ONELOVE FC has been recognized as a community-based news organization for the North American soccer community. We will be able to attend press conferences, conduct interviews, and cover stories pertaining to the rise of American soccer culture.
Today, we’ll be with Real Madrid at UCLA. If you have questions for anyone on the team, ask away. We’ll do what we can to get them answered.
1L!
-Alex V.
by Philip Cramer
(ONELOVE Ambassador)
The word ‘Ayoba’ has murky origins but what is known is that it originated in South African townships, originally used to express appreciation of good dancing, something that runs deep in the veins of South Africans. The best description I have seen uses the word ‘awesomeness’, even though that word cannot be found in any dictionary.
June 11th in Joburg – Photo Cred: Alex V.
South Africa’s hosting of the world’s premier sporting event is about to come to an end and ‘Ayoba’ fits perfectly. That was the last thing the world expected four years ago after Germany in 2006.
South Africa’s high crime rate was the main issue but other questions remained. Would the stadiums be ready? Would there be enough accommodation? Would the transport system be a disaster and the attendance numbers pitiful?
The barrage of negative publicity was relentless, especially in Europe and the U.S. It reached levels of absurdity. The German team were considering bulletproof vests for their players, and an English tabloid hysterically cataloged the list of some of the world’s most dangerous snakes that were lurking around the English team’s rural base, just waiting to short circuit their World Cup hopes.
The snakes didn’t have to bother—not that there was any real danger to begin with—as England managed to self destruct without any outside assistance.
It reached a point where even optimistic South Africans began to doubt themselves.
Estimates of foreign visitors were cut down from a high of about 450,000 down to 300,000, which would have been a disaster.
All these fears have turned out to be totally misplaced. Crime has been minimal, most of which has been dealt with speedily by an enhanced police presence and swift justice in special World Cup courts.
The world class stadiums were all ready on time as was the transport system and accommodation has been readily available.
Attendance will be over three million for only the third time in World Cup history, and the post final average attendance will be just under 50,000, exceeded by only two other tournaments. The four largest stadiums which hosted almost half the games have approached full capacity. Bear in mind that attendance at the games is determined by tickets used, not by tickets sold, as is the custom for American major league sports.
Most important has been the welcome and support given teams and tourists alike by the South African people. For them, hosting the World Cup is a miracle, or as the always effervescent Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, described it, “a fairy tale come true.”
A mere two decades ago, South Africans were still living under the throes of Apartheid. The racist system made political violence an everyday reality with no end in sight.
That all changed in the early 1990’s as Nelson Mandela walked to freedom after 27 years in prison. Mandela’s freedom led a new ‘Rainbow Nation’ out of the darkness.
Today, South Africa stands at the threshold of being finally accepted. Not only as an example to the world on how to move resolve conflict, but as a nation with the wherewithal to successfully host the World Cup
South Africans of all colors united behind their beloved Bafana Bafana with even more fervor than they did in 1995 at the Rugby World Cup. Despite being eliminated in the group stage, their fans lost none of their fervor throwing support behind ‘Baghana Baghana,’ as they called the Ghanaian team in their quest to be the first African team to reach the semifinals.
Even their tragic loss at the final hurdle as not deterred the nation. There is a renewed sense of pride, evident when Nelson Mandela became President. While many questioned the sanity of spending over $4 billion on the Cup, that sense of pride and the positive image from hosting the tournament is worth so much more.
As the competition has progressed, more fans have flocked to South Africa. It’s now expected that the number of visitors for the soccer will top 500,000, far more than previous estimates.
On Monday, South Africa will return to reality. It’s country still plagued by crime, poverty, a dreadful AIDS epidemic, a lack of decent housing and an infrastructure that needs a lot more work.
For millions of black South Africans, life has improved little from the rigors of Apartheid. But many others have prospered when previously all the doors of opportunity were completely shut.
The foreign visitors will all be heading home with vuvuzelas packed in their luggage, and memories of a beautiful land and an expansive and gracious people. These visitors will no doubt spread the word about this bountiful land at the southern tip of Africa.
