Olympics Soccer 1

Last week, I looked at the roster for Argentina's Olympic men's soccer team and declared them the prohibitive favorites. Our friends from Brazil might have something to say about that.

Brazil announced it's Olympic men's soccer roster yesterday, and it features none other than Ronaldinho and Robinho as two of its overage players. It also features AC Milan's teenage striker Alexandre Pato, Manchester City new boy Jo, Manchester United midfielder Anderson, Werder Bremen scoring machine Diego and Real Madrid fullback Marcelo.

I suspect Big Ronnie is on this roster primarily to help him shed a few pounds. I'm sure the fresh air in Beijing will do wonders for him.

Brazil is in Group C with Belgium, China and New Zealand, which looks like a cupcake schedule on paper. It also puts them on the opposite side of the bracket as Argentina, so a Brazil v. Argentina final seems quite plausible. Brazil knocked off Argentina in the final of last summer's Copa America with a fairly young squad.

Also, Brazil has never won gold in Olympic soccer. Clearly, they want it now. Perhaps they need it. Brazilians have lost some confidence in their football after the national team fell behind in World Cup Qualifying and Fluminese lost to Ecuadorian club LDU Quito in the Copa Libertadores final. Could their first Olympic gold bring back the magic? Or will this competition knock Brazil back even further?

So Argentina recently announced the roster for its Olympic soccer team. It's overage players are Boca Juniors midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme, Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano and Inter Milan center-back Nicolas Burdisso. That's in addition to Lionel Messi from Barcelona, Fernando Gago from Real Madrid and Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid, who are all under 23.

The rest of the field suddenly looks quite doomed, doesn't it? With Ivory Coast, Australia and Serbia in Group A with them, Argentina looks like a lock to go through as the group winner.

That's really bad news for the USA, which is in group B with Japan, the Netherlands and Nigeria. The Group A winner plays the Group B runner-up in the quarterfinals. If the USA wants any hope of a medal in men's soccer, it must win Group B. Finishing second likely means a quarterfinal tie against Argentina. Yes, the senior team held Argentina to a 0-0 draw a month ago, but that wasn't a competitive match at a neutral site. Plus, most of that USA backline won't be in Beijing.

U.S. Soccer has yet to announce its roster for the Olympics, though Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and Freddy Adu are expected to be on it.

Olympic athletes often don't get paid to do anything other than look good. In that vein, Attractive Olympians handicaps which athletes may rake in endorsement deals after the Olympics.

Natasha Kai -- known as "Tasha" or "TK" to her teammates -- is the most immediately noticeable player on the U.S. Women's National Team; her ever-growing canvas of tattoos (she's presently up to 19, according to D.C. Sports Bog's brief but splendidly detailed profile) and full sleeve make sure of that.

In addition to the ink, Kai's flashy on-field style and flat-out skill garner her even more looks. After three consecutive WAC Player of the Year awards at Hawaii, she became the fourth American woman to score in her first two international appearances. Through seven caps she had scored four goals. Now at 35 caps, she's a fixture on the national team and looking to improve upon her last trip to China, where the Americans finished a disappointing third in the Women's World Cup.

But enough about her athletic capabilities; let's tackle what really matters to the underworld inhabited by sports bloggers: is Natasha Kai a hottie? After the jump, examine more visual evidence (including video of her dancing) and rock the vote in our Internet poll.

It doesn't take much to be famous in the 21st century. All you have to do is take off most of your clothes, tie on an American flag and run into the middle of a soccer game that most sports fans wouldn't care about otherwise.

At least, that was the plan for Tiffany May, who went pitch invading during the USA v. Honduras Olympic qualifying match and became an Internet sensation. Now after taking off most of her clothes for the game, she's cashing in on her 15 minutes of fame by taking off all her clothes -- for Playboy.

You can see the full NSFW teaser trailer here at The Offside Rules, which notes ironically that Tiffany "may make more money doing that than a few US soccer players will make this year." Plus, in the video, Tiffany herself offers a solution for getting more people to become soccer fans:

"Maybe if there were more girls like me streaking at soccer games, we'd have a lot more fans."

Well, isn't that why NFL teams have cheerleaders? Perhaps MLS clubs should look into that. Mexico is way ahead of the curve there.

Olympic athletes often don't get paid to do anything other than look good. In that vein, Attractive Olympians handicaps which athletes may rake in endorsement deals after the Olympics.

Hope Solo has been on the U.S. Women's National Team since 2000 and went to the 2004 Athens Olympics as an alternate on the gold-medal winning team, but she is probably best known for her controversial statements during the Women's World Cup in China last year. Going into the semifinals against Brazil, Solo had recorded three consecutive shutouts and was becoming a breakout star on the team. That's when coach Greg Ryan benched her for 36-year-old Briana Scurry. The U.S. lost 4-0, snapping a 51-game unbeaten streak, and an angry Solo stated that starting Scurry was the "wrong decision" after the game. (Ryan's contract was not renewed.)

Back in the starting spot after a lengthy fallout, Solo will return to China this summer as the American women try for a return to the gold medal podium. The 26-year-old goalie from Washington once recorded 1,054 straight minutes without a goal allowed for the national team, and she's clearly the best female goalkeeper in the country -- and maybe the world.

