Dynamic duo

                       With veterans Steve Cherundolo and Carlos Bocanegra, two centrepieces of the U.S. defense

for a long time, both out, and with Clarence Goodson off with a strained hamstring, Jurgen Klinsmann, using his different 25th lineup in 25 matches as U.S. coach, gambled by starting Matt Besler, who had played only one game for the USMNT, pairing him with Omar Gonzalez. The move paid off. They proved criticism before the game about how they were too young were wrong.  Both got tested and was connected and committed.

And Klinsmann echoed that "The guys were outstanding," Klinsmann said. "Our back line, you know, many said they were inexperienced. They deserve a huge compliment..." Besler and Omar Gonzalez -- two Major League Soccer defenders of the year --  are Major League Soccer’s products, with Besler playing with Sporting Kansas City and Gonzalez with Los Angeles Galaxy. They anchored a back line that suffered on the flanks, with DaMarcus Beasley that struggled at left back while Graham Zusi and Herculez Gomez often tracked back to became fifth defenders. It’s far from say that they could handle anything next future or that U.S. back line solved its lacks but their defensive effort earned them a high grade. Besler and Gonzalez helped keeper Brad Guzan to secure his second clean sheet in two games and spurned Mexican trio of Javier Hernandez, Javier Aquino and Jesus Zavala. In the right place at the right time, Gonzalez did his job in the middle of the U.S. defensive package, cleaning the box both in the air and on the ground and leading an organized team from the back. He performed well covering his zone in tandem with Besler in the first serious game of his young USMNT career. Besler looked comfortable stepping in after Goodson went out wih his injury and built off a great display  in the shutout. He was able to read the game, defending like a veteran. He stayed active despite an early yellow card for a tactical foul on Giovanni Dos Santos and despite the task to deal with  Hernández and provided a pivotal block on a Carlos Salcido shot in the 69th minute. Besler and Gonzalez showed U.S. have depth behind Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, and Goodson.

It could be done

The USA held Mexico to a 0-0 tie and get away a big point that ended a poor track record there. The tie moved the U.S. (1-1-1) into third place in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying even with a depleted roster lacking of nine starters.With midfielder Jermaine Jones already off due to an ankle injury, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann had to made another change when Clarence Goodson too were unavailable due to a hamstring injury. German coach opted to put on the field a very young central defensive duo pairing Matt Besler to Omar Gonzalez. They both came from MLS as Besler is playing with Sporting Kansas City and Gonzalez with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Gonzalez and Besler, which recorded a total of six caps combined before the game, looked well anchoring a U.S. back line that showed weakness on the flanks, specially on the left, where veteran DaMarcus Beasley had troubles chasing the line. With Mexicans trying to break through from the wings during the match, a much better work was done by Geoff Cameron on the right. Mexico had the edge as they posted a 17-1 shots, but rarely created clear scoring chances. On the other side, the Americans hadn't spells of ball retention, recording just one shot. El Tri put a lot of more pressure during the 15 corner kicks they had but poor execution plagued them also on set pieces situations. Herculez Gomez and Graham Zusi did a big job in the USA half while Michael Bradley provided energy on the middle of the pitch though he blew Americans' best scoring opportunity. Jozy Altidore was decent up top albeit he had no support as Clint Dempsey wasn't effective. The Americans essentially played a defensive oriented game but they have to be happy as they showed a huge amount of attitude and teamwork. 

 Player ratings: (0-10; 10=best)
 
G Brad Guzan, 7: Another game and another clean sheet. He showed his usual ability to command the box.

D DaMarcus Beasley, 5: He struggled to cover the flank and was knocked several times.

D Matt Besler, 7: At just his second cap, he looked like a veterans, specially in the air. 

D Omar Gonzalez, 7: A big performance. As Besler, Gonzalez disallowed everything Mexico sent his way way both in the air and on the ground.

D Geoff Cameron, 6: Did his job and was effective defending.

M Michael Bradley, 6,5: Solid defensive performance, good with the ball on his feet but he wasted Americans’ best chance to score.

M Maurice Edu, 6: Decent defending provide strenght in midfield. Made a dangerous tackle in the penalty area in the 76th minute.

M Herculez Gomez, 6: Spent his game time helping Beasley on the flank. Looked comfortable.

