The Youth System in the ‘States has always been a bit of a sore subject. We have 300 million people, 3 million of who play youth soccer, yet we struggle to create the talent necessary to compete for the ultimate prize in International soccer, the World Cup. Those who follow U.S. Soccer closely tend to look to the youth squads to see how the national team will look in the future. While most players who play for the U-17s, U-20s or U-23s will never be serious contributors to the full national team, the stars of those teams tend to make the jump fairly quickly, Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, and Stuart Holden are good examples of that. Continue reading “Looking South, The Shifting Focus of the U.S. U-20s”
Fresh off a round of 16 exit in the World Cup at the helm of Chilé, a source with ties to Bielsa’s native Argentina has informed me that the USSF is pursuing Marcelo Bielsa to take over as manager of the U.S. National Team. Bielsa has also received interest from other countries, including Japan, Mexico, and an extension offer from Chilé. Continue reading “Will Marcelo Bielsa be the Next U.S. Manager?”
Europe is a seemingly wonderful place. Each country has their own interesting culture, they speak different languages, and they worship soccer like no other sport. Yes, there is Rugby, Cricket, Cycling (a favorite of mine), but soccer is on another level, another echelon of fandom. Our young American soccer players grow up dreaming of one day putting on the colors of a European club, playing in the Emirates, or the Camp Nou. Youth players show up en masse at summer friendlies to see their favorite players in person, Rooney, Ronaldo, Messi and co. They work towards it, juggling, passing, learning tricks, all in a hope that they will one day be a professional in the sport they love, and ultimately, a professional in the most competitive leagues of Europe, experiencing a new culture, a new language perhaps, and a soccer obsessed society. Continue reading “Bob Bradley, and Breaking the European Managerial Barrier”
Of all the things that contributed to the United States Round of 16 exit at the 2010 World Cup, perhaps the most glaring deficiency of the team was the defensive cohesion. The Americans conceded first in all of their matches barring the Algeria game (although truly, they almost did in that one too, with a Algerian shot going off the cross bar) and found themselves climbing out of the grave time and time again. To be successful at a World Cup, a team doesn’t have to sparkle offensively, as long as their defense stays stout, and they can find timely goals. The Yanks had the latter, but not the former.
Continue reading “Pondering the Future of the American Back-Line”
I’m thrilled right now. The US won their first game of the Olympics, against the opponent that undoubtedly is the easiest to beat. It wasn’t the most beautiful win, but we have 3 points out of a possible 3 points and that’s all that matters. We still have to play Nigeria and the Nedtherlands, but I think there’s a sunny outlook for these Olympics. Continue reading “USA 1-0 Japan: 6 Points to Think About”
Good Morning All. I was going to do a running commentary of the game as many of you know, but I slept right through my alarm this morning. That’s the price you pay for some jet lag I guess. Anyway, the US Olympians took a giant step towards qualification for the knockout rounds by winning against Japan. Stuart Holden’s 47th minute goal was the difference and the US held on for the win. Continue reading “USA Downs Japan 1-0 in Olympic Opener”
We’re less than a day away from the Olympics starting, and with no real soccer news to report yet today, we’re going to do a little guessing. Below are the Olympic groups and then below that, you place the teams that win and come in second in their groups where they are supposed to be. I think you guys get it. Continue reading “Olympic Soccer Predictions”
It was a sunny day at Dicks Sporting Goods Park, Colorado as the US Women’s team was able to defeat Brazil in a 1-0 victory. Although it was only a friendly, the game brought some very good signs for the US team. The first and foremost promising sign of a possible Olympics trophy was that they were able to shut down the aggressive Brazilian offense. The US has not conceded a goal in their past six games, and this was just more proof that they have the best defense in the world. Their entire offense was held to 0 goals as Marta Vieira da Silva, Brazil’s leading goal scorer on the year, was shut down by the ruthless US defense. Amy Rodriguez managed to score the only goal of the friendly, coming in the 71st minute. These two teams will cross paths one more time (this Wednesday, the 16th) before the Olympics in Beijing which start 8/8/08.
Sepp Blatter, a.k.a King FIFA, has done it again. He continues to suggest that South Africa will be replaced by another host if they don’t get their act together. Sepp himself switched to the continental rotation system in order to have Africa host a World Cup, but he know is making contingency plans in the event that South Africa is not ready to host. Worries surrounding power outages, transportation, stadium building delays, and security has made Blatter hint about a “Plan B.” Today, Blatter said he has three nations who could host a World Cup in one years notice, one of them is rumored to be the USA. Continue reading “USA: A Plan B for World Cup 2010?”
As we draw closer to the July 23rd deadline for submitting Olympic rosters, it is time for speculation to begin on who the USA should bring. Each team is allowed 18 players, three are allowed to be older than 22, the rest are not. Peter Nowak I’m sure, is busy calling players and their clubs as he tries to put together the best 18 players. Nowak also had to deal with a World Cup Qualifier on August 20th which potentially conflicts with the Olympics. All over-age call ups will also have to take into account the qualifier. So, here’s my take on the three over age players he should take. Continue reading “US Olympic Roster: Who Should the Three Overage Players Be?”
