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Rubio Rubin, Blast from the U-17 Past

March 30, 2015 — by Rob Kirby

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[Editor’s note: Rubio Rubin featured as a 67-minute substitute for Aron Johansson in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Denmark and won his first cap for the full-blown USMNT. Originally commissioned by the Sarasota Herald Tribune to Rob Kirby in December 2011 but ultimately unpublished, this article featured a 15-year-old and U-17 Residency Program standout Rubio Rubin, before those heady heights. Congratulations, Rubin!]

For two years, the crop of under-17 soccer players in the U.S. national team housed at the 350-acre IMG sports complex in Bradenton live and breathe soccer. They keep their eyes fixed firmly on the prize of representing their country at the 2013 U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. The top trophy represents the culmination of a 24-month dream.

This newest group of 15 year olds, 32 boys all born in 1996, left home in August and moved into the all-expenses-paid U.S. U-17 residency program, with a schedule as jam-packed as the young men are gifted. The team trains six days a week, Monday through Saturday, and players spend almost all their time together.

Braces-wearing Steven Echavarria from New York revels in the soccer immersion. “It’s a great experience, because you get to test yourself with the best players around and you’re getting better every day, so you know you’re in the right place.”

By the third week they felt like a unit, said Brandon Tetro, also from New York. “We bonded real quickly. When you’re with someone so much, it just happens so quickly.”

“We go to school together, we go to breakfast together, we go to lunch together and we train together, so we’re building chemistry having fun with each other on the field and off the field,” Rubio Rubin of Oregon said. “We’re together 24/7.”

Rubin does not exaggerate. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, they eat breakfast at 7:00 am, report to an hour and a half of weight training at 7:30, pile into seven Honda minivans at 9:00 for the pristine Bermuda grass soccer fields at IMG and practice for almost two hours. After they scarf down lunch and refuel, it’s off to St. Stephen’s Episcopal School from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, then dinner and homework.

On Tuesday and Thursday, they eat at 7:00 am, leave at 8:00 for an hour to train on sprinting, mechanics and jumping before embarking on regular drills for roughly two hours. After lunch, it’s off to school, then back to the dining hall for dinner, then back to school for study hall from 6:30 pm to 8:15 pm, then back to the dorms to finish up schoolwork. All must comply with a 10:00 pm curfew. Saturday is game day. Sunday they go off to a local mall or check out a movie.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

By the end of two years, most players will have traveled to eight countries, staying on track educationally with online-based homework, podcast lectures, one-on-one conversations with teachers via Skype and even tests in foreign cities timed to synchronize with players back in Bradenton.

“You get postings, notices every day. It’s basically like Facebook for school,” said Californian Thomas Ziemer, who recently traveled to Spain and France with the first team for back to back tournaments over 21 straight days in October.

But though supremely focused, they’re teenagers. When they return from school, they take to the nearby IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy courts, but with a twist. “After school we play soccer tennis, basically tennis but with your feet. We play until it gets dark,” according to Jorge Calix of Washington, D.C., who added with a laugh, “Gotta work on those skills.”

At a recent match, players in the bleachers flirted with girls at IMG, texted, talked about laundry, debated messiest roommate and generally cracked one another up.

Though the players could easily eat with impunity, given their daily cardio and weight training regimen, they resist the lure of fast food and eat with strict adherence to optimizing nutritional intake. In Spain, they indulged in salad and paella as opposed to McDonald’s.

Ted Allen, U.S. History teacher at St. Stephen’s, said, “They may not care about U.S. history, but they care about doing well, and the coaches check up. They are so great to teach. They act like a team and keep each other in line. And for boys so young, they feel the responsibilities of representing their country and also their careers.”

Ziemer takes the national team very seriously. “When everyone’s watching and there are internationals and cameras everywhere, it hits you. We’re competing with the top teams in the world. We want to win at the highest level, bring U.S. soccer to the highest level.”

Rubin concurs. “When you walk out on the field, you feel all the excitement and are so grateful that you’re representing your country and all the people living in this country. You feel like you can do big things.”

