Not just about the tournament, it’s that they have very little time and opportunity to prepare for the WC.
And the best teams in the World don’t have more than half their starting lineup out.
Nut up.
I wish this was one of the top 3 criteria for all coaches at all levels.
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Inter Miami won today.
Tonight at 8:15 can the USA beat Saudi Arabia?
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Yes indeed!
They beat KSA and advanced!
Let’s hope that they go on a roll!
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If it was a decent matchup I’d like to drive to Dallas for Sunday’s game.
Chris does not know the rules and what every position is about. That is okay. What is not okay is to blast the sport. I took the initiative and actually learned American football from coaches. I was very fortunate to learn the game from coaches at all levels including nfl coaches. I did it because I love it.
Regarding USSoccer. I was part of it for close to ten years. The Gold Cup has always been considered a “lower cup” It is played every two years. Copa America is sometimes played every two or three or even four years.
One of the issues is that European clubs over the years “blocked” their players from competing in the Gold Cup even though they by FIFA laws are not allowed to. Well they still do.
IMO every player called by their country ought to play in the competition. It is their duty. They are representing the U.S.A.
Players wise we have for the last 15 years a generation of players that have no cojones. We have produced a bunch of soft players. Pulisic is a soft player. I do not care if he has a couple of good games. He has not made it at Chelsea and that is on him, not anyone else.
The U.S. team has no choice but to either play for each other or get steamrolled. Pochetino, time will tell is IMO the wrong hire. We have limited assets. At least get a HC that knows the players inside out. Cherundulo or Marsh would have been a much better hire…and not at $5M/year.
You get a World Cup squad of 26 players now. Get 26 players that want to lay it out on the field willing to tackle the opposite players at the hip. Players that kknow the game will understand what I am talking about. I am not asking them to play like Vinny Jones used to play but the lack of passion is obscene…at best. I have not seen a bunch of such soft players in the long time. I can tell you first hand that John Harkes, Eddy Pope, Lalas were limited but they left it on the field. These prima donnas have not done anything and they want respect. THAT IS the problem. Watch how Flamengo, Boca Juniors, Botafogo play in this meaningless clubs World Cup. They want it more than the European clubs in pre season from. They lack talent but they make it up with heart. That I have not seen Pulisic and others showed it to me or they HC. Pretty simple and that is valid with all team sports. You either want it or you don’t. The saddest part of it is that you can have plenty of fun, have blast if you give your all. These players need to understand the fundamentals of what makes you proud of being a pro player.
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You and I have had our differences but that’s a great post.
I can’t find anything to disagree with at all.
I do think Pochettino is a great coach….but I don’t think his eyes were wide open coming into the job.
I don’t think he foresaw guys like Pulisic opting out of the Gold Cup……probably never even crossed his mind that it would be an issue.
It’s soft no matter how you look at it……let’s say we were two or three years out from a World Cup….that would be one thing, still soft an inexcusable but at least there would be time.
When you are ONE year out from the World Cup!!! And you pull this crap! Just mind blowing……it tells me you are not a serious player. It tells me you don’t appreciate what it means to represent your country….and by Pulisic opting out, it gave others the excuse to do the same…. The weak mindset of our captain is taking a break so we can as well.
I would rather see a team of guys that are less talented go to battle, play their hearts out, and not even make it out of the group….then a bunch of Prima Donnas roll in when they feel up to it and maybe get out of the group, only to lose in the round of 16.
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Our National Team is full of soft players- prep kids or kids raised in expensive European Leagues with little to no adversity.
Basically, country club kids.
We have no hungry junk yard dogs on our squad that have to win at all costs…no Mario Elies.
Id be OK abandoning these soft club kids and adding kids from Hispanic neighborhoods that are taught how to play with passion from day one.
Maybe less technically sound …but a dog.
That’s what we need!
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Umm they also sell insurance, and make some damn good chocolate, plus some good pharmaceuticals and chemicals!
I wouldn’t say players like Diego Luna, Pepi, Tyler Adams, etc. were country club kids.
And the reason we don’t have many ‘hungry junk yard’ dawgs is because they’re more interested in the sports that actually matter here in the U.S…Football & Basketball.