As a former South African who spent the first 25 years of my life during Apartheid, where fear and anger ruled, I look on with pride and more than a little bit of Aboya.
There is talk now of South Africa bidding to host the Olympics in 2020 or 2024. After the World Cup, there is no reason to doubt their ability to host such a major event and this time the fear mongers will find no traction for their skepticism.
Read more from Philip at Irritable Liberal Syndrome!
by Marc Roseblade
The European champions, Spain, have joined Netherlands in the World Cup Final on Sunday after defeating Germany 1 nil in Durban tonight.
Carles Puyol’s 74th-minute header was enough to secure La Rojas a spot in their first ever FIFA World Cup final.
No matter who wins at Soccer City on Sunday, history will be made.
Tonight, Joachim Low’s men (minus wunderkind Thomas Muller) were unable to repeat the displays with which they swept aside England and Argentina in previous rounds. Once again, the Germans suffered a semi-final defeat.
This was Spain’s first World Cup semi-final and Vicente del Bosque’s side dominated possession from the start. Spain had dropped Torres from the starting eleven. Instead, Pedro Rodriguez had his first start of the finals and made a mark early on as he slipped a through-ball to David Villa after just six minutes. Despite a solid finish, German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made the save.
In the 14th minute, Spain had a corner where Iniesta drove in a cross that eventual goalscorer, Puyol met with a flying header that flew over the crossbar.
Germany who were happy to play deep in their own half, continued to counter-attack when Podolski played in Ozil on the left before he brought Klose into play on the edge of the box, but the Bayern Munich forward was crowded out.
Spanish keeper Casillas needed to be alert on the half hour mark when he turned a 30-yard daisycutter from Trochowski by the post.
Germany called for a penalty on the stroke of half time when Ramos looked to have brought Ozil down in the box, but the referee waved play on.
The second half began with Alonso driving a shot narrowly wide from 25 yards, then Villa bent another attempt just wide of the post. Pedro was next to try his luck as he made the German keeper Neuer make a fingertip save. As Mertesacker moved slowly to clear the rebound, Iniesta leaped on the opportunity to fire in a low cross that Villa just barely missed.
Casillas had to make another save on 69 minutes as German sub Kroos side-footed an effort at goal, but it was at the other end that the all-important goal was scored. With 16 minutes remaining on the clock Xavi fired in a corner that was met by the flying Puyol, and powered his header past the diving Neuer.
Pedro could have finished the game off in the final minutes when he and Torres burst through the German defense with a 2 on 1 assault. It looked as though Pedro would set Torres up with his first goal of the tournament, but the young Barca striker held on too long. In the end, Spain won.
We now look forward to history being made as a new name will proudly appear as FIFA World Cup Champions 2010. No one could argue that these two teams deserve to be at Soccer City on Sunday.
The only question that needs answered now is, Will it be La Rojas or the Oranje?
read more from Marc at My Scottish Football!
For any real fan, the World Cup is just as much (if not more) about heartbreak than it is about celebration.
Today’s battle between Ghana and Uruguay turned out to be one of the cruelest operas in modern soccer history. The game itself was brilliant.
Sulley Muntari showed us that Ghana was not only physically superior to Uruguay, but as dangerous as any attacking force in the final 8.
When Forlan equalized for Uruguay in the 55th minute, it was anyone’s game. In Extra time, Ghana would have earned the win all over again, if not for Luis Suarez’s goal-line handball. And that’s when the rollercoaster took it’s sharpest, most unforgiving turns.
it went like this…
Suarez earns a red card for literally slapping a ball that was headed for goal. Gyan is awarded a penalty shot. The whole world is overcome with equal parts joy, fear, and heart-pounding excitement. And then it happens. Gyan strikes. The ball coasts up, up, off the crossbar, and away from what would have been the single proudest moment in African football history.
…
Forlan and co may have represented in the shootout, but today was all about the African game. ONELOVE salutes the Blackstars on a profound run in South Africa.
