Four Olympians MLS should target

Major League Soccer needs to do a better job of targeting and signing young foreigners before they are discovered by the deeper pockets of Europe. Here are four Olympic soccer players that MLS could realistically target right now given the fees and salaries they command. But they need to scout and sign fast or they will be scooped up.

1. Chinedu "Edu" Obasi Ogbuke
Nationality: Nigeria
Position: Striker
Age: 22
Current club: 1899 Hoffenheim
Analysis: This talented forward was nearly picked up by Lokomotiv Moscow, but the deal fell through due to massive changes in the clubs management. Edu was the second leading scorer for the silver medalists with two goals. He also scored twice in the U-20 World Championships, and was voted Young Player of the Year in Norway. He has nine caps with the full national team.


2. Jeremy Brockie
Nationality: New Zealand
Position: Striker
Age: 20
Current club: Hawke's Bay United
Analysis: Brockie had NZ's only goal of the Olympics, but has shown great promise, with two goals for the U-20s and seven caps for the senior squad. Plus, he probably could be had for bargain-basement prices given where he currently plays. MLS have been successful recruiting Kiwis before (Ryan Nelsen for DC comes to mind). Plus, he's a character; check out the dreads.



3. Park Joo-young
Nationality: South Korea
Position: Striker/Winger
Age: 23
Current club: FC Seoul
Analysis: Another "Young Player of the Year" award-winner for the AFC, Joo-young might be difficult to acquire since he is certainly already a rising star of East Asia, but if MLS acts fast they might be able to pry him away from FC Seoul. He has been called the Korean David Beckham which I'm not sure is a complement or a put-down, but he did score one of Korea's two goals in Beijing.


4. Gervais Yao "Gervinho" Kouassi
Nationality: Cote D'Ivoire
Position: Striker
Age: 21
Current club: Le Mans
Analysis: He may be the most expensive out of the four, but he is arguably the most talented. Gervinho is being "monitored by French sides AS Monaco, Paris Saint Germain and Marseille, as well as English Premiership giants Arsenal." While they monitor, a club might be able to use him for a playoff run. He's likely not a long-term solution unless MLS can match the big bucks that are going to be thrown his way sooner rather than later, but it's worth investigating.

Five things we learned from Beijing

Five things that we learned from the U.S. Olympic soccer team's short campaign in the 2008 Beijing Games:

1) Maurice Edu is not a defender
Ok, so most of us knew this before the Games started. Most of us, except that is U.S. coach Peter Nowak apparently who put him in position to fail miserably. Not only should the centerback be experienced in his defensive duties, he should also know the duties of everyone else, as the anchor of the backline. That's why many national teams select centerbacks to captain the team because most of them are already leaders on the pitch. Mo's a good midfielder; he's not a defender. And can I ask why Peter Nowak brought Patrick Ianni (an actual defender) if he wasn't going to play him?

2) The U.S. still has a serious left back problem.

Michael Orozco was most certainly the weak link on this team. It was obvious from the first game against Japan -- when they ran up and down the left wing -- that he was a drowning man. Combine this desperation with a little frustration (and perhaps adrenaline) and what do you get? That's right, a red card just three minutes into the final, deciding match. Referee Wolfgang Starg's call was harsh, especially just three minutes in, but Orozco's lack of discipline surfaced well before that defining moment. And we all know how Germans feel about discipline.

3) Not everyone bought into Jozy hype.
By everyone, I mean coach Nowak. He was the same way with Adu back when he coached Freddy at DC United. He doesn't like people telling him that a player is talented and should play, even if they are and they should. Altidore, the hope for American goalscoring, played a total of 86 minutes in three matches. Not even a full game! And he still scored a goal.

4) Inexperience hurts, stupidity kills.
We could kill Orozco all day for his silly elbow, but the man really responsible for putting the U.S. in this position is Michael Bradley. The U.S. needed Bradley in its midfield, but he goes and picks up a second yellow card for time wasting -- TIME WASTING! This isn't inexperience; it's stupidity! He knew going into the match with the Dutch that he was carrying a yellow and that a second would mean that he would sit out the final match. Sure the U.S. was leading the match and few expected an injury-time equalizer. But even without clairvoyance Bradley's time-wasting maneuver helped no one but Nigeria.

