In the spirit of the creation of this blog, we will start to post dialogue spawning from email arguments/discussions regarding the world of sports to create more content and get the raw thoughts of opinions of Torsten, Shaun, and friends.  Here is today’s chat regarding the weekend’s Gold Cup final.

Fank – Soccer insider posted the following:

The goal of the year. If there was one reason, just one reason to watch the Gold Cup final between Mexico vs USA, it would have to be Giovani Dos Santos’s other world goal. Unbelievable skill from the Racing Santander midfielder who kept the ball on a rope drawing out half the US defense and Tim Howard off his line and then in an exhibition of delectable control chips the ball perfectly towards the far post and over a leaping Eric Lichaj.

He was brilliant throughout the match. With his jinking runs and tight ball control he reminds one of the earlier Ronaldinho

Shaun – Excellent goal, but far from goal of the year.

 

Frank – Excellent goal, and definitely goal of the year.

 

Torsten– It was a nice goal, for sure.  But goal of the year???  People are always quick to anoint a singular display of skill as the goal of the year, especially if they are partial to the team or player.  It pains me to say it, but nothing this year has compared to Wayne Rooney’s bicycle against Manchester City.  As much skill as Dos Santos’ showed to accurately place the ball where he did, it also required a shambolic display by a hideously disorganized US back four, and a extremely ‘premature’ Howard.

 

Then again, maybe I’m biased against Dos Santos.  I loved the kid, and when he went to Tottenham I couldn’t stop singing to my close friend George how his beloved Spurs had just signed the next great World player… and he proceeded to make me look like a fool.  ::sigh::

 

Shaun – Agree about the Rooney bicycle kick.  While grossly over played due to the fact it was Rooney on Manchester United.  It was the game winner between two defenders, placed with even better precision than Santos, and in the Manchester Derby.  Yes, this one was the Gold Cup Final, but a mid-season Wigan-Blackpool match might have more worldwide intrigue than the Gold Cup final.

 

Frank – See now this is the way you rebuttal a comment like “Goal of the Year” with FACTS!

 

Thanks for reminding me of the awesome play Wayne Rooney did in the beginning of this year. I think you might be right. Who else in their career other then a handful of players (Pele, being the king) can say they have scored on a bicycle kick between two defenders. The opposite of that play is Rooney missing the ball, falling flat on his back on being number one on “2011 Blooper Highlight video”

 

What Gio did is unseen before and he completely fooled a whole backside defense, pulled out a VETERAN goalie, and had him crawling on his hands and knees attempting to stop a play he helped create. FYI – if you see the replay again, Jones could have completely stopped the play from happening, if he concentrated on the ball instead of the pass.

 

All in all, this was a really good game.

 

Shaun – Disagree it was a good game.  Howard over-committed multiple times and the defense failed to mark over and over.  It was a fundamental breakdown on the side of the USA and Mexico just kept a controlled attack and allowed the US team to crumble on their own.

 

Torsten – Howard may be a veteran… but has always been mediocre at absolute best, with epically bad position he can occasionally compensate for with supreme athletic ability.  Again, nothing taken away from Gio’s outstanding shot, but the US backline at the time of his goal was an over-the-hill Carlos Bocanegra, inexperienced Clarence Goodson, over matched Eric Lichaj (who looked much better in limited action for Aston Villa last season than he did at any point in Saturday’s game), and Jonathan Bornstein, who may be the worst player in organized soccer history.  One would have to think that if the US played Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu at center backs, Steve Cherundulo (always underrated) hadn’t gotten hurt, and even if he had, brought in someone better than Bornstein to replace him (my mother for example) that Gio would not have been able to so easily run roughshod in the US 18.  

 

On the bright side, Freddy Adu looked terrific.