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Oh I agree 100%.
Im in the camp that Men’s soccer will never be more than a niche sport in the United States and only attracts those unable to compete at the other sports.
There just isn’t a devevelopment path for boys to play soccer in this country.
Now, women’s soccer is a different story.
All the P4s field a women’s squad…half do not field a Men’s squad despite it being the most popular sport in the world
Why? Because Americans invented more sophisticated more creative sports and we like those sports better.
I doubt that will change due to Title IX.
Football means having more women’s teams (like women’s soccer), and fewer men’s teams (like men’s soccer) in order to create scholarship equality.
If a P4 school has football, as they all do, then it’s almost a given that they will have women’s soccer as well, for that very reason: to help maintain scholarship balance.
By contrast, if that same school has men’s soccer, then they’ll also likely have another women’s sport to even out the scholarships.
Any school looking to add men’s soccer that doesn’t have a team would have to go to the expense of adding another women’s team as well.
Not an appealing prospect for many cash strapped programs.
I bet we have more kids sleeping under Club América and Monterrey blankets than Switzerland has kids at all.
I think it’s laughable when people assume that the ‘LeBron’s’ would have dominated soccer would they have picked that sport at a young age
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I didn’t start watching soccer until 2012ish after I was finishing college. I regret not playing soccer and watching more of it. Now a days I watch international soccer games and Inter Miami.
I played the 3 major sports in hs and I like them a lot but soccer is fun too. I went to a hs soccer playoff game last year boys and girls in Katy. It was very entertaining.
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HS football, college football, college basketball, hs baseball, hs basketball, soccer, NFL, MLB, NBA.
That’s pretty much my order of things.
Right now the 1st thing on my list available is soccer so I have them on my calendar over the next several weeks international games and then the club world cup. Exciting times but not as exciting as the World Cup. That’s my favorite thing to watch.
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Hmmm……
I played “church league” soccer in elementary school.
Didn’t stick with it.
Didn’t hold my interest.
I have been to five Dynamo games (three at Robertson and two at the current stadium), and one Kansas City MLS game, and they were fairly entertaining.
Not as fun as going to football, basketball, baseball, hockey, or even pro rugby games though, based on my experience.
I do follow team USA in international competition, you know, out of a sense of patriotic duty.
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I played soccer in elementary at recess but that was all. I’ve never gone to a MLS game. I don’t really care for MLS or any league in particular.
@WasSoonerNowCoog and I went to a Norfolk Admiral hockey game once. It was fun. I watched a game in Memorial City Mall and it was ok.
Maybe we’ll go to another game over 4th of July? He’s my brother.
First Andor, now this! He can do anything!
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You and others do not understand the basics about a successful soccer program.
Let’s go to basics so it will be easy for you to understand.
A soccer season last about nine months. This is the case all over the world. This is true for all ages from six years old to the pros.
Worldwide players mostly play for their city, not for their school. High school sports calendar is mainly an American creation.
How long does the H.S. football season last?
Four/five months maybe?
How long does the H.S. Basketball season last?
Four/five months maybe?
The same goes for baseball and…H.S. soccer.
The same is true for universities.
What happens with this short soccer season?
It promotes pay to play.
What happens with pay to play?
Some can afford it. Most can’t afford it.
What made soccer the World’s popular sport?
Everyone from all backgrounds can afford it. Well except America.
You probably do not know Jurgen Klinsman, he was a German soccer star and National Team soccer H.C. We had a discussion for about an hour about it. He echoed all the points that I pointed out earlier.
Pro clubs have started to have academies now but it is still far too small. When I had my semi pro team I recruited players in East L.A. and other so called poor areas. I recruited players with great talents. These same players never got a chance to go to ucla or other top university soccer program. They still got the chance to play in the USL and tried out for MLS clubs but their age was already too advanced to achieve their full potential.
We have by definition the world’s best athletes. It is valid for soccer too.
The moment we get away from pay to play we will in the future be World Champion. There is not even a shadow of a doubt. The biggest question is how we get away from pay to play? That and that question only is what should “fuel” USSoccer. I coached because I love the game. I could have made a fortune going the “pay to play” way. I decided not to.
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