U.S. Olympic soccer candidates hit, miss
SOCCER DAILY REPORT
Though the Beijing team is still up in the air, Altidore makes a strong case with a stellar goal for the New York Red Bulls while Barrett's latest flub costs the Chicago Fire.
Peter Nowak, coach of the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team, is a long way from making up his mind up on which players to take to Beijing, but a couple of candidates made decidedly differing arguments for themselves over the weekend.
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Jozy Altidore scored an exceptional goal for the New York Red Bulls in their 1-1 home tie with the New England Revolution, taking the ball at midfield, blowing past two New England defenders and unleashing a shot that gave goalkeeper Matt Reis no chance.
"One on one, Altidore is tough to handle," Reis told the Boston Globe. "He's proven that as a player in this league and at the international level. He's tough to compete against. He's so dynamic, you have to limit his chances . . . you have to force him into tough angles, tough chances."
Altidore's latest goal underlines why the 18-year-old needs to be on the Olympic team.
Chad Barrett, meanwhile, made a horrendous hash of an easy scoring chance as the Chicago Fire was beaten, 1-0, at home by the Kansas City Wizards. Barrett, 22, has a habit of mixing good goals with glaring misses, but there seem to be more of the latter than the former.
The latest miss, when he skied the ball over the open net from close range, was further evidence why Nowak needs to take a long, hard look before including Barrett on the China jaunt.
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Barrett's miss, for which he took full blame, caused teammate Cuauhtemoc Blanco to throw his arms in the air in disbelief and despair.
It wasn't the first time Blanco has been angered by Barrett's miscues, but he is not alone in his frustration. David Beckham can be seen doing the same thing with the Galaxy when less-talented teammates fail to read the game properly, fail to react fast enough, or fail to make the pass that needs to be made.
The more designated players -- or even talented players -- that MLS brings in, the more the disparity between those who know the sport inside out and those still learning it becomes evident.
There might be more talent in MLS these days, but there still isn't a single team in the league that can put 11 above-average players on the field.
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Why does it seem that all the really good quotes come from coaches not based in Los Angeles?
The New York-New England match, for instance, provided these two gems:
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