Post-game thoughts on the US getting thrashed in Gelsenkirchen

Jesse,

I agree with you that the US team very likely needs to win against Italy to survive the group stage (although I give the Czechs a 30% chance of beating Italy and then the US would just have to demolish an inexperienced Ghana team who will probably be out of the tournment after their game against the Czechs anyway). But the first rule of winning in soccer is not losing. And the first rule of not losing is not getting scored against. Although this may sound trivial, consider this:

For an experienced team it is not unusal to tighten its defense, let the opponent make the game and to try scoring the second goal by counterattacks.They don’t necessarily have to play Catenaccio and usually don’t go that far, but it is enough to make the game a lot more dangerous for the opponent. If the team lying behind opens up even more in order to equalize they are in great danger by receiving a second goal by a successful counterattack, after which the game very likely will be decided. However if they don’t open up even more at some point, they will have a hard time equalizing against a capable opponent who stands deep.

Unfortunately for the US the Italians are known to be the masters of defending an 1-0 lead, which should be all the more reason for the US to try not falling behind.

The US has to stand compact, try to make the Italians tired and destroy their game (maybe even play forechecking for the first 30-45 minutes), and use one of the few chances they will get against the Italians (or hope for a lucky punch). If that doesn’t work the US can (and probably should) try opening up for the last 5-10 minutes of the game, but doing that from the start is suicide against Italy.

Furthermore (and depending on the result of the Czech-Ghana match) there is reason to hope that Italy won’t be satisfied with a draw either and therefore not stand too deep:

1) The team who finishes group E second will very likely have to face Brazil in the round of sixteen (if the Czechs beat Ghana by a wide margin that won’t matter though, because in that case Italy will have to beat the Czechs to become first anyhow).

2) They can’t be sure to not lose against the Czechs and then would be dependent on the US game against Ghana to qualify at all.

3) Here in Europe the US is quite a nobody when it comes to soccer and not defeating the US would hurt the Italians’ pride.

Last not least if we compare the individual class of the players, their experience, and their tactical skill and discipline, Italy is far superior by all means.

So all things considered not falling behind should be the US team’s prime directive. After all, if you keep your own goal clean, all you need to win is to score one lousy goal and ~95 minutes is a long, long time.

Posted from  Germany

Gene,

Rehhagel is a wizard when it comes to short-term success with underdog teams (like becoming Bundesliga champion with Kaiserslautern in 1998 oder winning Euro 2004 with Greece), but the time where he was on a level with modern soccer is long gone. Although I have the uttermost respect for his work, you don’t want someone overseeing the evolution of American soccer who plays with Libero, prefers Manndeckung over Raumdeckung (literally “man coverage” over “space coverage” but I don’t know the correct English terms and Wikipedia doesn’t either, maybe someone can help me out here) and doesn’t request of his outer defenders to support the wing play in offense.

Klinsmann on the other hand would be too inexperienced for such a task in my opinion.

Maybe you should try getting Ottmar Hitzfeld (which is current only employed as TV commentator) or José Mourinho (which you won’t get). Also Fabio Capello is a great man and might be available (he said that he’d like to coach a national team and things at Juventus are rather troublesome at the moment).

Posted from  Germany

Stefan, I think the equivalent defensive terms are man-to-man (”man” coverage) vs zone (space) coverage. But I am borrowing liberally from basketball terminology.

As for the rest of your point, you may be right about Rehhagel. I don’t know whether he is a best match for what needs to be done to the U.S. team. But I think his name should be in the mix for consideration, just based on his results and the type of teams he worked with before. I would say that 04 Greek team is at least somewhere comparable to our team in terms of talent.

I would have liked Hiddink to be in the mix, too, but he is off to coach Russian Federation after the WC.

But these are the types of names that they should be considering in determining how to improve our team through coaching.

Posted from  United States

Stefan,

Forgot about Klinsmann. He may be young and inexperienced as a coach, but he’s done a great job with the German team. At least so far he has. WE will see how they do with tougher competition.

But he lives in the U.S., and it would be easier to convince him to work with the U.S. team. Also, I heard that he favors certain methods of training done in the U.S. (emphasis on fitness, etc) At least at a superficial level, he would thus be comparable to our players and would get their ear right away.

Posted from  United States

Tai,

relying on counter-attack is not pathetic but can be a perfectly fine tactic depending on your team and your opponent. Actually it is very commonly used in European top leagues when a team has to face a far superior opponent or plays on foreign ground.

Of course, if relying on counter-attacks is your only means and if you cannot build plays, you’ve got a big problem. And I agree with you that the US has big shortcomings in this area.

