USA vs. Ghana (1 – 2) Post-Game Thoughts/Post-Tournament Thoughts/Wistful Goodbye Poem

Losses happen. One team had to lose.

Jozy just go catch your breath. You looked spent man.

I think we should replace Bradley and get some ideas from out of the MLS. Imo we try and get Jurgen Klinnsman. Feilhaber played great when he got the chance. Charlie Davies would have been huge, as our strikers did not do anything finishing wise. LD and Clint will not be as effective in 2014 but our midfield, with Feilhaber and Bradley, as well as some young ones will be solid. We just need to find a striker who can finish

Or play him (Buddle).

Nice article, but I don't necessarily agree on 2014.

I just wonder what happens next for this team a lot of players will be beyond 30 for the next World Cup. Hopefully Jozy can fulfill his potential and Bradley Jr. can keep improving.

Remember Jozy is only 20, will be 24 at the next cup, I saw sparks and if he had hit that miracle shot while falling we would have a different story. I think that him being the “future” of US Soccer may be a bit much, but he is definitely a large piece in the future.

I too was shocked that Buddle or Gomez did not get in during the Ghana game.

Excellent post, Marlon, agreed and enjoyed it very much.

missed feilhaber. he turned that game at half

I would replace Bradley but for quite different reasons. This US team is capable of scoring against ANY team in the world with any coach on the sidelines. What we need is a coach who can teach the team to play shut down defense – create the kind of defensive line up that can keep clean sheets through several games and then leave it to the midfield and forwards to score goals. In other words this team needs a master tactician and Bradley is not cut out for that. I think he has done a tremendous job with the team but the team's needs come first and he is not the right guy.

I put 100% of the blame on Bradley. Starting Findley AND Clark is inexcusable – especially when their replacements looked so good the last two games.

I look forward to hearing about our new coach. I hope it is a European.

It's funny, last year, Bradley was criticized for being too defensively-minded, often putting eight men back to defend a lead instead of attacking. Now he doesn't know how to get his defense to defend. I agree that we need a change though, but for different reasons.

This. Fantastic creative player, and we could have used him from the get go. I do think that Bradley has done with a good job with this team, and I thank him for getting us this far, but this was a rather inexcusable exclusion.

let's hope he improves big time.He has talent but he can not finish at this level right now.

The U.S. had the worse pair of strikers in the entire tournament IMO to make it to the round of 16 is a great feat.

I agree with you man, but where will the U.S get this striker?
Adu was a bust, perhaps Rossi will get tired of being left off the Italian team?? are there any exciting young prospects in the junior ranks?? No one would have expected Altidore to start four years ago. It is kind of sad that he is the best that we got.

dont blame bradley he did what he thought was best and its easy for us to sit here and say what he should have done but we werent at training and we didnt see how people performed. look at what bradley did, i see no one saying how well johnny bornstein ayed without bradley johnny would have never been here.

as for 2014 and this disccusion that we have no striker ready to come in- its 4 years away were was 16 yr old jozy altidore 4 yrs ago. someone will come up probably maybe another huculez gomez or maybe charlie davies and jozy wll partner up top in 2014

i am saddened that we couldn't beat Ghana….Overall i think we were the better team….but I am so proud of this team and their never say die style of play. Under Bradly we played with courage strength and tenacity… a far cry better than Bruce Arena's debacle of 06. It may be that a new coach is best for the team but Bradley did an outstanding job even if clark and findley didn't come out in the wash…….Yanks forever!

I LOVE how you say you embarresed England..
You didn't, Green did.
You got unbelivably lucky, and its funny how a bunch of 3rd world G's knocked you out aint it?

Thank you to the entire US team and coaches for some great soccer! Be proud of what you accomplished. I have been a soccer watcher for
35 years and these were great games. When USA supports this sport all year we can do even more.

If Altidore is ever able to get real time with Villareal it will help him tremendously. I still believe in him for the future. He may never be Cristiano Ronaldo or David Villa but he has the makings of a dominant striker. I'm also not totally ready to give up on Adu. Ryan Finley may also have a shot he'll be 21-23 in the next WC that would give us a nice trio of strikers.

I'm from Ghana and I'm proud we won. U.S. was a good team by all means, they did their best. True that England was embarassed beyond their believe by a team that started taking soccer seriously barely ten years ago. So, Anon, or whoever the hell you are, have some respect and stop calling us Ghananians “a bunch of”. We are proud to be AFRICANS.

Blaming coach Bradley is both predictable and stupid. There's just a paucity of real technical talent on the team. Most players are pedestrian poldders depending on athletic ability. US could be a serious contender only if at least two or three players will regularly start for Barca, Inter, or Bayern. Those will not come from the MLS, the only pro league in the world that operates without relegation. The talent will not come from the college game either with its anachronistic unlimited substitution. And for some reason the US soccer powers that be have been ignoring the assessment of American youth soccer done by the current Portugal national ream coach. Add to all of the above the usual media hype mixed with a little bit of arrogance and wishful thinking will tale the place of realism. The results? A draw against an equally shabby England, two ties against soccer minnows and a loss to Ghana, that with all due respect would have been handily disposed of by any major soccer power before money had started to rule the game. Imagine Ghana playing against Italy, Brazil, Argentina, or England for that matter circa 1982 World Cup.

Check up on your history, mate. America has been big into soccer/football for a long time. They came third in 1930, and were in the quarterfinals in 2002. They have a lot of world cup history between then

I could feel the atmosphere from here. In '06, there was nothing. This time around, I really felt the country coming together and slowly loving the sport. Every one of our matches was a thriller. We topped our group despite the refs, created one of the greatest goals in our history, made a great comeback and nearly beat Ghana. This was one the best US team in history and they deserve to be treated as heroes on their return back.

I don't want to be over dramatic, but I never thought I would actually run in to people wearing USA jerseys, or seeing signs with “Good luck USA!” written outside of local McDonalds. Great performance boys…

We weren't the better team. Get real.

Seems to me the US side was far from settled–at least in Bradley's mind. Too many changes between games and worse, a bad habit of starting with the wrong line-up and being forced to make changes.

I felt bad for Clarke, replaced early in the first half, but he shouldn't have started in the first place. Even if it seemed to make sense tactically (start with a more defensive minded midfielder), at the bare minimum the coach should start with a team that played well in the last game. Bradley should have had the confidence to start Edu–instead he heaped pressure on Clarke before dragging him off.

I like Findley but why start him over Buddle who did well in the previous game? Bring Findley on as a threat later in the game but start Buddle.

Anyway, some great games and it was fun while it lasted. 2014 can't come soon enough and I look forward to seeing more of Jozy, Robbie, etc!

yes you can

Coach Bradely is absolutely at fault. If it were just a game every so often and not consecutive games including those played prior to the World Cup, where the US religuished early goals, then I wouldn't blame Bradely. But this is happening consistently and there MUST be something said of the teams strategy and preperation. It's all fine that Bradely can make the changes, when he's made a mistake, but the changes wouldn't be needed at all had the right decision been made from the start.
Just making it past the group is no longer good enough. After 20 years it's time to expect more from our team. I view this as a clear under achievement. The US should have gone to the quarters and even the semis and they were clearly not prepared. Bradely has been wrestling with the starting 11 for months and injuries or not, the coach should have understood his players capabilities. I couldn't agree with this article more. Only I will not be so kind to accept success when the team failed to play as it could. The defense is the weakest US defense I've ever seen and pushing long balls in the midfield were clearly a sign the team was not prepared…

In a way, I am glad the US team has lost: and not only because they were inferior opponent yesterday, but because in this World Cup, they tried to put forward the style of football which is at odds with the history of this beautiful sport and in many respects with the rest of the world. I would feel very sorry if the football went down the road Coach Bradley had so desperately envisioned. In 2002, the US Team was refreshing and I felt sorry they lost against Germany in quarters, but this year, it was too aggressive, “too-big-a-gap” between desires and abilities, it was a sort of a “totally brutal football”, “if-I-cannot-win-at-least-I'll-maim-you” football. And football does not allow such kind of aberrations, deviations, if you will.

