The Beautiful Game Ain't So Pretty This Summer

Thanks, HOD.

Chicharito’s back heel goal was pretty cool.

FIFA remind me a lot of the UN.
 
When you put a multinational body in charge of anything, the results are a quick reminder that most of the world is a corrupt kleptocracy. They tend to bring those habits and skills to bear wherever they go.
 
It’s shocking to me that Bradley is still our coach. We need a housecleaning.
 
How is it exactly that a sport that has been steadily growing and burgeoning in the US for thirty years and fields junior teams that are world-competitive has a national team in full regression?

I thought the US played pretty well against Jamaica start to finish. Defense and finishing are still their problems. Maybe it was just the opponent but that was the best game I have seen them play in the midfield, ever? Crisp passing and winning back balls consistently and there was even much less hesitation once they got in striking distance.

I still would like to see the US pay for Klinsmann or another top European coach to lead the national team. I don’t get why we insist on US coaches when the US is not a soccer country. Wouldn’t it make sense to try to learn from the best?

Just one other note. Did any of you notice the referee that looked like Dracula? His hair was slicked back. His hairline was in the shape of a point. And I could have sworn that it looked like he powdered his face. There was a strange whitish quality to his face that the rest of his exposed skin didn’t have. He let several guys from Jamaica just beat on the US and full on push through out the game.

@Monahorns

That guy has been reffing CONCACAF and World Cup games (and generally creeping me the fuck out) for quite some time.

@ScipioTex

You ask the pertinent question that’s been stumping me for a long time.

American youth teams are well-drilled, over-coached machines. That’s great against less tactically disciplined teenagers, but it’s hardly a good indicator of raw talent. Also not the best way to develop/unearth flair players.

Chicharito, Guardado, and Dos Santos are going to butcher our defense. Mexico just has far better talent and coaching right now. If not for Tim Howard in the net, I would expect to concede five goals.

Let’s call it 3-0 and yet another rip in Bradley’s worn out track suit.

We had Klinsmann in the bag after the last World Cup but he wanted full control of the system from development leagues on up. Sunil Gulati pulled the offer. He’s the bigger problem but who is his boss? Probably some fucking trilateral commission secretly run by Sepp Blatter. Gulati has steered US Soccer for more than a decade with a questionable slope of improvement. The fact that MLS is still in existence and steadily adding franchises isn’t enough for me.

We need some new leadership. Like Brickhorn says when shopping at Nordstrom, “Go Euro.”

RT -
 
So, in other words, how everyone is raising their kids today?

Vasherized wins today’s tote bag. The US peaked in the 2002 World Cup, and it’s never matched that level again. It shouldn’t be a surprised to anybody that our best players (outside of goalkeepers) are ones that have spent their formative years in other countries.

Landon Donovan staying in LA to tread water in the MLS instead of going back to Everton (who rightfully loved him) was the biggest “my vagina can’t handle the spotlight” move from a professional American athlete I’ve seen in a long time.

Look at how much Dempsey’s game has improved since going to Fulham and now the dude is the club’s all-time leading scorer with 33 goals. Even Michael Bradley stepped up his game in Germany. Maurice Edu in Scotland. The key isn’t just going overseas, it’s going to clubs where you’re going to earn valuable minutes. Altidore, Adu, and Onyewu aren’t getting any better sitting on the bench in league play.

I think it’s similar to the rep I’ve heard from coaches about Texas high school football players. They have the best facilities, and the best coaching money can buy. So ultimately, you are seeing kids that are performing more or less at their maximum potential, there really isn’t a huge growth curve.

Twenty years ago, most soccer coaching in this country was a joke, I have a friend from England who laughed at the pathetic state of coaching here (then he got a job as a soccer coach in Colorado). But not anymore.

Like every other youth sport, US soccer players are playing year round in organized leagues. Hell I have friends who got together and recruited a soccer coach for their 6 year old and paid the coach! For 6 year olds! These kids are attending college and pro camps, they know how to play soccer in a technically correct way. The problem is most of the talented ones leave to play football basketball or baseball well before they could be playing in the pro’s.

Contrast that to some third world futbol loving country where the kids are playing barefoot in the streets. Give them some decent coaching and shoes and boom, they’re playing the beautiful game. The talented kids aren’t going anywhere either. (Unless, your a seven foot power forward with a sweet fadeaway jumper and a bad sense of pitch).