By Daniel Kelley
(OFFICIAL ONELOVE U.S. CORESPONDENT)
happier days in Ellis Park – photo cred: Alex V.
Team USA’s magical cup run has sadly come to an end. With tons of hype and momentum behind them USA had to beat their old foe Ghana. Unfortunately much like in 2006 Ghana got the better of the yanks once again. In the three out of the four games team USA played they found themselves down a goal early on. In all the other games they dug deep and found a way to claw back and salvage a point. Today though was just not their day.
Many will wonder now who they can blame for team USA’s failure to get past the round of 16. The finger will be solely pointed at one person, Mr. Bob Bradley. Heralded as the saint and savior of soccer in America just this morning before the match, many will be asking for his resignation of his post as head coach of team USA. Bradley did mostly everything right leading up to the game against Ghana. He won the Gold Cup, helped the team finish second behind Brazil in the Confederations Cup, and had team USA finish first in group C of the 2010 world cup. Still though a lot of his decisions need to be questioned.
When you have a good thing going, why change it? Many will be asking Bob Bradley that very same question in regards to playing Ricardo Clark tonight. Clark played poorly in the opening group game and hadn’t played since. Suddenly, and rather shockingly, he was reinstated in the starting lineup for an extremely important match. Bradley has been known to be a gambling man and sometimes taking a risk pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t. Replacing Oguchi Onyewu with Jonathon Bornstein was a huge gamble that paid off for Bradley. Replacing Maurice Edu/Benny Feilhaber with Ricardo Clark was a gamble that most definitely did not pay off. Clark started the Ghana game by giving up possession in the middle of the park that resulted in a goal, and then picking up an extremely dangerous yellow card almost immediately after. Give Bradley credit for admitting his mistake by subbing Clark after 30 minutes, but still he took a huge risk by playing Clark that really hurt team USA.
Bradley has done a wonderful job with team USA and exceeded everyone’s expectations, but after this loss to Ghana USA fans will be thinking that team USA could have, and should have, done better. Sometimes you have to stick with what works, and for some reason Bradley decided not to. USA had a respectable run, but excuses aside for why they didn’t go farther, they need to do better
Player Ratings:
Howard-6- Made some good saves tonight but probably should have done better with the opening the goal. Much like his central defenders in the opening minutes, Howard was ball watching and out of position.
Cherundolo-6.5- Not his best game by a long shot. Had some shaky moments in the beginning but got better as the game went on. Dolo probably has the most dangerous cross on the team and he used it to good effect today.
Bocanegra-6- Had both good and bad moments throughout the game. His poor communication with DeMerit and ball watching cost his team the game unfortunately.
DeMerit-6- One of the more consistent players on team USA throughout the tournament. Today though he made a lot of costly errors that hurt the team quite a bit. Won a lot of balls in the air like he always does, but had a really hard time communicating with his partner in central defense.
Bornstein-7- I never thought I would say this but…Johnny B. had a great game today. The best player on the backline, absolutely owned the left side of the field. A very surprising solid and mistake free game from Bornstein.
Bradley-7- Has raised his stock significantly in this tournament. Worked tirelessly today and did all he could to keep team USA in it.
Clark-3- An absolutely dreadful performance from Clark. Clark put on a real horror show today. His two most cringe worthy moments were giving the ball away in the middle field to help setup Ghana’s opening goal and then getting a silly yellow, which could have easily been a red, for a vicious tackle on Kevin-Prince Boateng. Clark was hauled off on the 30th minute, and walking off the field was the best thing he did the whole game.
Donovan-7- Superbly finished his penalty kick to tie the game and take his goal tally to three, but didn’t play as well as he had in the other games.
Dempsey-8- Great game from Deuce today, did everything but score a goal. Worked hard and was a constant threat on the attack. Made some great touches and was a real nuisance for Ghana’s backline. Drew the penalty that led to the tying goal.
