One year without a coach!

[quincy101]

What the heck is going on with Earnie Stewart? Tata is out, apparently because he doesn't habla English so good(which Stewart claims is a factor). Huh? What? Forget the fact that Atlanta plays the most attractive futbol in a mediocre MLS. To top it off, he'll prolly end up as coach of the Mexican MNT & kick our butts as usual in the future.

Speaking of mediocre, Berhalter is Stewart's baby. Will Columbus even make the playoffs? Hell, Bruce"frogface"Arena had a better career than this guy & look where he got us.

Oscar Pareja hasn't even been interviewed-incredible! David Moyes, who has expressed interest, hasn't been interviewed(his English is weird but at least it's his 1st language), Schedetto hasn't been interviewed. Vermes-no,no,no.....please no! Sarachen-the interim guy-I give him credit for playing young up & comers lately-but no,no,no....,Tab Ramos-mediocre success with the Unders. Do something Earnie-it's past time!

Well, it's looking more like Berhalter-to be announced by Stewart on Nov 1st. Bla, Huffy or anyone, thoughts???

 

[HuffyCane]

I’ve been unplugged from the soccer scene. Those on here who know about my new job understand why. My guess, not based on any substantive information, is that they have budget issues and are waiting for money to free up. People have little grasp how financially draining the women really are. They dress up the numbers to make it look better but it’s still pretty ugly. Combine that with the loss of revenue from not making the cup and the Jurgen buy out and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s another year ... or two.

 

[TU_BLA]

Honestly, unless there is a huge difference in the formation and style, the coach shouldn't make a huge impact. It will all be on adjustments, etc. It will be interesting to see Pulisic as part of the squad against England and see what that qualifying lineup does against a good squad.

I really like the starting 11 (with the exception of Guzan in goal). Wood, Pulisic, Green, Weah, Trapp, McKennie, Villafana, Brooks, Miazga, Yedlin, Guzan

 

[TU_BLA]

Oy! US miss a golden chance to score and then crash and burn conceding 2 goals in 3 minutes in the 1st half. One problem is the strategy seems to be staying tight in the center backs and it is leaving way too much space for the someone to make a run between the center backs and the outside backs. Usually a sign that your outside MFs aren't tracking back enough to take the 1 v 1 on ball responsibility to let the outside backs take that space away. Is this a philosophical breakdown for the US?

 

[quincy101]

Agree about Guzan. Dude's best days are behind him. Who should be our #1? Why Acosta & Villafana were called up and played v. England just boggles. Whenever a coach is named(& it better be soon), I say establish a style, call up 2 dozen youngsters(anyone over 24 proved they can't hack it last year) of promise & coach em up. You want names: Hedges,Zimmerman,Carter-vickers,Miazga,McKinnie,Weah,Adams,Pulisic(of course),Sargent,Alexis Mendez(tearing it up in the Under 20's),Alfredo Morales,Trapp,etc. & supplement with Brooks,Fabian Johnson,maybe Yedlin-ugh!. Add 6 to 8 more of the best from MLS & the Under's. I'll know all I need to know about the new coach when he calls up the first batch of players for practice and friendlies.

Everyone wants to win now. I want to win in 2021 & 2022

 

[HuffyCane]

Oy! US miss a golden chance to score and then crash and burn conceding 2 goals in 3 minutes in the 1st half. One problem is the strategy seems to be staying tight in the center backs and it is leaving way too much space for the someone to make a run between the center backs and the outside backs. Usually a sign that your outside MFs aren't tracking back enough to take the 1 v 1 on ball responsibility to let the outside backs take that space away. Is this a philosophical breakdown for the US?

I only was able to watch a little bit of the game. Observations:

1. Yedlin didn’t want to be there, he didn’t communicate properly and it caused significant communication issues with Brooks and others. He got abused and should have been pulled early. The fact that he wasnt is a testimony to our depth and lame duck coach.

