USMNT soccer team thread

[Bortukal]

Wow.

Out to watch the football team drop it. Up to Chapel Hill to watch the soccer team give it back. Home in time to watch this.

Rough day as a sports fan.

Worst sports day ever.

 

[Alsacs]

Honestly USMNT just lacks talent. Our team isn't as talented the good teams. We lost this game because we couldn't hold the ball. Mexico dominated the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half and we were awful. I don't play Beasley or Guzan at all.

We just lost big match. I really am pissed but I hope JK isn't fired.

 

[creatorsgam]

Worst sports day ever.

Definitely feeling like its top-10 worst of my 34 years grazing on this planet.

If my New York Football Giants do not show up tomorrow, I may have to take the week off and not even bother to open my blinds.

 

[Toga]

Hoping Jozy has some gumption tonight

He may or may not have gumption, but he has virtually nothing in terms of basic soccer skills.

 

[CUSU]

He may or may not have gumption, but he has virtually nothing in terms of basic soccer skills.

Only thing he has is strength which allows him to one of our only guys that can hold up play.. Decent pace but terrible endurance.

 

[Orangezoo]

What a mess that was. Jozy is someone i keep pulling for but it may be time to let him try to stick with his club career and move on. Deuce is great on the attack in possession but is approaching a point where being a supersub or 70 min guy suits him better.

The middle of the field was a mess minus bradley today. Very little chemistry up the spine and far too many mental lapses and bad touches. There is ample talent coming up the ranks and yedlin and wood bring a nice spark. I know we wanted this and the stakes were different than in the friendlies but the squad that pushed the dutch and germans would be nice to see as we make the push for russia.

 

[storange]

That's fine. You're right. I crossed the line with the comment traveling to Thailand on vacation while the US was in the middle of a dogfight to make the World Cup.

He was apparently quitting soccer due to burn out. Sure, he's a great talent, but if I was on the team (or the coach) and your "best player" quit and then expected to move right back into the starting lineup 9 months later, I would be pretty freaking pissed about it, too.

It seems jurgy wasnt too pissed to play LD in the critical qualifier vs Mexico. And of LD delivered as he almost always did

 

[CuseCPT]

Worst sports day ever.

SU blown out by USF. Check.
USA loses to Mexico. Check
Mets lose to Dodgers. Check
Scumbag Utley ends Tejada's season on a dirty play. Check.
Star of my fantasy team (Jamal Charles) goes down on what looks like a bad injury. Check.

FML

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Honestly USMNT just lacks talent. Our team isn't as talented the good teams. We lost this game because we couldn't hold the ball. Mexico dominated the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half and we were awful. I don't play Beasley or Guzan at all.

We just lost big match. I really am pissed but I hope JK isn't fired.

Beasley wasn't the problem. Jones was. With 3 forwards, Beasley had to tuck inside and it was up to Jones to cover the wing. Guy wasn't 100% and he was being asked to cover a ton of ground: retreat all the way to the endline on D as well as get all the way forward. Jones played his a$$ off but he is not a winger and the job he needed to do is not a job for 35 year-old legs - especially when those legs are not at 100%.

Yedlin should have been introduced at halftime, either for Beckerman or for Jones. His speed would have forced Mexico to play deeper to counteract the thread posed by his pace. If you cannot possess, which we couldn't, you need to stretch - which we couldn't do with Jones and Zardes.

I am a Klinsmann supporter but he was out coached and did not adjust.

 

[CUSU]

Beasley wasn't the problem. Jones was. With 3 forwards, Beasley had to tuck inside and it was up to Jones to cover the wing. Guy wasn't 100% and he was being asked to cover a ton of ground: retreat all the way to the endline on D as well as get all the way forward. Jones played his a$$ off but he is not a winger and the job he needed to do is not a job for 35 year-old legs - especially when those legs are not at 100%.

Yedlin should have been introduced at halftime, either for Beckerman or for Jones. His speed would have forced Mexico to play deeper to counteract the thread posed by his pace. If you cannot possess, which we couldn't, you need to stretch - which we couldn't do with Jones and Zardes.

I am a Klinsmann supporter but he was out coached and did not adjust.