Findley-4- Continues to not take advantage of good opportunities to score. Findley is just not good enough to compete at this level.
Altidore-6.5- Without a doubt the hardest working forward in this tournament, who cannot score goals. He has a real knack for keeping possession and drawing fouls, but his finishing really needs to get better. Solid game today but could have been even better had he done more with the chances he had.
Substitutions:
Edu-6- Made an immediate impact after he came on for Ricardo Clark. Broke up plays and won balls in the middle of the park. If he can improve his passing game he will become an infinitely better player. Wasted a lot of possession with errant passes.
Feilhaber-7.5- What is going on with Benny? Ever since his laser volley against Mexico in the Gold Cup he has been on downward spiral in terms of his form. Suddenly in the last two matches he has featured in, he has looked and played like a new man. Fantastic creative play and a newfound urgency in his defensive game has made him start to live up to his hype. The real question is why did Ricardo Clark start against Ghana and not the in form Benny Feilhaber?
Gomez-6- Next to Charlie Davies team USA only has one other player who has a real eye for goal and knows how to be in the right place at the right time. That player is Mr. Herculez Gomez. The super-sub from Las Vegas came on after regulation to push the Ghanaian defense but didn’t do much. He pushed up hard and did well to make things difficult for Ghana but never got the chance to put the ball in back of the net. Would have been a much more suitable forward to start alongside Altidore instead of Findley.
by Marc Roseblade
The Azzurri of ‘06.
Yesterday, one of the so called “power houses” of world football crashed out of the World Cup.
Italy, ranked 5th in FIFA world rankings before the tournament started, had, on paper, a fairly straightforward group. No other countries; Paraguay, Slovakia or New Zealand are currently in the FIFA top 20.
The tournament was meant to be a swan song for wily old fox Marcello Lippi, but instead his reputation has been tarnished. His legendary status of four years ago is now just a distant memory.
From the 1st game, they lacked passion or commitment. His team were not committed and they lacked a cutting edge in the final 3rd. Some people will blame the coach while others will blame quality of the team, and they would maybe be correct. Antonio Cassano was left at home after an excellent season with Sampdoria, Giuseppe Rossi was also left out after impressing in last years Confederation Cup while big players like Daniele De Rossi did not play to the high standards that made him one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. Antonio Di Natale and Vincenzo Iaquinta are not the standard of Italian strikers that we are used to like Zola, Del Piero and Baggio. The squad was nowhere near as strong as four years ago and Lippi appears to have lost his tactical prowess that made him so successful four years ago.
I believe it is a problem that most European leagues are suffering from a lack of quality in youth players coming onto the first team. Money has taken over Italy since the 1990’s in order to buy success. The Inter Milan team that played in the champions league final in May did not have a single Italian in the line up and the team who finished 2nd in Serie ‘A’ only had one (Daniele De Rossi) in their starting line up.
The majority of the Italian players in the 2010 World Cup squad are from mid-table teams like Napoli, Sampdoria and Udinese. You might feel sorry for Lippi for what he has to work with. It is like asking Fabio Cappello to pick his England team from teams like Bolton and Blackburn Rovers and expect a good tournament in South Africa.
This will be a very dark time in Italy. Heads will role and players will retire to hide from shame, but where will they go from here?
Before the Italians World Cup campaign began it was announced that Fiorentina Coach Cesare Prandelli would be taking over the national team. One of the best managers in Italian football has taken Fiorentina from mid league team to Champions League contenders. From the Azzurri’s point of view, he got the best out of his players – most notably Alberto Gilardino, who was tipped for big things when moved to AC Milan from Parma in 2005. When Gilardino failed to live up to the hype surrounding him at Milan, Prandelli took him to Fiorentina where has 44 goals in all competitions over two seasons.
Prandelli is well celebrated in Italian football and has been linked with top jobs in Serie A, with Juventus most recently linked to making him their new manager. He will need a better quality of player but will most surely call upon Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli to give back much needed flair and excitement to the Italian side.
