again i've never once brought up height argument. maybe others did, but i didn't. but i do think Kobe/MJ type of athlete would be a great goalie - 6ft 5 barefoot, quick first step, great recovery, leaping ablity, and nasty drive, and huge hands. why wouldn't they excel at goal keeping? they are definitely not too tall for it. and talent can be developed. if Kobe's dream was to be the best goalie, then i'm sure he has a chance to be one. and let's say kobe just doesn't have instinct for it. i'm sure there are 6ft 5 guys with great athletic ability to become the next great thing. but wait, those thousands of 6ft 5 guys in this country play basketball. why wouldn't they play basketball? why wouldn't they want to become the next MJ or kobe? i'm just curious 'what if better athlete starts playing soccer instead of football or basketball?' a very basic fundamental question that everybody in this country asks at the moment. i went to a high school where we were a major power in football and basketball. soccer? it's a sport for who do not have a physical gift. that's the sad reality in most parts of this country especially in football crazed south. i'm sure there are legit soccer academy in this country. but maybe it's just not enough. we just don't have that system in place. you don't grow up wanting to be messi or ronaldo. you grow up wanting to be next kobe or tom brady in this country. and no matter how you slice it, our guys look like bunch of derek fishers(hard working, tough, but not an elite athlete) and not d rose or westbrooks. it's visible on tape. you don't need to be a rocket science to see that we are not putting the best athletic talents out there. there is a reason why yedlin stood out.
Just a warning...this is going to be long as I have a lot to say. Still hurting this morning. I'm not sure when I'll get over this one. I normally let these things roll off my back. It's just that it was right there...inside the 6...and was skied in to the stands. I've played for many years and I've done the same exact thing many many times...and it sucks so g-ddamned bad...even for an amateur. I can't begin to imagine the nightmares that Wondo had last night and will have for some time. I wonder what effect it might have on the rest of his MLS season. This was his one any only shot at the dream...a World Cup winner. Besides that, I think Klinsmann might have out thought himself on this one. 1.Cameron was ok, but Beckerman deserved and earned the right to start that game. Any of you that know my posting history on this subject would be blown away at that statement coming from me. Prior to the Cup starting, I was the person least likely to say a positive thing about either Jermaine Jones or Kyle Beckerman. Today, though, I applaud them and I now understand why they were so important to Juergen. I think that had Fabian not gone down, Beckerman might have been the first sub early in the 2nd half for Cameron. 2. Why not start a proper striker? With it becoming obvious goals were going to have to come on a counter, a poacher like Wondo might have gotten at the end of one of the crosses that were coming from Beasely and Fabian/Yedlin. Plus, it allows Dempsey to play deeper and with his face to goal. He is not a back to goal player, period. It takes away his ability to create and that was quite evident against Germany and Belgium. It was ok against Portugal because they didn't play him tight and gave him more free reign. Same for Johannson so I think Wondo would have been the right play from the opening. 3. Oh Mikey. Where the f*** were you? The ball to Green was a thing of perfection. Where were those the previous 375 minutes? Yes, you did the most running of anyone in the World Cup. So f***ing what. You were running in circles, constantly in no man's land. Constantly, until the last few minutes when you started to be the Michael Bradley we were waiting for. The one that came all the way back to demand the ball from the backs and then pushed it through the middle. WHERE THE F*** WAS THAT? When I look back at this Cup and am asked, "What happened?", I start with you. You may not be the reason why we lost, but you're a huge part of the reason why we didn't win. 4. Reflecting now, the Donovan move was the wrong move by Klinsmann. He would have been quite useful yesterday and against Germany...if he was able to reclaim his ability to run at the defense. I see some of you saying he's our best player with the ball at his feet. Donovan does not have the greatest touch on this team. He just doesn't. He does know how to use space well and his speed and vision is what made him dangerous...not his touch. But he would have been great off the bench yesterday. 5. Tim Howard is the greatest American keeper of all time and is one of the best in the world right now. There's nothing else to say other than, "Thank you, Timmy!" 6. Related to #4, with no Donovan, why not play Diskerud? I would have subbed him in for Zusi early in the 2nd half yesterday. Why didn't he get in at all? For someone that made such an impact on qualifying and other games over the last couple of years, to not give him any minutes was a strange move. Granted, the Johnson injury might have screwed up plans we weren't aware of. 7. Excellent work from Besler. I have to assume that he's getting looks from Europe. Beasley did great work and I would love to see him come home to the MLS now. You have to think his international career is over. What benefit is it to him to stay in Mexico now? 8. DeAndre Yedlin might be my new favorite player. You can't teach speed and I don't think Belgium knew what he was capable of. The one play where he tracked back on a dead sprint for 40 yards and caught Hazard from behind with a clean slide was just awesome. I think he's earned one of the outside back spots going forward and might be getting some looks from Europe as well. 9. Tim Howard is f***ing awesome. 