*World Cup Game Discussion Thread* (SPOILERS) - Page 15

RPI-Fan · 06-12-2006, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Gus Hiddik (sp?) to the US after this World Cup.

I believe he has already agreed to coach Russia.

With that said, given that he coached South Korea so well I could live with him, because they're the most similar team in the world to us.

moriarty · 06-12-2006, 07:21 PM

Arena is just trying to fire his guys up. He's always been like that. They hate being called out on a world stage, and he's betting his ass they'll come out and prove him wrong next game. We'll see...

As for Beasley's comments, he should worry about actually getting in the game, not threatening to play as a striker.

Groundhog · 06-12-2006, 07:26 PM

Well, there are a lot of hang-overs in my office today... the Australia-Japan match kicked off at 11pm Sydney time, and I didn't get to bed until around 3-4am... drank way too much to remember clearly, and I'm paying for that sin right now.

What a game though. We really should have won 3-0, though full credit to the Japanese defenders for most of the game. Every time one of our forwards had the ball he was swarmed. We played a solid first half until the Japanese goal, and then we played real sluggish until the late goal explosion.

Up next is Brazil, and I guess the goal of that match is to not get blown out. Hopefully we can limit them to 2 or 3 goals and get one ourselves. A draw would be a miracle. It's a shame that it's televised at 1:30am our time on a Monday morning...

RPI-Fan · 06-12-2006, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moriarty

Arena is just trying to fire his guys up. He's always been like that. They hate being called out on a world stage, and he's betting his ass they'll come out and prove him wrong next game. We'll see...

As for Beasley's comments, he should worry about actually getting in the game, not threatening to play as a striker.

Beasley is a bee-yatch. He shouldn't have started this match and he better fucking not start another match in the WC.

rexallllsc · 06-12-2006, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

that's just really really poor form by arena. and by the players too for that matter, although it sounds like they were mostly reacting. gotta stick together guys

Sounds like Beasley was caught off guard by Arena's comments. That's not good.

marshall881 · 06-12-2006, 10:00 PM

Beasley played like trash, and if he can't admit that after today's performance he has bigger issues to deal with than just his physical performance.

I think Donovan and Keller will use the comments to maybe find some passion and get the rest of the team to at least play with some fire. I don't care if they lose if they at least put forth the effort and play with some passion.

That timid, in awe performance they put in today is worthy of the harshest criticism. They seem to like all the attention leading up to the game, now they must deal with the critics when they play like junk.

MikeVick7 · 06-12-2006, 10:04 PM

This may have been mentioned earlier in the thread, but I stay clear of it during the day while I tape the games and watch them when I get home. Plus, then the thread gets so incredibly large that I can't read through everything. With that being said...

We need a little less 1v1 talk out of Harkes and the play-by-play guy.

Thank you.

Galaril · 06-12-2006, 10:47 PM

I second fire Arena and please for God sake bring in a foreigner preferably an European. I had a chance to meet Coach Hiddink, who coached the Korea side last world cup. He is an idol in Korea society still to this day. They invented new words in their language for the phenomena of his incredible rise to popularity and companies started to have Hiddink leadership training courses for executives

. Korre even gave the guy a honorable citizenship and their was a big grassroots movement, in the general public, to get the law changed so he could become a korean Cctizen automatically removing the 5 year residency requirement (Of course he turned it down). He might be tough on the spoiled americans but he would get "Real" results against quality teams.

MrBug708 · 06-12-2006, 10:52 PM

USA 0-2 Germany
USA 1-2 Iran
USA 0-1 Yugoslavia
USA 1-1 Korea
USA 1-3 Poland
USA 0-1 Germany
USA 0-3 Czech Republic

Overall record when Reyna starts in central midfield for the USA in the World Cup:

0-6-1

Goal differential:

-10

Clearly we cannot afford to experiment with other players in Claudio's role

DaddyTorgo · 06-12-2006, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBug708

USA 0-2 Germany
USA 1-2 Iran
USA 0-1 Yugoslavia
USA 1-1 Korea
USA 1-3 Poland
USA 0-1 Germany
USA 0-3 Czech Republic

Overall record when Reyna starts in central midfield for the USA in the World Cup:

0-6-1

Goal differential:

-10

Clearly we cannot afford to experiment with other players in Claudio's role

i think you meant to say "clearly we can"

MrBug708 · 06-12-2006, 11:03 PM

No/..

