Stayin' Alive

Well, it wasn't pretty, but at least the American squad put in an old-fashioned, blue-collar, workman-like effort against the Italians today. I also appreciate the fact that the Americans had the fortitude to withstand horrible officiating and more dives by the Italian soccer team than Jacques Cousteau on a sunken treasure hunt! Frankly, the Italian flops were an embarrassment.

The referee should be embarrassed, too. I can almost understand the red card on Pope, since he's been sloppy all tournament, and had several late challenges in his 45 minutes of action. However, the red card on Maestroni was a joke. Yes, he came in from the side, and a little late, but he deserved no worse than a yellow. If the refs called that foul a red card in every game of this tournament, most squads couldn't field a large enough team to finish their respective games!

Aside from Pope's gaffes, the defense was more than adequate today. Onyewu got over his nerves and played consistently, while Bocanegra provided exactly what I thought he would; solidifying defense on the left side, plus better performance than Lewis on set pieces, save his near own-goal. Boca is bigger, faster, and better in the air. His position in the first eleven came one game too late, in my opinion. It was also nice to see Keller make a couple of world-class saves to preserve the draw.

Before the ref decided to take away 20 percent of our squad, the midfield was more than holding its own against the Azzuri (that means "diver" in Italian, by the way). Convey and Dempsey were creative in attack, Donovan made his presence felt at least occasionally, and until his untimely exit in the 47th minute, Maestroni was a rock at defensive midfielder. I wish the U.S. squad was this aggressive against the Czechs; we might have had a different result. Beasley made an early appearance, and was inconsistent at best. He should've used his speed and his fresh legs to threaten the Italians in the counter-attack; but instead, he loafed around as if he were as tired as the other players who hustled their tails off for the full ninety. Please, sit this guy down. He didn't do much when he did bother to get to the ball, anyway.

McBride was more active in the play, with several quality flick-ons, and better ball handling than in the first match. However, he didn't finish very well. I still think he's our best option up front, and I hope he'll find his stroke in time to give us at least a chance to advance. Plus, I just love his warrior mentality. That absolutely cheap shot from De Rossi was as low-class as I've seen in a tournament of this caliber. McBride calmly wiped off the blood, patched up the cut, changed jerseys, and was back into the mix. I'm going off on a tangent here, but De Rossi's cheap shot, the dives, and the betting scandal in Italian soccer really are shameful. No matter what happens to the U.S. and Italy from this point on, I'd rather be a fan of the U.S. squad, than to play like the Italians to get successful results. Back on point - I have to question why Arena didn't substitute Johnson for McBride around the 75th minute or so, where Johnson's speed could've definitely made a difference in the counter attack.

It will take a minor miracle, but the U.S. can still advance with a win against Ghana and an Italian victory over the Czechs. The irony of it all is that I actually have to root for the Italians now. Soccer is a funny game.