The Good Ol' United States of America, a giant in basketball, American Football, baseball, and ice hockey. But for some reason, our enormous country fails to excel in football, the beautiful game. This much was obvious when the Men's US National Team was humiliated in a 4-1 defeat to Brazil. From the start, I had little faith in our own team, and had suspected that Brazil would be victorious, which led to true. Brazil was the dominant country in this friendly, but the US put up a valiant effort.
The Brazilians came in to the first half fast and strong, with Neymar happily taking a penalty kick conceded by Oguchi Oneywu in the 11th minute, and putting it past Howard. After the a short celebratory dance, the match continued a heated pace, with excited shouts exploding from the stands when Thiago Silva gracefully directed the ball into the goal from a corner fed in by Neymar. I smiled to myself as my favored side had scored a brace. This happiness was short-lived when Hercules Gomez slipped one past Rafael Cabral, the Brazilian goalkeeper, whose name no longer remains a mystery to me. I wasn't sure how I felt when Gomez had scored, forI had conflicting feelings for the duration of this match. You see, I should support my home country of America, yet I also respect the Brazilians dynamic style of play, and enjoy watching the great football they bring to their matches. The first half ended 2-1, in favor of Brazil, and the match would continue going well for Brazil in the second.
The second half started with a bang as Marcelo stretches his legs out to poke the ball into the net past Tim Howard in the 52nd minute. It was a brilliant play from my favorite Brazilian on the pitch, and I grinned at my mom and said, "What did you think of that? I thought it spectacular." Ironically, friendly soon became increasingly hectic. as the US pounded at the Brazilian defense, with Rafael saving shot after shot, and blocking two shots that were fired within quick succession of each other. The match hit a frantic pace as the talented youngster Alexandre Pato stepped onto the FedEx field, trying his luck at at goal, but cruelly denied by the woodwork. This would be a lucky break that would not last for our tired American players, for Pato would correct his mistake minutes late, as he rifles one in low and hard across face of the net, flying by the hands of Howard, and into the bottom left corner. In the 87th minute, it seemed like hope was lost at 1-4, but we Yankees put up a fight until the end. But all-in-all this was an international friendly, so with parting handshakes and embraces from both sides, the two countries were able to end the match peacefully.
I was not sure whether to feel happy or sad about the result of this match. After all, my home country lost because, much to my displeasure, our defense was in shambles, an as a defender, I can only grimace or face-palm myself when something someone makes a trivial mistake. I was also feeling rather satisfied that the team I favored had emerged victorious, and I was able to witness some amazing displays of footwork from the Brazilians Hulk and Neymar, as well as some excellent plays that I can only dream of my own town team pulling off. But despite my conflicting feelings I did manage to enjoy the match as a whole. For me, there is almost no more a satisfying feeling than being a witness of a fine football match.
Word Count: 612
The Brazilians came in to the first half fast and strong, with Neymar happily taking a penalty kick conceded by Oguchi Oneywu in the 11th minute, and putting it past Howard. After the a short celebratory dance, the match continued a heated pace, with excited shouts exploding from the stands when Thiago Silva gracefully directed the ball into the goal from a corner fed in by Neymar. I smiled to myself as my favored side had scored a brace. This happiness was short-lived when Hercules Gomez slipped one past Rafael Cabral, the Brazilian goalkeeper, whose name no longer remains a mystery to me. I wasn't sure how I felt when Gomez had scored, forI had conflicting feelings for the duration of this match. You see, I should support my home country of America, yet I also respect the Brazilians dynamic style of play, and enjoy watching the great football they bring to their matches. The first half ended 2-1, in favor of Brazil, and the match would continue going well for Brazil in the second.
The second half started with a bang as Marcelo stretches his legs out to poke the ball into the net past Tim Howard in the 52nd minute. It was a brilliant play from my favorite Brazilian on the pitch, and I grinned at my mom and said, "What did you think of that? I thought it spectacular." Ironically, friendly soon became increasingly hectic. as the US pounded at the Brazilian defense, with Rafael saving shot after shot, and blocking two shots that were fired within quick succession of each other. The match hit a frantic pace as the talented youngster Alexandre Pato stepped onto the FedEx field, trying his luck at at goal, but cruelly denied by the woodwork. This would be a lucky break that would not last for our tired American players, for Pato would correct his mistake minutes late, as he rifles one in low and hard across face of the net, flying by the hands of Howard, and into the bottom left corner. In the 87th minute, it seemed like hope was lost at 1-4, but we Yankees put up a fight until the end. But all-in-all this was an international friendly, so with parting handshakes and embraces from both sides, the two countries were able to end the match peacefully.
I was not sure whether to feel happy or sad about the result of this match. After all, my home country lost because, much to my displeasure, our defense was in shambles, an as a defender, I can only grimace or face-palm myself when something someone makes a trivial mistake. I was also feeling rather satisfied that the team I favored had emerged victorious, and I was able to witness some amazing displays of footwork from the Brazilians Hulk and Neymar, as well as some excellent plays that I can only dream of my own town team pulling off. But despite my conflicting feelings I did manage to enjoy the match as a whole. For me, there is almost no more a satisfying feeling than being a witness of a fine football match.
Word Count: 612
