Stuart Holden Has Personal Experience On The Wrong End Of The De Jong Ninja Kick

the sad truth is that Holden was back to 100% healthy (or close to) and looked to be our best true winger right before the Cup....and couldn't get into the squad due to Bradley's mental inertia on lineups.

The biggest trick Bradley ever pulled was convincing the media he was open to new players.  He may have used a record number of individuals, but when the chips were down, he was not willing to give more than a sniff to the "irregulars" (other than the incomprehensible affinity for Findley).

Tomas Mueller played in something like 3 senior games before the WC.  Would BB have risked starting Oezil and Mueller with Ballack injured if he was Germany's coach? 

Paco Torres shouldn't have been in a position where he was playing in his 2nd or 3rd meaningful game for the national team, he has the talent but did not have the experience.  One of those is on the player and one is on the coach.

by FIFA on copyright grounds.  You probably already knew this, but I wanted to make sure you were aware.

The dutch team isn't full of divers - it's got two.

1) Robben, who might be one of the only people in the world with a somewhat legitimate claim to diving; the dude is so fragile and has been injured for so much of his career that convincing the ref that every challenge on him is a cardable offense is probably something I'd do too.

2) van Persie. That dude is indeed a bitch.