US Men's National Soccer Team Thread: USA #1
05-27-2014
, 04:04 AM
05-27-2014
, 05:42 AM
05-27-2014
, 06:13 AM
State of the USA Soccer Union
Every four years casualfan tends to drop by the USMNT, sniff around, watch a match or two, and then forget it ever happened. They see what they see and move on. As someone who has followed the team fairly closely since I first got the internet, and religiously followed starting with WC qualifiers in 2008 I feel I am able to give casualfan a current state of the USMNT, and USA soccer at large. None of this will be anything new to those who already follow closely. TL;DR This is part 1 and will discuss the men in charge, MLS and the qualification cycle.
The Men Up Top:
Columbia University economics lecturer Sunil Gulati heads the USSF and has for the better part of a decade. Recently elected to his third consecutive four-year term, Gulati has been responsible for two major doings during the current cycle. Firstly, he oversaw the USA bid for the 2022 World Cup, which was outstandingly professional and head and shoulders above anything anybody else submitted save Australia's effort, which was also excellent but not on par to my admittedly biased eye. He shepherded the bid through the dog and pony show that was the year(s) long bidding process and did it in an honorable, professional manner. The bid was flawless and every arbitrary point docked was laughable. Of course, FIFA is FIFA and an utterly horrible organization from the top down so Qatar played the game that won them the 2022 World Cup even though their bid was weakest by far. The current fallout his hilarious to watch. FIFA has another 8 years of increasingly tough media to navigate. It should be fun.
Gulati's second major move was to release Bob Bradley following the dismal 4-2 loss to Mexico in the final of the 2011 Gold Cup. Bradley was a meticulous steward to the team, a dogged manager with a penchant for motivation who was underrated tactically. He was often too loyal to players that didn't deserve a whiff of the 11 but most managers are. Gulati harbored no ill will toward Bradley. He just felt a change was needed. It wasn't necessarily popular at the time. The move came quickly and a few days later a new coach was hired.
Jurgen Klinsmann assumed responsibility from that point and immediately promised a more front-footed approach to US Soccer, something that dedicated fans relished hearing but immediately questioned considering the talent pool available. Though the team struggled tactically early, they did enough to produce results. They finally found form during 2013 when they absolutely needed it, with Klinsmann able to get the best of mercurial talents and even offer some attractive fluidity that was often absent under the previous regime.
Klinsmann's first campaign can't be encapsulated without mention of the ugly early 2013 Sporting News article that cited several anonymous Yanks who were openly critical of their manager. In maybe his best move of the cycle, the coach was open to the criticism, approached his key players, and made some changes to the program. The players responded by having their best year and talk has since died down. Buoyed by his success, Gulati has already extended Klinsmann's contract through the 2018 cycle and given the coach a much larger role in the development of US Soccer's academies and the coaching and training of junior players. It's impossible to put a full label on his first term before the World Cup, but Gulati thinks, and I agree, that Klinsmann has so far been a success.
MLS
It's crucial to mention the domestic league when discussing the current state of US Soccer. MLS is often ridiculed by fans overseas for being a place where old players go to extend their careers for two or three years and young players who can't make it elsewhere ply their trade for meager dollars. While both of those statements certainly hold water, the MLS is not what it was even three years ago. It's experienced dramatic growth. Exponential even. Introduction and expansion into the Pacific Northwest has certainly been a catalyst for the league and US Soccer as a whole. Portland and Seattle have become the face of MLS and other franchises are starting to drop some serious money to follow their lead.
The two best USMNT field players were bought back from Europe by MLS which any Football Manager player will tell you was damn near impossible even in FM13. Clint Dempsey was excused by fans because he hadn't seen great success with Tottenham in the BPL, but Michael Bradley was in the prime of his career when purchased by Toronto FC. These players are earning international wages at the level of what they could earn in Europe. And while that's not helped increase salary across the board, a recently signed a $70 million annual television deal signed with Fox, ESPN and Univision only helps the growth. Labor negotiations are also going to happen in the next year. It could get ugly. But the salary of MLS regulars is another story for another day. For now, the league is healthy and growing, with new investors lining up and grass roots organizations packing beautiful new stadiums. With expansion on the horizon in New York and Miami MLS has never been healthier. It's a good business model for the time being and is growing like wildfire.
Qualification
Fans who look at the final hexagonal table and see USA top with 22 points and a smattering of others beneath could assume qualification was easy for the Yanks. It was anything but. This team was in danger at various points and had its ass handed to them a few times.