They are down just now, the Italian FA (FIGC) are the root cause of problem by allowing vast amount of foreigners to ply there trade in Serie ‘A’.
A famous name in world football has been brought to it’s knees. Lippi & Co let Italy down, but the Italian FA have let the standard of Italian football drop in the past 15 years and this dark day punctuates their descent. Italy is crying out for the next generation of players as the current generation has embarrassed Italy. Let’s hope Prandelli can bring back national pride in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.
Read more from Marc at My Scottish Football!
by Philip Cramer
All eyes will be fixed on LD tomorrow – photo cred: Alex V.
This USA team reminds me of the 2002 squad that made it to the quarterfinals only to lose 1-0 to Germany in a match where the Americans outplayed the opposition. The United States should have had a penalty kick, and Germany should have had a red card for a handball on the goal line.
That team came out with fire in its eyes, believing that its could beat anybody. And the Americans did, blowing away a very fancied Portugal side with three goals in the first half-hour of the opening game.
The 2010 team has that same fire and that same self-confidence that didn’t exist on the 1998 or 2006 squads.
The United States faces a tricky game tomorrow against a Ghana team that stumbled into the Round of 16 thanks to Australia. Ghana’s two biggest problems are the absence of star midfielder Michael Essien for the entire tournament, and an offense that has only scored two goals thus far—both from penalties. Those two problems are related.
The Americans are coming off the incredible high of Landon Donovan’s extra time goal to save their tournament. That will be a huge asset as confidence is essential in the knockout stage. Ghana will have a huge weight on its shoulders as the last team standing from Africa. That can cut both ways.
The U.S. is stronger at the back because of Tim Howard, and he has been excellent throughout this World Cup. It’s often the little things that make the difference in a game, such as his quick and accurate throw that led to Donovan’s game-winning goal against Algeria.
For Ghana, Richard Kingson is solid in net and has likewise been error-free in the tournament.
The U.S. defense has been solid with Jay Demerit and Carlos Bocanegra both having exceptional tournaments. Oguchi Onyewu should be back for this game as well. His height and size will help keep Ghana’s attack at bay.
Ghana have a solid defense that has given away little including holding Germany to one unstoppable goal. John Pantsil, John Mensah, and the newly promoted Jonathan Mensah have all been solid and disciplined and will force the U.S. attack to work hard.
The midfield matches up fairly evenly despite Essien’s absence. For the U.S. Michael Bradley has been stellar with a controlled level of aggression. Donovan can break open a game and Clint Dempsey is showing the wealth of experience he has garnered playing for Fulham.
Ghana’s midfield has surprised. Anthony Annan has become one of the standout holding midfielders in the tournament, and 20-year-old Andre Ayew is excelling. Kevin Prince Boateng is another player who could cause headaches for the Americans.
Up front Jozy Altidore has played well, proving he can play at this level despite not scoring yet. A goal would surely boost his confidence. Ghana needs Asamoah Gyan to come unstuck for them to have any chance at a victory. He was woeful virtually every time he got the ball in a critical situation against Germany, wasting a number of chances.
Despite struggling through the group stage, Ghana has been consistent with few errors. The ball control skills and short passing of the midfield could give Team USA headaches. The U.S. will need an error-free defense to win.
The intangibles favor the United States. The Americans’ team unity, commitment, and aggression can get under Ghana’s skin, and if that happens the United States will prevail quite comfortably. It could be a game of few clear-cut chances and whoever takes advantage of them will win.
This game could end up hinging on a lucky break, and after the group round the United States seems to have used up their allotment of bad breaks.
Soccer at this level can be a fickle mistress. The odds slightly favor the United States which is an accurate reflection of the game’s prospects. Ghana has more skill but the United States has heart, cohesion, and determination, attributes that have not been as evident for Ghana.
The United States should prevail by the odd goal, but expect a well-played, tight game.
read more from Philip at Irritable Liberal Syndrome!
