Государство Государств | Июнь, 2010

Пора еще раз пересмотреть "Государство государств". Высшая Лига Соккера, наконец, согласилась на короткий перерыв для международных действий и мы в шаге от плиты наибольшего мирового спортивного события, ЧМ-2010 в Южной Африке. Но давайте начнем с ВЛС...

Брюс Всемогущий?

The LA Galaxy have been dominant over the first third of the season, though most observers expected a stumble when the influential Landon Donovan left for the World Cup with the US. That potential stumble threatened to turn into a full-on plummet down the basement stairs when Bob Bradley swooped for the suddenly-prolific Edson Buddle as well. But even without Buddle, the man scoring all the goals, and Donovan, the man providing them, Bruce Arena's crew of young guns and wily veterans continue to sweep all before them. A big part of their success has been a stingy defense that has allowed (at last count) only four goals thus far in league action.

Bob the Builder

By contrast, Bob Bradley's USA team have been managing some decent results, but the defense has been of increasing concern, as was amply demonstrated in the humbling loss to the Czech Republic and some nail-biting moments against Australia and Turkey. Besides a vulnerability to the quick counter, there have been worrying gaps between midfield and defense and some decidedly poor marking at set pieces. Thankfully, it seems that Bradley is leaning towards Bocanegra at left back rather than Jonathan Bornstein, who has been consistently torched in high-level play. Unfortunately, that leaves the US defense short in the middle with Oguchi Onyewu not quite back to full match fitness after his long injury layoff.

The other injury of major concern to Bradley will be Jozy Altidore, who dinged an ankle in training. Despite assurances that he's back to fitness, the demanding World Cup schedule may have other plans in store. In the interim, the other strikers on the roster have been given full auditions, with the in-form duo of Herculez Gomez and Edson Buddle continuing to find the net when called upon. Given Bradley's favored tactics however, it appears that Robbie Findley is his choice to start alongside Altidore. Findley's speed when not on the ball can certainly influence a game, and he has shown touches of increased understanding at the international level. But at the moment he's a bit of a one trick pony, and those tricks don't include lethal finishing, a necessary ingredient if Bradley's counter-attacking style is to succeed.

Looking Ahead

As we roll into summer, what should the intrepid US soccer fan be keeping an eye on?