2. Brooks plays half the time and half the time he is playing he is playing with half effort. Today is a good example.

3. Regarding your question about philosophy: The tension between compactness and pressure and how the center backs resolve those issues individually and as a pair depends on a lot of things happening outside your viewing screen. In this case, the US was playing a mid-block (or at least trying to) for most of the game. The gaps you are talking about only happen if the secondary pressure above the block from the midfielders is ineffective. The midfield play was atrocious and we only had our starters in there together for what looked like 15 minutes. Trapp, our captain, was physically incapable of placing the pressure needed to prevent the fools choice you present above. It truly was simply a talent issue. And this was England’s 2’s and 3‘s mostly. After finding a keeper, this is Berhalter’s biggest challenge. You talk about a youth movement and the speed and agility of young ball handlers is sexy in an international contest, but you still gotta do two things before you worry about center mid play making: protecting your line and linking the play out of the back between the press. Today we lacked the talent to make the short, precise, one touch passes you need to take on the type of high pressure England brought. And we left our line behind exposed. Our coaches had no solution and our players were at a talent deficit to solve the problem on their own. Except Mckinnie, who played well and was rallying a few of his mates with his freelance work. (Said free lancing led to some of your concerns above tho).

For all of Jermaine Jones’ faults, and he had 3,789 of them, the guy knew how to do the dirty things you have to do so that your back line can work a mid block (when he wasn’t show boating or being told to move up out of position/flood by Jurgen).

 

[quincy101]

It truly was simply a talent issue

Amen to that! We've got 2-3 years to develop a center mid who can hold the ball & make the pass to start an attack. Trapp (now) can't cut it. Who else do we have coming up? As to center back, Hedges, Zimmerman & Chris Richards(none of which were called up for England) better develop or we're screwed. Not to mention a #1 goalie. A glaring deficit in all 3 critical positions but we can hope they are resolved (by somebody,anybody) in a couple years.

 

[TU_BLA]

I only was able to watch a little bit of the game. Observations:

1. Yedlin didn’t want to be there, he didn’t communicate properly and it caused significant communication issues with Brooks and others. He got abused and should have been pulled early. The fact that he wasnt is a testimony to our depth and lame duck coach.

2. Brooks plays half the time and half the time he is playing he is playing with half effort. Today is a good example.

3. Regarding your question about philosophy: The tension between compactness and pressure and how the center backs resolve those issues individually and as a pair depends on a lot of things happening outside your viewing screen. In this case, the US was playing a mid-block (or at least trying to) for most of the game. The gaps you are talking about only happen if the secondary pressure above the block from the midfielders is ineffective. The midfield play was atrocious and we only had our starters in there together for what looked like 15 minutes. Trapp, our captain, was physically incapable of placing the pressure needed to prevent the fools choice you present above. It truly was simply a talent issue. And this was England’s 2’s and 3‘s mostly. After finding a keeper, this is Berhalter’s biggest challenge. You talk about a youth movement and the speed and agility of young ball handlers is sexy in an international contest, but you still gotta do two things before you worry about center mid play making: protecting your line and linking the play out of the back between the press. Today we lacked the talent to make the short, precise, one touch passes you need to take on the type of high pressure England brought. And we left our line behind exposed. Our coaches had no solution and our players were at a talent deficit to solve the problem on their own. Except Mckinnie, who played well and was rallying a few of his mates with his freelance work. (Said free lancing led to some of your concerns above tho).

For all of Jermaine Jones’ faults, and he had 3,789 of them, the guy knew how to do the dirty things you have to do so that your back line can work a mid block (when he wasn’t show boating or being told to move up out of position/flood by Jurgen).

On #1, Yedlin likes to jump into the attack a lot...not a good combination with the lack of MF pressure on the ball on the counters. And yes, there were several times throughout the match where there was way too much space between the MFs and the backs...makes it easy to exploit when you don't have the speed/skill to press the ball and cause turnovers.

