Wynalda vs Arena

WYNALDA WAS NEVER A GOOD FUTBOL PLAYER..NOR IS HE A GOOD COMMENTATOR, HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SPORT HE PLAYED…AND WHY ARE YOU GUYS STILL HERE????? WORLD CUP IS OVER FOR YOU…I THINK THIS WILL BE USA’S LAST CUP…NOW THAT THESE THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES THAT USA QUALIFIES AGAINST ARE FINNALY GETTING BETTER…..

Posted from  United States

AND BY THE WAY..BRUCE ARENA IS US SOCCER;S BEST EVER COMPONENT, HE IS YOUR MVP, ONCE YOU GET RID OF HIM, THE TEAM WILL SHOW ITS TRUE ORANGES IN HALF TIME STYLE

Posted from  United States

Ah, the long awaited return of Malik. To answer your query, we’re still here because we were waiting to see if you would post something stupid again. Thanks for helping out. Still haven’t found that Caps Lock buddy? Try moving your left pinky around a bit.

As for C13. Uh, so what? Yah, I would have agree with everything wyno had said before the cup, and I agree with him that Arena did a lousy job during and after the cup. Wynalda also disagreed vehemently about Twellman being left off the squad. Again, so what?

If anything, Wynalda was the saving grace of the ESPN studio show that had way too much the Olympic-style puff-piece BS.

Posted from  United States

Bruce is the main reason why American soccer reached a #4 FIFA ranking in April 2006 and has had a sustained high ranking in the world for quite some time now. How short some American memories are… Bruce’s mistakes in World Cup 2006 were few and far between and they certainly were not the main contributor to the (relatively) poor showing. I mean, sure, he should have known better than to put Eddie Pope back on the field after half vs. Italy, but how was he to know that the officiating could get WORSE in the tournament?

The main reasons that the US went out early are squarely on the players (Arena, of course showing his typical class, ambitiously took the blame himself–but that is what good coaches do and we know better). More specifically certain players that mysteriously play well for clubs, then get to the world cup and really fail to pull their weight–I’m talking to you Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley. You two are ESSENTIAL to the American attack and what do I see? Donovan failing to chump up during nearly all of 270+ minutes…there are only so many times one can send the ball over the crossbar and laugh it off. I know you’re still young and all these expectations have been placed on your shoulders before you should ever have to worry about such things, but Bruce believes in you, and that means you have it in you to be much, much better. From those who are gifted much, much more is expected. And DaMarcus, I know you set up our only goal and ostensibly should have scored the other, but if I see you walking on the pitch when you are as fast as you are one more time, I will scream. The worst was ironically when you came in as a sub against Italy–after a few minutes, you were zombie-ing around the pitch like you had played a whole game and you were only in for a couple minutes. If you are not willing to run yourself ragged getting opportunities for yourself and others, please, sit on the bench, or better, stay in the Netherlands until you decide to put your heart into it and let someone who really wants it get in and give it all on the field. In this Cup, I saw Keller, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Onyewu, Conrad, Lewis, Convey, Reyna, Olsen, Mastroeni, McBride, Dempsey, and Johnson working at all times during any minute they were in to get a result, while others were lagging. Bruce believes in you guys, but if you won’t work, he’s got others who will.

Bruce is not the man to blame here folks, don’t let your typical American short-sightedness get the best of you. Our coach and most of our players gave it all, we were in a group with Italy, Czech Rep., and a very strong Ghana, we were outplayed at times and at others things just didn’t bounce our way. Don’t scapegoat the man who has put US soccer in it’s loftiest position in the history of our involvement in the sport in modern times.

Use your heads for administrative decisions and your hearts for cheering.

Posted from  United States

Hey malik,

Try pressing the Caps Lock button again before your next post. You’ll seem a bit more intelligent.

And buddy, we’ll be back. We’re improving, and that’s because we want to improve. Why the hell would we be talking about sacking our most successful coach ever if we were not committed to success? In 10 years, we’ve gone from amateurs to a regional power. We’ve basically become as good as Mexico – a country where football has reigned for many decades. We’ll be in South Africa, don’t you worry.