Seriously, I wonder how disappointed Dirk was when he turned 12 and realized there weren’t any 7 foot soccer players playing pro soccer.

Scip –
Yup. This is a lazy, sweeping generalization, but the US soccer talent pool is mostly spawned by helicopter parents and suburbia. Money, time and coaching can be powerful in some sports (the ones China excels at?), but let’s just say that soccer could benefit from a wider socioeconomic spectrum. Like basketball or football.

And England seems to be an unofficial model for US soccer, including playing style. That’s a mistake in the long run.

England is very unimpressive. Most of the Premiership League stars are from other countries.

Why can’t the US model their system after Germany or Spain or Brazil? People may laugh at us for that but why not model yourself after the best.

Why is Bob still in the job? Our pitiful soccer media are afraid of losing access to the USMNT (see under Wahl, Grant). If Bob Bradley is the man everyone says he is then he will resign after the Gold Cup. The results have been poor to mediocre and there is now a clear conflict of interest in regards to his son. Kreis is ready, and that guy would use the job as a springboard to a European gig. This is a tough cycle because the young guys are not really coming through, and Mexico are loaded, but if we can establish a formation and first XI that can maintain possession by the 2014 qualifiers then we have a chance of a good run in the next World Cup.

Dempsey is the man and should be wearing the armband. I really hope he gets a move this summer and gets to play in Champions League.

RT -
 
You got my meaning. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the mentally toughest and most inspired American player is Clint Dempsey, even if he’s not the most pure talent. His background is pure East Texas lower middle class – at best.
 
Filter some more guys like that into the game and get some coaches worth a shit and we’ll be cooking with gas.

American soccer isn’t regressing. It’s never been good. Our best success has been built on fortress mentality defense and ceding possession in exchange for muscular counterattacks. We haven’t had a ball control midfielder since Reyna retired, and he wasn’t great. Out lucky wins, like Spain, have been in games where our goalie puts forth superhuman effort and we are fortunate enough to nick a goal.

I’m no Bradley fan, but his ultra defensive style probably DOES give us the beat chance to win. This Mexico team is very fragile. Chicharito is a poacher and Dos Santos is occasionally above average, but Guardado is long in the tooth and the rest of the team is too slow, too small, and not technical enough to beat a world class team. They will beat us though, and they’ll possess the ball 80 percent of the game.

The problem is the player pool. Soccer requires a field. It is not an urban game and it is perceived as a suburban white game. Which it is here. That ain’t changing anytime soon. There is talent that we are missing, but that talent is Hispanic and in Texas. Look how underrepresented Texas is on the national team.

“Warner says he’s been "hung out to dry" and that what’s happening to him is hypocrisy, because the culture of "gifts" (aka bribes) has a long history in FIFA,” he complains, as he stuffs hush money in his waistcoat.

FIFA will never change – the problems will go elsewhere. Amazing to think that the voting system allows an individual to cast a vote for so many nations – fly a representative from each nation to cast his own vote. Bribery would be far wider spread and easier to trace.

Johny Hayes wants to talk to Clint Dempsey about that goal scoring record.

Teams can get a long way in International football by being tight at the back, having good set pieces and something a bit out of the ordinary up front. The US are only 1 piece of the jigsaw away from that. Obviously the next level requires more, but there aren’t that many international teams at that next level.

English Ag is correct. It’s always been a good recipe for success internationally to play very tight at the back and try to nick goals on counters and set pieces. It works to maximum effect if you have one or two electric attacking players with the ability to make something out of nothing. The USMNT has one player like that — Dempsey. Aguedelo might get there — but not if he stays in the MLS.

To follow up on my earlier point — I’ve played in the US at all sorts of different levels — suburban club, where you travel all over for tournaments; college; and immigrant league (kind of semi-pro — you get beer and a little jack) in Houston where the teams are generally split by nationality (Salvadorian/Guatemalan/Mexican) and you are sponsored by a nightclub). The funniest thing about this is that there were players I played with and against in college and club who went on to professional success (MLS and Mexican league), but maybe the best guy I ever played with was named Nestor and smoked and drank Busch beer at half-time. He also played in white football shoes with the front cleat cut off.

