U.S. Soccer

[Ana Banana]

If I didn't completely despise Philly, I might

 

[Jerry]

You last-paged me

So, Jurgen's first match in charge is vs. Mexico Aug 10 in Philly and I'll prob be there. Other takers?

Yea, Ana - Philly can be brutal, especially at sporting events. I went there twice last year as a conspicuous Packer fan and twice as a conspicuous Heat fan. Needless to say, I took a great deal of abuse (but, as you can tell by my forum activity, I don't really mind :troll. Ending their teams' seasons in the playoffs twice was revenge enough for me. Plus, I love their steak sandwiches, and always manage to eat at least two every time I visit.

Unfortunately, I will likely be an "away" fan to this match as well... Mexico supporters always find a way to show up and completely drown out any semblance of a USMNT following! Needless to say, they take their futbol seriously.

 

[crzdcolombian]

I hate that we got Jurgen guy is not that great of a coach. HE HAD FING BAYERN AND FING GERMANY !!! Only thing easier to coach is Brazil and Barcelona or Man United and he failed.

Bradely was a great coach he just had shit players. The US lets too many good young guys go to other teams. They should have done what ever it took to have Subtoic and G. Rossi be on the US NT. Best US player plays in the MLS and the 2nd best is a star on a midtable team, while Mexico's star player is a star at Man United. You shoudn't fire a coach because he can't beat a team 10x better just because fans are too stupid to realize the other team is better.

 

[Bill]

The US has talent...it is just a matter of getting that talent playing time on European clubs. Playing in the MLS gets them nowhere and sitting on a bench for ACMilan (a la Onyewu) does nothing for them. Playing in England or Germany would be good for American players because those leagues are played at a faster pace and far less technical/tactical than Spain or Italy.

Jurgen was Germany's HC only by name. Low was the brains of that operation, which can be seen in his 2nd place at Euros and 3rd place in WC. He has an excellent eye for talent, and Germany has a ton of it right now. Jurgen's bility to win at US will come down to who he hires to be his assistants.

 

[vitomins]

Bradely was a great coach

okerface:

 

[Jerry]

Good interview of Jurgen Klinsmann by Grant Wahl of SI.com (link to article here)

But one thing is certain: The American kids need hundreds and even thousands more hours to play. That is a really crucial thing. If it's through their club team, if it's through themselves, whatever it is. The difference between the top 10 in the world and where we are right now is the technical capabilities and the higher pace. In a high-pace, high-speed environment, to keep calm on the ball, to sharpen your minds so you know what to do with the ball before you get the ball. That's the difference right now. You might have technically gifted players here, but once you set the pace two levels higher, they lose that technical ability because they're getting out of breath or their mental thought process isn't fast enough.

 

[Coasterfreek]

Bradely was a great coach he just had shit players.

I doubt that. Great coaches win things and do it consistently, which is something he barely did. One Gold Cup in 2007 can't justify it either. Too much mediocrity at times when it mattered, with no mental or tactical preparation.

Klinsmann is an upgrade, but only time will tell if it shows.

 

[Jerry]

Not a huge crowd but fairly passionate and decent US showing. Prob 30k and 65/35 Mexican supporters. Overall a positive match for the squad, coming back and earning a result. Looked REALLY bad for stretches so it was nice to see Jurgen make some adjustments and get us back in the match.

Brek Shea will be an interesting player to watch going forward. I liked what I saw out of Torres and Rodgers towards the end of the match, even though I don't really rate either player. Bradley was disappointing as a trequartista. Agudelo remains the man. Also enjoyed Bocanegra's performance, as I was wearing his shirt and my buddies kept telling me how much he sucks. Well, he didn't suck last night!

Fun night at the Linc.

 

[Jerry]

Nice double from Dempsey today in Europa League...

 

[Choppin Onions]

Robbie Keane headed to the Galaxy to live it up with Beckham

 

[Jerry]

http://football-italia.net/aug30cc.html

Michael Bradley to Chievo

 

[Inter7]

USA!! USA!! USA!! USA!! LOL

 

[Coasterfreek]

USA failed to capitalize on chances in the first half. 2nd half defense collapsed and left Tim Howard defenseless for the goal. The backs were awful in the 2nd half.

 

[Coasterfreek]

Klinsmann finally gets a win. Wasn't good, because of the defense, but Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey had to save the day. The Defense still needs major work.

 

[Visca]

Anyone know anything about USA U-17 captain Marc Pelosi? He just signed for Liverpool academy. (Coaster, he grew up near us, played for De Anza).

 

[Ana Banana]

I've seen all of 2 or 3 U17 matches in which he participated and was relatively surprised by his performance. I think he'll do well at Pool.

 

[Coasterfreek]

USA didn't have a bad 1st half, defending was good with the exception of one mistake. Unfortunately they ran out of gas in the 2nd half. Defense died and Tim Howard couldn't bail them out. The offense was dead, with only a few minor chances in the beginning.

 

[InterFCAustin]

USA didn't have a bad 1st half, defending was good with the exception of one mistake. Unfortunately they ran out of gas in the 2nd half. Defense died and Tim Howard couldn't bail them out. The offense was dead, with only a few minor chances in the beginning.

I didnt see any improvement tbh,good defence yes,but no creativity at all.Brek Shea is dissapointing me more n more.

 

[AxigZag.ESIOLAG.]

I didnt see any improvement tbh,good defence yes,but no creativity at all.Brek Shea is dissapointing me more n more.

Who is Brek Shea? Any way, with Donovan & Dempsey, I'd say the team should be able to hold an "average side standing"...Nothing special, nothing exceptional, just average...but then again when you look at the rest of the player surrounding those 2, u suddenly realize USA is a . Still individuals don't necessarily win tournaments. A couple more above average or better yet 1 more above average player & the USA might be in business, with proper coaching ofcourse! Not with playboy Klinsmann.

 

[Coasterfreek]

Who is Brek Shea? Any way, with Donovan & Dempsey, I'd say the team should be able to hold an "average side standing"...Nothing special, nothing exceptional, just average...but then again when you look at the rest of the player surrounding those 2, u suddenly realize USA is a . Still individuals don't necessarily win tournaments. A couple more above average or better yet 1 more above average player & the USA might be in business, with proper coaching ofcourse! Not with playboy Klinsmann.

So you're saying it's dumb the USA chose Klinsmann? You consider him a clown eh? There was some bad support offensively. The team couldn't create chances after a few in the 1st half. Klinsmann was smart to have more guys play defense so that they wouldn't concede.... but it feels as if this group who was out there had no endurance. I know Donovan was out and it made a difference, but this team was still horrible in the 2nd half. It could have been 4-0.