? You realize that all the games the u-23 team just played were quialifiers for the olympics? I think Eddie's about 11 years too old to go to Beijing.
there are, what, 3 slots for "overage" players on the olympic roster? eddie seems to meet the criteria anyway. great goal by eddie, and sure, stuff like that is why he gets the callup. but, goal aside, if the idea really is to try out new players/options in these friendlies, maybe an experiment was in order. still, 2nd consecutive win on euro soil, and 3rd road win does build momentum and confidence. eddie's contribution to that alone helps open doors for future experiments. that, plus proving he's still a great option in a pinch warranted the callup.
hahahahahahahahahaha....Eddie and Wolf must've read this thread before the game... oh, and USA fans, you guys sometimes sound like English fans on these boards: "We hate Lewis"..."We love Lewis"..."We hate Lewis"..."We love Lewis" Now substitute Lewis for, i don't know...Beckham. C'mon people, we're better than those British wagon-jumpers. Either you stick with the fact that Bradley made a mistake by calling him up, or support what he does... Just cuz Lewis scored and played an incredible game (along with Wolff), all of a sudden everyone is praising the decision... Now, should Bradley call him up again, would you guys support it or be outraged again?
you're right. he's eligible to play for the usa, which is all the criteria that matters. but he scored a goal -- a nice goal -- but let's not book him to bejing yet. it would be a real shocker if he's picked. which is nothing against eddie, by the way ...
"In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;[43] but that practice will cease in the 2008 Olympics." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_(soccer) In all honesty, I was oblivious to the overage player rule. So thanks for setting me straight, but seems this year is the first where that rule is not in effect.
So sayeth the Great Wikipedia, font of all knowledge. I went to the source page listed[43]: http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/index_uk.asp?SportCode=FB Doesn't say anything about that not applying in '08. Find a legitimate source and get back to us.
ah, the perils of wikipedia! this is hardly the gem that questions like "is adu captied?" or "could rossi could play for the us?" are, but i'm sure someone out there could dig through the reams of FIFA/IOC/XYZ docs out there to settle this.
i posted this in a similar after the mexico game. "sad to say, but based on current form our second best left mid IMO is eddie lewis. he wont be anything in about a year and a half, but he has the chance of being the cobi jones of this qualifying cycle. some of you may remember cobi registering a goal and an assist in two consecutive away games during the last cycle."
I agree with all of the above except the bolded part. In my eyes Brad Davis is the most accurate dead ball specialist currently available in the US of A. Davis is more accurate and has more range and power than either Lewis or Adu. I also consider Davis to be the best overall passer in terms of accuracy, creativity and distance in the United States. Just my opinion. My rankings for best US free kick specialists, Current Top 10: 1) Brad Davis 2) Eddie Lewis 3) Freddy Adu 4) Landon Donovan 5) Stevie Ralston 6) Clint Mathis 7) Benny Feilhaber 8) Bobby Convey 9) Jose Burciaga 10) Ante Razov Honorable Mention: Richard Mulrooney Diego Gutierrez Arturo Alvarez Carey Tally Chris Klein Claudio Reyna Pat Noonan Ned Grabavoy Justin Mapp Up & Comers: Stu Holden Lee Nguyen Robbie Rogers Peter Lowry David Roth
My impression is that Lewis got a lot better at spinning the ball when he went to Engerland. Anybody with a better knowledge of Eddie pre-England agree? Is this one of the few skills that adult players can improve on?
Some of his freekicks for us were sublime. Especially the equaliser in the playoff semi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QGUYuuZay8 even though I sprained my ankle going four rows down the stand without touching the floor when that flew in. I was sat about ten rows behind the person filming this, and it really was his highlight in England. As for learning fk's I think you can learn it I think. I've got much better at free-kicks since I was 20 anyway. Just learning exactly how to hit the ball from a variety of different distances. Apparently we had an offer to loan him back turned down, depending on which gossiping fans you believe. This is a better view of that goal, from the tv coverage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QGUYuuZay8 His freekick technique was superb, and I can't think of many players anywhere with a better strike of the ball. Perhaps him being Leeds has clouded my judgment, but I'm pleased for him to still be playing at international level, but I'll never forget either that goal or the running in front of the PNE fans kissing the Leeds badge celebration).
Slightly stupid of me, quoted the same video as the one of the stand view. The proper broadcast version is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwevRKlgKsA