Costa Rica-USA World Cup Qualifier Player Ratings
- by Mike Woitalla @MikeWoitalla, Nov 16, 2016
COSTA RICA-USA EXPRESS:
Nov. 15 in San Jose, Costa Rica
Costa Rica 4 USA 0. Goals: Venegas (Bolanos) 44, Bolanos (Ruiz) 68,
Campbell 74, Campbell (Matarrita) 78.
USA Player Ratings:
Starters
Rating Player (Team) Caps/Goals
4 Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough/ENG) 53/0
Snuffed out Johan Venegas’ close-range shot in the seventh minute and with his face blocked Bryan Ruiz’s bicycle kick. Made a
kick save on Venegas in the second half. Got his hand on Christian Bolanos’ header but failed to block it.
2 Timmy Chandler (Ein. Frankfurt/GER) 29/1
Won a
third-minute corner kick for the USA but his other ventures down the right flank ended with poor crosses. Got a yellow in the 11th minute to earn a suspension for the next game. Was marking
Bolanos on second goal. His intercepted pass was part of the calamity on Ticos’ fourth goal.
2 Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX) 35/1
More than a few steps
behind most the action. Didn’t close down Cristian Bolanos and turned away instead of blocking the cross that set up Costa Rica’s opening goal. Failed to win a header on fourth goal
sequence.
1 John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/GER) 29/3
Nutmegged by Venegas in the 7th minute on Ticos’ first chance. His third turnover in the first half led to Costa
Rica’s first goal, when he also lost the aerial duel with Venegas. Horribly misplayed a high ball from Ronald Matarrita, delivering it to Joel Campbell and got nutmegged (again) on third goal.
Blew a clearance before fourth goal. Headed poorly on two U.S. corner kicks.
3 Matt Besler (Sporting KC) 39/1
The left back signaled early on that he wouldn’t be
helping create offense when he booted a pass out of bounds. Way out of position when Ruiz delivered the cross for the second goal.
3 Fabian Johnson (Borussia M’gladbach/GER)
54/2
USA had two free kicks in threatening spots in the first half. Johnson blasted the first into the wall and hit the second high. Never threatened from his right midfield
position.
3 Michael Bradley (Toronto FC) 126/15
Ineffective at bringing any order to U.S. midfield but helped out the backline once in a while. In the second half, over
hit a corner kick that went out for a throw-in on the far sideline and failed to clear the first defender on another. Also wasted a free kick.
3 Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids)
67/4
Charged around without linking with fellow midfielders nor delivering service to forwards. Cautioned for unnecessary foul in midfield to earn a suspension for the next game against
Honduras. Misplayed balls early in the second half when USA searched in vain for some prolonged possession.
4 Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER) 11/3
Saw too
little of the ball, but drew foul for 17th minute free kick that Johnson wasted and created rare threat in the 20th minute when Tico keeper Keylor Navas snatched his low pass along the goal line. Lost
the ball and fouled before Costa Rica took quick midfield free kick to set up second goal.
4 Bobby Wood (Hamburg/GER) 29/7
Like other attackers, lacked service.
Created one chance with a low pass across the goalmouth that Pulisic couldn’t reach.
3 Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC) 98/37
Lost balls and his temper. Missed a
chance to head on goal in the 82nd minute.
Substitutes:
3 Lynden Gooch (Sunderland/ENG) 2/0
Replaced Pulisic in the 70th minute and misplayed the
first two balls that came his way.
3 Sacha Kljestan (NY Red Bulls) 51/6
Replaced Jones in the 71st minute with no positive effect.
nr Graham Zusi
(Sporting KC) 42/5
Replaced Johnson for the last 13 minutes
(Ratings: 1=low; 5=average; 10-high.)
TRIVIA
• The
loss was the USA’s worst in World Cup qualifying in 36 years -- a 5-1 loss at Mexico in 1980 during qualifying for the 1982 World Cup.
• Costa Rica’s win pulls the Ticos ahead in
head-to-head against the USA with a 15-14-6 win-loss-tie record since the nations first met in 1975.
Nov. 15 in San Jose, Costa Rica
Costa
Rica 4 USA 0. Goals: Venegas (Bolanos) 44, Bolanos (Ruiz) 68, Campbell 74, Campbell (Matarrita) 78.