I will disagree with this being a bunch of 2s and 3s for England. I'm not sure England has a clear cut starting 11 all the time and they have a ton of depth. And Pickford is on his way to being a top 5 in the world GK. Wish the US had one of those types of guys coming up. I think Steffen can be that guy, but he didn't look great in the last match against Red Bull. Guzan is not the guy and I haven't thought he should ever be the guy. I know he's young but I think Klinsmann's kid, if he goes the way of the USMNT instead of Germany, could be that guy. He looked really good in the U19 WC last year.

I think the philosophy needs to be questioned some. Too much sitting and waiting and then looking for the counter. The US certainly has the guys to counter and they had some really good chances off of those yesterday. Pulisic and Weah put a lot of pressure on backlines and the holding mids.

The US needs a new #6 to come in. Bradley was decent in that role in his prime, but who's next?

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

The only time we're any good is when Beasley is playing. Wheel his ass out there !!!!

 

[quincy101]

he US needs a new #6 to come in. Bradley was decent in that role in his prime, but who's next?

Anyone following the concacaf U-20 tourney? If Adams or McKinnie are more effective on the flank, I submit Alex Mendez for center mid for the future. Kid has a rocket for a left foot. He develops his passing skills & he could be the man for 2022.

 

[lawpoke87]

Didn't watch today but it looks likes 3 shots, 1 shot on goal, and 25% possession time. Yikes.

 

[quincy101]

Yikes,indeed! The Italians are known for heavy"D" & they laid some on us in the first half. We looked totally unorganized. The best chance was a close in header by Zimmerman who played the whole 90 at center back. US played them pretty much even in the 2nd half. Horvath just might become our #1 goalie after a half dozen world class saves. We just had lousy luck to give up a goal in stoppage time. (Actually, I thought there was only 3 minutes of stoppage announced, might have been 4. In any event, they score at 93 mins & 45 seconds)

FYI: It was reported that Pulisic is being coveted by Chelsea & Bayern Munich although he is committed to Dortmund till end of season. If it happens, I've heard an xfer fee in the neighborhood of 90 million euros. WOW!

Looks like Chelsea is winning the Pulisic derby. 70+million euros. How cool is that! Not a done deal yet, and Bayern may come back with more$. Maybe E. Stewart is waiting to put a bow on Berhalter & present him as a gift to us at Christmas

 

[quincy101]

Shocking! It's Gregg Berhalter for the USMNT. Just wonder what took Stewart so long since Berhalter was his guy from the get-go. I sincerely hope that Berhalter's brother, a highly placed functionary in the US soccer program, had nothing to do with this. We'll see how this works out with his first call-up.

 

[lawpoke87]

Couldn't they have hired this guy a year ago? Why did they wait? Is there a board or an independent oversight group which governs the US soccer program? Basically...who runs US soccer and who do they report too? Are they federally or privately funded or a combination of both?

 

[TU_BLA]

Couldn't they have hired this guy a year ago? Why did they wait? Is there a board or an independent oversight group which governs the US soccer program? Basically...who runs US soccer and who do they report too? Are they federally or privately funded or a combination of both?

It sounds like it is a private board. Of course, MLS and one of their partners have a huge interest is USSF which oversees all aspects of soccer in this country. In reading about it, it sounds as though USSF has the same relationship to FIFA as the USOC has to the IOC. Its considered a 501(c)(3) non-profit org. It looks like it is privately funded and not funded by the government with exception to any grants it may apply for and receive like other non-profits.

The commissioner of MLS is on the governance board. Klinsmann often complained that he was required to take too many MLS players as part of his squads and Garber's influence may be a reason why. Carlos Cordeiro and the 2nd place finisher in the vote were both USSF insiders (the 2nd place finisher was the head of the marketing arm of MLS). Nothing will change under this crew as they are all cut from the same cloth that got us into this mess.

 

[lawpoke87]

Thanks for the reply even though it was not the answer I was hoping for.

