Argentina is playing great but I wouldn't be surprised if Chile beats them again. Chile are a well-oiled machine. Argentina has better attackers but Chile's midfield bosses Argentina's with medel and vidal.
the biggest thing for me was klinsy was supposed to change usa soccer and what i saw was the same thing i've seen the last 20 years. no different than an arena or bradley led team. klinsy has been a failure, a con-man. the crazy part, it was a lineup to avoid a blowout and usa still got blown out.
That well-oiled machine is largely because of Vidal and he's suspended for the semi-finals. We will see how much they'll miss him tonight. Colombia is no slouch.
TBF, Bradley was somewhat competent for the US when he played overseas in Rome. Ever since he came back to the MLS, everything started going south.
Now that Mexico is out, I am almost certain that some Mexicans going to root for Argentina as well. Just sayin, Swoly.
argentina is for many our arch enemy that at the same time we respect and try to emulate throughout in mexican football culture. that has been true for generations. that said, i think you are way wrong. i can't speak for everyone but can speak for many. supporting argentina, never gonna happen!!!
That's the point though. If Jones is your only decent defensive mid, why not switch the formation and actually use a player who might have a chance to create something? Starting Beckerman and especially Wondo was completely bone-headed. Klins could have used this as an opportunity to get young guys like Nagbe and Pulisic experience in preparation for the 2018 WC, instead he trotted out the old **** and paid for it. This tournament was clearly more about him saving his own skin than developing the future.
Klinsmann doesn't give two ****s about developing young talent for the country. He just wants to ensure that he has a job through the 2018 World Cup. Last night's lineup and game-plan was selfish and cowardly. For all the good will he had created by leading the team to the semis, he lost all of it in one night.
america doesnt have the soccer-culture that most of the world has. gotta understand that these kids dont really play any other sport than soccer in many countries. its a game that financially accessible to anyone who can afford a soccer ball. here is how it goes: so you get a whole generation of kids from a given neighborhood playing soccer with one another in the open fields around the neighborhood. of those 20 kids or so there is going to be the best player of the bunch. when those kids go to public school where there is a team started, the school is going to pick the best of all the neighborhood kids. there's not much of B or C teams in soccer. that kid will probably go on to play soccer for the rest of his public school career, both inside AND outside of school at local fields. if that kid is goo enough he will play for a local team in his city, and from there that kid IF he is successful enough at his own club can have the chance to represent his country in regional tournaments. and if he is successful there, then he may have a shot at representing his team at the world cup. so the ladder is pretty tall for soccer players to climb. its financially accessible, a lot of competition in countries with a lof of soccer culture, many 3rd world countries soccer is the game of choice, there is not as much heightism or sizeism in soccer as its common to see players from 4'11- 6'0 playing which encompasses the average height of a male. so there is just more competition to deal with in general. to see the guys at this level play, and the guys at the world cup, they are the absolute cream of the crop in their respective countries. it should come as no surprise to anyone that we got 0-4'd to argentina. they didnt need messi to beat us.
And therein lies the problem. Playing not to lose always guarantees you're going to lose. Klinsmann has no respect for his own players abilities. If he did, he wouldn't have them playing scared like they did last night. IMO, what happened last night was one of the most disappointing results of the last 20 years. I expected a much better showing and I expected a lineup not designed to fail. Klinsmann was happy to be there and clearly didn't care about winning. I think Arena wouldn't put a more aggressive lineup. Bradley was a scraper and set up his teams in that manner. They would've probably been better, too.
I really like the youngsters we have coming up. Pulesic Green Wood Nagbe Brooks Morris I think the future is bright for the USA - but for the love of god, why is Wondo on that team? After Belgium he should have never been allowed on the pitch of any important contest again. And where was Morris, for this tourney? DD
Whatever happened to soccer players having huge thighs? All these guys look like twigs. I want power.
A lot of the great ones were fairly short with massive legs, Messi, Pele, Best, guys that had super quick moves and feet...but there were others that led with their minds, Zidan, Scholes, Gerrard, Donovan. You can be great at soccer in lots of ways. Heck Beckham was not a great athlete but his control was incredible. DD
To be fair, Morris has had his fair share of struggles. With that said, Wondo is useless so I'd still pick Morris even with his issues. I dont get why Emerson Hyndman isn't getting any run. He's proven himself to better than either of those two. He would be way better in the midfield than some joker like Beckerman.
No offense but these guys are nobodies in terms of talent to the youngsters playing in Europe. Therein lies the problem. Unless these guys can force themselves to play with the best in Europe day in day out in training and games, they will never cut it big time. They may look great against other MLS guys but doesn't mean much because we all know MLS is a low quality league.
Pulisic, Wood and Brooks are just fine. Brooks could start on top tier German teams at the point. Wood got a well deserved promotion to BL1 and Pulisic is 17 and playing regular minutes for Dortmund. You're being a little too hard on them. They've all proven themselves to be beyond simple hype.
