Real 2 Barca 1 in El Clasico

With the summer Olympics behind us, attention again returns to La Liga, where FC Barcelona resumed its longstanding derby with Real Madrid in a heartbreaking 2 - 1 loss to surrender the Spanish Super Cup to Real, marking an inauspicious beginning to new Barcelona Boss Tito Vilanova's tenure.  As reported on BBC Sports:

"Real capitalised on two blunders to quickly go 2-0 up in the second leg at the Bernabeu, with Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo firing in.

Barcelona had Adriano red-carded for hauling down Ronaldo but the visitors pulled one back through a superb 35-yard Lionel Messi free-kick.

The 2-1 second-leg win levelled the tie at 4-4, with away goals decisive.

The result meant Tito Vilanova was denied his first trophy as Barcelona boss and he will need to look no further than his lacklustre defence for the reason.

He had warned his side that Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid outfit would have extra motivation, because not only were they chasing the first silverware of the Spanish season, they were also looking for their first win of the new campaign at the fourth attempt.

But his players did not heed his words and Higuain, who had an early shot saved, stole in after Barcelona centre-back Javier Mascherano missed Pepe's speculative lobbed clearance to sidefoot through the legs of keeper Valdes.

Another defensive mistake let in Ronaldo and, after audaciously back-heeling the ball over centre-back Gerard Pique, he bided his time before powering in a shot to put Real 4-3 ahead overall.

The hosts were scything through Barcelona's flimsy defence at will and Valdes had to fend away yet another Higuain effort in a one-on-one confrontation.

Real centre-back Pepe headed in a Xabi Alonso free-kick but the goal was disallowed for a push on Mascherano.

The visitors were struggling to cope and Adriano's dismissal for a professional foul in the 28th minute only increased the size of their task, although Messi's spectacular free-kick just before half-time gave the visitors hope.

Pedro could have brought 10-man Barca level after beautifully controlling a long Mascherano pass, but his shot was saved by Iker Casillas.

In another captivating El Clasico there were plenty of chances as Barcelona strived for the goal that would have earned them an aggregate win, while Real attempted to put their arch rivals away once and for all.  Sami Khedira was denied by Valdes after a jinking run into the area before new Real signing Luka Modric, on as a substitute, had a close-range strike blocked before Messi drove an injury-time shot agonisingly wide for Barcelona as the home side held on for their first Super Cup victory since 2008."

US Women Take Gold

From The Washington Post:

LONDON — They stood on the medal stand because of Alex Morgan's head and Abby Wambach's feet, because of Hope Solo's hands and Becky Sauerbrunn's brain. There are teams that pay lip service to the group they have assembled, to togetherness and unselfishness and sacrifice for each other. And then there is the U.S. women's soccer team, which pulls those qualities together, ties them with a bow, and presents them as it did Thursday night, with Olympic gold at stake.

“We all have such an extreme belief in each other,” Wambach said. “I can’t explain it. . . . It’s the trust that we’re going to find a way.”

So against Japan, in front of a packed house at historic Wembley Stadium, a player who might have been discarded two weeks ago found the way.  Carli Lloyd headed home one goal in the first half, then booted home another in the second, the tallies that beat Japan, 2-1, for the Americans’ fourth gold medal in five Olympic tournaments.

That it was Lloyd who became a star in front of 80,203 fans — more than have ever seen a women’s soccer game in England — fit the American team like a Speedo. When the United States opened this tournament July 25, Lloyd was on the bench. At 30, a veteran of two Olympics and two Women’s World Cups, this was not a position to which she was accustomed, nor one she embraced.

“If somebody tells me I’m not good enough to start,” Lloyd said Thursday, “I’m going to prove them wrong.”

When veteran midfielder Shannon Boxx strained a hamstring in the opener against France, Lloyd was on. From there, she was a force. “I probably was the most consistent player all tournament,” she said. Only Wambach scored more than Lloyd’s four goals in the tournament, an indication that contributions can, and do, come from any source with this group.