Raven Hawk · 06-12-2006, 11:09 PM

So I hid from the scores all day so that I could watch the game on TiVo. What a piece of shit that was. Beasley may not have had a good game, but the entire team played like utter trash. Nobody was moving on offense. And the defense? Where was it? Crap. Crap. Crap.

Crap.

rexallllsc · 06-13-2006, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBug708

USA 0-2 Germany
USA 1-2 Iran
USA 0-1 Yugoslavia
USA 1-1 Korea
USA 1-3 Poland
USA 0-1 Germany
USA 0-3 Czech Republic

Overall record when Reyna starts in central midfield for the USA in the World Cup:

0-6-1

Goal differential:

-10

Clearly we cannot afford to experiment with other players in Claudio's role

I think it's pretty obvious that the problems are not Reyna's.

Vinatieri for Prez · 06-13-2006, 01:10 AM

I couldn't understand why Donovan wasn't in the line up in the game. Crazy coaching decision.

MrBug708 · 06-13-2006, 01:12 AM

Vinatieri for Prez · 06-13-2006, 01:21 AM

Sarcasm.

AlexB · 06-13-2006, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Gus Hiddik (sp?) to the US after this World Cup.

Think he's already signed up to coach Russia

AlexB · 06-13-2006, 05:57 AM

Dola,

Please take this for what it is - an outsider trying to provide some objectivity.

What's happening here is that the USA team failed to live up to impossibly hyped expectations. USA are not the 5th or 6th best team in the world, nor are they as bad as some people have posted.

But when people genuinely believe that USA has a chance to win the WC this year, it doesn't matter what happens in the Czech game, people are going to be disappointed - USA is just not at that level yet.

A genuine WC contender has higher level players than Eddie Lewis, Bobby Convery (both in Championship sides for a number of years), Landon Donovan (failed to make an impact in the Bundesliga twice). Others are good but not world beaters (Reyna, McBride, Keller, etc).

In my eyes USA can't win this year because USA fans want to see progression from four years ago, but have landed in one of the two really tough groups in this year's WC, one which regardless of the rankings, would have been a HUGE achievement in itself to get out of, and even if they did they would meet Brazil, over whom victory would rank with the biggest WC shocks.

So either USA fails to get out the group, or loses in the last 16. Either way USA fans are disappointed because they haven't done as well as 2002.

I kept a little quiet (largely because of the treatment MIJB got tbh) before the tourney, and last night when people had swung too far the other way.

The way I see it USA are a team that given an average strength draw are highly likely to make the last 16, have a chance to make the last 8 on occasions, but are no more than this yet. Unfortunately you ran into Italy (traditional powerhouse - unbeaten in 18 going into the WC) & the Czechs (arguably best European team at the moment) in the same group, and Ghana who are one of the toughest 4th seeds.

And before anybody thinks I am a Euro-snob, I think it's unlikely England will win the tourney (especially given the 2nd half performance!), and I think the best team thus far I have seen is Argentina.

Northwood_DK · 06-13-2006, 06:10 AM

That is a very good evaluation.

daedalus · 06-13-2006, 06:17 AM

Shrug, just my opinion but Arena's problem (in this case) isn't loyalty but inflexibility and lack of imagination. And, now, I'm thinking of adding: cowardice. Calling out your players, even when they were this pathetic, is lame.

While Beasley was fairly invisible, I would have to agree with the assessment that he was played on the wrong side. He's always looked better on the left side which, in my opinion, isn't shocking, given that he's very left-footed dominant. And, unlike someone like Robin van Persie, he doesn't have the strong shot to take advantage of playing on the wrong side (a la Robert Pires) so playing him on the right side is . . . just stupid. Also, unlike Convey, Beasley will actually track back defensively which makes him a far better partner for Lewis (if he must be the left back).

On the other hand, if Lewis is being started JUST because he's the "only" option at left-back, why not start O'Brien, assuming he's remotely healthy? If I understand correctly, he plays back there for his club team so it's not as if he would be playing at an unfamiliar position.

Also, this is about the first time I've seen Reyna play and he seems like he's playing as a deep-lying holding midfielder. Assuming this is a correct assessment, then I think Mastroeni is the wrong partner for him (in spite of me being a fan) since they would both be playing deep. O'Brien (based on what I saw in the last WC) would have been the better partner as he seems more comfortable further up the field and would have been able to link up Reyna and the attackers.