Costa Rica -- Navas; Salvatierra, Waston, Acosta, Umana, Matarrita;
Bolanos, Azofeifa (Tejeda, 70), Borges, Ruiz (Wallace, 84); Venegas (Campbell, 67).
USA -- Guzan; Chandler, Gonzalez, Brooks, Besler; Johnson (Zusi, 77), Bradley, Jones
(Kljestan, 74), Pulisic (Gooch, 70); Altidore, Wood.
Referee: Cesar Ramos (Mexico).
Att.: 35,400.
Probably one of the worst performances under Klinsmann. I've never seen such poor defending, poor passing, and a lack of combination play. Still wondering why feilhaber is not in the roster, gooch needs to be given a chance, and why isn't Green at least not coming off the bench... For goodness sake he is a sub for Bayern Munich.
I agree. Putting 30-year-old Zusi in when the game was out of reach made no sense at all. JK should have given a younger player like Green some minutes.
Green? A player who either sits on Bayern's bench without ever seeing the field or lately not even making the bench?
One of the worst performances I've ever seen as well. We played like a youth team with no poise and movement. I've given up on Brad Guzan; he looked like a cariacature of an English keeper who can do nothing but kick long balls. Another one to give up on is Zusi. Like Wondo, he is continually out of his depth internationally. I'll take anyone off of Bayern's bench instead of those two.
The only good thing that came out of this match for the U.S. is that Lynden Gooch got tied to the U.S.
And that Chandler and Jones have to miss the next qualifier.
USA versus Costa Rica:
Players’ Club Teams Are Where?
US Starters: 1 England, 5 Germany, 1 Mexico, 4 MLS
US Substitutes: 1 England, 2 MLS
Costa Rica Starters: 2 Spain, 1 Portugal, 4 MLS, 4 Costa Rica
Costa Rica Substitutes: 1 England, 2 MLS
I am not going to defend the team against any criticism. IMO Guzan is rated too high. Guzan in the past two matches would not allow the team to play out of the back. That is killing any chance to maintain possession. I cannot understand why JK allows it to happen. Gonzalez was unbelievably bad on the first goal. He should have prevented a turn, instead he showed no sign of urgency and allowed the player all the time and space he wanted. Incredible. What a fiasco. Fiasco is the most appropriate description of this match.
If you had a Fantasy Football team, would you take any of these guys? Maybe it would be worth a punt on Pulisic or Wood or Gooch for the bench, but the rest -- meh! And that's the problem: they are nothing more than average players being asked to play at levels higher than their skill and acumen can sustain them. US Soccer has been a 'sneaker' forever and no coach in the last 66 years has been able to put a shine on it. I'm sure Klinsmann will get the axe -- probably sooner rather than later -- and US Soccer can bring in Arena or Schmid or Klopp or Guardiola or whomever. People will cheer, but in the end US Soccer is still a sneaker. And there is nothing in its structure (the coaching level courses are appalling!) that provides any clue that it could ever get better no matter who is at the helm. Face it, it's not our game.
Speak for yourself. It is my game and millions of others in this country.
Sorry, Bob, but 66 years of no progress from that historic day in Belo Horizonte speaks volumes about our country's lack of interest (I won't even use the word 'commitment') in the sport. A country of 330,000 (Iceland) made it to the knockout stages of the 2016 Euros -- we're a country of 330,000,000 and where are we? I see nothing in US Soccer -- from Gulati all the way down to U-10s at the park -- that even remotely suggests that US Soccer aspires to raise our quality.
Tom Symonds, what you say holds gallons and gallos of water. But, where have your comments been man? And for one of the rare times, I agree with the player ratings, though, I feel that JK better be polishing his resume, and I feel that Schmid would be a better choice, neither Arena or Klopp can change much before the March games. Pep G? come now! First thing to clean house is NOT to reelect Gulati as head USSF honcho, and say ach du lieber, auf wiedersehen Klinsi, like manana?
This is a crises and it needs to be addressed now.
Quite frankly the coach should tender his resignation and let someone else implement something that works. Relying on foreign based players does not and will not help create a succession plan.
Gulati needs to look at a hard look and see what legacy he wants to leave but there is no doubt that we are not making progress. They have done well but we need to get to the next level and there is no vision there.
America has never lacked the fighting spirit and I am sure witching the internal leagues - MLS, NASL and USL we can find players that have a point to prove rather than search for Cap Statistics.
