1. Where’s Andrea Pirlo … and where will he be in July?
Is “Where’s Waldo?” still a thing? It was once (maybe still is….) a series of children's books where young readers had to spot Waldo in the drawing. I thought about it this week because soccer fans across at least two or three continents are playing “Where’s Pirlo?” these days.
The “Pirlo” in question is Andrea Pirlo, the masterful Italian midfielder who would instantly become the best deep-lying playmaker ever to grace an MLS field if he signed on for duty here. (Yes, better than David Beckham, who played the position quite well in his final two seasons with the Galaxy.)
Reports circulated out of Europe last week that Pirlo had already signed for NYC FC. It makes sense in this way: he has already stated that he will not play for another Italian side other than Juventus, his professional home since 2011 (following a highly successful decade at AC Milan).
So maybe the World Cup winner is, indeed, MLS-bound. Or maybe he’s bound for Australia? Or maybe he’s staying in Turin for one more season with “The Old Lady.”
We didn’t see much of Pirlo in Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final; Juventus didn’t have the ball enough as Barcelona’s midfield possession masters and unbelievable forward line did their thing. That doesn’t diminish the impact Pirlo, even at age 36, could have for a year and a half on an MLS club.
As a deep-lying maestro alongside two-way man Frank Lampard in the NYC midfield at Yankee Stadium? Yep, that would work.
Or how about across the river? The Red Bulls have just one Designated Player at the moment, Bradley Wright-Phillips. Dax McCarty and Sacha Kljestan are there to do the running ahead of him in the NYC midfield (perhaps with Felipe in a slightly wider role), how great would that look?
Fact is, a lot of teams could use Pirlo’s presence, vision and commanding ways in midfield – but they may not have the will or the financial wherewithal to pay for him. Pirlo won’t come cheap.
For me, I just hope he gets here. The summer transfer window opens early next month.
2. The Hope Solo gamble
You may think it is fine and dandy for Hope Solo to be included in the United States women’s national team for this summer’s Women’s World Cup. There are plenty of U.S. soccer supporters who believe so.
On the other hand, you may be in the camp that says national team athletes, being high-profile representatives of their land, should be held to a high standard of conduct. And so it follows that Solo, who had a history of questionable decisions even before last year’s notorious domestic abuse charges, would not qualify and should therefore not be with the team right now in Canada.
Your opinion counts, of course, in the public discourse. But it doesn’t count in the big decision here; that’s up to U.S. coach Jill Ellis, mostly likely with some input from her boss, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati.
Beyond our feelings about Solo the person and about the role of athletes as heroes and heroines in society, the bottom line here is this: Ellis gambled in taking Solo.
There was always a chance that Solo’s presence would create distraction (which it did as ESPN’s Outside the Lines aired an unflattering report a day before the United States’ tourney opener.) She did so back in 2007 with then-manager Greg Ryan, creating such a toxic stew within the locker room that teammates demanded she take a different flight home. She kicked up a completely unnecessary fuss at the 2012 Olympics. Veteran sports writer Sally Jenkins wrote about Solo’s constant requirement for attention: “And in the absence of it she will say anything to make cameras and microphones return, even if it means insulting Brandi Chastain and jacking around with her U.S. soccer team’s equilibrium at the Olympics.”
So, there was certainly a chance that Solo would do just that, somehow dislodging locker room accord or chipping away at some of the tight team focus with more of her high jinx.
Ellis gambled that the best goalkeeper in the world was worth it. To that point, make no mistake: Solo is a game-changer. A trio of first-half saves Monday kept her country in the opening match until Megan Rapinoe could manufacture a couple of big moments, until a wobbly team could find its attacking feet.
Was the Solo gamble worth it? We’ll have to ask that question again in two or three weeks. For now, just know this: it was always a roll of the dice with Solo.
3. The real test of managers
Gregg Berhalter has done well in his first year and a half as an MLS manager, getting the Crew and its relatively tight roster budget into the playoffs last year and keeping them in the conversation of “Best in the East” so far in 2015.
Putting together a capable roster, getting everyone pulling in the same direction and experiencing some success isn’t easy – and credit to Berhalter and the team’s front office for doing so. But it is only part of the success equation.
The real test of a manager is how they handle the bad times. See, everyone is happy as a kid at soccer camp when things are going well ‘n swell. But what happens when you come across that first locker room issue or training ground bust-up? What about the first push-back against the coach’s choices? What happens when that first, inevitable losing skid starts fraying nerves and generally taking its toll?
