NOAH DAVIS – Against Turkey, United States midfielder Jose Francisco Torres played his best match as a member of the Stars and Stripes. He came on at halftime and helped key the comeback that sent the Americans off to South Africa with a 2-1 victory against a very able Crescent Stars side. The performance prompted the people at 723 Football Films to produce a video showing every single touch Torres made during the game. It also had many calling for Bob Bradley to start the Pachuca midfielder against England.
The two are related because of one man: John Harkes.
Watching the 723 production, I was surprised at just how enthusiastically ESPN’s color man supported everything Torres did. The praise was effusive, thorough, and over-the-top. Harkes, of course, is entitled to his opinion – and the 22 year old did plenty worthy of such applause – but I can’t help but feeling like his words affected the opinions of some viewers. The majority of the viewing population saw the match on ESPN. From personal experience, I know it’s almost impossible not to be swayed by the commentators. (That is, after all, the very job description of a color man.)
We’ve seen this before. During the Confederations Cup, Harkes repeatedly criticized Clint Dempsey, enough that the Fulham star to lashed out last week. Dempsey deserved some of the negative evaluation, especially early in the tournament when he disappeared for long stretches, but it was overly harsh about a man who would go on to win the award for the third-best player. Unfortunately, the reaction on the blogosphere and in U.S. soccer supporter circles followed the (flawed) wisdom of Harkes.
It’s happening again. I thought Torres was great against Turkey. Neither Michael Bradley nor Maurice Edu can match his vision and creativity. He tackled with authority. (If you want to point to a reason why Bradley might start the midfielder, point to his improved defense.) There’s a place for him on the pitch, coming on in the second half and changing the game. But he’s not starting against England, no matter how many nice things ESPN’s color men say.