 

[TU_BLA]

Thanks for the reply even though it was not the answer I was hoping for.

Nope. This is the mess we have. It's a lot the same as US Gymnastics in terms of the subjectivity involved in selecting a team. I think it's why you had former players like Eric Wynalda wanting to have that key role, but like most organizations, money drives the beast and the beast is MLS and it's sponsors so the vote comes down to the guy who is going to make both those entities the most $ possible.

 

[lawpoke87]

I was hoping the embarrassment of not making the last world cup would result in a shakeup of US soccer. Apparently not so. Money still rules.

 

[quincy101]

The new top brass of the US Soccer Fed sounds like Comey's FBI brass. Hey, this is serious stuff! We can only hope that Berhalter chooses wisely from MLS (Zardes , Steffen & Trapp are stone locks) with the vast majority of the 25 being youngsters playing in England & the continent. Any MLS retreads responsible for our major fail last year that get called up will be telling as well as disastrous.

 

[TU_BLA]

The new top brass of the US Soccer Fed sounds like Comey's FBI brass. Hey, this is serious stuff! We can only hope that Berhalter chooses wisely from MLS (Zardes , Steffen & Trapp are stone locks) with the vast majority of the 25 being youngsters playing in England & the continent. Any MLS retreads responsible for our major fail last year that get called up will be telling as well as disastrous.

Yeah. And now Tyler Adams is set to move from NY Red Bull to Leipzig in the Bundesliga at the January transfer window.

The US struggles to compete not because of a lack of talent. There's plenty of talent in the US pool. Politics is what keeps the US from accomplishing lofty goals. I think we've seen the last of Altidore and Bradley in a USMNT uniform. Villafana will need to continue his development as a back. He's been playing pretty well for Portland. A lot with him will depend on Bierhalter's style and whether or not he encourages the outside backs to jump into the attack. I think Villafana has some great 1v1 skill when attacking but that leaves the center backs, who have enough problems when they're not exposed by an outside back that jumps into the attack, to fend off world class strikers and center mids. You can substitute Yedlin's name in this commentary as well, although I think Yedlin is a better 1v1 defender than Villfana is.

Whatever happens tot he USMNT, it is going to really depend on whether the guys in the CB mix (Brooks, Miazga, Ream, Gonzalez) can find enough focus and pace to not lose track of guys like Ronaldo or Chicharito or whoever. There were way too many breakdowns and way too much space between the CBs and the outside defenders for through balls against England. The US looked awful against the 3-Lions. They looked better against Italy, but Italy is in the same boat we are right now trying to find out what's the next group of players who will take them to the WC.

BTW, anyone in the know about how a new coach does this? Is Bierhalter able to come in and erase Klinsmann's diamond formation and basically reprogram all these guys to a new style and philosophy? What is Bierhalter's philosophy at this level. The US seems to have plenty of pace up front to really play a high press and really go on the attack.

 

[quincy101]

"He is a coach that is learning at all times. Every single day he tries to develop himself so he can be a better coach for the team that he has." OK Earnie, why am I not encouraged? This from a guy who snubbed Lopetegui, a very successful coach for the Spanish MNT & David Moyes with yrs. in the EPL plus many others. (Only 2 guys interviewed from an original list of 33 names).

Berhalter's style? If anything, it's the slow build up from the back, ball possession & use the midfield pass to start an attack(the old"if opponents don't have the ball they can't score theory"). Unfortunately for that theory, our best players are young but have some skill and blinding speed to favor a much more attacking style. Not to mention young backs(except for Brooks) who must develop passing skills among other things and a center midfield young & inexperienced.

If Berhalter has enough sense, he'll recognize what he has & tweak that style to fit our young team, instead of bending them to fit his style. (I am prolly wrong about Berhalter's style-Columbus seemed to want to run it that way-Trapp couldn't hack it)

 

[HuffyCane]

Im hearing they dont have the money. Between the women, settling some lawsuits, paying off Jurgen, and not making the World Cup, its ugly.

