Confederations Cup Final- USA v. Brazil (LET'S WORK!!!)

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

We don't need your condescending back-handed compliments. We didn't go the South Africa to "worry Brazil" or "give them a close game". We showed up with one goal - win the tournament - and did not reach that goal. While there are certainly positives we can reflect on, we did not reach our goal and that is a disappointment no matter what. Maybe in Netherlands second-best is good enough, but not for us.

You're being an ass of epic proportions here. The US is not one of the 10 best teams in the world, and they did a damn good job to get where they did; there's no shame in losing 3-2 to the best team in the world (or second best, between them and Spain). MIJB was offering a compliment for a team that made a good effort, and your "TEAM AMERICAN FUCK YA FOREIGNERS" bit doesn't help.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

But do the subs make the difference here? I thought it was systemic decisions and attitude--taking a defensive approach--along with Brazil's functional excellence that led to this loss.

The lack of presence of Adu and Torres or other offensively-inclined players is a long standing criticism of Bradley. Reminds me of the Angels, fans complaining (me one of them) that we keep throwing in an Izturis in there in the lineup when we have Brandon Wood ripping it up in AAA. Pro-Wood fans (most of Angel nation) wonder WTF Scioscia won't bring him up and play him. And then other fans basically say "In Scioscia we trust". Frustrating for those of us who want Wood up.

Same with Bradley and guys like Adu and Torres. He just doesn't seem to play them enough. Even more annoying with Bradley, though, is that, unlike Scioscia, he doesn't have the track record to deserve people looking away.

Actually a good analogy with Wood, except Scioscia is considered a good manager. My impression from most US fans is that Bradley isn't that popular.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Don't sell your team short, people. It's not an every day situation for any team to take a 2-0 lead over Brazil in a tournament final. Team USA survived the three-way tie and ended Spain's world record tying unbeaten streak. Results haven't been all that bad.

eh - but it was Bradley's decision to bunker-up in the second half and abandon what worked so well in the first half and try to withstand 45mins of brazil-pressure.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by rowech

The subs he made offered no pick-up to the team. Wasn't there someone on the bench that could have brought some energy? The two subs he made did little to nothing. Not to mention taking off our best scoring threat.

I will never understand why coaches take off top strikers in one goal games.

I agree the subs sucked. Once again Sacha Kljestan comes on and turns over the ball almost every time he touches it. The problem with the rest overall is just a lack of depth on the team. Casey wasn't going to do much, but at least he was an attacking player I guess, though too late. Bornstein coming in was fine, no problem there. No Ching at the tournament, Bradley with the red card in the last game.....there just were not a lot of options for Bob Bradley in the end, since we all know Adu and Torres would not come on for some reason, and Torres (though I really like him) isn't some great attacking threat anyways.

Overall though, great run after a horrible start to the tournament and some bad WCQ games before that. I will actually say I am happy to see Bradley stick with something that worked for the most part with the 4-4-2 and the starting lineup.

Hopefully some guys on the Gold Cup roster step up and give the USA some options for the WC next year to add depth. We need more guys to go to with confidence. We may not get a sub like Brazil with Alves, but we need something better then we have now.

Well done USMNT.

edit: And about taking out Altidore. Moving Dempsey up worked the last couple games when taking Altidore out, I won't come down too hard on Bradley for that. Don't take this whole post wrong, I still want Bradley gone.

[larrymcg421]

I don't know. I didn't think we played particularly well in the first half. We just converted the few opportunities we got and Brazil missed all of theirs. The odds just did us in in the 2nd half.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

It's almost like Bradley isn't prepared for the big matches.

I can't say it would have been any different with Adu or Torres out there, because that is why we were gassed in the second half, because we have no depth.

But it's just so frustrating to be sitting here and see Brazil making subs while Bradley stands there with his thumb up his ass. It was obvious we needed some fresh legs, and it was obvious this defensive play was imploding on us. So he brings in shit defensive players, and Casey coming on in the end almost made me want to throw up.

I give him props, we beat Spain. Brilliant game. But it's one of those things where I think with a different coach we would have beat both Spain and Brazil and won our first FIFA cup.

It's funny you say that...I really think Bradley was like, "Holy crap...we're up 2-0. What do I do now? I wasn't prepared for this at all."

