Nikesoccer

A Golden Start

Gronamo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:10:38 GMT

The MNT knows how to start a Gold Cup. For the tenth consecutive time since the Gold Cup began, the MNT opened up group play with a win, handling Grenada 4-0.

Most of the vets coming back from South Africa are having a rest this tourney, but the younger talent that Coach Bradley has chosen to showcase is far from lacking. It only took seven minutes for the US to get on board, as Freddy Adu reminded everyone what he's all about when he received a well-placed low cross from Robbie Rogers and one-timed it into the back of the net with his right foot.

Man of the Match, Robbie would assist the next goal and have one of his own in the 60th as he received a through ball on a slicing run behind the Grenadian back line, slotting it past the keeper to the far post.

The gem of the match, though, came when a long looping ball played up the far wing was one touched out of the air toward Charlie Davies, who controlled it at a dead sprint and finished with his right foot.

Check all the goals and highlights here if you missed them, but be sure to catch the upcoming game live. The US faces a more talented, more eager Honduran side (still fresh off a loss to the MNT in qualifying). The game is under the lights at RFK stadium in DC, and you can be sure the tension will be high. See you there (Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET, FSC and Univision).

Don’t Tread on the Red: MNT v El Salvador

Gronamo — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:05:24 GMT

The US MNT opened up the final round of qualifying in convincing fashion with a 2-0 drubbing of their biggest rivals, Mexico. And you know what they say about messing with success – don't do it. Adhering to that advice, Coach Bradley has called up all eleven starters from the Mexico match with Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey heading the list. Freddy Adu was also included in Coach Bradley’s 22-man roster and will be looking to repay his inclusion with a blistering performance.

The team is currently in Miami training in the humid heat to acclimate themselves to the conditions they’ll face on Saturday (9 pm E.T., ESPN2 & Telefutura) when they play away against El Salvador. The team will then jump on a plane and head to Tennessee, where they’ll square off against Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday, April 1 in their third qualifying match (7:30 pm E.T., ESPN2 & Galavision).

So make sure you tune in, turn on and raise some ruckus for our boys – let the world know you DON’T TREAD ON THE RED!

Don’t Tread on the Red

gabejazzy — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:22:18 GMT

Red is the spirit of 11 players surging forward together. Red is the roar of 22,000 fans clambering for one cause. Red is the will of an entire nation united in the pursuit of a singular goal.

So be warned Mexico – on Wednesday, February 11th a sea of red, the likes of which you have never seen, will wash over Columbus. And from every corner of the pitch a deafening call to arms will resound:

Don’t Tread on the Red!

Rabid fans will shake the stadium with the chant. They’ll chant it so it’s heard in Mexico. They’ll chant it so they hear it in Europe. And they’ll chant it so loud that their voices carry all the way to South Africa.

Don’t Tread on the Red!

Don’t Tread on the Red!

Don’t Tread on the Red!

New Year's Resolution

Gronamo — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:11:08 GMT

What’s your New Year’s resolution? Train everyday? Finish every goal? Never lose possession? Aim high, work hard and the on-field results will come. At least that’s what we’re learning from three of the most promising young Americans abroad. For Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies and Freddy Adu, all the effort put into 2008 looks as though it will be paying big dividends in 2009.

Deuce finished the year with a firework display against Chelsea by scoring two goals that earned Fulham a massive away draw. The most mercurial of the Mercurial wearers, Deuce no longer has to worry about playing time or relegation; he’s regularly going the full 90 for a team that is playing with confidence and competing in the thick of the Premiership table. After the two-goal display, Deuce had this to say about his tendency to come up big against the toughest competition:

“You try every game to win and score goals. But any time you play against the best in the world, that doesn’t happen too many times, and you always want to make the most of your career. You want to make the most of your opportunities. I try to make sure that when I have these opportunities and these chances to get things done, I try to take advantage because nothing’s guaranteed. You never know if you’re going to get another chance.”

Who’s keeping pace? Fellow-Vapor aficionado Charlie Davies just finished his season with Hammarby as the Swedish league’s fourth highest scorer, posting 14 goals. Currently Charlie is out of the Scandinavian cold and into the US MNT training camp in Southern California. Look for him to suit up against his Swedish friends onJanuary 24th.