So, we’ll see how this sticky situation with defender Emanuel Pogatetz continues to play out at MAPFRE Stadium, because the team is winless in five (0-3-2), and it’s tough times right now in Crew-ville. Long story short, Pogatetz is upset about not playing recently. He has a point; the highly experienced Austrian has been terrific this year. The problem was in airing his frustration over social media, a clear no-no by the usual rules of locker room accord.
This is Berhalter’s next big test as manager; we’re all paying attention.
4. So much soccer going on
How odd that so many of us, raised on the awesomeness of European or South American soccer, still think of this time of year as the global game’s “off-season.”
Because there is so, so much happening in soccer right now. Like the Women's World Cup that just kicked off across Canada. The TV ratings here are already terrific, and they will only grow. Believe me: I’ve seen it for 20 years in the business. We always, for some reason, underestimate how the country will get so fiercely behind its ladies as a Women’s World Cup or Olympic run gains momentum. This one will be no different.
The senior U.S. national team has a high-profile friendly on Wednesday against the reigning World Cup champ, with the important CONCACAF Gold Cup right around the corner. (The Gold Cup begins July 7 at Toyota Stadium, where the
United States meets Honduras
in a tournament doubleheader.)
The U.S. under-20s are advancing through the knockout stages of the FIFA under-20 World Cup, having just downed Colombia in the wee smalls of Wednesday morning.
Copa America is about to get started, and critical Euro 2016 qualifiers are playing out this week.
Along the darker sides of world soccer’s streets, nobody thinks the spigot on this ongoing river of FIFA scandal news is about to be shut off, do you? In the unlikely event that it does, we’ve still got transfer news and speculation of the Silly Season to fill up our news feeds.
That’s not even mentioning that Major League Soccer will roll right through the summer, with a yummy side dish of U.S. Open Cup there for the taking, too.
Some “off-season,” eh? It's an amazing time.
5. The Little Five
5a. Heads up on the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a.k.a. this country’s best-kept soccer secret. The Fourth Round plays out next week over two days, in 16 stadiums across the country. There are 15 matches pitting MLS teams against lower tier sides, and there will be upsets. Believe it. (The full schedule is here.) This tournament still doesn’t get the attention it deserves. That’s nobody’s fault; these things just take time to build real brand awareness. Regardless of the level of publicity, this thing is more fun than an ice cream party, and this round in particular is a real gem. EDITOR'S NOTE: How cool is it that FC Dallas is playing at TCU's intimate 1,500ish capacity stadium in Tuesday's LHUSOC match vs OKC? You don't want to miss Tuesday's one-time-only trip to the land of the Horned Frogs! (TICKETS)
5b. According to the official MLS list, only 8 of 20 clubs have a maximum of three Designated Players. Let’s watch and see where we are on this list after the summer transfer window … because it will definitely change.
5c. When I have said in print or on radio that, “Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco is the current MVP frontrunner,” I’ve gotten this a couple of times: “What does that say about the league?” Uh, well … the man does have 21 caps for a four-time World Cup champion. And given his form, whether its MLS or anywhere else, a summer call for Azzurri duty doesn’t seem out of the question. So, I can’t see that it says bad things at all about MLS quality.
5d. Jurgen Klinsmann’s big impact on the United States national team remains up for discussion. So far, the man who took over (with so much fanfare) in 2011 hasn’t pushed the United States past the only sticking point that really matters, performance in a World Cup. On the other hand, Klinsmann has overseen two great results in Mexico. And his other mark thus far: the ability to get good results in Europe, against tough Euro opposition. After last week, add “Netherlands” to a list that already included Italy and Czech Republic.
5e. The United States women didn’t look great in Monday’s opener. Credit to a team for getting a result when not at its best. Still, perhaps most striking was a brand of soccer that looked like something happening in the English First Division back in the 1970s. So we’ll see how Ellis’ preferred tactics – standard 4-4-2, lots of long balls toward a target forward – stand up over an entire tournament. By the way, others noticed, too. In fact, this post out of Australia was the most interesting item I saw on-line Tuesday.
Steve Davis has covered Major League Soccer since is first kick in 1996. He writes on-line for World Soccer Talk and Fusion TV’s Soccergods, and co-hosts the weekly radio show/podcast ESPN Soccer Today on 103.3 FM in Dallas. Davis is also the radio play-by-play voice for FC Dallas on 100.7 FM.
