The USMNT’s 2009 Confederations Cup fairy tale, 8 years on

Charlie Davies sprints down the left flank, receives the ball from Landon Donovan and sends it right back to the surging Lando at the top of Brazil’s box. Donovan turns (future) Chelsea legend Ramires and sends a left-footed daisy-cutter past a hopeless Julio Cesar and into the side netting. The U.S. are up 2-0 in the Confederations Cup final against Brazil … can this be really happening?

For many soccer fans in the United States, the 2009 Confederations Cup was the moment U.S. men’s soccer finally arrived. Joy on the level reached the moments immediately following Donovan’s goal had hardly, if ever, been known to the American soccer fan. Yes, some of us remembered the quarterfinal against Germany in the 2002 World Cup and the 2007 Gold Cup win against Mexico, but a quarterfinal loss played in the middle of the night in an era when soccer was still seen as a novelty, and a regional trophy the U.S. had won many times before, both paled in comparison to the prospect of beating Brazil in the final of an international tournament, even if it was the Confederations Cup. On the eighth anniversary of the final, we look back at the USMNT’s run.

The group of death turns into the group of life

The 2009 Confederations Cup fairy tale didn’t get off to an auspicious start for the U.S. They opened the competition with a 3-0 loss to Brazil, before a 3-1 loss to Italy put them on the brink of elimination. An early exit was all but a certainty.

Heading into the final match of the group stage, the USMNT needed a three-goal win against Egypt, coupled with a three-goal win for Brazil against Italy. You didn’t need to be Nate Silver to figure out those odds were long. And while a dominant Selecao victory against the reigning world champions was unlikely on its own, the U.S. weren’t exactly facing pushovers themselves. Egypt, winners of two consecutive African Cup of Nations titles, had beaten Italy in their previous match, and only needed a tie against the U.S., assuming Brazil were to tie or beat Italy.

The U.S. went up 1-0 in the 21st minute through Charlie Davies, but still needed five goals to go in their favor to advance. With one eye on the Brazil-Italy game, which was locked at 0-0 with under 10 minutes until halftime, U.S. fans could be forgiven for giving up hope. And then it all started falling into place.

Luis Fabiano put Brazil up 1-0 in the 37th minute, then doubled Brazil’s lead six minutes later. Brazil’s manager, Dunga, opted to go with his best XI, despite the fact his side had already guaranteed their place in the semifinals as group winners. Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano, Lucio, et al started a match Brazil didn’t need to win, while a young Alexandre Pato was joined on the bench by Julio Baptista, Elano and Dani Alves, among others (those were the days).

On the stroke of halftime, with Brazil already up two goals, Robinho sprinted into space on the left flank, his pass across the box knocked into his own net by a sliding Andrea Dossena. Thanks to a flurry of goals in the eight minutes before halftime, Brazil went into the break 3-0 up, and suddenly only two goals separated the Americans from what had seemed like a pipe dream.

In the 63rd minute, Michael Bradley — only two years removed from his emergence at the 2007 U-20 World Cup, still the “coach’s son” and still follicly unchallenged — turned in a cutback from Donovan after sliding to make contact with the ball. One more goal and the U.S. were through.

With the Brazilians running roughshod over the Italians in Pretoria, Egypt, like the U.S., needed only a goal to go through to the semis, though the African champions could afford to concede one as well. The Pharaohs made a valiant effort to mount a comeback, but throwing caution to the wind meant leaving significant open spaces for the Americans to exploit.

Jonathan Spector, the U.S. right-back de jour found himself in acres of spaces on the right wing and delivered a great cross into the Egyptian box. Clint Dempsey, fighting for space with the Egyptian center-back, headed it down and out of the reach of a hapless Essam El-Hadary. USA 3 – 0 Egypt. The Yanks were through.

When the Yanks go marching in

Following their miraculous passage through the group stage, the U.S. once again found themselves big underdogs in the semifinal against Spain. After winning the European championship in 2008, Spain were in the middle of one of the most dominant periods in the history of international soccer, sitting atop the FIFA rankings and riding a 35-game unbeaten streak, tied for the longest ever at international level.

It took a wonderful solo effort by Jozy Altidore to open the scoring in the 27th minute. The American roasted his then-club teammate Joan Capdevilla, before firing a hard shot on the turn which struck Iker Casillas’s fist, bounced off the post and into the net. Pinball magic.

The goal may have been the result of a lucky bounce or two, but luck helps those who help themselves. The U.S. continued to do just that, and doubled their lead in the 74th minute after a miscue by Sergio Ramos at the top of the 6-yard box allowed Clint Dempsey to pick his pocket and slam the ball into the net. The goal sealed a historic win for the USMNT.

Beyond the win itself, “the Spain game” stands on its own as an idealized version of American soccer at its pinnacle. Shaped by the scrappiness, athleticism and discipline characteristic of the American athlete, and sprinkled with a winning mentality, absent of any inhibitions, this is what pundits and fans alike generally point to when defining a uniquely American playing style.

The final(e)

For their next act, Donovan, Dempsey and co. were up against Brazil, who had beaten them 3-0 in the first match of the tournament, for all the marbles. At that point, the U.S. were riding a wave of confidence unbeknownst to the either their fans or players. All the pressure was on Brazil, the five-time World Cup champions and a soccer-mad country where a loss against the Americans was unfathomable.

The U.S. got off to a dream start, when Dempsey redirected another perfectly timed and placed cross by Spector into the far corner. Brazil were forced to press for an equalizer and started leaving space in behind the midfield, opening the door for the U.S. counterattack.