We have seen a generation do John Hackworth's effort from the academy go untapped ( the total opposite of the Chike effort). We have seen American youth and talent not used and developed in the MLS ( with no playing time) against a succession plan and wonder why these policies are condoned.
It is time to look at the issues include a disastrous college soccer program play Ashie ss a seasonal event. These truly are the bane of Soccer Development in the US and we need to find a fix not just for Russia 2018 but for the future.
USSoccer deserves better leadership and commitment.
You are absolutely right...it is not our game. In most countries a start to qualifying like this would create a crisis throughout society, maybe even including the head of the government weighing in with their passioned observations . Here we will not even be able to muster any kind of reaction out of mainstream US English language media because they and their consumers don't care. The lack of healthy, and at times unhealthy, pressure on US Soccer leads to a level of entitlement and complacency that has stifled improvement for years. Firing Klinsmann will not change this structural issue, though he has to go anyway. I was a big supporter of his when he was hired because I hoped he would help us breakthrough to the next level. His act has worn thin now and he needs to go. The only real option at this moment is Bruce Arena. It has to be an American and we can't trust anybody without experience given our current situation.
By record ow where they play (club team) the US players are much better than the Costa Ricans. What then explains the result.
Campbell didn't actually make it at arsenal. Puli sic has officially made it at Dortmund. Our roster is at the very least equal to Costa Rica. The difference, outside of home field advantage, was organization understanding and belief.
laughable
Jake Savino, I am with you, I have posted in the past that money is a huge part of the problem. Clubs, DA's, ODP, etc. charge plenty and with that many fantastic players that simply can't afford those costs are left out. "Pay to play" is real and many times real bad. Structure is needed but what is needed more is creativity which usually comes from free play. A combination is necessary but it starts with individual skills, some learned, some taught. MNT does not have skilled players that can play internationally. There are plenty of players within the US that can beat this team, I have seen some of these players. Why aren't they in this program ? Size, money, contacts. They definitely have the skills. My son played for one of the top teams in the country just last year, now aged out of club. Their opponents were just as good at times, I was encouraged to see this. Unfortunately these are not the players who will make it to top, or what should be the top. The college game is different than club and not as fun to watch. This team is not fun to watch. In 2010 I let my kids miss some school to watch USA games in South Africa, they were exciting to watch, we have lost that. The US will not be a top football country in my lifetime, that's okay. I watch lots of La Liga, BPL, Bundesliga so I am happy.
Dig deeper and select US players of all cultures that have creativity and heart. Many of them are not in DA's.
Adrian - There have never been more opportunities to play for free. MLS clubs are leading the way with this. Could there be more, yes, but things are moving in a very positive direction when you consider what has been done over the last 5-10 years.
Nothing you wrote disagrees with the fact that there are more chances to play for free than ever before. In fact, I will take it a step further and say that there has never been a clearer path to professional soccer than now. Refuting either of those statements shows that you have absolutely no clue what the big picture is regarding the growth player development over the last 5-10-20 years.
I think until Klinsmann dumps the older players, the team cannot improve. The older players (Altidore, Bradley, etc.) are past it. Technically going backwards, no pace, no vision. only immature behaviour and stupid comments about formations and blah , blah, blah. These players cannot play at the international level. Klinsmann persistence with these after the last world cup will only delay any improvement. I said it earlier, that our players are just not good enough. Klinsmann should consider why he wants to coach this sorry bunch. Take a look at how all the goals given up to Costa Rica were a result of very poor ball control!
Disgusted.
On the bright side, the referee crew had a nice game. The CR did a good job keeping it under control, and the 2 Costa Rican goals were very close to offside, and the AR got them right. I also thought that the field, for a Central American qualifier, was actually pretty good.
Get Klinsmann the 'F' out of here!!!!!! We don't elect a German for president, so why did we ever hire a German to lead our MNT? We can't even have a foreign player playing for the team, so why Klinsman? He has never had positive results as a coach in The EU so why the hell do we think he will produce results in the US? He is taking our money all the way to the bank and laughing just like he laughed in press conferences. He doesn't know our players and he can't pick out talent! We need an American coach from the MLS. Enough is enough!
Trump's grandfather was born in Germany
Sigi Schmid for HC Men's National Team!!!
