Warning. Since the USMNT is out of the World Cup, we will shut the site down for 24 hours.

Stop worrying dude wrote:

Probably not. Anyone who is athletic plays one of the big 3 sports (baseball, football, basketball) growing up. Anyone who is really fast runs track. U.S. soccer is left with the guys who aren't athletic enough for the big 3 sports but not fast enough for a track scholarship.

The rest of the world soccer is the first choice.

This is BS. To poach athletes from the big three only cornerbacks and point guards could make the transition.

Soccer requires a different athlete than the big 3. You have to be quick, coordinated, coupled with endurance. The game is not kind to anyone over 6’. Sure there are outliers, like Bolt was to sprinting, but I’m skeptical of whether they are truly outliers or enhanced.

We’ve got more than enough athletes roaming the halls to fill our soccer ranks if we could find a way to develop them.

there are bright sides

http://www.espnfc.com/united-states/story/3226481/fox-nike-among-biggest-losers-after-us-fails-to-reach-world-cup

Jefe in the CO wrote:

This is BS. To poach athletes from the big three only cornerbacks and point guards could make the transition.

Soccer requires a different athlete than the big 3. You have to be quick, coordinated, coupled with endurance. The game is not kind to anyone over 6’. Sure there are outliers, like Bolt was to sprinting, but I’m skeptical of whether they are truly outliers or enhanced.

We’ve got more than enough athletes roaming the halls to fill our soccer ranks if we could find a way to develop them.

No way. Basketball and soccer both require huge inputs in terms of kids participating and specific skill development of quick, well coordinated young children in order to mine out elite talent. Look at bball point guards only. All of the elite ones are currently American. Do you think we could round up the 10-14 year old non soccer playing kids in Europe and churn out a few NBA point guards?

There are thousands of coordinated Americans under 6'2" with superb basketball skills who maxed out below the NBA who might have the DNA to have been great soccer players. Conversely there are no truly elite USA soccer players. You can flip the story for Europe.

wejo wrote:

Couldn't Mexico help us out a bit

Haha, this made me laugh and I'm not American or Mexican.

I watched the Argentina v Ecuador game, at altitude and a hat trick to Messi the greatest player in the world, on the same level as Pele now, pity he hasn't got better national team players around him as Pele had.

Don't worry Wejo the US's day will come.

rojo wrote:

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

Fire Sunil Gulati.....Immediately. Like don't even let him get on the plane back.

Why?

It wasn't Klinsmen's fault. It wasn't Arena's fault. IT was largely bad luck. Look at our goal differential. I mean look at today's game. We had a million chances. They got a fluke own goal that and then a 1 in 10,000 shot.

I hate how people think we always have to blame someone.

If I have Aces, and you have a pair of 2s, you still win 20% of the time.

It wasn't Arena's fault hahahaha lol Rojo. The guy is a glorified PE teacher who's international soccer knowledge is probably worse than yours (and that's saying something)

Firing Klinsman and not replacing him with a competent manager is inexcusable and a sackable offence for Sunil imo

Stop worrying dude wrote:

Probably not. Anyone who is athletic plays one of the big 3 sports (baseball, football, basketball) growing up. Anyone who is really fast runs track. U.S. soccer is left with the guys who aren't athletic enough for the big 3 sports but not fast enough for a track scholarship.

The rest of the world soccer is the first choice.

People have been saying this forever, and it's a ridiculous fiction, largely premised on the ideas that (1) there is such thing as generic "athleticism" and (2) if the U.S. isn't the best at something, it's because we don't want to be. (There is some element of truth to the latter, though world soccer has proven remarkable in the degree to which the tiny countries are able to compete.)

Nobody decides to play soccer because they're not good enough or athletic enough for another sport. They play because people in their family and community play--it's what they're exposed to.

By the way, youth baseball and football, in particular, are totally withering away, and no kid EVER chooses track over a team sport if they're good enough to be a team sport star.

Level of play in the MLS is weak. US relying on a mostly MLS based lineup. MLS routinely dominated by washed up internationals that can no longer play in the top leagues. How can you expect to be good when your source of talent is the minor leagues?

US needs to target younger talent. Guys like Bradley and Altidore are vastly overrated, and were never really top tier internationals, and yet they get trotted out consistently. Relying on a goalie in Howard who is 5 years past his prime.

average us guy wrote:

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

+1 who cares about kickball past the 3rd grade. Yawn.

Rab Tamos wrote:

US needs to target younger talent. Guys like Bradley and Altidore are vastly overrated, and were never really top tier internationals, and yet they get trotted out consistently. Relying on a goalie in Howard who is 5 years past his prime.

Bradley had about 18 great months, but he's really garbage now. The whole team is over the hill.

I think a major issue has also been the degree of rotation. In some ways, it's a growing pains issue. Small countries often do well because they have less depth, so they have a well defined starting 11 who are often available for training more than players who are living overseas. Every cycle you see some exciting team from a small country that's very well drilled defensively and fit. The U.S. now has so much more depth than we did 15 years ago, but that has made the team tactically unsettled. (Also, I still blame JK; the guy had no tactical understanding, and the only thread that ran throughout his tenure was that everything is someone else's fault.) At the same time, we haven't developed to the point where we have more than one or two clear stars.

