By Eli Locke
Sentry Staff Reporter
In case you somehow have not heard, the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) 2014 World Cup starts on Thursday, June 12. On that date, at 4:00 PM on the eastern seaboard, host country Brazil will look to get off to a flying start under the immense pressure their nation has put on them to win it all. They will face Croatia, a side with up-and-coming stars that should not be taken lightly. But even as the countdown inches closer to Brazil 2014, the controversy has already begun.
Let’s start with the home country. Soon after the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT) announced their seven cuts from their training camp roster of 30 to their roster of the 23 players that are going to Brazil, another American found himself excluded, but from Italy’s team rather than America’s.
Born in Teaneck, New Jersey, 27-year old attacker Giuseppe Rossi had been named to Italy’s provisional 30-man team for the upcoming competition. Rossi is Italian-American; despite being born in the US, both of his parents are Italian. At age 12, he moved back to Italy to pursue his professional soccer career. Despite pressure to play for the red, white and blue, Rossi stated it had always been his dream to play for ‘The Azzuri’, and chose Italy instead at an earlier age.
Unfortunately, he was not chosen for Italy’s condensed squad that will be going to Brazil despite starting in a tune-up match against the Republic of Ireland just days before the last cuts were made. Rossi was the top scorer for Italian soccer club Fiorentina in this season (they finished fourth), even after a knee injury sidelined him for part of the season. Italian coach Cesare Prandelli cited this recurring injury as one of the reasons to leave Rossi off of the 23-man squad; Rossi reacted sarcastically to this via his official Twitter after the announcement.
Now to the main attraction, or depending how you look at it, the main distraction. On May 22, the coach of our very own USMNT, Jürgen Klinsmann, announced his 23-man roster. Just like every other coach leading their team to Brazil, Klinsmann was tasked with cutting seven players from his initial thirty selections. However, Klinsmann’s selections were met with substantial controversy when the USMNT’s all time leading goal-scorer and American hero Landon Donovan was left off the team.
Donovan is largely considered one of the greatest American ‘football’ players ever, and his illustrious career has included stints at European powerhouses like Everton. Donovan is 32 years old and scored his first goal for America all the way back in 2000. For this World Cup, it is no secret Klinsmann favored youth.
Even though they were largely overshadowed by the snubbing of Donovan, Klinsmann surprised many with some of his other selections. For example, attacker Terrence Boyd netted 15 goals in the Austrian league in a breakout season yet was not chosen.
Brad Evans, a dependable worker for the Seattle Sounders who can play multiple positions, had his spot on the USMNT taken by Sounders teammate DeAndre Yedlin. A 20-year old right defender who is known more for his hair than anything else, Yedlin has just one friendly game against South Korea on his international ledger. And who could forget 18-year old wonder-kid Julian Green, a bright young winger who is only just beginning his hopefully illustrious career in Bayern Munich’s youth system.
Realistically, Yedlin and Green will be lucky to see a full game of playing time between them in Brazil, especially if the US fail to advance from their insanely tough group. However, Klinsmann made other arguable selections as well. Timmy Chandler, another unproven right defender, was also chosen for the 23-man team. But when Klinsmann played him in a friendly match versus Turkey less than a month before the real deal, his lackadaisical defending drew many critics. Although seen as one of the players with the raw talent to score against the stout defenses of the top nations at the World Cup, bruising striker Jozy Altidore had been going through a rough patch of play with his club team in the English Premier League prior to the tournament- rough patch being an understatement.
In training camp as well as in the friendly matches before the World Cup, Klinsmann has also favored moving underrated defender Geoff Cameron from right to central defense. This is yet another move that could either be a stroke of genius or a poor decision, especially when it comes time to defend the likes of potent offensive players such as Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Germany’s Mario Götze in the World Cup.
As the US, Italy and the other 30 nations train their teams in preparation for the world’s most watched sports event, the host country is hastily getting ready as well. Eleven days before the first World Cup game, a preparatory match will be played at the arena that will hold the first game as a final dry-run. This sounds like a good strategy, except that according to multiple sources, the Corinthias Arena is still under construction. In a similar game at nearby Sao Paulo stadium, parts of the roof remained unfinished and elevators were faulty less than two months before the World Cup will begin. Moreover, as construction moved forward even in the years prior to the tournament, safety concerns were discussed after multiple workers died constructing the stadiums.
As it stands, no one can predict what will happen in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Will the United States make an improbable run without Landon Donovan? Can superpower Spain win it all again? Or, will the stadiums even be ready?
One thing is for sure: the madness will begin on June 12 at 4:00 PM. Be there.
Featured Image Courtesy of Google Images