He's a better hire than Moyes in my opinion on out right football smarts and in game adjustments anyhoo. To the extent Moyes has a reputation left, it is as someone who could take a limited budget and compete in the EPL. We don't have those types of needs. Lopetegui is too young and too unfamiliar to a casual audience they want to attract at WC time. What we need is someone who understands what it is like to be young and trying to break into the best clubs in Europe and has the technical ability to exploit that type of raw talent and speed and put it all together in a limited time frame. You guys want to turn our young stars loose. You dont do that without a solid spine and building out of the back or you will find the ball in your goal and your a$$ in a sling. Greg knows how to structure that. Whether he can execute it with limited practice time is a different story.

In the end, aren't we all just ready to have some coach, any coach, and have a starting 11 named and stick with those guys? I for one am sick of the scrambling rosters after 8 years and three coaches. (Im also sick of flying to Costa Rica to see them lose 4-0 in a game that should have been 9-0 but that's a different thread).

Plus, he fits the mold that was publicly articulated back when they let Bradley go. They said they wanted a former USMNT player, with experience playing and coaching in Europe. Bradley and Arena struggled with some of the European based players because they lacked credibility. Granted I'd rather have Claudio Reyna coming off 10 years as gaffer at Read Madrid, but Gregg does tick all of those boxes and hopefully the next hire will tick them with more substance.

As for tactics, he fits the bill perfect for what USSF is looking for. They aren't trying to win the WC or even trying to win a game in the knockout round. His tactics fit perfectly into the philosophy of not conceding full points for all road games during CONCACAF, winning at home, and cashing the check in 2022 so they can hand 70% of it to the women and youth programs. That's where we are right now. Like it or not.

If there's a complaint, it isn't in this hire. Its in the lack of an articulated vision how the USA will host and succeed on the field in 2026 along with a clear plan to implement that vision through appropriate corporate participation. In 1987, US Soccer had a clearly articulated plan on what they were going to do to secure and host the World Cup, how to finance it, what they were looking for in coaching and on field performance and countless other details. Alan Rothenberg is the most unsung hero in US Soccer history. Bob Gansler is a close second.

You would have liked to have seen something on paper that explains how this hire fits into an overall plan to play into the quarterfinals or better and be a great host in 2026. But we dont have that type of long term thinking. Which confirms to me the rumors I hear from friends that used to work for USSF that the bank accounts are on fumes.

Rally 'round the boys.

 

[quincy101]

I for one would like to see audited financials of the USSF. I've heard they have the $ but Sunil the Gulati tied up over $100mil up in stocks & other securities & failed to spend it on the dang purpose of the org-the teams & player development. If Cordiero is cut from the same cloth-we're screwed.

The planetary embarrassment of WC failure should have prompted the fed gov't to get involved like they are in every other country, you know, that MAGA thing. The feds couldn't screw things up any worse than the top brass of the USSF has already.

"re-introducing more experienced US players" for the call up next month. Get ready for half the squad to be the same retreads that couldn't beat the T&T "B" team of mostly amateurs, e.g. Altidore,Villafana,Yedlin,Cameron,Acosta,Lichaj,Besler,Feilhaber,Bradley, & so on. For each of these turkeys, it means a young promising player on overseas teams will not be called up to get the oh so valuable experience.

 

[TU_BLA]

Berhalter's style? If anything, it's the slow build up from the back, ball possession & use the midfield pass to start an attack(the old"if opponents don't have the ball they can't score theory").

That is the style of 90% of coaches...the problem is they don't know how to teach the backs and holding mid (#6) to be those outlets from the back. You need backs that have superior skills in possessing and distributing the ball to the right places...this is something the US does not have right now.