RPI-Fan · 06-13-2006, 07:03 AM

O'Brien was the only player for us who looked worth half a shit in this game. We need to attack Italy on Saturday and the ONLY way we're going to do that is with a box midfield -- Johnson + McBride up front, Donovan & Dempsey (or Convey) running at people, and Reyna + O'Brien distributing and covering on defense. The backline can be the same, though I'd prefer Boca to Pope.

MikeVick7 · 06-13-2006, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northwood_DK

That is a very good evaluation.

Yeah I have no problem with that.

Critch · 06-13-2006, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBug708

USA 0-2 Germany
USA 1-2 Iran
USA 0-1 Yugoslavia
USA 1-1 Korea
USA 1-3 Poland
USA 0-1 Germany
USA 0-3 Czech Republic

Overall record when Reyna starts in central midfield for the USA in the World Cup:

0-6-1

He started the 2-0 win over Mexico too.

I think Reyna is one of the very few who was blameless for yesterday, without his workrate and closing down the Czechs would have controlled midfield even more. Pretty much everybody else shares the blame, the young players who didn't show up at all, McBride bringing his poor EPL form into World Cup and being invisible, Donovan and Beasley both being anonymous (Beasley needs to watch that game again if he thinks he didn't suck).

I also wouldn't blame Arena, though I'm surprised at his lashing out press conference. He's always had a name for being a hardass that treats his players bad, but it's worked before, so maybe it will again.

RPI-Fan · 06-13-2006, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Critch

He started the 2-0 win over Mexico too.

Yes but he was a right back/right middie in that game.

Critch · 06-13-2006, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Yes but he was a right back/right middie in that game.

Yeah, thought he might have been playing a different position with the "central midfield" bit in the original post.

I defended him anyway cos he used to play for Glasgow Rangers so I like him

Bisbo · 06-13-2006, 07:54 AM

I was tremendously disappointed in the way the US played yesterday, and I really think Arena showed a distinct lack of class in calling out his players publicly, BUT - all of this talk about firing him is a bit much. He has totally turned around the US soccer program and deserves better than what he's getting right now. He also has gotten more out of the group of players we have than many others would. I think he has grown tired of coaching the national team. The fact that his contract wasn't extended before the Cup leads me to believe there was more mutual dissatisfaction about his role than has been reported. I would be very surprised if there isn't a change after the tournament is over (even if we miraculously come back and do well against Italy and Ghana.

SirFozzie · 06-13-2006, 07:57 AM

Here we go with the next game.

and if I see this adidas commercial one more time, Foz go Crazy. It was great the first 900,000 times but if I hear "beck-en-bauer" one more time..

Critch · 06-13-2006, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Here we go with the next game.

and if I see this adidas commercial one more time, Foz go Crazy. It was great the first 900,000 times but if I hear "beck-en-bauer" one more time..

I still love that advert, though I've been doing most of my viewing on Setanta so I've not overdosed on it yet.

I would quite beat a Heineken ad exec with a hammer for that "dont you wish your girlfriend was hot like me" advert though.

SirFozzie · 06-13-2006, 08:06 AM

Oh god, Graham Poll is reffing this one?

Critch · 06-13-2006, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Oh god, Graham Poll is reffing this one?

And Otto Pfister is the Togo coach again? When did that happen?

Galaril · 06-13-2006, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

Dola,

Please take this for what it is - an outsider trying to provide some objectivity.

What's happening here is that the USA team failed to live up to impossibly hyped expectations. USA are not the 5th or 6th best team in the world, nor are they as bad as some people have posted.

But when people genuinely believe that USA has a chance to win the WC this year, it doesn't matter what happens in the Czech game, people are going to be disappointed - USA is just not at that level yet.

A genuine WC contender has higher level players than Eddie Lewis, Bobby Convery (both in Championship sides for a number of years), Landon Donovan (failed to make an impact in the Bundesliga twice). Others are good but not world beaters (Reyna, McBride, Keller, etc).

In my eyes USA can't win this year because USA fans want to see progression from four years ago, but have landed in one of the two really tough groups in this year's WC, one which regardless of the rankings, would have been a HUGE achievement in itself to get out of, and even if they did they would meet Brazil, over whom victory would rank with the biggest WC shocks.

So either USA fails to get out the group, or loses in the last 16. Either way USA fans are disappointed because they haven't done as well as 2002.

I kept a little quiet (largely because of the treatment MIJB got tbh) before the tourney, and last night when people had swung too far the other way.

The way I see it USA are a team that given an average strength draw are highly likely to make the last 16, have a chance to make the last 8 on occasions, but are no more than this yet. Unfortunately you ran into Italy (traditional powerhouse - unbeaten in 18 going into the WC) & the Czechs (arguably best European team at the moment) in the same group, and Ghana who are one of the toughest 4th seeds.