M Clint Dempsey, 5: Contributed defensively but offered little forward.

M Graham Zusi, 6: Contributed defensively and did it quite well while had not attacking influence.

F Jozy Altidore, 6: Playing as lone forward he didn't get support so his opportunities were limited.

Subs:

M Eddie Johnson, 6: Added something offensively.

M Brad Davis, 6: Offered some freshness.
 
M Brek Shea, 6: Provided energy in the middle.

USMNT vs Mexico

After the much questioned 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in a blizzard in Denver, USMNT will try to earn its first victory in a qualifying match in Mexico, where the current overall record is 0-13-1. Estadio Azteca maintains its mystique as one of the greatest stadiums in international soccer and the greatest in CONCACAF soccer. The game will be not easy for the United States. After using 24 different lineups in 24 games, coach Jurgen Klinsmann will change again after midfielder Jermaine Jones suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out against the Ticos. In Kyle Beckerman, Sacha Kljestan, and Joe Corona the German coach has plenty of options to sub Jones but the most probable man to be inserted in the middle of the pitch is Maurice Edu, now playing with Turkey’s Bursaspor. The backline would probably be the same that faced Costa Rica, with Clarence Goodson and Omar Gonzalez as centre-backs, Geoff Cameron at right back, and DaMarcus Beasley at left back. Another option could be to move Edu in the middle of the flat four, pairing him with Goodson and leaving Cameron and Beasley out wide. That could include Beckerman in front of them. A Beckerman- Michael Bradley duo would be able to protect the back line. Both Cameron and Gonzalez had a bad day as central defenders against Honduras and still could have trouble covering Javier Hernández and Andres Guardado. Whatever Klinsmann decides on,  U.S. will have to don't park the bus and to be tactically smart: a win and three points are not a must as a draw could be enough for Klinsmann's side so we could see Bradley, Beckerman, and Edu all toghether in a three man midfield through the game.

All is well

So, Jurgen Klinsmann's experiment can continue. After a stormy week, in which he also faced a Sporting News report that contained a lot of criticism, attributed to players, about his way to run the program, German coach, under unreal conditions, went off with a needed 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifying match in Commerce City, Colo. to grab his first points of the Hex. The USMNT came to Denver to adapt to the high altitude they will face in Mexico next round and they had much more. They prove their worth and came out with an energized attitude after they showed good determination. There were no much tactical or technical factors to judge in a game where running, passing or tackling were a huge task but still USMNT showed to be able to battle through adversities both on and off field. In the conditions, all they had to do was win and the did it. By the way, this Snow Ball still told us that the central pair of Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones could have a future. Clint Dempsey provided the game's lone goal in the 16th minute and well performed up top, such as DaMarcus Beasley did at left back. At the end, USMNT showed a collective display to get the job done. Next USMNT stop will be Mexico where will be no deteriorated field conditions to help them. The United States will face no snow next game against Mexicans.

Player grades: (0-10; 10=best)

G: Brad Guzan, 6 -- Started for the injured Tim Howard, he was solid and made no mistakes under the difficult conditions.

D: DaMarcus Beasley, 7 -- First World Cup qualifier played over three years. He defended well and was also able to push forward. He had 98 touches and completed 58 passes.

D: Clarence Goodson, 7 -- A big effort in a questioned back line. Strength in the air and on the ground.

D: Omar Gonzalez, 6 -- Looked good enough.

D: Geoff Cameron, 6 --  He get his first start at right back, the position he held at Stoke City. He perfomed well enough.

M: Jermaine Jones, 6 -- The German-American was the symbol of the team's division during this week. He was solid, making good decisions and keeping possession.

M: Michael Bradley, 7 -- Anchored USA midfield with a solid performance in the center of the field.

M: Graham Zusi, 6 -- Struggle a bit but still played some nice and quick passes.

M: Clint Dempsey, 7 -- Played effectively as a true captain, scoring the game’s goal. 

M: Herculez Gomez, 6.5 -- He did not blame playing as left wing and helping Beasley on the defensive phase.

F: Jozy Altidore, 6.5 -- Played as a pivot, using effectively his size.

Subs:
M: Eddie Johnson, 6 -- Some nice touches after he replaced Zusi in 75th minute

M: Maurice Edu, NR -- On the game for Jones in 83rd minute.

