For the First Time Ever! 

nydailynews.com

Let me start by saying that I don't know nearly as much about Soccer, or Football to the rest of the world, as much as I do about our good ol' sports here in the states. But with that being said I do like to watch the "beautiful game" and do follow it from time to time, I also used to play the sport for a stint in middle school. Anyway the big deal here and purpose for this mention of the world's game is the phenomenal friendly match that took place yesterday in Genoa, Italy between the Italian National team and the United States National team. The match being a friendly between two international squads really held no deeper meaning other than bragging rights, but it was an opportunity for the US National team, whom have shown some shimmers of brilliance in the last few years, to prove themselves as a legitimate international contender and put them up there with all the other big name countries in soccer (Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc.). This they did with a big win on the road against the 2006 World Cup champion Italian National team. Yet another glimmer of how great the US team can be. The game was won by a late Clint Dempsey   goal that sealed the deal for the US team. This was a tremendously big win for our fellow Yanks, despite it only being a friendly match, seeing as it was the first time that the US has ever defeated Italy in any form of international soccer competition. This win along with the momentum they have been gathering over the last four or so years, including a win over Euro Cup and World Cup champion Spain back in 2009 and a great showing in the 2010 World World Cup in South Africa, will hopefully help boost the popularity of the sport here in the US and launch the United States as an international soccer power house.