Spurs lose to MLS All-Stars, Bart is happy

Photo credit: Major League Soccer

Full disclosure: I hate Tottenham Hotspur. I'm an Arsenal fan and have been ever since I began watching soccer. So this MLS All-Star Game was one I actually wanted to watch because usually, the MLS-ers can put a European team in preseason mode to bed.

And that happened in the 2015 MLS All-Star Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. The site of "La Guerra Fria" was a beautiful site on Wednesday. Truly stunning photos were circulating around Twitter and the celebration of MLS' 20th season was also wonderful.

The actual match, however, was a little underwhelming.

First off, Spurs are not a "big name" club. They aren't Bayern Munich, Manchester United or Chelsea. Heck, they aren't even Celtic in name recognition, but they're a decent European side with a name people recognize, thanks in part to Jason Sudeikis' wonderful EPL promos on NBC. Seriously, go watch Ted Lasso.

Starting for the MLS All-Stars were basically everyone who actually meant anything to MLS or the USMNT this season. In goal was Nick Rimando, the best GK in the league. Three USMNT-ers were in the back; Damarcus Beasley played leftback and Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez paired at centerback. In the midfield, Gyasi Zardes and Graham Zusi played on the wings and up top we saw Clint Dempsey.

From the start, it was the USMNT players I cared about. Sure, it's cool to see Kaka and David Villa play together, but we know they're pretty much awesome. I want to see how the U.S. players can play together, seeing as we're about to start the qualifying process for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and all.

The first goal was because Tottenham didn't realize touching the ball with your hand/arm while jumping is illegal. A corner kick hit Nacer Chadli n the hand and Kaka calmly converted the penalty (Hey, USMNT players, learn from him.)

After that, Tottenham woke up. Harry Kane the best goalscorer from the 2014-2015 ELP campaign said he got "unlucky" in minute 22 when his volley didn't find the back of the net. Well, what he didn't realize that that American goalkeepers are actually quite good and excel at those saves.

The second MLS goal was actually beautiful and involved beauty from U.S. players. Gyasi Zardes actually controlled a long outlet to him on the left wing. After, he cooly zipped the ball across the top of the box to Dempsey, who dummied (or slightly flicked) the ball to Kaka who was charging like a bull at a red cape. His cross was hit so hard into the box that Villa didn't actually make any effort to score other than stick his leg out. It went into the net for a 2-0 MLS lead by minute 23.

Finally, Kane found the net. Besler, who was less than impressive on the night, slipped on his way to intercept a pass, leaving Gonzalez alone to deal with Kane. To his credit, Omar did what he was supposed to do, pushing Kane to the to corner of the box. Unfortunately, he is that good and he found the opposite corner, past a diving Rimando.

To start the second half, MLS switched all its players and formation (to a 4-5-1). Tottenham also subbed several players. This killed the game a bit, but the MLS did have some good chances. The highlight of the second half, howeer, was the appearance of Deandre Yedlin.

I'm not really sure if he did a whole lot or FOX announcers just said his name a lot, but no goals were scored in the second half, so it was all an academic exercise.

Overall, the USMNT players did well. I was disappointed to see Besler not play as well, but I did think his pairing with Gonzalez was strong. They were mostly organized, even if Besler's athletic deficiencies were noticeable.

Gyasi Zardes looked impressive, but I believe a lot of people would look good when they receive a pass from Kaka or David Villa. Dempsey was aight. Beasley actually was pretty good and fun to watch. The leftback provides a lot of stability defensively, but still has something in his legs going forward.

Benny Feilhaber came on to start the second half and he was not as impressive as he needed to be to make it into the national team rotation. His setpiece delieveries were less than stellar, but he didn't have much to work with.

Overall, Tottenham lost, so I'm a happy camper. Back to actual MLS action for most of the USMNT and preparing for two friendlies in September: Sept. 4 against Peru and Sept. 9 against Brazil. Those will lead into the CONCACAF Confederations Cup playoff match on Oct. 9, and then we start 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying and 2016 Olympics qualifying.

Self implosion: U.S. bombs 2015 Gold Cup test

The U.S. men's national soccer team has tried to make its claim as the top dawg in CONCACAF the past decade.

They won last World Cup's final qualifying round. They won the 2013 Gold Cup. They have not lost to Mexico since 2011.

So going into the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the USMNT had a chance to solidify that claim; having won the 2013 tournament, they could win the 2017 Confederations Cup spot outright. A win in back-to-back tournaments hasn't happened often for the USMNT, only doing it in 2005 and 2007.

Despite head coach Jurgen Klinsmann touting this tournament as the highest priority in 2015, his team failed to medal. That hasn't happened since 2000. That's not good, Jurgen.

Yes, we lost to a Jamaica side that was playing like lightning, a hurricane and an earthquake rolled into one perfect storm, but the entire tournament left USMNT supporters wanting more. More goals, more passing, but the only thing we have more of is questions. So allow me to ask them here.

1) Why did Jurgen choose the Alvarado/Brooks pairing at centerback, when he claimed that his goal with his roster selection was Gold Cup experience?

This I utterly do not understand. What makes sense is to bring these two on board. Alvarado and Brooks have showed promise this year and prior, but together they weren't quite ready for CONCACAF. Why not pair Brooks or Alvarado with Besler or Gonzalez? I am a strong believer that you learn by doing, but it's good to have a teacher alongside you.

You saw this with the outside backs. Every single one has proven himself in CONCACAF competition. I believe Besler/Gonzalez would have given the stability that was needed in the backline.

2) Why is Zardes always on the field?

Why, Jurgen? He hasn't a first touch anywhere. He can't shoot. He can't pass all that well. He's really just a cheap Deandre Yedlin, except a converted forward, not a converted right back. Why Yedlin kept coming off the bench baffles me.

3) Other than against Cuba, why did we only score six goals all tournament? 

Hell, even with the Cuba match, why did we only score 12 goals in six matches? Ultimately, all the problems we had with the defense started with this team's inability to possess the ball. Who is to blame? Well, everyone, but let's start with the captain. Yes, Michael Bradley was absolutely crap this Gold Cup. Like...2014 World Cup bad. Where is the MB who was called "the best player in the world" by Miguel Herrera in 2013? The last two major tournaments have been nightmares for him.

Short passes were either mistimed or just off-the-mark. Long passes were decent, but never amounted to many chances. The most telling part of his problems may be with his positioning. Bradley has done so well with making late runs or collecting balls at the top of the box. That wasn't seen at all this tournament. I don't know if the "attacking" midfield roll is for him, but the problem when MB isn't on his game is that we don't have a guy who can do that for him. His lackluster 2014 WC was made up by Jermaine Jones' awesome tourney. We didn't have that this Gold Cup.


These are just a few questions I have for Jurgen Klinsmann, but there are a plethora of others. He MUST be questioned after this performance. Bob Bradley was fired after losing the 2011 Gold Cup, yet Klinsmann is apparently not on the hot seat after this abysmal performance. Step one in answering these questions would be to win the Oct. 9 CONCACAF Confederations Cup playoff match against 2015 Gold Cup champs Mexico.