For those of you that were unfortunate enough to watch the Costa Rica vs United States match this past Wednesday night, you were able to witness a disgrace to what I consider the beautiful game of football. Costa Rica, a obscure population of 4.5 million, a nation that has only qualified for the World Cup a mere 3 times, was up against, and beating 2-1, the United States.
With a population of 307 million people within her borders, and a World Cup resume that reads 8 World Cup finals, the U.S. had already qualified for next summers tournament. On the other hand, Costa Rica faced a must win situation heading in knowing that anything less than a win would see them demoted to 4th place in the CONCACAF standings and consequently face the 5th place finisher from the CONMEBOL region (South America).
In what I hope will better be explained in the forthcoming weeks, the 4th official granted FIVE minutes of stoppage time. I've heard of home field advantage, but FIVE minutes was blatantly an attempt by the officials to help the U.S. grab an equalizer. With 1 minute of stoppage time having been played, Costa Rica head coach, Rene Simoes, attempted to make in what appeared to be his last substitution. The 4th official, having probably been given word by his superiors at half time to help the U.S. secure at least a tie, refused to grant Mr. Simoes. What happened next is very ambiguous; Mr. Simoes and 2 of his assistants, apparently receiving red cards, were ordered off the pitch by police officers.
I find myself repeating myself but I have never seen in my experienced, granted young, footballing life a head coach and two of his assistants branded red cards. And yet the game continues.. and inevitably the United States equalized. Ok, ok, ok! We know what was at stake for Costa Rica, but why did this match matter so much for the United States? Oh, that's right, they were playing for "top spot" in the CONCACAF group. Because as you know, it would be a travesty if Mexico were to claim 1st place from the United States in anything. And, in order for the United States to feel as though they've accomplished something grand, they needed to take away a guaranteed World Cup birth from Costa Rica by scoring that equalizer (even though the U.S. had qualified easily a couple games before).
And I'm confused as to why the U.S. thinks it has accomplished something by finishing 1st in a group that includes Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. All with a combined population LESS than that of the might United States. My condolences to Costa Rica and its nation. You were hard done by a greedy nation that has still yet to understand how to play the beautiful game. Not to mention the rest of the world would hands down rather see Costa Rica or Trinidad & Tobago playing in next summers World Cup.
With a population of 307 million people within her borders, and a World Cup resume that reads 8 World Cup finals, the U.S. had already qualified for next summers tournament. On the other hand, Costa Rica faced a must win situation heading in knowing that anything less than a win would see them demoted to 4th place in the CONCACAF standings and consequently face the 5th place finisher from the CONMEBOL region (South America).
In what I hope will better be explained in the forthcoming weeks, the 4th official granted FIVE minutes of stoppage time. I've heard of home field advantage, but FIVE minutes was blatantly an attempt by the officials to help the U.S. grab an equalizer. With 1 minute of stoppage time having been played, Costa Rica head coach, Rene Simoes, attempted to make in what appeared to be his last substitution. The 4th official, having probably been given word by his superiors at half time to help the U.S. secure at least a tie, refused to grant Mr. Simoes. What happened next is very ambiguous; Mr. Simoes and 2 of his assistants, apparently receiving red cards, were ordered off the pitch by police officers.
I find myself repeating myself but I have never seen in my experienced, granted young, footballing life a head coach and two of his assistants branded red cards. And yet the game continues.. and inevitably the United States equalized. Ok, ok, ok! We know what was at stake for Costa Rica, but why did this match matter so much for the United States? Oh, that's right, they were playing for "top spot" in the CONCACAF group. Because as you know, it would be a travesty if Mexico were to claim 1st place from the United States in anything. And, in order for the United States to feel as though they've accomplished something grand, they needed to take away a guaranteed World Cup birth from Costa Rica by scoring that equalizer (even though the U.S. had qualified easily a couple games before).
And I'm confused as to why the U.S. thinks it has accomplished something by finishing 1st in a group that includes Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. All with a combined population LESS than that of the might United States. My condolences to Costa Rica and its nation. You were hard done by a greedy nation that has still yet to understand how to play the beautiful game. Not to mention the rest of the world would hands down rather see Costa Rica or Trinidad & Tobago playing in next summers World Cup.
good post. I agree that the officiating was an abomination. Carding the refs was completely uncalled for. But insinuating that the US shouldn't have played as hard because they already qualified for the tournament is preposterous. And saying that we shouldn't play hard because it could mean good things for Costa Rica. If I were a coach, I'd want my players going hard every night, especially for the US team, who just lost one of their better forwards in Charlie Davies. It's not like we've been a fuckin' dominant team in recent years. If we were Italy, I'd understand taking it easy in this game. But we are not.
ReplyDeleteI think all the points made are very valid and I do agree about the lack of quality in hte football that the Americans play. I find myself watching many of their games and not being entertained nor feeling into to the game as much as I am in lets say a UEFA cup match. It is difficult to be a fan of the United States football team when ther style of playing is flawed and not aesthically pleasing. Boaz, I enjoy you insight of the latest football news keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI think all the points made are very valid and I do agree about the lack of quality in the football that the Americans play. I find myself watching many of their games and not being entertained nor feeling into the game as much as I am in lets say a UEFA cup match. It is difficult to be a fan of the United States football team when their style of playing is flawed and not aesthically pleasing. Boaz, I enjoy you insight of the latest football news keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI think all the points made are very valid and I do agree about the lack of quality in the football that the Americans play. I find myself watching many of their games and not being entertained nor feeling into the game as much as I am in lets say a UEFA cup match. It is difficult to be a fan of the United States football team when their style of playing is flawed and not aesthically pleasing. Boaz, I enjoy your insight of the latest football news keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to Anonymous (1st comment):
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, that's incorrect. Look at every team in Europe and South America and they'll tell you that qualifying with games to spare is great for the exact reason that you don't have to play your full strength squad, i.e. rest for your starting eleven. England did not have to play a full strength squad against Andorra because they were lucky enough to have qualified ahead of time. Same goes with Spain, Brazil, etc.
We all pray for a healthy and speedy recovery for Charlie Davies, but play your heart out on the World Cup stage, not when you've already qualified. Again, I am proven correct by the injury of Oguchi Onyewu. The question of him playing is a different matter now, let's hope for the best of things.