|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Closer Look Rough Spanish defenders wear Wolff down
By Michael Lewis, CNNSI.com SYDNEY, Australia -- Forward Josh Wolff was the only American attacker who had his game legs on in the semifinal match of the men's Olympic tournament on Tuesday night. Ironically, they were constantly taken out from under him in the United States' 3-1 loss to Spain. On a number of occasions, Wolff beat Spanish defender Marchena on the right wing and each time he paid the price on the receiving end of a hard foul at Sydney's soccer stadium. "I was getting by him and getting by a couple of the backs and getting in dangerous spots before I could get into the box," Wolff said. "They're not stupid. They're going to take their chances from 25 or 30 yards out rather than let me get close to the goal. That's part of the game." Wolff was rudely introduced to the 21-year-old Marchena in the ninth minute, when the defender was awarded a yellow card by referee Mourad Daami of Tunisia after holding up the Chicago Fire forward on the right wing. Only three minutes later, Marchena tackled Wolff hard once again on the wing, a severe foul that could as just as easily been another yellow card. In the 15th minute, the very busy Marchena left his calling card again, this time tackling Conor Casey on the right side. "There could have been [another card]," Wolff said. "I thought he could have gotten a second yellow. The referee probably thought he did have a foul and wasn't going to turn around and throw him out of the game in the first 10 minutes and change the game dramatically." Wolff and his teammates rarely got close to the Spanish goal. They took one shot on the frame, and that was Peter Vanegas' penalty kick in the 42nd minute. "He was definitely getting in; all their backs were," Wolff said of Marchena. "They're a physical side in the back, and we still did well at times. In the second half, we just ran out of it." So, the U.S. plays for the bronze medal on Friday instead of the gold on Saturday. "It's very important," Wolff said. "You get this far and you obviously want a medal. You don't want to go four games and lose the last two times. It would not leave a very good taste in your mouth. We've done very well to get where we are. We look at Chile as probably the best team in the tournament. We're going to have to play very well to get a good result." Asked whom he favored in Saturday's gold-medal clash, Wolff replied, "I like Cameroon over Spain. I think Cameroon is a better team. Not as organized, but just very dangerous throughout the field." Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News. His third book, Soccer For Dummies, was published this spring.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
