Wild American Gooner

When Sports Are More Than Just Sports


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Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen Problem

Two summers ago, Thomas Vermaelen was heading towards being one of the world’s best defenders. Already a regular in Belgium’s side, one that seemed to have a golden generation arising, Vermaelen had locked down a place in Arsenal’s back four after some injury problems and was awarded the earned the Arsenal captaincy. But just twenty-two months later, Vermaelen has seen his career come to a crashing halt, both for club and for country. As he sat on the bench and watched his Belgian teammates struggle for much of their 2-1 win over Algeria today in the World Cup, Vermaelen had to be wondering where it all went wrong.

When Robin Van Persie left for Manchester United, Arsene Wenger didn’t have an obvious successor in his squad for the role of Arsenal captain. It’s a big job, as the player must take on added pressure both on and off the field as the official spokesman for the players. Wenger’s choice of Vermaelen seemed smart, if a little unexpected. A leader on the pitch, and a well-spoken gentleman off it, the Verminator  seemed well suited for the job.

But as the 2012-2013 season wore on, Vermaelen’s form took a serious dip. Having kept Laurent Koscielny out of the side for months, Vermaelen struggled to defend suddenly. His marauding runs up the field were unwanted, as they left the slower Per Mertesacker exposed behind him. Long known for timely goal-scoring, Vermaelen also stopped finding the net. So when Arsenal traveled to Bayern Munich for the second leg of the Champions League tie that year, it was no surprise to see the captain left on the bench along with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after a series of poor performances. But while Szczesny won his job back after a few weeks, Vermaelen did not.

Last year was an awkward one for Vermaelen. Still the Arsenal captain, he rarely saw the field. He had some minor injury issues, but those weren’t the reason he wasn’t playing. And as he watched, the duo of Koscielny and Mertesacker were hailed as Arsenal’s best in years. While this was going on, Belgian coach Marc Wilmots dropped Vermaelen due to his lack of playing time, and on account of the quality in that side, Vermaelen hasn’t won his place back.

Thomas Vermaelen is now at a pivotal moment in his career. Still 28, he should be in the prime of his career. But after an  empty year, he needs a new start. This World Cup should make him realize that if he hasn’t already, because he could be a huge part of this dark-horse Belgian side were he in better form. However, Arsenal won’t let him go easily, because they need a third center-back in the squad, having lost the versatile Bacary Sagna to Manchester City. Needing a right-back, a forward and a winger, finding another center-back to replace Vermaelen is not a priority for Wenger, and until he finds cover, he shouldn’t let his captain go.

I’ve always admired Vermaelen for how he handled his being left out of the side. Knowing he wouldn’t play against Bayern, not many players would have been as professional as he was during his pre-match press conference that day. And last year, he hardly complained, doing his duties as captain while acting as one of Arsenal’s biggest cheerleaders. He got to lift the FA Cup last month as Arsenal’s captain, and you could see the joy in his face as he raised it. Clearly, he loves Arsenal, which is part of what made him such a great choice for the captaincy.

But for his sake, he needs a new start. I would hate to see this wonderfully talented player lose multiple years of his prime, and that is how it would be if he stays. Wenger should try and negotiate a swap-deal for another center-back to make his job easier in finding a necessary replacement, but he owes his captain a chance to see the field this year. If that’s not going to be at Arsenal, Wenger must let him find somewhere else to play. Ideally, he wouldn’t join a rival, and Wenger shouldn’t let him do that. But if Vermaelen wants a new start, he should get one.

What do you think of the Arsenal captain? Please comment below.


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How Do We Top That?

Well good morning, everyone. I hope you’ve recovered from last night’s elation because I sure haven’t. How do we top that? Group H might be the least exciting group of all, but at least we get to start it all again with Group A. This second set of games probably won’t top the first set, which have been tremendous, but they will give us a much better idea of how things are going to settle.

I’m going to Fenway again tonight for the Red Sox-Twins game. Not much new to say about the Red Sox other than that they need a winning streak soon. But back to the soccer. Here are my predictions for today’s games. I’ve been doing much better with my picks lately, so that’s good. But anyway, here we go.

Belgium 3 Algeria 0

I’ll admit, I don’t know much about this Algeria team other than what they did four years ago. But I don’t expect Belgium to be troubled today. There is simply too much of a talent gap between the two sides for Belgium not to win. For Premier League fans, Belgium should be your team, as their lineup is full of the stars you watch every weekend. I expect Kevin De Bruyne to open up the scoring, with his pace combining well with Eden Hazard for the opener. Romelu Lukaku will score the second on a header. And the third and final goal will come from Vincent Kompany, also via the head. This side will be a fun one to watch.

