7.24.13
ASN Morning Read: Grass? We're Talking about Grass?
The Americans prepare for battle (war metaphors are the best!) in Texas and the field is the focus. Quite literally. We also have a bit from Mr. Klinsmann and a bit about him as well.
BY
Noah Davis
Posted
July 24, 2013
8:55 AM
The United States plays Honduras in Dallas tonight and people are talking about the terrible state of the grass on the field. And by people, we mean reporters, specifically ASN's own Jon Arnold. Who we love.
What's that, Jon? You're not just taking cellphone pictures? You're actually reporting? Tell us, my man. “I think it has a lot to do with commitment, with discipline, and that shows the handwriting of Luis Suarez. He gives that team the belief to get games done and get the result and grind it out," Jurgen Klinsmann said of Honduras' success in bunkering down. And then there's Brek Shea, who has his own plan: “I don’t think teams can stay with us for 90 minutes."
A note from U.S. Soccer: This is the third meeting between the USA and Honduras in a Gold Cup semifinal. The USA walked away with a 2-1 win in 2005, and in the 2009 event Clarence Goodson scored his first goal for the MNT and notched the game-winner in the 2-0 victory.
Oh hey, highlights from the February match between the two squads. That didn't go very well:
Jeff Bradley jumps into the Wayback machine, talking to Kyle Beckerman about the loss to Mexico in the 2009 Gold Cup final: "Looking back, we needed to keep our cool, weather that storm, not fall further behind and see if we get one off a set piece or get one late in the game. Our inexperience got the best of us. They sat back, countered and scored some great goals. And the crowd, it was like we were playing in Guadalajara."
Over at Grantland, ASN's Noah Davis recruits some fashion experts to check out the stylistic sense of Mr. Klinsmann. #serious #journalism.
Jon Arnold