M: Kyle Beckerman, NR -- Real Salt Lake midfielder replaced Gomez in the final minutes.

Chivas USA physical display paid off

The first SuperClasico between Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA finished 1-1 at the Home Depot Center following late goals and a questioned red card. Chivas felt down to 10 men, following Joaquín Velázquez's red card at the end of the first half, after a tackle on Galaxy midfielder Colin Clark. Despite playing with a man edge for 50 minutes, Galaxy failed to create scoring chances --  Jose Villarreal’s crossbar aside -- against a organized Chivas USA defense. LA had the control of the game posting 61.8 to 38.2 in ball possession but they were unable to turn retention into chances, ending the game with just three shots on goal. Bruce Arena started with his classic 4-4-2 line up, pulling Clark and Mike Magee on the flanks while Jose Villareal was paired up top alongside Robbie Keane. José Luis “Chelís” Sánchez Solá lined up a 3-4-3 formation featuring Josue Soto and Eric Avila as wing-backs while the offensive trio of forwards Julio Morales, Juan Aguedo, and Josè Correa had the duty to challenge Galaxy’s flat four defense. Chivas showed an aggressive play as Chivas’ 22 committed fouls against Galaxy’s eight testified. But Chivas coach defended his way. After  Velázquez's ejection, Chelís quickly brought Morales off and replaced him with defender Carlos Borja, who went to the left side of the rebuilt Goats' three-man backline, alongside Bobby Burling and Mario de Luna. Arena too made a halftime change, as he kept Clark off the board replacing him with defender Leonardo, moving A.J. DeLaGarza at the right back spot while Sean Franklin was pushed up into the midfield. Late change Michael Stephens added nothing to the attack. A much better impact had Jack McBean, which came later on the field to give LA the lead in the 83rd minute. But Carlos Álvarez’s score in the 89th gave Chivas an earned point. With this draw, Chivas  pick up a good point as they had lost seven of the latest eight meetings with the Galaxy.

A boring scoreless draw between Sao Paulo and Palmeiras

This match was a disappointment as it ended in a boring 0-0 draw.

Ney Franco opted for the Libertadores keeping on the bench Jadson and Osvaldo and lining up Wellington and Luis Fabiano, both unavailable in the next round of the major South American clubs tournament. On the other side, Gilson Kleina started in a 4-4-2 mode with Vinicius at right-wing and Márcio Araújo on the left and with Chilean Jorge Valdívia, which improved as the game went on, lined high up near to Kléber. He also utilized Juninho at left-back in the place of suspended Marcelo Oliveira.  The first part of the game was boring, with Sao Paulo in command of the operations but creating really not scoring chances. The tactical battle didn’t produce an open game. Sao Paulo were very slow moving the ball and had an unispired Paulo Henrique Ganso who showed his techical skills but provided no dangerous balls for his teammates up top. As Gilson Kleina pointed out, Palmeiras left him “receive the ball with his back to goal and move away from our area." It worked.

 

Franco’s side passing was controlled - they ended the first half with a higher pass completion rate – but didn’t resulted in goalscoring chances, with the exception of the one Luis Fabiano had in the first minutes. Playing with an 11-men defensive wall, with both Valdívia and Kléber behind the line of the ball, Palmeiras closed all the passing lines. With a slow ball circualtion and with no real attacking combinations put on the place, Gilson Kleina’s team had no troubles on controlling the game defensively.

 

At the start of the second half, things changed as Gilson Kleina inserted dynamic Patrick Vieira, taking off Charles. That change and a better offensive attitude gave Palmeiras the control of the game. On this situation, Valdívia’s play get better as Palmeiras’ attacking midfielder showed invention in possession and started to find gaps between the lines. Palmeiras’ play were more  exciting when Sao Paulo’s defender Lucio was sent off. That convinced Franco to bring back the team into a more defensive-minded formation. Sao Paulo’s manager replaced Ganso with Jadson and Luis Fabiano with Osvaldo in the way to provide more compactness.