Given the lack of quality of the US team compared to the Czechs, relying on counter-attack would’ve been the right thing to do. However, if you don’t have a solid defense then this won’t work. Also you can’t continue with this strategy if you fall behind in the first minutes of the game. In Gelsenkirchen the US did fall behind early and were not able to change their game plus the Czechs are simple the better team. All these things combined let to the well-deserved beating on Monday.

Maybe most important: It won’t work against a team like Italy.

Speaking of defensive tactics in general: I think this is a reason why soccer and American audiences don’t get along so well. In my experience American audiences want to be entertained, but soccer is not primarily about entertainment but about winning. And not seldom the team who plays nicer (at least in the eyes of the audience) does lose, which can be quite frustrating if you forget that soccer is about scoring one goal more than the opponent and not about giving an eye-pleasing performance. It even is perfectly acceptable to control the opponent by spending as little energy as possible after having a comfortable lead to save the energy for the next match.

I have the feeling that for most Americans sport should be fun. Although soccer fans tend to like fun also, in the end they are dead-serious about it.

By the way: Why is my post from 1:03 am awaiting moderation whilst my post from 1:28 is not?

Posted from  Germany

Stephan: I think a somewhat accurate translation of Manndeckung and Raumdeckung would be “man coverage” and “zone coverage.” Something like that.

Posted from  United States

Wow, nevermind I was way too slow in posting a translation!

Posted from  United States

Kasey Keller should be benched for his performances over the past few months (I know, I know you don’t bench “The Great One”). Coaches and fans alike have taken a “walk on water” mentality towards Keller. Sift through the hype and I think you’ll find he has lost a step. He is 36 and getting older by the minute. Oliver Kahn is 36 and finds himself on the bench because they have a younger and just as skilled keeper on the team. I believe the USA has a similar keeper and his name is TIM HOWARD. I believe he should start for the U.S.

Germany 4 USA 1. Go back and watch it if you have it, the old Keller would have saved 2 or maybe 3 of those shots . . . he has lost a step. Morocco 1 USA 0 . . . the old Keller would have stopped that shot . . . he has lost a step. Which brings us to Monday’s game. There were about five serious attempts on goal by the Czech’s; one hit the cross bar, Keller saved one and three found the back of the net . . .not the Keller of old.

Right before the start of the game ESPN cut to Keller. He looked afraid, nervous and anything but confident (shouldn’t a keeper be confident). Koller’s header, watch it again and you will see Keller move forward right as the cross is made (as if to come out and punch it away) and then he stops, flat footed (hesitation and second guessing himself) as he plants his two feet on the pitch it is too late and a split second later the ball is in the back of the net over his out stretched hands. He should have come out to challenge Koller!

Rosicky’s first goal. . . an absolute bomb nobody could have saved.

Rosicky’s second goal should never have gotten by Kasey Keller. Watch it again. As Rosicky enters the box Keller is about ten yards off his line? Again, he is flat footed and stationary (for those of you who don’t know the position, that would be an elementary NO-NO in goal tending). On a break away (like Rosicky’s) a keeper has two options. 1) Square up to the on coming player, stay on your line and hope you save his shot. Or 2) Come off your line and charge the attacking player. Though it is not shown during the game, it is obvious that Keller decided to come off his line and then (again second guessing himself) stopped. He planted both feet flat on the pitch and sat there like a sitting duck. Again, a big goal keeping NO-NO. “Once you start you can’t stop!” Another note about this play is that as Rosicky shot the ball Keller gets his hands up, but is turning his head away as the shot goes just past his hand.

Keller has been an amazing goalie for the US, but I’m afraid something has shaken him. His confidence is low (even before the World Cup) and this is causing him to second guess his natural instincts.

I would love to see Tim Howard in goal for the U.S. against Italy. This guy has all of the talent of Keller but he is eight years younger and has the hunger and desire to succeed.

Say all you want about the field play of the U.S. but until something changes in goal the results will be much like they were against the Czech’s . . . embarrassing..

Posted from  United States

Gene,

the Greek team has not developed under Rehhagel but in fact has returned to the dark ages of soccer. Regarding his success at Euro 2004:

He won only against teams who are more on the huray-side of soccer (Portugal, France, the Czechs and again Portugal) and these teams got into big trouble when Rehhagel’s destructive tactics destroyed their gameflow. Furthermore a lot of players never have learnt to play against ancient things like a libero. If Greece would’ve encountered a more physical side like England they would’ve probably lost the same way they lost against Russia in the third game of the group stage at Euro 2004. Also let’s not forget that Greece finished 4th after Ukraine, Turkey and Denmark in the world cup qualification and therefore did not even qualify for the tournament.

Don’t get me wrong, Rehhagel does the best he can with Greece when it comes to short-term success and he is a great motivator. He just isn’t the man when you want your team to evolve in soccer.

