Operation: 2002

Undoubtedly a stronger team than 12 years ago, the suddenly confident Americans’ success will be juxtaposed against the previous generation’s surprising 2002 achievement.

Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeep.

Yawn. The alarm clock reads “3:30 a.m.” on June 5, 2002. I’m eleven years old, and for some reason, waking up for THIS was easier than waking up for anything I’ve done in my life since then (I’m now nearly 24).

If you were born post-1994, this is a VCR. The aforementioned “alarm clock” is not an app on a smartphone, it was a standalone brick you plugged into a wall. It performed no function other than forcing you to get out of bed. For real.

I sprinted into the living room to verify that, indeed, the VCR is still transcribing the day’s first match that started at 12:30 a.m. onto a string of magnetic tape. Thank God. The next match will be starting in 25 minutes, and the third at 6:25 a.m. These are the moments in which I fell in love with international football, with the U.S. National Team, with the spectacle of the World Cup. I’ll be forever thankful that 11-year-olds have no responsibilities in the month of June, because I certainly enjoyed some five-hour recovery siestas that whole summer.

My soul stirred as the Yanks took just 36 minutes of tournament play to lead Portugal 3-0. WHAT IS GOING ON!!??!?! Some deposits for freedom, that’s what. Even though Portugal turned it on and scored two, the damage was done: The United States of friggin’ America had its most famous win since 1-0 over England in 1950, and it set the tone for the next 12 years of American soccer.

It couldn’t have been a better tournament from a neutral’s standpoint, and indeed, many commentators agree that 2002 was the last “great” World Cup. With the advent of “modern” football has come less adventure, more pragmatism, and stricter formations. Simply put: football is big business, and managers and players alike now strive for results more than entertainment. The proof is in the net: goals-per-match has been steadily declining since España 1982 (2.81 goals). Since that tournament, we’ve lost just over half an opportunity per game to knock over a barstool, spill a beer, and hug a stranger (2.27 in South Africa 2010). A smarter person than I could probably demonstrate a clear correlation between this decline with an increase in petty theft and opiate addiction, and I’d buy it completely.

Ronaldo (the Brazilian, fat one) scored eight goals, German keeper Oliver Kahn single-handedly won matches (more on that later), several unfancied squads dazzled, and most importantly: the United States’ band of ragtag MLS all-stars showed up and straight-up curb-stomped the world’s expectations. After besting the Luis Figo-led Portuguese, 3-2, narrowly escaping the group, and easily defeating Mexico, dos a cero, we lost to eventual tournament runner-up Germany in a match we handily outplayed the opposition, only to succumb to a uncalled handball by midfielder Torsten Frings on the German goal line. Landon Donovan and Brian McBride tore holes through Mexican and German lines. As football so commonly goes, though, Donovan could best the entire German outfield, but he lost his personal battle with Oliver Kahn.

The missed call that likely would’ve put the U.S. into the semifinal of the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea.

It’s best not to gripe. Missed calls happen every tournament, sometimes with huge implications. At the time, we U.S. supporters were as happy as Oliver Twist getting something for Christmas, shrugging our shoulders and saying, “Cool! We’re actually good now! We’ll get ‘em in four years when Clint Mathis isn’t our second-choice striker!”

I chuckle when ESPN forces their mainstream sports guys like Scott Van Pelt, Tony Kornheiser, and Bill Simmons to talking-head analyze “soccer popularity in America” every time a World Cup comes around. Believe it or not, 2002's analysis was virtually the same as 2014's: “SOCCER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED IN AMERICA BUT WE STILL DON’T WATCH OUR OWN LEAGUE AND WE STILL AREN’T SURE IF OUR NATIONAL TEAM IS WORTH ANYTHING.” I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the same in 2050, even though American football will be outlawed for brain destruction, baseball won’t exist because it’s boring, hockey rinks will be too expensive to freeze thanks to global warming, and basketball will be the only competition for viewership.

Clint Mathis. Stop whatever it is that you’re doing.

It’s hard to quantify just how shockingly successful the U.S. performance in 2002 was. For context, Disney/ABC Sports/ESPN’s press release concerning broadcast coverage plans heralded the lack of commercial breaks during each 45-minute half. I can’t make this shit up, people. ESPN was trying to pump up interest in the sport by AGREEING NOT TO AIR COMMERCIALS DURING TIME THE BALL COULD BE ROLLING INTO A NET. I’m embarrassed I remember this. For the 2058 World Cup, I’ll be sitting in my Samsung HoverDeck WorldView living room with my grandchildren and recite this memory to them. They will promptly tell me I smell like inorganic food and fossil fuels, then teleport over to their friends’ houses to finish experiencing the match.