Ric, Sigi has no clue what he is doing... go here (and read if you want to be enriched), but find on the page "Sigi Schmidt" and click that link. http://blog.3four3.com/2012/10/02/us-soccer-unravelled-in-under-140-characters/
OK... here it is directly... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgCDMhsMPFQ
I think the player ratings are fair. Nobody covered themselves in glory last night. I have been a JK skeptic for most of his tenure here; I did not think he'd be a savior, liked his willingness to try new things, then got discouraged by his ALWAYS trying new things (no continuity or base to build on). I thought last year he was starting to find his groove, with a relatively stable, solid lineup subject to some tweaks. But recently, he's gone back to being unfathomable. The 3 centerbacks against Mexico, very uncreative MF v Costa Rica, pulling Pulisic, but leaving on Gonzalez and Chandler? Bringing on Zusi? Wating a really long time to bring on any subs, when it was clear something needed to change. Rough night.
Gonzalez's casualness on the first goal was the first time in 39 years following US soccer I thought a player should have been substituted out immediately. Brooks was embarrassingly bad -- his header attempt early in reminded me of Roy Lassiter -- Gonzalez did not even phone it in.
I was shocked too. Unbelievable from a professional.
Sometimes I think Klinsmann is a plant designed to curtail the progress of US soccer. In fact he has done just that.
If you want JK gone, there is only one thing US Soccer and Sunai Gulati understand. $$$$ Let the sponsors know how unhappy you are and stop going to games. Either that or have the players lead a revolt ala the US Women’s team when Tom Sermani got the ax
Say what you want about soccer culture and player development etc. These are problems although there has been improvement. But the reality is that in any serious soccer country no national team coach would still have a job after the results we've witnessed over the past year and a half. We can lose to anybody anywhere and firing JK is the only way I see us qualifying for Russia. He has to go now!
Ok but a soccer culture doesn't evolve overnight. We are miles ahead of where we were twenty years ago on that front. It takes time.
I agree with Jake... I've see no progress in 20 years
If you look at the depth of the young players that we are producing, you would see that there is no question that we are miles ahead of where we were even 15 years ago. If you look at the infrastructure that has grown over the last few years, you would know that we are miles ahead. The problem, Jake, is that it takes perspective to see this.
You don't see the progress because you don't have any perspective. Those players "haven't proven themselves yet because they are teenagers. Very few teens have the opportunity to prove themselves. But, as a group, they are miles ahead of other groups in the past. Again, I don't expect you to understand this because you obviously lack perspective.
That's not really perspective; it's an opinion based on nothing but your own agenda against everything youth development in the US. Meanwhile the facts disprove your baseless assertion. McKennie, Gaines, Wright, de la Torre, Hyndman, Miazga, Zelalem, Pomykal, Carleton, etc. etc. etc. have all come up in the US system and they are on the verge of breaking out as teenagers.
And apparently Pulisic grew up playing with Michigan Rush, PA Classics, occasionally training with Harrisonburg City Islanders (USL, I think).
PA Classics and Michigan Rush are big clubs. I don't know all of the DA clubs off the top of my head, but they operate the same way. And all of those other guys came up in MLS academies or DAs, and they have been in the youth national team set ups, too. Your opinion is based on the environment that all of the top players grew up in, but you are in denial that that environment includes a heavy dose of VERY structured play.
Why do you make this an either/or thing? It's like that's the only way you can make your argument stick. You are so entrenched in it that you are blind to reality. Players need structured environments/good coaching, and they should play a lot outside of that environment, too. Unfortunately, in the US, there are not always opportunities for 8-12 year olds to play in the "streets" or parks. That doesn't mean that those kids should just not try to learn the game and play at a high level. And that does not mean that the academy should not try to facilitate that free play environment or encourage the kids to play as much as they can outside of the academy.
Your argument about Pulisic is ridiculous. He played in the most structured environments that were available to him. Who cares if those clubs are DAs or not? (I just looked and PA Classics are...) But he learned in non-structured environments, too. His dad, especially, seems to have been a major influence in his development, so he was brought up in the type of 24/7 soccer passionate environment that is harder to find in the US than it is in other countries.
US fans will now suffer through 4 months of intense insecurity over qualifying. The Sampson era was better than this. At least in those days we could qualify easily. It is starting to feel like 1986!
Klinsmann has one of the most talented US teams ever and it is failing.
