State of the Soccer

So the field is set for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.  I remember when I first fell in love with soccer.  For anyone my age who didn't grow up during the failure of the NASL and Pele and the New York Cosmos, etc, soccer in America really began in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan/South Korea.  Now I know some older heads may point to the hosting of the FIFA World Cup (internationally mandated to be the FIFA World Cup, as if, if I didn't call it the World Cup, you wouldn't know what it was.  Might get it confused with that other European sport Americans follow so often, rugby.) in 1994 or the creation of MLS in 1996, but the game never REALLY got popular until 2002 when Donovan, Beasley, Mathis, Stewart, McBride, and Friedel captured the hearts (and coffee machines) of American soccer geeks with a surprise run to the quarter finals of the tournament, and really, a poor Scottish refereeing decision away from a chance to play in the semi-finals.

ESPN quickly jumped on board, and like it or not, at least they show national team games and major tournaments, creating a big desire for more coverage in America.  Of course, the 2006 FIFA World Cup was a major disaster for both the national team (two losses, one point, out in the group stage), and ESPN (pilloried for their AWFUL announcers), but a solid showing at EURO 2008 restored some of the network's credibility, Josh Elliot not withstanding - see below.

So now we are about 200 days away from the kick off of the next one, which I think the Americans will perform well at (though probably not win), for a couple of reasons:

1.) History - America has never done well at a WC played in Europe (Italia '90, France '98, and Germany '06).  But in USA '94 and Japan/South Korea '02 they advanced out of the group stages. Every other World Cup has not been in Europe and the USA has advanced.

2.)  There are actual world class players on this team.  Other teams have had good role players and players that have stepped up at certain times, but in Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey, there are players who could play for almost any team in the world.

3.) A feeling to build on success from the Confederations Cup.   The CC is a microtournament with representatives from each confederation, the hosts, and the previous WC winners.  Not a true representation, but a decent measuring stick, including a win over Spain, and the showing of tremendous heart.

4.) A feeling to want to make up for the poor showing at 2006.  A lot of players realized that they could have been on the brink of losing the casual fan if they had followed up the WC 2006 showing with a dud at the CC (and it nearly was).  But they have regained some trust of the fans, and if they get a decent draw, I could see a quarterfinal or possibly semi-final appearance.

Will the USA miss Charlie Davies?  Of course.  Oneywu should be healthy too, as should DeMerit and Marshall.  My roster right now?

Goalies:
Tim Howard, Everton
Brad Guzan, Aston Villa
Marcus Hanneman, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Defenders:
Oguchi Oneywu, AC Milan
Carlos Bocanegra, Rennes
Jonathan Spector, West Ham
Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA
Jay DeMerit, Watford
Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew
Edgar Castillo, Tigres
Steve Cherundolo, Hannover 96


Midfielders:
Michael Bradley, Borussia Monchengladbach
Benny Feilhaber, AGF Aarhus
Ricardo Clark, AS Livorno
Maurice Edu, Rangers
Clint Dempsey, Fulham
Stuart Holden, Houston Dynamo
Jose Francisco Torres, Pachuca
Jermaine Jones, Schalke 04

Forwards:
Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy
Jozy Altidore, Villareal
Eddie Johnson, Fulham
Conor Casey, Colorado Rapids

Interesting players left out?  Frankie Hedjuk, DaMarcus Beasley, Freddy Adu.  If anyone can work their way in, it's Beasley.  Maybe at the expense of Jermaine Jones.  Beasley is not hurt - just out of form (hasn't played enough),   Adu is too young, and Hedjuk is too old, most likely, though few on the USA roster are better than Adu on the ball, and Hedjuk is a wily veteran.  Injuries could shake things up though, even as we pray for more smarts and less sneaking out after curfew.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/11/sbis-mock-world-cup-draw-10.html#more will provide a link to a sample draw.  I think it gives us a decent chance to get out of the group, though I would hope to get in the first group, where the hosts are played.