 USNT games i've seen him playing in. He might need
to find a seat on the bench next to Beasley if his horrible play continues.

No way - Dempsey is one of the only dependable guys we have out there at making offensive chances happen... he's one of the few guys with real ball skillson the team, and he is extremely creative which I can't say about ANYONE else on the team.