The Official US Soccer thread

[Crimson Warrior]

Like Freddy Adu?

Anyone else remember the hype around Freddy Adu?

Ah yes. “wunderkid” Freddy Adu. The future savior of American soccer.

I didn’t goggle it, but what was that? About 15 -20 years ago? Man that didn’t last long.

Just underscores how desperate we are to believe in somebody, anybody, to be a catalyst for change for the men’s team.

 

[Stout]

Sorry you’re in your feels. Nothing I said was wrong.

Sorry you're being a douche. Nothing you said was right. Troll elsewhere, hmm?

 

[Stout]

I counted at least 10 times in this WC when Freese grabs the ball early and then holds it long enough for the other team to recover and take their positions. Horrible.

OMG, seriously! It's like watching Nick Pope in goal for Newcastle. Launch the counter, FFS!

 

[Chaplin]

I have never liked our Striker situation in the US. I was not a fan of Jozy Altidore, ever. He was a goal scorer that didn't seem to want to score goals. And the frustrating thing about the USMNT, and we saw this yesterday, is that we don't SHOOT. We dribble right into the defense, can't trap or control the ball at the top of the box, and can't get crosses right. It's been a hallmark of the team for years and years.

I have SOME hope for Balogun, but he had defenders velcroed to him and he didn't seem to be able to figure out how to get separation. So the search for a dynamic striker continues, unfortunately the US just doesn't produce those kind of players.

 

[ajcardfan]

I have never liked our Striker situation in the US. I was not a fan of Jozy Altidore, ever. He was a goal scorer that didn't seem to want to score goals. And the frustrating thing about the USMNT, and we saw this yesterday, is that we don't SHOOT. We dribble right into the defense, can't trap or control the ball at the top of the box, and can't get crosses right. It's been a hallmark of the team for years and years.

I have SOME hope for Balogun, but he had defenders velcroed to him and he didn't seem to be able to figure out how to get separation. So the search for a dynamic striker continues, unfortunately the US just doesn't produce those kind of players.

But Balogun was the only one who did anything yesterday. He, at least, got a couple of opportunities due to his athleticism. No one else was fast enough or skilled enough to get a shot off.

 

[Chaplin]

But Balogun was the only one who did anything yesterday. He, at least, got a couple of opportunities due to his athleticism. No one else was fast enough or skilled enough to get a shot off.

That's not saying much. He touched the ball only 10 times! That's nothing.

 

[Raindog]

Ah yes. “wunderkid” Freddy Adu. The future savior of American soccer.

I didn’t goggle it, but what was that? About 15 -20 years ago? Man that didn’t last long.

Just underscores how desperate we are to believe in somebody, anybody, to be a catalyst for change for the men’s team.

I mean, it just seems logical that with such a large population base of potential athletes here, including many kids who grow up playing soccer, the US would just naturally have to eventually produce at least one if not a few generational talents.

Even with the vast majority of kids taking up other sports, statistically we should still be falling ass backwards into some occasional top level talent at this point. And yet, here we are.

 

[GatorAZ]

Sorry you're being a douche. Nothing you said was right. Troll elsewhere, hmm?

Let’s agree to disagree even though you can’t actually explain why you disagree. Peace.

 

[cardpa]

Well, I'm ready to throw out my two cents worth of diatribe.

Belgium was so ready for this game. I think the whole red card thing galvanized them to the point where they came out ready to destroy any team they played. The US meanwhile came out like they were so stiff worrying about now having to prove they could hang with a team like Belgium they couldn't relax and just play. Belgium played like they had something to prove.

By far the play of the US was horrendous. Poor passing, poor decisions, way too slow on the ball. Lack of movement off the ball. Ball watching in the back when they should have been marking. Too easily beaten off the dribble by Belgium. They allowed Belgium to out muscle them, out physical them for 90 minutes.

The players who needed to step up the most failed, period. Pulisic, Dest, Ream, Freese, Freeman. Balogun is a speed guy and Belgium just kept muscling him which he cannot stand up to. He needs space and Belgium shutdown that space which made him ineffective.