Oh, and she's kinda hot, too. How hot? You decide. After the jump, peruse more photos, analyze data, and vote in FanHouse's Attractive Olympian poll.

If the U.S. men's U-23 soccer team wants to get through the group stage of the 2008 Olympic soccer tournament, it will have to earn it.

The U.S. team has been drawn into Group B with the Netherlands, Nigeria and Japan, which could prove to be a stiff challenge -- much stiffer than the competition facing heavyweights Brazil, Argentina and Italy in their groups. The Netherlands have a reputation for developing strong young players, and their team might be the odds-on favorite to win Group B. Nigeria, however, won the FIFA U-17 World Cup last year and is expected to field a strong side as well.

The women's soccer draw is a bit more favorable for the U.S. women's team, who were placed in Group C with Norway, Japan and New Zealand. The U.S. women defeated Norway 4-1 in the Bronze Medal game of the 2007 Women's World Cup, while Japan and New Zealand never made it out of the group stage in that competition. Plus, there are only three groups of four in the women's competition, and eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals. New U.S. coach Pia Sundhage couldn't have it much easier in the group stage.

Remember those kids from the Cuban U-23 squad that defected during the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament? It appears three of them found a place to practice -- Los Angeles.

Goalkeeper Jose Manual Miranda, midfielder Yordany Alvarez and defender Yenier Bermundez made the trip from Florida to California to train with the L.A. Galaxy last week. They are not signed to any contracts yet -- there are likely immigration and asylum issues to settle first -- but the three amigos are expected to stay with the club through most of this week as the Galaxy prepare to face the Houston Dynamo.

No word on whether David Beckham bought them dinner at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.

Miranda in particular played brilliantly for Cuba against the U.S. U-23 team before he and four other players fled their hotel in Tampa. I'm a little surprised MLS hasn't tried to expedite his naturalization papers. The Galaxy need all the help they can get.

(H/T: The Offside)

Brian McBride retired from the U.S. men's national team after its disappointing World Cup showing in 2006. Soccer by Ives, however, is reporting that the Fulham striker has expressed an interest in joining the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing.

Generally, the Olympic soccer tournament is a U-23 event, but the International Olympic Committee grants each team three roster exemptions for over-age players. McBride, who has never participated in the Olympics, will be 36 in August when the Games begin. Plus, several players on the U.S. senior team will be busy with World Cup qualifying in August, meaning McBride could easily be one of the U.S. Olympic team's three over-age players.

The timing of these games, however, makes this curious. After all, the English soccer season begins in August, and no club likes the idea of one of their starters missing the entire preseason because of national team duties.

However, McBride plays for a club that looks certain to get relegated from the Premier League by the end of April, and it's unclear whether the American forward figures into Fulham's future plans. Could McBride's interest in the Olympics be a sign that he doesn't want to end his career in a Coca-Cola Championship? Would he choose to cap his career with the kids in Beijing and ride off into the sunset?

Either way, a forward line featuring McBride and Jozy Altidore seems fairly formidable, no?

So now we know where the USA U-23 team's offense has been hiding -- in the set plays.

Freddy Adu scored twice off free kicks, both set up by Canadian fouls on Jozy Altidore, to lead the USA to a convincing 3-0 victory over Canada in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament in Nashville. The win earned the USA a trip to Beijing to compete in the 2008 Olympics.

The USA dominated possession early and didn't gave Canada a chance to organize an attack until late in the first half. Canada, who only managed two shots on goal in the second half, responded by playing a physical game, aided by a referee who let a lot of contact go uncalled.

Altidore, though, did manage to draw several fouls near the box, and Adu bent the ball into goal twice -- first in the 27th minute, then in the 48th -- to put the USA ahead. Sacha Kljestan, who performed far better in this game than he did in the group stage, added a third goal to put the game away.

The USA still has one more game to play on Sunday against Honduras, who defeated Guatemala on penalty kicks after a 0-0 snoozer to earn the other CONCACAF bid, but these U-23s achieved their primary objective. Now we'll wait and see which three senior players will join this team in Beijing. Given the timing of these Olympics, don't expect any Premier League players.

The irrepressible Ives Galarcep is reporting that West Ham defender Jonathan Spector has joined the U.S. U-23 squad in Nashville for Thursday night's CONCACAF Olympic qualifying semifinal against Canada. The winner of that match goes to Beijing.

Here's the thing, though -- the U.S. has allowed only one goal in 270 minutes. It has scored just as many goals in the run of play during those three matches. The other two goals were penalties. Meanwhile, the Canadians didn't really start scoring until Guatemala practically pointed them at goal to get back at Mexico.

And USA coach Peter Nowak bolstering his defense? Really?

If anything, what Nowak needs to do is recognize that Jozy Altidore doesn't play well as a lone striker. When the 18-year-old prodigy is the only scoring threat up front, defenses can key on him and make it much harder for him to get the ball. Yet Nowak kept giving us that dreadful 4-2-3-1 for two matches, and Jozy spent most of his time looking frustrated.

Then Nowak busted out the Christmas tree (4-3-2-1) for the finale against Honduras. As a Carolina Railhawks supporter, I can tell you this: that tree does not light up.