By Daniel Kelley
(OFFICIAL ONELOVE U.S. CORESPONDENT)
Group C of the 2010 world cup has been nothing but an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved. Underdogs prevailed and shook things up in the beginning. Slovenia got an unlikely stranglehold on the group’s lead, and England struggled immensely to get anything going. Algeria started with a loss thanks to a major goalkeeping howler, but shocked everyone by tying England in a game that many thought they would lose. In the end though team USA prevailed and surprised everyone by winning group C.
After making the most of the gift that Robert Green awarded team USA with his now infamous goalkeeping error and coming back against Slovenia in the most controversial game of the tournament so far, USA had to beat Algeria to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stages. The game started in typical USA fashion with a miscommunication in the USA backline that resulted in Rafik Djebbour of Algeria letting off a blistering shot that flew past a hapless Tim Howard and smacked the crossbar. From there USA went on the attack and relentlessly pressed the Algerian backline and went on to score a goal that was controversially disallowed. One must think that the cries of a conspiracy must be lurking in the background because twice now USA has controversially been denied two legitimate goals. Surprise starter Herculez Gomez let off a powerful shot that missed the goal, but allowed a waiting Clint Dempsey to pounce on the rebound and score. Unfortunately Frank De Bleeckere of Belgium, the latest error prone referee to officiate a game, called the goal offside. Replays would show that Dempsey was most definitely onside, but unfortunately De Bleeckere would only be able to see those replays after the game was over.
After the goal had officially been disallowed, both teams furiously attacked each other. USA had more chances but they just couldn’t seem to take advantage of them, and with news that England was beating Slovenia desperation was beginning to set in. There was a moment of hope when Clint Dempsey curled in a perfect shot that beat the keeper but hit the post instead of going in the net. Just when everyone was ready to throw in the towel and brace themselves for another disappointing world cup campaign the unexpected happened. In a goalmouth scramble in the 91st minute a loose ball fell to the feet of Landon Donovan. In a game full of missed chances and blown opportunities Donovan did not hesitate and scored a dramatic game winner that will not only take USA to the next round but allowed them to win group C all together. Donovan’s goal will be one of the most important ones ever for him. It keeps USA in the tournament and more importantly it gives the team more support from their country than ever before. USA is off to arguably one of their best starts ever to a world cup and looks set to use their momentum to progress even farther in what is becoming one of the most wild and unpredictable world cup’s ever.
Player Ratings:
Howard – 7 – In what is becoming a frightening recurring trend, Howard was nearly scored on by a powerful shot in the opening minutes. Thankfully for Howard and team USA the crossbar prevented the shot from going in. Solid play from Howard tonight, made some pointblank saves that kept team USA in the game.
Cherundolo – 7 – Dolo has looked pretty great on the right so far in this tournament. He did his usual thing with relative ease tonight, he held down the right side and came up on the attack with penetrating runs and dangerous crosses.
DeMerit – 8 – It’s pretty amazing that DeMerit only plays in the Championship league in England because he has shone the world that he can compete at the highest level. His passing game still needs work but his game in the air is unbelievable. Has a knack of winning just about every aerial ball he goes for, great game for DeMerit.
Bocanegra – 6.5 – Looked a little uncomfortable in the middle at times. Despite some unfamiliarity in the middle he had a solid yet forgettable game for the captain.
Bornstein – 6.5 – Came in for Gooch to provide more speed out of the back. Had a solid game, played smart and contributed to the attack on a few occasions. It was rare error-free performance for the Chivas USA defender today.
Donovan – 8 – Faded in and out of the game and was having trouble getting past the stingy Algerian defense. Kept his recent goal scoring streak alive with a HUGE goal in stoppage time. Landy Cakes is trying to make everyone forget about his poor performances in 2006, and so far its working.
Bradley – 8 – Bradley is a star in the making, and this world cup is proving to be his showcase. Endless amounts of energy and great vision on the field, what more could you want from a box to box midfielder? He looked fearless today, and never seemed like he was resigned to be knocked out of the tournament.