5) Brian McBride isn't a leader of men (or boys).
Where the hell was McBride? When they first announced that Brian McBride would be one of the overage picks, I thought it was an inspired pick. After all, we needed his experience and the U.S. is certainly not long on goalscorers at the moment. But McBride was a complete nonfactor. He could certainly point to a lack of service but as the senior member of the team, he needed to track back and make himself a part of the action. And he needed to be a vocal leader on the team. Look, I've interviewed the guy before. I know he isn't the sharpest pencil in the box, but he is a world class player that would have had just as much impact on this match sitting on a couch in Illinois.

Editor's note: Here's a nice piece from Yanks Abroad writer Brent Latham on the U.S's performance.

Olympics: U.S. Olympians crash and burn

They were already without suspended midfielders Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley, when bonehead Michael Orozco got himself sent off for throwing an elbow. And with him went the medal hopes for the United States' Olympic soccer team, as the 10-man Americans lose 2-1 to Nigeria in the final match of the group stage and crash out of the Beijing Games.

Just four minutes in and the U.S. hopes to advance took a serious blow, as Orozco was sent off by German referee Wolfgang Starg for throwing an elbow while battling for the ball. With only 10 men, the speed and aggressiveness of the Nigerian team kept the U.S. on their heels. Although the Nigerian attack often had all the finesse of a freight train, the U.S. had difficulty holding possession. If not for some solid saves by goalkeeper Brad Guzan, this match might have been over a lot sooner.

The absence of Freddy Adu was pretty glaring in the first half, as no one in the midfield or up front seemed capable of holding the ball for more than a few seconds, given the pressure put on by the Nigerians. And in the 40th minute, the locomotive finally crashed through the station, as the U.S. defense finally cracked and allowed Promise Isaac to score the match's first goal and the only goal of the first half by sliding in on a low cross from teammate Chinedu Ogbuke. With 11 shots for the Screaming Eagles to 0 for the Americans, it could have been much worse.

In the second half, U.S. coach Peter Nowak subbed in Benny Feilhaber for Jozy Altidore, removing some speed on the attack in favor of a bit more ball control. Despite the change, however, the second half progressed similarly to the first although with a handful of chances for the U.S. from set pieces and the occasional counter attack. But the man advantage for Nigeria made sustained possession by the U.S. extremely difficult.

Nowak made another subsitution in the 69th minute, as Dax McCarty entered the match for a winded Danny Szetela, but it was looking pretty bleak for the Americans. With news that the Dutch converted a PK against Japan, an equalizer seemed too much to ask for. In 77th minute, Nowak made his final substitution bringing on forward Charlie Davies for Stuart Holden. But it wouldn't matter as Nigerian Victor Obinna dashed the American's hopes in the 80th minute with their second goal.

The U.S. spirits were lifted momentarily when Maurice Edu earned a penalty kick for the U.S. in the 88th minute and Sascha Kljestan converted the spot-kick to put the U.S. within reach with just over three minutes to go. A minute later substitute Davies hit the crossbar, but the soccer gods weren't with the U.S. on this day.

Some fans switched over to the Netherlands v. Japan, hoping for a late equalizer in that match that would save the U.S., but it never materialized and the U.S. is coming home after a very disappointing end to a promising start.

I should have stayed in bed.