1. Yesterday, you could see technically superior Ghana and physically stronger USA. A Serbian coach has brought more than a touch of the Yugoslav heritage, that “European Brazilian” school as it was often called. You could see this aspect in the overtime when Ghana was slightly too playful for its own good (almost allowed the US team to score on a couple of occasions) and the US team has really, really hard time of even getting the ball.

2. The US team sometimes tries too hard, and the brutal push of the US defender during the second Ghana's goal is a case in point; he should have gotten at least a yellow card. My gosh, this Dempsey guy broke an ankle to Nejc Pečnik a couple of games before, what a brute.

3. The US team needs to get rid of Coach Bradley: this guy was a cry-baby (remember “phantom foul, phantom goal” campaign), doing much disservice to the US soccer along the way. The beautiful sport does not appreciate such “leaders”.

4. The US team should have at least half of players of Hispanic origin: they will bring technique to the team and then relying on the pure, brutal force will be articulated into something meaningful.

5. The mixing of politics and sports is a big no-no, and Bill Clinton should know that, but so should Coach Bradley, who allowed this travesty to happen. Politicians can watch along with other spectators, but the sacred place of sportsmen should be hermetically, totally closed to them. I wonder what would Mourinho tell and do to this Clinton guy.

6. It is 16 years since the US World Cup in 1994 and the US soccer is not getting nearer to the standards which have been so beautifully set in this Wold Cup – at least so far – by the South American teams. It is a mystery to me: the same continent, but totally different mindset. You have such a grand pool of talent so near, yet you try to play some US version of this game, which is so provincial, so 2nd league.

7. Football is not NFL, NBA, NHL… football has no intermissions, which would allow the commercials to advertise every few minutes. Football is a game of patience, a game where statistics do not matter much, football is like life. Personally, I would love to see 2014 World Cup in the US (I know it will happen in Brazil), because you organize things so well, and I think it is a pity for Americans and the rest of the world that football is not embraced in the US and played on the level above college efforts (which are fine in their own right).

I got to #2 and stopped. Dempsey did break the guys ankle, but if you watched the replay he stepped on the ball, lost his balance, and fell. He just happened to roll over the other player. It wasn't done with intent, so he's not a brute as you say.

I agree that it is totally possible it was not intentional, but the agression was in the air throughout the game: remember Dempsey's elbow in the 2nd minute. He is a solid player (watched him several times in Fulham), but Coach Bradley should not promote such kind of football. It should be lesson learned that with aggression you can get only that far (i.e. to the Round of 16), and even that far through the camel's ear… bottom line: the US can and should do more.

Edited the comment on Dempsey, though. Thanks for an input.

Considering the only team that knocked us out was Ghana, and they only played 1 goalie, there wasn't “a bunch of 3rd world G's.” A why because of where someone is from does that determine their ability to play any sport? Being from a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd world country has nothing to do with a person natural athletic ability.

In replyto david and the other two commentators let's be real about playing brutial and aggressaive play look at at teams and players like the one that broke Michael Ballacks leg, I don't know if you have every had chance to watch the Brazilian league if you want to talk about brutial. There are may more countries like Mexico who committe more fouls and are more reclousley agreesive. So before we start posting our opions you should get all your facts straight. And with regards to the comment about more spanish players tell me when was the last time that any spanish team from Central or South America besides Brazil and Argentina every was successful on the world stage.

Remember that it was the US that went to the confederations cup final against Brazil.

England getting ripped apart has made yesterday soooooooooo much easier of a pill to swallow.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

4-1 and no end in sight. Please put in 2 more. It would be great. but at least Rooney and Stevie G have looked great……………..Not

I look forward to hearing about a new coach sometimes soon.

I am very proud of USA team but they need a strong dose of reality. The USA has a very strong league and instead of playing politics, actually play those with the talent…Not the sons of who has the most $ or who is highly politically connected. Play the players with the talent, endurance and stamina and by the way, its time to replace Howard. All the talk has been around replacing the coach which I strongly agree but why hasn't anyone noticed Howard's performance in taking two Ghana goals, both of which could have been saved had he not come out too far. Check out the replays…Howard is a good goalie but he needs to stop coming out so far and thus giving the opposing players a much larger target. If he wants to play as a defender, than let someone else be goalie!