This debacle has reached its lowest point. For whatever positives one could possibly glean from the Klinnsmann regime, they have been officially eclipsed by the last few games. This team does not care, is not motivated, and looks like they don't believe in what they are being asked to do.
Rongen's comments kill me on the broadcasts, but even he admitted that, as a coach, sometimes the players stop responding to you. Klinnsmann remaining in place is embarrassing. It shows our leadership has no idea what it is doing, and Klinnsmann is in it for nothing more than the an easy paycheck at this point.
I have defended this program to no end with foreign colleagues and friends. I'm done with it until a change is made.
Rongen does not hold back. I am a DC United fan from Day One. Very interesting hearing Rongen admit that within a year or so of winning MLS Cup he had lost the team. It is quite apparent that Klinsmann has lost his.
Any negativity here that is not directed at Colonel Klink is wrong-headed. Not necessarily WRONG, but definitely wrong-headed. The coach has lost the team and run out of ideas. We have fine players. Some were on the field, some were on the bench some were watching at home. Saying soccer is not our game or we have no chance at being a great team is supremely stupid and runs counter to the well-documented and easily observed fact that soccer is BOOMING in the US. Out with the Legend, in with a coach.
Thank you for proving my point.
The notion that Costa Rica's is much better than ours is absolutely laughable.
Yes, miles better than Donovan's group where a group of a handful of players was focused on in order. The depth is much greater now. Campbell is a nice player, but you are vastly overrating him. Costa Rica was dominating that game before he even came on. Why? Because one team was organized and playing together while the other was shaken and playing like a bunch of guys who had never played together before.
nope, that's not the reason at all
JOHN BROOKS is the BEST EXAMPLE of why you (read: USA at all levels of play) can't have an American Football (England Football) mentality of Athleticism, strength, size, speed over skillful and tactically smart soccer players... sure, if you can wrap all of those in with skill and tactical intelligence, that would be good, but the US first picks (at all levels, including most of your youth teams out there)... the US first picks the type of players that would be good for American Football (and England Football) over what would be good for REAL Football ... Wake UP Americans!!!
Totally agree with everything David just said.
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG... MAHONEY in his article is WRONG!!!! the MAHONEY and broad AMERICAN comments and the JK garbage and the pathetic 2014 US showing, it's all wrong... you espouse a magical formula that will make your 2nd tier mediocre group into a world class power by some "magical run" that somehow makes magic at one tournament, and defies all odds (read: GET BIG TIME LUCKY, like 10,000 to 1 shot) ... this is the mode of desperates hoping to change the inevitable... in reality it's a YOUTH PROBLEM... it's pick-up games in the street, it's an organic problem, It's an AMERICAN soccer mentality that values find-the-best-American-Football-type-players-and-make-them-our-hope-for-soccer instead of recognizing and placing a value on SOCCER talent/Skill/Guile/Trickery/Intelligence... you can't fix this for at least a generation... the culture has to change and you need kids playing on the street and in the playgrounds every day after school, on the weekends, at recess (add that to the structured coaching, and then we'll have something to talk about)... it WON'T happen until then ... it WON'T
We don't have a player like CR because our your system is not controlled by our professional clubs and because there is no accountability of our youth clubs to develop young players. The only accountability is to collect the $1600 to $2500 a head from 8y/o and up. In Europe, 9 and 10 y/o kids are signing contracts with academies paid for by professional clubs. Their kids are not paying all this money to a youth system in hopes of making their kid good. Parents need to wake up and demand more from their clubs but, they are afraid that if they do, the club will either take their son off the A-team or not promote their kid from B to A-team. So with a broken youth system we will always have a broken MNT. It's that simple! Jk promised to fix this 5 years ago and it's only getting worse. The cost to play soccer is only skyrocketing!!!!!!!
Guy, good points, but it is not "that simple"... read my two posts above yours and that about take care of it.
