Pre-match: USA vs Costa Rica, September 6th 2013

Brooks was selected. He turned them down FYI.

 

I would say Fab would have gotten more than a cap or two.

 

Maybe you should forget about race and ask how culture and motivation are linked. Most on these boards project their vicarious motivation to play on to the person they think is the best player without asking themselves honestly how that guy is going to feel about playing on any given day.

 

Would love to see him subbed in late to protect our lead.

 

Actually, I believe he was talking about the cycle that just concluded this summer. Brooks wasn't invited in, though there was some discussion about his inclusion. He was invited in to the U21 cycle that just started and will finish in 2015.

 

Why is Brooks included? The guy NEVER gets carded (look it up). He is very careful not to foul (and it worries me he might not take a "professional foul" if someone is racing by him). His defense sort of reminds me of Desmond Armstrong or Eddie Pope (but he's bigger of course).

Besler concerns me more. I noticed during the Gold Cup that he put his hands on his opponent almost every time he went up for a 50/50 header. A smart coach that watches video is going to warn refs to watch for that and Besler could end up with warnings and cards for "persistent infringement".

 

No but Iceland is weeping on their "pylsa" for what ccould have been with AJ.

 

Brooks only got 1 yellow card in all of BL 2 last year....also yes Germany's U-21 team tried calling him up during the Bosnia week but he accepted our friendly over them.

 

I'd argue that Goodson was in a solid-enough rhythm to justify that call.

 

Goodson had been one of our best players over the course of the tournament; I wasn't at all surprised that JK went with the hot hand there.

 

Has Omar scored for the NATs yet? Goodson is a set piece threat like Boca. I wouldn't be surprised if JK takes that into consideration when picking the lineup.

 

It's outrageous a Mexican referring crew for the Costa Rica game! Four days before we play Mexico? How is that possible? Who paid off Concacaf to allow that. We can't start any of our yellow card holding players for fear or them picking up a second. The fix is in!

 

I wouldn't be happy with the situation were the referee not "Chiquidracula." The guy is one of the best in the region, and one of the only CONCACAF referees that are unlikely to be too intimidated by the crowd.

 

That is not the point. He is still Mexican. His livelyhood is linked to the FMF. Do you think the Mexicans wouldn't scream if it were an American crew working the Honduras game? They have to find a different bunch.

 

I knew what you were saying. If we see suspiciously cheap yellows, though, I'll be very surprised. He's been a very good-to-exemplary referee for the last few years as long as I've been been aware of him. The biggest worry would be a referee who is overly intimidated by the crowd and begins to officiate accordingly, and that is less of a worry given his crew.

 

Mark Geiger has reffed several Mexican National Team games, including recent WCQ's, and he's American. He's called them fairly too, at least IMO...

 

Somebody pointed out earlier that he was in consideration for a WC spot. I think that alone precludes any funny business. Like the earleir poster pointed out this is a lifetime achievement type thing and this man has likely worked his whole life to get to this spot. He likely dreamed of it since his first time as a Center ref in u littles, I seriously doubt he could be persuaded to do a poor job.

That said he is known for being strict, and if we play rough we will get some cards. I do not think it will be something he is not even handed with. With the lone exception of MB there is not any one player that we must have to be able to beat Mexico. I would go so far as to say we could lose JJ and two others not named Bradley and can still beat Mexico.

Bottom line' igf he blatantly F's us over his dreams of reffing a WC game are done. I think for Refs or anoouncers or players or coaches the WC is the biggest stage they will ever get to showcase their skills. It is not logical that somebody would throw a lifetime of accomplishment down the drain to help el tricicleta gain only a slight advantage.

I am not crazy about the carryover cards rule but honestly it probably favors us if you ascribe to the notion that we have the most quality depth of any team in the hex. as to what the fans of el tri would or would not do, I don't really care. We are now good enough to beat the other team and a sorry or crooked ref.

 

That's pretty amazing. Also it suggests that he's not the same type of CB as Gonzalez and maybe is better compared to Besler - it's easy to make false juxtapositions based on height, especially with central defenders and forwards. I think Brooks' strengths lie in positioning, marking and skill on the ball as opposed to physical dominance and 1v1 challenges, though I haven't seen enough of him yet.

Incidentally, when Brooks came on as a defensive reinforcement against Nürnberg over the weekend, he ended up giving up a soft foul on an aerial challenge at the edge of the box - leading to the match-tying free kick. It was a very soft call though, I wouldn't place the blame on him.

 

You are simply wrong.

 

Well technically he is right. They have no Afro-American culture, maybe some Afro-German.

 

You'd have to ask some of the Germericans to get an authentic perspective, but I wouldn't rule out the race/identity thing as a peripheral factor in their enthusiasm for repping the US.

I imagine that growing up black with a conspicuously Anglophone (in some cases distinctly African-American) name might lead to a feeling of "foreignness", for lack of a better word, especially when your demographic isn't as big as the ethnic Turks or Poles in Germany. Yes, the USMNT offers a better chance at World Cup action for these guys, but (for some if not all) there's an emotional aspect of affirming their heritage, which might be even more loaded when considering that in many cases the GI fathers were absent throughout childhood. Obviously every player's take will be nuanced differently, but it's simply harder to assimilate unnoticed into German society as a "Jermaine Jones" with frizzy hair.

Keep in mind that the multiethnic German NT is still a fairly new thing - it was pretty significant news when Gerald Asamoah went to WC2002, and until recently the German-born children of Turkish Gastarbeiters (e.g. Bastürk, Sahin) would typically represent Turkey's NT. We're used to the Germany of Özil, Khedira, Boateng and Gündogan - but it wasn't like this a generation ago.

 

Of course, Turks and other non-Germans born in Germany weren't allowed to be German citizens until the laws changed in 1991. They still have to choose between 18 and 23 which citizenship to retain.

 

He rarely scores for LAG, You would think he would be a threat with his height, but he's really not at all.

 

Because he is young and doesn't know how things roll in CONCACAF.

 

After dealing with the Gecko for the whole game we know he can at least be physical when needed. All things considered it was a remarkable debut, and I believe he demonstrated he can be physical if needed. He is a big strapping young lad, and while he may be cerebral as well, he is highly unlikely to be dominated physically.