tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276671352011-04-21T22:28:25.114-06:00For soccer fans who want to discuss US men's soccer--it's national team and the world cup, its league (MLS), its youth movement, et al.u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1155600976581375322006-08-14T18:13:00.000-06:002006-08-14T18:16:16.580-06:00

Nice showing for MLS against Chelsea. DeRosario really played well. The field/stadium looked nice, although the grass looked long. Also, cool half-time show with Lupe Fiasco.

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1153277534873738992006-07-18T20:45:00.000-06:002006-07-18T20:56:57.490-06:00

Here's quite an intersting post outlining several international coaches (besides Klinsman) who the US would do well to hire.Chain of Succession. The one that I personally find intriguing is the Dutch guy, Guus Hiddink. It seems like our players haven't done well in Germany, but not bad in Netherlands (DeMarcus, O'Brien, the young Bradley kid). Plus, Guus has clearly done well for himself in the

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1151025019150835932006-06-22T19:09:00.000-06:002006-07-17T21:05:29.546-06:00

So, Arena's out in US. Klinsman is out in Germany? Is this a match?Here's some speculation from couple weeks ago, which is further fueled by recent events: coaching speculationHere, too: SI speculation. So, what does everyone else think? Who's best fit to take the help of USMNT?

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1151024165088366962006-06-22T18:49:00.000-06:002006-06-22T19:00:22.116-06:00

I hate to nail Arena, cause he's done so much for US soccer, but he showed an incredible lack of imagination and a stubbornness to play the game one way and one way only.Honestly, we made some bonehead plays that costs us in Italy and Ghana, but I think the players played hard. But it's like they were playing in a cage. I think that's the coach's influence.Certainly, Arena has done a

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1150941017190734492006-06-21T19:24:00.000-06:002006-06-21T19:50:17.203-06:00

I guess this is the real day of reckoning. Wow. We've seen one horrible defeat. one incredibly gutsy effort, in the face of serious adversity. What do we expect in the Ghana game?While we know this is a must win, I think by no means is this a gimme. Ghana looked so fast, agressive, and creative against Czech Republic. Yes, the same Czech Republic we played (minus Koller).Really, the only thing

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1150769078563190732006-06-19T20:01:00.000-06:002006-06-19T20:04:38.573-06:00

I don't think I'm beating a dead horse, cause it's not dead yet, but I'm definitly beating this horse. Arena needs a lineup change to add a creative striker alongside McBride. We are not going to score enough goals with Brian in the air to advance. Eddie Johnson seems like the best candidate, as he actually created a few shots in the Czech game. When Pablo and Claudio are getting the best shot

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1150657901850425482006-06-18T13:10:00.000-06:002006-06-18T21:00:57.606-06:00

First, the good.We came out and played with intensity, and I loved the pressure on the ball and competing and winning 50-50 balls. That's an effort to be proud of. Also, it was nice to see Bruce come back with praise for Landon (who played a whale of a game) and DeMarcus after his way too public ridicule after the Czech Republic game. Now, the bad. Wow. We've got big problems up front. When the

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1150504595643993652006-06-16T18:20:00.000-06:002006-06-16T18:37:43.690-06:00

Well, now we have a bigger day of reckoning than we had before. Like most, I see us as a longshot, but I have this feeling that the team is going to come back and play a solid game. The question is, can we turn that into 3 points?Wondering about the lineup Bruce is going to go with. Seems like he's got to get Dempsey and Johnson on the field. And I still think John O'Brien is needed to improve

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1150163373685668752006-06-12T19:41:00.000-06:002006-06-12T19:49:33.693-06:00

My worst fear (see previous post) that our pace would be too slow and we'd give up an early goal came all too true. We never recovered, although I wonder how things would have played out had Claudio's shot been another inch inside the post.I have to admit, I was disappointed with the initial lineup, with only McBride up front. Without say, O'Brien also in the lineup to serve him, he really was no

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1150075800853430522006-06-11T18:55:00.000-06:002006-06-11T19:37:08.553-06:00

The day of reckoning has come. The day to put up or shut up. I have to admit, I've never seen the Czech's play. However, given our lack of success against European-based teams and on our own team make-up, I will say that these are the things that concern me.1) We'll need 10-15 minutes to adjust to the pace of the game and in that time, will find ourselves down by a goal. 2) We won't generate

