Again, Look at Jaime Moreno To See What Arena Likes

[ursula]

Marc Connolly (http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20050810&content_id=39423&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp) in his recent MLSnet article asked Bruce who he thought the best MLS player has been. He said Jaime Moreno.

This is not the first time he's said this either. But the important thing to bring away from this is to note what qualities does Moreno have as a player, especially as a forward, and use those qualities when evaluating other players. I think if one does this then one will see why Arena favors certain players over other ones.

I think a couple qualities stand out in Moreno's game:

1) He's a playmaker. Even though he's a forward he's constantly looking to include other players in the attack. His passing is first rate.

2) He can hold the ball. He can dribble in tight spaces. He can also accelerate with the ball better than most other players can run without it (sorry CJ Brown). But it all means that he can hold the ball.


What do these qualities mean when combined? It means that the game flows smoothly with Jaime; the game slows down for him. He always has the presence to stop with the ball at his feet, survey the situation, and make the right move- dribble or pass.

Moreno has other qualities too but just using these two look at the player pool and you can see that Arena favors players who can slow the game down also. Take JOB for instance. Same type of player who plays further back in the field. LD and DMB are obvious too. Go further though, past another obvious player, Claudio Reyna, and onto the marginal players. Watch a DCU game and see Quaranta (Jaime Jr.) change his pace constantly while looking for that final pass. This is why Noonan will keep getting looks by Bruce. And McBride, who is more than just a target guy. Look at Cherundolo and see why Arena gives Convey chances.

Then look at Moreno to see what Arena (and Feyenoord) are asking Dempsey to do. Then see why Cunningham has a big uphill climb to make the team while Wolff has been given so many chances.

I guess you can say that Arena wants players with good technical ability because once they have that then they can be more intelligent. Tommie Smyth said yesterday on ESPN News that he wondered if the US might not do as well this WC because of less technical ability on the team (compared to 02). (Without thinking to hard, I see the 02 team as similar in technical ability actually.)

We fans tend to go for players who visibly are extending all kinds of effort. It makes sense- we want to see spectacle. Arena looks differently- if you have to effort yourself so hard most of the time then you lack some crucial skills as a player.

[Heathens '87]

We fans tend to go for players who visibly are extending all kinds of effort. It makes sense- we want to see spectacle. Arena looks differently- if you have to effort yourself so hard most of the time then you lack some crucial skills as a player.


What's the phrase that coaches preach...."let the ball do the work." ;)

Thanks for the link - very revealing about Bruce and his views on MLS.

[JohnW]

Thanks for the link

Agreed.

Quote from article:
"Arena has capped 45 different players with the U.S. national team in 2005 and has roughly 20 others he's keeping a close eye on."

It would be interesting who's on that list. I can think of some of the obvious ones, but I'd be hard-pressed to identify those last 4-5.

[appoo]

cocky bastard isnt he? :)

[ghazi]

What exactly did you mean by this bit about Feyenoord?

Then look at Moreno to see what Arena (and Feyenoord) are asking Dempsey to do. Then see why Cunningham has a big uphill climb to make the team while Wolff has been given so many chances.

[ghazi]

What exactly did you mean by this bit about Feyenoord?

Then look at Moreno to see what Arena (and Feyenoord) are asking Dempsey to do. Then see why Cunningham has a big uphill climb to make the team while Wolff has been given so many chances.


Ahh. . the power of Google! I see he had a trial at Feyenoord.

[Sanguine]

cocky bastard isnt he? :)

this is neither news nor analysis. ;)

[Heathens '87]

What exactly did you mean by this bit about Feyenoord?

Then look at Moreno to see what Arena (and Feyenoord) are asking Dempsey to do.


After his trial there, Feyenoord asked Dempsey to work on varying his speed, and not playing so directly. Clint is over-reliant on athleticism, which is fine for Furman or MLS, but isn't going to translate to a higher-level of soccer. Arena has told him the same thing.

Moreno does this extremely well.....too bad he's Bolivian.

[JohnR]

However, Landon is also one of Arena's favorite players and he doesn't quite fit the above description. Landon is many things, but able to slow the game down and hold the ball while under pressure would not be it.

I don't argue with your description of Moreno & the other players, but I think that being on Bruce's favorites list is simpler - be technical, be smart, and don't panic with the damn ball. Be fast is helpful too but not essential.

[sidefootsitter]

I don't mind Moreno as a player but I don't think he fits into the USMNT style because Jaime has very subtle ball skills and soccer IQ while the US is more run&gun style.

Now, if you got Moreno, you definitely want a lot of one-touch passing because Moreno and Etch could do that perfectly. You also didn't mind a back-pass as much because the duo could move the ball in and out and side to side.