Things started in the fourth round of CONCACAF quals, a home and away with three sides in a group where the US only needed to come top 2 to advance to the hex. Unfortunately, after an underwhelming but effective 3 points earned at home against Antigua and Barbuda, the team proceeded to allow a lazy 81st minute FK just outside the box where a Marco Pappa strike allowed Guatemala a 1-1 draw.
The team then dropped their usual Kingston turd in a 2-1 loss away to Jamaica. Everyone looked particularly bad that night, falling victim to scoring too early and playing the rest of the game not to lose. At that point Jamaica was on 7 points and looked set on qualifying with the US actually tied with Guatemala on 4. A nervy 1-0 victory four days later in the return match coupled with Guatemala's easy win over A&B set all three top teams on 7 points with the US tied with Guatemala for second on goal difference.
Things got worse. Here's how dangerous the US came to not qualifying out of this round. Playing on a patch of garbage in A&B, the US was tied 1-1 into the 90th minute. Eddie Johnson, a cycle hero not in the final 23, saved the US with his second goal in the 90th minute off an Alan Gordon elephant cross.
The Yanks only needed a draw with Guatemala in their final match at this point to assure qualification. This happened in the 5th minute in Kansas City:
That result would have put us OUT of the World Cup before even reaching the hex. Luckily we struck back quickly off a set piece and then put them away to avoid what would have been the worst night in the APC (After Paul Caligiuri) era. Guatemala suffered a nasty break, playing extremely well in the group and not getting out. Another CONCACAF team hates us.
The Hex
The US entered a hexagonal that included a Mexican team who went 18 for 18 in their group in round 4, a Costa Rican team that has traditionally been a nightmare of an opponent and was searching for revenge following last cycle and a Jamaican side that had just taken 4 of 6 possible points from the US in the previous round. That, coupled with a nightmare schedule draw, which saw 3 of the first 4 tilts on the road, including a trip to Azteca where the USA was 0-3412341234-1 in their history, demanded a result in San Pedro Sula against a Honduras team that any top CONCACAF nation should beat if they want to qualify easily. Of course:
The team was slow and ineffective, playing perhaps their most listless match of qualifying, and lost to a wonder bicycle and a beautiful through ball. But saying that underrates just how good Honduras was that evening. They played inspired ball and took it to the US.
Having allowed Honduras the full 3, the home tilt against Costa Rica a month later loomed very large with the team absolutely needing three points. The match ended up being played in the snow, and probably should have been suspended in the second half for weather. But they played on, and the US eked out their most important result of the hex in my opinion in a 1-0 squeaker.
A few days later the US earned a 0-0 draw in Azteca against a Mexico team that turned out to be pretty bad. It was hailed at the time but the match wasn't particularly exciting and we weren't particularly good. After that though, the US earned 6 points in two home matches against Panama and Honduras with Seattle staking its claim to best home qualifier city that isn't Columbus in winter.
After a 3-1 spanking in Costa Rica the USMNT really did want a result against Mexico in Columbus. They got what they needed in another 2-0 win where they really outplayed El Tri for most of the match. It was the best the US was in the Hex.
It was also a low point of Mexican qualification but theirs would get worse. Though assured of qualification after this match, the US, following a 2-0 win in Jamaica (an amazing result with nothing to play for points wise) actually had a chance to put Mexico out of the World Cup altogether by simply refusing to beat Panama. In the 18th minute Gabriel Torres sent Panama City into Rapture.
The USA was determined to make Panama earn the victory though as Michael Orozco knotted it up.
However, the US continued to send men forward. Irresponsibly. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And Luis Tejada made us "pay":
So that surely secured Panama's place in the Mundial qualifier against New Zealand and bounced El Tri unceremoniously. Right? RIGHT?! All we had to do was not score! Put me, stak and Dr. Ikes on! We can not score with the best of em!
Look at Terrence Boyd who had completely abandoned a back post run on that play. Puts his had to his head. He knows what just happened. Johannson dealt Panama a needless misery knifing a minute later and secured Mexico's entry into their group of death meeting with New Zealand, where they met a team actually worse than them and qualified anyway. Remind all Mexican trolls of this forever. And remember next cycle that Panama hates us miserably much as Costa Rica did this cycle for putting them out in a similar manner in 2009.
Bottom line. 22 points. Top of the Hex. Qualification secured.
Part 2 later in the week discussing the players, the group stage, a prediction and the future of the game in the states.