Posted from  United States

I have a question about an article on espnsoccerntet.com. It states that two referees are going home due to poor oficiating. I thought for sure I would see that Uraguyan reff that ruined the Italy game for us. But of course he is still there. I think that FIFA does not care about the US. If it was Germany, England or Brazil that lost due to poor officiating that reff would be packing his bags. I feel that FIFA would cringe if we succeeded in the world cup. I am not saying that we were knocked out because of the refferee, we did play horrible. What do you guys think? Am I totally wrong about this one?

Posted from  United States

USCG,

Now that I’ve had a bit more time to mull it, I don’t think Larrionda was terrible. The straight red on Mastro was harsh, but after watching the replays a few times, his tackle looks pretty vicious. In the context of trying to control a game that was getting out of hand, I think the red was ok. The second yellow on Pope was worse, but certainly I’ve seen even worse second yellows in the tourney (Lucic comes to mind). Overall, there have been far worse game-changing decisions made by referees (Italy-Aus, Hol-Por, Fra-Kor).

I certainly don’t think there’s a conspiracy to keep the US down. In fact, I’d wager that if there were a conspiracy, it’d be the other way. FIFA’s all about the dollas, and the US has got the most in the world. You’d think if there was any conspiracy, then FIFA would try to help the US along to tap into the world’s richest economy. I think the problem is that teams like the US and Aus don’t play-act as well (or at all) as ‘more experienced’ countries and that’s currently a part of the game in terms of influencing the referees. That leads to huge game-influencing decisions, like the results of Grosso’s dive, or Henry’s dive.

Posted from  United States

Bossimo- Wynalda the “saving grace” for ESPN? [insert unrestrained laughter] I’m sorry, but it does not taken a former player, or an expert “analyst,” to state what he did. His rants and outbursts are far from displays of what many consider worthy of a “saving grace.” (I guess it’s a welcome distraction to on a set where the thing that shines brightest is Alexi’s hair).

The criticism was not constructive nor was it very revealing. It was tepid, slanted, and bitter. He is isolating one man, Arena, as the sole culprit for the failed campaign. Uhmm- come again? But maybe he didn’t see the solemn and careless many on the team displayed. At times he was more animated than his entire squad combined. Maybe all the missed opportunities and lack of invigoration has come down to the individual level at some point I would think…

I agree that the manager is ultimately responsible, but selecting three 90 mins sessions of football out of an 8 yr tenure is not only naive and immature, but a blatant disrespect to the one who brung you to the dance (and the one before that) in the first place. It’s bad enough Wynalda was tasteless, but he want to see heads rolling 5 mins after the final whistle’s blown? I know it’s hard for him, but perhaps he should learn to hold his load a minute, eh?

Which brings me to the article I mentioned above- read carefully:
“I think it’ll be up to him. If he decides to stick around for four more years and sign that contract,”
…but now, today, Wynalda wants to say that 8 yrs is too long for a coach at this level? That his better days are behind him? I don’t know about you, but that’s a fact you don’t need a World Cup result for. If he (or anyone else using that argument) truly feels that, maybe he wouldn’t have waited until the horse is down to voice it.

And what about: “At the end, we have the right guy” to make the “very very tough decisions” in the Feb article. But now, he wants to say that Arena “ruined” the WC for the US. That smacks of ambivalence more atuned to fandom rather than a expert examination.

Wynalda wants to have us believe that he’s the wise man who saw this comming. His commentary is volatile and changes from match to match more times than a Lord changes his whig. One day he’s assailing the team and the next, lauding them for their effort- all the while leaving Arena’s name out of the big picture until just after the Ghana match. But, nonetheless, him being a fresh addition to the studio does not hide the fact that his seat and microphone do not suit him and are instruments best used on other thoughtful, more skilled and less infantile analysts. But, of course, don’t look around the ESPN set to find many of those…

Posted from  United States

I think poor Malik is a disgruntled Saudi Arabia fan.