BAND-AID Fixes! ... all this talk about Zusi and Bradley, and Jones etc... it's ok for "what should we do to bolster are chances in this game", but it doesn't address the overall goal... this is all Band-Aid talk... band-aids aren't too effective on point-blank grenade wounds! Let's make an "American" mentality point here... something the "American" can understand. Imagine your local college team from Po-Dunk, USA (pick your American sport of Basketball or American Football or Baseball, whatever you like)... so imagine the Po-Dunk team playing a big city PRO team (pick NBA, NFL, MLB)... for some odd reason, they are going to play. Sure can can talk about which player would be better (at Po-Dunk college) against the pro team, and argue till the cows come home about Po-Dunk's Zusi, or Altidore, or Bradley, or...etc, etc. and that's OK. But just realize, you're not having a discussion about how PO-Dunk is not in the same league as the PRo League. (The analogy isn't exact) But know that you aren't going to fix the "Why can't we win a World Cup?" question by talking about all these 2nd tier player personnel moves (the Zusi's and Bradley's and Dempsy's and Pulisics). It gets tiring of hearing people here talk about the Zusi's and the Landons, and the Deandre Yedlin's and who the coach should have picked to make us a WC contender... it's just silliness and you have got to realize it's like you're talking about how PO-Dunk is going to beat the Pro team.
This obviously took you a long time to write but it's totally incoherent.
Fire... good name... also fire JK is a good name. Pay attention... look at the quotation marks, etc. I'm confident you figure it out with a little thought. HINT: PRO team is the analog of Top Tier National Soccer teams.... the rinky dink team from PO-DUNK, USA is the analog to the USMNT. They are in different leagues.
David's point is that there's no point discussing who should start then they are all second class. Not saying I agree (pulisic I think can be 1st class) but that's his point.
It seems like the people at U.S. soccer are micro-managing the teams. Yes, the manager is ultimately responsible for his team's chemistry, or spirit, will to win, whatever you want to call it, but we all know it's the players that must have that between themselves, and the manager just hopes to throw the right people into the mix.
Yes a manager can affect the overall mood, and approach to the game, but
when supposed team leaders show disrespect for the game like Dempsey did when he tore up a referee's cards, or when Jermaine Jones repeatedly bumped arguably one of the US' best referees for not calling a penalty on a non-deliberate handling, it sets a tone, like these players think they're entitled to be on the team.
Most of us accept that no one's bigger than the game, but it seems like there's some pressure to retain the so-called marquee players just because they bring recognition, and thus notoriety, and thus money into the game even when they play poorly, or behave poorly, and disrupt team chemistry.
The same is true on the women' side. Hope Solo's antics, and poor sportsmanship, and Rapinoe using the US soccer team as a means to further a controversial agenda can't have helped that pool's chances either.
Spodrts, and the arts are supposed to be ways we celebrate life. When players lose the fun in it, it's very difficult to be successful.
One the other side of that, we see how successful teams enjoy playing, and appreciate a team mate, or even an opponent that has a moment of brilliance.
Well if we agree that this embarrassment isn't due to merely a lack of talent, and we shouldn't since this scoreline was reversed in a previous meeting, then Klinsman may not be all at fault, but how it usually works is
When a team succeeds the players get the credit, but when they fail, the manager takes the blame.
If JK gets the boot, a better job is on the horizon
Rapinoe's 'controversial agenda?' Do you mean a lesbian's support of another marginalized group in this great country? I don't know how a woman standing in line with her fellow citizens to acknowledge the continuing, discriminatory practices of one of the militarized institutions (the police force) in the U.S. could be considered 'controversial.' If most want to stand up/bow down before the flag, fine; but it makes excellent democratic sense to at least acknowledge a delicate minority of our citizenry who recognize the...eh, not-so-savory symbolism of the flag. I'd say 'brave,' more than anything. Or do you use the term 'political correctness,' too?
As I said on another post, the best players in a country come out of poor areas. Look at Brazil and Argentina. The kids that would be great soccer players in the US are going to the NBA as guards and the NFL as wide receivers. Until our soccer leagues pay that kind of money, we will remain where we are. Period. End of Statement.
Ahh, Darlings...many appropriate comments regarding our soccer--also very reflective of Usonian political/electorial affairs: 'lack of interest...', 'not making progress', 'lowest point,'' protest with your money...', 'feels like 1986...'---the systemic problems require RADICAL change. Good ol' Cony K has been calling for revolution for as long as I can remember: yes, we need futsal courts throughout; the LOVE FOR THE GAME is crucial--it begins at home; also, a rejection of the status quo--the inherent violence of gridiron football, the boredom that is baseball ('keeping American fat' is the rallying cry)--the importance of this sport--our sport--that it is indeed THE SPORT to play, know, and love will influence and inspire our young people to fall in love and pursue soccer.