Pulisic had 14 lost possessions in just 59 minutes. That is awful. Pulisic just can't be depended on, way too fragile. Belgium took full advantage of Ream. The US couldn't connect passes and passing accuracy was awful. Way too many unforced turnovers. Watching the game you soon realized the US lacks high level skills. This points to a huge problem with the USSF program as a while. It's quite apparent skills are not getting enough attention at the lower levels of the program.

Tillman played well. Berhalter tried to get some enthusiasm going once he came on. Reyna was pretty much just there. Pepi ran around a lot but did nothing.

So looking ahead, First they need to have Pochettino on for an entire cycle. He needs to have a lot of autonomy on the program. There should be a lot of new faces brought in to look at over these next four years. GK and defense are in dire need of upgrades. A finisher needs to be found to pair with Balogun. Most importantly they need to find a playmaker to create. I don't think they need to find a Messi but they need to find someone who can both create with passes and someone who can also finish chances. A duo threat player. We don't have that. Every top team has one.

 

[ajcardfan]

That's not saying much. He touched the ball only 10 times! That's nothing.

Yes, damn poor performance. But that lack of touches is more on his teammates than him.

 

[Chaplin]

Yes, damn poor performance. But that lack of touches is more on his teammates than him.

Well, that is true, but at the same time, I hesitate to call him elite at all if he doesn't demand the ball. We need that guy, who we honestly have never had up top.

 

[ajcardfan]

Well, that is true, but at the same time, I hesitate to call him elite at all if he doesn't demand the ball. We need that guy, who we honestly have never had up top.

Yeah, we never have. But he is one of the few that looks like an adequate piece going forward. He is 25, so I don't know how much he can improve.

 

[Adrian]

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[Lorenzo]

Well, I'm ready to throw out my two cents worth of diatribe.

Belgium was so ready for this game. I think the whole red card thing galvanized them to the point where they came out ready to destroy any team they played. The US meanwhile came out like they were so stiff worrying about now having to prove they could hang with a team like Belgium they couldn't relax and just play. Belgium played like they had something to prove.

By far the play of the US was horrendous. Poor passing, poor decisions, way too slow on the ball. Lack of movement off the ball. Ball watching in the back when they should have been marking. Too easily beaten off the dribble by Belgium. They allowed Belgium to out muscle them, out physical them for 90 minutes.

The players who needed to step up the most failed, period. Pulisic, Dest, Ream, Freese, Freeman. Balogun is a speed guy and Belgium just kept muscling him which he cannot stand up to. He needs space and Belgium shutdown that space which made him ineffective.

Pulisic had 14 lost possessions in just 59 minutes. That is awful. Pulisic just can't be depended on, way too fragile. Belgium took full advantage of Ream. The US couldn't connect passes and passing accuracy was awful. Way too many unforced turnovers. Watching the game you soon realized the US lacks high level skills. This points to a huge problem with the USSF program as a while. It's quite apparent skills are not getting enough attention at the lower levels of the program.

Tillman played well. Berhalter tried to get some enthusiasm going once he came on. Reyna was pretty much just there. Pepi ran around a lot but did nothing.

So looking ahead, First they need to have Pochettino on for an entire cycle. He needs to have a lot of autonomy on the program. There should be a lot of new faces brought in to look at over these next four years. GK and defense are in dire need of upgrades. A finisher needs to be found to pair with Balogun. Most importantly they need to find a playmaker to create. I don't think they need to find a Messi but they need to find someone who can both create with passes and someone who can also finish chances. A duo threat player. We don't have that. Every top team has one.

I actually think pulisic would work best in a central role. He and Reyna both. I think because they have other guys on the team like Tillman and mckennie it pushes pulisic out to the left because they don’t have anyone over there to protect Robinson. But pulisic was too isolated in my opinion and he and Robinson together are not ideal for tracking back. I think this may be why pochettino experimented with Weah over there against turkey but it was awful. Overall the team has to be better. The starting 11 was too predictable for Belgium. Against Paraguay it was new, but there was no growth. There were no tactical changes or improvements. Probably not the managers fault but more of an indication of no depth. Also I agree that pochettino needs more time and more meaningful matches to build the best team. This team hardly played together in any games that mattered.

