Steamboat Soccer Academy Blog

RT @LEarly RT @JacquelinePurdy: Cristianes hat trick. First in #WPS history. The third goal is really great:http://bit.ly/zw3mq

4v4 competition has wrapped. Here is a shot taken from up on Emerald Mountain looking down at the fields - http://twitpic.com/aeb7x

Tubing Time! Resident campers are heading down to the yampa.

Men’s National Team Lose but Wins American’s Hearts

Is This the Loss They Need to Succeed in the World Cup?

June 28^th, 2009 could be a turning point for the United States Men’s National Team. Over 3.1 million homes were tuned in to watch the Americans take on mighty Brazil in, if nothing else, an extremely entertaining 90 minutes of soccer. The game joined World Cup games against Germany (2002), Ghana (2006) and Colombia (1994) in the top four for all time viewership for a US match.

Despite the USMNT heartbreaking loss, the team has finally arrived onto the world scene and demands respect from even the toughest of opponents; just talk to the former world #1 Spain. In only 2 weeks time the US MNT has gone from a squad that was on the outside looking in, to a team that (if can stay fit) has a legitimate chance to not only qualify but compete on the finest of world stages: The World Cup.

In the past the U.S. might have chalked the loss up to a ‘moral victory.’  Let’s be honest here, soccer is not America’s best sport and being runner up to Brazil in a FIFA sanctioned event 10 years ago would have been a miracle. But this isn’t 10 years ago and the team has gotten exponentially better.

Players learn from losing and it’s safe to say now more than ever before that the US MNT want the real thing. Maybe in future training sessions they’ll push themselves harder, practice longer and strive to become an overall better soccer squad.

When the Confederations Cup began, how many analysts or American soccer fans would pick them to be in the final match?  Nobody!

They might not be expected to win international tournaments in future (few teams ever are) but they will certainly be expected to progress to the later stages of any competitions they enter.

That is a significant shift in status.

The rest of the soccer (futbol) world might hate to admit it, but the U.S. is now a team to respect.

Watch out for the Yanks!

U.S. Headed to the Semis?

Article By Drew Frey
Davies, Bradley & Dempsey all Score U.S. Goals

Playing in the ‘Group of Death,’ losing to Italy and Brazil by two and three goals respectfully and having surly packed their bags for their flight home, the Americans advance to the Semi-Finals of the Confederations Cup.

Against absolutely all odds, the Americans needed to beat Egypt by three goals while the Italians also had to lose by three.

With his first start since January, Charlie Davies scored in the 20’ with an all out scramble in front of the net. Essam El Hadary, the Egyptian keeper, collided with  the knee of his defender Ahmed Fathi while trying to stop Davies, that resulted in a nasty cut to the top of his head. To add insult to injury (literally) Davies goal took a deflection off of El Hadary’s head before ending up in the back of the net.

1st Goal:

The second goal came courtesy of Michael Bradley, the perfect gift for his dad Bob on Father’s Day no less, in the  63’ off of a great counter and precise cross from Landon Donovan.

2nd Goal:

(Bradley is so excited he just down!)

No more then 7’ later in the 70’ Jonathan Spector hit Clint Dempsey with a fantastic cross of topnotch quality. I don’t think Mr. David Beckham himself would scoff at it! Dempsey did the rest and put the perfectly placed cross just inside the left post.

3rd Goal:

After the match, Dempsey had this to say: “We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Dempsey. “The odds were against us and the chances of us going through were slim. All we could control was ourselves. Credit to all the guys and the coaching staff. We worked hard this whole tournament so far and believed in ourselves. Now it’s time to refocus and get ready for Spain.”

So amazingly the U.S. moved from dead last to second place in the group and will go head to head against the #1 World Ranked and European champion Spanish side this Wednesday. The Americans need to be pumping on all cylinders and try to replicate the performance against Egypt to match the quality of Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Fernando Torres.

No matter the result of Wednesday’s match, the Americans will be playing on Sunday in the final game of the Confederations Cup. Sunday’s game will be a consolation game for 3rd place.

“It’s gonna be fun,” the American captain said. “It’s a good team, a very good team, but we’re not willing to write it off and say it’s a loss. We’re gonna go for it.”

Summer Football Guide: Part 2 of 3

Article By Drew Frey

What to watch for the next 10 weeks to get your football fix.