Blows my mind he was less than 100%, had to play out of position, and for a full 120. I give the guy credit, he gave it his all.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Blows my mind he was less than 100%, had to play out of position, and for a full 120. I give the guy credit, he gave it his all.

Yeah, I was positive that Yedlin would come on at halftime and it blew my mind when he didn't.

His ability to transition so quickly from D to O would have also given Dempsey and Altidore another option. The few times they did get possession, it took forever for the mids to catch up...

Since we still do not have the ability to possess the ball, we need as much pace as we can get.

 

[CUSU]

Yeah, I was positive that Yedlin would come on at halftime and it blew my mind when he didn't.

His ability to transition so quickly from D to O would have also given Dempsey and Altidore another option. The few times they did get possession, it took forever for the mids to catch up...

Since we still do not have the ability to possess the ball, we need as much pace as we can get.

Yedlin changed the dynamic of our team when he came in. If he can become better on the ball skill wise soon, he could be a real asset to this team. Hopefully he continues to get time in the BPL.

Not sure why we took Zardes off either, because he was probably one of the guys who could last the whole 120. Looking back on it, maybe take off Altidore, move Zardes up top, and bring on Yedlin. Wood for Dempsey later, or Wood for Jones and move Zardes back to wing.

Really mucked things up when Johnson asked to come out.

 

[CUSU]

Klinsmann sends Fabian Johnson home. Unhappy that Johnson removed himself in extra time despite not being injured.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Yedlin changed the dynamic of our team when he came in. If he can become better on the ball skill wise soon, he could be a real asset to this team. Hopefully he continues to get time in the BPL.

Not sure why we took Zardes off either, because he was probably one of the guys who could last the whole 120. Looking back on it, maybe take off Altidore, move Zardes up top, and bring on Yedlin. Wood for Dempsey later, or Wood for Jones and move Zardes back to wing.

Really mucked things up when Johnson asked to come out.

Yup. I didn't understand that either. I assumed that either Beckerman or, more likely, Jones would be coming out. Jones was already gassed by that point.

Yedlin already is an asset. That pass he threaded to Wood required a great deal of skill. Yedlin was going full speed and he put that ball in exactly the right place for Jones to run onto and one-time. Not easy to do.

And I didn't realize that Johnson asked out. That substitution baffled me. I wasn't happy about Wondo coming in. I just don't think he is national team material but to pull him back to replace Johnson had me incredulous.

I like Altidore. I know he is getting low grades but it is almost impossible to see on TV whether a striker is playing well. The camera is always on the ball and 90% of the hard work a striker does is off the ball and off camera.

With the US unable to break high pressure through possession, except against overmatched opposition, having a target center-forward is a must and Altidore is the only player who fits that bill.

It also means they need outside mids who have pace, can take people on and "make someone miss" to use a football term.

You will, currently, never see the US create a goal like the first one Mexico created unless we are playing a team that is simply way overmatched. That goal was a thing of beauty.

 

[CUSU]

Some seem to think Klinsmann is losing the locker room based on this Fabian Johnson situation.

http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2015/10/12/johnson-sent-home-from-usmnt-camp-after-klinsmann-fallout/

 

[IthacaMatt]

I am a Klinsmann supporter but he was out coached and did not adjust.

In a nutshell, you nailed it. Klinsmann's strength has never been tactics. He has always been about expressing yourself as a player, and playing the "modern" (South American / top flight Continental) style of football. You need to be able to control possession and play out of the back to relieve pressure. You can't just absorb pressure for 80 minutes and expect to beat top teams on a regular basis.

I think Klinsmann needs to do 2 things - settle on a back four and let them develop chemistry, and get more athleticism and ball possession into the midfield.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

In a nutshell, you nailed it. Klinsmann's strength has never been tactics. He has always been about expressing yourself as a player, and playing the "modern" (South American / top flight Continental) style of football. You need to be able to control possession and play out of the back to relieve pressure. You can't just absorb pressure for 80 minutes and expect to beat top teams on a regular basis.

I think Klinsmann needs to do 2 things - settle on a back four and let them develop chemistry, and get more athleticism and ball possession into the midfield.

I'm not sure where the possession comes from.

I think it is the way our kids are trained.

