US Soccer 2009 Thread

I really haven't been following US soccer, but I should. Beckham is already out? How long did he play here?

A little over a year. It's disappointing as an MLS guy, but the Galaxy are one screwed-up organization. AEG tried to circumvent the salary cap at every turn, trying to recreate the Cosmos' glory years of the 70s and they got burned.

Looking forward to the match tonight. Too bad the weather's supposed to be unseasonably warm, was hoping it'd snow like in 2001.

What a lackluster game. Yeah, the red card was deserved, but it was essentially over at that point. The best exchange in the game came at about the 80th minute, when US subbed in Jozy Altidore for Brian Ching.

"So, John, your assessment of Brian Ching?"

"He did great. He held the ball well for his teammates and was very solid."

THIS IS YOUR LONE FORWARD PLAYING UP TOP. No wonder US Soccer is laughed at around the world. I don't care if Altidore is 19 years old, he needs to play and play now. Every other forward the US has on their roster is crap and until they get someone who other teams actually respect as a scoring threat, it'll be another 2-0 elimination loss in the World Cup from whomever.

Beckham was always miles better than the MLS, and he shows it by providing for one of the best clubs in the world when given the opportunity. I'm happy for him, he never should have been here, and I hope he stays in Italy and wins the UEFA cup and comes off the bench for England in 2010. He's a living legend, and all I've heard about in the years after him leaving ManU are all the negatives... Yes he drifts to the middle, yes he's lacked pace, and yes he can be a defensive liability... but he remains one of the best players in the world on the dead ball and his service is still world class.

When England didn't make Euro 08, he was the best damn thing about the team and still got criticized. And when Real Madrid benched him, but then stumbled and had to hang on by their fingernails for their first La Liga title in years, Beckham was on a very short list of players that actually single-handedly won games for them when they needed it most. That's what he can do, in a single moment his touch and service can win a game.

Anyways, that's my Beckham rant.

I'm very pleased with how the US team is progressing, and I knew it wasn't going to be overnight but I feel that I'm really starting to see the changes in the team... They keep their structure, even against good teams, which they never used to do... They play with 1-touch passing and attempt to maintain fluidity in attack... I've never ever seen the US play this well. And they are deep, relatively speaking at least. They have strong attackers and players that are good on the dead ball, they are a real consistent threat on free kicks from 25 yards, which is new... I'm pleased.

Lineup needs to be Altidore Donovan attacking, Dempsey Beasley on wings, Bradley Klejstan in mid. Ching needs to finally be taken out to pasture, his time is finished.

Agree. Problem is, if they take out Ching, they'll probably replace him with Twellman. Why not just bring back Joe-Max fucking Moore?

Apparently, Ancellotti says they've got a few more weeks left to get him so you may yet get your way, Casey.

Isnt then kinda playing with 10 and a 1/2 men? Knowing your right midfielder wont take on the defender and wont be able to track back as often.. but still play him in the hope he delivers one good ball.

Anyway.. whatever happened to Freddie Adu?

Freddy's playing for AS Monaco this season. I wondered what happened to him too.

I went to a couple LA Galaxy home games and every time Beckham seemed really bored on the field.

He was contributing in the Serie A, of course he's bored in MLS. He shouldn't be here.

Seattle needs a sports team to cheer for these days, hope the sport does well there!

They've tried to get soccer down here in South Florida to catch on since my parents were kids, but nobody cares about anything except the Dolphins and Hurricanes. Well, and the Heat when they're winning.

If people don't show up to baseball games in your state, what chance does soccer have?

Although maybe the latin influence can drum up interest?

That's what they keep hoping, but it never works out. High school soccer is huge though.

True. Happened mid season when Capello started giving him chances as a sub and he always delivered, then the madristas were calling for him to play and then he was starting and delivering even more, some matches were pretty much all his. Then Capello admitted it and Real said they made a mistake letting him go.

It was weird because for most of his Madrid career he was only servicable. But then he started becoming this player who could turn the game around or win singlehandedly and that was odd because only those magical players like Zidane, Maradona, Messi are capable of that.

If you're relying on a Brian Ching bicycle kick in the closing minutes to get you a win, you're in serious trouble.

I was encouraged by Hejduk. He played very well.

Nothing you're saying is incorrect, but this team 2 years ago would have rolled over and instead they fought back and scored twice in 15 minutes or so.

Our backline is terrible, Pearce and Califf were completely awful and Hejduk and Boca weren't much better.

Beasley needs to just play at LB for the national team, he can't be as bad as whomever else we have in there... or just give the spot to Spector. Either way, creativity in midfield and in attack should be high priority, and as a result Torres or Adu need to see more time on the left wing. Beasley looks like he's stopped caring. He was never a game-changer, but at least he used to run at people... How do you not have Adu even on the bench? He would have torn that team to pieces, and if he had come in instead of Edu I think we might have seen another goal and 3 points. Can't argue with the other subs, obviously.

