The Aftermath: Belgium 2 - USMNT 1 (Continued, Part 3/3)

photo by U.S. Department of State	via PhotoRee

 

More analysis of the reasons behind the USMNT's 2-1 loss to Belgium:

 

Ed: I think the European leagues are better, but I don't think the MLS is a bad training ground.  The problem is not training -- that's coming around pretty well in the USA -- it's just that the players aren't that good.  Deondre Yedlin is all USA and all MLS, but he's clearly a talent.  Landon Donovan was the same.  Plus there are lots of guys who didn't make our roster who've been hoofing it in Europe for a while.  Eric Lichaj pops to mind....  And how much did Sunderland help Jozy Altidore's game?

Along these lines, please remind me which basketball academy produced LeBron James and Michael Jordan, and how going to college hurt Tim Duncan's game.  (My delusional 9 year old has already told me that he was going to go to college first rather than just trying to go pro even though the latter is probably  better -- I can only imagine he overheard a Coach Mark diatribe on that one).  The idea that we need a European-style academy system for soccer has always seemed a bit silly to me.  It's too much along the lines of those people that think they could make the PGA tour if they just trained more as a kid....  Or even the coaches at the Barcelona camps that will train your kid to be as good as Xavi and Iniesta.  Come on!

I agree with the line regarding Adrian Peterson, but think that day is already here with guys like Yedlin making the team.  When we get to a critical mass with these type of guys we will become dangerous.  I would love to see Sergio Ramos try to mark Adrian Peterson (or Yedlin for that matter), or any NFL-level running back or defensive back that decided to play soccer instead.  Football youth participation is already down due to concussions; soccer is up due to TV.  TV will eventually make the difference, though for some reason I think the journey will be more fun than the destination in this case.  There's a certain charm to being an underdog that you don't get when you're expected to win.  Plus I want my kids to get playing time before all the elite athletes jump in!

Mark: The target striker issue that B* mentioned is dead on. With as many quality defenders and even midfielders (albeit defensive ones) that we have produced, we can't seem to find one good target striker out of 25 million soccer players. That's kind of nuts. In our history there has only been one true US target player that has ever played in one of the four major leagues (Brian McBride). He wasn't sensational, but he did the job even at the Premier League level. Not being able to win a ball at the forward spot was as big as issue yesterday as not having the precision playmaker.

Altidore is probably the closest thing to a target player, but he's only a hair above six feet tall and is of average pace, when most countries have a 6'2 or 6'3 guy or a guy who's just really strong and fast. Altidore has not been able to crack the Premier League yet which tells you where our best stands.

A Terrance Boyd/Altidore progression might get us there, but there are not many target choices out there at any level of US soccer. Was really surprised Boyd or Eddie Johnson didn't come as they give us at least so backup combination of size and speed up front.

On another note, the MLS is creeping up the ranks. I believe it had 37 players in the world cup which was behind The Bundesliga, English, French League, Italian and Spanish but ahead of Holland which is considered a pretty good league. The new $90 million dollar TV contract will raise level of play another notch.

The Aftermath: Belgium 2 - USMNT 1 (Continued, Part 2/3)

photo by robert.melok	via PhotoRee

Mark: When you look at it from a shots-on-goal standpoint it's easy to be dark. We spent most of the tourney on the wrong end of a shooting gallery. But that happens when you are playing counter attacking soccer. The problem was we left the only good counter attacking player in the country at home. I don't think green was the answer although he had a big play. I think we did "ok" but I think it was in spite of our coaching not because of it. My coach rank for Cups is Bruce Arena, Bora Milutinovic followed by a tie with Bob Bradley and Klinsmann,  and Steve Sampson is a distant last.

B* (Name changed to protect the innocent): I agree. No one will ever be able to convince me that Klinsmann does not regret his choice to exclude Landon Donovan. More specifically, I believe that regret flashed brightly in front of him when Chris Wondolowski missed from point blank, as Donovan buries that goal. US soccer is heading in the right direction, but we need goal scorers in a major way.

Scott: I'm still sick about the whole thing. Wondo was put in the game for exactly that reason. Feel bad for him.

I'm probably too much of an optimist, but I disagree with Mark about Klinsmann's ranking and I think he is dragging US soccer forward. The problem is, we all want it to happen faster than it is. We are light years away from 1990 and 1994, and we will only continue to improve. Just look at where our expectations are now and how disappointed we are when we get knocked out. I wish there were a way we could do it every year, because we improve every cycle and, mark my words, in another 20 years USA will be among those teams that can actually win the whole thing. Granted, I said something similar after 1994 - it's just happening slowly....

I have to agree with the comment about MLS. For us to do significantly better before 20 years from now, we need more players playing in top leagues. MLS will catch up one day (or at least close the gap enough) but until that happens it doesn't give our national team players what they need, with few exceptions.

We said all along that we would need to play our best and then get lucky to go very deep in this tournament. Well, we got lucky against Ghana and then Belgium for 90 minutes, but only Tim Howard played his best so we got bounced. And yet, it was still there for the taking with Wondo's miss and when we had them pinned to the ropes for the last 10 min of extra time.

