USA vs Brasil
What a game! I seriously thought this game was amazing. Maybe it's because I haven't seen the USMNT with this type of roster since WC 2006. Yup! Last time I say the USMNT was the roster for Copa America. It was wonderful watching the team again!
So much to say but I don't want it to come out in a jumble and be all over the place at once. I'll try to calm down as I type how I saw the game out.
The game was very physical in my opinion.
USA
Clint Dempsey showed me why I love him so & find him fantastic to watch. He played the whole time, got elbowed in the fast pretty badly, held on the ball as much as he could, went at the goal, didn't loose his composure (I like his confidence actually), & made that sweet goal to make it 2-2!! He stayed with the ball even when he got taken down and was surrounded by three Brasilian players. I hope he keeps improving like this.
Michael Bradley=WHOA (seriously this kid is insane! He was all over Kaka; it was unbelievable how many times he tackled. Kaka seemed to be tripping when he's not showing his fabulous skills. I like Michael's effort and intensity but he needs to realize we don't want fouls in which the other team scores and leaves us behind to catch up once again. His aggressiveness is great but like I said he needs to use it wisely. Other then that I must say I love watching him like I love watching Dempsey).
Tim Howard should be man of the match. The bar shook visibly when he tried to block that goal but ended up dislocating his left ring finger. He was in a lot of pain & Chris got ready to go in but Howard held in together and stayed to play. He really was doing his best even if the score line reads 2-4. On Ronaldinho's goal it was hard for him to see passed the wall created but he tried & you could tell just how much he wanted to succeed in the game. I give him props for trying to keep the team together & putting his pain behind him.
Carlos Bocanegra was the surprise for me. I wanted a surprise (one being Dempsey making the second goal & two being Bocanegra) in this game and I definitely got it. He was just fantastic in the game --helping out with the first goal even if it was a light touch from the body. He was solid in keeping Brasil away and going for the Brasilian goalie. I think this was the first time I actually even realized just how well of a player Bocanegra was. He deserved the armband & I'm thrilled of how he played in this game.
Beasley is like a nice guy from what I've seen of him in games. He's there and he does pretty good stuff until he misses shots but what I like best about him is his attitude. There was a moment where a US player was down and Beasley had the possession of the ball & his reaction made me smile. Usually there are disappointing things to say about Beasley and even in this game there probably is but I guess the positive ones just stuck with me more.
Benny Feilhaber --wow I have to say I barely even noticed Benny except once or twice. I knew he was there somewhere but he wasn't in the picture a lot for me so there isn't much for me to say about him. Being completely biased I'm sure he played well hahah.
Landon Donovan was taking a breather I thought when he wasn't showing off his speed and keeping the ball in place. I have good things to say about him in this game so I guess if you don't like Donovan so sad too bad haha. Michael Bradley should watch how Landon takes balls away and makes something of smooth tackles or just watch him at times. Landon tried to push forward and pass the balls and at times he did succeed. He did have a good attitude with the other Brasilian players. He wasn't in the picture much like Benny but he definitely did show his appearance before backing off into the shade. (there was a shade haha). Lately he hasn't been doing so well and having the armband taken away from him or him giving away or whatever it is, he's been going down levels rather then rising. I dunno I guess I do like Donovan when he's not showing some nasty attitude but there are tons of players that have nasty attitude so I can't dwell on stuff like that. Anyway it made me sad that LA Galaxy seems to be all about Beckham rather then the team and Donovan. He gave up a lot for the team but things have just been nothing short of awful for them and I still see it as a team with or without Beckham.
Josh Wolff --oh man he got taken down where we were soooo close to make a goal and the pathetic ref didn't even give him the call he deserved! It was frustrating & Wolff was showing it just how much he thought it sucked. God it was such a good pass and ahhh the goal was so close. It hurts still thinking about that chance that was left to dissolve into nothing!! Of course the ref was there to see Michael's foul (it's an reiteration of his bad tackles) and Brasil scored on that one. Back to Wolf, he played very well. I can't even remember the last time I saw him playing.......yeah I'm stupid I know....He did very well & I know he feels he got robbed and he did but I'm happy he was on the roster. Stole balls and passed them --he just played well.
Eddie Johnson --I'm not sure but I think I rolled my eyes when the camera focused on Eddie giving autographs on the sideline (the kids were adorable though). What I dislike about Eddie is he seems to back off when it most counts!! Copa America was so frustration to watch him because he would have the pace but he would stop and turn around and like go the other way. It was like wtf are you doing Eddie Johnson!!! I know he is a good player and he can show much better then he plays but I'm always nervous when he's playing now. Of course he got into a little argument like 2 minutes when he was subbed in but I thought that was actually exciting --I'm no fan of fights of course. I can't remember what else he did except pass the ball? At least his time he didn't make me groan and want to pull my hair out. He had goal of the week for his team and seems to be brilliant when he plays there but comes out short for the national team.
