A little worried, Germany? Maybe you should be

I love love love! this story from AP about Germany's anxieties about playing the US Men's National Team on Wednesday at Signal Iduna Park. Coming off a 4-1 loss to Italy earlier in the month, Germany would really face a beatin' to their rep if lil' 'ol US beat their britches.

And yet, it could honestly happen. But best of all, even if the US team loses the game, as long as the guys turn in a decent showing, they've really won the war. After all, this is an understrength team, playing without its usual heavies -- even its top MLS players will be absent. Germany is turning out the best of its best. Unless the US totally screws the pooch, it's no contest, they'll prove their mettle. It gives light to something that most of the world has started to already notice. We're not fifth in the world for nothin'.

But is that really fair for Germany? They're facing a crapload of pressure, to not only win, but to avoid losing to what should be a freshman beating. The US really doesn't have that, so the guys walk in anxiety-free. I remember when Mexico lost to the US in the September qualifier, Mexico's coach Ricardo Lavolpe snarking off that it was easy for the US to win when they face no pressure. "The U.S. is a small team. They play like my sister, my aunt and my grandmother," he said. Yeah, that's a grandmother who kicked your team's butt 2-0. But I wonder if there's something to that? Do our guys have it easier because the spotlight on them is so dim? Or is it tougher for them to go into every match with a chip on their shoulder, knowing that if they lose they're brushed off with the "Well, it's the US, what do you expect" treatment, and if they win that they're only inching the US forward in terms of general audience acceptance?

Even Coach Arena commented that, "After watching how everyone is treating my friend Juergen, I'm not sure I'd want to have this kind of pressure in the United States."

But I dunno. I don't know that this kind of pressure is necessarily a bad thing. It certainly shows the kind of honor, dreams and glory that a national team can carry on its shoulders. To have that, instead of expectations and dismissals, might make a good trade.

Ooooh, MLS musings ...
The story also indicates that Bruce Arena said that if he leaves the US team, he'd consider coaching in MLS. What team, I wonder ...

And just because I love soccer for the players as well as the game ...
Looking at the lineup, with my beloved Frankie Hejduk out nursing his hamstring injury, I hereby designate my crush of the game to be Pablo Mastroeni ...