My own views on the Confederations Cup differ slightly from Matt's. I, for one, would hardly say the tournament is off to a flyer, nor has it proved that it deserves to be taken very seriously. The key here, is that the tournament is not trying to be taken seriously. Rather it is a very useful dress rehearsal for next year, and a nice opportunity for FIFA to extend its ever more global reach with some entertaining matches (Sidenote: Does no one else think it is slightly ridiculous that ESPN has already started advertising for its coverage of the World Cup???).No tournament that pits the world's best team against the world's 82nd best team is trying to provide quality football. That is exactly what the Champions League, Premier League, the Serie A and for that matter, the World Cup, are all for. The aforementioned Spain vs. New Zealand game was an absolute joke, as the best strike partnership on the planet tore the Kiwis to pieces before deciding that 5 goals would suffice. South Africa vs. Iraq was equally comical, not the least bit for Bernard Parker's unintentional block of his own teammate's would-be goal.
Yesterday, in an apparent effort to return some sense of dignity to the tournament, Brazil decided that instead of playing defense they would watch a surprisingly technical and well-organized Egyptian team pass around them for the better part of an hour. On a different day this game could have been a Brazilian massacre. The Italy vs. US game was more like a potential World Cup matchup, as the Americans put in a very respectable effort despite playing most of the game with 10 men.
Looking ahead, we see that on Wednesday the New Zealand national "team" will face off against the home Bafana Bafana squad in what promises to be another epic matchup (Just in case sarcasm doesn't pick up easily on the internet, that was sarcastic). Later on, Iraq will try their hardest to avoid the same embarassment that New Zealand tasted as they face European Champions Spain.
As we and FIFA both see, one who is searching for a quality football match should wait another year before turning his or her eyes to South Africa. Having been fortunate enough to experience South Africa firsthand however, I am very relieved to report that the Confederations Cup has so far been an orgnizational success (If not a miracle), and served its purpose well as a dry-run for next year's event.
Quickly on Guiseppe Rossi: As I have been saying for some time now, and we have discussed before here on the blog, Rossi is by far the best field player America has ever produced, and it is a shame that he has elected not to play for the US. Unfortunately, it is the nature of a country built on immigrants that the national team will lose some players in this way. Interestingly, Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones, who is a real force in the Bundesliga, has decided to return to his father's American roots and play for the US. By a relatively new FIFA rule, Jones can join the US after August because he has only played in friendlies for his native Germany. Jones is a very solid holding midfielder and his presence will be a big boost for the team's chances at the World Cup next year, as Michael Bradley will now be able to orchastrate from further up the pitch with Jones sitting in behind him.