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1149732604946988072006-06-07T19:43:00.000-06:002006-06-07T20:12:43.546-06:00

I have to admit that I've heard some bravado from some of the team, especially Landon, that I'm not sure is deserved given our limited success on the world scale. Confidence is one thing, but this almost borders on [unwarranted] arrogance. (Think of the ass-whooping we got from Germany.) So, I was quite pleased to read the this espn article (All systems go ) in which Claudio, the consumate

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1149648860592639562006-06-06T20:49:00.000-06:002006-06-06T20:54:20.596-06:00

Hey, channel surfing for WC news last night and saw about 45 minutes of an interview with Bruce Arena on Fox Sports en Espanol. Kind of interesting. The interviewer was lame, as he must have asked Arena 4 or 5 times who he thought the best team in the world was. Each time, Arena patiently replied..."Brazil, until someone beats them." However, the interesting bit was that he tipped his hand a

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1149397275080075252006-06-03T22:56:00.000-06:002006-06-03T23:01:15.086-06:00

I missed most of the Venezuela game, but saw the highlights of the Ching goal. Nicely done.Watched the Latvia game. Was disappointed that, with all the chances, we could only put one in the back of net. I think that does not bode well for our trip to Germany. Plus, seems we have to play 90 minutes of top soccer to win. Even against Latvia, if not for great save by Kasey at the end, could have

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1148704934648272732006-05-26T22:37:00.000-06:002006-05-26T22:44:07.203-06:00

Did Cherlundolo stink, or what!?!Even before his final blunder I was thinking he had really played a crummy game. Let a guy blow by him in a 1 v 1 situation early, and then had a couple of horrible serves in the attacking third of the field. And then he had his final bonehead play.Of the positives... O'brien had some great serves that we really should have made more out of. Especially that

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1147836543629099402006-05-16T21:25:00.000-06:002006-05-16T21:46:15.133-06:00

What do you think of these strikers? Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, Brian McBride, Josh Wolfe. As much as I like them, only McBride is a proven, consistent scorer at this level. Wolfe makes nice plays. Ching and Johnson are all about potential. I do like the Ching selection, as he has the size to sub for McBride in case of injury. Would be interesting to see them play side-by-side. I can't

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1147579412959487872006-05-13T21:51:00.000-06:002006-05-13T22:12:54.796-06:00

This seems like the strength of the team to me. There are guys who can attack (Landon, Beasley), guys who can defend (Mastroeni), and guys who can just control the middle (Claudio).I'm a big fan of Dempsey and glad he made the team. I look for him to get playing time and to create scoring opportunities. He seems to have a nose for the goal.My questions in midfield have to do with O'Brien and

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1147398909395322902006-05-11T19:45:00.000-06:002006-05-11T19:55:09.406-06:00

First question about the defenders... why are they listing Eddie Lewis as a defender? I don't recall seeing him play in the back for the US team. (Does he play defense for his English club team?) Seems like he's always pushing and serving from the left side as an attacking midfielder. Surprise in this group would be Jimmy Conrad. He seemed steady, if unspectacular in his qualifiers. Did he play

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1147142965518424882006-05-08T20:29:00.000-06:002006-05-08T20:49:25.526-06:00

Okay, I'll start my team assessment from the back and work forward. Let's start by taking a look at the US goalies.I'll be the first to admit that I'm not familiar with the keepers world-wide, except for a few I see in EPL, but does any country boast better depth at GK than US? Even without Brad Friedel on the squad, we're still pretty darn strong.Kasey Keller is excellent. I always expect him to

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27667135.post-1146975777568725662006-05-06T21:52:00.000-06:002006-05-06T22:32:14.430-06:00

I'm jumping on the blog wagon. After considering what I would want to write about on a regular basis, decided to try my hand at commentary on US men's soccer, what with the World Cup coming up in a month, the men's national team (MNT) being named last week, and MLS season just underway. I'm not expert, although I did score a goal once in a junior high school gym class and I've coached my 3 kids

u8outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08011732585080948884noreply@blogger.com0