 

[Lorenzo]

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He should not have said that. But he does need rest. His body can’t handle the amount of games that he plays in all competitions. To be fair that’s been his main weakness that has held him back in his career. Still have to be self aware though and understand that the fans don’t want to hear that right after the WC is over. Just put your head down, be humble and the true fans will have his back and defend him.

 

[Lorenzo]

Not sure if it is true, but I heard courtois made some comments about the USA team after the game. I thought it was a little bit much considering it wasn’t the USA players that were the ones doing the talking. It was more the press and other noise beyond the USA players control. So I went back and looked at the Belgium Keeper’s career highlights. He has some goal keeping blunders as well. If anything it made me laugh to see that these guys are all human and make mistakes.

 

[Adrian]

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[Stout]

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Damn right, Carli! This punk is nothing for us.

 

[cardpa]

I came across a couple of articles that I thought really hit home.

Taylor Twellman on USMNT Performance against Belgium

USMNT failed because of players, not coach.

 

[SeattleCardinal]

I mean, it just seems logical that with such a large population base of potential athletes here, including many kids who grow up playing soccer, the US would just naturally have to eventually produce at least one if not a few generational talents.

Even with the vast majority of kids taking up other sports, statistically we should still be falling ass backwards into some occasional top level talent at this point. And yet, here we are.

We have population in our favor, but the "academy" system in other countries seems to be a huge advantage for them, compared to the "pay to play" in the U.S. Speaking of population, it is surprising that China - despite the dictator there being a huge soccer fan - has failed to develop the necessary infrastructure and talent pipelines to be competitive in the World Cup. This is much different than the situation with Olympic sports, where China quickly became a global power.

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[Adrian]

Square profile picture
Underdog
@Underdog
·
38m
BREAKING: Christian Pulisic suffered bone bruise and microfracture of the tibia/fibula in game against Belgium, per
@TheAthletic
.

 

[cardpa]

We have population in our favor, but the "academy" system in other countries seems to be a huge advantage for them, compared to the "pay to play" in the U.S. Speaking of population, it is surprising that China - despite the dictator there being a huge soccer fan - has failed to develop the necessary infrastructure and talent pipelines to be competitive in the World Cup. This is much different than the situation with Olympic sports, where China quickly became a global power.

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Two things I take from this article.

1. I disagree that our players are as technically as good as many other countries. To me that means the ability to receive, carry and pass the ball at a high level. Our players, as this WC had shown, are not equivalent to the top teams. Against Belgium, passes to no one or so off mark they became 50/50 balls. First touch where the first thing they had to do was corral the ball because their first touch didn't keep the ball within playing distance. How many times did you see the Belgium team collect the ball with their first touch and then do something positive with it on the second touch? The US failed at that simple skill.

2. I agree, US soccer in general has become an industry for making money, not developing skills and playing ability. The emphasis is on winning and making money at many of these clubs. If a player doesn't show something right away to help make the team a winning team, they are discarded, tossed away even though may be a late bloomer or show the potential to develop into a good player, because clubs don't want to spend time on that. Winning and money are more important.

We have too many young players who are lazy. They develop some skills early that can carry them up to a certain point while ignoring the areas they are weak in. Yes, up to a point you can get by on being a better athlete, physical prowess, and speed. In the meantime your weaknesses never get any better. In my 25 years of coaching as my knowledge of the game got better and better I soon realized that developing a complete player was advantageous to the entire team. We worked on skills every single day. I even had weak foot days where everything we did was with the weak foot. Run some skills and then scrimmage for 4-5-50 minutes only using the weak foot for everything and if you used your strong foot in was a turnover at that point. Yeah, there was some grumbling because it was hard and uncomfortable but as they kept at it, they realized hey i can actually do things with that foot and leg. It also gave me insight as to who was willing to work at it and who didn't want to put in the effort.