World Cup – What is next?
The World Cup is over and could not have ended with a worse game. Holland versus Spain was not a showcase of the best soccer has to offer. That would go to the third place game between Uruguay and Germany. Pretty much any game Uruguay played was great soccer. Even the game against Ghana when their striker, Luiz Suarez, used his hand to keep out a sure Ghana goal in the 120th minute. Both Holland and Spain played boring, diving soccer. Just embarrassing. Yet, Spain is your World Cup champion. I guess it is fitting considering it was not really a memorable World Cup.
BEST OF THE WORLD CUP
Player: Diego Forlan, Uruguay
Honorable Mention: Thomas Mueller, Germany; Xavi and Andres Iniesta, Spain;
Game: Ghana vs. Uruguay.
The Handball. The missed penalty kick. It was a great game.
Honorable Mention: Uruguay vs Germany, USA vs Slovakia
Goal: Choose any of the following:
Diego Forlan vs Germany
Guissepi Van Brockhorst vs Uruguay
David Villa vs Chile
Overall it was a pretty lackluster World Cup. Hopefully next time it will be better.
What about the USA?
1) The US Soccer Federation will decide whether Bob Bradley should remain as coach. I expect he will stay on since the team has never been willing to pay millions for an international coach of superior quality. Bradley keeps the team well organized, which is the most important thing that needs to be done when your team lacks talent.
2) There will be some player movement in the next couple weeks. The Summer transfer period starts when the World Cup ends. It runs through August 1. At this time, teams spend ungodly amounts of money to teams with the rights of wanted players. The US has two to three players that could move to big clubs in the next couple weeks.
Landon Donovan: Rumors are Manchester City is willing to pay quite a bit of money for him to play their left side. Landon is signed with the LA Galaxy for the next 3 years. The Galaxy have shown reluctance to part with Donovan without a significant fee. Man City is owned by Sheik Mansour from Abu Dhabi, who has a net worth of nearly a trillion dollars. (Yeah, you read that right. The Yankees don’t seem so bad, now, do they?). Still, I expect Landon to stay put until the end of the season. During the January transfer period he will be loaned to an English club, whether it be Everton or Man City.
Michael Bradley: He will be sold and for a lot. He is 22 and was probably the best all around player on the US squad over the last couple weeks. I have no idea where he will go, but he wont stay with his German team VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Tim Howard: He already plays for Everton, so whether he will move to another club remains to be seen. Tim Howard’s peak value is now. Howard is 31 years old and has another four to five good years left in him. Everton would be wise to get something in return.
3) World Cup 2018, World Cup 2022
In December, FIFA will determine what country or countries will host the upcoming World Cups. Brazil has the cup in 2014. 2018 is expected to go to England. The 2022 cup is up for grabs. The US is playing politics to win enough votes for a return of the World Cup in 2022. The US is a very good place for soccer because it could be put together without any improvement from the host country. New stadiums will not need to be built. The infrastructure in nearly every city could handle the tourists and spectators. All of the new football stadiums were built with soccer in mind. It will be a cheap and very profitable experience.
The only reason it will not happen is because the US got the games in 1994 and other countries may need it more. The other contenders? Qatar, Japan, Russia wants it, Portugal and Spain have a joint bid, and other countries may jump in. The USA has the best bid, but it may not be enough.