6.12.14
ASN Morning Read: The World Cup Arrives, Finally
BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL!!!
BY
Noah Davis
Posted
June 12, 2014
8:26 AM
We'll say it again: BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL!!!
Jurgen Klinsmann, who makes four times what Bob Bradley made, is just the 10th highest-paid coach at the World Cup. Fabio Capello will take home nearly five times what our German brings in, which will be fun when Russia goes out in the knockout stage. (See also: Roy Hodgson, $5,874,570 for coaching England.)
Bonus points for the headline for Howler's feature on Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman playing together: "Our Dreaded Midfield." HA! Also, some nice writing: Whether it will work—or even be used—at the World Cup is another matter, but the setup certainly enabled an organized defense and a variety of counter-attacking options with Jones, Bedoya, Johnson and left back DeMarcus Beasley making runs from deep positions. The addition of Beckerman means that the U.S. would play without a traditional left-sided attacker. Clint Dempsey spent much of the game pushed farther to the left than we’re used to seeing him, the result of Bradley moving up the field.
Landon Donovan will join ESPN's gang of analysts during the World Cup. “Adding Landon to our ESPN roster just before the World Cup is a coup because he knows the United States team better than anyone having played such a huge role in its success, especially at this event,” Jed Drake, ESPN senior vice president and executive producer, said in a release. Oh yeah, this can't go wrong at all. Also, the Los Angeles Galaxy star is making cheeky videos:
Sports Illustrated put together a pretty epic World Cup preview.
Right, but only because the U.S. chose to stay in Sao Paolo:
Would you like to read a long feature about Graham Zusi and the fitness of the U.S. team: Perhaps more than any other player on the U.S. national squad, Zusi represents America’s best hope for success at this year’s World Cup in Brazil. He’s one of the fittest players on a team that increasingly survives, even thrives, on its outsize endurance in international competition. “The U.S. is a team that lives on its athletic performance and its [conditioning],” says Michael Ballack, the former German soccer star who played against the Americans in 2002. “On the pitch against the world’s best, however, they do not particularly stick out with skill.”
You might have seen this yesterday, but if not:
The world is ready for the World Cup. We'll see if Brazil is. Game on.