And before anybody thinks I am a Euro-snob, I think it's unlikely England will win the tourney (especially given the 2nd half performance!), and I think the best team thus far I have seen is Argentina.

Jari,

Thanks that was a very diplomatic way to say what you said and I agree with it all.

Butter · 06-13-2006, 08:59 AM

Nifty goal by Togo in the first half... KOR are unlucky to be behind, although I imagine our genial Chinese hosts are more than pleased to see that be the case.

Galaril · 06-13-2006, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Nifty goal by Togo in the first half... KOR are unlucky to be behind, although I imagine our genial Chinese hosts are more than pleased to see that be the case.

That would definitely be true. Koreans' inherit nature of bragging and boasting certainly pisses off other Asian countries in general. As far the match itself, the Korean coach will be in serious kimchi with the Korean fans, if they lose this one.

Crapshoot · 06-13-2006, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

Dola,

Please take this for what it is - an outsider trying to provide some objectivity.

What's happening here is that the USA team failed to live up to impossibly hyped expectations. USA are not the 5th or 6th best team in the world, nor are they as bad as some people have posted.

But when people genuinely believe that USA has a chance to win the WC this year, it doesn't matter what happens in the Czech game, people are going to be disappointed - USA is just not at that level yet.

A genuine WC contender has higher level players than Eddie Lewis, Bobby Convery (both in Championship sides for a number of years), Landon Donovan (failed to make an impact in the Bundesliga twice). Others are good but not world beaters (Reyna, McBride, Keller, etc).

In my eyes USA can't win this year because USA fans want to see progression from four years ago, but have landed in one of the two really tough groups in this year's WC, one which regardless of the rankings, would have been a HUGE achievement in itself to get out of, and even if they did they would meet Brazil, over whom victory would rank with the biggest WC shocks.

So either USA fails to get out the group, or loses in the last 16. Either way USA fans are disappointed because they haven't done as well as 2002.

I kept a little quiet (largely because of the treatment MIJB got tbh) before the tourney, and last night when people had swung too far the other way.

The way I see it USA are a team that given an average strength draw are highly likely to make the last 16, have a chance to make the last 8 on occasions, but are no more than this yet. Unfortunately you ran into Italy (traditional powerhouse - unbeaten in 18 going into the WC) & the Czechs (arguably best European team at the moment) in the same group, and Ghana who are one of the toughest 4th seeds.

And before anybody thinks I am a Euro-snob, I think it's unlikely England will win the tourney (especially given the 2nd half performance!), and I think the best team thus far I have seen is Argentina.

Euro-snob.

No, you're absolutely right - I think you, I, MIJB and a bunch of others were trying to make this point before the tournament - the US is a decent team that can punch above its weight, but it isn't world class - and there are people eating crow. I'd basically take your point and add on a summary - the US isn't as good as people thought before the tournament, and it isn't as bad those people think now - it was one game, against one of the best attacks in football, in full flow.

Raven Hawk · 06-13-2006, 09:09 AM

I'm not upset that the US lost to the Czechs. I just was hoping for a showing better than 3-0. I thought that a 1-0 loss would have been a respectable showing against a club like the Czech Republic. I just didn't like what I saw on the field. I never had the expectations that the US would win the cup, I'm just hoping they can get out of group play, but with a 3-0 loss to the Czechs, it seems unlikely. Now US has to either beat Italy and Ghana or draw Italy, then destroy Ghana, hoping the Czechs can beat Italy. Watching a lot of the WC, thus far, you can easily see that the US is not at the caliber it needs to be to contend for the cup.

wade moore · 06-13-2006, 09:14 AM

NICE goal by the Korean.

gstelmack · 06-13-2006, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven Hawk

I'm not upset that the US lost to the Czechs. I just was hoping for a showing better than 3-0. I thought that a 1-0 loss would have been a respectable showing against a club like the Czech Republic. I just didn't like what I saw on the field. I never had the expectations that the US would win the cup, I'm just hoping they can get out of group play,

Yup. The media may be spouting off huge things, but I think a lot of people just wanted to see them put up a respectable showing and win a game or two. The game against the Czechs was ridiculous.

MIJB#19 · 06-13-2006, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

Think he's already signed up to coach Russia

Yep, Guus Hiddink signed with Russia about a month ago.