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

We don't need your condescending back-handed compliments. We didn't go the South Africa to "take the lead on Brazil" or have results that "weren't all that bad". We showed up with one goal - win the tournament - and did not reach that goal. While there are certainly positives we can reflect on, we did not reach our goal and that is a disappointment no matter what. Maybe in Netherlands second-best is what you strive for, but not for us.

Damn, dude, not only was that phenomenally assholish of you, but you managed to also come off as the evil, arrogant American, too. Kudos for nailing so many goals in one punch.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

We don't need your condescending back-handed compliments. We didn't go the South Africa to "take the lead on Brazil" or have results that "weren't all that bad". We showed up with one goal - win the tournament - and did not reach that goal. While there are certainly positives we can reflect on, we did not reach our goal and that is a disappointment no matter what. Maybe in Netherlands second-best is what you strive for, but not for us.

dude...i think you're sorta...overreacting to MJIB's comments

[rowech]

I really didn't expect to win that game but it sucks to be up 2-0, playing fairly well, and then just tanking a whole half.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Damn, dude, not only was that phenomenally assholish of you, but you managed to also come off as the evil, arrogant American, too. Kudos for nailing so many goals in one punch.

haha...seriously my thought too.

MJIB - don't be offended by the one asshole-ish comment that i can only hope was driven by frustration.

[Arles]

Subs always kill us against good teams and Kljestan and Beasley (who thankfully didn't play) have no business on this team. They are terrible, play terrible every time they get on the pitch and constantly kill possession. Bradley also played the "deer in headlights" strategy for the final 45 minutes, so we were behind the 8-ball.

All that said, Landon Donovan was absolutely brilliant in this tournament, Dempsey and Altidore have given the US legit scoring threats and the back 4 were superb. We just need to find one more midfielder who can create and this team is on its way. I hope Adu gets some time coming up as he is exactly the player we need.

As much as I have been frustrated with Bradley, atleast he stopped this insane 4-5-1 "we will out possession Italy/Spain/Brazil" craziness and went back to a solid defense with two strikers leveraging a counter attack (the only way the US can win against decent teams). So, that lesson should help long term. Although, one wonders why it took him so long to learn it.

[Oilers9911]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

We don't need your condescending back-handed compliments. We didn't go the South Africa to "take the lead on Brazil" or have results that "weren't all that bad". We showed up with one goal - win the tournament - and did not reach that goal. While there are certainly positives we can reflect on, we did not reach our goal and that is a disappointment no matter what. Maybe in Netherlands second-best is what you strive for, but not for us.

Considering you were 1-2 in the round robin you should be thanking your lucky stars that they finished second in the tournament.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by rowech

I really didn't expect to win that game but it sucks to be up 2-0, playing fairly well, and then just tanking a whole half.

+1 yeah - absolutely

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

We don't need your condescending back-handed compliments. We didn't go the South Africa to "take the lead on Brazil" or have results that "weren't all that bad". We showed up with one goal - win the tournament - and did not reach that goal. While there are certainly positives we can reflect on, we did not reach our goal and that is a disappointment no matter what. Maybe in Netherlands second-best is what you strive for, but not for us.

Oh please. No one gave the team a shot and even the biggest US Soccer fans would have admitted that a trip out of the opening round would have been a victory. They beat the top ranked team in the world and had Brazil on the ropes. They built some good buzz going into the World Cup and gathered some valuable experience playing in South Africa and in front of those horns.

[Karlifornia]

sonovabitch. Went to the Britannia Arms to watch it. Great first half...and well, yeah. Still have some strides to make, but it was a good effort.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

sonovabitch. Went to the Britannia Arms to watch it. Great first half...and well, yeah. Still have some strides to make, but it was a good effort.

Good bar. I didn't think you lived down in the South Bay?

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

We don't need your condescending back-handed compliments. We didn't go the South Africa to "take the lead on Brazil" or have results that "weren't all that bad". We showed up with one goal - win the tournament - and did not reach that goal. While there are certainly positives we can reflect on, we did not reach our goal and that is a disappointment no matter what. Maybe in Netherlands second-best is what you strive for, but not for us.

