Has there ever been a more glorious month in the history of American soccer?

No, in the end we didn’t win it all but at last we put the skeptics in their place. They said 2002 was just a fluke. They said we could never compete in Europe. They said American players were soft, played in two-bit leagues or were, at best, two-bit role players in the big leagues.

But those nay-sayers aren’t talking so loudly after the display of pride and passion by the American side in Germany. The Yanks finally proved what we knew all along: they can compete with the best in the world.

Only a bit of bad luck kept us out of the final game. If the brackets had lined up differently we would have been there. But it’s tough to play the home team in the semifinals, particularly when their coach is an understudy of your own. Jürgen Klinsmann’s side, buoyed by their home country support, simply got the better of us that day. But at least we can take pride in having taken them into the final minutes of overtime. If not for the some last minute German heroics the score would have been 0-0 and we’d have gone to penalties. But as it was Germany moved on by a score of 2-0.

But if ever there was a 2-0 loss that felt like a win that was it. Watching Klinsmann sing Arena’s praises in the post match press conference was quite a sight. Everything he knows about coaching he credits to Arena! Who’d believe it!

It’s a shame Arena’s moving on to bigger and more lucrative pastures in Brazil. But that’s what happens when you’re a successful World Cup coach. What’s somewhat unexpected is the sudden demand for American coaches in the world soccer scene. Greg Andrulis has resigned from George Mason, declared himself “The New Bora,” and signed on for Saudi Arabia. And following their defeat in the third place game England also opted to get themselves an American coach: Steve Sampson.

Along with the rush on American coaches there’s also a rush on American players. All the World Cup players that made names for themselves are signing on with big European clubs – Ching and Albright apparently going to German sides, GAM considering his options in England. Even Landon Donovan has finally decided it’s now really time to take up the challenge of Europe and is expected to sign on with a Spanish side.

If MLS rosters are looking a bit depleted right now it’s only because so many MLS standouts who didn’t make the World Cup squad are benefiting from the USA’s World Cup performance. Everyone wants American players these days. (Of course nobody here at the AAXI is surprised at the bidding war that’s erupted for Justin Mapp’s services.)

But there’s also now a number of established European players looking to improve their game by coming over to Major League Soccer. Freddy Adu has even urged Michael Essien to join him at DC United. “Essien is a really good player and I hope he joins me at DC United,” Adu said. “It would make me very happy, for sure. But it’s up to him to decide in which country he wants to play and he would be more than welcome in our team. He’s a good player who has more to learn.”

People used to scoff at Project 2010 – the United States, a legitimate threat to win the World Cup by that year? But now we see the absolute reality of that ambitious project. Today there is no doubt about it: in 2010 the Yanks will travel to South Africa as favorites.

Yes, it was a wonderful month that exceeded all our expectations. I only wish Zidane and Matarazzi hadn’t sung show tunes at halftime during the World Cup final. That was just bizarre.
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A stop laughing 2-6-2.

Troy Perkins – (4)

Okay. To many, Perkins was just holding down the fort until Nic Rimando returned to health. It was lucky for Perkins that the recovery stretched into the regular season. Some of his early season work seemed to rely on luck as well, but he is starting to get better than lucky. During week XV Perkins saved a couple of great C-bus chances and exhibited good judgment on catching or punching, and going out or staying back. In technical terms, he was “extra-huge.” The upshot? Perkins has displaced Rimando; anyone want a slightly under-sized goalkeeper?

Marvell Wynne – (2)

The AAXI staff admits that it wasn’t exactly a banner week for American defenders in MLS (funny, since so few goals were scored league-wide). Despite getting beaten by David Wagenfuhr on the second FC Dallas goal in the 2-1 Red Bulls loss, Marvell played really well. He was most effective when pushing forward and was unlucky not to score on a point blank stop by Dario Sala. Actually, he’s unlucky to be playing for Red Bull, but that’s a topic for a different day.

Nelson Akwari – (2)

Nelson lost his starting spot to Eddie Pope upon the latter’s return to the RSL lineup following his return from injury and World Cup duty. But Pope’s back flared up at halftime of RSL’s July 4 match, whereupon Akwari returned - and marked the Chivas USA attackers flawlessly. Akwari’s presence was a source of much consternation during the early part of Pope’s sojourn, but over the last three games, he has looked closer to the US international he once was at the youth levels.