MJ4H · 06-13-2006, 11:10 AM

I didn't hear anyone with a clue about the game thinking the USA could win the world cup. Most of the positive comments I heard (not necessarily here, as I usually didn't follow the comments here--I'm speaking in general) about the USA's chances were in response to ignorant bashing from people that like to see the USA fail. Now the ESPN studio guys were quite overly optimistic, I'll agree, but that's ok.

But, seriously, I don't know of anyone that over-estimated the USA's chances that much.

Coffee Warlord · 06-13-2006, 11:23 AM

"If you like passing, you'll like this game. If you don't like passing that doesn't really go anywhere, you might get a bit bored with this game."
Former England boss Graham Taylor on BBC Five Live

In regards to France - Switzerland right now. Heh.

AlexB · 06-13-2006, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattJones4Heisman

I didn't hear anyone with a clue about the game thinking the USA could win the world cup. Most of the positive comments I heard (not necessarily here, as I usually didn't follow the comments here--I'm speaking in general) about the USA's chances were in response to ignorant bashing from people that like to see the USA fail. Now the ESPN studio guys were quite overly optimistic, I'll agree, but that's ok.

But, seriously, I don't know of anyone that over-estimated the USA's chances that much.

I'm not sure if it were overtly stated (RPI would likely have done so if anyone

) but it is implicit in the defence of USA as a top 5 or even top 10 nation - my take is that a top 5 side or top 10 ten side has the right the think that they could win the WC: therefore if people believe the former I assume they believe the latter.

So no, maybe it wasn't explicity written, but it was implicit in the arguments as I read them

AlexB · 06-13-2006, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

"If you like passing, you'll like this game. If you don't like passing that doesn't really go anywhere, you might get a bit bored with this game."
Former England boss Graham Taylor on BBC Five Live

In regards to France - Switzerland right now. Heh.

If only he had finished it with: 'Do I not like this game'

ZXTT · 06-13-2006, 11:26 AM

I have to say, I've been surprised by the expectations for the US from the US media going into this WC. Four years ago was a fantastic result. I've been expecting a first round exit this time. That would be the expected result given the quality of the players, which to me range from decent to solid. Meanwhile Italy and Czech Republic are stocked with stars and Ghana has one in Michael Essien.

What's disappointing about the Czech Republic game though, is the way the US looked, when compared with the way Ghana looked losing to Italy. There was essentially no attack.

Anyway, this a tough, tough tournament, and I certainly hope I don't hear any more of that "32nd out of 32" nonsense some keep spouting about '98. You either advance or you don't and if you don't from a tough group, there's no shame.

ZXTT · 06-13-2006, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

I'm not sure if it were overtly stated (RPI would likely have done so if anyone

) but it is implicit in the defence of USA as a top 5 or even top 10 nation - my take is that a top 5 side or top 10 ten side has the right the think that they could win the WC: therefore if people believe the former I assume they believe the latter.

So no, maybe it wasn't explicity written, but it was implicit in the arguments as I read them

Although anyone defending the FIFA rankings would have to fall into the "doesn't have a clue" category, wouldn't they?

RendeR · 06-13-2006, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZXTT

Although anyone defending the FIFA rankings would have to fall into the "doesn't have a clue" category, wouldn't they?

Not really, because you actually have to have a clue to understand that the govrning body of the world cup and soccer in large part everywhere has a ranking system that no one with a clue respects.

MrBug708 · 06-13-2006, 12:51 PM

That handball just cost the Swiss the game winner

Icy · 06-13-2006, 01:01 PM

Agree with Jari Rantanen's Shorts, good post. USA is not yet a WC contender as your press made it look, but i'm pretty sure that if soccer keeps getting played more and more in the USA, with colleges giving already scholarships, etc etc USA will become a superpower in the next 10 years. Not a lot of countries expend as much resources on the kids learning the sports as USA does, i really envy you. We in Spain don't promote sports at all, there are not sports scholarships, not any sport is played in schools, high schools or universities and of course we have way less citizens that USA so we don't have the potential that you guys have and we are one of the top nations regarding soccer, so imagine what you can do.

I have said it tons of times betwen my Spanish friends and they don't believe me as they don't know anything about the USA sports phillosophy, but i see USA winning the WC in the future, and the MLS as the top worldwide league.

MIJB#19 · 06-13-2006, 01:11 PM

Hello! Wake up! France-Swiss is finally over.

MrBug708 · 06-13-2006, 01:13 PM

Icy, you need to just move over here..

