Look, we're not going to up and produce an Aguero or his like from out of the detritus of our youth setup.
That said, I've liked what I've seen from Bobby Wood...a lot. Aron Johansson looks like he might just stick as a Bundesliga regular. I'd like to see them and Jordan Morris rather than 26 year old Altidore and 30+ Deuce, who both look on the downward arc. The other three are faster, hungrier, and more skilled.
That said, I've liked what I've seen from Bobby Wood...a lot. Aron Johansson looks like he might just stick as a Bundesliga regular. I'd like to see them and Jordan Morris rather than 26 year old Altidore and 30+ Deuce, who both look on the downward arc. The other three are faster, hungrier, and more skilled.
3
"The US Men clearly need a player like Sergio Augero...". That's a really good idea. Let everybody know when you find him. Hopefully he's playing in Germany, with an American father to provide him with a passport, because if he's actually and American of Hispanic descent his chances of getting noticed by this program would not seem to be very great.
If you want to be great in football, learn about ball skill.
I followed the USMNT since 1994, but i never see a american player who can dribble 2 opponent in a row. Never.
Look at the Japanese ladies. They are at disadvantage in size but they manage to beat Germany and the USWNT and win a World Cup.
Kids can start it at 4-8 age. Its too late if you wait 15-16 age.
If this great country really care about world football, it should win the FIFA World Cup, long time ago. Just look at the american ladies, they are 3 times World Champion.
I followed the USMNT since 1994, but i never see a american player who can dribble 2 opponent in a row. Never.
Look at the Japanese ladies. They are at disadvantage in size but they manage to beat Germany and the USWNT and win a World Cup.
Kids can start it at 4-8 age. Its too late if you wait 15-16 age.
If this great country really care about world football, it should win the FIFA World Cup, long time ago. Just look at the american ladies, they are 3 times World Champion.
One more thing: It seems like the players come into camp and treat it like a vacation. The opposite approach should be in place, come in play your butt off and win some glory for your country.
Clearly this organization needs someone better at the top to implement and oversee this mandate.
Gulati and Klinsmann should both be sacked yesterday, as they both have proved unable to achieve this.
Clearly this organization needs someone better at the top to implement and oversee this mandate.
Gulati and Klinsmann should both be sacked yesterday, as they both have proved unable to achieve this.
There are a host of issues plaguing US Soccer right now. Is this part of the rebuilding process that Herr Klinsmann foresaw when he stepped into the program? I think he severely underestimated the talent level of our players. Our youth development is still misguided-players are perpetually prepped for the domestic set-up (high school-university-MLS). If Klinsmann wants to develop international caliber players, then the overhaul begins at the youth level (this point has been discussed ad nauseum for over 10 years), yet we still haven't seen the fruits of this implementation.
We're continuing to see some bizarre roster selections with grizzled veterans in the obvious twilights of their careers, player positional changes that are baffling & counterintuitive, a return to "bunker ball" vs. the promised attacking football, and last, the rise of a leader in the team. Gone are the days of Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride, Cobi Jones, Marcelo Balboa, and yes, Landon Donovan. We have no definitive leader who has stepped up. When players like Reyna spoke up, the team listened. There is no cohesiveness in this squad & that is disturbing. I'd like to know, who & where is our next leader to take the reigns, inspire, hold accountable & get these guys on the same page.
We're continuing to see some bizarre roster selections with grizzled veterans in the obvious twilights of their careers, player positional changes that are baffling & counterintuitive, a return to "bunker ball" vs. the promised attacking football, and last, the rise of a leader in the team. Gone are the days of Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride, Cobi Jones, Marcelo Balboa, and yes, Landon Donovan. We have no definitive leader who has stepped up. When players like Reyna spoke up, the team listened. There is no cohesiveness in this squad & that is disturbing. I'd like to know, who & where is our next leader to take the reigns, inspire, hold accountable & get these guys on the same page.
1
@ MerseysideOC — You write that Klinsmann “severely underestimated the talent level of our players.”
