If you stuck with ESPN during the post-match festivities yesterday, perhaps in a mild catatonic state of shock as I was, you might have noticed that Clint Dempsey received the "Bronze Ball", the award given the third best player in the tournament as voted by the journalists covering the Confederations Cup.
Dempsey had a fair tournament, and put a few very nice goals, including the most important of any the US scored, the third against Egypt. But no only was he not the third best player in the tournament over all, he wasn't even the best player on his own team.
That distinction, and while I don't expect it to be unanimous because it is of course a subjective evaluation, belongs to Landon Donovan.
I have yet to speak with someone since the Americans ended their down-and-up Confed Cup who does not believe that Donovan is the clear choice for best US player. He was all over the pitch throughout his time in South Africa, starting attacks, clearing balls in defense, harrying opposing players in the midfield, and leading by example; if asked, I'm sure that even Clint himself would agree that Donovan played better than him throughout the competition.
So why then, did Dempsey receive an award and Donovan did not? To be fair, I'm doubtful that Donovan was too broken up about being left out of the ceremony, especially in light of the disappointing loss to the Brazilians; a trophy, bronze or otherwise, would be little consolation to a player who so desperately wanted to win.
But for us, the fans and observers of the team and the tourney, who while admittedly biased can often be harsh in our assessment, Dempsey over Donovan for a meaningless trophy is worth talking about.
My thought today, as I sift through the event of the last two weeks and attempt to put everything in the proper perspective (and I'm still working on it, no matter my earlier post), I'm struck by what I believe to be a fairly reasonable thought: Dempsey trumped Donovan for the award because Clint Dempsey plays in a "real" football league and Landon Donovan plays in Major League Soccer.
Sorry about the bold there. Just want to be sure you didn't miss it.
This isn't some grand conspiracy theory, or groundshaking pronouncement; but it is a stark reminder of the bias that both our players and our league face in the wider footballing world. It would have been almost impossible for the writers to leave an American off the podium after the run they put in to close out the tournament, and while both Dempsey and Donovan were in the running, it's clear that Dempsey's Premier League pedigree won out. If we are to assume that the collection of writers in South Africa, and I know nothing about the makeup of that group but I think it's reasonable to guess, are reasonably intelligent and well-heeled in the sport, then it's difficult for me to conceive of them missing the fact that Donovan was better than Dempsey.
Congrats to Clint. It probably shouldn't have been you.
Your thoughts? Am I crazy and just delirious for a tiring weekend and a terrible Monday at work?