While ESPN was busy suggesting a lack of commercials during a live footy match was equitable to curing childhood cancer, Landon Donovan and Sports Illustrated bestowed this gem. 2002 was the gift that kept on giving.

No, now we have WatchESPN and HD coverage and World-Cup-winning managers and European-trained players and European-born-and-raised-and-have-never-even-been-to-America players and giant supporter sections and IAN EFFIN’ DARKE and training facilities and Nike ads and a Clint-Dempsey-sized well of confidence. Even more to the point, we have more talent — I’d venture to say that most of this 2014 team would make the 2002 roster, and most of the 2002 roster would not do the same in 2014.

As it turns out, that’s even true for our all-time best player: Donovan. The lone warrior we have to hold onto — DaMarcus Beasley — played in three matches for the Stars n’ Stripes in 2002. As Jürgen Klinsmann’s most trusted left-back, he’ll assuredly become the first American man to see four World Cups. He deserves it.

Still, all of this hulabaloo warrants questioning. What is the benchmark for our nation at the biggest sporting event in the world? Are we still that group who wants a “good showing” in the group stage before bowing out gracefully, or do we have to permanently sit at the grown-ups’ table? Do we have to qualify for the knockout stages, thereby solidifying ourselves as one of the 16 best soccer-playing nations on earth? Are we going to implode when we draw Ghana, lose to Portugal, and get blown out by the Germans? What is “ok?” We seem damned if we don’t advance out of the group (failure), yet blessed or “lucky” if we do (surprsing). How can this be?

In all of this hemming-and-hawing over success, results, and mediocrity, I see one rational element consistently lacking in U.S. supporters’ thinking: moderation. Let’s review some past tournaments for some of the generally considered “world powers” of the game:

• France, 2002. The defending champions (!), led by Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera, recorded a single point in the group stage, scored no goals, and finished last in Group A to the vaunted opposition of Senegal, Uruguay, and Denmark. Seriously.
• Spain, every tournament besides 2010. Fancied to win it all for decades, the Spaniards were eponymous with failure. This includes France 1998, when they failed to advance from group play despite being favored to win it all.
• Italy, 2010. After winning Germany 2006, the Italians finished below New Zealand in their South Africa 2010 group. After drawing with Paraguay and the Kiwis, they needed to beat lowly Slovakia to advance to the knockout stages, only to lose 2-3.

Simply said: these things happen. It’s important to exit the “fishbowl” view of the World Cup and realize just how minute this month’s set of games are in comparison to the rest of the footballing world. After his three games in South Africa 2010, Tim Howard has played 149 club matches at Everton from then until the first touch of the ball in Brazil where he’ll hopefully play more than three, but is guaranteed no more than seven. Am I attempting to undermine the spectacle, glory, and importance of the World Cup? No. Its inherent rarity is what makes it so special.

But nonetheless, all nations deserve a little leeway in terms of results. Playing attractive, enjoyable football is vital — these players have an opportunity to inspire an entire generation of young players in our country. With Dempsey’s bravado, Bradley’s mind, Geoff Cameron’s hair, and Kyle Beckerman’s endorsement of alternative lifestyles, I have no doubt the U.S. can do it.

“I was all like, ‘Jurgs, chill out brah.’”

What is success, then? We must play like Americans, and as much as I appreciate the professionalism Klinsmann’s staff has brought both to this squad and to the entire youth program setup, playing like Americans sometimes means leaving all caution to the wind, putting some middle fingers up to the world, barnstorming straight towards goal with the slim hope Jermaine Jones can thwart a counter-attack on his own, and making some freedom deposits in the ‘ole onion bag. No one’s going to blame us for a solid showing only to finish third in this group, so let’s go tactically bananas and see what happens. Former manager Bob Bradley’s outsized trepidation led to some seriously boring affairs for red, white, and blue supporters, and the results rarely followed. A little more of Bruce Arena’s quiet, smug, somewhere-I-bet-I-have-an-ace-in-my-sleeve-but-I’m-not-sure attitude and confidence is needed. Quietly, Klinsmann’s masterstroke in his four year reign has been the motivation of Michael Bradley and the steady repositioning of the player farther and farther up the pitch.

If Josmer Altidore can continue finishing a la Brian McBride circa 2002, the U.S. will exceed expectations.

We aren’t going to win the 2014 World Cup, and Klinsmann has admitted as much. But we certainly can do our nation proud, upset a few people, and continue down the path to superpower status. That isn’t an indictment of this team, its “Group of Death,” or our expectations — it’s the same expectation that pretty much every other country in the world also has, every World Cup. As big of a show as the tournament is, it’s still a side-show in the world of footy. Making wide-ranging, knee-jerk reactions of tournament performances is illogical in the face of the fact that it’s just a horribly small sample size of matches (three), against sometimes stacked opponents (our group) and sometimes cakewalk ones (Group E; Group F), all played at the tail-end of sometimes-grueling club campaigns where many top players are just wrapping up 50-match-seasons.