After how the past week went, with two "maybe we can win this thing afterall" moments, no doubt I expect Team USA and the fans to be very disappointed. I've seen too many tournaments in the past 15 years where my homeland choked one way or another in the most uncharming ways, after cruising through the early stages.

At the same time I know there's a lose-lose situation here. Had I gone against my sentiments and pointed out that your team choked one of the biggest games in their careers, you'd still grab your pitchfork and vent your frustration of disappointment towards me. Well, sir, vent away. As a note in advance, I'll also be here next summer, in case the USA doesn't win the World Cup (providing they do qualify, of course).

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Good bar. I didn't think you lived down in the South Bay?

yeah, I live in downtown SJ. Are you up on the penninsula?

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Maybe in Netherlands second-best is what you strive for, but not for us.

Wow... classy.

edit - take out the threadjack

[DaddyTorgo]

i disagree - MJIB is welcome to discuss futbol with us anytime.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

yeah, I live in downtown SJ. Are you up on the penninsula?

Yeah, mv. was switching back and forth with the giants game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And in the absence of a coaching change or significant roster changes, this team reverts to their early C-Cup form and finishes 3rd (or possibly last) in WC pool play (assuming they get there at all). Remember, you heard it here first.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

dude...i think you're sorta...overreacting to MJIB's comments

He constantly denigrates the U.S. team in threads, always in this same snarky backhanded way. It's like a script. It's a shame none of you see the trend, but I do and I stand by my comments.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

You're being an ass of epic proportions here. The US is not one of the 10 best teams in the world, and they did a damn good job to get where they did; there's no shame in losing 3-2 to the best team in the world (or second best, between them and Spain). MIJB was offering a compliment for a team that made a good effort, and your "TEAM AMERICAN FUCK YA FOREIGNERS" bit doesn't help.

Get over yourself. Thanks for throwing in that we're not one of the 10 best teams. Where did I say that we were? On any given today we have the chance to be the best team on the field - when we are not it's a disappointment. That's the attitude that got us to the finals, and it's what will get us back while Europeans and South Americans are busy making sly backhanded disses on our team.

[cubboyroy1826]

Okay question for those of you who watch more of the US games. I think they said Altidore is like 19 and watching him today he looked like a dear in headlights. I did not think he went after the ball and his effort looked weak. Was this because of the Brazil defense, was it just a bad day or is he not quite ready for this big of a game?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by cubboyroy1826

Okay question for those of you who watch more of the US games. I think they said Altidore is like 19 and watching him today he looked like a dear in headlights. I did not think he went after the ball and his effort looked weak. Was this because of the Brazil defense, was it just a bad day or is he not quite ready for this big of a game?

To me, he plays like a 19 year old sometimes. There are times he doens't work as hard as I think he should. in addition, when he's into the game, he's fantastic...not, he's not. Nevertheless, I think he's our 2nd best threat on the field. Just having him makes defenses adjusts. Once he was subbed for, Brazil's defense had no pressure anymore. (not that they had a lot that half)

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

He constantly denigrates the U.S. team in threads, always in this same snarky backhanded way. It's like a script. It's a shame none of you see the trend, but I do and I stand by my comments.

No, you're the asshole who always falls into this idea that this is the GREATEST TEAM EVAH at times, and everyone else is blind for not seeing it. Look around- you're the one who is a homer of epic proportions.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by rowech

To me, he plays like a 19 year old sometimes. There are times he doens't work as hard as I think he should. in addition, when he's into the game, he's fantastic...not, he's not. Nevertheless, I think he's our 2nd best threat on the field. Just having him makes defenses adjusts. Once he was subbed for, Brazil's defense had no pressure anymore. (not that they had a lot that half)

The talent level is great - IMO, that first goal against Spain showed how good he can be. I dunno if sitting on the bench at Villareal is the way to do it, but that's another story.

[Icy]

At the risk of pissing off RPI-fan, i must say USA has done a hell of a good job in this tournament, specially in the second half of it, beating a good Egypt team by a huge goal difference, beating Spain totally deserving it, and putting Brazil against the ropes.

