Jen Iso
Sports Assistant
Ranked fifth in the world, the United States sat comfortably in a bracket whose biggest challenge took place on Monday. Its opponent: the world’s No.-2 Czech Republic.
While Americans, dressed in their American flag bikinis and painted faces, packed the city of Munich, the fans from the Czech Republic came ready to chant, cheer and scream for the team in which they love. Little did they know that their support would rally a 3-0 defeat over the United States.
The slogan for the 2006 World Cup in Germany; “One game changes everything.” In the case of the United States, it took only five minutes. Czech Republic’s Jan Koller scored a goal that defeated United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller, as well as the rest of the squad. Within the first five minutes, the players of the United States suffered a blow that knocked them off their pedestal, onto the hard turf.
According to dictionary.com, the word “believe” means to have faith, confidence or trust.
I have faith in God, faith in true love, faith that the sun will rise the next morning, faith that my Raiders will win another Super Bowl before I die. Believe me; I have a lot of faith. I anxiously anticipated to the first kick-off of the World Cup. Sadly, my faith was shattered the moment that my country, lacking pride and confidence, stepped onto the field.
The confidence wasn’t there. The players lacked trust in one another. They didn’t believe, so why should I?
Two days prior, I watched the Argentines proudly step onto the Hamburg field last Saturday, ready to face their “Group of Death,” beginning with Ivory Coast. The past twenty years have been trying on the determined team and it seemed that the hope and pride of the fans and players were the only things keeping them alive.
True, the Argentines have talented players such as Lionel Messi, Juan Roman Riquelme, Javier Saviola, Carlos Tevez and goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri. But who can compare to the famous Diego Maradona who brought hope to a nation and a World Cup victory to the Argentines in 1986?
Spending a semester in a country that lived and breathed soccer showed me the lack of passion our country has in football. No, I don’t mean the NFL, although Raider games can get pretty crazy. But, imagine those crazy Raider fans at the Super Bowl, and multiply that by ten. The result: a regular-season soccer game in Argentina.
From hour-long bus rides to a stadium packed with fans screaming team chants, to the numerous soccer shops on every corner, to the family feuds, to the little boys in the subway dressed in Maradona jerseys, to the nightly soccer games in the park, to the fires in the stands, the list goes on and on. Until you fear for your life at a game, you cannot comprehend the love and passion soccer fans have for their team.
Soccer is a religion in Argentina. If one is not part of the home team, one should expect harsh criticism (that’s putting it lightly).
Speaking of harsh criticism, United States head coach, Bruce Arena, was not afraid to unleash his feelings about the game against the Czech Republic.
“Landon [Donovan] showed no aggressiveness,” Arena said. “We got nothing out of Beasley on the night.”
Criticism is nothing new to the 24-year old MLS soccer star. After returning to the United States, from the European leagues, Donovan was criticized for taking the easy route. Critics have yet to be proven wrong, as statistics show that Donovan has not scored in his last 16 international matches. Key player Donovan, who was expected to awe crowds, expressed the disappointment in his and his team’s performance in response to Arena’s comments. Beasley, however, took a defensive stance (too bad he couldn’t do that in the game).
“I don’t know what Arena wants me to do,” Beasley said. “Next time I’ll leave the guy and I’ll play as a striker instead of midfielder, and then we’ll see what happens.”
If Arena is true to his word, there may not be a next time for Beasley.
“If he’s any kind of a man, he understands [the criticism],” Arena said. “If he doesn’t, he’s not going to be able to help us in games two or three either.”
High expectations and pressure may be getting to the American players, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Beasley went as far as publicly shouting at his own teammate, Brian McBride during the match. The United States fell short in skill and team camaraderie that night. The Czechs were quick to kick them while they were down and demonstrated their superiority in the first five minutes of play.
“I am very disappointed by the performance of our players over 90 minutes,” Arena said. “But give the Czechs credit. They punished us every chance they got.”
The United States lacked belief. If their attitude doesn’t change, don’t expect the team’s level of play to either. Sad but true: no United States team in World Cup history has advanced after losing its first game.
“You just have to focus on the game at hand,” midfielder John O’Brien said. “Three goals, sure it’s disappointing. But tomorrow, you’ve got to put it behind you. We’ve got to focus on what we need to do to turn this thing around.”
If only every United States’ player had this determination. But who knows – one player can change everything. When the United States shows a portion of the passion and drive that other teams, such as Argentina, possess, then I’ll believe.
The United States faces Italy on Saturday. Let’s hope the United States believes.
06-15-2006
