We Wuz Robbed!

At least this time we're not alone.

I was prepared this weekend to write a long screed about how the U.S. was robbed in both the Italy and Ghana games (abusive red cards in the first, a bogus penalty kick in the second) until I watched the "octovo finals" over the weekend and saw how commonplace it is.

Refereeing a football match well is as hard as playing in one. So FIFA has created an elaborate mesasurement system for refs, and a hard retirement age of 46. (You will never see a beer gut on a World Cup pitch.) Only the best refs come to the World Cup Finals. They are being measured each game, and the best of the best will be on the field in the last matches.

Yet still we have games like this, and more:

•    A card-happy ref makes a mockery of the Czech-Netherlands game.
•    A dive in the last minute by 10-man Italy wins its game against Australia.
•    Insert your own example here.

There will be more of these.

There is no complete solution. Instant replay might help in some cases, but people disagree on interpretations. A system of challenges, as used in American football, might limit all this, but it would not be perfect by any means. 

Now, what about the U.S.?

It would be foolish to fire Bruce Arena if you don't have someone better.

What would be better? No American, for certain. I think the problems of U.S. Soccer go a lot deeper than Bruce Arena:

1. MLS has no relegation battles, so half the clubs don't care and lesser leagues have no chance to move up.  It's time for Phil Anschutz to sell. It's time to re-build U.S. soccer on the international model.
2. U.S. club teams need closer playing relationships with all of Latin America. Expanding competitions like the Copa Libertadores, and establishing rivalries with clubs in Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere, would help a lot.
3. Getting more Americans into top European leagues would be good. It would enable our national team to play more matches against Europe's best, in all its international windows.

All these moves would create broader, deeper sporting relationships with the rest of the world. They would be good for the game, and good for America. Right now football is like a sport league with only a minor league franchise in New York.

If I were to get rid of Arena, it would have to be for a move up. Make him the head of US Soccer, the face and the director of the game. He has done a fantastic job. He is a great coach. Losing him to a European club like (say) Sheffield Wednesday would be tragic.

However, if you are to lose him, start talking soon to the right man. He lives in LA. He may be tired of long commutes. Running a national team won't require the kind of travel that he now undergoes.

Offer the job to Juergen Klinsmann. He'll be the guy hoisting the World Cup trophy in a few weeks. (And if he's not, he's easier to hire.)
 

Comments

[Barry Thompson]

As an Australian, there is some consolation in the fact that Italy, who had to esort to last minute histrionics to beat us, are now in the final. However, to be honest, they only had ten men for the last half hour and we failed to score. As the old saying goes "It's no how many goals they score - it's how many you score!".

Fully agree with your comments re US soccer - there seems to be no reason why you couldn't be a significant force, given the infrastructure and the will.