USA defensive system was mainly based on physical condition and tactical order/concentration and it worked really well for them, you just need to look at the bodies of some USA players vs the Euro or Brazilian ones. I guess Bradley knew that he doesn't have a lot of technical players to choose from, and i'm sure he would prefer a beautiful Brazilian style of playing, but he must adapt his tactics to the players he has, and he did it well imho. I'm still impressed about how well did USA team keep the 4-4-2 formation vs Spain the whole game, not loosing the composure even once and never showing any tiredness signal.

About today's game, it was really hard to resist those two goals difference, but maybe Bradley decided to bunk too early. Of course it worked vs Spain in the second half, so probably he thought it could work this time too. Also vs teams like Brazil, even if you don't want to play defensively, they can easily force you to do it, so maybe it was not that he decided to play that way in the second half, but that they were forced to do it.

That is the problem of playing too defensive vs good teams. Sometimes you can stop them as they did vs Spain, but most of the times, when you allow the other team to keep possession and shoot again and again, a simple lucky deflection, or a single loss of concentration from one player, can lead to the defeating goal.

The good thing for USA is probably that from now they won't be as afraid of playing historical teams, and it will be huge confidence boost for the future. In fact i think that one of the keys of the good games vs Spain and Brazil was the confidence boost after the win vs Egypt. USA players started to think about themselves about a winning team that can do way better than expected even vs the top national teams.

Hope this also will make more American kids to play soccer, with your population and the huge importance of sports in your culture and education, if soccer becomes popular enough i have no doubt USA will be a top 5 country.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

He constantly denigrates the U.S. team in threads, always in this same snarky backhanded way. It's like a script. It's a shame none of you see the trend, but I do and I stand by my comments.

That's bullshit, you and I both know that you're the backstabber between the two of us. It's really disturbing that you always seem to want me to come off like that. Tied with that other guy that shares your type of trolling, I'd say you're the biggest prejudged asshole at the board. Either live with the fact that I'll root for the USA when my own country isn't involved, or stop reading and replying my posts overhere.

/end rant

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Icy

Hope this also will make more American kids to play soccer, with your population and the huge importance of sports in your culture and education, if soccer becomes popular enough i have no doubt USA will be a top 5 country.

They were talking about this on a national radio show yesterday, and it was an interesting (if disappointing for soccer fans) discussion of the sport in the U.S.

Fact is, Icy, a ton of kids play soccer in the U.S. I don't have the numbers, but my guess is it is the most popular kids' sport in the country, when it comes to leagues and what not. Little league might give the AYSO a run for its money, but that's probably about it. And the kids generally love it.

The problem is, around late junior high/early high school (that's 13-15 or so), these kids end up having to make a decision, stick with soccer or gravitate to one of the other sports, which they also have probably been playing and are good at. And kids invariably pick the other sports, baseball, basketball, and most predominantly, football, because "that's where the money is". If you want the "sports dream" in America, those are the sports you go to. Soccer just isn't perceived that way.

Also, it's a prestige thing that young, too. If you can be a great athlete on the football or the baseball team, that's a lot "cooler" than being a star on the soccer team.

Completely agree on the potential, as most anyone will acknowledge. In most of the world, soccer is #1 and the best athletes in most countries go to soccer. But in the US, there are 3-4 major draws before soccer is considered.

[Coffee Warlord]

Bradley apparently selected "Pleased" during his half time talk. For shame.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Fact is, Icy, a ton of kids play soccer in the U.S. I don't have the numbers, but my guess is it is the most popular kids' sport in the country, when it comes to leagues and what not. Little league might give the AYSO a run for its money, but that's probably about it.

Last figures I could find were for 2006 (or earlier for some sports, including 2002 for U.S. Soccer), had soccer second only to baseball 2.2 million to 1.7 million. That's with soccer on the rise of course & baseball participation down 1% per year since peaking in 1996.

Also, it's a prestige thing that young, too. If you can be a great athlete on the football or the baseball team, that's a lot "cooler" than being a star on the soccer team.

Or everywhere I've been (all in Georgia but I mean rural or suburban) it's football then maybe basketball and then everything else that really doesn't matter except in extremely narrow circles.

[Logan]

Help me out here with something guys, as I know next to nothing about soccer.

That entire second half, Howard would take each goalkick and drill it downfield, only to have Brazil easily win every ball, establish control and bring it upfield. I really don't think there was a single one that the US controlled. Why not just pass it short to one of our guys to attempt to carry it into Brazil territory? We NEVER had the ball the second half and it seemed like this was a major reason why.