Brasil
Ronaldinho --he was like the doctor, father, and old master in the game. He was in petty foul plays but when he wasn't taking a calm walk around the pitch he made the game and fans excited to see him in action. You could tell he was glad to be there! I liked that a lot about him. I think he also realized just how much the US players were taking the game serious & not scared to play dirty.
Kaka --sorry but I laughed when he was being shoved to ground here and there but man this guy is fabulous. Ugh!!! That goal he tried to score but was blocked BUT Oguchi Onyewu made contact with it and made an own goal made me moan. Seeing Kaka cheering about and what not was a pang to my heart but how he approached to try to score that goal was amazing. He's got fantastic skills when it comes to maneuvering and picking up pace. It's like the faster he's being chased down the faster he gets! His physical match against Michael Bradley was interesting to watch and over all he seemed to have kept a cool head about it. Also I loved that he traded jerseys & it was kind of funny seeing his very tan arms and pale chest haha. The camera seemed to love Kaka and I thought the commentator was having fun saying his name continuously even when he got subbed out haha.
Robinho --I must say he made me want to cuss him a lot and smack him around a bit. God there was this moment where he tried to get passed a US player but ended up sucking grass and hurting his leg/ankle something and it was more of his fault then anything else (or I thought so). Anyway he was moaning and groaning (he probably was in pain...) and Ronaldinho was there to tell him to get up and encouraging him to move along. I liked that about Ronaldinho. Kaka was strolling around drinking and he was sweating so much and I think he loved it that he had a moment to drink water when help came in to see how Robinho was holding up. (Eddi Johnson was sweating on the sidelines before he even got on the pitch!). Robinho in the end got up and was fine and looking same as always and he got a yellow card which I thought was right for him acting like that. He got into an argument/push/little fight with Michael Bradley --haha this kid is something! Michael was all shrugging and trying to get away from him. Robinho had an attitude which isn't bad for Brasil's side but it was frustrating for me to watch him. I think he was the one who really had it out against the US players.
Well I think I'll leave it to that since I have school tomorrow and should hit the sack. Over all I thought it was an exciting game that did deserve it's title, Clash of the Champions. USA played so well and they did try their best against the World's Best Team. It was a fantastic game.
So much to say but I don't want it to come out in a jumble and be all over the place at once. I'll try to calm down as I type how I saw the game out.
The game was very physical in my opinion.
USA
Clint Dempsey showed me why I love him so & find him fantastic to watch. He played the whole time, got elbowed in the fast pretty badly, held on the ball as much as he could, went at the goal, didn't loose his composure (I like his confidence actually), & made that sweet goal to make it 2-2!! He stayed with the ball even when he got taken down and was surrounded by three Brasilian players. I hope he keeps improving like this.
Michael Bradley=WHOA (seriously this kid is insane! He was all over Kaka; it was unbelievable how many times he tackled. Kaka seemed to be tripping when he's not showing his fabulous skills. I like Michael's effort and intensity but he needs to realize we don't want fouls in which the other team scores and leaves us behind to catch up once again. His aggressiveness is great but like I said he needs to use it wisely. Other then that I must say I love watching him like I love watching Dempsey).
Tim Howard should be man of the match. The bar shook visibly when he tried to block that goal but ended up dislocating his left ring finger. He was in a lot of pain & Chris got ready to go in but Howard held in together and stayed to play. He really was doing his best even if the score line reads 2-4. On Ronaldinho's goal it was hard for him to see passed the wall created but he tried & you could tell just how much he wanted to succeed in the game. I give him props for trying to keep the team together & putting his pain behind him.
Carlos Bocanegra was the surprise for me. I wanted a surprise (one being Dempsey making the second goal & two being Bocanegra) in this game and I definitely got it. He was just fantastic in the game --helping out with the first goal even if it was a light touch from the body. He was solid in keeping Brasil away and going for the Brasilian goalie. I think this was the first time I actually even realized just how well of a player Bocanegra was. He deserved the armband & I'm thrilled of how he played in this game.
Beasley is like a nice guy from what I've seen of him in games. He's there and he does pretty good stuff until he misses shots but what I like best about him is his attitude. There was a moment where a US player was down and Beasley had the possession of the ball & his reaction made me smile. Usually there are disappointing things to say about Beasley and even in this game there probably is but I guess the positive ones just stuck with me more.