Here's a serious question...why are former goalkeepers not considered more for high level coaching positions? The style mentioned above was the style my son's coach taught them. But every practice started with passing in a drill. Then he would start plays with the goalkeeper from goal kicks that didn't involve kicking it as far as he could UNLESS that's what the defense dictated. Point is, goalkeepers are the only players on the field that can see every other player on the field to see where the space is. They can teach the backline to see what's coming and how to react to those things. Where's a Casey Keller in this mix? Heck, Tony Meola is one of the best at analyzing plays when he's calling games. GKs just have a tremendous vision and overall picture. Just a thought...you never see GKs coaching at the highest level but maybe we should.

 

[lawpoke87]

I've wondered about GKs and coaching as well. Do the powers that be in the sport believe a person had to have ball skills to be able to coach the game? Doesn't make a ton of sense imo.

I'm missing tonight's basketball game due to 8 year old girl's' soccer practice btw...so feel my pain.

 

[HuffyCane]

Hold the line. Former All-World GK Brad Friedel will have U19 and 5 years of professional experience by the start of the next cycle. (Current Revs Coach). Of course, that is likely to be MLS experience so the young fan boys will say he doesn’t know the game, but whatever.

 

[TU_BLA]

I've wondered about GKs and coaching as well. Do the powers that be in the sport believe a person had to have ball skills to be able to coach the game? Doesn't make a ton of sense imo.

I'm missing tonight's basketball game due to 8 year old girl's' soccer practice btw...so feel my pain.

Honestly, once you get to that level, they still do technical training to keep those skills sharp, but it's not like the coaches are teaching and developing new skills. At that level, it's about analyzing game film and developing a strategy to attack a team's formation weaknesses. GK are as good at that as anyone.

 

[TU_BLA]

Hold the line. Former All-World GK Brad Friedel will have U19 and 5 years of professional experience by the start of the next cycle. (Current Revs Coach). Of course, that is likely to be MLS experience so the young fan boys will say he doesn’t know the game, but whatever.

And I thought Friedel was a great choice for the Revs (although the Krafts are cheap and won't pay players).

 

[quincy101]

Who knows, there might have been Freidel & other GK's on Stewart's list of 33, which he cut to 11, which he then interviewed 2 people from. Any guy who's selected GK of the year(at least once maybe twice & had such a great career in the EPL) to not get an interview & who was apparently looking for a job during the last 14 mos. just makes you shake your head.

Hey Bla, I'm from Worcester & a lifelong Celts(starting in the early '60's), Bruins, BoSox, Revs & Pats fan. It's a hard thing when most people hate your guts for loving say, the Pats-but people from the People's Republic of Mass are made of stern stuff.

 

[TU_BLA]

Who knows, there might have been Freidel & other GK's on Stewart's list of 33, which he cut to 11, which he then interviewed 2 people from. Any guy who's selected GK of the year(at least once maybe twice & had such a great career in the EPL) to not get an interview & who was apparently looking for a job during the last 14 mos. just makes you shake your head.

Hey Bla, I'm from Worcester & a lifelong Celts(starting in the early '60's), Bruins, BoSox, Revs & Pats fan. It's a hard thing when most people hate your guts for loving say, the Pats-but people from the People's Republic of Mass are made of stern stuff.

I grew up in New Bedford and one of my earliest memories is sitting on my great-grandmother's lap and hearing her curse at the Red Sox in her Irish-MA accent. I lived in Kenmore Sq in the early 90s and could see over the green monster (before the monster seats were added). Curse you Jeff Reardon! And my response to people is I was a Pats fan when they were going 2-14 and 1-15 and we were suffering through the Sullivans and Victor Kiam and coaches like Rod Rust.

On a soccer note, Josh Sargent got his first playing time with Werder Bremen's top side today and scored a goal on his 1st touch.