Thanks.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Last figures I could find were for 2006 (or earlier for some sports, including 2002 for U.S. Soccer), had soccer second only to baseball 2.2 million to 1.7 million. That's with soccer on the rise of course & baseball participation down 1% per year since peaking in 1996.



Or everywhere I've been (all in Georgia but I mean rural or suburban) it's football then maybe basketball and then everything else that really doesn't matter except in extremely narrow circles.

Spot on for everywhere I've been, too, FWIW. Football >>>>>>> Basketball >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything else about the same.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Bradley apparently selected "Pleased" during his half time talk. For shame.

haha nice

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by rowech

The subs he made offered no pick-up to the team. Wasn't there someone on the bench that could have brought some energy? The two subs he made did little to nothing. Not to mention taking off our best scoring threat.

I will never understand why coaches take off top strikers in one goal games.

It wasn't even a 1-goal game, it had just been tied up. It's like Bradley decided to sub Bornstein and Kljestan in for Altidore and Feilhaber to protect the 1-goal lead, then once Brazil scored to tie it he didn't know how to react and change his plans.

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

yea, but the subs he put on had no right being on the pitch, imo.

Where's Adu and Torres?

He did nothing to help the attack.

Conor Casey in the 88th minute wasn't enough? Ugh.

Originally Posted by Icy

The good thing for USA is probably that from now they won't be as afraid of playing historical teams, and it will be huge confidence boost for the future. In fact i think that one of the keys of the good games vs Spain and Brazil was the confidence boost after the win vs Egypt. USA players started to think about themselves about a winning team that can do way better than expected even vs the top national teams.

The US beat Brazil in 1998, beat Portugal and made it to the quarters (and a terrible no handball away from E.T. with Germany) in 2002. For the past 15 years the US has had athletes technically proficient enough to be able to counterattack and get a result if they convert chances/have epic goalie performances.

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

The talent level is great - IMO, that first goal against Spain showed how good he can be. I dunno if sitting on the bench at Villareal is the way to do it, but that's another story.

Hey, he wasn't on the bench at Villareal! He was on the bench for a Segunda division club. Seriously though, he should be going out on loan and getting some quality PT this season.

Originally Posted by cubboyroy1826

Okay question for those of you who watch more of the US games. I think they said Altidore is like 19 and watching him today he looked like a deer in headlights. I did not think he went after the ball and his effort looked weak. Was this because of the Brazil defense, was it just a bad day or is he not quite ready for this big of a game?

He does play like he's 19 at times, but he still drew 2 yellow cards today, and drew 1 plus scored a beatiful goal against Spain. Part of the problem watching him is that he gets used as a target/holding striker, which isn't his forte, against decent teams. He has size, speed and can run at defenders, but his touch isn't that great at holding long balls and waiting for our midfielders to catch up. You can tell how much he improved when we started playing a 2nd striker next to him, and you can see how much he frustrates defenses. IMO, it's completely inexcusable that he gets pulled in a tie game and then replaced 15 minutes later by Conor Casey. If we had Davies or even Brian Ching on the bench sure, but I'll take Altidore at 50% over Conor Casey any day of the week.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Spot on for everywhere I've been, too, FWIW. Football >>>>>>> Basketball >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything else about the same.

Which is to say virtually irrelevant to non-existent (in terms of interest).

You get the occasional pocket of baseball hotbed still (such as the success of programs like the ones in East Cobb/Marietta, GA) but there's literally more people watching football practice (or even spring practice) than attend most other HS sporting events.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

The problem is, around late junior high/early high school (that's 13-15 or so), these kids end up having to make a decision, stick with soccer or gravitate to one of the other sports, which they also have probably been playing and are good at. And kids invariably pick the other sports, baseball, basketball, and most predominantly, football, because "that's where the money is". If you want the "sports dream" in America, those are the sports you go to. Soccer just isn't perceived that way.

Actually the real problem is that around 13-15 tons of kids in other countries are joining professional teams and being developed while our culture places so much emphasis on education that parents want their kids to be good enough to get a college scholarship. That's starting to change with a number of youngsters going overseas, but it's not just the other sports - it's the difference in socially acceptable training and education.

