The Game and the Man
Better late than never, right? Man, quite an exhibition of skill and beautiful soccer was on display last Saturday.
Not only is DC United the flagship team and the dynastic team of MLS but they more than any other team I've seen play beautiful soccer. Everyone played great. No one overstepped his role and everyone was on the same page.
Our defense was on top of its game and Troy Perkins didn't embarass me. I'll go as far as to say that when Nick Rimando comes back he may not be automatically given back his starting position. The signature moment for the defense was at the end of the first half when Troy Perkins totally stuffed a Red Bull NY player (hard to tell from the replay). While the defense could have done better marking the player, it shows how in the crunch someone will step up and take the lead. Our defense is still learning what it needs to work on and what it can get away with. One of those things it can get away with is moving into the offense. Whether it be Boswell on set pieces or Facundo Erpen's sheer audacity anywhere on the field, the defenders are creeping in to worry the opposition. As far as Erpen's concern, I'm still debating whether he was aiming for a goal or was he just shooting towards the goal and he got a miracle goal. Those of you who play soccer know what I'm talking about when I say that when you're halfway between the goal and the midfield line, the last thought that goes through your head is "Gee I think I can score a goal." True we were up by 2 goals, and no one was really putting pressure on him but still. Though if he can make those (or goals similar to it) then all the better. How intimidating must that be for the other defense. You have at least 7 or 8 people who can consistently score or create goals.
On the offensive side, it was Alecko Eskandarian's day. Was anyone else getting annoyed by the announcers' constant chirping about how good and fast Marvell Wynne is? It felt pretty good that his mistake lead to the first goal. And that two other goals originated from his side. So the lesson? No matter how good the rookie is; how quick, physical, blah blah blah, he is still a rookie and can be beaten.
Does anyone else wonder what would have happened if Alecko started last season this way and didn't suffer a concussion? Personally, I think that Bruce Arena would be calling. His quickness, power and instinct makes for a good compliment to Eddie Johnson. He'd be a good sub and definitely shows the intensity that you need to bring to the World Cup. He bleeds his team colors, unfortunately he's still recovering. That being said, I'm still not convinced that Alecko shouldn't be on the team going to Germany. As it stands right now the four forwards are Brian McBride, Eddie Johnson, Taylor Twellman, and Josh Wolff. Twellman is similar to McBride and Wolff is Johnson's counterpart.
So here's my question: as it stands right now, who's a better forward and who would most help the national team, Josh Wolff or Alecko Eskandarian?
You can guess my bias, but seriously what is Josh Wolff's last contribution to the team? Arena can't bring in Brian Ching because his lack of form for one and also, he would be the third target striker. He's in the same mold as Twellman and McBride. So who accompanies Johnson? I don't think Arena has a choice but to have Wolff. I personally think that Esky is a better player but Wolff does have the experience, then again experience is nothing without the skill to use it with.
Side note: I'm out with my girlfriend in at the Coastal Flats restaurant in Fairfax and who should walk in? None other than Bruce Arena. He just has an air of confidence around him. So he was walking towards the outside bar, yet when we went out there he disappeared. The uncharacteristicly slow service that Saturday prevented us from asking him the status of the World Cup Roster, especially Ben Olsen's status.
Not only is DC United the flagship team and the dynastic team of MLS but they more than any other team I've seen play beautiful soccer. Everyone played great. No one overstepped his role and everyone was on the same page.
Our defense was on top of its game and Troy Perkins didn't embarass me. I'll go as far as to say that when Nick Rimando comes back he may not be automatically given back his starting position. The signature moment for the defense was at the end of the first half when Troy Perkins totally stuffed a Red Bull NY player (hard to tell from the replay). While the defense could have done better marking the player, it shows how in the crunch someone will step up and take the lead. Our defense is still learning what it needs to work on and what it can get away with. One of those things it can get away with is moving into the offense. Whether it be Boswell on set pieces or Facundo Erpen's sheer audacity anywhere on the field, the defenders are creeping in to worry the opposition. As far as Erpen's concern, I'm still debating whether he was aiming for a goal or was he just shooting towards the goal and he got a miracle goal. Those of you who play soccer know what I'm talking about when I say that when you're halfway between the goal and the midfield line, the last thought that goes through your head is "Gee I think I can score a goal." True we were up by 2 goals, and no one was really putting pressure on him but still. Though if he can make those (or goals similar to it) then all the better. How intimidating must that be for the other defense. You have at least 7 or 8 people who can consistently score or create goals.
On the offensive side, it was Alecko Eskandarian's day. Was anyone else getting annoyed by the announcers' constant chirping about how good and fast Marvell Wynne is? It felt pretty good that his mistake lead to the first goal. And that two other goals originated from his side. So the lesson? No matter how good the rookie is; how quick, physical, blah blah blah, he is still a rookie and can be beaten.
Does anyone else wonder what would have happened if Alecko started last season this way and didn't suffer a concussion? Personally, I think that Bruce Arena would be calling. His quickness, power and instinct makes for a good compliment to Eddie Johnson. He'd be a good sub and definitely shows the intensity that you need to bring to the World Cup. He bleeds his team colors, unfortunately he's still recovering. That being said, I'm still not convinced that Alecko shouldn't be on the team going to Germany. As it stands right now the four forwards are Brian McBride, Eddie Johnson, Taylor Twellman, and Josh Wolff. Twellman is similar to McBride and Wolff is Johnson's counterpart.
So here's my question: as it stands right now, who's a better forward and who would most help the national team, Josh Wolff or Alecko Eskandarian?
You can guess my bias, but seriously what is Josh Wolff's last contribution to the team? Arena can't bring in Brian Ching because his lack of form for one and also, he would be the third target striker. He's in the same mold as Twellman and McBride. So who accompanies Johnson? I don't think Arena has a choice but to have Wolff. I personally think that Esky is a better player but Wolff does have the experience, then again experience is nothing without the skill to use it with.
Side note: I'm out with my girlfriend in at the Coastal Flats restaurant in Fairfax and who should walk in? None other than Bruce Arena. He just has an air of confidence around him. So he was walking towards the outside bar, yet when we went out there he disappeared. The uncharacteristicly slow service that Saturday prevented us from asking him the status of the World Cup Roster, especially Ben Olsen's status.
posted by SccrPlaya at 3:23 PM
4 Comments:
The main thing that I see out of Wolff that gives him any advantage is that his movement off the ball is very good. He always seems to know where he needs to be to create problems for a defense. Whether or not he winds up doing anything with that is another story, but I also think that he's often been hampered by having to play up top with Ching, for whom positioning is a major weakness.
You're right about the forwards. As much as I'd like to see someone other than a Josh Wolff up there as the 4th forward, I don't think it's going to happen. Nobody else, on the international stage or here at home, has stepped up enough to warrant consideration.
se podcast: I'll give you that. In the international games I've seen this year, Wolff has been in positions to do good things. The problem for him is that I can't see any situation where he'll get any playing time (if Johnson's 100%)
i-66: I wish the World Cup would 6 months later (or MLS play during the winter) because Alecko would give Wolff a little competition. Wolff has looked slow and lost at times when he's played. It could be the other forward like podcast says. I just think that Wolff is not the 4th best forward in the country. But then again I will be happy that Alecko will be playing the MLS games this summer.
Maybe we'll have to play Mexico again. Wolff tends to do pretty good against Mexico...
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