The most unfortunate thing is by the time 2010 rolls around, the lineup will remain unchanged despite the youthful talent on the team, because the most experienced players during this cycle are going to be Ching, Beasley, Dempsey, so they will remain in the first 11. You could make a case that Dempsey should, but with Torres/Adu/Altidore nipping at their heels I don't think you could say the same for the other two.

Altidore CF, Donovan SS, Adu LW, Dempsey RW... that's not a bad attack, but it won't work if those guys don't see more time together. Hopefully that's what Bob's doing, as the cup is still well over a year away.

Historically the two richest soccer areas in the "South" are Tampa and Miami, and the Fusion failed miserably. Atlanta seems to support whatever the Women's league's team is in vogue this year, but hasn't embraced the men's game for some reason. I'd actually argue that Charleston is the next richest area, they seem to support the Battery well.

Altidore in the starting lineup tonight vs. Trinidad and Tobago. About time.

I guess that Altidore kid can play a little bit.

He should be in the lineup for the next 12 years. YOU HEAR ME BRADLEY??

I would say so.

And who exactly is that, Landon? Huh? What an ass.

That was the crisp gameplay I would have liked to see from the U.S. in last Saturday's game.

Nice crowd, seemed to really dig it. Nice to see Nashville not fuck up anything for a change. Too bad it was on a week night I would have loved to have went.
Maybe Nashville will get another shot somewhere down the road.

Oddly enough, Nashville was mentioned as a outside candidate for a MLS franchise, a few years ago. I don't see it happening.

I don't know how to react. It'd be very easy to blame the referee for the straight red on Ricardo Clark for the loss, but these things seem to be happening more often than not. I liked the energy but it is what it is.. another loss to one of the world soccer powers that we've never beaten.

... and now, I don't know how to react. Again. Except to say "Finally!" I'm pretty sure the US really doesn't deserve to advance, but I'll take it. Italy is the real disappointment, they totally mailed it in after beating the U.S.

So does the US now get to be destroyed by Spain?

Destroyed? I wouldn't think so - unless the US gets another silly red card. But you'd have to think it will be a solid Spain win. 2-0 or the like. Spain is the deepest team in the world right now.

The US pulling off a miraculous back-in? Not too shocking. At least in 2002, the National Team took advantage of the good fortune beating Mexico and pushing Germany to the limit (and getting screwed by a handball).

It'd be nice to see them play well, but since the National Team is guilty of "happy just to be there" way too often, I see this as a 3+ goal loss.

Spain and Brazil are in another class right now, this game shouldn't be terribly pretty...

But confidence goes a long way. If the US can take some possession and force Spain into long or angled shots anything is possible.

The back line seems to be solidifying itself, and seeing Spector come into attack and force the issue while delivering some nice early crosses is just awesome.

Bradley, Donovan, Spector and Onyewu dominated today, I was very impressed. Donovan should be playing like that all the time, I really don't get him.

Project 2010, huh? More like 20-holyshitwe'vegotalotofworktodobetweennowandnextsum mer.

Project 2010's been kicking around since the mid-90s. I suppose it's been successful - the national team went from a joke to an international version of a mid-major in college basketball.

As far as today goes, that was pretty damn exciting. I just hope they don't get stomped too badly by Spain.

We're the Gonzaga of international soccer.

Gonzaga wins games in the tourney. USA soccer doesn't.

Perspective, sir, perspective. I just finished reading David Wangerin's Soccer In A Football World, which is a fascinating oral history of pro soccer in the US. It shows how far the national team has come in 20 years. The infrastructure in the US is getting better, but the odds of them ever pulling off a Miracle on Grass are fairly remote. It depends on so many other factors.

I think the comparison holds: the US is a big fish in a small pond (CONCACAF might as well be the West Coast Conference of FIFA), so when they qualify easily for the World Cup in the fall, people will get excited and think they can play with the big boys of UEFA and CONMEBOL, who've been beating on each other while the US gets to play, say, El Salvador and Jamaica. Eventually, they'll get caught with their pants down and the European press laughs at them.

And for what it's worth, the US usually gets results when the World Cup isn't in Europe. Second round in 1994 and quarterfinals in 2002. We'll see what happens next summer.

Complete with the bloated (FIFA) ranking when you may not necessarily deserve it in a given year.

The Bradleys apparently went off on all the "message board geeks" after the 3-0 win, Michael Bradley especially, in this article on ESPN.com.

US Soccer wants it both ways. They want the respect and attention due other nations' national teams, but they don't want the criticism that goes along with it. Today's US Soccer fan is more knowledgeable than it was 20, 25 years ago when US Soccer doing anything worthwhile internationally was a feel-good story. We -expect- to do better now, and when we don't, guess who we're going to lash out at? And isn't that what the USSF wants, us to -expect- to be competing, seriously competing, internationally?

Are they aware that soccer players from other countries are ripped apart to the point of excommunication if they aren't playing well?