“We felt like a team,” Solo said. “Carli gets benched, she comes back, and she has the game of her life. Everybody felt like they could contribute. Everybody. . . . Honestly, it’s the first time in my athletic career that I felt like it was a true team.”

It had to be against Japan, the relentless, possession-oriented unit that beat the United States a year ago in the final of the Women’s World Cup. When Morgan beat a defender deep on the left side, and got her foot on a cross that looked sure to be headed to Wambach – until Lloyd came zipping through to put her head on it – the Americans were up 1-0. Not eight minutes had run off the clock.

But the United States felt as if it were back-pedaling much of the remainder of the first half, so persistent were the Japanese. In stepped Solo, the goalkeeper who has that I’ll-be-in-the-center-of-it-all aura. In the semifinals, Solo and the U.S. defense allowed three goals to Canada, more than they had allowed in four years.

“She definitely took that personally,” Wambach said. “She wanted to make a difference.”
In the 17th minute, she made what amounted to a point-blank save on Nahomi Kawasumi, and the Americans cleared the ball after it pinballed off defender Christie Rampone. In the 18th minute, she leapt to get her left hand on Yuki Ogimi’s rope of a shot, deflecting it off the crossbar.

“She’s the best goalkeeper ever, I think, on the planet,” Lloyd said. “Huge saves. And that’s what she does. She comes up big in big moments.”

There were more big moments to come. In the 54th minute, Lloyd was “just kind of doing what I do best,” dribbling directly at defenders and then creating space for herself. The rocket she unleashed from just outside the penalty area gave Japanese goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto no chance, and the Americans led 2-0.

This was, in effect, Lloyd’s moment to say to U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage, “How the heck did you bench me – ever?” But in the celebration, there was none of that.  “Didn’t pout about it,” Wambach said of Lloyd’s reaction two weeks ago. “Was a great teammate. Was a professional.”

There were nervous moments to come, because in the 63rd minute, Ogimi pulled Japan within 2-1. And with roughly seven minutes remaining, Japan stripped Rampone of the ball just outside the U.S. penalty area. Mana Iwabuchi bore in on Solo, solo herself.

“I knew I had to make the save,” Solo said. “That was my only thought.”

She could go about it, though, because she knew Sauerbrunn, a reserve defender, would have Japan’s other offensive options marked behind her. Solo and Sauerbrunn had talked about such a moment, and the goalkeeper had faith that the defender would do her job.

“That’s this team,” Solo said. Iwabuchi fired. Solo lunged. And the ball deflected away.
“At that point,” Wambach said, “I just kept pounding my chest saying, ‘Guys, this is only about heart!’ ”

When the referee finally, mercifully, blew the last whistle, the U.S. team split into two separate, bouncing huddles. Several Japanese players fell immediately to the turf, and their distress lasted throughout the American celebration. By the time the United States came together as one group – Megan Rapinoe jumping on one back, then another, then another – the Japanese gathered in an orderly circle, sharing their misery by themselves. And with that, Queen’s “We Are the Champions” rang through Wembley as if Freddie Mercury was belting it out live.

The respect that these two teams had for each other was apparent in the days leading up to the rematch, and when Japan formed a straight line to face the crowd – even as Iwabuchi still buried her face in her shirt, trying to dry the tears – the crowd applauded enthusiastically.

But when the flags were raised, and the “Star-Spangled Banner” played, each and every U.S. player sang it out. They sang it together, because at the end of a tumultuous year and a long Olympic tournament, it’s the only way they knew how.

Spain Bombs Out of Olympics

From the Chicago Tribune:

Spanish soccer fans were forced to confront a rare case of failure on Monday after their Olympic side crashed out of the London Games without scoring a goal.

Shock group D defeats to Japan and Honduras, both by a 1-0 scoreline, sent the Spanish packing, El Mundo, perhaps slightly prematurely, declaring "a return to the dark ages" on Monday.