TYH's Patriot of the Pitch©: Brad Guzan

MATCH REPORT

TEAM	1st half	2nd half	Final
USA	0	1	1
NIG	1	1	2

Scoring:
NIG – Isaac (Ogbuke) 40.
NIG - Obinna (Ajilore) 80.
USA - Kljestan (PK) 88.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 2-Marvell Wynne, 6-Maurice Edu, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 3-Michael Orozco; 14-Robbie Rogers, 7-Stuart Holden (9-Charlie Davies, 77), 16-Sacha Kljestan, 8-Danny Szetela (5-Dax McCarty, 69); 17-Brian McBride, 12-Jozy Altidore (10-Benny Feilhaber, 46)

NIG: 1-Ambruse Vanzekin; 2-Chibuzor Okonkwo, 5-Dele Adeleye, 15-Efe Ambrose; 6-Monday James, 8-Sani Kaita, 10-Promise Isaac (capt.) (16-Victor Anichebe, 72), 12-Ebenezer Ajilore (17-Emmanuel Ekpo, 85); 7-Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi, 9-Victor Obinna, 11-Solomon Okoronkwo (14-Peter Odemwingie, 68)

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Orozco (ejection) 4.
USA – Feilhaber (caution) 60.
NGA - Vanzekin (caution) 87. 

STATS	USA	NIG
Shots	8	20
Shots(OG)	4	5
Saves	4	2
Corners	3	5
Fouls	7	11
Offside	0	1

Olympics: U.S. settle for Dutch draw

The U.S. nearly made history against tough European opponent today in the the second match of Group B play at the Bejing Games. Leading 2-1 with less than a minute to go, the Dutch converted a freekick and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Giving the American squad four points after two games.

In the opening minutes the U.S. looked nervous and tentative. They couldn't retain possession and touches were heavy or played into traffic. The U.S. began to settle down a bit by the 10th minute and were able to generate a couple of chances on goal by stepping up and challenging the Dutch backline and midfield on 50-50 balls.

Twice in the early going Marvell Wynne allowed the right wing Roy Drenthe to get on the end of a far post cross without a challenge, a far cry from his dominant performance against the Japanese. Poor marking would result in the Neherlands first goal, in fact, as Maurice Edu, who inexplicably started at centerback once again, missed a header on a cross and allowed Ryan Babel to put the ball on frame. Brad Guzan made a tough first save but Babel knocked home the rebound.

The Dutch kept the heat on, sensing a defensive weakness. The U.S. weathered the storm for the first half hour, but couldn't generate any sustained attack because of sloppy play. Wynne who played so well againt Japan had a nightmare first half against the Dutch.

Freddy Adu looked sloppy on the ball for much of the half as well, but in the 35th minute, he made a nice mazy run through three defenders and was taken down at the edge of the 18 to give the U.S their best look at goal to that point. Michael Bradley's ensuing freekick was played off the wall, and the subsequent corner was hit over everyone and out for a goal kick.

The U.S. had a few good looks around the 40th minute, as Bradley hit a screamer on a ball played to him across the top of the box, but it was parried well by Dutch keeper Kenneth Vermeer.  The Americans seemed to generate more of an attack when they challenged the 50-50 balls in the midfield and defense. pushing their midfielders up. It left them vulnerable for a counterattack, but the U.S. was able to avoid it until halftime with the match 1-0 to the Orange.

The second half started a bit like the first half and poor marking by MoEdu almost led to another goal for the Dutch, as he shoved down Drenthe for a freekick on the right side of the area. The ensuing cross was put into the side netting, but it was nervous couple of seconds.

But the U.S. came back with a set-piece opportunity of their own in the 50th minute, as Brian McBride back-headed a deep freekick on goal and forced Vermeer to make a spectacular save to preserve the lead. It was McBride's first real chance of the tournament. McBride had another chance from a similar situation in the 59th minute, but this time the freekick was punched clear by Vermeer.

The U.S seemed to be gaining confidence at the hour mark with a few nice exchanges through midfield and runs down the left wing. But in the 64th minute, a no-look pass by Adu split the Dutch defense and Sasha Kljestan finished the 1v1 chance well to draw the match even at 1-1.

Jozy Altidore, who coach Peter Nowak has decided to use like a supersub, entered the match for Robbie Rogers, following the goal and paid instant dividends.

In the 73rd minute, a melee in the box had the ball ping-ponging around until Kljestan's foot and Altidore's touch put the ball into space on the left where a hard cross from left back Michael Orozco richoceted off the defender to Altidore's knee and past Vermeer for the go-ahead goal.

