It's too much to watch in one sitting, but I watched minute 5 to minute ten. At first I couldn't tell who the Germans were and who the Americans were from the style of play—both were unimpressive. At least from this segment, neither has established themselves.
I watched the first 30 minutes. Blue (Rangers): I liked the way they played--smart. Good possession. Good combination passing. Lots of diagonal passes. Good skills and tactics displayed. There were individuals that I though were exceptional (bad and good), but my comments are on the team's play as a whole. White (Frankfurt): Displayed relatively poor tactics. Skills on the ball looked good. Most of the passing was straight up/back or square. Very little diagonal passing. Most of the movement was straight up the field. In the first 10 minutes especially they played kick and run. This up and back movement made them predictable and they lost the ball a lot to interceptions as a result. Their players were on average much bigger. They also played very physical--rather than smart. I would guess that the differences reflected differences in the two team's coaching, not necessarily reflecting national coaching philosophies or differences in player abilities. One last note: I am comparing two very good teams. So poor in this instance is a relative concept.
Rangers are kind of in a tough situation. They aren't in academy, so they constantly lose players and have to bring in new players. Luckily, there is no shortage of players looking to join their program. Even if there is an adjustment period. I believe the forward that got subbed out (#19 ) came from Chivas USA Academy program. So there is is some movement to and fro from cut players. Most recently some of the players in this Dallas Cup winning team were recruited by Galaxy Academy. I only mention this as being relevant because the team has been undefeated, reportedly, for the past 2 years. So its really interesting to see how they have maintained such a winning with such a turnover of players. I've seen JO's training sessions and he does alot of passing drills and SSG. His coaches at the younger ages do alot of passing drills, some general athletic fitness, finishing, penalties and SSG's. I thought skillwise the Frankfurt players looked sharper but of course they seemed slow and predictable while the Fullerton team passed more in angles and quick-one twos. Definitely a difference in playing style. Fullerton really reflects what you would expect from the coach's Uruguayan playing background.
