Connolly: Role Reversal

[sharpshooter]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=257173&cc=5901

I had forgot that C.J. Brown played in that game in '99. Yowza!

[bmurphyfl]

Sweet Jesus!! Another article?? This guy is faster than Stephen King.

Murf

[ursula]

Revisionism 101 from Arena:

"In 1999, we weren't talking about DaMarcus Beasley, we weren't talking about Landon (Donovan), we weren't talking about Pablo, and I don't think we were talking about Clint (Mathis), either," said Arena on Wednesday afternoon from the team's training camp in Bradenton, Fla.


I may be waaaaaaaaaaay off but I seem to remember that the 99 Argentina game was the first one that Arena called Donovan and Albright into camp. They didn't play but Arena at least had them on his radar. And of course Pablo was a foreigner back then and Mathis already had a couple of caps.

Help me out if I'm wrong there.

[lmorin]

Originally posted by ursula
Revisionism 101 from Arena:

"In 1999, we weren't talking about DaMarcus Beasley, we weren't talking about Landon (Donovan), we weren't talking about Pablo, and I don't think we were talking about Clint (Mathis), either," said Arena on Wednesday afternoon from the team's training camp in Bradenton, Fla.


I may be waaaaaaaaaaay off but I seem to remember that the 99 Argentina game was the first one that Arena called Donovan and Albright into camp. They didn't play but Arena at least had them on his radar. And of course Pablo was a foreigner back then and Mathis already had a couple of caps.

Help me out if I'm wrong there.

Good memory. According to US Soccer, Donovan "Was called against Argentina on June 13, 1999, but did not make an appearance in the game." Perhaps Arean was thinking a lot about Donovan, but not talking too much.

[Turk from Pigs Eye]

What does Arena mean when he says "They played like a typical Argentina team, same system"?

[Jabo]

"It didn't matter that Argentina didn't bring its multi-million dollar stars to Washington, D.C. for that particular friendly."


Uhh easy on the rhetoric Marc, take a look at the lineup and you certainly see some of the established stars of the time on the backline in Simeone, Ayala and Zanetti.

Yes, there was no Ortega or Batistuta but the article makes it seems like they brought as lowly a team last time as they are this time. And no, that does not mean the team they are bringing is lowly, just a comparison as to international prominence at the time. That team had far more stars than he's giving credit for.

June 13, 1999: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC att: 40,119
USA 1: 87' Moore (Stewart)
Keller, Fraser (Berhalter 88'), Agoos, CJ Brown, Lewis (JM Moore 60'), Armas, Reyna, Sanneh, Kirovski, C Jones (Lassiter 77'), Stewart
ARG 0
Burgos, Zanetti, Roberto Ayala, Ponchettino, H Ibarra, Husain, Diego Simeone, Guglielminpietro, Aimar (Christian Gonzalez 60'), Gustavo Lopez, Julio Cruz (Pandolfi 78')

[SamsArmySam]

"Ernie, heel it!" and then Joe Max put it in the upper 90 with his LEFT! Thank you, boys. Just the shot in the arm we needed in '99.

Let's hope Argentina '03 is a fun one as well.

Cheers.

[Bajoro]

Originally posted by ursula
Revisionism 101 from Arena:
...
Help me out if I'm wrong there.

Well, he also started Mathis in his very first match as USMNT coach, I think in December '98, against the Aussies, at San Jose, CA. Then he said in the article that "I don't think we were talking about Clint, either" in '99.

So either he's mistaken, or he's just saying that Clint, et al., hadn't moved into his top lineup yet.

Either way, no biggie.

[Shaster]

Originally posted by Jabo
"It didn't matter that Argentina didn't bring its multi-million dollar stars to Washington, D.C. for that particular friendly."


Uhh easy on the rhetoric Marc, take a look at the lineup and you certainly see some of the established stars of the time on the backline in Simeone, Ayala and Zanetti.

Yes, there was no Ortega or Batistuta but the article makes it seems like they brought as lowly a team last time as they are this time. And no, that does not mean the team they are bringing is lowly, just a comparison as to international prominence at the time. That team had far more stars than he's giving credit for.

June 13, 1999: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC att: 40,119
USA 1: 87' Moore (Stewart)
Keller, Fraser (Berhalter 88'), Agoos, CJ Brown, Lewis (JM Moore 60'), Armas, Reyna, Sanneh, Kirovski, C Jones (Lassiter 77'), Stewart
ARG 0
Burgos, Zanetti, Roberto Ayala, Ponchettino, H Ibarra, Husain, Diego Simeone, Guglielminpietro, Aimar (Christian Gonzalez 60'), Gustavo Lopez, Julio Cruz (Pandolfi 78')

Ortega was there, but injured. Only two were missing--Batigoal and Crespo.