In the 80th minute, Adu, who was carrying a yellow card after accidentally kicking the goalkeeper Vermeer in the face when challenging for a through ball, was substituted for Benny Feilhaber.

With five minutes to play, the U.S. began to get a little too defensive, preferring to play long balls out of their zone to players in offside positions. In the 88th minute, a counterattacking opportunity went begging when Stuart Holden tried his luck, despite being 2v1 with Kljestan against one Dutch defender, and hit it wide left.

With three minutes of extra time added, the U.S. surrendered a free kick at the edge of the area in the 93rd minute, when Holden's challenge came a bit late. The Dutch made no mistake, firing home a low shot underneath the wall and beating Guzan to make it 2-2.

A disappointing result to a match that had the makings of a classic in American soccer. Backs against the wall, looking outplayed and outgunned, the U.S. fought back to take the lead and nearly won the day. Adding to the disappointment will be that the U.S. will be without midfielders Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley in the crucial final match against Nigeria due to yellow card accumulation. Adu's card was unavoidable and certainly wasn't intentional, but Bradley's yellow card for time wasting when he was carrying a card coming into the match was plain stupid.

With Nigeria beating Japan 2-1 in the early game, the U.S. are tied with the African nation on points, goal differential and total goals scored going into the final match. A win against Nigeria will put the Americans through to the next round. Other scenarios that put the U.S. through: a draw or loss by the Dutch OR if Nigeria and the U.S. draw in the final match and the Dutch win, there would be a drawing of lots to see who would advance as the second place team. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

TYH's Patriot of the Pitch©: Sascha Kljestan

MATCH REPORT

TEAM	1st half	2nd half	Final
USA	0	2	2
NED	1	1	2

Scoring:
NED – Babel (unassisted) 16.
USA - Kljestan (Adu) 66.
USA - Altidore (unassisted) 73.
NED - SIbon (unassisted) 90+.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 2-Marvell Wynne, 6-Maurice Edu, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 3-Michael Orozco; 7-Stuart Holden, 4-Michael Bradley, 16-Sacha Kljestan, 14-Robbie Rogers (12-Jozy Altidore, 65); 11-Freddy Adu (Benny Feilhaber, 80), 17-Brian McBride – Capt.

NED: 18-Kenneth Vermeer, 2-Gianni Zuiverloon, 3-Dirk Marcellis (Roy Makaay, 75), 4-Kew Jaliens, 7-Jonathan de Guzman, 8-Urby Emanuelson, 12-Hedwiges Maduro, 15-Royston Drenthe (Gerald Sibon, 75), 17-Otman Bakkal, 11-Ryan Babel, 16-Roy Beerens (Calvin Jong-a-Pin, 69)

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Edu (caution) 56.
NED – Marcellis (caution) 60.
USA – Adu (caution) 78.
USA – Bradley (caution) 90+.
USA – Holden (caution) 90+.

STATS	USA	NED
Shots	12	9
Shots(OG)	8	4
Saves	2	6
Corners	2	2
Fouls	11	14
Offside	2	2

Olympics: Post-game reaction

Olympics: U.S. win opener 1-0

The U.S. Olympic team won its first match of Group B play 1-0 against Japan in Tianjin, China, at Olympic Center Stadium, thanks to a goal by Houston Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden in the 47th minute.

Neither team generated much in the way of an attack in the first half, as the U.S. had two shots on frame and Japan only one. The U.S., however, dominated possession, but were unable to provide adequate service to their forwards.

In the second half, the U.S. looked to be the more dangerous side early. In the 47th minute, Holden's low right-footed shot in the 49th minute was slowed down by the Japanese keeper, but not stopped. The goal was created when right back Marvell Wynne, on an overlapping run, beat his man to the endline and his low cross was deflected out in front to Holden.

McBride had a few heavy touches in the second half, and looked a bit rusty throughout to be honest. He was replaced by Jozy Altidore in the 74th minute. Altidore nearly had a 1v1 chance after winning the ball in the box but his first touch was poor and allowed the keeper to get out of trouble.

