Zhirkov was arguably the best left back at Euro 2008, and probably the best player on the Russian team not named Andrey Arshavin.
Linked with the player for some time now, Chelsea was the perfect destination for him. The connections to Guus Hiddink, the Russian national team manager and Chelsea's temporary manager at the end of this past season, and Roman Abromovich, as well as Chelsea's need for another left-sided player, combined to create a perfect storm that dropped Zhirkov in West London.
A perfect fit for the Blues, he can play on the left side of the midfield — in front of Ashley Cole and behind Florent Malouda. He also provides a viable backup to Ashley Cole, something Chelsea has been lacking since they let Wayne Bridge head to Manchester City.
This is a great signing for the Blues. Better to spend £18 million on Zhirkov than £17.5 million on Glen Johnson.
While I am much more comfortable writing about the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League, I have to address the run of the U.S. Men’s National Team in the FIFA Confederations Cup. I could write all about which Italians Carlo Ancelotti is bringing to Chelsea, who will replace Ronaldo at Manchester United, how much Manchester City will overpay for players, or which undersized attacking midfielders Arsene Wenger plans to bring to Arsenal, but I must make my first “official” post about the U.S. success in the Confederations Cup.
So two weeks ago I never thought I would be sitting at my computer and writing about the success of the U.S. Men’s National team at the FIFA Confederations Cup. One week ago, after the first two matches, I certainly did not think that would happen.
Well, it’s funny how things can change. After a couple of miracle results that allowed the U.S. to advance, a victory over the top-ranked Spanish team, and an excellent showing against the most famous football team in the world, Brazil, the tournament was clearly one of the biggest success stories for the national team — ever.
But what does this hold for the future of the U.S. National Team and soccer in America? And what have we learned from this tournament?
1) The rest of the world has taken notice of the excellent play and covered the team in a positive light.
In South Africa, neutral fans adopted the U.S. team. They cheered for our lads and waved American flags (Neutrals show surprising support for United States).
On BBC Radio 5 Live’s World Football Phone-In (http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/wf) callers consistently phoned in to show their support for Sam’s Army. While they made it clear they rarely support the U.S. — in sports or anything else — they clearly put their support behind the team and praised them for their play and work ethic.
2) The international coverage could benefit a number of U.S. players who had excellent performances while in the shop window. Players like Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey have already established themselves as regular members of the first team for their Premier League clubs, but others, such as Jay Demerit, Oguchi Onyewu and Johnathan Spector received added exposure and set themselves up for a step forward in their careers.
Spector, who has been plagued by injuries for the past two years at West Ham, looked competent and confident at right back. Assuming he stays healthy, this may be the boost he needs to finally step into a regular spot for the Hammers.
DeMerit, the Watford defender, and Onyewu, the former Standard Liege defender linked with a move to the Turkish side Fenerbahce, had exceptional matches against the top attackers from Egypt, Spain and Brazil. This could be the right time for DeMerit, who played in the Premier League for Watford in 2006-07, to return to the top flight with another club and a bigger contract.
One other player who is ready to step up, both for the national team and a major European club, is Michael Bradley. He is quickly emerging as the best player in the U.S. squad. A box-to-box midfielder with size, strength and touch, Bradley appears ready for a move to a bigger club from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
3) Jozy Altidore is an exceptional talent, but still has a lot to learn about the game. When he can combine that talent with more knowledge and better instincts, he could potentially be a world-class striker. He is tailor-made for the English Premier, but at 19 years old, he is not ready for that move. He needs more consistent playing time in a top European league. That was supposed to happen with his move to Villareal, but he was unable to make an impact prior to his loan move to Spanish second division side Xerez. With the departure of former manager, Manuel Pellegrini, to Real Madrid, as well as the continued rise of U.S.-born Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi, Altidore's future at Villareal may in jeopardy. I think he and Rossi would pair quite well together. However, Altidore apparently feels like he needs a new destination (Altidore: I Don't Want To Go Back To Villareal), a decision I hope he doesn't pursue. He turned a corner with his performances in the Confederations Cup, but has a long way to go and many more corners to turn.
4) This tournament performance prepares the U.S. for success at the World Cup. The team is set up to be better prepared in South Africa 2010, than for any other World Cup we have participated in previously.
First, they enter the rest of CONCACAF qualifying with confidence extremely high. Assuming they can handle their business, they should be able to take this confidence into South Africa 2010.
Second, and maybe most important, the team can enter the World Cup as a seeded team — assuming they role through CONCACAF qualifying — greatly reducing the quality of teams that would be in the same World Cup group.
5) The anti-soccer movement in America is grasping at straws trying to prevent the growth of the beautiful game. Jim Rome took the opportunity provided by the victory over Spain to talk about crazy soccer fans throwing urine on players — a rare, limited occurrence in any league outside of South America. He wasn't interested in actually talking about the U.S. team's accomplishment. He just continued to show his ignorance by bashing a game he has no understanding of. Even actual "journalists" (Rome better not consider himself a journalist) are searching for any argument they can find to knock down soccer. What makes this funny is that fact that they are choosing ridiculous arguments that show how little they know about the game. For instance, some schmuck name Mike Celizic from NBCSports.com wrote this ridiculous article (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/31599252/ns/sports-soccer/). His argument is completely silly. He claims that Americans will never accept soccer because great teams can regularly lose. He clearly doesn't follow any European Leagues. Here are just a few of the top teams from the top leagues in Europe and the number of matches the lost:
• English Premier League: Manchester United — 4 losses in 38 matches
• La Liga: Barcelona — 5 losses in 38 matches
• Serie A: Internazionale — 4 losses in 38 matches
• Dutch Eredivisie: AZ Alkmaar — 4 losses in 34 matches
Mr. Celizic, thank you for showcasing your complete ignorance for all to see!
So this is my first "official" blog. Plenty more to come in the future! Hope you all enjoy!
