The shining silver lining in USA's loss

Justin Thrift

Opinion

Yesterday’s Confederation Cup game between the USA and Italy was a travesty. A farse. A complete injustice. So many unfortunate, and unfair, circumstances tainted the final score that I was forced into a state of footy comatose by the end of the match.

While the Confederation Cup is not nearly as important as a World Cup game, it does hold some significance. It would be an honor to win, and certainly it would bring some much needed life to the state of American soccer. Maybe this was the reason that had me rooting so hardly for my home country against the reigning World Cup champions. They were playing well, they had a chance, they were up at half time with lots of opportunities that could have been goals and their play was not completely insubordinate to Italy’s, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The first and most obvious hurdle that was thrown at the US early in the game was when Ricardo Clark was unfairly hit with a doubtful red card, subsequently reducing Team USA to ten men against the European giants Italy. At this point, it was obvious that the US would need a miracle performance to erect a winning score line – and for a while, they achieved just that.
An awful foul in the box led to Landon Donovan sneaking a PK past the Italian goalkeeper and at halftime, after playing nearly 30 minutes a man down, the US found themselves in the lead. They were playing well, convincingly holding their own against Italy and I couldn’t help but continue to remind myself that had Ricardo Clark not been served an injustice of magnificent proportions, the US would have a legitimate shot at climbing Underdog Mountain.

The second half started well for the US as they seemed to retain their fast pace and forward pressure, but it was soon dampened yet again by another poor refereeing call. The US had a clear goal opportunity in the box when they were fouled and snuffed out by a blatant Italian tackle and obstruction. They had been denied a second PK that would have put them up 2-0, but instead the Ben Arnold of American soccer, Giuseppe Rossi, came into the game for Italy and scored two go-ahead goals. The US had been buried alive.

What’s worse is Giuseppe Rossi’s background. A Native American who grew up in New Jersey, Rossi now plays for Italy and claims Italian heritage through his grandmother. Dammit, Jersey.

It may have been an incredibly backwards and disappointing day for the US men, but make no mistake about it, the final 3-1 score line in no way reflects the effort and play of the American team. The USA played much better than most thought they would against a team of Italy’s caliber, and had a few calls gone in a different direction, the US might have found themselves with a victory instead of a down-and-out loss. After time passed yesterday afternoon, I found encouragement in the team’s performance and happy that they didn’t completely fold under the pressure. They played a good 40 minutes of scoreless play with a man down and they held a lead with the same men for a good while. Donovan attacked and served numerous assist attempts, while young forwards and defensemen stepped up to prove that their talent was for real. I’m disappointed with yesterday’s final score, but all US soccer fans should be pleased with how our team went down.

Bring on 2010, and God Bless America.