Benny Feilhaber, who nearly missed the Games with a right knee injury, came on the 83rd minute for goalscorer Holden.

The U.S. needs to do better from the set piece going forward, as they squandered a few chances with poor execution. Robbie Rogers had a standout game on the left side of midfield, and was replaced in the 87th minute by Danny Szetela. But Freddy Adu contributed little to the contest.

On defense, left back Michael Orozco's performance was below average, while Wynne really held together the right side very well. I'm still not convinced that Brad Guzan was the right choice between the sticks, though. There were a few scary moments in the final five minutes, but he was rarely tested.

Overall, an adequate, if underwhelming, performance by the U.S. in their first Olympic match. With the talent on this team, there is no question that they should advance out of group play, but there were certainly some problem areas that need to be addressed.

TYH's Patriot of the Pitch©: Marvell Wynne

MATCH REPORT

TEAM	1st half	2nd half	Final
USA	0	1	1
JPN	0	0	0

Scoring:
USA – Holden (unassisted) 47.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 2-Marvell Wynne, 6-Maurice Edu, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 3-Michael Orozco; 7-Stuart Holden (10-Benny Feilhaber, 83), 4-Michael Bradley, 16-Sacha Kljestan, 14-Robbie Rogers (8-Danny Szetela, 87); 11-Freddy Adu, 17-Brian McBride – Capt. (12-Jozy Altidore, 74)

JPN: 1-Shusaku Nishikawa; 4-Hiroki Mizumoto – Capt., 5-Yuto Nagatomo, 6-Masato Morishige, 7-Atsuto Uchida; 8-Keisuke Honda, 10-Yohei Kajiyama (17-Tadanari Lee, 64), 12-Hiroyuki Taniguchi, 14-Shinji Kagawa (11-Shinji Okazaki, 84), 16-Takuya Honda; 15-Takayuki Morimoto (9-Yohei Toyoda, 73)

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Adu (caution) 51.
USA – Bradley (caution) 64.
JPN – K.Honda (caution) 73.
JPN – T.Honda (caution) 77.
USA –Guzan (caution) 87.

STATS	USA	JPN
Shots	6	10
Shots(OG)	2	1
Saves	1	1
Corners	3	6
Fouls	15	15
Offside	1	1

Olympics: Parkhurst's smog blog

USA defender Michael Parkhurst, one of three senior members on the U.S. Olympic team, will be writing a blog for The Boston Globe during the Olympics. In his second post, he comments on the much talked about issue of air quality in Beijing and the surrounding areas.

There is no such thing as a bright blue day around here, although I did see a small patch for a bit yesterday. But for the most part it is just a gray haze. The visibility out into the distance from our hotel does not span more than a couple miles. So the smog is a reality. However, it's not something that will greatly affect us during the Games. It is one of the reasons we came China a week early and I think most of us, by now, have adapted to the heat, humidity and ... smog.

The U.S. Olympic team will take on Japan tomorrow morning at 5amET in their first match of the tournament in Tianjin. The match will be broadcast live on MSNBC, the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and Universal HD.

Your 2008 U.S. Olympic team

Here are U.S. Olympic team coach Peter Nowak's selections for the Beijing Games:

2008 U.S. MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS: Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio)
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

Alternates
Goalkeeper: Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract)
Defender: Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew)
Midfielder: Dax McCarty (FC Dallas)
Forward: Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

ANALYSIS: This could be the strongest Olympic team the U.S. has ever fielded. Nowak's pick for the three senior players* (Brian McBride, Brad Guzan and Michael Parkhurst) demonstrates that veteran leadership is needed both in defense and in the attack. The biggest question mark for this team could be in goal, however, as Guzan has yet to reclaim his Goalkeeper of the Year form from 2007 and Chris Seitz is relatively untested at this level, despite playing in Olympic qualifiers, having only started three games for Real Salt Lake.

Senior coach Bob Bradley could take note of Nowak's selections in the midfield. On defense, the selection of Michael Parkhurst to a U.S. team is a long time coming. Patrick Ianni has been superb recently in SuperLiga play against some top flight forwards in the Mexican league.

Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley lead this list of superb players. Benny Feilhaber will have to prove match fit by August after sustaining a torn meniscus in his right knee in May. Most recently he was left home by Derby County's for s series of preseason matches, but word is he's close to recover and should be ready to go.

But the pièce de résistance was Nowak's selection of McBride to lead this group of young forwards into battle. He's been there and done that and will therefore be able to calm the often excitable Jozy Altidore. There was some question as to whether Charlie Davies would be left off to make room for the alliterative one, Robbie Rogers. It is nice to see that Nowak made room for both players.

* Only three players over the age of 23 are allowed per squad

Monaco double down on American pair

The French press is reporting that AS Monaco of the French First Division is attempting to sign both Michael Bradley and Freddy Adu.

Monaco has reportedly offered over nine dollars to SC Heerenveen for Bradley, and the club's own web site has admitted their interest in Adu. Bologna and Genoa of Italy's Serie A also expressed interest in Adu, but the Monegasque club, whose coach is a former coach of Adu's current club Benfica, may have an edge in the Freddy race.

Meanwhile, Bradley, who broke Brian McBride's single-season record of goals scored by an American in a first division in Europe with 16 for Heerenveen has been the speculation of much interest across Europe. Bayer Leverkusen and Middlesbrough expressed interest in the 20-year-old, although according to the French press the offer was for far less than Monaco was willing to spend.

Monaco, who finished a dismal 12th place in Ligue 1 last season hopes to move up the table next year to avoid slipping into relegation territory and the club has the money to do so.

Feilhaber's injury nightmare

Playing in a meaningless game in a meaningless tournament might have cost Benny Feilhaber his chance at Olympic gold.

The U.S. under-23 midfielder tore his meniscus in his right knee while playing Wednesday against Turkey in the 2008 Toulon International Tournament and will need surgery.

The prognosis is that Feilhaber will be out four to six weeks, which means that he might be able to play in late June or early July. That gives him around a month to regain fitness, so a return is certainly not out of the question. But knee injuries often take longer to heal than anticipated and it often takes even longer to regain pre-injury form.

USA draws tough Olympic Group

The U.S. men's Olympic team will face the Netherlands, NIgeria and Japan in a competitive Group B in the Beijing Olympic Games this summer.

Like the World Cup, the top two teams in each group -- there are four groups -- will advance into the next round. While the Netherlands and NIgeria are solid teams at the senior level, neither team qualified for the 2004 Athens Games. Of course, the U.S. also failed to qualify after needing to win in Mexico City to secure a berth. Japan finished last in their group in 2004, but because it is essentially an under-23 tournament, four years is a long time and teams that were once good could be terrible, while teams that were laughably bad good be amazing -- except, of course, the Argentineans who always seem to field strong youth sides.

Cote D'Ivoire, Argentina, Australia, and Serbia will compete in Group A. Host-country China, New Zealand, Brazil, and Belgium were selected for Group C, while Korea, Cameroon, Honduras, and Italy will clash in Group D.

Here's coach Peter Nowak on the draw from ussoccer.com:

“It’s a difficult group definitely, but that’s what we expect in a tournament that includes the top 16 teams in the world. They are very quality teams we will face and we have to be up to the challenge. This is a great challenge for us and we can gain a lot of experience from these kinds of games and this kind of tournament. The goal is still to go from the group stage to the second round.”

Beijing Bound: US hoses Canada

Take that Toronto FC fans. The U.S. under-23 team beat up on Canada 3-0 in the semi-finals of CONCACAF's qualifying tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on the strength of two Freddy Adu free-kick goals and an extra goal courtesy of Sasha Kljestan. The win qualifies the U.S. for Beijing regardless of the outcome in the final.

The U.S. will finish out the qualifying campaign against Honduras tomorrow, also at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. Honduras qualified for the Olympics by defeating Guatemala on PKs.

For the U.S., their attack was once again powered by double-As -- Altidore and Adu. Jozy set up both free-kicks for Adu, who shot to the top of the tournament top scorer's chart.