And Freddy? In his first game of 2009 for Monaco he drew the decisive penalty against one of Italy’s finest clubs.

Ice Cold Assassin

Gronamo — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:08:33 GMT

As the sun set behind the mountains of Denver, the temperature on the pitch dropped to a frosty 35-degrees. But, as the thermometer dipped, Freddy Adu’s game caught fire. On a night where Guatemala’s chance at qualification hung in the balance, it was the States, Freddy in particular, who came out determined to make a statement.

After 45 minutes of nil-nil soccer, the MNT came out of the locker room hungry to finish the half-chances they had squandered earlier. And, they wasted little time in finding the back of the Guatemalan net when a fluid move forward was capped off with a far-post finish in the 54th minute.

Then the final nail in the coffin: With ice in his veins, Freddy stepped up to a 22-yard free kick and smacked a curling, left-footed shot around the wall and directly into the roof of the goal. The shot in the 69th secured victory for the US and gave Adu his first career goal for the full national side.

The US now enters the Final Round of qualifying and will learn their 10-game schedule at the FIFA drawing in South Africa on November 22 (this will also be the draw for the Confederations Cup).

After the game, we had a chance to chat with the Man of the Match, Mr. Adu, to get his take on the future of the team and to talk us through his lethal strike.

So, what was going through your head as you prepared for that free kick?
First off, we had it set up with two other guys to make it look like they were going to take it and we had two guys on the end of the wall. On my first free kick the keeper cheated to the near post, so I figured he was going to cheat again. So I took a chance and just hit it hard to the far post and it worked out right.

How much do you work on free kicks in training?
A lot. A lot. I hit probably 25 to 30 free kicks after training every day. It’s a great feeling when you work hard at something and then it pays off.

This was a much younger team tonight. How did you think the young guys came together?
I think we played together great. We came together and worked really hard as a team to get this win. Everyone took care of their individual part of the field and a lot of guys had good games for us. So, hopefully, these younger guys will get more call ups in the future.

How do you personally build off the momentum of this win and your great goal as you rejoin your club in France?
I gotta keep it going. I know the coach and the president of the club were watching today, and before I left for this game the coach told me I had been doing great in training. He hinted that I might be getting a start soon. So, hopefully, this game helps get me out on the field more for my club.

What are your thoughts as you look to 2010?
Well, first we gotta get in. So, hopefully, we’re there and I’m in the team. And, with guys like Beasley, Landon, Gooch and Carlos, I think we have a great team. And, if we’re not intimidated by anyone, we’re going to do fine, because we’re very athletic and fast, and we’ve got physically imposing guys in the back. So as long as we go out there with the right mentality, we should be OK.

Thanks Freddy for your time and best of luck in the future.
Thank you. It’s my pleasure.

We also want to give a big thank you to all the fans who braved the cold temps to root the US on to victory. A huge thanks goes out to The American Outlaws and Sam's Army. We couldn't have done it without you.

Forward to the Future

Gronamo — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:45:46 GMT

When the whistle blows tomorrow to start the match between the MNT and Guatemala, the nation will get a good glimpse at the future of US soccer. With their place in the final round of qualifying secured, the US will field a team of young gunners looking to make an impression on Coach Bradley.

Leading the charge in Denver will be Freddy Adu. At just 19 years of age, Freddy is a veritable veteran on this team of upstarts. And the team will be looking to Adu to set the tone of the match with his speed and audacity. For Freddy himself, this match represents a great chance to get a full 90 and build some attacking momentum that he can take back to France.

While the US has sealed their fate, there are still three spots up for grabs in CONCACAF qualifying. Guatemala needs some good fortune to qualify, and it all starts with beating the US at home – something they have never done in ten tries.

When the dust settles after Wednesday night’s qualifiers, the CONCACAF picture will be a lot clearer. Bringing it into even sharper focus will be the November 22nd draw in South Africa, where FIFA will determine who faces off against whom in the final round of qualifying.

