Soccer

[DukeNukem05]

Semi will be the goalkeeper.

 

[ZackM]

Social media will help. Memes of Tim Howard have already insured another decade+ of dominant US goalies.

 

[dkst0426]

Need some of the current 10-16 year old basketball/football-focused sons of financially decent parents to decide to commit themselves to soccer. That doesn't seem unreasonable to expect, with people beginning to understand you will basically cut 20 years off your life if you play in the NFL and hardly anyone makes it to the NBA. Then in 2022, on home soil after the World Cup is taken away from Qatar and given to USA, the golden generation is unveiled. An Allen Iverson with a completely broken jumpshot and a Chris Johnson who is smarter about his long term health will be on the attack. A terrible at basketball 6-8 version of Anthony Davis will be in goal. All those unskilled 6-6 guys who can dunk and do nothing else will be on defense winning every header.

I would love to see the USSF look for the natural athletes like you referred to, except expanding that search beyond just well-off families. Lord knows how many gems are waiting to be uncovered in the inner cities and projects. That's where so much talent has been found around the world.

I've coached up to high-school level and seen some really good players, but the best young talent I've seen at that age level has been at club tournaments, and those are the ones who get picked up by ODP programs and college. There's a danger of pricing kids out of the sport.

 

[rhfarmer]

Seems like soccer produces some world class basketball players as well. Maybe soccer can be pitched as a path to the NBA.

 

[NCCUknow]

We need a billionaire to become the "father of soccer in america"

Set up soccer schools in 8 cities for 8-13 year olds. All free rides for 2 year segments (basically 2 year scholarships). Then set up 2-3 soccer academies for 13-18 year olds. Sort of like Soccer HS where academics are way deemphasized. All free rides. Buy the best coaches and create uniform curriculums for continuity and interchangeability as kids from different schools join the advanced academies. Emphasize placement at best teams. Embrace other academies around the world raiding your kids. Take out the financial incentives that hurt ODP and club systems.

Washouts of the academies can always get free rides to college.

 

[dkst0426]

We need a billionaire to become the "father of soccer in america"

Set up soccer schools in 8 cities for 8-13 year olds. All free rides for 2 year segments (basically 2 year scholarships). Then set up 2-3 soccer academies for 13-18 year olds. Sort of like Soccer HS where academics are way deemphasized. All free rides. Buy the best coaches and create uniform curriculums for continuity and interchangeability as kids from different schools join the advanced academies. Emphasize placement at best teams. Embrace other academies around the world raiding your kids. Take out the financial incentives that hurt ODP and club systems.

Washouts of the academies can always get free rides to college.

In keeping with that theme, decent summation here:

Failure of USA to Beat Belgium Reflects Negatively On MLS

Klinsmann’s solution has been to restructure the US system from the bottom up while scouring the globe looking for players eligible to represent the USA. Klinsmann needed to find players who had grown up in a proper youth development system who could represent a stopgap on a decaying national program that was producing fewer and fewer top level players.

Major League Soccer has had a hand in the failure to develop more top level players. The league, through its new academy structure, is trying to address this. But one of the criticisms of the league itself is the failure to evolve stylistically. The league employs many former players as head coaches, largely because of their network of contacts within the country and their knowledge of the salary cap and other peculiar MLS rules. This has inhibited the development technically and tactically of many young American players who come through the domestic system.

All of these factors have contributed to a malaise in the results for the US Men’s National Team. In each of the last four World Cups held outside of Europe, the US has advanced from the Group Stage. But in none of those World Cups has the United States finished with a positive goal difference or advanced beyond the quarterfinals.

In hindsight, that 1995 Copa America run looks like a continued high water mark for American soccer. Jurgen Klinsmann’s goals for the US team are to maintain more possession and to be able to control tempo of matches with greater regularity. But to achieve that, the United States must develop more technical and tactically aware players. Right now Major League Soccer and the US Development system is not accomplishing this. Klinsmann’s short-term results are less important than the long-term changes he hopes to bring to US soccer. Having inherited a set of players who came from a flawed setup, he has valiantly and creatively managed this side. The results may be decent but the problems continue to be deep. Thankfully, unlike after the 2002 and 2010 successes, the United States has a head coach (and now technical director) who has a long-term vision and a long-term plan of how to move this national program forward.

 

[dkst0426]

France 2, Germany 1. Germany "flu" issues plus having played extra-time wears them down vs. speedy French counters. And if the Lahm experiment in midfield continues, France really has what it takes to exploit the back line. If Neuer goes Schumacher on Benzema, that will see him sent-off.

Colombia 2, Brazil 1. Colombia deserve to advance, and this seems about a fair place for the underwhelming Brazilians to finish.

Argentina 2, Belgium 1. Close game late, and we all know what's coming.

Netherlands 3, Costa Rica 0. Should be a comfortable one for the Dutch. Duarte's suspension is a big loss for the Costa Rican backline.

 

[dkst0426]

A year from now, we could have three years to develop this lineup

Altidore (Sunderland), Agudelo (Stoke/Free Agent)
Bedoya (Nantes), Zelalem (Arsenal), Bradley (Toronto FC), Nagbe (Sounders)
Timmy Chandler (FC Nurnberg), Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)


Next up:

Forwards: Joe Gyau (Just joined Borrusia Dortmund), Johannson (AZ Alkmaar), Josh Gatt (Molde FK), Terrence Boyd (SK Rapid Wien)
Attacking MF: Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg)
Winger: Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Brek Shea (Stoke)
RB: Deandre Yedlin (Sounders)
GK: Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire); Bill Hamid (DC Utd)

What do you think of this?

The Ridiculous Proposition: A U.S. YNT World Cup Best XI

 

[CK86]

Jesus, Neymar out for remainder of world cup with a broken vertebrae.

 

[ZackM]

Jesus, Neymar out for remainder of world cup with a broken vertebrae.

He certainly earned it. You can only pretend to be injured so many times before a real injury strikes.

 

[dkst0426]

Ref let that game get out of control.

 

[ZackM]

Ref let that game get out of control.

That ref was a joke...something tells me he knew Brazil had a bunch of different players sitting on a yellow.

 

[dkst0426]

Ref let that game get out of control.

That ref was a joke...something tells me he knew Brazil had a bunch of different players sitting on a yellow.

Any match involving Brazil needed a ref who would not crumble under the pressure. FIFA knew that going in to the tournament. Nishimura and Carballo have tons of experience between them, but unfortunately for whatever reason, they've both made questionable decisions reffing Brazilian games.

Howard Webb, for all the stick that he gets in England, truly has balls of steel - would've let him ref all their matches. Or had Irmatov in this one.

As a sidebar, relating to refs: Mark Geiger and the MLS crew has done really, really well. I doubt he'll get a semi or the final, because this is all still relatively new to him, but he may be in line for the 3rd-place match.

 

[CK86]

Germany absolutely destroying Brazil, already up 3-0 just 24 minutes in.

 

[CK86]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL IT'S 4-0 NOW! 25 minutes in!

 

[CK86]

5-0, 29 minutes in. Absolute ass raping.

 

[rhfarmer]

Maybe the USMNT is actually better than we thought...

 

[CK86]

6-0.

 

[CK86]

That's seven. 7-0.

 

[CK86]

Brazil finally gets one, 7-1.