Tuesday's Column: U.S. World Cup Qualifying
AP Photo
Joy for El Salvador and Eliseo Quintanilla, left, bemusement for the U.S. and defender Heath Pearce, who unwittingly seemed to sum up his Saturday night in this shot as the Americans go a goal down after just 15 minutes.
The U.S. plays Trinidad & Tobago at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday live on ESPN2 and Galavision, just four days after narrowly averting defeat in El Salvador.
I attempted to put the draw that Galaxy defender Tony Sanneh described as a "wake up call" in perspective in today's column.
Meanwhile, there are no prizes for guessing who the world's highest-paid footballer is.
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About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
The U.S. game will not improve until technically gifted players emerge at all positions. We still can't do the fundementals well under pressure which is why we give the ball away cheaply and cannot change the course of a game thru individual brilliance (read passing and dribbling and shooting). I can't name ONE U.S. player who excels at any of the fundementals, including LD.
Moderate success thru organization, physical determination and hussle in a weak region does not spell good soccer. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the roller-coaster ride. I've given it 40 years to come around, the next 20 are yours.
PS - send your kids and coaches to Argentina and Brasil for some soccer transfusion to accelerate the process.
Tony Sanneh hasn't yet proven himself as a defender for the Galaxy, but he's a pretty good analyst of the US Men's National Team.
But if I recall correctly, simply in terms of a contract with a club, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has the biggest contract in world football.