USA Qualifies

I remember all too well being a soccer fan in the 1970's and 80's.

The US Men's National soccer team had no hope, zero, zilch, nada, of qualifying for the World Cup. They could beat neither the minnows who made it or the ones who didn't. For most of that time the US Team was composed of a sort of college-all star team. Sounds nice, but the college game back then, other than Indiana and a few other suspects, was a sports backwater that attracted few quality athletes.

And so, over those decades, we were on the outside looking in. Even by 1990, things were not much different. The US side found itself in Port of Spain, facing a favored Trinidad and Tobago side. But Paul Caligiuri's "shot heard round the world" secured a 1-0 win for the US boys and their first trip to the World Cup since 1950. You read that right. five-zero. The 1990 World Cup would be the US's first in *40 years*.

This past Saturday night, the US team came away from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with a hard-fought, difficult and improbable 3-2 away victory which has secured their passage to a sixth consecutive World Cup.

Some observations on the game:

1) Landon Donovan has gone from being a very effective, slashing forward to a truer #10 shirt, creative attacking midfielder. His lovely, perfectly paced and perfectly placed through-ball to Conor Casey could not hacve been better executed by Lionel Messi, Maradona, or even Pele himself. You can't do it any better than that, and it was Donovan who did it.

2) Landon's curling free kick over the wall and into the uper corner of the net further secures his postion as a multidimensional attacking player.

3) Youth referees take note. Conor Casey's headed goal in which he collided with the goalkeeper AFTER he headed the ball was a COMPLETELY legit goal. I wish I had a nickel for every time I saw a play like that whistled a foul on the offensive player, especially in youth leagues out of the mistaken belief the goalkeeper is sacrosanct, and the play must be whistled dead every time the goalkeeper is within ten feet of the ball. Youth officials, just because a player is a goalkeeper does not mean they have a divine right to get the ball just because they are near the ball and they want it. If a goalkeeper gets creamed on a true 50-50 ball, SO BE IT. The goalkeeer is just another player, one who happens to be able to use his hands.


4) Conor Casey can score if he gets service. Many of our other strikers fail to score even with good service.