Brazil 2 Mexico 1

While on paper these sides don’t look all that even, Brazil will find themselves a tough opponent in Miguel Herrera’s Mexico. The first half will be exciting, back-and-forth play, but the teams will head to the locker room scoreless. Brazil captain Thiago Silva will score the opener on a set piece early in the second half to send the Brazilian crowd into a friendly. But Mexico will push hard for the equalizer. A Brazilian counter will see Neymar convert a short-range effort, doubling the lead. However, Mexico will bring one back through substitute Javier Hernandez, who will finally find the net. Mexico will impress on the day, but their effort won’t quite be enough against the hosts. The second round of Group A action will kick off with a bang.

Russia 1 South Korea 0

As little as I know about Algeria, I might know less about South Korea for whatever reason. I don’t think I’ve seen them play since 2010 either, and that won’t change today, as I’ll have to miss the match. But I think they’ll struggle, much like the reset of the Asian teams have in Brazil. The goal won’t be pretty, but Russia will turn in a loose ball in the box through Aleksandr Kerzhakov. I played this fixture many times in FIFA (the 2011 version for old time’s sake) against my South Korean friend last year because I found Kerzhakov’s pace suited my style of play. I thus expect him to be Russia’s man of the match tonight. But I’ll be rooting for South Korea so that I can get an excited phone call from Jota, whose past celebrations have included him shattering his phone while celebrating Ronaldo’s third goal against Sweden last fall.

I should have a piece on the Belgium-Algeria game after the match, but with the Red Sox tonight, I might not be able to write much about the second and third games. Enjoy your day and as always, thanks for reading. Now that I’m almost ten days in, I can honestly say that writing this blog has been a joy. Seeing that my readers are coming from all over the world is beyond cool. Thank you so much for checking out what I have to say. If you like it, keep coming back, and please tell your friends.


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What a Day To Be an American

Who isn’t proud to be American after that match? Wow. To anyone out there who doesn’t watch much soccer and tuned in to be patriotic, I hope this game convinced you that the beautiful game can be pretty damn exciting. Much will be written about John Brooks being the new American hero. But there were thirteen other heroes playing beside him tonight. It was mostly ugly, but at times, it was beautiful.

Dempsey’s opening goal was beyond huge for the U.S. Simply looking at Jürgen Klinsmann’s reaction will tell you how unexpected that was. Played in by the excellent Jermaine Jones, Clint Dempsey showed everyone why he is America’s captain and talisman with his three gorgeous touches and finish. It was a dream start that no one could have predicted.

For the next twenty or so minutes, the U.S. looked comfortable allowing Ghana possession and looking to counter. But Jozy Altidore’s injury changed the match dramatically, as it forced the U.S. to abandon any hope of holding up an attack. From that point on, there was very little offered going forward, and the Black Stars were free to attack at will.

The core of the United States defense was immense, as Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron looked like they’d finally formed a formidable pair in central defense. But injury woes struck again, and the inexperienced John Brooks was sent on for Besler. In front of the back four were Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman, who hardly put a foot wrong. Those two were my personal men of the match, as there tackling was near perfect, halting many Ghanaian attacks when they were on the verge of crisis. Not many would have expected this pairing to be the main performers in midfield, but they outshone Michael Bradley on this day.

As well as the defense was holding up, Andre Ayew’s goal was a long-time coming for Ghana, as they had dominated play since Altidore’s injury. After the goal, I would have taken the draw. But the substitutes made Klinsmann a genius on this day, with Graham Zusi’s corner driven in for Brooks’s winner minutes after Ghana had tied it. In many ways, the U.S. didn’t deserve this goal, as they hadn’t attacked in any serious fashion for what felt like years. But Brooks made his chance count, and he will forever be an American hero for it.

The U.S. now finds themselves in a great position in Group G. But as we all knew going in, a win over Ghana won’t be enough in this group. While this win boosts the American spirit, there is much work left to do. Ghana was supposed to be our easiest game, so the challenge will only increase. Cristiano Ronaldo will be an entirely new challenge. The thought of him running at this defense remains terrifying, even after tonight. Earning a point against Portugal is doable, but certainly not easy.

If the U.S. hopes to advance, a few things will need to improve from tonight’s game. Most importantly, the training staff will need to find a way to keep the players on the field. With Altidore likely out for the considerable future, the U.S. can’t afford to lose anyone else. With more cramping a possibility due to Manaus’s jungle climate, keeping everyone healthy might be the biggest challenge of all. Klismann was able to survive tonight with only one second half substitution, but he will need all three in the later half of the game in the Amazon.