As for big things, Rubin scored within the first two minutes with a stunning shot in the 3-1 victory over favorites Brazil in Lakewood Ranch on December 4. “I got the chance to have the ball right in front of me and just tapped it behind the ‘keeper. It’s the best memory I’ve ever had as a soccer player, representing this country. Best day of my life.” What Rubin omits out of humility is that he chipped it in over his shoulder with his back to goal.

The victory, after positive results against the U-17 teams from France and Turkey, won the team its first trophy, one that injected the squad with cautious optimism. “Getting the tie with France and beating Brazil and Turkey shows that we can compete with anyone, we just have to keep working and training,” Ziemer said.

The players head home December 16, after finals at St. Stephen’s. But though they may breathe a sigh of relief, they take nothing for granted, as inclusion in the program gets evaluated semester by semester. If a player’s performance drops, he gets dropped.

“We’ve gotten so close, and leaving this place would just kill you,” Tetro said. “No one’s spot is guaranteed—you can lose your spot at any time.”

“There’s a lot of pressure, but you got to just take it one day at a time and stay focused,” Rubin said.

For these 15-year-old elite athletes, the residency program is where pressure, passion and drive intersect. And soccer tennis.

Euro 2012PreviewSchedule

Euro 2012 Matchday 10: Who Will Survive the Group of Death?

June 17, 2012 — by Suman — 2

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If Group B’s closing matches today is anything like yesterday’s crazy conclusion to Group A, we’re in for a doozy. The two unlikely outcomes–1-0 victories for Greece and Czech Republic over Russia and Poland, respectively–led to those two teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

The combinatorics of the Group of Death are just as convoluted as they were for Group A. Via wikipedia:

On the last match day (17 June) the teams advancing from this group (winner; runner-up) will be:[6][7]

If: Portugal win draw Netherlands win
Denmark win Denmark, and Portugal or Germany1 Denmark; Germany Denmark; Germany
draw Germany; Portugal Germany; Portugal Germany; Denmark
Germany win Germany; Portugal Germany; Portugal Germany; Portugal or Netherlands2
  1. Positions determined by score of Denmark v Germany
    (a) Portugal; Denmark – if Denmark win 1–0
    (b) Denmark; Germany – if Denmark win by 1 goal and score at least 3
    (c) Denmark; Portugal – if Denmark win 2–1 or by at least 2 goals
  2. Portugal will be runner-up if they lose by 1 goal; otherwise the Netherlands will be runner-up.

References

6. “Euro 2012 Diary: Mathematicians to work out who qualifies from Groups A and B“. Betfair. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
7. Johnson, Dale (13 June 2012). “Euro 2012 Group permutations“. ESPN. Retrieved 15 June 2012.

 

The fixtures:

17 June 2012
Portugal Portugal Netherlands Netherlands
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA) – Stadium: Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv (UKR)
Denmark Denmark Germany Germany
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP) – Stadium: Arena Lviv, Lviv (UKR)

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Euro 2012PreviewSchedule

Matchday 7: Yesterday’s Group of Death Wrapup, Italy-Croatia & Spain-Ireland Today

June 14, 2012 — by Suman — 5

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The Group of Death finally lived up to expectations yesterday, with a thrilling match–probably the best of the tournament so far. But it wasn’t the big cross-border rivalry matchup that everyone was eagerly anticipating, but rather the Denmark-Portugal match. It ended 3-2 for Portugal, but only after former Arsenal man Nicky B nearly lived up to his self-image by scoring 2 headed goals to bring the Danes level–and after equally self-regarding superstar Cristiano Ronaldo choked on two breakaways that could have put the game away.  It fell to Porto striker Silvestre Varela to recover a much-needed win for the Portuguese, via a spectacular 87′ strike.