Passacaglia · 06-13-2006, 01:16 PM

Can anyone explain that adidas commercial to me? I mean, I get the basic idea -- these two kids are picking ten world class soccer players to be on their team. I recognize maybe half the names -- no big deal. But what about that one guy who the little kid (Jose) picks, and the fat kid repeats the name, then laughs at him, then looks all surprised when he shows up? Why is that guy more shocking than all the other ones?

06-12-2006, 07:21 PM	#702
moriarty College Starter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: A negative place	Arena is just trying to fire his guys up. He's always been like that. They hate being called out on a world stage, and he's betting his ass they'll come out and prove him wrong next game. We'll see... As for Beasley's comments, he should worry about actually getting in the game, not threatening to play as a striker. Last edited by moriarty : 06-12-2006 at 07:22 PM.

06-12-2006, 07:26 PM	#703
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Well, there are a lot of hang-overs in my office today... the Australia-Japan match kicked off at 11pm Sydney time, and I didn't get to bed until around 3-4am... drank way too much to remember clearly, and I'm paying for that sin right now. What a game though. We really should have won 3-0, though full credit to the Japanese defenders for most of the game. Every time one of our forwards had the ball he was swarmed. We played a solid first half until the Japanese goal, and then we played real sluggish until the late goal explosion. Up next is Brazil, and I guess the goal of that match is to not get blown out. Hopefully we can limit them to 2 or 3 goals and get one ourselves. A draw would be a miracle. It's a shame that it's televised at 1:30am our time on a Monday morning... __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

06-12-2006, 10:04 PM	#707
MikeVick7 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ron, Mexico	This may have been mentioned earlier in the thread, but I stay clear of it during the day while I tape the games and watch them when I get home. Plus, then the thread gets so incredibly large that I can't read through everything. With that being said... We need a little less 1v1 talk out of Harkes and the play-by-play guy. Thank you. __________________ Hattrick - Seattle Reign (224367)

06-12-2006, 10:47 PM	#708
Galaril Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2004	I second fire Arena and please for God sake bring in a foreigner preferably an European. I had a chance to meet Coach Hiddink, who coached the Korea side last world cup. He is an idol in Korea society still to this day. They invented new words in their language for the phenomena of his incredible rise to popularity and companies started to have Hiddink leadership training courses for executives. Korre even gave the guy a honorable citizenship and their was a big grassroots movement, in the general public, to get the law changed so he could become a korean Cctizen automatically removing the 5 year residency requirement (Of course he turned it down). He might be tough on the spoiled americans but he would get "Real" results against quality teams. Last edited by Galaril : 06-12-2006 at 10:50 PM.

06-12-2006, 11:09 PM	#712
Raven Hawk College Starter Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Thunderdome	So I hid from the scores all day so that I could watch the game on TiVo. What a piece of shit that was. Beasley may not have had a good game, but the entire team played like utter trash. Nobody was moving on offense. And the defense? Where was it? Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. __________________ Owner of The Shreveport Pride in The CFL

06-12-2006, 10:00 PM	#706
marshall881 Mascot Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Middle Tennessee	Beasley played like trash, and if he can't admit that after today's performance he has bigger issues to deal with than just his physical performance. I think Donovan and Keller will use the comments to maybe find some passion and get the rest of the team to at least play with some fire. I don't care if they lose if they at least put forth the effort and play with some passion. That timid, in awe performance they put in today is worthy of the harshest criticism. They seem to like all the attention leading up to the game, now they must deal with the critics when they play like junk.

06-12-2006, 10:52 PM	#709
MrBug708 Head Coach Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Whittier	USA 0-2 Germany USA 1-2 Iran USA 0-1 Yugoslavia USA 1-1 Korea USA 1-3 Poland USA 0-1 Germany USA 0-3 Czech Republic Overall record when Reyna starts in central midfield for the USA in the World Cup: 0-6-1 Goal differential: -10 Clearly we cannot afford to experiment with other players in Claudio's role

06-12-2006, 11:03 PM	#711
MrBug708 Head Coach Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Whittier	No/..

06-13-2006, 01:10 AM	#714
Vinatieri for Prez College Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Seattle	I couldn't understand why Donovan wasn't in the line up in the game. Crazy coaching decision.

06-13-2006, 01:12 AM	#715
MrBug708 Head Coach Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Whittier	Huh?

06-13-2006, 01:21 AM	#716
Vinatieri for Prez College Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Seattle	Sarcasm.