Personnel wise, I want to see more from Michael Bradley. He was solid today, but he was not the player the Americans will be counting on to lead this team past Portugal. And in extra time, he made a strange decision to send in a cross when he could have brought the ball to the corner. It was a rookie mistake that could have been costly, one he can’t make again. The German attacking midfielders found success against Portugal, so it will be up to Bradley to up his game on Sunday. Another player that needs to be better is DeMarcus Beasley. He looked suspect way too many times tonight, and will be picked on more and more by more ruthless teams. Lastly, whoever fills Altidore’s boots, be it Johannsson or Wondolowski, will need to be strong on the ball, if not a goalscoring threat. The more pressure that can be relieved away from the defense, the better.

After all that, we can all take a breath. Today is a great day to be American. We are on cloud nine. But when we wake up tomorrow, all will not be perfect. Today’s performance was gutsy. But against Portugal, the U.S. will need more than heart and guts. We have the potential to do great things in this World Cup. Now, we must continue to find ways to win. What a day to be an American.


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Yawn

Iran-Nigeria. Good thing I didn’t build my hopes up for this one. Overhit crosses. Underhit crosses. Generally uninspired play. At least my man Vedad Ibišević and his Bosnia team are now in a much better position to qualify. And we got our 0-0 game out of the way. But I got my prediction right. Moving on.

I. I Believe. I Believe That. I Believe That We. I Believe That We Will.  I Believe That We Will Win! I Believe That We Will Win! I Believe That We Will Win! Let’s get this thing.

Make sure you watch this to prepare.


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Ein Perfekter Anfang (A Perfect Start)

Hopefully that title is correct. Please let me know if it isn’t. I’ve been learning German for only a year, so cut me some slack for not writing this entire article in German. Despite my German last name and German nickname (my friends call me Klaus), I’m not all that Deutsch. But I was rooting for Germany in this game for a number of reasons. And they didn’t disappoint.

Germany ran rampant against Portugal, dominating from the opening minutes. The 4-0 undressing of Portugal should provide a little more hope for the U.S., who will now face a Portugal team without its usual mojo and likely without two of their star defenders. Portugal looked lost against Die Mannschaft most of the game. Everyone tried to defer to to Cristiano Ronaldo, with experienced players making unnecessary passes to their star when they had the better position. Given that Germany hardly needed to mark anyone else due to this deference, they bottled up Ronaldo well, limiting his chances, as once they sensed that every single pass was heading to Ronaldo, defending counter attacks became simpler.

This German team might have possessed 8 of the best 11 players on the field (the three Real Madrid Portuguese players being the exceptions), but not many of the Germans played in positions they normally man for their clubs. This game goes to show that talent wins out in the end, regardless of where of the field the players are operating. Germany’s two converted fullbacks might be exposed against more dynamic offensive teams, but Portugal’s singular threat did not trouble them. Going forward, the Germans looked incredible at times. The continuos movement of Özil, Götze, Müller and Kroos kept the Portuguese defense guessing during the first half, as they could pop up anywhere in the final third. Müller’s hat-trick was well-deserved, and once again displayed his knack for being in the right position.

It’s easy to watch Germany today and marvel at their offensive talent, but a few times in the early going they lost the ball too easily in their own half, leaving themselves susceptible to counter-attacks. While Portugal didn’t convert those chances, Jogi Löw needs to address that going forward, because with so many players forward, Philipp Lahm can’t be losing the ball cheaply. The other worry for Germany will be the injury to Mats Hummels, as his absence could force Lahm into defense so that Boateng can shift next to Mertesacker.

Having seen Germany tear Portugal apart, the U.S. should go into their game with Ghana tonight confident that they can survive this group. They shouldn’t play for a draw by any means, but a tie with the Black Stars won’t completely derail the American campaign as it seemed it would have before this result. With big injury worries for Fabio Coentrao and Hugo Almeida as well as the Pepe suspension, the U.S. certainly has a chance against Portugal later this week.

From an Arsenal standpoint, Mesut Özil looks to be getting back to his best. Given the freedom to operate both on the flanks and through the middle, he was making a lot of intelligent runs and picked out a number of good passes. I would have liked to have seen him convert the chance that fell to him early in the second half, but I’ll take his overall performance any day. Hopefully, his hour-long performance will see him keep his place going forward, allowing him to earn back his confidence. Per Metesacker was hardly involved, but he defended appropriately when called upon. His leadership at the back of this makeshift defense cannot be underestimated. In his short time on the field, Lukas Podolski looked alright too.

Lastly, I want to say a word about all the penalties that are being called at this World Cup. Such a high percentage of them have been more American football like than European. It has got me wondering why referees are so much more likely to award a penalty for a shove or a tug than for a kick to the shin. There is always a certain amount of shirt-tugging and upper body jostling that goes on, so why are so many more of those penalties being called now than in years past? There have been a number of potential penalties from sliding tackles that haven’t being called, but referees have had no hesitation blowing the whistle for a tug.

What were your thoughts on Germany’s performance? Should the U.S. feel more confident of advancing? Please leave your thoughts below.