Let’s say, for example, that Germany fails to exit their group. The history books will tell us that Marco Reus, Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Ilkay Gündogân, and Holger Badstuber all were either hurt or didn’t even play a minute, but most will only remember the “failure” of the “German nation” to prove their soccer superiority. That wouldn’t be doing the story justice, or provide any context. Obviously, the quality of German football — both Bundesliga and die Nationalmannschaft — will march on unabated regardless of the results of this tournament, though they’ll certainly be hoping to do well.

U.S. supporters would do well to adopt a similar attitude.

Group analysis

Let’s get this straight: there is zero — ZERO — chance that the U.S.A. lays an egg against Ghana. In fact, it’s a virtual certainty that the U.S. will play the Bane to Ghana’s Batman; vertebrae will be broken. As Altidore said leading up to the friendly with Nigeria in Jacksonville, “everything has been about Ghana.” Klinsmann knows that the tournament trajectory of his charges depends on victory in the opening game. That’s why he’s made countless organizational decisions with the opposition in mind. Let’s review:

Expect to see a lot of this type of defensive effort from Bedoya.

• ENTER BEDOYA THE DESTROYA. The rare U.S. collegian who turned good in European leagues, Alejandro Bedoya has played in Sweden, Scotland, and France since leaving Boston College. He’s one of those ‘complete’ players that Klinsmann covets — mediocre or better at all facets of the game, and trained in a European style. The son of a professional footballer who was the son of a professional footballer, he possesses the tactical understanding that will be required of the Americans when faced with the F̶o̶u̶r̶ Three Horsemen of Doom. Bedoya is the United States’ starting right midfielder, but will likely regress into playing a right wingback position against Ghana and/or Portugal and/or Germany. Somehow, the Americans were drawn into a group with three of the ten best left wingers on earth: Kwadwo Asamoah, Cristiano Ronaldo, and M̶a̶r̶c̶o̶ ̶R̶e̶u̶s̶ André Schürrle. U.S. fans shouldn’t take too much solace in Reus’s injury; Schürrle is only a half-step down on the U.S. Terrorist watch list due to his thunderous foot and Premier League pedigree. Bedoya and right-back Fabian Johnson are both playing in those positions solely for double-teaming these players.
• Besler & Cameron get the nod. Omar Gonzalez is a good defender of set pieces and crosses, due to his height, physicality, and leaping ability. These skills largely won’t be needed against Germany or Ghana, and only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo represents a daunting aerial threat. As much as Clarence Goodson deserved a World Cup selection, his lanky frame also doesn’t fit the modus operandi for this group. Besler and Cameron are the quicker, man-marking types of center backs required for the turret-like-passing maestros the U.S. will face. All too often, Gonzalez and Goodson alike lose track of men over their back-shoulders, leading to easy through passes when the U.S. is in hunker-down defensive shells. Klinsmann will live with Besler being out-leaped for a spectacular goal; He won’t stand for a basic splitting pass finding its way to Mario Götze for an easy tap-in. Besler and Cameron’s mobility and ability to stay in front of dribblers made them shoe-ins; the same can be said for Beasley and Johnson on the sides. The manager has wisely given them all a few games to warm up to one another.

Lumbering giants like Clarence Goodson need not apply in the Group of Death.

• Unleash the Bradley. As Borussia Dortmund manager/permanent motivational speaker/rock star Jürgen Klopp says, “The best footballers play in the center of the field.” I’ll go a step further to say that the best of the best play in an equidistant position from all of his teammates. The aforementioned urging of Michael Bradley farther up the pitch is a decision that may help illuminate the omission of Donovan from Brazil. As our nerve-center moves closer to the opponents’ goal, Klinsmann has made a clear statement that he wants us to also play closer to it. Donovan was the top provider of The Killer Pass™, but Bradley can do it from the center of the field, spraying balls to Dempsey, Altidore, and the late-arriving fullbacks. Kyle Beckerman isn’t one of our top eleven footballers, but he seems a sure starter considering the confidence he gives Bradley to continue pioneering into the unknown.

Predictions
USA 2-1 Ghana
USA 0-2 Portugal
USA 2-2 Germany
USA 1-2 Belgium

Verdict? All steam ahead, as long as we liberally attack. With Jürgen’s contract secure until Russia 2018 and U.S. Soccer obviously shifting resources towards that tournament, we have no excuse not to enter these first three games with a devil-may-care attitude that could be pretty fun to watch.