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[QUOTE="IthacaMatt, post: 3915244, member: 405"]
That's why I'm not so down on Berhalter.  He is trying to teach a team of young guys to play the way all the best clubs in Europe now play.  This is what Klinsmann had hoped to do.  This will help more US players move to Europe, too, since they are playing a more modern style of football.

While I sort of agree with this, that teams with less time together need simpler defensive set ups to avoid catastrophic mistakes; this is why I generally favor 3 at the back.  You have that insurance policy of the extra centerback.

But when you see how a team like Italy, who exemplified the bunker mentality for generations, has created a modern, exciting style of football under Roberto Mancini, and you see that the "club game" can work at the International level, too.  We already see it in the pressing high up the pitch.  The risk of doing that is that your defenders may get exposed, hence 3 at the back is a great solution, especially when you don't have 2 world class center backs to anchor your defense.
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