This has been a long time coming, and I'd like to start out with honesty. As is likely apparent, I've never thought that Carlos Bocanegra was a world class defender. In the beginning, however, I was willing to give him a chance as a left back given the USMNT's perpetual search for the answer at that position (David Regis anyone?). Accordingly, I give Bocanegra credit for dutifully throwing his athletic 6-foot, 170-pound frame into the fray for the US men since his first senior CAP on December 9, 2001 against Korea Republic.
But, after more than six yars of needless fouls, tactical errors, and horrid passing out of the back, enough is enough. Something must be said and questions must be asked. Why has Carlos Bocanegra's reward for years of uneven play and near constant turnover of possession been his elevation to the position of team captain? Is there a reason why Carlos Bocanegra has not gone the way of Carlos Llamosa, Tony Sanneh and other failed US defenders? Are we, all followers of and participants in American soccer, to think that not only will poor positioning and mindless clearing of the ball be condoned, but sanctioned and praised as well?
The answer to that question cannot and must not be "Yes." Is it too much to ask that the US should strive to develop a centre back in the mold of Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthaus, Paolo Maldini, Ronald Koeman and Fabbio Cannavaro? It is too much to ask that we could strive to meld strength with skill? vision with speed? technical ability with tackling ability? We must break cleanly away from the Northern European style that has dominated American soccer for the last century.
If there is to be hope for the future, hope for World Cup victories on European soil, we cannot rely on size, brute strength and vigorous effort alone to be the hallmarks of our style of play. The past must be set aside and a new trail must be blazed.
This site, therefore, will attempt to identify, catalogue, and analyze the anachronistic elements still present in the American style of play. I do not begin to assume that I can provide the answers to these questions, but I believe that the questions need to be raised. I hope that this site can become a collaborative effort through which American soccer supporters can discuss together the future of the beautiful game in our country and join together in seeking excellence.
You might then ask why Carlos Bocanegra is the rather narrow target of my accumulated ire, and in response I leave you with this scene, Exhibit A in the case against antiquated and ugly soccer, brainless defending, and Mr. Bocanegra in particular...
The date is June 22, 2006. The USMNT is in Nuremberg, Germany to face the Black Stars of Ghana in the third and final match of the 2006 World Cup first round. Ten days before, the US men walked off the field in Gelsenkirchen disappointed and dispirited after a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Jan Koller and the Czechs. Just five days before, however, the US men pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and battled the mighty Azzurri to a 1-1 draw, keeping hopes alive for a birth in the second round. And so, on this sunny day in Nuremberg, US hopes for the second round hinge on a US victory and an Italian defeat of the Czechs. The US men, however, know just one thing: a win over Ghana is the necessary result.
The match begins and the US starts nervously. Ghana's speed and pressure clearly have the US rattled, and Ghana's tactics are rewarded in the 22nd minute when Claudio Reyna is caught in possession leading to Dramani coolly slotting home past Kasey Keller for a 1-0 lead. Slowly but determinedly, the US creeps back into the match and equalizes behind DaMarcus Beasley's inviting cross and Clint Dempsey's emphatic finish in the 43rd minute. With the chance to regroup and reorganize at halftime looming, and with Italy leading the Czech Republic 1-0, American fans across the globe breathe deep sighs of relief. A strong second half would see the US through to the knockout stages.
From the crushing 3-0 defeat to the Czechs, the US men found themselves just 45 minutes from realizing their four-year goal. Little did we know, that calamity was set to strike. As the clock struck 45 minutes and extra time began, Ghana played a hopeful ball deep down the US left flank where Bocanegra ran stride for stride with the Black Star winger. As the ball sped toward the corner, Bocanegra - facing the touchline, eschewed the safe play of knocking the ball out of bounds in order to allow the tired US defense to reposition itself. Instead, breaking rule one of rudimentary defense, Bocanegra volleyed the ball straight into the air, back over his head towards the center of the field and the US goal. Challenged by the Black Star winger while the ball was in the air, Bocanegra unconscionably compounded his error by heading the ball to the dead middle of the 18-yard box into the path of the onrushing Black Star centre forward, forcing Oguchi Onyewu into the clumsy challenge that resulted in a dubious penalty. Mere seconds later, the ball buried in the back of the US net and the halftime whistle blown, shock was evident on the Americans' faces.
Spirits deflated, needing two goals and not one, the US men spent the second half gamely dashing themselves against the entrenched Black Star defense without reward. Meanwhile, in Hamburg, the Italians celebrated a 2-0 victory over the Czechs. For the US, the long road to South Africa 2010 had begun, and American supporters were left to wonder if the glorious quarterfinal run of 2002 was just an anomaly.
While it is, of course, inaccurate to state that the USMNT's fate turned on only one moment out of 270+ minutes of soccer, it is impossible to overstate the breadth and depth of Bocanegra's absurd error. There is no explanation for such a decision at the highest level at that particular crucial moment, and the site of him barreling needlessly into the back of a Mexican forward resulting in a free kick and a Johnny Magallon goal in the February 2008 friendly belies any argument that Bocanegra has learned his lesson. There is, I posit, no rational or cogent reason for granting this unschooled laborer a continued role in the US defense let alone entrusting him with the captain's armband. Enough is enough. The tactics that are successful in overcoming Trinidad & Tobago and Canda in CONCACAF qualifying will not succeed against soccer's aristocracy. The time for renovation and evolution is now as the US begins a new qualification cycle. We must begin to learn from and to correct our mistakes. Paging Michael Parkhurst....
For video evidence see the the 1:20 mark of this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6brdMprmsQ&feature=related
