Last year is history although the importance of his absence from the squad is mere speculation. Mastroeni is now 2 years older than when Rapids fans last saw any meaningful contribution from him. Sometime this season the Rapids organization, Mastroeni himself and even his dedicated Rapids fans will realize he is no longer the player who served the team loyally for so many years. I, for one, am sorry to see Mastroeni return to the playing field with its risks and potential indignities. When it is over, it is over!
It is, but do remember the game that we broke out of our massive summer winless streak (home vs. RSL) was the week when Pablo came back and just ran with the team. That game, everyone was committed to pressuring and working hard all over the field, everyone was focused, for the first time in 2 months. Perhaps that's not all because of Pablo, but he has at least some part in that causation. I don't think there are many fans here who expect Pablo to be the player he was in, say, 2010. I'd hope we all have realistic expectations. And judging from the RFO's statements about wanting him to mentor O'Neill, etc., I think even they have tempered their expectations. Though I can't deny I am still worried about the Rapids' braintrust expecting more of Pablo than they perhaps have any right to.
I get it and I agree in concept only. However, there is no restraint on fans expectations and they will likely expect Mastroeni to be the Rapids Messiah. Also, if mentoring O'Neill is to be his role, then hire him as a coach and not as an obstruction to O'Neill getting important playing time. *A soccer match is a continuous series of problems that require instant on-field solutions; playing time is critical to the development of the "soccer brain". * As an aside, I wish Pareja would mature to the point that he realizes that his presence patrolling the touch line is detrimental to the flow of the game and it casts a sophomoric appearance to his team, coaaches, other teams & coaches and the fans alike!
Actually since he played into late 2011 he's currently only a little over a year older, and even come March it will only be about a year and a half.
His re-signing is good in that it's the right thing to do for your long-term star, but as for contributing to the cause, I'm not that excited or expectant. If we go 3-8-2 out of the gate, I can see Pablo as interim coach, if he wants it.
It surely does! If you understood that the game is composed of individual problems with on-going, instant, on-field solutions it would bother you as well. All coaches can only positively influence their teams' performance with player signings, in practice, with pre-game message & instructions, with 1st choice selections, at half-time and with tactical substitutions. Running the touch line is an indication that the coach doesn't get it. Touchline coaching is always too little too late, unnecessary cheerleading &/or a lack of trust in the players.
Marx, I agree with a lot of your posts but this isn't one of them. As a matter of background, I played for for nearly 30 years. I didn't play in the MLS, but I did play at the highest club levels in high school, I played in college, I played in the USISL (sorry...I'm dating myself here), and I played for years on some very strong Sunday men's teams. All of these teams had coaches. Some of them sat quietly on the bench while others patrolled and gave direction from the sidelines. I had no problem with either approach, as long as someone wasn't yelling at me from the bench while I had the ball at my feet. There is nothing wrong with in-game instruction, especially when the coach is implementing a new system or has new players. I cannot think of any negative impact, unless the instructions are shitty to begin with.
Maybe so, but when you have a bad team you should be jumping the gun to show everyone you are serious about getting better. Not let the other teams get guys that you need leaving you pick through the left over scraps. Portland is switching to similar style that Rapids claim we want, so we are fighting with them for these players. Especially when your trying to drive season tix sales, opening with false rumors of getting a DP is not the way.
An obvious negative impact is diverting one or more players attention from on-going action and disrupting their problem solving processes. Moreover, at some point yelling instruction becomes berating ones players or recent skill failure or tactical blunder neither of which can be re-done! In contrast to your playing career, mine was confined to a low level, however, for what is worth, administratively I rose to a high position. As such, I have witnessed coaches at all levels thruout the world. IMO, nothing positive comes from prowling the touchline invariably yelling strident comments and after the fact instructions. Soccer is a fluid game the opportunities are now, fleeting and there are no "do overs". If instructions are brief, changing strategies &/or positioning then so be it. Then, return to ones sit and restart the ongoing analysis. Also, IMO, these "touchline coaches" are actively demonstrated a total lack of trust in their players. If ones players are not adept at solving the continuous on-field problems, train them better, provide them with more on-field or game related experience, imbue them with responsibility and authority, or replace them with better players.
I love JW's posts... they always give me something to think about. After deliberation I usually think they land on hyperbole, Snobbery or BS, but at least these posts get me thinking! Thanks for that. This argument I will have to put in the "snobbery" category. OP is not coaching the best players in the world and some of them need in game positioning and strategy coaching. Some need instant after the fact reminders. Some need an understanding pat on the back and others need a kick in the ass. Some need cheerleader and others need a mentor. Who other than a snob is to say that there is only one way to "get it" as a coach?