10. Considering their ages, this is has to be it for Dempsey (3 cups), Beasley (4 cups!), Wondo, Davis, and Beckerman. They were all great in qualifying and should all be applauded for their service. Dempsey and Beasley deserve separate testimonial games should they decide to make it official. I think Howard, at a minimum, should remain part of the program and could be a part of the team in 2018 as Guzan's backup...assuming he isn't still dominating the world at age 39. At keeper, it can be done. Van Der Sar was still a fantastic keeper when he retired at 40. There are many other examples of keepers playing deep into their 30's and early 40's. 11. Damnit Wondo! 12. Ok, Julian Green is pretty good and has a very bright future ahead of him. The vision to make that run and then finish it was not something you'd expect from a kid. Especially one that had not shown us much in his previous appearances. Can't wait to see what he becomes. 13. You want to know who I blame the most for the lack of a creative American mid? Freddy Adu. I will claim until I die that he (and his family) made the biggest mistake in American soccer history in not having him join one of the big European programs when he had the chance at age 12. Being drafted into the MLS was a gigantic mistake. There was no reserve or youth system at that time for him to grow into. Had he taken the deal with Inter (I think it was Inter but I'm sure there were others), he would have been placed in their youth system and been groomed and taught how to be a professional. He wouldn't have had any pressure on him to do anything until he was 17 or 18. Instead, he rode the pine in DC at age 14. If any of you caught the U20 World Cup, you know what I'm talking about. Watch the whole video or just skip ahead to 7:00. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IqmowgmKt1o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> If there ever was a case of "What could have been...", Freddy Adu is the poster child. He had the touch, the vision, the athletic ability, and the creativity to be what we all hoped he would become...but one bad decision screwed that all up...and he's still only 25. What's next? Julian Green clearly has a future. Joe Corona, Joe Gyau & Junior Flores with Dortmund, Terrence Boyd, and others. Hopefully Gedion Zelalem decides to play with the US now that his citizenship One I'd love to see get a shot is Joshua Gatt. He got one cap in that horrid game against Canada back in early 2013. He was electric. He's got Yedlin type speed as a winger and a big attitude. I enjoyed watching him and he has had some decent success with Molde in Norway. I think we'll see him in for the 2015 Gold Cup. He had made the roster last year but was injured with what became the first of 2 torn ACLs. He's already been ruled out for the 2014 season (Norway plays an MLS-like schedule). That Gold Cup will be a showcase for the future. We don't need to win it as we at least have a spot in a playoff game with the winner of that Gold Cup to determine who goes to the 2017 Confederations Cup. While it hurts and will for a while, I'm still proud of the guys and of the country as a whole for the support. It's been an awesome few weeks. The one positive for me is the stress is gone and I can now just watch and enjoy myself. I think I'm going to root for Colombia going forward to win it all.
On this, it does happen here but players lack the higher levels of coaching and competition that other countries offer.
Great post, repped. I think the Cameron sub wasn't such a bad move. We needed taller guys for the set pieces, and Belgium struggled to get anything going on those. Yedlin runs what, a 4.2 40? Speed demon. I think if the US can get a Gedion Zelalem and pair with Bradley, than you will have a much better attack(assuming Gedion reaches potential). I think this team has a chance to be really good in 2018 as it feels like the talent pool is starting to come through.
Which is also changing. The MLS teams all have development systems that are still in the early stages. The idea being that they do what the European teams do and develop these players early and teach them how to be pro's. This is what Klinsmann's rant was at the end of the 2010 World Cup when he was behind the desk for ESPN. One of the basic steps that has to happen in the US is that talented players should not be paying to play...not the other way around. Until that takes hold completely, we'll still miss out on the potentially very talented players that are in areas or situations that cannot afford to play for clubs like the Texans in Houston.
Meh. Still recovering from the game. I'll probably still keep watching the Cup. Compared to say the NBA, where I didn't watch a single game after the Rockets were knocked out.
that's great to hear. what we really need to do is somehow get to the final four. the soccer fever will blow up if that happens. USA in the semis? are you kidding me? popularity is extremely critical in any sports. i really can see soccer becoming #3 sports in this country in 30 years. passing baseball which has been slowly declining (no more steroid, not enough home grown talents, TV rating down badly). but to be popular, you have to do the unthinkable. get to the semis. be the cinderella. and then market the players. all of them. don't market the MLS. market the players. put them on TV. gatorade commercial. let the kids know their names. it should always be about the players. i'm a marketing/brand guy. you have to generate stars. soccer is a visible sport. new star must be born through the world cup. i kinda feel it. the sports landscape will change in this country. i get goosebumps just thinking about it.