Searching for the good, I point at those last 10 min. Quite frankly, I think it is more amazing that we didn't score during that time.

The Aftermath: Belgium 2 - USMNT 1 (Part 1)

 

The inter-office debate rages on:

Mark: Well that was a heart breaker. My random thoughts: we are back at 1994 watching "Bora Ball" and the all-heart team try to dodge twenty shots and then steal the game with a goal. That wasn't the style Klinsmann was supposed to bring in. This was a great exhibition of heart, but we got outshot and outpossessed dramatically in three of the four games. There could have been some very lopsided losses in this Cup for us.

 

Ed: That's a step too far< I think.  Klinsi didn't promise possession, just more attacking soccer.  And when we got the ball we did attack in numbers.  Plus there was no team that played a tougher four opponents.  But no, we are not as technically gifted as Belgium's golden generation or Germany.  But we were surprisingly close to Portugal on that regard.

 

Mark: Michael Bradley is the toughest player to ever play for the US national team, but should never play another game as an attacking midfielder. Klinsmann really did a poor job of casting him.

 

Ed: Completely agree.  He never looked better than when he orchestrated from the holding position in extra time.  I was reminded how solid he is back there where he should be.  He simply doesn't have the speed or creativity or desire to take on players and space in the attack.  Dempsey does, and dempsey also looked better when he returned to the number 10 spot.

 

Mark: Jermaine Jones is a beast, but like Bradley was expected to carry the team offensively and he just does not have the distribution ability.

 

Ed: Agreed again!  A tough holder who makes for a great spine.  Guys like that thrive on the premier league and his muscle made us better.  But destroyers are never also creators.

 

Mark: Kyle Beckerman is a tremendous position player, and we missed him today. The middle was far more open without him in there. Belgium had far more opportunities than German which is a stronger side. Was shocked he got pulled.

 

Ed: Can't say, really.  Cameron made Fellaini look pretty ineffective.  But Beckerman had a good tourney for a slow dude with big hair.

 

Mark: Why does it seem like we switch formations every game in the World Cup under Klinsmann?

 

Ed: I think that's called tactics and I'm okay with it.  The Dutch switched their formation at halftime against Mexico and it paid off, we can switch game to game if we have too.

 

Mouthing Off: Belgium 4 - USMNT 2

Just a few comments on the USA - Belgium game from Correspondent Scott...

What's the deal with Lexi Lalas sounding as if he is in a huge argument every time he comments, daring someone to disagree?  Lighten up Big Red. You're wrong sometimes just like the rest of us - like when you insisted Geoff Cameron pushed off on his goal and that the Belgians were up in arms.  Neither did he push off (it was a nudge at best in the context of a professional soccer game), nor did the Belgians complain.  Just because you don't have anything to say doesn't mean you get to make things up - and try to make us believe it by saying it with a snarl.

And while Taylor Twellman at least called out Lalas a bit on his comment, and made a few insightful observations throughout, his ability to banter and wittingly fill a conversation void falls well short of the mark yet.  Ian Darke (who needs his eyes checked if he really thought Romelu Lukaku was offside even with the yellow line on the monitor) must have felt like he was playing verbal pitch and catch with a one-armed two-year-old.  Maybe he had a bad night but it was enough to make me wonder what kind of a job Gus Johnson would have done. Yikes.

The display on the field wasn't much better.  While the final possession statistic was close to 50/50, and the US did create a few nice chances, Belgium dominated the game more or less from start to finish.  Throw in a dash of horrendous defensive lapses and you have a recipe for a 5-1 drubbing.  That the score was only 4-2 was due to the magnanimity of the referee who waived off a pretty clear handball on Damarcus Beasley in the box at one end (the hand lingered and was too far away from the body not to call it) but then punished a Belgian defender at the other end when he was struck on his arm tucked firmly into his body.

Cold, Wet and Slightly Dreary

photo by Jo Naylor	via PhotoRee

Our title refers, of course, to the weather in Belgium last night, but we could have equally been referring to the performance turned in by the US Mens National Team in their contest against the Belgians on Tuesday. Witnessed by only the sparsest of crowds due to the inclement weather sweeping across Western Europe, the Belgians defeated a sluggish and wet American squad 1-nil in a game largely devoid of excitement or action. With so many quality local beers to otherwise occupy their attention, who could argue when the vast majority of Belgians decided to stay at home and watch the match on television?

o That the US team was tired -- and showed it -- shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone. Playing just four days after their last game and traveling nine time zones -- and ten and a half hours on a plane -- to play a friendly in Europe just points out how preposterous it is to have the USMNT based on the West Coast. Slotted at the Home Depot Center solely to placate Philip Anschutz, MLS' largest individual investor, the US team isn't headquartered near their CONCACAF rivals in the Carribean, nor anywhere remotely close to where some of our best players ply their trade -- in Europe. Having the team based on the East Coast of the US -- say, Florida, given it's proximity to the Carribean, Mexico, and year 'round weather -- would make a ton more sense, but when did common sense ever count for anything when money is at stake?