Every four years casualfan tends to drop by the USMNT, sniff around, watch a match or two, and then forget it ever happened. They see what they see and move on. As someone who has followed the team fairly closely since I first got the internet, and religiously followed starting with WC qualifiers in 2008 I feel I am able to give casualfan a current state of the USMNT, and USA soccer at large. None of this will be anything new to those who already follow closely. TL;DR This is part 1 and will discuss the men in charge, MLS and the qualification cycle.
The Men Up Top:
Columbia University economics lecturer Sunil Gulati heads the USSF and has for the better part of a decade. Recently elected to his third consecutive four-year term, Gulati has been responsible for two major doings during the current cycle. Firstly, he oversaw the USA bid for the 2022 World Cup, which was outstandingly professional and head and shoulders above anything anybody else submitted save Australia's effort, which was also excellent but not on par to my admittedly biased eye. He shepherded the bid through the dog and pony show that was the year(s) long bidding process and did it in an honorable, professional manner. The bid was flawless and every arbitrary point docked was laughable. Of course, FIFA is FIFA and an utterly horrible organization from the top down so Qatar played the game that won them the 2022 World Cup even though their bid was weakest by far. The current fallout his hilarious to watch. FIFA has another 8 years of increasingly tough media to navigate. It should be fun.
Gulati's second major move was to release Bob Bradley following the dismal 4-2 loss to Mexico in the final of the 2011 Gold Cup. Bradley was a meticulous steward to the team, a dogged manager with a penchant for motivation who was underrated tactically. He was often too loyal to players that didn't deserve a whiff of the 11 but most managers are. Gulati harbored no ill will toward Bradley. He just felt a change was needed. It wasn't necessarily popular at the time. The move came quickly and a few days later a new coach was hired.
Jurgen Klinsmann assumed responsibility from that point and immediately promised a more front-footed approach to US Soccer, something that dedicated fans relished hearing but immediately questioned considering the talent pool available. Though the team struggled tactically early, they did enough to produce results. They finally found form during 2013 when they absolutely needed it, with Klinsmann able to get the best of mercurial talents and even offer some attractive fluidity that was often absent under the previous regime.
Klinsmann's first campaign can't be encapsulated without mention of the ugly early 2013 Sporting News article that cited several anonymous Yanks who were openly critical of their manager. In maybe his best move of the cycle, the coach was open to the criticism, approached his key players, and made some changes to the program. The players responded by having their best year and talk has since died down. Buoyed by his success, Gulati has already extended Klinsmann's contract through the 2018 cycle and given the coach a much larger role in the development of US Soccer's academies and the coaching and training of junior players. It's impossible to put a full label on his first term before the World Cup, but Gulati thinks, and I agree, that Klinsmann has so far been a success.
MLS
It's crucial to mention the domestic league when discussing the current state of US Soccer. MLS is often ridiculed by fans overseas for being a place where old players go to extend their careers for two or three years and young players who can't make it elsewhere ply their trade for meager dollars. While both of those statements certainly hold water, the MLS is not what it was even three years ago. It's experienced dramatic growth. Exponential even. Introduction and expansion into the Pacific Northwest has certainly been a catalyst for the league and US Soccer as a whole. Portland and Seattle have become the face of MLS and other franchises are starting to drop some serious money to follow their lead.
The two best USMNT field players were bought back from Europe by MLS which any Football Manager player will tell you was damn near impossible even in FM13. Clint Dempsey was excused by fans because he hadn't seen great success with Tottenham in the BPL, but Michael Bradley was in the prime of his career when purchased by Toronto FC. These players are earning international wages at the level of what they could earn in Europe. And while that's not helped increase salary across the board, a recently signed a $70 million annual television deal signed with Fox, ESPN and Univision only helps the growth. Labor negotiations are also going to happen in the next year. It could get ugly. But the salary of MLS regulars is another story for another day. For now, the league is healthy and growing, with new investors lining up and grass roots organizations packing beautiful new stadiums. With expansion on the horizon in New York and Miami MLS has never been healthier. It's a good business model for the time being and is growing like wildfire.
Qualification
Fans who look at the final hexagonal table and see USA top with 22 points and a smattering of others beneath could assume qualification was easy for the Yanks. It was anything but. This team was in danger at various points and had its ass handed to them a few times.