In the late game, the Dutch were again very disappointing–failing to rise to the occasion. They missed a couple early chances–most conspicuously, again, by Robin Van Persie, who failed to connect with a lofted ball over the top from Mark van Bommel (unlike his memorable goals for Arsenal this past year, where the lofted ball usually came from the foot of Alex Song)Germany scored two too-easy goals.  The finishes, both by Mario Gomez, weren’t easy, but the buildup that put him through was. In both cases, it was Bastian Schweinsteiger who unlocked the shaky Dutch without much difficulty–in great part thanks to the fact that he drifted into an attacking position completely unmarked. Back in the Netherlands, no doubt, there will be questions about the Dutch midfield, and about manager Bert van Marwijk’s decision to go with largely the same selection that failed to impress nor produce against Denmark–in particular his decision to start the destructive duo of van Bommel and Nigel de Jong in defensive midfield, while leaving Klaus-Jan Huntelaar and Rafael van der Vaart on the bench until the 2nd half.

So the Grim Reaper is knocking on the Dutch door (they’ll need an unlikely combination of events Sunday to claim 2nd place in the group–including help from the Germans). But on to today’s Group C fixtures–two interesting tactical matchups:

14 June 2012
Italy Italy Croatia Croatia
Referee: Howard Webb (ENG) – Stadium: Municipal Stadium Poznan, Poznan (POL)
Spain Spain Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland
Referee: Pedro Proença (POR) – Stadium: Arena Gdansk, Gdansk (POL)

The early match has Croatian manager Slaven Bilic, who is “seeking one last hurrah from Croatia” before moving to Moscow in the fall, matching up his 4-1-3-2 formation against Prandelli’s much-discussed 3-5-2, which worked to great effect against Spain on Sunday.   For Croatia, most of the focus is on Tottenham Hotspurs midfield playmaker Luka Modrić. But their squad is peppered with players who have made names for themselves at relatively “big” clubs abroad: strikers Nikica Jelavić (Everton), Mario Mandžukić (Wolfsburg), and Eduardo (now Shakhtar Donetsk, previously Arsenal); midfielder Niko Kranjčar (also Spurs), Ivan Perišić (Borussia Dortmund), Ivan Rakitić (Sevilla), and Danijel Pranjić (Bayern Munich); and defenders Darijo Srna (also Shakhtar) and Vedran Ćorluka (Bayer Leverkeusen).

Check back in between matches, when we’ll try to get some notes about Spain-Ireland up in this space.  Meanwhile, join us in the comments below for match commentary.

Euro 2012

Euro 2012 Matchday Three: Big Day for the PIIGS

June 10, 2012 — by Suman — 1

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Yesterday’s Group B (Group of Death) matches were desultory and disappointing. Two 1-0 results–Denmark upsetting the Dutch, and the Germans ultimately dispatching the Portuguese.

On to Group C. Probably the marquee matchup out of all the 1st set of group matches is Italy vs Spain–the I and S in PIGS. No doubt the Italian and Spanish will put aside worries about the Eurozone crisis on this Sunday to focus on the Euro (or maybe not*).

We probably won’t watch Ireland-Croatia (though let’s note that throwing Ireland into the mix yields PIIGS–all of which will have played after today).

10 June 2012
Spain Spain Italy Italy
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN) – Stadium: Arena Gdansk, Gdansk (POL)
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Croatia Croatia
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED) – Stadium: Municipal Stadium Poznan, Poznan (POL)

And now for your daily roundup of random links and observations:

