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ThroughBall.com antagonist/Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo are having a cute little tiff in the Portuguese press.

Mourinho, per the norm, is bitching about not getting calls and Ronaldo, who should probably just keep his mouth shut until United wins the treble (despite the Antichrist), said that Jose “doesn’t know how to admit his own failures.”

Future U.S. National Team coach and the pride of Mozambique, Carlos Queiroz, even chimes in on this one, saying, “Mourinho has his own style, he always tries to divert everyone’s attention to the points which are convenient for him.” Well said, Carlos; good luck with the Nats.

Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo are like Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump, only talented.

Landon Donovan’s hat trick led the U.S. Men’s National Team to a 3-1 victory over Ecuador yesterday. The format below, detailing what can be taken away from the most recent U.S. match, worked well for the U.S/Mexco game so I have decided to reprise it. Following are four things to take away from the United States’ victory.

Landon really is back.

After the Mexico game, I wrote about Landon, “I’m not quite ready to welcome him back into the fold but he was very good last night.”

Strike that from the record, won’t you? Landon Donovan is most certainly back. He set the tone for the rest of his side with his first goal, a left-footed strike coming off a misplayed clearance only 42 seconds into the game.

Also after the Mexico game, I wrote that Donovan “can be very effective when he’s facing the goal and using his speed.” There will never be a better example of this than his second goal of the match. Landon, seeing the chance for a counter-attack, streaked through the midfield, calling for a through ball from Brian Ching. Ching delivered and Donovan calmly, coolly scored the game-winner.

His third goal came off a perfect, slotted pass from DaMarcus Beasley and if it hadn’t ended up in the back of the net, the ball surely would have left the stadium.

After the game, Landon said, “I’m now embracing a leadership role. I used to say: ‘I’d love to be a leader. I want to be a leader.’ But it’s not good enough to say it. You have to show it.” That attitude is about nine months too late. Nevertheless, Landon gleamed as though it were 2002.

Video of all the goals:

Bob Bradley

I have never been sure about Bradley either as a permanent figure or as the interim coach. But his ability to combine MLS- and foreign-based players and his penchant for putting together a solid lineup with a veteran core peppered with up-and-comers have made a believer of me.

I’ve been holding out hope that the Federation was waiting for the end of the European seasons to snag Carlos Queiroz from Manchester United but given Bradley’s aforementioned qualities and the most important variable—success on the field, you may add my voice to the cacophony calling for Sunil Gulati to offer Bradley a permanent post.

ESPN better, still not quite there

ESPN’s production of this game was much better than any of their recent soccer telecasts. Missing were the maniacal camera-switching and obsessive pimping of Bob Bradley.

Dave O’Brien, who is clearly a baseball announcer first and everything else second, shouted “GONE!” after Landon Donovan scored his second goal. Had I not known I was watching soccer, I would have assumed that O’Brien was getting a little too worked up over a home run in a meaningless spring training game.

Eric Wynalda and Bruce Arena engaged in a love-fest for the majority of the game and except for Arena reading his opening remarks off a teleprompter again, they were both tolerable.

I particularly enjoyed Bruce’s smackdown of the Onyewu-as-a-guy-who-
plays-a-different-sport-you-know-a-real-sport-like-American-football scenario upon which the ESPN producers insisted. Yes, Gooch is a very large man; so what? You won’t hear anyone tell you that A-Rod would make a great basketball player.

Match-ready

In terms of fitness and form, the U.S. team that defeated Ecuador yesterday looked very different from the team that defeated Mexico. This was partially due to the influx of European players who are already match-fit and in form. The bigger picture—and this is a credit to Bob Bradley’s camp—showed that the MLS players, particularly Brian Ching, were able to keep up with the pace of their counterparts.

In short, the passing was crisp and well-intentioned and the movement both on and off the ball was meaningful. The back four looked shaky at times and their kits were, at best, odd, but the various combinations of eleven looked comfortable with each other and moved a step closer to Copa America and the Gold Cup.

I’d even go so far as to say that we could beat a world powerhouse like, I don’t know, say, Israel.

Further reading

ussoccer.com: Early and Often
Fox Sports: U.S. vs. Ecuador slideshow
AP: Landon says marriage makes him a better leader
ESPN: U.S. dismantles Ecuador
ussoccer.com: Post-game quote sheet

Finally, a rumor that sounds legitimate.

Jamie Trecker is reporting that Jurgen Klinsmann will be named the new coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team within the next two weeks.

According to the story, there were two obstacles to getting the deal done. The first was Klinsmann’s relationship with adidas (versus the team’s relationship with Nike). The second hurdle was the “issue of power-sharing.” According to Trecker:

Former coach Bruce Arena had carved out a wide swath for himself during his tenure, and Klinsmann has reportedly demanded that he too be essentially the sole decision-maker on national team matters

Of course, this all comes one day after we wondered what was taking so long. Frankly, I still wonder (assuming this will be made official within two weeks) if Klinsi will have enough time to properly prepare for the Denmark friendly.

Update: John speculates that, considering the source, this could be just another rumor. Perhaps, but when you combine it with the Cheruldolo incident it seems more plausible.

Update II: The AP has picked up the story, citing “a person with knowledge of the negotiations” who was “speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing.” This is significant. As your friendly, neighborhood blogger, I have the luxury of being able to report what is being reported; not so with the AP, who will independently verify the information.

According to La Opinion, the U.S. Soccer Federation has offered the U.S. Men’s National Team coaching position to Jose Pékerman. The paper says that former U.S. international and Haitian National Team coach, Fernando Clavijo, will come on as an assistant.

I’ve run the story through a translator, so it won’t read very well to English-only readers, but you’ll get the idea.

The official announcement will happen during the 2006 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, which will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, at the end of this month.

Hat tip to du Nord

Update (11/20/06): Gulati denies saying Pekerman would soon be hired to replace Arena.

Jurgen Klinsmann told the Associated Press today that he has been having “informal” talks with Sunil Gulati and the U.S. Soccer Federation about coaching the U.S. Men’s National Team.

We’ve had a couple of conversations. I’m evaluating everything that comes up. I’ll stay in touch with Sunil and see what it leads to. It’s a very casual and relaxed correspondence.

While Klinsmann was careful to not make any commitments, this smacks of a well-timed trial balloon. Jurgen still has some backtracking to do since he said he was going to take a long break from coaching. This interview is a good way for him to clean that up while whetting the appetite of U.S. supporters with quotes like this:

I’ve lived in this country for eight years now, so I’ve followed soccer development in the United States. It’s definitely a very different situation in this country. Obviously, the approach here in the U.S. would be a totally different one. The player-development aspect is a huge aspect.

According to the L.A. Times, Frank Yallop does not want to coach the U.S. Men’s National Team.

“It’s pure speculation,” Yallop said Wednesday at the Home Depot Center. “There’s a list of people who I guess always get mentioned and I feel pretty flattered that I get put into that mix. It means I’m doing something right in my coaching career.

“But I’m not looking at doing that at the moment. I really enjoy what I’m doing here. I’m looking forward to next season with the Galaxy.”

What, precisely, makes Yallop believe there’ll be a “next season with the [bottom-of-the-table] Galaxy” for him?