Tag Archives: Sports Illustrated

Brazil vs Argentina – Sunday 7pm on ESPN3.com

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Neymar in Brazilian debut against USA, Aug 2010

Neymar in Brazilian debut against USA, Aug 2010

The U20 Tournament in South America has reached the final group stage, meaning six teams who will now play against the other five teams. Those games began on Monday and continue Sunday on ESPN3.com. The top four finishing teams earn trips to both the U-20 World Cup and the Pan American Games, and the top two teams also get spots in the 2012 Olympics.

Why should you care what’s happening 5000 miles away in Peru? One word – Neymar. The 18 year old made his debut for Brazil last August, scoring against the USA Now he’s tearing up the U20 tournament with 7 goals. You can see two of them in the video below!

Or as Tim Vickery of Sports Illustrated notes Future stars on display in the South American U-20 Championships

Here’s a date for your diary. On Sunday Feb. 6 I can’t believe there’s anything more fascinating taking place in the world of soccer than the clash between Argentina and Brazil in the South American U-20 Championships.

If you want more, check out the World Cup Blog. They’ve got highlights from the other two games as well.

USA vs Brazil, Live on ESPN2 Tuesday Night

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Jozy Altidore vs Mexico

Jozy Altidore vs Mexico

CHICAGO — More than 63,000 tickets have been sold for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s match against five-time world champions Brazil at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Kickoff for the USA’s first match following the 2010 FIFA World Cup is slated for 7 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Univision.

As Soccer America notes,

Friendly or not, any game against Brazil is a great chance to test mettle, acumen, and intuition; it is also an excellent opportunity to be thoroughly and utterly drilled, no matter who pulls on the hallowed shirts. Friendlies are not scrimmages, especially when played on national television (ESPN2 and Univision, 8 pm ET) and a few minutes from downtown Manhattan in a new stadium teeming with fans.

Those players left off the Brazilian World Cup team by former Coach Dunga won’t lack for motivation when they get their first chance at the next go-round. As New Jersey native and former U.S. goalkeeper Tony Meola once uttered, “If you can find 11 bad Brazilian players, I’d like to see them.”

It’s safe to say that while he’s named only four of the 23 players taken by Dunga, successor Mano Menezes hasn’t stocked his squad with stiffs. By coincidence, Menezes named 11 who have yet to be capped. He has that luxury, Bradley doesn’t.

Three years ago, Brazil overpowered a good U.S. team, 4-2, at Soldier Field in Chicago. Though most of the 23 World Cup players to represent Brazil at the 2010 World Cup haven’t been selected, those that are on the list include Neymar and Alexandre Pato, who many thought should have been in South Africa.

If you’d like to know more about the new Brazilian Coach, Mano Menezes, check out Tim Vickery’s story in Sports Illustrated : Brazil looking to rediscover itself by embracing tactics from abroad

Brett Johnston, Sports Illustrated is Calling! USA! USA! USA!

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landon-donovanSports Illustrated found it, Kitchel22130 created it, words cannot describe it …

Here’s the original video – Brett Johnston of TAGsgf.com is the wild man in the crew cut and black glasses bouncing up and down while Bill Griffiths, proprietor of Farmer’s Gastropub and host of these watch parties, is in the blue with the USA flag high fiving me at the end!

Bob Bradley And The Development Of A Coaching Philosophy

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Bob Bradley, US Men's Team Head Coach

Bob Bradley, US Men's Team Head Coach

Grant Wahl has a new World Cup blog on the Sports Illustrated website and an early story is about US Men’s National Team Head Coach Bob Bradley, who is wrapping up the US Men’s team preliminary training camp at his college alma mater, Princeton University. Wahl notes early that “Bradley is not the emotive type, but you could tell that spending a week before the World Cup at his alma mater was a special moment for him in his career”.

He goes on to describe the relationship Bradley established with Pete Carril, the Hall of Fame basketball coach that became a mentor for Bradley who began his coaching career at Princeton. There’s a unique opportunity to learn more about Coach Bradley’s experience because it turns out Princeton requires each senior to complete a Senior Thesis. Bradley’s was “The History of Intercollegiate Athletics at Princeton”.

On page 56, one of Bradley’s paragraphs from 30 years ago stood out: “Carril is not able to recruit the top-notch city talent. In fact, many of his players are barely recruited by other schools. But Carril is able to take these players and teach them his patient, intelligent style. Carril’s teams are noted for their tough defense, patient, often deliberate offense, taking only the good shot, and team play. To me, there is nothing better than to watch a Princeton basketball team frustrate and beat a ‘bigger and better’ team. Yes, the coaching staff is definitely very important.”

Keep these ideas in mind as we get our last look at the 30 players in camp during tonight’s match against the Czech Republic. Bradley will be announcing the Final Roster tomorrow at noon, live on ESPN Sportscenter.

Reminder – US MNT Faces Brazil At 1:30 pm Today!

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confed cup logoPre-game is at 1:00 pm and the boys will kick off at 1:25 pm today on ESPN. While the U.S. Men are in their first-ever FIFA tournament final, five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil are making their fourth appearance in the Confederations Cup final and looking for their record-setting third title. Check the US Soccer website for background on the game.

If you really want to dive into the details, how about considering The Question: How is Brazil’s 4-2-3-1 different from a European 4-2-3-1? Hat tip to one of my new favorites, Inside Minnesota Soccer, for the link.

Stefan Fatsis offers some thoughts on the game and it’s impact in Sports Illustrated with his article In soccer, U.S. still battling uphill (hat tip to Hillcrest Road)

It’s been a tough week for Europeans who hate America’s growing influence in world soccer. First, ESPN acquired the rights to show some English Premier League games — in England. Then, the U.S. men’s national team outthought and outmuscled the world’s top-ranked team, Spain, 2-0 in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Finally, since you’ve made it this far, you need some background on the constant roar you hear in the background at the games. The Pitch Invasion offers the best story that I’ve seen with Satan’s Instrument? The Vuvuzela and Noisemaking in World Football as he places the vuvuzela in context both with other noisemakers through the years as well as soccer on the African continent. Enjoy!

PS – did I mention Grant Wahl thinks the US can win?

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