06-13-2006, 05:57 AM	#718
AlexB Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Newbury, England	Dola, Please take this for what it is - an outsider trying to provide some objectivity. What's happening here is that the USA team failed to live up to impossibly hyped expectations. USA are not the 5th or 6th best team in the world, nor are they as bad as some people have posted. But when people genuinely believe that USA has a chance to win the WC this year, it doesn't matter what happens in the Czech game, people are going to be disappointed - USA is just not at that level yet. A genuine WC contender has higher level players than Eddie Lewis, Bobby Convery (both in Championship sides for a number of years), Landon Donovan (failed to make an impact in the Bundesliga twice). Others are good but not world beaters (Reyna, McBride, Keller, etc). In my eyes USA can't win this year because USA fans want to see progression from four years ago, but have landed in one of the two really tough groups in this year's WC, one which regardless of the rankings, would have been a HUGE achievement in itself to get out of, and even if they did they would meet Brazil, over whom victory would rank with the biggest WC shocks. So either USA fails to get out the group, or loses in the last 16. Either way USA fans are disappointed because they haven't done as well as 2002. I kept a little quiet (largely because of the treatment MIJB got tbh) before the tourney, and last night when people had swung too far the other way. The way I see it USA are a team that given an average strength draw are highly likely to make the last 16, have a chance to make the last 8 on occasions, but are no more than this yet. Unfortunately you ran into Italy (traditional powerhouse - unbeaten in 18 going into the WC) & the Czechs (arguably best European team at the moment) in the same group, and Ghana who are one of the toughest 4th seeds. And before anybody thinks I am a Euro-snob, I think it's unlikely England will win the tourney (especially given the 2nd half performance!), and I think the best team thus far I have seen is Argentina. __________________ 'A song is a beautiful lie', Idlewild, Self Healer. When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you. Sports! Last edited by AlexB : 06-13-2006 at 05:59 AM.

06-13-2006, 06:10 AM	#719
Northwood_DK College Benchwarmer Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Back in Norway	That is a very good evaluation.

06-13-2006, 06:17 AM	#720
daedalus Pro Rookie Join Date: Oct 2000	Shrug, just my opinion but Arena's problem (in this case) isn't loyalty but inflexibility and lack of imagination. And, now, I'm thinking of adding: cowardice. Calling out your players, even when they were this pathetic, is lame. While Beasley was fairly invisible, I would have to agree with the assessment that he was played on the wrong side. He's always looked better on the left side which, in my opinion, isn't shocking, given that he's very left-footed dominant. And, unlike someone like Robin van Persie, he doesn't have the strong shot to take advantage of playing on the wrong side (a la Robert Pires) so playing him on the right side is . . . just stupid. Also, unlike Convey, Beasley will actually track back defensively which makes him a far better partner for Lewis (if he must be the left back). On the other hand, if Lewis is being started JUST because he's the "only" option at left-back, why not start O'Brien, assuming he's remotely healthy? If I understand correctly, he plays back there for his club team so it's not as if he would be playing at an unfamiliar position. Also, this is about the first time I've seen Reyna play and he seems like he's playing as a deep-lying holding midfielder. Assuming this is a correct assessment, then I think Mastroeni is the wrong partner for him (in spite of me being a fan) since they would both be playing deep. O'Brien (based on what I saw in the last WC) would have been the better partner as he seems more comfortable further up the field and would have been able to link up Reyna and the attackers.

06-13-2006, 07:03 AM	#721
RPI-Fan Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Troy, NY	O'Brien was the only player for us who looked worth half a shit in this game. We need to attack Italy on Saturday and the ONLY way we're going to do that is with a box midfield -- Johnson + McBride up front, Donovan & Dempsey (or Convey) running at people, and Reyna + O'Brien distributing and covering on defense. The backline can be the same, though I'd prefer Boca to Pope. __________________ Quis custodiets ipsos custodes?

06-13-2006, 07:54 AM	#726
Bisbo H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Mar 2006	I was tremendously disappointed in the way the US played yesterday, and I really think Arena showed a distinct lack of class in calling out his players publicly, BUT - all of this talk about firing him is a bit much. He has totally turned around the US soccer program and deserves better than what he's getting right now. He also has gotten more out of the group of players we have than many others would. I think he has grown tired of coaching the national team. The fact that his contract wasn't extended before the Cup leads me to believe there was more mutual dissatisfaction about his role than has been reported. I would be very surprised if there isn't a change after the tournament is over (even if we miraculously come back and do well against Italy and Ghana.