I think you meant WJ's posts from the content and tone of your response. Soccer snob may well be an accurate way to describe me often, offering hyperbole sometimes but I am offended by the BS category. However, I am pleased that I cause you to think, more than anything that is my goal. I am an old man, I have been involved with soccer a long time, I am opinionated, I know what it is I like and what it is I do not like. I am comfortable offering my opinions. Although they are often stated strongly, I always hope that other posters understand that they are only opinions. as such, they are to be debated. They are not facts and not intended to be accepted as facts. I do try to gather facts and use them to color my opinions. I do not shoot from the him but carefully aim my comments. Agreed, there are many coaching styles. IMO, Pareja's current style is limited and perhaps disruptive. It is a common style of youth coaches and young coaches who are other too limited in their soccer knowledge, their coaching abilities or too early in their coaching careers to have developed confidence in themselves and their abilities. I have been & I remain a supporter of Pareja, but I concede that his lack of prior head coaching experience continues to haunt him. His lack of confidence has him prowling the touchlines rather than trusting his players. I believe in time Pareja will change. I hope that this comes soon enough to impact his tenure with the Rapids.
I couldn't be any happier with these recent developments. I am glad that one of the all-time great will receive an appropriate send off. Hope he's up for it.
You are correct. BS is not a fair description. My apologies. Well said without a trace of hyperbole or snobbery. I agree 100%.... don't get boring on us now
MLS had an article about Pablo's role next year today "Hinchey and technical director Paul Bravo’s thoughts are that Mastroeni could play a similar leadership role to the one veteran striker Claudio López played in the Rapids team that won MLS Cup 2010." Source: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/12/13/rapids-have-different-role-mind-returning-mastroeni
"Hinchey and technical director Paul Bravo’s thoughts are that Mastroeni could play a similar leadership role to the one veteran striker Claudio López played in the Rapids team that won MLS Cup 2010. The similarities, at least at first glance, are intriguing. Mastroeni is 36; López turned 36 midway through the 2010 season. Both were born in Argentina (Mastroeni was raised in the US, but born in Mendoza) and both are/were considered well into the twilight of their respective careers. López appeared in only 11 MLS games for the Rapids in 2010 and didn’t score a single goal, but his leadership has widely been considered to be an integral part of the team’s success that year. Mastroeni’s leadership (he was the team’s captain for eight years) was instrumental in 2012, even when he was away from the pitch for 32 of the team’s 34 games due to post-concussion symptoms." Whereas, the similarities at first glance may be intriguing, they do not stand up to serious scrutiny. Lopez was a player with broad exposure to various cultures of the world, a variety of soccer styles & playing conditions and fan expectations as well as his World Cup experience. Mastroeni, on the other hand, was limited to MLS and his exposures to World Cup Tournament soccer. Would even the boldest Rapids fan dare to compare Lopez’ club experience of Racing Club, Argentina, Valencia Soccer Club, Valencia, Spain, Lazio Soccer Club, Rome, Italy, Club America, Mexico City, Mexico with Mastroeni’s career confined to 2 MLS clubs? Mastroeni has been a loyal servant to MLS, to the Rapids, but, IMO, his glass is now ½ empty. If serving as a locker room force and a mentor to O’Neill are to be his future roles an assistant coaching position is appropriate. Making the team better in a players role is pure fantasy and my be risky for Mastroeni.
I was disappointed not to see more of Lopez on the field. Maybe he just couldn't run for long enough. When he would take the field, it sure seemed like he could direct traffic out there. Can Pablo play that role in organizing a defense? As a d-mid he'd still have to be able to range around and make tackles.
I don't think any fan would. But I don't agree with what you're implying, that Mastroeni somehow would be inappropriate as an "on-field" coach just because he happened to have not spent time in Europe or South America. We're playing in MLS, not E&SA, he has been through a pretty wide variety of experiences in MLS and with the USMNT, and Mastroeni already commands the respect/attention of basically everyone on the team. Would he be more valuable in that role if he had played in E &/or SA? Probably. But it's Mastroeni's health that makes him possibly unsuitable for the job, not his resume.
I am sorry if I gave the impression that I was denigrating Mastroeni because he did not play in either Europe or South America. I was not doing so! Rather, I was extolling Lopez breadth of experience and exposure to a wide variety of cultures and soccer experiences both of which added to his value as a player, as an older player, as a leader and as a coach if he chose to be one.