For as terrible as you say our country's soccer programs are, shouldn't our national team players be worse? You make it seem like we can't hang with any soccer powers, but we beat Spain, barely lost to Brazil, and tied against England, but I guess you don't count those as results. Your argument that we must have players starting for those top 3 teams is naive my friend. American players come into most european nations with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove. There is automatically a lack of respect from these managers that make it even harder for Americans to crack the starting lineups. The fact of the matter is I am going to blame Bradley for for the loss against Ghana. I don't know how much you know about the US team, but Clark had no business starting that game. He was the cause of goals in each game he played (which was 2). Also no girls were ever scored when Findley was on the field. Clearly he doesn't create nor can he finish well consistently enough to start. It was blatantly obvious to everyone watching that game that Clark was a fateful decision. We should have moved on and blaming it on our soccer program is a joke

All this blame has been heaped on Clark but what about Michael Bradley. The entire disastrous play started with a square pass by Bradley. Even at the lower levels of soccer you know you never make a square pass. Clark really had no where to go with the ball except into the path of two Ghana players and too make matters worse Bradley after making the stupid pass goes and hides from the ball. Had he stayed where he was when he passed the ball he would have been in an ideal spot to stop the Ghana player after Clark lost the ball. Bradley was a huge disappointment defensively.

And I will say, while I do hate Bob Bradley, I'll happily admit he was right starting Bornstien. Dude looked better than he eve did (even if it was still 'decent').

But it is also obvious our defense needs work the most. Do we even have any defensive prospects?

I would love to see a post on who we have coming up through the ranks. Also, I hope we get a new coach in time for our august friendly so he can start calling up the young people.

I would like to see this post also. Here's my limited research.

Considering our current player pool, only Bornstein, Spector, Onyewu, Castillo (who we haven't seen in a while), and possibly Goodson. Onyewu and Goodson will be 32, Bornstein 30, and Spector and Castillo 28. So let's assume that Onyewu maintains his fitness, Spector regains his Confed Cup form, and Castillo usurps Bornstein (not ripping Bornstein who was better than his usual these past two games), we're still short a central defender. We have some promising U-20 defenders, but I don't know enough to pencil one in here.

A more interesting idea, but unlikely to come to fruition is to play a 3-5-2. I would suggest a 4-5-1, but I have a feeling a jilted Davies comes back strong and forces himself into the squad. If Adu ever gets his head out of his ass or gets US coach support, depending on who you agree with, our midfield should be ridiculously deep for a US team.

Holden, Torres, Feilhaber, Bradley, Edu, Rogers, and Adu are all options. This doesn't include Donovan, Clark, and Dempsey, and while they will be in their thirties, I fully expect them to be around in four years, especially if Donovan's wearing the captain's armband. Oh and Kliestjan, too, if that gets you excited. I singled out Adu, because he has the creative capabilities that this team sorely lacks, even if his defensive responsibilities still demand tutoring. I think it would even be interesting if we continued our current 4-4-2, and subbed him for a striker late and let him play as a withdrawn striker in tandem with Jozy or Charlie.

Rossi made his bed and now must lie in it, he's in the Italian team for good. Luckily for him, he should be a big part as they cast off the octogenarians currently taking up space there.

are people really calling the usa dirty? this is international football is called being physical there going to be pushing and shoving there are going to be errant tackles accept it.

Even further, the player who got his ankle broken was tackling Dempsey and not the other way around.

Man, it must be so easy to grow a game in a country. Now, I don't presume to understand this perfectly, but the implications are:

1)The whole second half did not occur yesterday.
2)The US defender was brutal in his pushing of a player who was free enough to score the game-winning goal.
3)Coaches from other nations with rich football histories don't complain about officiating or whine in general
4)Hispanics are the only ones who play beautiful football.
5)Politicians, especially those ten years removed from political office talking to players or being mentioned on TV, somehow destroys the innocence of football
6)It shouldn't take 6 World Cups to move from being essentially China's current team (a large nation with a giant talent pool, but no development in the game) to being in the second tier of teams just behind Brazil, Argentina, England, the Netherlands, and Germany.
7)The US team takes breaks for commercials on the field…well, that one may be true.