 

[quincy101]

I grew up in New Bedford and one of my earliest memories is sitting on my great-grandmother's lap and hearing her curse at the Red Sox in her Irish-MA accent. I lived in Kenmore Sq in the early 90s and could see over the green monster (before the monster seats were added). Curse you Jeff Reardon! And my response to people is I was a Pats fan when they were going 2-14 and 1-15 and we were suffering through the Sullivans and Victor Kiam and coaches like Rod Rust.

On a soccer note, Josh Sargent got his first playing time with Werder Bremen's top side today and scored a goal on his 1st touch.

That goal by Ol' carrott top, all of 18 yrs old, was a tap in header. Fastest goal for a debut in Bremen history(less than 1 & 1/2 minutes on). Just very, very cool.

 

[TU_BLA]

And Manchester City just bought Zach Steffen from Columbus. He will transfer to the EPL side beginning Summer 2019. Hearing it is the largest ever transfer fee for an MLS goalkeeper. There was an EPL side last year who was trying to get Steffen but Columbus wanted too much and they declined the transfer offer.

 

[quincy101]

We can only hope that Steffen gets to play and develops into a Keller, Friedel or Howard. Why not? And for backup, kind of hope for E. Horvath to be on Berhalter's radar. Kid was very impressive vs. Italians in recent friendly.

 

[TU_BLA]

We can only hope that Steffen gets to play and develops into a Keller, Friedel or Howard. Why not? And for backup, kind of hope for E. Horvath to be on Berhalter's radar. Kid was very impressive vs. Italians in recent friendly.

Agreed on Horvath. I'm done with Rimando and Guzan. Guzan will make a spectacular save one second and then make a boneheaded decision the next and his distribution is not a great demo of good decision making from back there (as the father of a GK, I have listened to every word a world class keeper has told my son in what he's looking for when he's deciding how to distribute the ball from the back).

I think Steffen is more Howard than anything. Extreme athlete, he might be a little better with the ball at his feet than Howard is. And with most GKs, he's supremely confident.

Again, I think by the time 2022 and 2026 come around, Klinsmann's kid is in the mix unless he's given an opportunity by Germany and decides to play with them. He was part of the U20 World Cup team last year and he was really impressive.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

I don't want Guzan within 10 miles of a US camp.

 

[quincy101]

My guess is that Berhalter will have Guzan on the roster next month. Can only hope that he's there for "leadership" qualities for a young team.

 

[quincy101]

He was part of the U20 World Cup team last year and he was really impressive.

Well, this years U-20 team blew thru Concacaf qualifying for the UEFA U-20 WC. I don't think they lost a qual. BTW-Alex Mendez from that team deserves a call-up with the seniors, IMO. Scored 6 or 7 in the comp & led his team from center mid position.

Don't recall if young Klinsmann was #1 goalie for them.

 

[TU_BLA]

Well, this years U-20 team blew thru Concacaf qualifying for the UEFA U-20 WC. I don't think they lost a qual. BTW-Alex Mendez from that team deserves a call-up with the seniors, IMO. Scored 6 or 7 in the comp & led his team from center mid position.

Don't recall if young Klinsmann was #1 goalie for them.

The makeup of the squad for the next round of international friendlies, so for the next year or so, will be interesting and tell me what the US is trying to do. If we keep seeing retreads out there (Zusi, Altidore, Bradley), it tells me they are looking to win now even though we already know that group can't win against good competition consistently. It's time to let the kids develop and play games against international competition and figure out the game, the speed, and the level they need to be at. I think the US has plenty of good young talent that can raise the level of US soccer at the international level. Are Ernie Stewart and Greg Bierhalter patient enough to take come lumps to stick to the plan? Do they even have a plan?

 

[lawpoke87]

How can the plan not be to do what is necessary to piece together a team who can be competitive with the top international teams come 2022? Continuing to play veteran players with very little upside who have shown they can't compete with the top sides makes zero sense looking toward the next WC.

 

[ctt8410]

Create positional advantages. Disorganize your opponent. Feed the wingers. Control space and make your opponent predictable. Press only on certain cues.