So catch the US v Guatemala game on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic & Galavision) to see what the future of US Soccer looks like, and then tune into the draw on Saturday to see what the immediate future of US qualifiers looks like.

Smokin’ the Cubans

Gronamo — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:04:10 GMT

Creativity. Accuracy. Domination. Anyone who watched the MNT qualifier vs. Cuba on Saturday knows what were talking about.

DaMarcus Beasley opened the scoring and finished with two goals, an assist and Man of the Match honors. Despite the impressive numbers, though, it wasn’t just the Beas show. It was the America show. Literally. Every score for the U.S. in the 6-1 route of Cuba was assisted. The goals came from all over the box, in all different ways.

To no one’s surprise, though, the prettiest one started and finished with Landon. It was a six-pass beauty of a set-up, ending with Landon streaking toward the goal and tapping in a perfectly played ball. Coach Bradley sent in the young guns late in the second half and they didn’t hesitate to shoot off some fireworks either. Freddy had a picture-perfect cross for a 90th minute Onyewu header goal, which was finished with some good ol’ Gooch power.

Yep, Gooch put his penalty-area supremacy on display in both the attacking and defending halves, giving Tim Howard little to do in the cage.

The boys have now cemented a spot in the final round of qualifying. Look to see some younger talent get burn in the next match-up vs. Trinidad & Tobago (Oct. 15, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The Great Wall of Defense

Gronamo — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:03:26 GMT

Throughout the MNT’s 2008 campaign to qualify for South Africa the defense has given up zero goals. Zip. Zilch. Nada. That’s right, they’ve been absolutely perfect.

The U.S. will take this unblemished record into this Saturday’s game in D.C. when they take on Cuba for a chance to secure passage to the Final Round of qualifying (ESPN Classic & Galavision at 7 p.m. ET). The Cubans most likely won’t put too much pressure on our rearguard, so the opportunity should be ripe for our attacking players, like Landon, Adu and Dempsey, to crank up the offense.

We know our D is solid, but we need to get our offense firing on all cylinders. As we advance in qualifying our attacking players will need to take the pressure off our defenders and force teams to play both sides of the field.

The foundation is laid with our incredible defense, anchored by Howard, ‘Los, Gooch and Bradley in midfield. Now we just need to build on top of that with some offensive fire power. As we look down the line to the likes of Mexico and Costa Rica, we’re going to need the total package if we plan to be in South Africa in 2010.

American Invasion

Gronamo — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:43:35 GMT

Even Landon, the stronghold of American-born, American-based talent, is talking about a move abroad. Europe is where the top-level competition is at, and a trip across the Atlantic is often necessary to elevate your game. But it’s no longer uncharted waters. The boys overseas have made their way onto the pitch and into the headlines in every major league in Europe.

So where to begin? How about the core of the MNT – the rock solid D. Tim Howard and Oguchi Onyewu have more than proved their worth overseas. Gooch’s squad, Standard Liege, currently stands atop the Belgian Jupiler League thanks to an Onyewu-anchored backline. Howard has gotten the nod every game this season for a perennially strong Everton squad.

What’s more, the two American-lead defenses were pitted against each other on the world’s stage in a UEFA Champions league match played on October 2nd. That’s something you don’t see too often.

And of course, you can’t forget Freddy. Freddy might not be getting a ton of burn right now, but he is getting onto the pitch for some PT. And, Monaco is starting to turn to their younger players for goals, so look to see Freddy get some starts as the season wears.

Deuce Dempsey might not be getting a ton of PT for Fulham either, but he’s certainly getting some recognition. Give him some time already – you know he’s got the talent. And they like the Yanks in Fulham. Remember Brian McBride?

The American talent is staring the world in the face. The US guys are playing all over Europe. It’s been a long journey to garner this much acknowledgment, but it’s far from over, and the road remains a difficult one. But, we’ve got the skill and we’ve got the heart.

Freddy Adu on Inside Training

gabejazzy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:37:22 GMT

In a few years, Freddy Adu, the nineteen year old attacking midfielder, may very well be one of the best players in the world. And it’s the weight of that expectation that goes with Freddy into every game. So far though, he’s been able to prove himself worthy every time his cleats have touched the pitch, and Freddy knows why--He never stops training.