I think you still expect too much; we aren't talented enough yet to play like Brazil or Argentina so we rely on fitness and gamesmanship. The game has become ugly; bruising holding midfielders are more common than great passing providers, save Barca and Spain, perhaps. The bunker-down, counter-attacking style that the US has displayed is being used by Brazil currently, only different in the abilities that Kaka can provide. Without Kaka, look how ugly that system became against Portugal. For a man, that states the game is a game of patience, you are certainly correct and now we must show some as the US begins another four years of workup to the next World Cup. While I doubt we'll bust out the joga bonito by then, you must be patient and realize that we are essentially a teenager among men when it comes to developing our game as a nation.

Not really. We didn't play in the cup from 1950-1990, and our whole program was essentially in shambles during that period. While the ten years isn't correct, the point being made is valid.

No, it's you who is naive thinking that the only country where children pay to play can produce real talent. Just listen to Klinsmann's comments on FSC – none of the US players have quality first touch, so yes, they have a lot to prove and earn the respect of football community. The culture of soccer moms and dads and incompetent youth coaches will not serve as the incubator of talent. MLS with its no relegation rule is a big joke. College game with its unlimited substitutions rules is another. Friendly tournaments meant a lot more 30 years ago, now they are at best tactical warmups. Just get humble and learn from the rest of the world, like the rest of the world had learnt from American basketball. Remember, Greece beat the US pros at the World Championship. True, they were not the very top US players, but they were still NBA pros. Quit persisting in saying that “we'll do it our own way”, there is only one way to do it – the right way; so discard arrogance and hubris and face up to reality that radical changes are needed. Also, think of why England were so thoroughly demolished by Germany and why youth soccer associations all over the country are setting up those futile ventures with English football academies who haven't produced one truly creative player in the last 15 years. Clark, Findley, & Co. – a dime a dozen anywhere in the world. A bit too harsh? Maybe, but I've been professionally involved in the game for over 45 years now and most of it in Europe and a couple of decades here, so I know the kitchen. It's people like Gulati that should be fired, not Bradley. For edification purposes I suggest you read a couple of books on the history of the game by Galeano.

I think this argument (that Bradley sees things in training that we don't, therefore we shouldn't criticize his player selection) is tired and weak. So we can never question a coach's pre-game decisions if we can't see training sessions?

Even if Clark was so great in training, should that trump the fact that he has consistently performed poorly in games and does not pair well with the coach's son in the central midfield? Most people thought Edu should start, Clark quickly proved why during the game with a costly error (yet again) and a card, and the midfield looked more composed when Edu did enter the game. We were down a goal, squandered several game minutes early on, and had to burn a sub in the first half which could have been used much more wisely to bring on fresh legs when the team was tired late in the 2nd.

Coach Sweatpants rightfully deserves some blame for the part he played in this loss, I don't care what he might have seen in training, it's the games that count.

David, you write -

'it was too aggressive,…,it was a sort of “totally brutal football”, “if-I-cannot-win-at-least-I'll-maim-you” football. And football does not allow such kind of aberrations, deviations, if you will.'

1. Football (soccer) is aggressive by nature. What would you do – wrap the players in cotton wool and have them play looking like walking marshmallows?

2. The practice, by some players, in tackles of going for the man and not the ball is not something new. It is a problem that has plagued football for many years.

3. Yourself and other commentators take the easy route of Blaming the coach, Bob Bradley, for everything.

which will present the improvement of soccer in the USA, in my view will depend on how much Americans will deal with Major League Soccer in the coming years. You have to stop with this idea to think that football has to be like NBA, NFL, MLB, you really are a lot higher in those sports. But soccer is different, it is a sport practiced by the world in which you are still very low, not enough to have just a good player like Donovan, you need to. ” And at that point you enter the Major League, you will not ever evolve in the face of themselves or Mexicans, it is necessary that the American teams start to play major international championships, and take more serious the basic categories of clubs, after all was notable lack of quality strikers and defenders.

American ladies and gentlemen,

Make no mistake. You can not! Do not waste your time believing the U.S. soccer team can win a world cup or even go further and make great games.
I'm Brazilian. Brazil won five World Cups. We are the only country that was in all World Cups. I will cite the reasons why the U.S. can not win a world cup or even being among the best teams.