You should because it's only going to get better. The matchups will be great. Germany & France, Brazil and Colombia, Belgium and Argentina...these are going to be really good games.
There shouldn't be a probably about it. It's once every 4 years, and the countries that are left are phenomenal. If you're a fan of the sport, or are even just trying to get into it, these are the games that make you fall in love. And leroy, all I can say about your long post is:
leroy, blame Donovan on not being fit enough to deserve a spot. I unbiasedly will say that. Sure, but still playing the same style, and can't even play on par with Belgium. Fine, you want to compare with Mexico? I think if we're the same or better because we're that consistent in the World Cup, and I don't think y'all would have even tied or beaten Brazil, Croatia, or Netherlands, with their style and the way they played us, y'all would have gotten killed. Please don't tell me y'all deserved to win with all that 100 minutes of bad defense. Everyone will tell y'all that Mexico deserved to win against Netherlands, whom we had on the ropes. There's not a lot more to improve to be "better today than in '94" with that. WTF? No. There's a separate list for ranking in FIFA than in the finishing of the World Cup. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup#Post-tournament_team_ranking <- y'all are better here because y'all didn't lose in group play. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup#Final_standings <- y'all aren't better here EDIT: DaDakota, can you take a WILD GUESS as to how many offside calls the USA had? Just try to guess. Then be surprised when you check.
Yeah, I'll be watching. I love the World Cup. By far my favorite sporting event. Only soccer / futbol / football I watch are International Friendlies, and the world cup. (basically any International games, such as gold cup etc). I don't watch much MLS, I couldn't careless about UEFA (?) etc. I typically follow sports and teams from places I've lived and feel like I have a connection with. As for the world cup this year, that was Switzerland and USA....but both are out. There's just nothing like the National Pride (patriotic) that comes with the World Cup.
Fixed. What about watching USA players in other leagues? Would you watch those games if they were to show them on TV (MLS, Liga MX, EPL, etc.)?
The USA is better than Mexico.....period. You can "would have, should have" all day long but that is a fact. You don't deserve anything. You lost in amazing meltdown fashion. However brilliantly you played against Holland for 88 minutes, you equally choked in the last 5 minutes. "Everyone" will tell you that. I don't think any US supporter was deluded to think there was a strong chance of beating Belgium once the match started. You could tell the US didn't have the drive in them. Good luck in qualifying for Russia. You guys are going to need it. Hopefully we won't have to bail you guys out again to get there.
:grin: No. The USA is not better than MEXICO. Maybe in the qualifiers you were, but not at this moment, and in the World Cup. And not "PERIOD." Ask everyone else in the WORLD who is better right now, without bias. Have them tell you who played the better football in the World Cup between Mexico and USA. Go ahead. If you want to act like DaDakota and dismiss rankings once they come out, fine. If you want to act like others who think that just because you made it out of the first round against a "tough group" earned you anything, like worldwide respect even though y'all didn't offer any game versus Germany and tried for a tie, fine. That's fine and dandy to you, if you want to stop there, don't read further: Spoiler Great! I know you couldn't stay away. In regards to the Mexico game vs. the Netherlands: Y'all like to call "choke" to anything that is a loss after a win, but you don't look at the circumstances. At the end of the day, NO, we didn't score more than Netherlands, nor did we stop them from scoring. Do you really think that any nation's goalkeeper, whether it were Howard, Goycochea, Casillas, Ochoa, Buffon, or anyone else, would have been able to stop the Sneijder laser? Do you really believe that the foul called by the flop should have sent any other team home? Don't answer those and you'll be OK. In regards to the USA game vs. Belgium: We can't talk about it because you won't listen to reason, but the only thing I can say is that Tim Howard's body must hurt from stopping all the shots your defense allowed. Also, choking could also be having CLEAR OPEN CHANCES TO SCORE right in front of Courteois and not taking them. Julian Green comes in and breathes new life in to you, cardiac kids, and y'all blow so many chances? You answer ME. How is that NOT a choke? Did Mexico get those chances against a strong Netherlands defense? I guarantee you we wouldn't have missed.
Bottom line is that while USA played decent for moments, they were constantly under attack in all but one game, and I see them as being distant from a championship run. 1) USA is no better than the Charlotte Bobcats. We made it, but we were never really in it. We only won one game, and that was after being down. 2) The Defense plays off the ball, giving up lots of chances, just too many. How about we get aggressive on the ball like Germany. 3) They should have been down at least 6-0 to Belgium. 4) So many passes and crosses that were either out of bounds or too long. I don't get it at this level. 5) No Possession. This is the key. Has not changed in 25 years. Seems like a technical issue from all the errant passes. 6) No Finisher. just someone who can put in on net.