"Jozy made two great runs that resulted in two free kicks,” said Adu. “Jozy made a great run and the build up was great. We had a little bit of possession and the ball ended up at Jozy's feet. He turned around ran at the guy and got the foul.”

Nowak gave Jonathan Spector his first minutes with the team and put him in central defense, a position he has never played before for either the senior or youth national teams. Spector aquitted himself well, along with centerback Michael Orozco.

The draw for the Olympics will take place on April 20.

Goals:
USA – Adu (unassisted) 27th minute
USA – Adu (unassisted) 48.
USA – Kljestan (Holden) 78.

Lineups:
USA: 1-Chris Seitz; 2-Marvell Wynne, 3-Michael Orozco, 17-Jonathan Spector, 5-Nathan Sturgis; 16-Sacha Kljestan (14-Robbie Findley, 88) , 6-Maurice Edu (capt.), 10-Dax McCarty, 7-Stuart Holden; 11-Freddy Adu (20-Eddie Gaven, 82) 12-Jozy Altidore (9-Charlie Davies, 75)

CAN: 18-Joshua Wagenaar; 2-Graham Ramalho (9-Andrea Lombardo, 54), 4-Dejan Jakovic, 5-Andrew Hainault (capt.), 6-Nikolas Ledgerwood, 7-Andrazes Ornoch, 10-Will Johnson, 11-Tosaint Ricketts, 14-Tyler Hemming, 15-Tyler Roselund (17-Marcus Haber, 76), 16-Keegan Ayre (13-Kyle Hall, 30)

Patriot of the Pitch©: Freddy Adu

Nowak to lead USA Olympic effort

The USSF announced on Wednesday that former DC United coach and U.S. national team assistant Peter Nowak would be the new coach of the U.S. under-23 tasked with qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

"We have 12 months to prepare for the most important tournament in this age group, and I am anxious to build on the work that we have already started with many of these players," Nowak said. "As we saw in the U-20 World Cup, we have some great young talent, and I will spend the next couple of months getting a good look at the whole group. Our job is not only to qualify for the Olympic Games, but to continue to prepare these players for service with the full national team."

So, you think Freddy Adu is happy to see his old coach take the reins of a team that he was likely to be one of the central figures. Why wouldn't he be? How quickly we forget. You see, Nowak and Adu didn't see eye to eye. Here's a trip down memory lane courtesy of Freddyadublog.com.

Then to the surprise of many, after what appeared to be a stellar game for the young Freddy Adu coach Nowak subbed Matias Donnet in the 65th minute for Adu. With Adu out, that changed the pace of the game and the Revolution were able to wind down the clock and come out victorious to move on to the finals. Although Nowak said he wanted fresh legs in the game and that was the reason for the substitute it came at an unusual time sparking debate over whether the substitution was just a stab at rumors that Freddy Adu might be moving to play in Europe.

Here's another one from a more traditional source (USA Today):

Adu vented his frustrations to reporters in October while United was preparing for the opening game of the playoffs. He said he should be playing "a lot more," even though he had started 16 of 25 regular-season games and averaged about 60 minutes per appearance as a second-year player. He said his lack of playing time had wrecked his chances of making the U.S. World Cup team and left open the possibility that he would leave United at the end of the season.

So, the drama is set to start again and soon, as Nowak has announced his attentions to organize some friendly matches to test the waters of the U-23 player pool before qualification begins next March. Looking at the players available this could be the U.S.'s strongest Olympic team ever.

Here's what Nowak had to say about the player pool on ussoccer.com:

“We feel very good about what is available to us. I think the bulk of the group will come from the players who played in the U-20 World Cup in Canada. There are also a lot of older players who are playing abroad – guys like Charlie Davies, Benny Feilhaber, Kamani Hill, Lee Nguyen and Jonathan Spector - that could play important roles. We know that working with the schedules of these players will be difficult, so that is why it is critical to move forward as quickly as possible. As for other players, we will certainly keep an open mind throughout the process.”