Overall, the US has improved tremendously over the past 15 years and Arena has some credit due there. But then again, from a global perspective, many others have improved as much if not more — Australia, Korea, Japan, Ecuador, most of the African continent — so it seems to me that we are just keeping up with the rest of the world. With that in mind I think Arena has taken us as far as he can and it is time to see what Klinsman or someone equally as competant can do.

Posted from  United States

ON the Arena v. Wynalda debate, it’s about a tie. Wynald IS an obnoxious loudmouth as an announcer(I won’t comment on his playing skills, haven’t seen him play enough). As for Arena, he might take a cue from the reaction of the Spanish coach Luis Aragones to the pleas from the Spanish futbol federation to remain with the team. It’s about acting honorably and professionally.

As for the rest, while it is time for us to get a Euro coach, our play at the WC is not solely Arena’s fault. In my opinion, we had an average WC. As someone already pointed out, we do not have a single world-class striker. Our midfield, for the most part, lacks creativity, rarely makes great passes (save for DMB’s good play against Ghana), and rarely does quality crosses from the run of play, corners, or free kicks. With these factors, I don’t know how anyone expected us to qualify out of E. And even if we did, we would have been embarassed by Brazil.

In 2002, we were able to overcome all these factors b/c (1) a couple of people played over their heads, (2) we had an easier group, (3) So. Korea did us a favor in the last group match, and (4) some european sides did not show up. This time, the WC is in Europe, european teams are playing better, and not only U.S., but Japan and So. Korea went home early. Yes, they played a bit better than we did, but still.

Wynalda is definitely not a polished commentator, but his remarks are what the US Soccer Community need to hear…sometimes the truth hurts. Unfortunately, we are a soccer country that in the past has rarely seen open criticism as most US commentators have no idea about soccer, and I guess have been give mandates to keep it positive.

That is why your true US soccer fanatics support other countries and leagues because when it comes down to it, it is much to hard to watch an MLS game, where most of the talk is centered around everything but what is actually happening on the field.

Not only that, but the current white-collar representation of the National Team leaves one wondering how the US Soccer Federation keeps funding players and “stars” that never amount to their “potential”.

Well it is certainly a topic that one could go on and on with, but I’ll leave off more criticism for later.

I didn’t hear it personally but a friend told me that Wynalda commented on ESPN “that the ref’s call with 8 seconds left in the Italy-Australia game was the correct call”? You’ve got to be kidding me??? It was a total dive…you didn’t even need the replay to see that. Plus, what ref is going to end the game on such a horrible acting job and award a penalty kick to Italy with 8 seconds left in the game? The ONLY way the ref should have given a penalty kick is if the Australian player had forcibly tackled Grosso, beat him, and tied him in a knot!! HORRIBLE CALL and if Wynalda said ‘it was the right call,’ he’s confirmed my opinion that he’s an arrogant idiot. I’ve turned OFF the world cup…could care less now who wins. The officiating is SO BAD that they have ruined the tournament for me. I hope the sponsors of the tournament have some input to FIFA because I for one have turned it off so I won’t be buying any of your overpriced products either!! I can’t wait REAL FOOTBALL….the NFL!! At least we have instant replay to correct any bad calls….World cup? – who cares….

Posted from  United States

Mack has a point. Imagine a total disaster for FIFA, a Ghana vs Ecuador final. Are the refs more lenient with some teams than others? Revisit 2002 – Spain vs Korea – 2 goals called back due to bad calls; the USA loses to Germany when a handball in the area goes “unnoticed”. This cup – twice in the Serbia/Holland game extreme holding by Holland in the penalty box; Italy/Ghana twice extreme holding in the penalty box by Italy; the vicious cleat on thigh to Cristiano Ronaldo on the Portugal/Holland game – the officiating has been terrible. The big names do not get calls against them. FIFA wants to see Italy, Brazil, Germany, and England go through. The only way Argentina or Portugal are going to get through their next games is if they outscore their opponents 5-1. If the game is tied near the end of regulation, watch the ref call a penalty against them. It happened to Argentina in Italy in 1990.

