World Cup 2010 Blog: “USA vs Poland Preview: A One on One Interview with Michael Bradley” plus 2 more

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• USA vs Poland Preview: A One on One Interview with Michael Bradley
• France Turns To Alternative Medicine
• Japan Beat Argentina, Now Unofficial World Champions.

USA vs Poland Preview: A One on One Interview with Michael Bradley Posted: 08 Oct 2010 05:13 PM PDT I had the chance to sit down for a brief chat with US National Team midfielder Michael Bradley ahead of Saturday’s friendly at Soldier Field in Chicago. To hear Michael’s answers and comments on different topics, simply click play on the audio box below each question. How does it feel to be back in the States and back with the team? Is it more difficult for experienced players to “get up” for friendlies in a post World-Cup cycle as compared to younger players who may be getting their first opportunity? What have your observations been on how well Jermaine Jones has been able to integrate himself into the team this week? What are your thoughts on this strange start to the Bundesliga season and what Borussia Mönchengladbach can do to improve? Finally, what do you expect to see from Poland on Saturday? Our on-site coverage of the US-Poland friendly in Chicago will continue with reporting from the stadium on Saturday. As always, you can see more interviews with US soccer players at USsoccer.com

France Turns To Alternative Medicine Posted: 08 Oct 2010 09:40 AM PDT Leading the charge against France over the past few months has been France. It’s been an internal housecleaning of many varieties, and no fingers have done more pointing than those directed inward. Hasn’t worked. Not, at least, as quickly as they would’ve liked. So Laurent Blanc and those surrounding the team have taken to alternative methods to get France back in working order. Psychological profiling: France is turning to psychological profiling and has hired someone coach Laurent Blanc believes will give him a greater understanding of his players. “Someone who can help us go a bit further into the human that’s behind the player,” Blanc said Thursday. “To have some more information about the personality of each player.” A fair concept, but one which is doomed to fail once Franck Ribery returns from suspension. Does anyone really want to know what makes this man tick? Financial incentives: France’s 12 sponsors will base their contributions over the next four years on results and behaviour following the team’s embarrassing World Cup campaign. A 10 to 15 percent bonus could be awarded to the French Football Federation (FFF) if results and behaviour are deemed good enough. However, if they are not there may be a 10 to 15 percent reduction in contributions. “There will be bonuses and penalties based on results and image,” FFF vice-president Noel Le Graet told reporters on Thursday ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Romania in Paris on Saturday. Start removing bills from someone’s wallet and watch them shape up real quick, so this has potential. However, unless that 10-15% trickles down to the players, the potential for issues still lingers. All in all good ideas, but only time will tell whether or not they prove successful. If not, Laurent will delve further into the atypical searching for a path to the straight and narrow, where he’ll probably (hopefully) stop short of trying out baseball’s slump buster. (Would not be safe to tweet that to Benzema.)

Japan Beat Argentina, Now Unofficial World Champions. Posted: 08 Oct 2010 07:51 AM PDT To the rest of the world it may have been just a friendly, and Argentina will surely play it off as such, but to Japan and the people at the Unofficial Football World Championships, there’s substantially more meaning: they’re now World Champions. Unofficially, of course, but that won’t matter – not when the last three hands to grasp the chalice have read the Netherlands, Spain and Argentina. Shinji Okazaki got the goal which beat an Argentine lineup that most would consider full strength. Would anyone be full strength after flying from Europe and South America all the way to far side of Asia? Probably not, but it’s no matter – Japan are still (kinda sorta not really) World Champions. Somewhere, Takeshi Okada is smiling.

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