Things started in the fourth round of CONCACAF quals, a home and away with three sides in a group where the US only needed to come top 2 to advance to the hex. Unfortunately, after an underwhelming but effective 3 points earned at home against Antigua and Barbuda, the team proceeded to allow a lazy 81st minute FK just outside the box where a Marco Pappa strike allowed Guatemala a 1-1 draw.
The team then dropped their usual Kingston turd in a 2-1 loss away to Jamaica. Everyone looked particularly bad that night, falling victim to scoring too early and playing the rest of the game not to lose. At that point Jamaica was on 7 points and looked set on qualifying with the US actually tied with Guatemala on 4. A nervy 1-0 victory four days later in the return match coupled with Guatemala's easy win over A&B set all three top teams on 7 points with the US tied with Guatemala for second on goal difference.
Things got worse. Here's how dangerous the US came to not qualifying out of this round. Playing on a patch of garbage in A&B, the US was tied 1-1 into the 90th minute. Eddie Johnson, a cycle hero not in the final 23, saved the US with his second goal in the 90th minute off an Alan Gordon elephant cross.
The Yanks only needed a draw with Guatemala in their final match at this point to assure qualification. This happened in the 5th minute in Kansas City:
That result would have put us OUT of the World Cup before even reaching the hex. Luckily we struck back quickly off a set piece and then put them away to avoid what would have been the worst night in the APC (After Paul Caligiuri) era. Guatemala suffered a nasty break, playing extremely well in the group and not getting out. Another CONCACAF team hates us.
The Hex
The US entered a hexagonal that included a Mexican team who went 18 for 18 in their group in round 4, a Costa Rican team that has traditionally been a nightmare of an opponent and was searching for revenge following last cycle and a Jamaican side that had just taken 4 of 6 possible points from the US in the previous round. That, coupled with a nightmare schedule draw, which saw 3 of the first 4 tilts on the road, including a trip to Azteca where the USA was 0-3412341234-1 in their history, demanded a result in San Pedro Sula against a Honduras team that any top CONCACAF nation should beat if they want to qualify easily. Of course:
The team was slow and ineffective, playing perhaps their most listless match of qualifying, and lost to a wonder bicycle and a beautiful through ball. But saying that underrates just how good Honduras was that evening. They played inspired ball and took it to the US.
Having allowed Honduras the full 3, the home tilt against Costa Rica a month later loomed very large with the team absolutely needing three points. The match ended up being played in the snow, and probably should have been suspended in the second half for weather. But they played on, and the US eked out their most important result of the hex in my opinion in a 1-0 squeaker.
A few days later the US earned a 0-0 draw in Azteca against a Mexico team that turned out to be pretty bad. It was hailed at the time but the match wasn't particularly exciting and we weren't particularly good. After that though, the US earned 6 points in two home matches against Panama and Honduras with Seattle staking its claim to best home qualifier city that isn't Columbus in winter.
After a 3-1 spanking in Costa Rica the USMNT really did want a result against Mexico in Columbus. They got what they needed in another 2-0 win where they really outplayed El Tri for most of the match. It was the best the US was in the Hex.
It was also a low point of Mexican qualification but theirs would get worse. Though assured of qualification after this match, the US, following a 2-0 win in Jamaica (an amazing result with nothing to play for points wise) actually had a chance to put Mexico out of the World Cup altogether by simply refusing to beat Panama. In the 18th minute Gabriel Torres sent Panama City into Rapture.
The USA was determined to make Panama earn the victory though as Michael Orozco knotted it up.
However, the US continued to send men forward. Irresponsibly. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And Luis Tejada made us "pay":
So that surely secured Panama's place in the Mundial qualifier against New Zealand and bounced El Tri unceremoniously. Right? RIGHT?! All we had to do was not score! Put me, stak and Dr. Ikes on! We can not score with the best of em!
Look at Terrence Boyd who had completely abandoned a back post run on that play. Puts his had to his head. He knows what just happened. Johannson dealt Panama a needless misery knifing a minute later and secured Mexico's entry into their group of death meeting with New Zealand, where they met a team actually worse than them and qualified anyway. Remind all Mexican trolls of this forever. And remember next cycle that Panama hates us miserably much as Costa Rica did this cycle for putting them out in a similar manner in 2009.
Bottom line. 22 points. Top of the Hex. Qualification secured.
Part 2 later in the week discussing the players, the group stage, a prediction and the future of the game in the states.
05-27-2014
, 10:43 AM
05-27-2014
, 11:33 AM
05-27-2014
, 12:14 PM
05-27-2014
, 02:32 PM
05-27-2014
, 08:23 PM