As for the USA, I have dubbed this the “crystal team” because, with few exceptions, most players were afraid of getting hurt and would not challenge their opponents. I am also in the camp that questions the formation used by Arena with McBride a the lone forward. The game against Ghana was one to throw caution to the wind and put more aggressive, hungrier players on the pitch – as if there was no tomorrow and there wasn’t.

Posted from  United States

I think refereeing in soccer is like refereeing’s state in the NBA – home team and big names get deference. Home court advantage is huge in the NBA because the crowd sways the ref, and home field advantage is huge in soccer for the same reason. Also, big names like the Brazilians, who happen to be the least carded team (I think they still are) in this Cup, get the benefit of the doubt. Personally, I think FIFA’s strict mandates at the start of the tournament are just magnifying this problem, which has always existed.

Posted from  United States

Yah, I hear the arguments but you guys are missing the point. He has a job as a color commentator and he’s doing that job well by continuing in the tradition of a striker.

I agree, for example, that he is dead wrong about the Italy call. But ultimately you judge a striker on how many goals he scores, you don’t say that Sheva sucks because he missed a penalty kick. Sure, it’s a bad miss, but you want him on your team because he’s not afraid to shoot and puts a ton of quality shots on frame.

I suspect that the attacks on Wynalda are rooted in a blind loyalty to Arena. The comments so far point in that direction anyway.

Posted from  United States

eric sucks…and knows nothing about soccer. He is nothing but a bigmouthed idiot, like Donnovan.
eeverytime he made a prediction in this world cup, he was WRONG, am I right? go back and read his comments before each and every game…he was wrong every single time. what does that tell you?

Posted from  United States

bossimo-

Mark has a good point about almost all of Wynalda’s predictions being wrong.

His analysis is like his shooting: when he gets easy targets, like Brazil vs. Japon, he hits it. But when he gets tough calls, like Australia vs. Croatia, he blows it.

I think he is a great CONCACAF announcer….

And just because people are loyal to Arena doesn’t mean they are blind. Everyone dumps on the 4-5-1 formation, but no one explains the alternative. A 4-4-2? Our midfield would have been even more depeleted and utterly destroyed.

Everyone bitches about Eddie Johnson not playing vs. Italy, but McBride was all over the field playing great defense even in the dying minutes. If you want to go for a win down a man against Italy in the last 15 minutes, then I salute your brave logic but ultimately do not agree. (Especially when a point and win againt a weaker team will due)

Everyone dumps on his decision to play Reyna, who else can play in the center of the park?

Everyone dumps on Beasley, but he did assist on the US’s only only goal and should have scored the winner against Italy. What were you guys expecting, the Golden Boot? He did suck in the Czech game, but you dont have to beat people one on one every single time you toch the ball to be effective.

However, there is some valid criticism of Bruce and his player selections: Pope vs. Conrad, Dempsey on the right vs. Beasley, Lewis at leftback, Wolff isntead of Twellman, but even with a 4-4-2 with Johnson up front, Dempsey on the right, Bocanegra at leftback, and Reyna being burned in effigy, the US would not have advanced.

Face it: the talent pool is better, but not there yet. Patience. In 2010 if we get in the right group, we’ll have a fantastic chance to make some noise.

And if we get in a tough group, maybe we’ll get a favorable offsides call, penalty call, or bounce off the post (all of which we were sorely lacking)?

Good debates people, and sorry if I turn into a troll. I understand the desire for the USA to play beautiful, attacking football, but I just don’t think we’re there yet. Maybe in the near future, but not yet.

Posted from  Dominican Republic

Landon Donovan said in an interview all of this will be forgotten, that is, the criticism of the US team performance. Well, hear me now, this will not be forgotten. That team looked like they had never played for a serious win in their lives.

No, Landon, there are serious soccer fans in the US who want you to perform. I dpn’t think you have to go to Europe to do that but maybe you need to “love” the game more and leave the $ behind.

Cindy Benz

Posted from  United States

Bruce Arena, has done all He can for US Soccer but now we need a world class coach, like Argentinian coach Pekerman, or a Brasilian coach, but we need a leader that will not choke in a difficult game and one who knows when to make substitutions and what to do, to inspire his players.