Did you mean to state that he •over•estimated their talent level?
— Brian
Did you mean to state that he •over•estimated their talent level?
— Brian
1
We like to believe that our kids have adequate technical skills. It is just not so. All Costa Rico or what ever team we're playing has to do is to wait and see how badly we'll botch a trap and then go the other way with the ball. And then we wonder why we're not a possession team. Our kids are just not getting enough touches when they're kids. Yeah we have good coaching when the kids are older but it's too late and our kids fold under pressure at the international level. Wake up US soccer. Wake up Sunil Gulati and hire a technical director who has a clue.
2
JK lost a friendly!!!How come?
Guy's a friendly specialist!!
Now he got nothing to boast about
What a shame!!
Guy's a friendly specialist!!
Now he got nothing to boast about
What a shame!!
2
It's very clear that football is not the american's sport.
Last year, the US team's performance in the Brasilian FIFA World Cup was very encouraging. That team was hard to beat ....
But no matter which person will coach this team, if each player dont have the fondamental skill with the ball, team US will go nowhere and will never win a big tournament.
Last year, the US team's performance in the Brasilian FIFA World Cup was very encouraging. That team was hard to beat ....
But no matter which person will coach this team, if each player dont have the fondamental skill with the ball, team US will go nowhere and will never win a big tournament.
2
That doesn't explain why Bradley and Arena where so much more successful using similar talent.
4
I think the U.S. is a great soccer team its just a matter of work ethic. They truly need to show how much they want to win by doing whatever possible to win. With an amazing goalie they should be unstoppable and with the leadership they have its like an all star team. Its just they need to stop and relax and collect themselves and start fresh. Each game they should find a new routine until they win and if the winning routine works then they should keep that routine.
1
The passing in open play too often veers toward dreadful, and the defensive positioning too easily unlocked by ball watching.
All those friendly wins mean nothing at all.
All those friendly wins mean nothing at all.
4
I find it amazing that the USMNT fields players who have been given so much opportunity and investment by US Soccer. There have been Boys development academies at many clubs throughout the US for some time now to develop technical and tactical skill. Our current roster seems to lack talent, and I'm sorry about that. Two or three very good players does not make a good team. We need 11 exceptional and talented soccer players who make a cohesive TEAM. The US has years to go before we get there.
1
After the loss to Mexico, it shouldn't be surprising that the US was flat in last night's game which took place only 3 days after the Cup final. Not even wearing the US shirt could provide enough motivation to lay it all out on the line in a meaningless friendly. The US is in a transitional period where the many of the players on the team that played in the World Cup in Brazil will not play for the US in Russia in 2018 (Jones, Beasley, Dempsey, Beckerman, Howard). The US does not have anyone to step up and fill these positions at the moment (except goalkeeper). Left back continues to be a revolving door with no real natural candidate to step in. Right back appeared to be Fabian Johnson, who was arguably the team's 2nd or 3rd best player, but now he may not even be on the team anymore due to Klinsmann's public shaming of him. Who is going to bring the grit and work rate of Jones or the guile and craftiness of Dempsey? They still lack a creative play maker who can make the killer pass in the final third of the field. Even more troubling is that Klinsmann doesn't seem to rate any player who can bring those skills to the field. What does it say when you send out a midfield of Bradley, Jones AND Beckerman? It doesn't suggest the proactive attacking soccer style that Klinsmann said he would develop in the USMNT. Unless we find these new players quickly, we can't expect to get out of the group stage of the World Cup, assuming we even qualify.
I think Klinsmann and Herzog sees promise in the U-23 and U-20 teams. There are players on those teams that can actually play possession football. Gedion Zelalem is someone to watch.
1
"That they lost the match, 1-0, did not brighten the mood of the team or the announced crowd of 9,214."
Well.. I was there, and seeing as 80% of the crowd were Costa Rica supporters, I'd say the overall mood in RBA was bright after all!