1 – Your league club is weak. Yall do not have strong, competitive club that can compare clubs Brazilians, Argentines, Italians, Spaniards and Germans. His teams are weak, then the national team is too weak. The biggest proof is that no club has ever won an American world of clubs.

2 – Your players are limited. They are hardworking, but limited. Not even remotely compare quarterbacks to Italians, the Argentine strikers or midfielders Brazilian and French. Far from the American player has the technique and skill of a Brazilian player, nor the speed and strength of the German player. Result in an individual combat American player ever to lose a player from a country like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France or Italy or England.

3 – Do you not have a football school own, ie a proper style of play. Brazil has soccer-art, Germany's strength and speed, the Italian soccer counter-attacks, France has a technical and stylish football. But the U.S. just copy the style of other developed countries and a school never own.

4 – The American trainers are incompetent too. In the match against Ghana here all the bars in Brazil commented that the defense should have an American quarterback in the surplus to cover the other quarterbacks to defend and protect the speed of players from Ghana. Well the U.S. defense played online. Result, both goals were that the U.S. suffered in moves to speed line that went through four defenders Americans. The coach Bob Bradley does not see that? For the love of God my son saw 12 years and said it was dangerous. Now U.S. coach did not see that it was dangerous? The U.S. should hire foreign coaches (Brazilian, German or Argentine) to coach the American soccer.

5 – The U.S. team always plays the same way. This is stupid. Must play according to the adversary. Playing the same way always makes the U.S. team becomes predictable and is therefore easy to set a scheme to neutralize it.

While playing the way we play will always lose. No can not you!

American Friends hope my humble tips can help them for next world cup.

I hope you in Brazil,

Regards,

Joao Fernando

Yeahh… And remember that Brasil has won that game.

David is absolutely right. Soccer is not violence. If you don´t know to play weel, with talent, it´s better to play box. Soccer is a game to play with talent and this USA soccer team was a nightmare. Why don´t you come to Brasil next world cup and try to learn soccer playing here with us?

Hi michael let me tell you something. Soccer is not a violent game by nature.

Only those who don´t play soccer use violence. Someone who plays soccer, the true soccer, will never uses violence.

Take a look at Pele, Garrincha, Zico, Falcao, Socrates, Romario, Ronaldo, Nilton Santos, Michel Platini, Cruiff, Zidane, Maradona and others. They NEVER uses violence.

JC. Dempsey is not a brute. He´s just a limited soccer player that uses violence sometimes. I think he´s a good guy. Not a brute. Just limited.

Please try to at least learn proper English before making a ridiculous argument.

The gentleman may not have good English language proficiency, but makes some valid points. you know why Brazilians can do magic on the ball? because they move to samba rhythms and you do square dances. That's why American players take 3 touches to execute a move while 1 touch comes natural for a Brazilian player. It's all about flexibility, coordination, and artistry, finesse and not brute force. open the doors to talented minorities and let them train and play for free, and then maybe you'll have a chance. he's also dead right about the incompetent coaches. It takes decades to learn the coaching profession anywhere else, here a soccer mom could obtain a coaching license after a couple of days of instruction conducted by another ignoramus. That's why an American coaching soccer in Europe is like a Bulgarian managing the New York Giants.

Yes, it hurts. And our guys are hurting right now, because it SUCKS, and they don't care about consolation or pats on the back. They wanted to WIN, and it's going to sting for a while. So many hearts, so many dreams ride on this tournament, and none as much as mine. Yes, be proud of our boys, for giving it all they had. But unfortunately, what you saw in this tournament, while at times seeming magical, WAS all they really had. We can go on blaming Bradley, the defense, the referees, etc. But I believe the real issue, as has been for many years, lies in our development of the sport itself in this country. I'm 43 years old, one of six children of Ukrainian immigrant parents who came over to this country some 60 years ago. Soccer (Futbol) was what we grew up with here. I grew up playing club soccer, through my youth up until recently, which gave me the opportunity to play with some of the most talented, home grown players I'd ever seen. Unfortunately, for every great player that makes it to the World stage, hundreds more, some with even greater talent, go unnoticed. It's a real shame. It seems we have our development pyramid up-side down compared to the rest of the world. We really have no true, “grass roots” developmental league, and whatever developmental teams/leagues do exist, it's seems to be more about the politics of who knows who, and who has money to give for support to have their (obviously talented) kid picked to play for “The Team”. And it starts in the Pee-Wee League, and runs all the way up to the college and pro levels. Now that's not to say that the Bradley's and the Altidore's don't deserve their places on the team. They absolutely do. But until we really take a good look at the rest of the world's soccer powers, study their philosophies, developmental programs and successes, and model our philosophies and programs around what works, we'll be back here in four years with these same empty consolations for our guys, and again, no trophy. Yeah, I know, it's not about winning or losing, blah, blah, blah…… But losing is a great teacher, and eventually, if you lose enough, it should serve as a lesson on how to win.

