Monday, June 29, 2009

Experience

Well the USA fell about twenty minutes short of beating Brazil yesterday. Watching the game the amount of confidence the team had at the beginning of the game was awesome. It was fun to watch how good the our team can play when they are firing on all cylinders. The defense was tight and passes were crisp. The world saw how good a USA team can play and if nothing else they will at least be cautious when they play us in the future. Two players I thought played outstanding; Charlie Davies and Landon Donavan. The amount of energy Davies brought to the front line was huge momentum for the USA team. Donavan played some of the best soccer I have seen him play in this last tournament. People will talk about the amount of goals Dempsey scored but the play from Donavan deserved the number 10 on his jersey. However there was one person on the field who without his play the USA would have been in trouble early; Tim Howard. He established himself as one of the best if not the best keeper in the world. Yes he let in a few late goals but who could have stopped the Brazilians and the attack they were putting on for an entire game. Having a clean sheet for a half on that amazing team is impressive in itself. Howard made a couple saves look routine which any other keeper would struggle to make.

This brings me to another point Keller was one of the best keepers in the world when he was playing for the USA. The amount of work he did for the team needs to be congratulated. Howard will be a great replacement, we have been luck with keepers here and hope the skill at this position continues as the rest of the team continues to fill out and mature into what will hopefully become a contender within the ranks of world soccer.

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