It was at the end of such a counter that Donovan turned Ramires and scored past Cesar to put the U.S. up 2-0. At halftime, the U.S. were heading into the locker room with a two-goal lead, leaving Brazil shell-shocked and soccer fans scratching their heads across the globe. In the U.S., 4 million viewers tuned in to the game, a record at the time for a non-World Cup USMNT match.

Unfortunately, the fairy tale ended shortly after the second half kicked off, as Luis Fabiano cut the lead to one goal in the 46th minute. The U.S. tried to hold out Brazil’s unleashed attack, but in the end an overly-defensive approach (the bus was firmly parked in the second 45 minutes) proved to be costly.

Fabiano added another goal in the 74th minute and, with seven minutes left, Lucio rose to head in a corner for Brazil’s winning goal. Watching the wild celebration that ensued gives a clear sense of the unbridled relief and joy Brazilians felt to take the trophy home. The celebration also served to validate the USMNT’s legitimacy on soccer’s biggest stages.

What did it mean?

The 2009 Confederations Cup run wasn’t the USMNT’s biggest achievement — that will remain the 2002 World Cup run until further notice — but it’s on a very small shortlist of program-defining moments. Beyond the results on the field, the run helped raise the profile of the sport domestically, at a time when the reputation of MLS began and ended for many people with David Beckham.

The team not only put U.S. Soccer on the radar but it made us, the USMNT fans, proud of our fandom. It blurred the line between “the best” U.S. team we ever rooted for and the most likable. That group offered something relatable for anyone who followed soccer, or sports in general: the legend of Deuce was born; Charlie Davies, the kid who came out from the doldrums of ACC college soccer to humiliate world-class defenders; Micheal Bradley, the midfield general whose best was yet to come; Jozy Altodore, the Haitian-American super athlete who could have excelled at more traditional American sports but chose to dominate opposing center-backs on a soccer field instead; and finally, of course, Lando, the overconfident attacking mid, never intimidated and always primed to send the USMNT fans into a frenzy.

The 2009 team gave us the genuine belief that anything was possible, that we could allow ourselves to dream of reaching the latter stages of a World Cup. Donovan and Dempsey were in their primes, Bradley and Jozy were on an ascending path to stardom, we had veteran presence on the backline and we had just proven that we could beat the best in the world.

This belief was a main driving force behind the decision to hire Jurgen Klinsmann in 2011. After a lukewarm 2010 World Cup campaign and disappointment at the 2011 Gold Cup, there was a clear sense Bob Bradley’s tactics and methods were preventing a talented group of players from reaching their full potential. Perhaps Bradley was better suited for a smaller soccer nation. Our men deserved someone who was going to take them to the next level.

Klinsmann came in with much-ballyhooed promises of New Age training methods and a possession-based playing style that would catapult the USMNT program to new heights. In the end things didn’t turn out as the fans, or Klinsmann, had hoped. Perhaps the only lasting legacy of the Klinsmann era was the co-opting of German dual nationals into the roster and the willingness to cast as wide a net as possible to capture eligible talent. Eight years on, and the USMNT have yet to top their performance at the 2009 Confederations Cup (with all due respect to the 2013 Gold Cup victory).

Where are they now?

It has been a tumultuous eight years for the USMNT program. Landon Donovan has come and gone … and then come back and gone again. The captain, Carlos Bocanegra, along with Jay Demerit, his center-back partner, have also retired. Dempsey, Spector, Tim Howard, Ricardo Clark and Oguchi Onyewu are squeezing every ounce of soccer life left in them as part of various MLS outfits.

Altidore and Bradley, not old enough to buy beer at the time of the 2009 Confederations Cup, spent a few years plying their trade under the brighter lights of the Premier League and Serie A, but have since returned to the comforting arms of MLS. Both players are still integral parts of the current U.S. team, captain and center forward, linking past and present together.

The real tragedy of the 2009 run was the unfulfilled promise of Charlie Davies, whose career fizzled out after a terrible car accident a few months after the tournament. Davies, whose inclusion in the starting XI in the last group game against Egypt coincided with the USMNT’s reversal of fortunes, was the real gem of the tournament for coach Bob Bradley.

After three-man midfield formations featuring Benny Feilhaber (against Italy) and Sacha Kljestan (against Brazil) in the center failed miserably, Bradley decided to throw caution to the wind and go with Davies as a starting forward alongside Altidore, with Donovan and Dempsey on the wings. Davies delivered. He scored the first goal against Egypt and complemented Altidore with his speed and dynamism. Unfortunately, with the 2010 World Cup looming and the dream of becoming a regular fixture for both the USMNT and in one of Europe’s top leagues so close to being fulfilled, it all came crashing down for the 22-year-old.

Where do we go from here?

There is a connective tissue that brings together the current, post-Klinsmann USMNT, and that legendary 2009 team. Looking beyond the names on the back of a few of the jerseys, there’s genuine excitement the U.S. have regained their identity, and are once again playing an American brand of soccer.

After tinkering with Klinsmann’s dilettante tactics, the USMNT are once again starting to thrive under the distinctly American eye of Bruce Arena. The team are following a similar and familiar recipe to the one that brought them the success of 2009, upgraded with an added layer of dual-national ganache and topped with a delicious home-grown cherry in Christian Pulisic.

The USMNT are finally starting to regain their identity as a scrappy, disciplined and athletic squad. They’re pinning their hopes on a similar personnel makeup to that 2009 team, a combination of veteran leadership and young, scrappy talent eager to prove themselves on the world stage. Pulisic, the leader of this new generation, has all the gifts to be one of the best in the world. If he’s able to inspire the team to the heights they reached for a few summer nights in June 2009, he’ll be off to a hell of a start.