Discussing Copa America and the Gold Cup

Continuing with his stellar work as Blown Coverage guest author, here once again is Ryan from Lets go Buff-a-lo.

The public are bashing the US MNT and US Soccer for bringing such a young and inexperienced squad to Copa America, while bringing veteran players to the Gold Cup This is easily justifiable. The champion of the Gold Cup gets a bid in the Confederations Cup and also since the Gold Cup MUST let their players go for their international duty in the Gold Cup because it is in the CONCACAF. The difference in Copa America is that it is an invite tournament for the US (because it is the CONMEBOL) which means that

a) Winning it does 'nothing' in terms of qualifying for any type of tournament for the US.

b) Clubs do not have to let their players out of club duty to play

c) US Soccer will not make players play the two tournaments in a row.

Personally, I don't think that the US team is playing that bad, nor was it a terrible idea to bring such a young squad to this tournament. Yes, we've lost 4-1, but look at who we played. Argentina is in my opinion the best National side right now. You know your team is good when Carlos Tevez, who is the most sought after striker right now, starts on the bench.

We played the first 60 minutes of that game rather well and actually scored first mind you. Finally Argentina started to capitalize on their chances in the second half and put it away. I have to say that all of Argentina's goals were on superb, world-class finishes, most notably the header by Aimar who absolutely exploited Marcel Wynne on that play. These weren't terribly defended plays, but simply plays that were terribly hard to defend.

Heart is something that this team has in droves. The young US side is playing with more heart than the entire MNT did in the 2006 World Cup. The main problem that the US is having is the same problem that has plagued the US side forever. We simply can't score goals. We are in desperate need of a striker who can bury the ball at will and is willing to take the team on their shoulders when it counts. If we had anyone that could have hit the broad side of a barn against Paraguay, we could have easily won 5-3. This is the crucial piece that is missing from the US Soccer puzzle right now, and Bob Bradley knows it.

My shining star of the US MNT is former UCLA Bruin standout Benny Feilhaber. His cracking volley against Mexico in the Gold Cup was nothing short of spectacular. He only has 8 caps and 2 goals for the MNT, but is playing like a man possessed during this tournament. That volley he scored has given him the confidence to shoot the ball, which is contrary to the US style that loves goals scored inside the box. The US needs to shoot the ball more to force keepers into making saves which translates into rebounds or corner kicks. Who knows, maybe even Landy Cakes will put one in from 25 yards out. Watch any other teams and players are having a go from 25-30 yards out with nothing on their conscience.

So where will the US Men's side go from here? Well they have Colombia on July 5^th and after that a rare over the pond friendly with Sweden on August 22^nd. We will wait and see what team Bob Bradley will field for that game as it will be a test to see how well we can do off of our own soil.

The only question now is can we finally make a name for ourselves across the pond and attempt to regain some credibility after World Cup 2006. I think we are off to a fine start.

News and Notes from the past week…

Liverpool (yes I'm a Scouser) signed former Athletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres for ₤27.5 Million and he will be introduced in Anfield later this week. He will join fellow Spaniards Rafa Benitez, Pepe Reina and Xabi Alonso at the Pool I think he'll bring an attacking force to Anfield we haven't seen in quite some time…Darren Bent signed with Tottenham Hotspur for ₤15.5 Million, which is larger than Thierry Henry's signing at Barça for ₤15 million. Look for Bent to hook up with Berbatov this season at White Hart Lane and be a contender at the top of the table…Eduardo Da Silva is now a Gunner 'replacing' Henry at the Emrates. He comes from Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia for ₤7.5 million, which leaves ₤7.5 million left from Henry to shop around, along with whatever other money Arsenal feels like throwing around…Check out the U-20 World Cup on Espn U as it features the new batch of players you will see impressing you in the 2010 World Cup. The US is playing well after trouncing Poland 6-1…and finally this week, where or where will our boy Carlos Tevez go? Real Madrid in Spain, Manchester United in England, Inter Milan in Italy? Who the hell knows?? Where do you think he's going?

Question of the week

Who is your best starting 11 as of right now. They have to be currently playing (i.e not retired). If they are injured it is okay.

Mine are Buffón, Dani Alves, Terry, Zambrotta, Nesta, C. Ronaldo, Essien, Messi, Gerrard, Tevez and Henry.

Thanks to Ryan for another great post, and remember that you can contact me if you're interested in being a guest author.