I have no idea if dude is an America national, and most of the immigrant league players were total hacks, but the best of that league was better (although not bigger, faster, or in better shape) than the best players I played against everywhere else. The little thing that Dempsey has is the sort of improvisational ability that both the English and American national teams mostly lack (look at the English U-21 team for a further example). You only get that ability from playing a lot of soccer outside of a team structure. In the kind of places where you can take as many touches as you want and no one says anything to you about hogging the ball — if you suck they just stop passing to you.

There is talent in Texas. I’ve seen it. But it’s so far from the Olympic Development programs and the scouting structures that it goes undiscovered. Actually, the Houston Dynamo academy and improved high school soccer are starting to help — and might eventually pay national team dividends (if the kids would play for the US instead of El Salvador), but only if the junior national team scouting improves dramatically.

Danny Mills agrees with me about England:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/929355/danny-mills-slams-system-after-england-u21s’-failure?cc=5739

Chicharito is a poacher and Dos Santos is occassionally above average…

That’s where I stopped reading, although I had almost stopped earlier. Did I miss any other poorly thought out contradictions?!

Is Mexico good or not? It’s easily the best El Tri team in a decade and this may be the US’ worst (in their current form under Bradley anyway).

You can stop all you want. There is a reason that Dos Santos washed out at Barca, then Tottenham, and then wherever he ended up in Greece/Turkey. That reason is that he is lazy, doesn’t track back, and only plays when he feels like it.

Chicharito makes very intelligent runs and gets into the right places — then he scores poacher’s goals. Nothing wrong with that. But that’s who he is.

Mexico is OK. They aren’t good.

The problem is less Bradley’s defensive style, but his tactical inflexibility in switching away from the narrow shape the team always runs.

Even if the US were to win this tournament, it would be papering over the cracks and doing a long-term disservice to the national team. We should dominate this region.

OK, I will acknowledge that this Mexico team is better than the previous ones. And this US team is suffering dramatically from Davies injury and the aging out of a formerly stout back-line.

But I don’t think that this Mexico team is very good overall. They would get drilled by the decent Euro teams.

I did keep reading and agreed with your second post, but the first one seemed lazy.

I guess Mexico is only good when they want to be.

If Chicarito is a poacher, I’d still forge a birth certificate and call him John so he could start for us. Stealing goals is essentially what strikers do.

He’s incredibly strong, quick on his feet, scores easily with his left or right, and has a nose for the goal. I generally despise any player for Mexico but he’s earned my respect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcto4ot9pYE&feature=related

I would literally kill to have a striker like him. Totally agree. There are guys who just score goals — Gary Lineker, Romario, Miroslav Klose, Old Kevin Phillips, etc. — and those guys are the most valuable piece on the field. Chicharito is one of those. He will not make a ton of highlight films (despite the uncharacteristic back-heel goal — he’s far more likely to bundle the ball in off his face off a missed volley like he did for his first ManU goal) but he will be prolific.

He’ll also miss some sitters.

Charlies Davies car accident really screwed us. That goal he scored against Mexico at the Azteca was exactly the kind of thing we NEVER get from our forwards. I do hold out hope for Aguedelo. Kid is young, raw, but oozes for real technical ability and talent. Altidore was a physical beast but always technically raw. Aguedelo might be our best hope.

Yeah Davies crash really hurt. Counter attacking just worked with him. He was fast and assertive with the ball. My question is, has he not recovered or has he lost a couple of steps? I ask because I assumed I would see him back on the team when he was healthy.

I haven’t seen him play since he came back to the MLS. His coaches in France thought he would never physically be the same player. Pace was such an important part of his game and his injuries were incredibly severe.

Davies’ recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. He lost a little speed but it’s amazing to watch him do nearly the same stuff he did before. I didn’t think he’d ever play again. I imagine he gets called back up to the USMNT next year.

He’s got 5-6 goals this season for DC United as of a few weeks ago.