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah - what others have said.

kudos to MLS (and honestly given where they started and how things have gone i'm not sure what else they coudl have done) for staying afloat and viable and successful for so long, but until soccer either becomes a big-money sport in this country, OR you establish the USA as a pipeline to major European clubs so that kids have a realistic chance of moving over there and succeeding, you won't see it become a "major" choice

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Last figures I could find were for 2006 (or earlier for some sports, including 2002 for U.S. Soccer), had soccer second only to baseball 2.2 million to 1.7 million. That's with soccer on the rise of course & baseball participation down 1% per year since peaking in 1996.



Or everywhere I've been (all in Georgia but I mean rural or suburban) it's football then maybe basketball and then everything else that really doesn't matter except in extremely narrow circles.

Yeah, I would tend to agree, Jon, especially my impression of how it works in Georgia. Out here in the West, the "baseball hotbeds" are much larger and more prevalent, and it's a realistic third choice in the suburbs, easily outgaining basketball in the suburbs, IMO. Basketball is competitive even with football in the urban areas among the taller kids (of course), but by and large it's football, football, football, since most kids aren't 6'4-+.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

yeah - what others have said.

kudos to MLS (and honestly given where they started and how things have gone i'm not sure what else they coudl have done) for staying afloat and viable and successful for so long, but until soccer either becomes a big-money sport in this country, OR you establish the USA as a pipeline to major European clubs so that kids have a realistic chance of moving over there and succeeding, you won't see it become a "major" choice

Speaking of which, going to see Galaxy-Houston tonight.

And in that vein...Cringer blows.

[RainMaker]

Our best athletes are not playing soccer. That's the problem. Sure some good ones get through. But for the most part, if you're an elite athlete, you are playing basketball or football. There isn't much that we can do to change that either. Unless soccer reaches that level, we will never reach the levels of Brazil or Spain.

I believe that if our best athletes played soccer from the start, we'd have won multiple World Cups by now.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Spot on for everywhere I've been, too, FWIW. Football >>>>>>> Basketball >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything else about the same.

To be fair, both you and JIMGA are in the South; football (I believe anecdotally) totally trumps baseball there, and especially college/high school football. I'd bet it would be different in say, New England.

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And in the absence of a coaching change or significant roster changes, this team reverts to their early C-Cup form and finishes 3rd (or possibly last) in WC pool play (assuming they get there at all). Remember, you heard it here first.

Is there anyone who really thinks differently?

[cubboyroy1826]

Okay let's talk a little more about the pipeline getting US players to the Euro leagues. Are US players not getting the opportunities because they are not good enough, there is no real scouting system in place, or there is a bias against US players. For the players that have made the transition to the Euro leagues has there been a problem transitioning because our game differs from the Euro game?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by cubboyroy1826

Okay let's talk a little more about the pipeline getting US players to the Euro leagues. Are US players not getting the opportunities because they are not good enough, there is no real scouting system in place, or there is a bias against US players. For the players that have made the transition to the Euro leagues has there been a problem transitioning because our game differs from the Euro game?

i would honestly say it's because our game differs from the Euro game. Only our best players have the technical ability (read: ability to control the ball in close quarters, vision to move into space effectively and play the ball into space, etc) to play in Europe right now, because our player development (in youth leagues and such) doesn't emphasize those qualities. That is changing more on the youth levels, but it'll take time to trickle-up

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

To be fair, both you and JIMGA are in the South; football (I believe anecdotally) totally trumps baseball there, and especially college/high school football. I'd bet it would be different in say, New England.

Agreed.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And in the absence of a coaching change or significant roster changes, this team reverts to their early C-Cup form and finishes 3rd (or possibly last) in WC pool play (assuming they get there at all). Remember, you heard it here first.

For the record, "first" is off by about 15,000 in this particular prediction's case.

[GoldenEagle]

It was a frustrating game for the American soccer fan, but I am glad the game got people interested in my sport. It really is a great game, but it can sometimes break your heart.

Anyway, here is an article I wrote for my blog: Bradley's Poor Decision Making Cost US

The US really could not afford to sit back and let Brazil take the game to them. Brazil is too good for that. But when you put pressure on them, you can beat them.