Regarding Klinsmann I believe he is doing the right thing with Germany after years of stagnation, but I also think that it takes more than that to revolutionize what is a development country when it comes to soccer.

The main problem of American soccer is not that you’re players aren’t fit on an athletical level, but that you lack professional infrastructure.

Please tell me how many players of the American team are important players of an European top club? How many hours did the US players play on international top-level (like the UEFA Champions League)? How many boys of your worker’s class (this is where most great soccer players tend to come from) play soccer in your country?

You don’t need someone who just coaches the players you have, but someone that helps you building a good infrastructure so you’ll get good players in the first place.

It is easy blaming Arena because of recent events, but I think your expectations were just too high because of the media hype, the ridiculous FIFA ranking and the surprising success at the 2002 world cup.

If you do a reality check and compare the US team with the Czechs and Italy it would be a miracle if you’d survive your group (I would’ve told you the same thing before the 3-0 loss against the Czechs).

It is beyond me how some American soccer players/experts could talk about “winning the group to avoid Brazil in the round of sixteen” or about who they liked to play in the final.

Posted from  Germany

Like you said you can play a game relying on counter-attack, when a team has to face a far superior opponent, but you can’t base a team around it, the US goes out and plays that way every time. I agree that the beating was well deserved and I think a long time coming. As for the American audience I wouldn’t know, though I do live here I’ve lived and grown up on the border and grew up watching south and central American soccer and the game is not only beautiful and entertaining, but also effective(9 out of 17 WCs have been won by south American teams). I’m not saying everyone should adopt Brazil’s style of play, that’s impossible. But as far as entertainment is concerned a true sports fan (even an American one) appreciates a good defense (there are few things more entertaining than watching a no-hitter in baseball (aside from soccer of course). I will admit, I prefer to watch the “joga bonito” over the “European style” of football. But the point i was trying to make was that skill is necessary for success no matter what your style of soccer is. And if you make it to the world cup it should be because you know how to build plays, not because you sit and wait and hope you can score on a counter-attack. Once the possibility of a counter-attack went out the window they didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t only one game American football leaves a lot to be desired as a whole, and unless they start focusing on developing skill their game will never progress.

Jesse,

I wholeheartedly agree with everything that you are saying. The US played a pretty competitive first half, and one can only wonder how much confidence they would have had if Reyna’s shot would have been the equalizer instead of hitting hte post.

Yeah, that is a moot point, but I bring it up because it will make contribute to my point, so please be patient. I believe that the US has enough talent on their roster to, if you’ll indulge me in a football saying, win against anyone on a given Sunday.

Sure, US is not stacked with talent like some of the countries, but it is good enough to play with anyone. and most of all, it seems like the US thrives on confidence, whether being able to generate that with the “us against world” mentality, or by scoring first. So yes, i thought that if the US had scored against Czech in the first half the level of play would have been lifted.

so whatever it takes, whatever Bruce and the players have to do, they have to come out with confidence. Like Jesse says, play at full speed, challenge everything, “leave it all on the field.” Why the US came out falt in the 2nd half, who knows.

It seems to me that as good as the US has gotten, they are still just a bit away from the consistency that comes from consistently beating the top teams in the world. I think they can and should do so, but the tradition and the confidence is still being built, and is not quite there yet.

Just like (other sports comparison warning) the Yankees of the late 90’s, or the Chicago Bulls during the Jordan years, the US has to come to a point where they truly believe they have won even before they take the field. I believe that the US team has the talent to be one of the best teams in the world, and I think the players believe in their heads. But do they believe it down in their hearts?

I don’t believe the US was “thrashed” by the Czechs. We had no energy, no drive, and it looked like nobody wanted the ball.

I think we came out flat against a very good team. Would France in their current form have fared any better? England? I’m not so sure.

I think the Italy game will be worth watching. Italy is a good team, but in my opinion they’re a bit like Peyton Manning in “our” football. Get in his face, make him rush, get him out of his comfort zone, and he plays badly. I think the same applies for Italy. If we get after them, they’ll start pointing fingers and play like amateurs. Then again, I could be wrong. I just think Italy are primadonnas.

I think if we run at them, harass them, and play like we not only want to win, but like we know we can win, we’ll beat Italy. Being in Kaiserslautern will be a big help too — the American presence there will be phenomenal, I think.

Jack,

Thanks. I certainly think that the US program is at the point that a full-strength side should be able to give any team in the world a good game, but I don’t think they have the depth right now to hope for any kind of consistency against teams of that level. That’s one of the reasons my optimism went up a bit before the Czech game, because the US was actually healthy I thought they had a much better shot. When both Reyna and JOB were iffy I had some serious doubts about Mastroeni and Donovan holding the midfield together on their own, especially against Nedved and Rosicky (to say nothing of Totti, Pirlo, de Rossi, Gattuso, etc).