Here in Chicago-there are as many Puerto Rican children as Mexican who want to play soccer. In Humboldt Park--a largely Puerto Rican community--there are plenty of baseball fields--yet only one futsal-style, converted tennis court field. Kids are on it at 7a on a Sunday! We continue to petition the Park District for more renovations/conversions because the demand is there. And it comes from yes--the immigrant families in the inner cities--as well as us 'gringos.' Guess what--the black kids here want to play, too. Instead of their D.A. fetish, U.S. Soccer might funnel some of that monetary inspiration right over here to the basketball-loving West Side.---People such as Gulati (who seems to hover around the middle of the political sphere) and the 'President-elect' (who is dangerously far-right) are synonymous with corporate culture: 'wealth' for a few is their ultimate goal. Every half-step forward in the U.S.A. is followed shortly by two-steps back. But I believe the will of the people will be stronger. Do I?
A strong home is built on a strong foundation. The healthiest tree comes from strong healthy roots and a strong MNT develops out of a talented youth system. If we allow the adults to milk the youth system for every penny it's worth it will become worthless. With only the rich able to play soccer we are just about there. I just don't know how to fix it or change it. It seems like no one of importance in the soccer community cares as long as they are making a $, which includes everyone in this country. I still say US soccer should inforce every club to support a youth academy at little or no charge similar to the English academy system instead of enforcing every MLS club to have a soccer specific club. Set Priorities!!!!!!!
Guy, you may be right. But to look to England to produce good players is very shakey ground. Maybe you can cite a more successful country who uses this model?
Most of Europe. Germany for one. I traveled to England and Germany so I can only speak of those two.
Wow! are we generous with our scoring of the players. The should all get no more than a 2 with brooks a negative 5. Being nutmegged twice just tell s me hat he has had very poor youth coaching. What coach tells the player to defend an attacking play square with his feet apart laterally. Since he was the last defender he should have positioned himself to channel the attacker and delay him until help arrived. This is the fundamental problem with US soccer players, they have had such poor training that when they get to this level they are expose of their lack of tactical and technical knowledge.
It is what it is. No real team leader, no team cohesion, no passion, and more inconsistent performances. As individual players perform, so goes the team...it's the individual players who are accountable.
I will not try to defend the performance of our team in any manner, but the carping most have had about this game is little different from the first games the U.S has played since the current management has been put into place.
CP is really the first player of the new generation that has come through the JK player development system, including being at BVB where playing time has been generous unlike other early developers in the MLS, where almost no time is seen for players of his same age. All other players on the team are the patch quilt players that JK has been trying to assemble from all corners of the globe that are unlikely to be what is really needed for a competitive team at the world level.
JK played in the much more familiar 442 which many pointed to as a failure with Mexico's 343 but had even worse results, is that really a coaching problem or a player quality problem? There is almost nothing positive that can be said about our back lines play, with no team work and poor individual performances. Our midfield was simply over-matched with the predominate characteristics being petulant behavior. I thought CP and BW showed more ability than the rest of the team could take advantage of through some control and proper feeding of the ball.
I simply don't believe any other coach would have a significantly better performance with the same crop of senior players and that until we see a wave of younger players compete for team positions, we are going to suffer erratic performances.
Personally I would have left CP on the field for experience even though it is understandable he was likely was pulled to protect his confidence and avoid what was potentially a very chippy game ending,
Brain, JK had the US play a narrow 343 against Mexico, apparently expecting Mexico to start in a 532. Mexico's coach immediately saw that Chandler was playing winghalf on the right side and the only flank player on that side. He immediately adjusted Mexico's system to overload Chandler and exploit the narrowness of US formation. The adjustment was made in less than 5 minutes. It soon became apparent to everyone over the age of 10 in the stadium, except JK (a slight exageration), that the US needed to make an adjustment to Mexico's change in strategy. 25 minutes and a goal the players confronted JK at the sideline and only then did JK switch to a wider 442 putting 2 players on each flank.
One of the biggest problems we have is believing we are better than everybody in everything, and the reality is way too different..
Yes.. this was probably one of the worst performances, but whoever refuses to believe that Costa Rica & Mexico are better at this game....
well that person just doesn’t want to accept the facts.
Just look at the stats against the “ticos”
“Costa Rica’s win pulls the Ticos ahead in head-to-head against the USA with a 15-14-6” all time fact.