Joao, you do make some valid points, but I think you are looking missing the forest for the trees here. American Soccer is still in its adolescence. It has a long way to go but it is certainly not finished. True the US does not have its own distinctive style yet but neither did the Brazilians until the 1960's or so, some thirty years after it stepped on the big stage. Before that time, they copied the English and paid the price by getting thoroughly owned by Uruguay, Argentina and a host of others along the way. The process of evolution happens in fits and spurts, but it is organic nonetheless. MLS is improving, as are youth leagues and academies, but it takes time. Be careful not to write the US off, this tends to be a mistake. Time will tell what we will become, but rest assured it is neither what we were nor who we are.

If you are still on about the broken ankle, it was most certainly not intentional; nobody steps on the ball in a breakaway to purposely fall and break the ankle of the guy behind them while face-planting into the turf. The elbow was hard, but should have been a yellow at most. That is just how Dempsey plays, he is very physical, as most players who succeed in the EPL are. The only other player on the team who mixes it up like Dempsey is Clark and he lacks the skill to get away with it. That being said, I would have to say that the US was in fact not aggressive enough in their loss to Ghana. The midfield for the most part played too tentatively and allowed Ghana way too much time on the ball. This may have been due to their respect for the speed that Ghana has as a team, but I tend to blame mistakes like that on poor coaching, game-planning and instruction. Physicality and aggression are indeed part of the game, but there must be better tactical understanding and personnel choices at this level. Also, your notion that adding hispanic players would increase the technical skills of the team is ridiculous and borderline racist; such skills and individual artistry will come from continuing to develop the game at the youth and academy levels, not through the ethnicity of the players.

Hi Jdesiqueira71. I did not say violent. The words aggressive and violent may have similar meanings but there is a difference. It is possible to be aggressive without being violent. You might also note that I wrote 'by some players'.

Thank you. We were mad when we saw Clark and Findley in the lineup. Two of Bradley's pets. It's hard to understand why he can't see how outclassed these players are, and now the US paid for it. The best decision a WC ref made this tournament was to give Findley that second yellow card for the phantom handball. Out of the Algeria game, which Clark also did not start and which the US won. Coincidence?

I think Bradley had his time and now it's time for him to go. Many US fans thought that long ago, and hopefully the USSF will come around…

“The mixing of politics and sports is a big no-no, and Bill Clinton should know that, but so should Coach Bradley, who allowed this travesty to happen. Politicians can watch along with other spectators, but the sacred place of sportsmen should be hermetically, totally closed to them. I wonder what would Mourinho tell and do to this Clinton guy.”

WTF? The guy has been out of public office for a decade now. He can't go to a soccer match or pursue his other interests after retirement? He also happens to be one of the faces of the 2018 US bid committee. What, do you expect a former president to sit in general admission? Get the fuck out of here. And if you're really wondering what Mourinho would tell him it would probably be something along the lines of, “You're a loser, I could have been a better president. You've never accomplished anything. By the way did you know I'm the greatest person in the history of the world? Jesus? Who's that? How many championships did he win? I'm so special!”

Typical American arrogance. One of the many reasons I don't want Americans playing our beautiful game (by “our” I mean the rest of the world). Clinton is still a major player in the American political scene. His wife holds a high ranking post in the incumbent US government. Why, not long ago he was involved in the direct negotiations with North Korea for the release of American hostages.