  • Zonal Marking’s analyses of yesterday’s matches:
    • Germany 1-0 Portugal: Gomez gets the nod upfront, and nods in the only goal (“This wasn’t a complex match. Portugal started the game playing reactively, Germany were patient in the number of players they pushed forward. Only Özil’s movement, and his battle with Miguel Veloso, provided tactical interest.”)
    • Denmark 1-0 Holland: Krohn-Dehli goal provides the first surprise of the tournament (“Denmark didn’t play superbly, and Holland didn’t play badly. This result came down to finishing – Holland created some excellent opportunities, mainly through Sneijder, which were wasted. Denmark’s defence kept a clean sheet, but had van Persie brought his Arsenal form to this match, the Danes would have been criticised for being extremely open without the ball. That said, Denmark adjusted well to the situation. They cooled the tempo, held onto the ball, defended in greater numbers and frustrated Holland. The group of death now looks even deadlier.”)
    • Note that in the two analyses ZM makes similar and interesting use of “chalkboards” (match data visualizations created using FourFourTwo’s StatZone app). He looks at data of the two key creative midfielders in these two matches: Wesley Sneijder’s passes received and chances created, and Mesut Özil’s passes received and given. In both writeups he focuses on these two players as the key tactical takeaway of their respective matches.
    • However, perennial contrarian @trunchfiddle writes in: “Sneijder didn’t look all that great. He looked more alive when he moved left after the Hunter came on (and Afellay came off). He did have one nice run at goal for a header he would never in a million years finish, and a really great pass to Hunt toward the end of the match, but look at his passes in that article to Afellay – 19 “successful” passes on the left touchline 45 yards from goal. He didn’t split the defense or break anything down that I can rememebr except once. And for 15 minutes before the changes at the 75th minute he looked to be either completely exhausted or just mopping around in the center of the field.”
  • Another tactical analysis of the Holland-Denmark match on a Dutch/tactics blog: Holland 0 – 1 Denmark: Dominating chances, but losing the game | 11tegen11
  • Harsh words re Portugal from the Guardian’s Richard Williams: Not even Cristiano Ronaldo can inspire this Portugal side
  • Worth listening to yesterday’s edition of the @acjimbo-hosted Euro 2012 Football Daily: Denmark and Germany take first blood in group of death. After some in-studio discussion of Netherlands-Denmark (the tagline for Wednesday’s Germany-Netherlands death match: Lviv or Let Die), Raphael @Honigstein calls in from Warsaw to discuss the Germans.  (Actually he’s also got a piece up in SI re the other match: Afterwards, there’s an excellent preview of Italy-Spain, with @JamesHorncastle commenting on Prandelli’s tactical dilemma–stick with his preferred 4-3-1-2 or switch to a Juve-style 3-5-2?  Devolve to the traditional Italian catennacio, or push ahead with his “new Italy”? For more see this piece on his site: Should Italy play 3-5-2 at Euro 2012? | James Horncastle (“[Prandelli] has sought to replace the tradition of defensive, counter-attacking, opportunistic football with an attractive possession oriented game based around a 4-3-1-2 and a ‘rotating midfield square’ in which players with piedi buoni interchange positions so as not to give their opponents any reference points. It has yielded positive results. Italy held Germany to a draw and beat Spain in friendlies while also qualifying comfortably for Euro 2012.”

So, transitioning to stuff about today’s matches:

..and finally a disquieting piece by the Guardian’s chief football writer Daniel Taylor (@dtguardian): Football’s dark side casts ominous shadows on the streets of Krakow

*The  Eurozone crisis headlines this morning: “The European Union announced a €100 billion bailout of the Spanish banking system today that could be a watershed moment in the evolution of the eurozone into a more workable system.”

 

 

 

Commentary

Digging Europe’s Dark Vision of Futbol: The Unsettling Language of UK Futbol Announcers

June 22, 2010 — by Ryan — 1

It's really not all that bad.

One of the best side benefits of World Cup soccer has been the chance to listen to non-American announcers cover the games. It’s not so much that the U.S. seems to have few legitimate broadcasters who can competently, unpretentiously offer their opinion, which is basically a true statement, no it’s more about the subtle nuances like terminology. Take the following examples:

1) “the smash and grab” – in the overwhelming cluster$#%k that was Switzerland’s goal against Spain the UK announcer repeatedly described it as a “smash and grab” goal. Likewise, Paraguay’s set play success against Italy received the same moniker. I swear no American announcer would ever imply both theft and violence in the purest of all things a world cup goal. No, our man would say the Swiss were “gritty”, “dogged” or “had a nose for the goal”. I’d say the “smash and grab” is all those things and more.