Soccer has Arrived (Again)?

Ken Belson's article in today's New York Times says that interest in the World Cup should help soccer continue to grow in the United States. I hope he's right, but keep in mind we've heard this before. The 1966 World Cup, won by England in a dramatic overtime final, convinced investors that not one but two professional leagues could make it in this country. Neither did.

In the early '70s when the Atoms drew five figure crowds to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, there were stories around the country about how the youth leagues were exploding.

In 1999 the success of the U.S. Women's Team and the Women's World Cup in this country led to the formation of a professional league which folded after its third season.

“The M.L.S. won’t be the N.F.L. in our lifetime,” said Jeff L’Hote, a consultant to soccer teams and companies interested in working with them, in the Times story. “Maybe it’s not as sexy as some want, but we’ll see steady growth.” And as Belson writes, "Growth is growth." He points out that MLS has signed two World Cup sponsors (Castrol and Continental Tire) to long-term contracts, that new soccer-specific stadiums in New Jersey and Philadelphia bring the total of such facilities to nine, and that high school soccer has the largest growth rate of any major sport over the past 20 years.

All of this is good news for soccer fans and I hope the article is right. But go back to the May 23 entry on Coach P's Blog about the Sports Illustrated piece with arguments why soccer will or will not catch up with the other so-called major pro sports, and look at the quote from the story: : "We dare ya. Take the top three [MLS] teams and name at least two players on each. Exaaaactly . . ."

Germany: Mit Glanz und Glück

Thankfully it did not turn out to be a one goal game. Had the halftime score of Germany 2, England 1 stood throughout the second half, the validity of Germany's victory in the World Cup Round of 16 would have been forever questioned because of an awful non-call in the 38th minute when Frank Lampard's shot was ruled no goal.

But in the second half Germany came out strong and got two goals from Thomas Mueller to win going away.

"The disallowed goal in Bloemfontein should not disguise that Germany was superior on the field" wrote Rob Hughes in the New York Times.

Germany struck first when Miroslav Klose took a long punt from keeper Manuel Neuer up the middle and flicked the ball into the net with the outside of his right foot in the 20th minute. Lukas Podolski put Germany up, 2-0 12 minutes later and it looked as though the rout might be on.

But England drew within one in the 37th minute when Matt Upson headed in a cross from Steven Gerrard. Less than a minute later Lampard took a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced down more than a foot behind the goalline according to replays, with no goal called y the referee or his assistant.

The play is sure to renew calls for instant replay in soccer, especially at this level.

That's Why They Roll the Ball Out: Switzerland 1, Spain 0

When my daughter lived in Basel, Switzerland some 14 years ago she said the Swiss joked that Hitler never invaded their country because he didn't want to piss off their army.


The 2010 Swiss soccer team might be held in slightly more regard than the Army, but few expected it had any chance in today's first round match against defending European champion Spain, one of the consensus favorites to win it all. Yet despite being dominated statistically by Spain, Switzerland pulled off a 1-0 upset earlier today on a goal by Gelson Fernandes in the 52nd minute. And in the 75th minute they almost made it 2-0 when a shot went off the post.

Spain outshot Switzerland, 27-2, possessed the ball 88 percent of the game and dominated in corner kicks, 12-3. But it is the Swiss who sit atop Group H with three points after the first round.

World Cup 2010 Is Underway

After the first day of World Cup 2010 we've had two goals total, one red card but no winners.

Both games in Group A today ended in draws: 1-1 between host South Africa and Mexico, and 0-0 between France and Uruguay. In the latter match, Uruguay's Nicholas Lodeiro earned the distinction of the first player being sent off when he was given his second yellow card in the 85th minute - just 22 minutes after he entered the game.

Korea-Greece, Argentina-Nigeria and of course USA - England tomorrow.

Memories

As part of combining households since the wedding, we are cleaning out rooms, closets and drawers of my house. Just when I thought I had everything, I found some boxes behind a file cabinet in a closet in the den.

One box was full of trophies from random baseball and soccer teams on which my son, Scott, played when we lived in Medford. Most have been long forgotten by me, and probably by Scott. First place at U13 in the 1994 Hamilton Invitational. Second place in a 1995 Select Team Tournament. A championship indoors at Soccer International.

But another box caught my eye. In it were the jerseys Scott wore for the Medford Strikers, including the one in the photo above when they won the State Cup at U14 and played at regionals in Niagara Falls. New Jersey plays a single elimination cup and we won six games, including the final in OT, and had a win and two ties at regionals. Nine games without a loss - a nice run in anyone's book.

The Beautiful Game, MLS and the American Fan

Nice to see soccer - specifically the World Cup - on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, with the title, "The Beautiful Game." The special report by Grant Wahl includes photos of people kicking a ball around in various parts of the world. I have not yet read the entire piece, but these three sentences on the first page are worth repeating: "At its most basic level - a handful of kids kicking what passes for a ball round whatever open ground they find - the game is a source of joy, sometimes a means of escape. At its pinnacle it defines nations and dissolves differences. In short, this simplest of games unites humankind like nothing else."

But will the intense worldwide attention to the World Cup translate into increased fan interest in the United States, where it has been said for at least 30 years that soccer was the game of the future and always will be? In its May 3 issue, SI briefly weighs in on this debate with several reasons why soccer will or will not "crash the major North American sports-popularity party." On the plus side are soccer specific stadiums catering to crowds of 18,000 to 27,000, the fact that the NHL and NBA have seen dropping attendance and that there is fan support beyond the MLS (noting the home opener sell-out of the D2 Portland Timbers). But on the other side it is argued that right now MLS is simply a cheaper ticket in a recession and that two top-drawing teams, Seattle and the Union, are riding on first or second-year excitement. "How many nil-nil draws before those fans disappear?" asks the writer.

But the argument against soccer really, I mean really, ever competing with baseball, football or basketball for fan interest in the U.S. is the last point: "We dare ya. Take the top three teams and name at least two players on each. Exaaaactly . . ." I think they have a point there.

Will You Still Need Me When I'm 64?

"When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now. Will you still be sending me a Valentine, birthday greeting, bottle of wine?"

Those lyrics, of course are from "When I'm 64" on the Beatles' immortal Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album released in June 1967, at the end of my junior year in college. Forty-three years later I still remember how I and many of my 20 and 21 year old friends said we could not imagine what it would be like to be 64.

Today I find out. Yep, Coach P is 64 today, May 19, 2010. And if anyone ever doubts the rewards of coaching, I can show him or her the birthday wishes posted on my Facebook pages from a number of my former players on both the Medford Strikers Xtreme and the Medford Strikers '81-'82 team, and from some parents from those teams.

Thanks to all for the good wishes. And what does 64 feel like? Well, I'm still out running, just not as far or as fast. And I'm still working. So not much different than 63. And anyway, it beats the alternative suggested by another song from back in my college days, this one called "My Generation," by The Who: "Hope I die before I get old."