Well.. I was there, and seeing as 80% of the crowd were Costa Rica supporters, I'd say the overall mood in RBA was bright after all!
3
The US midfield doesn't work well with Bradley in the line up, and it works horribly without him.
2
Mr. Das/NYT, Please write an article about Gulati, who is his boss, and who can remove him. He is supposed to represent the US and he clearly has no clue how to do that effectively. Thanks.
3
A very poor, poor performance. I don't think the USMNT can come anywhere near winning a WC but we they should win tournaments on home soil.
I can't comment anymore (it's too depressing) on the USMNT other than the JK experiment needs to end.
He has been tinkering for years, produced meager results (of which other US coaches have been sacked) and is a tactical dunce. He's also lost the dressing room.
Too bad we can't get rid of Gulati as well.
I can't comment anymore (it's too depressing) on the USMNT other than the JK experiment needs to end.
He has been tinkering for years, produced meager results (of which other US coaches have been sacked) and is a tactical dunce. He's also lost the dressing room.
Too bad we can't get rid of Gulati as well.
3
Why does Altidore still get invites to play? He has one decent game out of ten (maybe?). It's obvious the team needs more time together and not shuffling the squad each and every game. I think we are seeing why no team in Germany (or anywhere else) wanted Klinsmann.
On Klinsmann: He seems to win the meaningless games (until now) and lose the important ones. How many years does he get?
On Gulati: Who has the authority to fire him? He has no clue (typical academic). Why is he even in charge, if you can call it that?
Come on NYT, we want answers.
Apologies for the rant, it has been building my entire life and frustrated from always being on the cusp of a turnaround. We don't need to win the World Cup, but the team should be doing better than this.
I am volunteering to take Gulati's job (unpaid) and oversee the program on a six-month trial run. We even have lost control of media relations with that Trump ad on Fox, which should have never been allowed to air.
Thanks, David Sutton
On Klinsmann: He seems to win the meaningless games (until now) and lose the important ones. How many years does he get?
On Gulati: Who has the authority to fire him? He has no clue (typical academic). Why is he even in charge, if you can call it that?
Come on NYT, we want answers.
Apologies for the rant, it has been building my entire life and frustrated from always being on the cusp of a turnaround. We don't need to win the World Cup, but the team should be doing better than this.
I am volunteering to take Gulati's job (unpaid) and oversee the program on a six-month trial run. We even have lost control of media relations with that Trump ad on Fox, which should have never been allowed to air.
Thanks, David Sutton
3
Fox had a contractual relationship with CONCACAF, which held the TV rights to the Rose Bowl match. It is plausible, even likely, that Gulati and Co. learned of the existence of the Trump ad the same way the rest of us did.
"Why does Altidore still get invites to play?"
I've been asking same Q myself for years!
Guy's less than mediocre. No skills whatsoever, except, diving, which I am sure he perfected from JK, who was a master diver.
I've been asking same Q myself for years!
Guy's less than mediocre. No skills whatsoever, except, diving, which I am sure he perfected from JK, who was a master diver.
I watched some of this game. It was pretty rough viewing. Kick the ball about, clatter into somebody, foul, free kick, rinse and repeat. Where's the possession game, the passing, the free-flowing stuff that's actually enjoyable to watch?
2
I have been a player, coach and now only a fan of the sport. I am very disappointed with most of the players. It seems to me that they forgot how to play this this beautiful game. They can't pass the ball properly. You can't win a game if you don't control the ball.
3
That the US team lost the last two games is not that surprising, what is surprising is the way they were totally outplayed by 2 teams not at their best, the margin of score in both games should have been larger. I am just wondering how long will it take by whomever makes the decisions to end this embarrassing situation and let Klinsmann go and start all over again with a better manager, and players.
3
Well Louis, I think the problem here is that Klinsmann overestimated our players' skills. You have to look at it this way: US Soccer's development has been, for 30+ years, perpetually designed to breed domestic players (high school-university-MLS). It has lacked the capacity & training to breed technically savvy international players. I think Bruce Arena championed the isolationist ideology of developing soccer this way to keep it distinctly American...and have we seen any change with this line of thinking?
