I think what most should have seen is a player that was basically abandoned by the formation in the first game, and then got stronger and stronger in the subsequent games. It could also be argued that the player still had some Warzycha on him when the tourney started, then it slowly eroded to show the player his normally is.
Lucky to have him; his worst games he was hung out to dry as everyone else pushed forward and he was overrun in midfield. The US doesn't qualify without Trapp, he'll play an important role in the summer.
It was both. Trapp was very good most of the time and certainly got better as the tournament rolled on. When he had the ball he was fantastic. Pinpoint passes, good decisions, few turnovers. He was asked to cover a lot of ground defensively and in the 2nd game was late on many challenges, likely should have picked up a 2nd yellow and been sent off. Ramos subbed him off at the half to avoid the inevitable red card. He was just leaving his feet for no reason. In the final he was a beast on both sides of the ball. Learned his lesson about keeping his feet against speedy opposition and it made for a much better performance.
If it makes you feel better, the Mexican keeper Sanchez, is a Dallas homegrown player who will be in MLS before long.
Lol.... you can't argue that Trapp got better the further into the tourney they went, right? You also can't argue that the further into the tourney they went, the longer it had been since he was exposed to RW's training, right? You can't argue those two simple facts. Could one be responsible for the other? You can't say for sure that they ARE NOT related. So, there is a chance.
As long as it's not really, really, REALLY tedious, then I think we're probably ok. But if we have to throw that third "really" in there, then we might really be in trouble!!!
Facts are tedious things. How many times have we seen discussions on these boards over the past 4 seasons regarding the lack of growth in promising players and the decline of quality of others since the transition. I don't know that I really put tons of stock in the Trapp discussion, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was the case. I guess we can see what happens in June if Trapp starts horribly in Turkey and improves by each match.
I dislike Warzycha as much as the next guy and often times more. Your hypothesis there is weak sauce. Really weak. That line of reasoning by you or anyone is silly.
Especially when you consider how much better all those players do once they get to other teams. For example; Robbie Rogers, Andy Iro, among a plethora of others.
The draw for the U-20 World Cup will be early afternoon on Monday March 25, in Istanbul. the teams are divided like so-- Pot 1: South Korea, Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Africa 1, Oceania 1 Pot 2: Africa 2, Africa 3, Africa 4, Australia, Iraq, Uzbekistan Pot 3: USA, El Salvador, Cuba, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay Pot 4: Croatia, England, France, Greece, Portugal, Turkey Since the tournament is being played in Turkey, I think the team to get in Pot 4 would be either Croatia or Greece. Though on paper Turkey is probably the weakest of the 6, so it wouldn't be horrible to be drawn against them either. In Pot 1, you obviously would like to avoid Spain and Colombia. A game against New Zealand or whoever winds up winning Oceania would be ideal. From Pot 2, the obvious choice is Uzbekistan, or one of the others from Asia. (South Korea beat Iraq on PKs in the Asian final.) In Africa, 3 of the final 4 are known (Mali, Egypt, and Ghana) with the 4th spot to be determined tomorrow, with Nigeria, Congo DR, and Gabon contesting it. The African final isn't until a few days after the draw. best case would probably be something along the lines of: New Zealand, Uzbekistan, USA, Croatia worst case would look like: Spain, Ghana, USA, France
If anyone cares, the draw is being streamed live on youtube and fifa.com, and its about to start (dignitaries are doing speeches right now): http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/news/newsid=2040372/index.html?intcmp=newsreader_news_caption
The African team won't be determined by final standings in Africa. The three non-winners will have a draw immediately after the final on March 30. So it could be the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place teams.
I believe we open with Spain: June 21- USA v Spain (in Istanbul) June 24- USA v France (in Istanbul) June 27- USA v CAF (in Kayseri)