I also agree that there are issues with talent development, with MLS, with Americans not going overseas, but that's all about how to reach the next level. None of it explains why, for several years now, the U.S. has been playing worse soccer than we did in the 1980s.

Last post. I've gotta go to work.

I'm just really, really sad. I remember Colombia in '94. I lost my mind during the Portugal and Mexico games in '02. Many of my happiest memories are watching U.S. World Cup games with my brothers and friends. We talk about our plans for years. I'm having a hard time processing. I don't know if I'll be able to watch next summer. This isn't anything I expected to happen in my lifetime.

You are wrong. This us team crushes any from the 80s.

Klinsmann was brilliant - just tried to be too brilliant and turn a frog into a prince.

The fact that Sunil turned to never was Arena was astounding and reflected a lack of faith in US soccer and its thousands of coaches. That choice doomed the US World Cup.

The talent athlete issue is real. If Odell Beckham developed as a winger with skills from youth he would be an impact player.

Meh, the whole US soccer organization deserved this. Can't create a better system to develop talent, can't find somebody better than a coach that did well 15 years ago, can't get a team to execute tactics to beat vastly inferior levels of talent, can't hire decent management.

I was laughing at the end of this game, it was so sad. I hope they clean house and re-strategize. If little Iceland can figure it out, anybody can. Although the problem with the US is our country might be too big and disparate to implement something that the smaller countries can do more easily.

djhsajhksahjksajhdkf wrote:

Cheater cheater pumpkin eater wrote:

Wait... what?

What kind of poker you playing where 2s beat aces...ever. Let alone 20% of the time.

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em poorly. If you can't bet someone off of pocket 2's, you're terrible

800 dude wrote:

Last post. I've gotta go to work.

I'm just really, really sad. I remember Colombia in '94. I lost my mind during the Portugal and Mexico games in '02. Many of my happiest memories are watching U.S. World Cup games with my brothers and friends. We talk about our plans for years. I'm having a hard time processing. I don't know if I'll be able to watch next summer. This isn't anything I expected to happen in my lifetime.

I'm with you man. I remember those games like it was yesterday. Waking up at I think 2 am to watch US vs Portugal. Took 3-0 lead then held of 3-2 victory. Brian McBride was unreal that day. The game against Mexico was maybe the greatest game in US History. I went absolutely nuts when Donovan scored that 2nd goal. You know what else I remember? How the US *barely* made it thru to the 2nd round, despite that Portugal win. Thank you to that post for saving US Soccer. (Well, let us not forget the great Clint Mathis and his sick goal, too vs. South Korea)

I will watch. I am fan of the game regardless of whether the US is in/on or not.

I'll be watching just for the satisfaction of England being eliminated by some minnow like Burkina Faso, sending England into its bi-annual footballing crisis.

Outside of 2002 and maybe 1994, US soccer never fails to disappoint.

Remember when US Mens Distance Running used to be our most embarrassing sport?

Vivalarepublica wrote:

Meh, the whole US soccer organization deserved this. Can't create a better system to develop talent, can't find somebody better than a coach that did well 15 years ago, can't get a team to execute tactics to beat vastly inferior levels of talent, can't hire decent management.

I was laughing at the end of this game, it was so sad. I hope they clean house and re-strategize. If little Iceland can figure it out, anybody can. Although the problem with the US is our country might be too big and disparate to implement something that the smaller countries can do more easily.

I agree with this post 100%. Bruce Arena last night said, "Nothing has to change". He is ABSOLUTELY WRONG. If he can't see that there is a problem...a systemic problem...that defines the entire state of US Soccer. You didn't qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Great. Neither did a traditional soccer power of Holland. You didn't qualify for the last 3 of the last 4 Olympics at a U-23 level (and went out in the group stage of the 1 you did make). You haven't made it out of the 2nd round of a major international youth tournament in 12+ years but once. You are losing to teams with 1/20th of the population and 1/20th of the soccer budget/funding. You want to talk development at the world stage? In the World Cup, since 1990, the US has won 5 games. FIVE. Their record in those 7 World Cups is 5 (wins), 14 (losses), 6 (ties). That's NOT good given the amount of money and investment you have thrown into the program.

That is basically how moneymaker beat farha.But I digress.The US has become too good to not qualify in concacaf.We need to focus on every game.Arena made it clear that he was not focusing on yesterday's game in order to beat Panama.It worked once.My recommendation for the new coach is Vom Steeg from my alma mater, UCSB...he made that team a champion.

Sara Palin wrote:

djhsajhksahjksajhdkf wrote:

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em poorly. If you can't bet someone off of pocket 2's, you're terrible

Sara Palin wrote:

djhsajhksahjksajhdkf wrote:

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em poorly. If you can't bet someone off of pocket 2's, you're terrible

Lol, only an idiot "bets someone off" with pocket aces. Also, in heads up play shoving with 2's would be pretty standard in many circumstances. Double fail