Philadelphia radio host calls United States World Cup performance a ‘disgrace’
While the United States bowed out of the World Cup in a hard-fought, but fatally flawed, 2-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16, most people took away a positive experience from the event and the performance of the national team.
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All but Philadelphia radio host Al Morganti, who described the USMNT getting out of the group stage at back-to-back World Cups for the first time ever as an “absolute disgrace.”
Morganti, who isn’t exactly known as a soccer aficionado or even casual fan took to the airwaves to blast the USMNT following its loss to Belgium.
“Bottom line, and I enjoyed the hell out of it, U.S. soccer is a disgrace,” Morganti said Wednesday on the 94WIP Morning Show, via CBSPhilly.com. “It’s a complete disgrace. No, it is a worldwide—the United States soccer is an absolute disgrace.”
Why was this team a disgrace? Apparently because the team “got hammered” in Brazil.
“They got hammered over there and it took an unbelievable effort by a goaltender to just get ‘em through and then everybody was happy and holding them up, like what a great effort. This is a big country with great athletes. This a disgrace that they’re happy with the outcome of the World Cup.”
The Philly radio host then went on to make sure everyone knew just how irrelevant the sport is and lambast the team as one that only relied on “Germans” to get them to where they got.
“It shows you how irrelevant the sport is, and fact of the matter is, you had to rely on Germans to get through even a little bit. If it wasn’t for the damn German kid that came in, you call him whatever you want—we have millions of people playing this sport.”
Sure, Jermaine Jones’ strike against Portugal helped and 19-year-old Julian Green’s masterful volley against Belgium allowed hope to come back to the United States team, but soccer is a team game in the ultimate sense.
Then again, what do expect from someone who thinks the game “will never develop in this country.” I have a feeling 23 MLS franchises with 20 soccer-specific stadiums and a United States national team doing things its never done before may beg to differ.