The MD -1 press conference for US-Germany had both coaches admitting their long-time respect and friendship for each other, but also adamantly reinforcing this was a match both their teams were making every effort to win.
Most of the night before, and the morning of the match, torrential seasonal rains hit Recife, and my choice was to take the very first FIFA shuttle from the hotel, due to both the weather conditions and the early kickoff of 1:00 p.m., local time. The ride to the stadium, 40 minutes the day before, was nearly two hours on match day.
Recife's streets had flooded to the point where three-lane roads in each direction were completely submerged, with police diverting all cars, only allowing truck and bus traffic in the middle "high ground" of the road. Quality of the photo isn't great due to early morning light and driving rain, but you get the idea.
Just getting from the door of the hotel to the bus, I got completely soaked, and my shoes and socks bore the worst of it. My choice of lightweight nylon fishing pants and quick-dry US Soccer shirt (my shirt of choice for all matches here), proved to be good, as they would eventually, hours after the match, dry out.
Despite the continued rain into and throughout the match, the pitch was in pretty good shape, and not really a factor.
The shooting conditions for most of the match, however, were extremely difficult. Most of the time out on the field was spent under the camera 'rain jacket' and poncho, unused from Katie's college graduation in May (thanks!). It was mostly camera protection, as everything else was soaked through and through.
The players said the playing surface during the rain was less a factor than the actual rain making it hrd to see, hitting their eyes on recovery sprints, etc.
This shot of Mesut Ozil on the dribble gives you an idea of how hard the rain came down at times.
Overall, the match was played to the US plan of limiting German possession in and around the box, and taking the match into halftime scoreless, showed that plan was working. Afterwards, though, Jurgen Klinsmann would state "in the beginning we gave the Germans too much respect, allowing them more possession than we would have liked."
It was that continued possession that would finally pay dividends for Germany. In the 55th minute, Tim Howard made an excellent punch of a German shot.
The rebound would go outside the left edge of the box, where a lurking Thomas Mueller, given just a little too much room, and not closed down quickly enough, would bend a brilliant finish inside the far post for a 1-0 German lead.
Despite the possession stats being strongly in the Germans' favor, 63-37, much of that was due to the early 'respect' Klinsmann referred to, as well as some significant passing around the back, with the US playing only Clint Dempsey up top at forward.
German-American Jermaine Jones was a man possessed the entire match, winning head ball after head ball, and challenging and winning loose balls all over the field.
Another tireless worker, midfielder Michael Bradley, sprinted to cover, held to delay, and covered more space than imaginable in the midfield. Through the entire Group Stage, and covering all 32 teams, Bradley covered more ground than any other player, nearly the distance of a complete marathon, much at a very high pace, or out-and-out sprints.
DeMarcus Beasley, the most veteran of the US team, now in his fourth World Cup, also continued his outstanding play on the left flank of the defense. His play was so strong it drew yet another frustration foul, although this obvious infraction, possibly even worthy of a yellow card, by Miroslav Klose was not whistled by the referee.
As the match neared full time, the US built an attack, which nearly snatched a point. A ball served from the left flank was tracked down by Dempsey on the back post, and very likely would have found home, had not enough of a leaning into by defender Mats Hummels kept 'Deuce' from driving all the way through his shot.
Admittedly, the draw would have changed nothing as it turned out. The threat of Ghana was dispatched when Portugal won that simultaneous match, 2-1, a fact the players were made aware of as the final whistle in Recife sounded. With both teams safely into the Round of 16, friendships were renewed and advancement celebrated. The sacrifice and support of the American Outlaws, and all of the US fans has been praised and greatly appreciated by the team, which defied 'Death'.
In the end, I even had a personal moment, finally catching up to my alma mater's Class of 2010, four members of which celebrated their recent college graduations, and two of them their birthdays, in Brazil at this World Cup. We had messaged and tried the previous two matches, but ultimately, just like the US, made it happen in the end. LionPride, and again, as I said four years ago, when two of these four were in South Africa, pride fuels passion.
A date in the Knockout Round with Belgium awaits.
For those who are not aware, the very first World Cup was played in South America in 1930. The second match ever contested was, you guessed it, US-Belgium, with the US winning, 3-0. Since then, the two countries have only played four more times, with Belgium winning all four. We are now, back in South America, and this is a US team that is looking to make their own history. Here. And NOW.
All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, All Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.
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