So the last day of February rolled around this past Wednesday, the twenty-ninth day of this odd month, and the United States Men’s National Team found itself in Italy facing a side that it had never defeated. Never! Unfortunately, I found myself in class, and since you can’t skip grad school classes, I was forced to find a way to watch and participate in higher learning (borrow a classmate’s laptop and sit in a strategic part of the classroom!).
I originally thought about writing this article about how this team, under the still-new leadership of Jürgen Klinsmann, was not progressing at the rate it needed for several reasons. The full ‘A’ squad has not played together yet, including stars Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, and constantly injured Stu Holden. Furthermore, they have had a couple good performances littered amongst some mediocre showings. I was also going to comment on a couple players who I thought had received a fair audition but were not national team-worthy just yet.
But here we were, in Italy on a day that only comes once every four years. I tuned in about 20 minutes into the game to see the Americans donning their new away jerseys (which I didn’t hate). The first half wasn’t perfect, but Italy was held in check. The U.S. came back in the second half and it seemed as though they were not the same timid team that we saw at the end of 2011.
The pitch was very slow. Italy was spending too much time on the offensive, and Jozy Altidore was spending too much on the ground. But after some good ball movement, Fabian Johnson got a good cross in to Jozy, who instead of trying to draw a penalty kick, dropped it off to Dempsey who slotted it home for the winner. I must admit, I almost cheered out loud in the middle of class, but somehow kept my composure.
The last 35 minutes of the match were not easy. Italy pushed the ball repeatedly and we witnessed the best defense the US has displayed in a long time. Captain Carlos Bocanegra led his defenders into battle; players were diving and sacrificing their bodies to block shots and break up passes in a manner you only see during power plays in the NHL. It was hard for me to contain my emotions because the only thing I enjoy more than goals is stellar defense. The line held and the US walked out of Italy with their first victory ever against this world soccer power.
While Italy wasn’t at full power, the Americans were also short a couple key players. Playing on the road, they never backed down and though they didn’t play at their best, they played well enough to complete a much-needed signature win. Now, Klinsmann has a game that he can point to in meetings as the “see, you can beat the big boys” game.
Even more than these typical motivating points, the Americans can feel good about a win while still realizing that they didn’t play their best. It’s much easier to self-criticize and improve after a victory and now they can stay positive while still perfecting their craft.
This game may also provide Klinsmann the break he needs to get out of the media spotlight and work on building his team in time for World Cup qualifying. For the short term at least, he can concentrate on assembling his ideal squad. Up next for Klinsmann and co. is Scotland and then a home test against 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil. These matches won’t happen until May, so the Americans can ride this feel-good wave until then. However, these international friendlies will be quickly followed by World Cup qualifying. At that time, we hope to finally see a team ready to take the leap.
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