Namoff? Perkins was excellent. But Namoff? He was twisted and turned like a pretzel on the goal. He did some good defending later on, but I can't say he was one of the best players yesterday.
I don't think it was just fresh legs, Madrid changed the tactics a bit at halftime and DC went from a great first half to a mediocre second. RM pressured the midfield and our short passing game disappeared. Well that was a nice first half, DC outplaying RM, two good goals. And the best part of Adu's game last night...lots of interceptions and a few very good defensive plays...he's got a few qualities we haven't seen much of, maybe we'll see more. Against a team that calibre one could also see he can have really top notch quickness, reactions and speedy decisions...interesting. Moreno with a good first half, a great assist...not his fault the team had trouble finding him second half.
it's nice that our guys will get paid by MLS since they got a result! hopefully MLS will hook them up since they probably made a ton of money off that game.
Imagine for a second if Gros could hit a cross like Terry Cooke... [shudder] Then again, we'd never see him in a DC United uniform again.
Adu really stepped up in this game, as he seems to for every international friendly. But I think that's more of a function of team's not really knowing him. But his two way play was outstanding last night. I was waiting for Gros and Freddy to switch if Roberto Carlos had taken advantage, but it never happened. Also Freddy had the courage to try and take on world class defenders 1v1, which is a great way for him to see how he measures up.
My wife calls Bobby "The Robot" because he always has this stern expressionless look on his face, as if someone just killed his kitten. Thundercleese: Bobby: I've never seen them in the same place at the same time. Have you?
No more of an idiot than the TV director who showed that selfsame Italian flag during the Spanish national anthem.
I also liked how Freddy tracked back late in the 2nd half and outran Robinho to stop a dangerous counter.
Caroll:IF THATS NATIONAL TEAM MATERIAL THEN US SOCCER IS IN TROUBLE..HE HUSTLES WELL THOUGH Olsen: PLAYED LIKE A MANIAC BUT WAS STILL OUTCLASSED BY A PRESEASON EMERSON...UNDERRATED PLAYER THOUGH AND I SEE WHY BRUCE ARENA PICKED HIM GROS: GUY IS GETTING BETTER EVERYTIME I SEE HIM BOSWELL: ITS CALLED INEXPERIENCE..HE WILL START SOON FOR NATIONAL TEAM..AT LEAST SHOULD START ESKADARIAN: HE HAS A QUICK BURST AND HAS THE BEST SHOT IN MLS..HANDS DOWN..MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER OUT THERE...ITS HARD TO FIND PURE GOALSCORERS..HE IS ONE OF THEM Namoff: A HUSTLER ERPEN: IMO IF HE DIDNT MAKE SILLY MISTAKES HE WOULD BE THE BEST DEFENDER IN THE LEAGUE
Ya, Dyachenko is a big kid, he's actually a very technical player. Despite his size, he's got a very good touch and has nice skill with the ball at his feet. Even though he's a big guy, the team still seems to be projecting him as an attacking center mid... that's seems to be where he lines up in the reserve games and his appearances against Celtic and in the USOC against Columbus. He came on for Gomito against Celtic, and for Freddy against C-bus.
I'm not a D.C. fan but I was really impressed with the way D.C. played against Real Madrid last night. I saw the whole game on MLStv and I gotta sat that the little highlight reel showing on mlsnet does not do justice to how well D.C. stood their ground and dominated portions of the match. D.C's gonna be a handful for FC Dallas in the final this year.
He's the American version of Dolph Lundgren...the baddest mutha on the face of the planet! What a hero!
So how much do the guys get from MLS for the draw? I'm sure some of them could use the extra scratch.
Goff said something about it in the chat yesterday. I think it is $100,000 for the players as a bonus. The problem with these games is that the usually follow up this type of play with a loss to a team like RSL. This season we've seen DC play the game better than anyone in the league it makes the regular season matches boring in comparison. If we played the way we did last night all season long no one would come close to beating us. No one. james ps. and those that don't believe Nowak is right for the national team position are deluding themselves - he is the best candidate out there right now. Technically sound, fearless, and confident in his abilities, honest about his liabilities and above all familiar with our league.
No. The 100K was what the DC United organization as a whole received for appearing. I know out of that DC's travel expenses and 30K for arranging the Comcast broadcast comes out of that 100K. I'm not sure where the funding for player bonuses comes from.
Just wanted to congratulate you guys on a job well done vs. Real Madrid. With another performance like his last two (I'm including the half against Chelsea) Perkins will be tough to hold on to. That was a great team effort. Hats off to Nowak as well. You made MLS fans everywhere proud. Oh yea, and thanks for Santino.
I thought the $100K figure was to DC for participating. The bonuses to players is unspecified, but if I misread and it is around $100K for the bonuses also, well that would be split in some equitable way. As for Nowak for Nat coach. He is working his way toward the job, but I still contest that he has not been successful enough in international competition to make it a lock. I will gladly admit that he is a much better choice than Yallop and Nicol, however. Tim
The realmadrid.com site says this was a game dominated by Real Madrid... Apparently a different story from you guys.... I didn't watch teh game so I couldn't tell.
Thanks for the heads up on the torrent. I know Hunt Park Insider tends to pick up these games as well. It's where I snagged the Celtic game.
There were easily times when Real Madrid slowed the game down and posessed the ball, and yes did dominate, but hats off to dc for a job well done. Keeping up with the early tempo and getting an equalizer right away was remarkable. The only thing they seemed to struggle with was keeping posession. Other than that DC played extremely well.