Edu – 6 – Broke up lots of plays and won possession, but kept giving the ball away with poor passes. Needs his offensive game to be as good as his defensive one.
Dempsey – 7 – Played a hard fought game and was unlucky to have his goal get disallowed, and was also unlucky to hit the post in the second half. Was getting abused by the Algerian defenders and midfielders throughout the game but he still fought tirelessly. Had a big hand in Donovan’s goal to win the game.
Gomez – 6 – A shock starter. Very surprising to see him get the start today in such an important game. Made the most of his chance and looked dangerous today. Would have liked to have seen him play a little longer than he did.
Altidore – 7.5 – Jozy Altidore, the forward who does not score. Did all the dirty work today up top. Won balls, kept possession, and picked up fouls in all the right areas for team USA. Will be frustrated not to have scored yet, but should be happy with his play.
Substitutes
Feilhaber – 7 – Came on at the half for Gomez and looked like a different player than from the one in previous games. Played with intensity and grit, broke up plays and made dangerous passes. Looked really solid today in the midfield.
Buddle – 5 – Held the ball up well but looked too slow to be playing at this level. Needs to make better decisions with his passing game.
Beasley – 5 – Came on at the end as USA’s last attacking option off the bench. Wasn’t able to do much except pick up some hard fouls and get a silly yellow card for a handball.
Alex Valhouli/June 20th, 2010.
Heading home after 9 days in Joburg. What a dream.
When I was a kid, I would brag to my grandfather about my dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, a professional skateboarder, snowboarder, film director, business man, etc etc. Every couple months it was something new. Every time I came to him with a new plan, he would always wait til I was finished and then ask enthusiastically, “Wow, Al, and then what?” As a teenager, I began to understand what he meant. “And then what?” means, will that be your life? Will you be happy then? And even after I began to understand the question, I had no idea how to actually SOLVE the riddle.
I think I get it now. Just live. Work hard. Stay curious. Be good to people and listen. Maintain your health. Give what you can, when you can. Accept responsibility and let others do the same for themselves. Have fun. Dozens of people have told me all of these things in the past, but it all sounded vague and impersonal until I could embrace it all through the context of ONELOVE.
After spending time in Joburg I have more belief than ever in the potential of ONELOVE FC. We are bound together, not simply by a single passion for soccer, but by an openness to embrace the lives and perspectives of different people. This is not about America, or sports, or products, or politics. It’s about people, plain and simple. We love people, and soccer is, for us, the people’s sport.
As we grow, it is our ultimate goal to establish and maintain a global presence, committed to local initiatives in the United States and abroad. Since ‘abroad’ used to be an ambiguous (sometimes terrifying) term, we scrapped it from our initial mission statement. After meeting people, talking about what soccer means in other parts of the world, experiencing new cultures in the context of soccer, we see limitless opportunity to affect positive change on a human level. We are inspired by people. We affect change through the beautiful game.
My brother, Jamie, and I visited with our grandparents before leaving for South Africa. We sat with them and explained our dream for ONELOVE. I was prepared to answer the “And then what?” question. I was finally ready. But it never came. Instead, all we heard was, “go for it.”
1L
- Alex
By Daniel Kelley
(OFFICIAL ONELOVE U.S. CORESPONDENT)
Most people were pretty divided on how this game would be. Many thought that this would be a complete blowout, a real USA thumping of Slovenia. After all, Slovenia is a country that is about the same size as say…Houston, Texas. Others however recognized that although Slovenia is tiny blip on the map in Europe they actually play some pretty decent soccer. They only had four goals scored against them in world cup qualifying, and knocked out well-regarded Russia in a playoff to make it to the world cup. Sure enough Slovenia gave team USA a real scare with some solid play and two goals that caught the red, white, and blue completely off guard.
