U.S. Soccer: It’s Alive And Kicking Still Unclear Just How Far Americans Have To Go

There’s no question the United States has shed the label of international soccer doormat. But it is still not clear how far the Americans are from joining the ranks of the sport’s elite.

The U.S. team made world champion Brazil sweat to earn a 1-0 win Thursday night in the semifinals of the America Cup in Maldonado, Uruguay. For a team long considered the flyweight of the hemisphere, reaching the final four was itself a triumph.

A day later, some Brazilians paid respect to the evolution of U.S. soccer.

“Brazil scored on the only error of the American team,” said Raul Plassman, a former all-star goalie and now a TV commentator. “The American (defensive) system is almost perfect. It’s no coincidence that no one managed to score more than one goal on this team.”

Brazilian forward Edmundo admitted the team was stymied by the U.S. blockade.

“We were unable to move as we usually do or to create opportunities, because their marking is very strong,” he said in a televised interview.

That shouldn’t have been a surprise. Brazil had the same problems with the U.S. team in last summer’s World Cup, when it struggled to a 1-0 win on the 4th of July.

Brazil was vastly superior at the start and buzzed the U.S. goal twice in the opening minutes. When fullback Aldair headed in a free kick by Juninho in the 13th minute, a Brazilian romp seemed possible.

But artistic inspiration gave way to perspiration, the Brazilian team lost its rhythm and the Americans pressed for the equalizer. A pair of headers by defender Alexi Lalas caused anxiety on Brazil’s bench.”We knew we’d face difficulties, because the Americans are of the European school of soccer,” Brazil’s coach Mario Zagalo told a local TV reporter. “That’s why we were suffocated at the end, when they bet everything on the aerial game.”Still, Zagalo insisted his team had the game in hand.”How many saves did (goalie Claudio) Taffarel make?” he asked rhetorically. “The domination of the game was entirely ours.”

Brazil now faces Uruguay in Sunday’s final, while the United States plays Colombia today for third place.

The Brazilian media harped on their team’s flaws as much as the Americans’ merits. The consensus was that Brazil played its worst game of the tournament.

Some refused to recognize qualities in the U.S. team.

“American soccer is infantile, devoid of imagination, technique, ability, malice, intelligence, everything,” wrote soccer analyst Fernando Calazans in the Rio newspaper O Globo. “We have the obligation to beat them with any lineup.”

Few share that harsh view. The U.S. campaign - crowned by a historic 3-0 thrashing of two-time world champion Argentina and a quarterfinal victory over Mexico - proved the team can run with the Latin Americans.

To join the elite, however, it will take more than defense. The Americans still lack a Pele-type spark of offensive genius - a Michael Jordan in soccer shoes.

The U.S. players know what they have done, and what still needs doing.

“We still have a ways to go,” Lalas said after the game. “A year ago we had a long way to go. It says something that we’re measuring ourselves now against the best team in the world.”