Posted from  United States

Why not have started JOB against the Czechs? I know he is still rounding into shape, but the Czech and Italian sides are the strongest teams the US face. I’d say go out with your best guys and adjust after (i.e. sub JOB out at half). Of course, it’s easy to say this in hindsight.

It will be interesting to see how Arena changes the lineup for Italy. JOB needs to be int he lineup. Eddie Johnson should start with McBride. Where does DMB go, cause he doesn’t look comfortable in right midfield. Does Donovan get put there? Dempsey? Who sits?

Gee, those set plays on Monday sure were nifty. Arena must have forgotten that we’re not playing cones, we’re playing world-class footballers.

The style of play he is advocating is an absolute joke and most of the players are clearly delusional. Arena thinks he can chalkboard a solution. The solution is getting out there and kicking some ass. Bring on Dempsey.

PS Living abroad and being an American fan makes it all the harder to stomach.

Posted from  Switzerland

usa did a horable job, they dident have strong defence or offence. they let some goals go by an dident try to earn any back.i hope they try a lot harder next game.

Posted from  United States

I’ll just throw something out there that I’ve been thinking about for a couple weeks regarding Beasley. If he’s such a good defender, why not try him at left back? He’s certainly capable of making q1uick overlapping runs.

Posted from  United States

Jesse-

Good call. he really should be playing left back right now.

If he made the switch, I bet he could get more first team action at PSV and maybe even get transferred to one of the top leagues.

that bein said, he is too stubborn to accept any criticism. that is why his game has leveled off and he is benched at PSV.

Posted from  Dominican Republic

I dunno–Beasley might make a good left back. But isn’t the fact that he’s so tiny and easily knocked over a problem in a defender? It’s one thing to see him sent sprawling as he goes forward–he usually gets the whistle–but if he’s the last man between ball and goal? You can’t get the foul call every time.

Don’t you think it has more to do with coaching style and strategy than with individual players? Yes, the players were phoning it in, but when I saw Myernick with Josh Wolff and that chalkboard when we were getting blown off the field, and I’m thinking, “Just get out there and attack.” What do you all think about those set plays? Am I the only one who thought they were feeble?

Posted from  Switzerland

Good point. However, Cherundolo is smaller than Beasley and has had considerable success in the Bundesliga.

Usually speed is more important than size for the outerbacks, who patrol the wings and try to minimize crosses.

However, the left back experiment should definitely wait until after the W.C. (if ever)

Posted from  Dominican Republic

Good news:

We did not lose as badly as Ukraine or Serbia and Montenero.

I’m now happy with the 3-0. It could have been worse; much worse.

Posted from  Dominican Republic

Since hockey in the USA is quickly becoming extinct (see the current figures for the Stanley Cup coverage and then see that covergae for 99% of the season was on way-over-in-the-depths-of-the-60’s channel (68 on our cable)), it would seem that Soccer USA should actively recruit any young hockey player who’s thinking of taking off his skates.
Hockey players:
1) Play with injuries, including broken legs.
2) Put out for the whole game. They are not conserving their energy for the NEXT game, since they know THIS game is the most important one.
3) Are Hungry. Always hungry.
4) Can skate/run for hours on end.
5) Are chippy. Very chippy. Yellow card chippy.
6) Can be finesse players and bowl-you-over players, depending on the situaiton. Tehy are not one dimensional.

The current USA team is either too old or too wimpy. DUmp the lot. Hang around ice arenas. Start recruiting.

Posted from  United States

The US has a chance against Italy, but only if they play defense and keep it 0-0 or 1-0. If more than 2 goals are scored, they are toast. I agree MLS needs to take advantage of the WC and bring in some European league teams. Did I hear correctly that Man United was coming to New York?
Finally, anyone know about ticket checking? I’m going to the US-Ghana match, but lots of the tickets have names on them and I hear they are doing random checks.

Posted from  United States

I’m going to say (write) it again, check out the lineup for the US-Cnational anthem, who’s singing and who’s not. Something is wrong with some of these young men and the something is their attitudes and the bad attitude resulted in a bad performance. Gooch, Pope, Cherundolo, Landon, Convey, DMB… all non-singers. Boys, ther be proud and perform or get the uniform off and go back to being a nobody, as we in America care about one thing and one thing only….winning, coming close isn’t worth anything. And a bad attitude combined with losing is totally intolerable.

Also, I agree very strongly that the untouchable St. Casey played like crap and should (must) be held accountable. As much as I would like to see him have his chance to win a game in the world cup, it is clear that his time has come and gone. A big save vs the Czech’s could have made all the difference, all I saw was extreme waving at the ball as he flopped around as the ball flew past him. Bring on Tim Howard.

Posted from  United States