I watch enough Academy-level (the pay for play variety) at mid-level age groups (U12 to U14) to know that quick interplay is non-existent. Kids have good foot skills and they use the dribble to get themselves out of trouble rather than quick little ones and twos.

As a result, the play is also very direct.

Maybe instead of overseas, we should be looking south of the border.

Mexico's ability to move the ball around the field was impressive.

 

[CUSU]

Dismal performance tonight..

 

[IthacaMatt]

I'm not sure where the possession comes from. I think it is the way our kids are trained.

I watch enough Academy-level (the pay for play variety) at mid-level age groups (U12 to U14) to know that quick interplay is non-existent. Kids have good foot skills and they use the dribble to get themselves out of trouble rather than quick little ones and twos.

As a result, the play is also very direct.

Mexico's ability to move the ball around the field was impressive.

I think that direct play, in general, is an American (and to a lesser extent, English) trait. We play soccer like we play other sports - try to score quickly, get the ball and try to score again.

The art of playing keep-away with the ball to allow your team to rest and recover (while tiring out the other side from chasing you ...), and get a foothold in a game is just a completely foreign concept to most US coaches. Our tactics are so naive.

Before you become a coach in this country, you shouldn't just be looking at videos of training drills; you need to watch a lot of Champions League soccer, to see how the game is played in many other countries, and get a sense of what's required tactically at the highest levels.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I think that direct play, in general, is an American (and to a lesser extent, English) trait. We play soccer like we play other sports - try to score quickly, get the ball and try to score again.

The art of playing keep-away with the ball to allow your team to rest and recover (while tiring out the other side from chasing you ...), and get a foothold in a game is just a completely foreign concept to most US coaches. Our tactics are so naive.

Before you become a coach in this country, you shouldn't just be looking at videos of training drills; you need to watch a lot of Champions League soccer, to see how the game is played in many other countries, and get a sense of what's required tactically at the highest levels.

Agreed.

MLS is very direct. English soccer used to be very direct.

Now the Premiership is still very direct but for a different reason. There is such an emphasis on pace, especially up top, and athleticism that it lends itself to direct play.

You just never see teams play like they do in Serie A or la Liga.

Technically we don't have the ability and our movement off the ball is lacking.

If you watched Mexico, the movement by players C,D &E in anticipation of the next pass was already happening before player B even received the pass from player A.

How often do you see us doing that?

 

[storange]

Fire Klinsmann save Russia 2018

 

[CUSU]

Interesting tidbit, Carter-Vickers just signed an extension with Tottenham..

On another note, I stumbled on this interesting data analysis/simulation for the upcoming qualifying matches check it out.

http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/simulating-the-next-round-of-qualifying.2026029/

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Fire Klinsmann save Russia 2018

It's not Klinsmann. It is our youth system.

I watched the US-Chile U17 World Cup match last Friday.

We went up 1-0 early but ended up losing 3-1.

It looked like the game where we played Spain. We had 8 guys right around our penalty area and could not possess the ball to save our lives. And forget breaking pressure by any means other than lofting long balls...

Our entire youth system needs an overhaul. Our senior players cannot possess the ball because our junior players cannot either...

 

[OrangeFoo]

It's not Klinsmann. It is our youth system.

I watched the US-Chile U17 World Cup match last Friday.

We went up 1-0 early but ended up losing 3-1.

It looked like the game where we played Spain. We had 8 guys right around our penalty area and could not possess the ball to save our lives. And forget breaking pressure by any means other than lofting long balls...

Our entire youth system needs an overhaul. Our senior players cannot possess the ball because our junior players cannot either...

It's a good thing we have a technical director whose job the last 5 years it is has been to exactly what you are proposing... oh wait that's Kilinsmann also.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It's a good thing we have a technical director whose job the last 5 years it is has been to exactly what you are proposing... oh wait that's Kilinsmann also.

I think it's pretty clear that Klinsmann is having his responsibilities cut back with regard to the technical development, with that new guy getting appointed recently. Klinsmann has the right ideas about how the US has to play, and he has been right to expand the player pool and recruit more dual nationality guys playing in foreign leagues (including Mexico, not just Germany). But tactically he has always been a bit naive, and his constant shuffling of the back four makes him the anti-Mourinho. He needs to settle on some of his team selections and let the players develop chemistry. That only happens over time.