Ricardo Clark – (3)

For about 20 minutes in the Houston-Chivas game, the Goats came at the Dynamo in waves. Juan Pablo Garcia and Franciso Mendoza could seemingly do no wrong, and Ante Razov looked like he might score multiple goals. Then Clark crossed to set up Brian Ching’s equalizer, and suddenly shut down Chivas in midfield – and, in effect, Razov for the rest of the game.

Kyle Beckerman – (3)

Beckerman has very quietly (easy to do in Colorado) become an MLS Best XI candidate. Even though he missed two shots (one off a post) he was still so strong in the center of the park that he gets my nomination. If you traded him to DCU for Ben Olsen we suspect Beckerman would be getting tons of publicity. And unlike other midifelders who get credit for controlling the midfield but do so using fouls and aggressiveness, Beckerman controls the midfield by better tackling and much better forward passing than others. He has become for the Rapids what Razov is for Chivas: the center, the leader of the team.

Josh Gardner – (1)

He may have developed into the player he hinted he would be during the MLS preseason and the CONCACAF Champions Cup. He plagued the aforementioned Nelson Akwari all night, significant considering the strong run of form the RSL man enjoyed the preceding three games. Gardner also took advantage of some terrible goalkeeping to get his first MLS goal five minutes into the second half. The only downside on the night: his bizarre haircut, which almost costs him any credibility generated by his play.

Brian Mullan – (5)

Against CDCUSA, Mullan dominated the right flank all game. He beat Jonathan Bornstein, who has had an excellent season so far, several times on the dirbble. His finishing at a tight angle on the goal capped off a nice play. He also tracked back defensively and helped keep Chivas in check as the game progressed.

Jacob Thomas – (3)

The Crew import from Germany’s lower divisions could have turned out more like John Thorrington or Gus Kartes than emerge as a solid MLS midfielder. He first showed up on AAXI radar in a game against the Galaxy, when he went down with injury but impressed enough to make the squad. Now he’s all the way back, and he proved very active all evening, forcing DCU to defend in the Crew’s narrow 1-0 loss over the weekend.

Steve Ralston – (1)

Remember this guy? Ralston scored a terrific goal in the first stanza against Chicago, and he remained a threat throughout the half. Unlike his midfield and forward teammates, he also played solid defense in the second half when New England sat back and let the Fire hammer shots at the goal (at one point, it was Fire 13, Revs 0 for shots in the second half). His goal featured a sweet turn and spin into the box followed by a perfect, curling ball through four defenders and past Zach Thornton to the far post.

Ante Razov – (5)

With so many other mentions scattered amongst the other week 15 honorees, is it any surprise that Razov made the list, too? Since we are halfway through the season it isn’t too much to say that Ante is leading the race for MVP of the league right now. He netted a nice goal against Houston and stayed dangerous all afternoon while not getting too much support. It was interesting to contrast him with Ching who also had a nice game (and a goal): Ante is playing a cut above The Chinger. As it turns out, the US failed to advance out of the group stage of the World Cup not because of Bruce Arena’s tactics, lineups, or strategy, but solely because he did not include Ante Razov in the squad. Way to go, Bruce.

Brian Ching – (5)

Ching finished off a nice cross from fellow AAXI member Ricardo Clark, but also had three dangerous headers in the first half alone. As usual, Houston expected Ching to win the constant long balls that comprise virtually all of Coach Dominic Kinnear’s offense, then collect the balls that he knocks down, and then pass effectively to the occasional teammate who may, eventually, join him in the attack. It’s remarkable that Ching manages to remain effective in this ridiculously predictable scheme. One caveat: as in the July 4 game against Columbus, Ching should have added a second goal to his singles against the Crew and Chivas. Still, no one else found net in both games, and he earned his spot on this week’s squad.

The Bench

Ugo Ihemelu, Mike Magee, Clint Mathis, Kevin Novak, Mike Petke, and Dasan Robinson.
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• Header by The Belly. (We expect he’ll get back to his blog once he gets back to … uh … reality.)
• List compiled and edited by ismitje, with input from all some a handful what’s left of the AAXI contributors.
• All typos and errors should be blamed on Dave O’Brien.