Leave politics out of football. In fact, please leave football as it is, and go back to playing “baseball”.

The king of Spain presented the Spanish Euro winners with their medals, and Zapatero was at the game. Christ.

jajajajaja if soccer is violent then American football is a softie. Let's not compare of course, soccer has no violence at all, it is a matter of having skills and if the player doesnt have it then he or she does not know how to get the ball skillfully.

You could also mention the 1934 FIFA world cup or the 1936 Summer Olympics. Leave politics out of sports. Period.

If you are going to laugh on an english-speaking website, please use an H (ha-ha) and not a J (ja-ja).

I read an article about Bradley and his decisions to play some of the younger, unproven talents in order to help them develop confidence on the pitch and give them an opportunity to attract notice from international clubs. I think this is an admirable goal, since it will help young US players gain international experience and ultimately grow the sport in the US as they become mentors and leaders, but I don't think the World Cup is the place to gamble on such opportunities. As others have said, why would you start Findley over Edson Buddle or Clark over Edu or Beasley?

In response to David
#4 – as a Hispanic and former high school coach, i'm exasperated to hell to note how our “soccer system” is discriminatory against Hispanic players. Yes, Bocanegra is the captain of USMNT, and there was Torres, Herc, and i understand that Bornstein and Guzan have Hispanic roots. There are literally MILLIONS of Hispanics playing futbol in this country, and i would venuture to say that ther is a higher proportion of Hispanic futboling youth than Afroamerican and Caucasian youth. Where are the Hispanic kids? Left out to a great extent.
Our youth system is pricey. The best leagues and clubs around the country cost a small fortune for kids to join and participate in. Funny, around the world, futbol is the game of the masses, of the poor. the best futbolers around the world regularly come from the barrios, favelas, and slums of Europe. In our country, “soccer moms” drive around their kids in expensive suvs and spend a fortune to get their kids into the best soccer camps and teams. To a large extent, our system excludes millions of Latinos mostly due to socioeconomic realities. Club play is vital to being included both in ODP and to be noticed by college recruiters. The US system is geared towards getting scholarships for colleges. Nationally, for many reasons, less than 1/2 of Latino youths graduate on time from high school, and less go on to college. Herc Gomez, for instance, wasn't even offered a scholarship despite having a stellar prep career in Las Vegas.
And for the record, Herc is WAY better than the overrated Altidore, whom i've been panning for months! Altidore did almost nothing in Premier (1 gol) and even less @ WC. Herc, after stepping in ony minutes before, immediatley stretched the Slovenian backline, and had the Mali ref not annulled it, delivered a pinpoint assist to Dempsey for the winning gol. He's not a 6'1″ body beautiful like Altidore, but a futboler with vision and touch. There's a lot more to futbol than size and strength, and Latino players have a lot to add to our team.

Didn't Dempsey take a “shot” to the face from one of our more “artistic” opponents? Or, was that a faked split lip/face full of blood. Maybe if he rolled on the ground in agony he would had gotten some attention. I'll always remember the Ghana player who simply laid down in extra time, wasn't touched, in order to waste time (he was caught on camera).

swede

You've got that right! All this criticism of Clark about that goal SHOULD have been heaped upon Michale Bradley, and his “hospital pass”.

i think you are forgetting that zidane's headbut or maradona's karate match. not saying football is a violent sport but those offenses were far greater than anything a US player did this world cup

The problem is the ODP system that is geared toward upper middle class people, and is also easily impressed by 6 foot wide-body players.

I wouldn't say Herc is “way better” after all he did nothing against Ghana.

Bocanegra was very lucky (and again the US should not complain about refs) for not receiving a yellow for his “challenge” on Gyan.

That would have been a deserved yellow card #2, and would have ended the match after 3 mins in extra time.

If you are talking about Prince Boateng — he had a brutal tackle where he stepped on Ballacks ankle; however, it didn't break ballack's leg.

Further, if you watched the game you would have seen Ballack slap Prince Boateng in the face about five minutes before Boateng tackles Ballack. So, I wouldn't say Ballack had it coming but …

Ghana didn't gain independence until 1957, 2006 was Ghana's first world cup. Care to reconsider those excuses?