Comments on: Should Bruce Stay Or Should Bruce Go?

By: nicko

nicko — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 13:01:41 +0000

there are eery similarities between this bog and english blogs reviewing Sven’s performance…

I would say Arena has done US soccer a world of good, but probably you should find someone new just because 8 years is a long time to coach a single team and having a coach with man-boobs must unsettle the players.

as for US soccer, I think the main thing is to find a way to play more high standard games, probably getting an invite to the copa-americana is the best way to do it,

oh and imitate Italian and German soccer as much as you want, but do not under all circumstances imitate english or spanish soccer!!! (just look at their records to find out why!)

By: John

John — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 12:17:48 +0000

The rumors about Jurgen Klinsmann coming to coach Team USA, are not just that. Jurgen Klinsmann is the obvious choice to coach our team, and it is something that we, Americans, have been voicing our opinions about ever since that pathetic loss to Ghana. And why not, he lives in Southern California with his Wife and children. Someone of his magnitude living here in the United States, makes it totally essential for us to obtain. We have to get him, at any cost, and, we have to give him the complete reins of the Team. Bring in his own Assistant Coaches and Scouts, or it’s not going to work. Jurgen’s contract with Germany ends after the World Cup Tournament, meaning that his experience, along with his work ethic and motivation is just what USA Soccer needs right now. We can get him, but, will the U. S. Soccer Federation go that extra step to bring him? That’s another question left answering. For all we know, we could bring ourselves another loser like Steve Sampson(What a Jerk he was). But, I must tell you, if we DO NOT get Jurgen Klinsmann to coach U. S. Soccer, then it goes to show how committed our Federation is to our program. And we can just continue to be laughed at by the rest of the World by our constant Last place finishes in the World Cup, slapping the Faces of every Soccer Mom in America who does take their children to their practices, and later, their games. USSF, the ball is now in your half of the field, how are you going to handle this?

By: John

John — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 11:58:50 +0000

If you ask me, I believe that the U. S. should clean house in their organization, and RIGHT NOW!

By: rad|x

rad|x — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 23:13:46 +0000

The reason why I typed the last sentence was the following.

If you were say an average european country, which usually has to go through hell to get to the WC. You would just appreciate being there. And you should. US is not a spectacular team, but at least you have more or less free ticket every 4 years to the WC. Use that to your advantage. Popularize soccer. Invest in youth teams. It absolutely has nothing to do with coach.

By: rad|x

rad|x — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 12:07:04 +0000

I don’t honestly think getting a new coach will help the US situation. Not in this life. First of all you need to breed a decent domestic league, with decent players (not export fubar material like Abu, it doesn’t work, usually a one time thing, but hey, so much to talk about). You have some decent players playing abroad, but that’s not enough. International teams do not appear out of nowhere. They must have a basis.

Another bad thing is that you usually have weak qualification groups. Blah it’s only Mexico that proves to be a challenge usually, isn’t it..

Fifa really needs to change the qualification system for the World Cup, instead of regional go global… this would certainly improve situation, and would certainly reduce chances of weak countries getting into the final stage.

By: ETucker

ETucker — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 21:06:55 +0000

Guys-

Donovan wasn’t too weak and small in Japan/Korea 2002. Neither was Beasley.

You don’t have to be a Jan Koller to be successful at the top level…Michael Owen and Leo Messi are not exactly bohemiths.

Bruce does need to go, but give him his due: he inherited a program in the dumps (France 98, Wynalda) and made it respectable.

If not for some silly PLAYER mistakes, like Mastro two foot tackling an Italian from behind for no reason, or Bocanegra clearing a ball into the box, we could’ve been in the knockout rounds.

Until US players take it to the next level (and play error free soccer), we could have a coaching team of Parreira, Scolari, and Klinsmann and we still wouldn’t get out of a group of death.

By: player

player — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 05:01:29 +0000

Arena needs to go. He’s the epitome of everything that’s wrong with soccer in the US right now — like most of the people in charge of youth leagues and ODP in this country, he’s a man with very little soccer experience of his own pretending he knows what he’s doing. Telling his players they should play for a possible “make-up” call in the Ghana game? Maybe he should have been coming up with a tactic for actually scoring a goal, rather than hoping the ref could do the team’s job for it. And don’t even get me started on his lineup choices. Of course he played Donovan far too much; Donovan is just the kind of player who is rewarded in the US system. He’s also its most typical product — a player too small and weak to make any kind of impact on an international stage. It’s time the US learned how to recognize soccer talent and develop it properly — it takes more than flash and dash to play well. A player can have the best footwork and juggling skills in the world, but that player is useless if he’s constantly knocked off the ball, too weak to really challenge for possession on the ground, and too tiny to have any impact in the air. I still can’t believe how many ODP clinics I’ve seen where countless hours are spent on silly juggling drills, or going one-on-one against an orange cone. Wake up America! It’s a game, and you’ll never win it if you don’t play it.

By: ETucker

ETucker — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 03:48:59 +0000

dont feed the trolls.

By: SammyT

SammyT — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 21:18:57 +0000

I agree that we need new coaching, preferably from a top European coach, but that only solves one problem. We need kids to be taught the fundamentals, discipline, dedication and creativity from a young age. The world has caught up to the US in baskeball and baseball not by hiring NBA coaches, but by taking a systematic approach to youth training and development. Arena was right, we nee coaching from the bottom up, not the top down. Getting some big name German coach may improve World Cup tactics and polish our most creative players (Twellman, why wasn’t he on the squad?), but it won’t create the game-changing Ninja strikers or Buddhic all-seeing midfielders we’ve never had.

By: Gerd Mueller's 14th goal

Gerd Mueller's 14th goal — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:28:50 +0000

can someone delete that, please? *hustle*