Arena must sdmit, He is not up to par for the next world cup. Maybe we need a guy like Klinsman to create an exciting new team without the old broken busted legs like Reyna,Owiguchi,Pope and other players who do not contribute a thing to the team.

Thank you Mr. Arena but your era has come to an end.
US Soccer has to move on and up.

Posted from  United States

I can’t believe what i am reading here, it only proofs that the us fan is still ignorant about the game and they are sore losers.
The only people who wrote with honesty without emotions are: Steve C, Malik, C13 and few others the rst are idiots who are easily influenced by TV much as the rest of the population.
Wynalda is the biggest idiot ever, he’s no match for Arena who did a lot for the game in this country. Sometimes, I wonder if these idiots actually believed the Nike and Espn hype about being among the elite of the game in the world. Hell, we are not even at the level of the worst teams in Africa or Asia for that matter. Lets get real and face it, we need another 20 years to get to the highest level. Klinsmann my ass, he can’t do nothing that Bruce couldn’t unless of course he has a mig wand or something.

Posted from  United States

Wynalda is a perfect fit for ESPN, a smart-ass punk “legend in his own mind” ex-player in the Doug Gottlieb (college b-ball analyst) mode. Bruce called him out on for being part of the crew that put U.S. Soccer in the toliet in ‘98 and Wynalda couldn’t take it.

During the cup, I heard Wynalda comment proudly on how he got a red card against the Czechs in the ‘90 cup (a game they lost 5-1) as an example that the U.S. should show more passion. Yes Eric, hurt somebody, that’s the way to care!

Posted from  United States

What do Wynalda and Arena have in common? They both have won the same number of World Cups.

Posted from  United States

E Tucker I think is right. The current rankings are about right and it is not so bad to be 16th- this is vastly better than before. We were lucky in 2002 and unlucky in 2006. It takes good luck to go very far even for a good team. We are an “average” team among the teams that qualified for the finals. Non european teams are at a disadvantage playign euro teams in European cups. The kids from 2002 will be in the age range where players are generally at their peak in 2010. The raw talent is there. We need to be polished. This can be done by either/or more players playing in the best leagues/ more national team games against strong opponents. The sort of sniping between Arena and Wynalda is typical for most nations where there were expectations that did not fully materialize. I am encouraged by some things. Beaseley really did come back strong after Czech game. the Ghanna game was lost because two of our more reliable players made uncharacteristic mental errors- Reyna and then Bocanegra heading a very high pass into the penalty area. What was he thinking? If we had beaten Ghanna we would be praising how Arena brought his team back after a flat day against Czech. We scored the only goal against Italy until Zidane. Italy did not make an unforced error. Anytime you put a defender in a position where he has to turn to face his own goal, a few feet in front and take the ball out of the air for an immediate clearance, you have created a great chance. The pass was good and an American was right there at the far post. Credit the US for creating this goal. While the offside call on Beasely’s goal was not incorrect, a noncall would not have been incorrect either. We got a result aginst the team that is the king of result soccer.
We are the only team in this cup that did that. Lets build on that idea. We need to be more result oriented. We need to realize that our greatest need is to learn to play defense. The team could eaily have scored 5 goals in group with a few breaks. Our defense gifted 2-3 goals. We need to learn from Italy. I dont want to copy the darker side of Italian soccer but we should learn defense and understand legitimate “result” oriented soccer. I praise both Wynalda and Arena for their significant contributions to our world cup history. Arena made some mistakes but mistakes are to be learned from. Lets stop beating up on each other and get ready to kick some in South Africa.

Wynalda really looked to be out for blood in the clips I saw of him talking about Arena. We could have used some of that offensive intensity and aggressiveness on the field.

As for Arena, he is and was a fantastic coach. It’s time for a change though

The US had a brutal draw and played the Italians pretty damn well down a man. But at the end of the day, they didn’t get enough good scoring chances and never really showed that they could play with the big boys at all. Whether you want to blame Arena for not adjusting enough to get those scoring chances or the players themselves is up to you. I blame everyone.

Back to the drawing board.

Posted from  United States

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Posted from  United States