This little ‘Guide’ is to provide you, the passionate football fan, with a wealth of options to get you through the next 10 weeks until the various leagues start up again. Whether you’re partial to Serie A, La Liga, AXPO Super League or the EPL, this post will help get you through these tough non-league action times.

UEFA Under 21 Championships

Every two years this highly anticipated tournament showcases the upcoming talent managers, reporters and fans will be talking about in the years to come. Sweden will host the 2009 Championship that has been the breeding ground of famous names such as Raul, Gattuso and Zinedine Zidane.

Italy has reigned supreme winning the tournament five times as England, Spain, (former) USSR, and the Netherlands not far behind with two wins apiece.

June 15th-23rd on Setanta Sports and Sky Sports

Notable Matchups:

June 15th: Spain v Germany
June 18th: Spain v England
June 19th: Sweden v Italy
June 22nd: Germany v England
June 23rd: Belarus v Italy

Semi Finals:
June 26th
Winner of Group A v Runner Up Group B
Winner Group B v Runner Up Group A

Final:
June 29th
Semi Final Winner I v Semi Final Winner II

Predictions Group A:

The lineup this year looks very good and will be hard to pick a winner. Anyone would be foolish not to include Italy on their list of favorites. The team was certainly in form during qualifying having won seven out of ten matches.
Serbia is also a good bet. The team finished on top of their group and qualified thanks to Gojko Kacar and his six goals. The Serbs have a newfound tradition finishing well in the U-21 championship. Runners up to Holland a couple years back, Serbia is continuing their rich history at this level.

Predictions Group B:

Spain’s ‘wunderkind’ Bojan Krkic is sure to impress this summer and help his country reach the final. The team won their group with a 100 percent record and only conceded two goals in the process. Although they looked lost against Switzerland in the playoffs, Spain still got the job done and are now on Europe’s big stage.

Players to Look Out For:
Mario Balotelli-Italy Striker Qualifying record: 3 Goals, 3 Appearances

Super Mario Balotelli compilation
Uploaded by A-w-u. - More professional, college and classic sports videos.

Gojko Kacar-Serbia Midfielder Qualifying record: 6 Goals, 8 Appearances

Bojan Krkic-Spain Striker Qualifying record: 3 Goals, 6 Appearances

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azJRMxQjnqM

What to Watch For Part 1/3 - Road to the World Cup

Article By Drew Frey

This little ‘Guide’ is to provide you, the passionate football fan, with a wealth of options to get you through the next 10 weeks until the various leagues start up again. Whether you’re partial to Serie A, La Liga, AXPO Super League or the EPL, this post will help get you through these tough non-league action times.

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING:

First and foremost there is the rather exciting World Cup Qualifying that no one should miss. Nearly every month you have the opportunity to watch two teams battle it out for pride and country. It’s always fun to watch your favorite player on the pitch with his country’s kit on running a little faster and putting forth more effort than when he’s playing at the club level.

When:

June and September are your best months to watch. All of the great football countries will be battling it out on the pitch. If you’re busy in July, don’t worry about it, unless you are an Egypt or Rwanda fan; they’re the only two countries in the world qualifying that month.

Notable Matchups:

USA vs MEXICO - August 8

BRAZIL vs ARGENTINA - September 5

SLOVAKIA vs CZECH REPUBLIC - September 5

ENGLAND vs CROATIA - September 5

Predictions:

After all of the qualifying, who will be making to the grand stage in South Africa next summer? Obviously 2006 World Champs Italy will be there. They are still an extremely powerful team that will overpower any group they find themselves in. Don’t forget about Holland, Spain (Euro 2008 champs,) Germany, France and England. They all look solid thus far as well.

Moving to South America you would have to say Brazil and Argentina are shoe-ins. Beyond that, it’s less straightforward to predict who will make it but Paraguay seems to be in good form as of late.

In the North America region it would be hard to imagine the USA not making it BUT after their staggering performance to Costa Rica last week, nothing is a sure thing. To that degree, I’d go so far as to say that this could be the year Mexico fails to qualify. Costa Rica looks impressive and will be a contender.

Asia isn’t exactly strong as a region but South Korea, Japan and Australia all stick out. Mark Schwarzer, the Fulham and Australian keeper, continues to impress and with a brick wall like him in the net the Aussies could match their amazing performance in the 2006 World Cup.

The African squads always seem to play well. Look out for Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Let’s just hope Didier Drogba keeps his cool and restrains himself on the pitch this time.