06-13-2006, 07:57 AM	#727
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	Here we go with the next game. and if I see this adidas commercial one more time, Foz go Crazy. It was great the first 900,000 times but if I hear "beck-en-bauer" one more time.. __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com

06-13-2006, 08:06 AM	#729
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	Oh god, Graham Poll is reffing this one? __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com

06-13-2006, 08:59 AM	#732
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Nifty goal by Togo in the first half... KOR are unlucky to be behind, although I imagine our genial Chinese hosts are more than pleased to see that be the case. __________________ My listening habits

06-13-2006, 09:09 AM	#735
Raven Hawk College Starter Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Thunderdome	I'm not upset that the US lost to the Czechs. I just was hoping for a showing better than 3-0. I thought that a 1-0 loss would have been a respectable showing against a club like the Czech Republic. I just didn't like what I saw on the field. I never had the expectations that the US would win the cup, I'm just hoping they can get out of group play, but with a 3-0 loss to the Czechs, it seems unlikely. Now US has to either beat Italy and Ghana or draw Italy, then destroy Ghana, hoping the Czechs can beat Italy. Watching a lot of the WC, thus far, you can easily see that the US is not at the caliber it needs to be to contend for the cup. __________________ Owner of The Shreveport Pride in The CFL

06-13-2006, 11:10 AM	#739
MJ4H Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hog Country	I didn't hear anyone with a clue about the game thinking the USA could win the world cup. Most of the positive comments I heard (not necessarily here, as I usually didn't follow the comments here--I'm speaking in general) about the USA's chances were in response to ignorant bashing from people that like to see the USA fail. Now the ESPN studio guys were quite overly optimistic, I'll agree, but that's ok. But, seriously, I don't know of anyone that over-estimated the USA's chances that much. __________________ My YouTube channel My Twitch channel My Sharona Last edited by MJ4H : 06-13-2006 at 11:10 AM.

06-13-2006, 11:23 AM	#740
Coffee Warlord Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Colorado Springs	"If you like passing, you'll like this game. If you don't like passing that doesn't really go anywhere, you might get a bit bored with this game." Former England boss Graham Taylor on BBC Five Live In regards to France - Switzerland right now. Heh.

06-13-2006, 11:26 AM	#743
ZXTT n00b Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Beaverton, OR, USA	I have to say, I've been surprised by the expectations for the US from the US media going into this WC. Four years ago was a fantastic result. I've been expecting a first round exit this time. That would be the expected result given the quality of the players, which to me range from decent to solid. Meanwhile Italy and Czech Republic are stocked with stars and Ghana has one in Michael Essien. What's disappointing about the Czech Republic game though, is the way the US looked, when compared with the way Ghana looked losing to Italy. There was essentially no attack. Anyway, this a tough, tough tournament, and I certainly hope I don't hear any more of that "32nd out of 32" nonsense some keep spouting about '98. You either advance or you don't and if you don't from a tough group, there's no shame.

06-13-2006, 12:51 PM	#746
MrBug708 Head Coach Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Whittier	That handball just cost the Swiss the game winner

06-13-2006, 01:01 PM	#747
Icy Pro Starter Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Toledo - Spain	Agree with Jari Rantanen's Shorts, good post. USA is not yet a WC contender as your press made it look, but i'm pretty sure that if soccer keeps getting played more and more in the USA, with colleges giving already scholarships, etc etc USA will become a superpower in the next 10 years. Not a lot of countries expend as much resources on the kids learning the sports as USA does, i really envy you. We in Spain don't promote sports at all, there are not sports scholarships, not any sport is played in schools, high schools or universities and of course we have way less citizens that USA so we don't have the potential that you guys have and we are one of the top nations regarding soccer, so imagine what you can do. I have said it tons of times betwen my Spanish friends and they don't believe me as they don't know anything about the USA sports phillosophy, but i see USA winning the WC in the future, and the MLS as the top worldwide league. __________________

06-13-2006, 01:11 PM	#748
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	Hello! Wake up! France-Swiss is finally over. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

06-13-2006, 01:13 PM	#749
MrBug708 Head Coach Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Whittier	Icy, you need to just move over here..

06-13-2006, 01:16 PM	#750
Passacaglia Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Big Ten Country	Can anyone explain that adidas commercial to me? I mean, I get the basic idea -- these two kids are picking ten world class soccer players to be on their team. I recognize maybe half the names -- no big deal. But what about that one guy who the little kid (Jose) picks, and the fat kid repeats the name, then laughs at him, then looks all surprised when he shows up? Why is that guy more shocking than all the other ones?

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