ADVANCING WAS NOT AMERICANS' CALLING.Byline: SCOTT FRENCH Staff Writer NUREMBERG, Germany -- Carlos Bocanegra Carlos Bocanegra (born May 25, 1979) is a Mexican-American soccer player who currently plays for Fulham of the English Premiership. Although he is primarily a center back, he has also seen time at left back with Fulham and the U.S. national team. knows what he should have done: booted the ball out of bounds. Instead he tried to control it with his head, sending it high into the air, then chasing it "Chasing It" is the eighty-first episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos,and the fourth episode of the second half of the show's sixth season. The episode was written by Matthew Weiner and was directed by Tim Van Patten. , a Ghanaian attacker on his heels, as it dropped again from the sky. In an instant, fellow U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewi was involved, tussling with another Ghanaian, as the ball, sent skyward sky·ward adv. & adj. At or toward the sky. sky  wards adv. a third time,
looped toward the back of the Americans' box.
It took all of four to five seconds, a span in which the Americans' World Cup hopes quickly unraveled. Referees have made a huge impact at this World Cup, as the U.S. well knew. Five days earlier, the Uruguayan Jorge Larrionda Jorge Luis Larrionda Pietrafesa (born March 9, 1968) is a FIFA football referee from Uruguay who has officiated at international matches since 2000. He is currently one of the world's top referees, having had the highest moment of his career during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in which -- a controversial figure, suspended for ``irregularities'' four years ago -- sent off Pablo Mastroeni Pablo Mastroeni (born August 29, 1976 in Mendoza, Argentina) is an American soccer midfielder. He plays for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, of which he is its captain, and is a member of the United States national soccer team. and Eddie Pope George Edward ("Eddie") Pope (December 24, 1973) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and spent 11 years as a defender for the United States national team. Born in Greensboro, he attended Southwest Guilford High School. against Italy, leaving the Americans with nine players to fight Italy in a 1-1 draw. Larrionda's decisions could be defended. Not so German referee Markus Merk's on Thursday. Merk, described among the tournament's best officials, offered strong evidence against the assessment, repeatedly blowing calls as the U.S. and Ghana tangled for Group E's final second-round berth at Frankenstadion. None was so poor, nor so big, nor so universally disparaged as his first-half stoppage-time call against Onyewu. ``That call,'' U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley DaMarcus Lamont Beasley (born May 24, 1982 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American soccer player who is currently playing for Scottish Premier League side Rangers as well as the United States. He plays mainly as a winger. said, ``really broke our hearts.'' The Americans, requiring a victory to reach the round of 16, had just evened the score on a blistering Clint Dempsey shot and were about to head into halftime with momentum. Bocanegra struggled to control a ball in the air to the left of the U.S. goal. After one header, Matthew Amoah Mathew Amoah (born October 24, 1980 in Tema, Ghana) is a Ghanaian International Striker who plays for Dutch Eredivisie side NAC Breda in The Netherlands after they reached a deal to sign him from German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. beat the former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX All-American to the ball, sending it toward the top of the box. Onyewu and Ghana's Razak Pimpong Razak Pimpong (born December 30, 1982) is a Ghanaian football player who plays for Viking F.K.. He has played nine games for the Ghanaian national team, and represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics football tournament. jostled for position, with the 6-foot-4 American winning the ball -- cleanly, as every angle of the replay confirmed -- as Pimpong fell to the ground, neither diving nor knocked down. Merk immediately blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot as boos from the pro-U.S. crowd rained down and the Americans expressed disbelief. Stephen Appiah converted, giving Ghana a 2-1 advantage that would hold through the second half. ``I think we'd all agree it was not a good call,'' said U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who shook his fist at Merk and stormed from the field at the final whistle. ``To have that call in the 47th minute, after our team worked so hard to get back in the game is difficult.'' Onyewu was too distraught to talk to the media after the game, but U.S. captain Claudio Reyna -- who had just departed the game with a knee injury -- had plenty to say. ``I think the ref saw it as a big guy against a small guy and felt that those (calls) should go against the big guy,'' he said. ``(Onyewu) made a good play. He headed the ball away. He didn't dive in. He didn't do anything. That's a call that in the middle of the field that sometimes isn't called. ``It was really strange for a really good referee.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) An American fan shows his disappointment after the U.S. finished the 2006 World Cup with a 0-2-1 record. Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion