U.S. Olympic soccer candidates hit, miss

Peter Nowak, coach of the U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team, is a long way from making up his mind up on which players to take to Beijing, but a couple of candidates made decidedly differing arguments for themselves over the weekend.

Jozy Altidore scored an exceptional goal for the New York Red Bulls in their 1-1 home tie with the New England Revolution, taking the ball at midfield, blowing past two New England defenders and unleashing a shot that gave goalkeeper Matt Reis no chance.

“One on one, Altidore is tough to handle,” Reis told the Boston Globe. “He’s proven that as a player in this league and at the international level. He’s tough to compete against. He’s so dynamic, you have to limit his chances … you have to force him into tough angles, tough chances.”

Altidore’s latest goal underlines why the 18-year-old needs to be on the Olympic team.

Chad Barrett, meanwhile, made a horrendous hash of an easy scoring chance as the Chicago Fire was beaten, 1-0, at home by the Kansas City Wizards. Barrett, 22, has a habit of mixing good goals with glaring misses, but there seem to be more of the latter than the former.

The latest miss, when he skied the ball over the open net from close range, was further evidence why Nowak needs to take a long, hard look before including Barrett on the China jaunt.

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Barrett’s miss, for which he took full blame, caused teammate Cuauhtemoc Blanco to throw his arms in the air in disbelief and despair.

It wasn’t the first time Blanco has been angered by Barrett’s miscues, but he is not alone in his frustration. David Beckham can be seen doing the same thing with the Galaxy when less-talented teammates fail to read the game properly, fail to react fast enough, or fail to make the pass that needs to be made.

The more designated players – or even talented players – that MLS brings in, the more the disparity between those who know the sport inside out and those still learning it becomes evident.

There might be more talent in MLS these days, but there still isn’t a single team in the league that can put 11 above-average players on the field.

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Why does it seem that all the really good quotes come from coaches not based in Los Angeles?

The New York-New England match, for instance, provided these two gems:

From Red Bulls Coach Carlos Osorio, after defender Chris Leitch had turned his back on a free kick, allowing the Revolution’s Jeff Larentowicz to score the tying goal: “If I would have been standing in that wall, I would have put my face to that ball, and that’s what I expect from my players.”

From New England Coach Steve Nicol, after Honduran playmaker Mauricio Castro was red-carded for kicking New York defender Kevin Goldthwaite in the groin after being fouled: “Castro’s 4-foot-3 and he [Goldthwaite] is standing over him, trampling him. [But] I’m certainly not excusing Castro for kicking out at him.”

Just to be clear, “Pipo” Castro is actually 5-10, while the towering Goldthwaite is all of 6-1.

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Yes, Galaxy fans, the Joe Franchino signed by Los Angeles last week is the same Joe Franchino who, along with former Revolution teammate Gary Flood, was tossed out of a recent Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game at Fenway Park after fans complained of their obnoxious behavior.

He is also the same Joe Franchino slugged by then-teammate and current U.S. international Clint Dempsey at training camp a few years back.

He is also the same Joe Franchino who played only 57 minutes of soccer last season because of injuries.

So the questions here are: Just who made this trade? Did Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit know anything about it? Was another 30-something (Franchino will be 32 in August) with a troubled history really what L.A. needed?

It appears that Gullit is not totally in the loop on the transaction front. Last week he was asked about the acquisition of defenders Scott Bolkan and Vardan Adzemian and their subsequent loan to the Portland Timbers. Gullit looked blank. He had never heard of either player.

Troubling signs that things in Lalas-land really have not improved over the chaotic last two seasons.

Small wonder, too, that the dark storm clouds of rumor about coming upheaval and change continue to gather on the horizon.

For comments or questions on soccer, email: grahame.jones@latimes.com