Sports daily Marca more circumspectly lamented "a sad end for a team that arrived at the Games full of hope and aspirations".

The Spanish players were furious with Venezuelan referee Juan Soto after he turned down two penalty claims in the second half on Sunday in Newcastle.

After Spain's senior side majestically swept aside all before them at the World Cup and European championships, their under-23 side presented an ugly image to the world by angrily surrounding the referee at the final whistle.

"Spain said goodbye to the Games with a dismal cocktail," Marca wrote, complaining of "bad luck, bad refereeing and a terrible image at the final whistle as a result of the buildup of tension during the match."

Spain's exit deprived them of a chance to add an Olympic title to their world and European crowns, which had helped lift a country struggling with rising unemployment, sweeping austerity measures and a banking crisis.

'TOTAL FAILURE'

El Pais daily said the Olympic team's performance in London, and the players' behavior towards the match officials, had damaged the image of Spanish soccer.

"Football has never gone well with the Olympics, but with the soccer brand that currently sets the country apart it was the right time to return the sport to the summit it scaled in 1992," the paper wrote, a reference to the gold medal triumph at the Barcelona Games.

"But it not only fell off a cliff, it did so verging on the ridiculous against opponents of little pedigree like Japan and Honduras. A total failure."

Writing in As sports daily, columnist Alfredo Relano compared Spain's flop to times past.

"It was a step backwards, a trip down the time tunnel that reminds us that everything wasn't always so great," he wrote.

"That we have experienced exceptional times and we have to be prepared for when they come to an end."

El Mundo described the shock of seeing Spain humiliated on the soccer field after a period of unprecedented success as "a fearsome blow to the stomach, one which leaves you winded".

Former Spain striker Fernando Morientes acknowledged that the Olympic side had not been "up to the task" but said he had faith the young squad, most of whom helped Spain win the European Under-21 title last year, would come good.

"This team is an exceptional group in every sense and it would be wrong to apportion blame," Morientes wrote in El Mundo.

"They are sure to bring us a lot of joy. We have faith in them, they are the future."

Return of the Cosmos !

From sbnation.com:

"What was old is new again ... or something like that. The New York Cosmos, still arguably the most recognizable brand in American soccer despite a nearly 30-year absence, will be returning to the NASL in 2013, the league announced on Thursday. They will be the ninth team in the league, which will admit Ottawa as team No. 10 in 2014.

"The history of the Cosmos and soccer in the New York City area are intertwined," NASL Commissioner David Downs said in a statement. "Bringing the Cosmos into the NASL is a logical next step as we embrace the heritage of our own past and now reunite the Cosmos, Strikers, Rowdies and several markets with ties to the NASL’s early days. Most importantly, we look forward to the Cosmos enhancing the quality of our league both on and off the field."

There are still some rather significant details of the Cosmos' return to be worked out, the biggest of which is where they'll play home games. There have been several rumored sites for a potential home, but there was a notable absence of anything official in the release.

During their heyday, the Cosmos were drawing crowds of nearly 50,000 to Giants Stadium. Players like Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia helped lead them to a record five Soccer Bowl titles and made them the most successful team during the original iteration of the NASL.

The Cosmos name has lived on more as a branding idea than anything else, and previous attempts to relaunch have failed spectacularly. Their most significant moment in recent history was probably a group of former stars suiting up in Cosmos gear to play against Manchester United in Paul Scholes' testimonial last year. This move heralds their most significant step toward returning to top flight soccer, though.

"The owners of the Club are committed to running the team to the highest professional standards both on and off the field," Cosmos Chairman Seamus O'Brien said on the team's website. "As we look to the future, on a national and international stage, we remain conscious of the Club's unique and unmatched history, and the role this has played in the lives of so many of our fans. It is with this legacy in our heart that we set our minds to the future."