Benny Feilhaber --wow I have to say I barely even noticed Benny except once or twice. I knew he was there somewhere but he wasn't in the picture a lot for me so there isn't much for me to say about him. Being completely biased I'm sure he played well hahah.
Landon Donovan was taking a breather I thought when he wasn't showing off his speed and keeping the ball in place. I have good things to say about him in this game so I guess if you don't like Donovan so sad too bad haha. Michael Bradley should watch how Landon takes balls away and makes something of smooth tackles or just watch him at times. Landon tried to push forward and pass the balls and at times he did succeed. He did have a good attitude with the other Brasilian players. He wasn't in the picture much like Benny but he definitely did show his appearance before backing off into the shade. (there was a shade haha). Lately he hasn't been doing so well and having the armband taken away from him or him giving away or whatever it is, he's been going down levels rather then rising. I dunno I guess I do like Donovan when he's not showing some nasty attitude but there are tons of players that have nasty attitude so I can't dwell on stuff like that. Anyway it made me sad that LA Galaxy seems to be all about Beckham rather then the team and Donovan. He gave up a lot for the team but things have just been nothing short of awful for them and I still see it as a team with or without Beckham.
Josh Wolff --oh man he got taken down where we were soooo close to make a goal and the pathetic ref didn't even give him the call he deserved! It was frustrating & Wolff was showing it just how much he thought it sucked. God it was such a good pass and ahhh the goal was so close. It hurts still thinking about that chance that was left to dissolve into nothing!! Of course the ref was there to see Michael's foul (it's an reiteration of his bad tackles) and Brasil scored on that one. Back to Wolf, he played very well. I can't even remember the last time I saw him playing.......yeah I'm stupid I know....He did very well & I know he feels he got robbed and he did but I'm happy he was on the roster. Stole balls and passed them --he just played well.
Eddie Johnson --I'm not sure but I think I rolled my eyes when the camera focused on Eddie giving autographs on the sideline (the kids were adorable though). What I dislike about Eddie is he seems to back off when it most counts!! Copa America was so frustration to watch him because he would have the pace but he would stop and turn around and like go the other way. It was like wtf are you doing Eddie Johnson!!! I know he is a good player and he can show much better then he plays but I'm always nervous when he's playing now. Of course he got into a little argument like 2 minutes when he was subbed in but I thought that was actually exciting --I'm no fan of fights of course. I can't remember what else he did except pass the ball? At least his time he didn't make me groan and want to pull my hair out. He had goal of the week for his team and seems to be brilliant when he plays there but comes out short for the national team.
Brasil
Ronaldinho --he was like the doctor, father, and old master in the game. He was in petty foul plays but when he wasn't taking a calm walk around the pitch he made the game and fans excited to see him in action. You could tell he was glad to be there! I liked that a lot about him. I think he also realized just how much the US players were taking the game serious & not scared to play dirty.
Kaka --sorry but I laughed when he was being shoved to ground here and there but man this guy is fabulous. Ugh!!! That goal he tried to score but was blocked BUT Oguchi Onyewu made contact with it and made an own goal made me moan. Seeing Kaka cheering about and what not was a pang to my heart but how he approached to try to score that goal was amazing. He's got fantastic skills when it comes to maneuvering and picking up pace. It's like the faster he's being chased down the faster he gets! His physical match against Michael Bradley was interesting to watch and over all he seemed to have kept a cool head about it. Also I loved that he traded jerseys & it was kind of funny seeing his very tan arms and pale chest haha. The camera seemed to love Kaka and I thought the commentator was having fun saying his name continuously even when he got subbed out haha.
Robinho --I must say he made me want to cuss him a lot and smack him around a bit. God there was this moment where he tried to get passed a US player but ended up sucking grass and hurting his leg/ankle something and it was more of his fault then anything else (or I thought so). Anyway he was moaning and groaning (he probably was in pain...) and Ronaldinho was there to tell him to get up and encouraging him to move along. I liked that about Ronaldinho. Kaka was strolling around drinking and he was sweating so much and I think he loved it that he had a moment to drink water when help came in to see how Robinho was holding up. (Eddi Johnson was sweating on the sidelines before he even got on the pitch!). Robinho in the end got up and was fine and looking same as always and he got a yellow card which I thought was right for him acting like that. He got into an argument/push/little fight with Michael Bradley --haha this kid is something! Michael was all shrugging and trying to get away from him. Robinho had an attitude which isn't bad for Brasil's side but it was frustrating for me to watch him. I think he was the one who really had it out against the US players.
Well I think I'll leave it to that since I have school tomorrow and should hit the sack. Over all I thought it was an exciting game that did deserve it's title, Clash of the Champions. USA played so well and they did try their best against the World's Best Team. It was a fantastic game.