06/21/06
U.S. lucky to have McBride on its side
FIFA WORLD CUP COMMENTARY
By Tim Bresnahan
Contributing Writer
HAMBURG, Germany — The photo on the back page of the German newspaper Bild on Sunday featured a dazed Brian McBride, his face bloodied by an elbow from Italy’s Daniele DeRossi in the first half.
The blow, however, couldn’t stop McBride, who quickly re-entered the match.
"It was just three stitches," said McBride, who has titanium plates on both sides of his face as a result of previous injuries. "It wasn’t anything. (The elbow) caught me good, but the plates were there, so I’m fine."
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Alas, the U.S. forward’s painful night had only just begun. Playing as the short-handed Americans’ lone striker in the second half, the 34-year old worked indefatigably at both ends of the field to help preserve a 1-1 tie.
McBride took an IV after the game, but Tuesday reported no ill effects from a draining night of work.
"He’s a warrior," said U.S. coach Bruce Arena, whose team faces Ghana in the Group E finale Thursday. "(It) was a game that was obviously very difficult for a striker, especially in the second half on a team that’s forced to defend for 40 some-odd minutes. It takes a special kind of player to be able to deal with that.
"So Brian, at times, was covering for midfield players. You saw him back in the box, you saw him up high dealing with service from (U.S. goalie) Kasey (Keller) and trying to keep balls alive for us, battling (Italian defenders Fabio) Cannavaro and (Alessandro) Nesta, and he did a tremendous job. And he still got a (scoring) chance or two in the second half. It was just a great effort."
The scoring chances have been a sore spot for McBride and his teammates at this World Cup. The Americans have mustered just one shot on goal in two matches, and their lone goal was scored inadvertently by Italy’s Cristian Zaccardo. McBride squandered a golden opportunity in the 63rd minute Saturday, firing wide from 10 yards out.
"I’d love to take my chance better against Italy," said McBride, who scored in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. "(Scoring opportunities) don’t come as often at this level, and you’ve got to do that."
McBride also was in an offside position on DaMarcus Beasley’s shot in the 65th minute, thus nullifying what would have been the go-ahead goal.
Despite the missed chances, it was an admirable performance by one of the most indomitable, fearless players in U.S. soccer history.
"You know he’s going to stick his head in places most would really prefer not to," said Keller. "But you have to know you’re going to be under pressure against teams like Italy, Czech Republic and Ghana. You need to have a presence up front that you know can win balls for you, keep possession and really just make it difficult."
Barring the kind of extraordinary circumstances seen in the Italy game (where two U.S. players were ejected), McBride won’t have to do nearly as much defensive work Thursday. His primary role will be to find the goal that’s eluded the Americans, and he’s not picky about how they get it.
"It takes the right opportunity, it takes the right mindset and sometimes it takes a bit of luck," said McBride, who celebrated his birthday Monday.
"Every opportunity is different. The first goal Ukraine scored (Monday vs. Saudi Arabia) was off a knee. I was sitting there (thinking), I’ll take one of those."
Tim Bresnahan, who is at the World Cup, is a contributing writer for The Daily Star. E-mail him at tim—bresnahan@hotmail.com.