Klinsmann was brought in to essentially overhaul 30+ years of ineffective training that is focused solely on athleticism, speed, strength & endurance. He was brought in to add advanced technical & tactical training that our program has lacked. We haven't really seen that, and I don't think we will see this change for another 10 years.
We have to admit that our players are still developmentally 5-10 years behind their international counterparts. Even African & Asian players train in academies that put our system to shame because they're bred from 5-6 years old to become professionals. Even when I played 20+ years ago, universities wanted tall, pacey & strong players because that was & has continued to be the American mentality toward soccer. Players like Messi or Xherdan Shaquiri would laugh in your face if you told them that. To completely switch our program will take time. The question is, will we give Klinsmann the time to make these changes?
Klinsmann was brought in to essentially overhaul 30+ years of ineffective training that is focused solely on athleticism, speed, strength & endurance. He was brought in to add advanced technical & tactical training that our program has lacked. We haven't really seen that, and I don't think we will see this change for another 10 years.
We have to admit that our players are still developmentally 5-10 years behind their international counterparts. Even African & Asian players train in academies that put our system to shame because they're bred from 5-6 years old to become professionals. Even when I played 20+ years ago, universities wanted tall, pacey & strong players because that was & has continued to be the American mentality toward soccer. Players like Messi or Xherdan Shaquiri would laugh in your face if you told them that. To completely switch our program will take time. The question is, will we give Klinsmann the time to make these changes?
"tall, pacey & strong" - sounds like a pretty solid combination, all things being equal. And Klinsmann actually brought in strength & fitness coaches to the last three teams he's trained, i.e., die Mannschaft, FC Bayern München & the USMNT.
You DO know that Klinsmann came on after the 2010 WC, right? He's had a whole cycle already. Should have been blooding more youth than DeAndre Yedlin playing out of position, Gyasi Zardes (who doesn't do it for me) and impact cameos from Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris. He's the "visionary" for the whole program, from youth set up onwards. The struggles of the age group sides have to have at least some responsibility laid at his feet. Hopefully the U-23s will make it to Rio. But he's had 4 years to impose training toward adequate ball skills on the youts. There should have been improvement by now. And big club trainees Julian Green and Gedion Zelalem don't count.
1
Will somebody please tell Jürgen Klinsmann that crapping on some of your best players in the media to cover your own mistakes is one sure way of losing the dressing room's support? Especially when those players actually didn't do anything wrong and you misrepresent what happened. Actually, it might already be too late for Klinsmann to recover. When a coach starts pointing fingers at players it's usually a sign the end is not far off. But this, as we know, is a very "special" situation, thanks to the contract Klinsmann enjoys. Why was he given a rich contract extension through 2018 before a ball was ever kicked at the World Cup in Brazil? There's only one person who can answer that question. The same person who will have to take the difficult decision on how best to move forward. On the basis of recent performances this team will struggle to qualify for the next World Cup.
5
Feels like the sky is falling for our national team.
1
Let me guess -- you're Dutch. At least this was just a friendly.
1
After watching the game against Costa Rica it seems that a good MLS team would have done better and won the game. The same applies to the Mexican team that won in overtime.
On Klinsmann's team are players who are out of their depth. Forwards who are not a threat to the opposition. Midfielders who fail to control the game and defenders who at times are nightmares waiting to happen.
What is painfully clear is that there are too many veterans who are at the end of the road in terms of endurance. Clint Dempsey has seen better days and there are teammates that should go along with Clint.
The US Men clearly need a player like Sergio Aguero, who can terrorize the back line. They also need midfielders who can hold the ball and control the game.
And a cohesive back line that keeps the heat off the goalkeeper.
The US teams are always different and there is a lack of familiarity with respect to positioning and intuitiveness.
But the worst part is the touch of most of the players and lack of ability to finish.