Whether he’s with his team or on his own, Freddy tries to spend as much time as possible with the ball. Every time his cleat connects with the ball he knows his game is getting better. Hear one of soccer’s most remarkable young players spill his guts on how to take your game to the next level.

Adu vs Bradley - Crossbar Challenge

gabejazzy — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:02:37 GMT

Freddy Adu decides to take on fellow teammate, Michael Bradley. The challenge: Be the first to hit the crossbar from center circle.

Watch it go down.

Tuning-Up

Gronamo — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:59:53 GMT

In spite of the scoreless tie in the pre-Olympic match against the Ivory Coast in Hong Kong on Wednesday, it’s difficult not to get excited about the U23’s chance for a medal in Beijing.

On a day when the offense wasn’t running on all cylinders, the American defense was a rock. And, solid chances were created by both groups of offensive sets (Head Coach Nowak subbed in the whole bench at halftime); however, chances weren’t turning into shots (3 SOG total). But don’t take the ING cup matches for much more than what everyone calls them – a tune-up.

Keeping in mind that the US squad had only 36 hours to shed their jet lag (15 hour difference!) and prepare for the warm-up match, it’s no surprise that the varied offensive pairings had trouble finding a steady chemistry throughout the game.

Overall, it’s no stretch to expect to see more fire from the youthful American side. Although fielding the youngest squad since the 3 overage player-limit was installed, the U23’s talent-laden roster catches the eye as much as any squad in the tournament, with seven players having experience on the full national team. The skills of two of the three youngest players, Adu (19) and Bradley (20), should be enough to inspire American fans alone.

With Cameroon on Saturday, one more tune-up remains for Nowak’s young guns before the Olympics. Coming off a 2-0 loss at the hands of a highly skilled Netherlands side, Cameroon should be hungry to find their rhythm.

Look to see similar swaps from Nowak, creating an even spread of playing time for midfielders and forwards in order to keep all the legs fresh.

Get excited, Beijing in one week.

Battling the Best is Next Level

gabejazzy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:02:20 GMT

The only way to be the best is to play the best. And that’s exactly what the U.S. MNT did when they took the field against number one ranked Argentina. The Argentines came into the match with a squad that will be favored to take it all in South Africa. The U.S. came in with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Not to mention an excellent game plan.

Fighting with their back to the wall the red, white and blue proved to the world that they can play with anybody on any given day. Period.

The First Step to South Africa

Gronamo — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:15:59 GMT

The U.S. MNT successfully started their journey toward South Africa on Sunday. After dismantling Barbados 8-0 in the first leg, the U.S. was simply looking to close up shop on the away leg. This resulted in a much closer score line (1-0 to the States), but on the strength of their first match the U.S. is now moving on to the semifinal round of qualifying.

Coach Bradley rested a number of guys, including Gooch and ‘Los, which meant many of the younger players got their moment in the sun - literally as the game was played in the baking heat of Bridgetown. The temp didn't seem to faze Freddy though, as he turned provider for the game's only goal.

The team will try to take the next step toward their goal of World Cup qualification when they lock horns with Guatemala on August 20.

9-0 is next level.

Building Momentum

Gronamo — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:00:18 GMT

Apathy is the enemy of success. Just ask any number of teams at EC '08. The minute you rest is the minute you exit. Admittedly, it would be easy for the MNT to saunter down to sunny Barbados and just sleep-walk through the match, but nothing worth having is easy.

The U.S. has an eight-goal advantage going into it, but anytime you play on foreign soil there's just no telling what can happen. Don't get us wrong, we're not saying Barbados has a chance of putting eight past the rock-solid defense of ‘Los, Gooch and Howard. However, it is the perfect time to get some quality minutes for the young guns, which seems like Coach Bradley's plan as he released ten players from last week's roster. So this should be an excellent opportunity for Freddy, Mike and EJ to get stuck in and start building up their international goal count - something they've been working hard on.

This game is about building momentum and confidence as we go deeper into qualification, because they only get harder from here.