USMNT 6-9-3 vs. Costa Rica in World Cup Qualifying and 0-9-1 all-time in qualifiers played on Costa Rican soil. – Fact
Costa Rica players—
K. Navas – Real Madrid goalie -- -do you know who that Team is???
Campbell – Arsenal - was shipped out on loan to Sporting Lisbon… do you see his skills in any US player???
Kendall Waston - Vancouver Whitecap, do we have a dominant center back like him??
Borges – Deportivo La Coruña.
B. Ruiz - Sporting Lisbon
No to mention injured players they have…
(Oviedo – Everton, Duarte – Espanyol Barcelona, Gonzalez plays for Palermo – Italy)
1 by 1 they are better in almost all positions.. and they have a team in top of that.. just look at how far they made it in World Cup 2014
So, just because we have better infrastructure, that itself doesn’t make us better in quality whatsoever..
We need a new head for sure, but also need to change mentally (little bit of humble) and obviously.. the way soccer is taught in young academies..
He just said that the way soccer is taught in young academies is the way forward. To which, you said that he makes sense. Of course great players are going to play on their own. That is very important, but it does not make learning and playing in a structured environment any less important. As for the rosters, they are both made of a mix of MLS/domestic players and European players. There are no world class players on either team. Given home field advantage, CR was the favorite the other night. In the US, we will be the favorite. There is nowhere near the difference that we saw the other night, and it has been clear for a very long time that the US is playing below its potential -- not that that potential is top class or anything, but we have still been playing well below our potential.
So Keylor Navas and Joel Campbell are not top players??? where do you think they need to play at.. to satisfy your remarks..??
you just made my point.. "we are America, they is noone better than us"
@ don... you have to expand your horizons. If you only know US soccer and EPL, you don't have a very comprehensive understanding to make a statement about "world class players"... subscribe to BeIn Sport and you'll see the top league in the world...
Give me an effing break, DAVID V. I don't know why you think the only soccer I know is US soccer and EPL. Your assumption could not be further off base.
Jake and David you do your cause harm when you belittle people who disagree with you.
He said we need to change the way the game is taught in the academies, not that the academies aren't vital. In your mind, the only thing that a coach tells players is, "that's wrong", "pass the ball", "don't be selfish." Why can't you allow for the possibility of other types of coaches? I fully acknowledge the importance of passion and free play and learning those lessons, but you are so ignorant on your opinion of a coach's role in the development of young players that it makes you sound ridiculously naive about player development. A good coach can play a humongous role in developing a young player. If Costa Rica is so much better than the US then how did we shred them in Copa Centenario? Pulisic is every bit as good as Campbell. Bolanos is so special? But he plays in MLS, which is a league that you constantly deride. Wood, Kljestan (champs league experience/MLS MVP candidate), Bradley, Johnson (champs league starter), Altidore, Gonzalez (Mexican league champ), Brooks (one of best young defenders in Bundesliga), etc. -- our roster is pretty comparable to Costa Rica's. Outside of their keeper and a guy (Campbell -- came on when the game was basically already won) who is basically on par with Pulisic, how can you say that Costa Rica has the type of talent that they are so much better than the US roster?
IMHO....Player abilities, soccer IQ, and especially in execution is the biggest difference demonstrated in this game.
Are you holding the failure to play out of the back against the US field players? That was all Guzan's doing and completely frustrated our possession of the ball.
I just love all these "soccer is booming" comments. If so, if soccer has boomed for the last 15-20 years (estimated 3.5 million players in the youth systems), where are the thousands of quality players to choose from? The hundreds? The dozens? Are you telling me that the team lined up against Mexico and Costa Rica are THE BEST of the US soccer system?
Face it, "booming soccer" is not producing -- it hasn't and it never will. Yes, millions play the sport, BUT, most quit by high school and for all but a very, very few, college soccer is the final resting place. Look, while 18y/o American soccer players are studying for their SATs and trying to figure out who to ask as a prom date, 18 y/o Romelu Lukaku was playing for Anderlecht in his country's top league and in European competition. And there's the difference in a nut shell. Soccer is serious overseas, but clearly little more than a phys-ed pastime over here.
Tom - MLS and USL squads are making it possible for teenagers to play in professional environments like you talk about. This is a new phenomenon. Player development is very different than it was a decade ago, but it takes a long time to put these systems in place. We are close, but still a few years away. The first products are scratching the surface now. Consider Pulisic the first of this wave.