The game got off to quite a start when Clint Dempsey unleashed a vicious looking elbow on Zlatan Ljubijankic of Slovenia, try saying that name fast five times, literally seconds after the kickoff. Dempsey was extremely fortunate to escape without any sort of punishment. From there the tone was set for an extremely bizarre and physical game, both in terms of officiating and playing. Valter Birsa of Slovenia went on to score on an incredible shot that left Tim Howard frozen, and then Ljubijankic got his revenge from the elbow and beat the USA offside trap to score. USA was stunned, and looked like the euphoria from the England game had not yet worn off. Somehow though team USA woke up and fought hard for one of the most astonishing comebacks in the team’s history.
With embarrassing officiating from Malian ref Koman Coulibaly team USA definitely had the odds against them. Coulibaly’s performance was so bad that its already being said that he will not officiate any more games in the tournament. There is much evidence to be seen for why he has no place officiating such high profile games. Just see the call on Findley for a handball, Marko Suler taking down Altidore, and of course the goal Maurice Edu scored that was called back for a phantom foul. Coulibaly robbed USA of a deserved victory and should really be ashamed for his amateur hour officiating.
All controversy aside USA played a poor first half and deserved to be down by two goals. Bob Bradley must have had some stern and inspiring words at halftime because the team came out to play with fire in their eyes for the second half. Landon Donovan scored a wonder goal on a tight angle, sort of similar to Maicon’s goal in the Brazil vs. North Korea game, and had a hand in Michael Bradley’s tying goal. Great comeback from team USA, they needed a win but a tie still keeps them in it. Also thanks to England’s Abysmal draw with Algeria everyone is still alive in this group. Crazy game tonight, but the thought that Team USA was cheated by the ref will linger in the minds of USA fans for a long time, especially if they don’t end up advancing out of the group.
Player Ratings:
1
Tim Howard-7- Has a bad habit of coming too far off his line and getting punished for it. There is no denying that the first goal was a nice shot but Howard misjudged the shot and put himself in a position where all he could do was watch the ball fly in the back of net. Played a solid game other than the first goal, and did all he could for the second one.
Oguchi Onyewu-5- Gooch looked sluggish. Thought he might be back to his old self after the England game but he still looks very rusty.
Jay DeMerit-7.5-Completely dominant in the air. Won just about every ball he went for in the second half. Still has the occasional miscommunication with his partner in the central defense and needs to work on his passing game. Played with real conviction and determination, great performance.
Carlos Bocanegra-5.5- Tough game for ‘los, he was getting worked pretty hard on the left side the whole game.
Steve Cherundolo-6-Definitely didn’t have the amazing game he had against England. Didn’t seem as sharp tonight but still had some nice plays both defensively and offensively.
José Torres-6.5- Had the opportunity to show the world his ability to hold down the middle and didn’t really do much. Showed some fancy footwork and took a great free kick that nearly turned into a goal.
Michael Bradley-8-Bradley was all over the field, both breaking up plays and making them. Hard working performance capped off by a clutch goal.
Landon Donovan-9-Landy Cakes stepped it up in a big way in this game. While a lot of the other players seemed resigned to losing he got fired up. Had a ridiculously nice goal and was involved with Bradley’s tying goal.
Clint Dempsey-6-Unbelievably fortunate to not get ejected for his elbow thirty seconds into the game. Drifted in and out the match and had a somewhat anonymous game for Deuce.
Robbie Findley -5.5- Someone needs to remind Findley that forwards are supposed to score, or at least try to score. Made good runs but was just too passive when it came time to attempt a shot.
Jozy Altidore-7- Huffed and puffed all game long and gave center back Marko Suler a very tough time.
Substitutes
Benny Feilhaber-5.5- A surprising half time substitution. Took some nice touches and calmed things down in the middle. His defensive play was pretty terrible though, seemed to forget that his team was losing.
Maurice Edu -6- Had a disallowed goal that would have made him the golden boy of American soccer. Sadly it was disallowed on one of the most shockingly bad calls in soccer history.
Herculez Gomez-6.5- Gomez has this undeniable ability to change a game. Made immediate impact with his presence in the penalty area and nearly scored a goal himself late on.