Sadly I agree with Danny Mills – but it isn’t Stuart Pearce’s fault just in the same way it wasn’t Capello’s fault (or Erikson and Mclaren before that). Nor do I think it is Bob Bradley’s fault. The last ‘crafty’ English player i.e. a 10 is perhaps Matt Le Tissier and the last one that did it at international level was Peter Beardsley. Junior players get coached to death because junior coaches are rewarded by results. I played organised 11 aside matches from 8-16 years of age, then again at 21-26. Training was once a week and team rather than individual skills orientated.

Importantly, international football is about getting a team ready for a tournament – they don’t get a lot of time together and it is difficult to be build cohesion in attack – far easier to build cohesion at the back, hence why defense, set pieces and a bit of flair up front is as much as most international sides hope for.

Like Toadvine, I played at a reasonable level – mostly as a cog in a well organised machine. I tended to play for teams that beat up on individuals but lost to more athletic organised teams – perhaps I have, but I can’t remember losing to a technically gifted unorganised team in amateur football.

There are many examples of technically gifted footballers, but if they won’t put in the graft and do the basics, they should stick to pick up games.

Pace is a key metric, the benchmark seems to be 7 meters per second. When Juventus sold Thiery Henry, they thought they were getting rid of a player was lacking in areas of the game that they thought were important. Arsene Wenger, who holds a Masters in economics, looked at how many times Henry was able to reach that threshold when he sprinted and notice that he didn’t have to exert much effort to do so and was sold. Got himself a cracker of a player.

I believe we have some serious systemic issues as far as player development. To say that the quality of coaching at the youth level is atrocious is being very generous. We have no real development going on. They’re trying to deal with it, but we have no real coaches around. Bob Bradley’s are dime a dozen in Argentina. By the time a American talent sees quality coaching he’s years behind players of the top tier nations development wise. France, who pioneered the modern youth development model, identifies talent as early as 11 years old and sends them to youth academies such as Clairfontaine-who has produced talents such as Henry, Anelka, Diaby, Gallas, Ben Afra among others. These state of the art facilities consolidate athletics with academics and medical supervision to produce elite players. The late bloomers can still benefit from the plethora of quality coaching that exist among other club controlled youth academies.

To illustrate my point, check out the highlights of our opening game vs. France’s in the current U17 World Cup underway in Mexico. This are high school sophomores at most. http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/highlights/video/video=1455436/index.html
http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/highlights/video/video=1454913/index.html

I’m just using France as an example because it has come to dominate the scene, and their youth development netted them some glory-and shame. Their national team has reached the semis in four of the last eight world cups. It’s hard to develop quality players without quality coaching, even if you got the best raw talent pool, and we ain’t got that kind of coaching readily available. Contrast that with our other big sports, you can find quality coaches and facilities everywhere. We got our work cut out boys.

“Pace is a key metric, the benchmark seems to be 7 meters per second”

Could you explain that a bit more? 7 meters per second seems painfully slow particularly when you are talking about world class athletes.

Apropos of the Dempsey and US Soccer system discussion: Deadspin says Clint Dempsey is casual and cold-blooded

Dempsey is an absolute product of his upbringing in Nacogdoches, learning the game alongside the immigrant kids, and later, playing against former pros from the Mexican leagues. There’s an ease of movement to his paths on the pitch that wouldn’t look out of place on El Tri, all swooping arcs and mutable positioning rather than the staccato stop-start-long ball which characterizes the USMNT attack. It’s how he can be the best striker in the nation even when playing his preferred position on the wing. He’s got technique, yes, but it’s an improvisational technique. He tries things that aren’t in the manual, and no one else on that team would even consider. Often they’re spectacular failures, but at least they’re the yield of a creative brain. Or, perhaps, the reptilian brain: Dempsey operates on instinct more often than not, and he’s usually right to trust his. That’s 100 percent due to his rearing outside the traditional US youth soccer system.

Roach-It takes around 30 meters to reach top speed, and sprints beyond 30 meters are not the most common, let alone with the ball at your feet. But put into proper context, that number is taken from how much of the total distance covered during the match was done at or beyond that 7 meter per second benchmark-there’s a direct correlation between that number a the winning.

Chicarito is one of the most overrated players in soccer. I know he puts up incredible numbers, and he is a great player and a deserving star, but he’ll never be one of the best of the best as he’s still mainly just a finisher, and completely dependent on others to feed him the ball. He’s not the soccer jesus the Mexico fans have made him out to be.