Neither of these sides showed a great play as neither produced big scoring opportunities. Both attacked just one half, Sao Paulo the first and Palmeiras the second. Gilson Kleina’s squad was unable to exploit the numerical edge after Lucio’s ejection while Sao Paulo seemed to be much more worried about next Libertadores game than about this ‘Clasico’. Once again, Jadson and Ganso didn’t play toghether. At the end, it was a game completely lacking in emotion.

Defensive effort paid against Fiorentina

With Gonzalo Rodriguez out, Vincenzo Montella put Nenad Tomovic at centre-back with Nenad Savic and Facundo Roncaglia going to right and left centre-back. David Pizarro came back at his deep-lying playmaker position while Fiorentina’s coach paired Luca Toni and Stevan Jovetic up top in the usual 3-5-2 system. Cristiano Bergodi opted to go with a 4-3-1-2 formation, with both Mervan Celik and Vladimir Weiss supporting centre-forward Jonathas.

First half

The trademark of the match was clear, with Pescara not pressing high up the pitch and defending low in their own half and Fiorentina dictating the tempo, turning it into a slow, ball retention game. In possession, Pescara had no chance to counter-attack, due to Fiorentina immediate pressure when the ball was lost. A great work was made by Jonathas: the Brazilian striker showed defensive capacities collapsing back and tracking Fiorentina’s playmaker Pizarro. Fiorentina was too much slow moving the ball ending simply to hold the ball for long periods but creating less scoring chances than supposed after a such high game control. The best opportunities came from set pieces and Pescara was into a solid defensive shape in those situations. Very impressive was the display of Pescara’ netminder, Mattia Perin, which made some big saves and showed control and confidence all over the match. With Pescara so tight, Fiorentina tried to find open spaces on the flanks, specially on the right where Cuadrado create troubles to Pescara left-back Francesco Modesto in the first half. In the defensive phase, Pescara switched to a 4-4-2 formation with Celik or Weiss dropped into midfield as left wingers. This move allowed Bergodi’s team to have two players on the flanks against Cuadrado and Manuel Pasqual. While the team was moving the ball around, Fiorentina lacked a midfielder with cutting inside, coming from behind ability to push forward, helping Toni and Jovetic up top. Also, team passing lacked of the needing crosses you have to utilize in the way to open a close box as Pescara defense were. On the left, Borja Valero stayed in his usual position and gave offensive support but he wasn’t trenchant as usual. Very good was Pescara midfielder Birkir Bjarnason: while in the first half he lacked to give true support on the wing to Modesto, he was poised and accurate with the ball on his feet.

Second half

As the second half started, the gameplan was the same, with Pescara defensive effort frustrating Fiorentina once more. Montella’s players was not able to open the box through quick passing. After Jonathas goal, with Pescara even more closed around its penalty area and Fiorentina passing play clearly not working, Montella made two questionable calls when Adem Ljajic replaced Toni while Harsi Seferovic replaced Pasqual few minutes later. The first sub was clearly a mistake: while playing with the ball on the ground wasn’t effective, Montella had to stay with his pivot in the middle of the box, while the flankers had to provide him nice balls through the air. Instead, Montella stayed strict to his brend of football, inserting Mati Fernandez in the way to create spaces on the ground with quick moves and short passes. After 15 minutes from Ljajic’s ingress, Montella changed his mind, inserting a tall forward as Seferovic. Both those changes and the idea to take off Pasqual, the best crosser in the team, made Montella’s thoughts hard to understand. Pescara too made some risky movements when they decided to don’t insert a left midfielder to close Fiorentina’s right side and don’t move Celik or Weiss up top in the way to exploit counter-attack options, taking pressure off from the block of defense and midfield. When Bergodi made this decision, Pescara managed to net his second goal -- also thanks to a Roncaglia big mistake.

 

Conclusion

It was a match between an active team against a passive one. Pescara try to stay balanced during the whole match, closing the spaces and playing a defensive football through positioning over pressing. This plan worked due to Fiorentina inability to move quickly the ball and to provide nice balls to both Toni and Jovetic. Another question to rise up is the compatibilty between Toni and Jovetic in some games as both are strikers, i.e. forwards searching the net that need of ball support from the midfielders. Neither had significant impact on the game.  Fiorentina missed some decent opportunities -- give credit to Perin, Pescara’s goalkeeper – but they didn’t enough with the ball on their feet and Montella’s poor decision also raised some questions.