But you don't play this style when you got Donovan, Beasley and Quaranta, whose main skill is running people into the ground. Jaime can't run, so you don't ask him to do that. But he can also turn his defender any way he pleases, shoot, dribble, pass, cross, etc. If Landon had similar skills, he'd be a world class player with his speed.

Alas, wanting LanDo to be Jaime Moreno is akin to wanting Josh Wolff to be Michael Owen. They're not and you can't pretend that they will be and so you have to have a different grand strategy for the Nats. Claudio Reyna may be a perfect holding mid for the Uruguyan Nationals but he has to play it quick for the Yanks because Eddie Johnson, as good as he is and as great as he may become, is no Diego Forlan or Walter Pandiani while LanDo is no Alvaro Recoba.

And if Bruce thinks that they may be ...

[Heathens '87]

I don't mind Moreno as a player but I don't think he fits into the USMNT style because Jaime has very subtle ball skills and soccer IQ while the US is more run&gun style.

Now, if you got Moreno, you definitely want a lot of one-touch passing because Moreno and Etch could do that perfectly. You also didn't mind a back-pass as much because the duo could move the ball in and out and side to side.

But you don't play this style when you got Donovan, Beasley and Quaranta, whose main skill is running people into the ground. Jaime can't run, so you don't ask him to do that. But he can also turn his defender any way he pleases, shoot, dribble, pass, cross, etc. If Landon had similar skills, he'd be a world class player with his speed.

Alas, wanting LanDo to be Jaime Moreno is akin to wanting Josh Wolff to be Michael Owen. They're not and you can't pretend that they will be and so you have to have a different grand strategy for the Nats. Claudio Reyna may be a perfect holding mid for the Uruguyan Nationals but he has to play it quick for the Yanks because Eddie Johnson, as good as he is and as great as he may become, is no Diego Forlan or Walter Pandiani while LanDo is no Alvaro Recoba.

And if Bruce thinks that they may be ...


American soccer in a nutshell....a bit too direct, too technical, lots of athleticism but not enough creativity. We've become very good with this approach, but the next step will need to involve much more individual skill....

[tab5g]

I would imagine that Arena sees a little bit, or a lot, of the qualities he likes in Moreno in the young #25 player from United.

[sidefootsitter]

American soccer in a nutshell....a bit too direct, too technical, lots of athleticism but not enough creativity. We've become very good with this approach, but the next step will need to involve much more individual skill.... You mean too mechanical?

[Wahoo]

I don't argue with your description of Moreno & the other players, but I think that being on Bruce's favorites list is simpler - be technical, be smart, and don't panic with the damn ball. Be fast is helpful too but not essential.

Technical + Smart + Don't Panic ===> Claudio Reyna

Those are exactly the skills Bruce likes and why Claudio will be there as long as his talent level is high enough.

[Heathens '87]

You mean too mechanical?


That's a better word. By "technical" I mean that they play too much out of a playbook, unwilling to deviate from a design that's been drilled into them in practice. MLS, as a league, can get pretty robotic, so mechanical is a great word.

Creating space and allowing for individual creativity isn't something that's emphasized at any level of soccer in the US, and when we're criticized abroad, it usually centers around our unwillingness to allow for individual match-ups, hiding in an over-reliance on a team approach. A fair point, but you play a style to maximize your team's chances to win. It's where American soccer is right now......

[Nutmeg]

Bruce cracks me up. I'd take the 2003 Earthquakes over the 1998 United Squad. They played a better brand of soccer, and oh yeah - they actually beat the Fire in the Cup. Hehehe.

"I don't think the league has produced a better team than the one I had in '98," says Arena. "Not even close. That '98 team would beat any team this league has ever seen on a consistent basis."

[rollo]

I don't mind Moreno as a player but I don't think he fits into the USMNT style because Jaime has very subtle ball skills and soccer IQ while the US is more run&gun style.

Now, if you got Moreno, you definitely want a lot of one-touch passing because Moreno and Etch could do that perfectly. You also didn't mind a back-pass as much because the duo could move the ball in and out and side to side.

But you don't play this style when you got Donovan, Beasley and Quaranta, whose main skill is running people into the ground. Jaime can't run, so you don't ask him to do that. But he can also turn his defender any way he pleases, shoot, dribble, pass, cross, etc. If Landon had similar skills, he'd be a world class player with his speed.

Alas, wanting LanDo to be Jaime Moreno is akin to wanting Josh Wolff to be Michael Owen. They're not and you can't pretend that they will be and so you have to have a different grand strategy for the Nats. Claudio Reyna may be a perfect holding mid for the Uruguyan Nationals but he has to play it quick for the Yanks because Eddie Johnson, as good as he is and as great as he may become, is no Diego Forlan or Walter Pandiani while LanDo is no Alvaro Recoba.

And if Bruce thinks that they may be ...

I do not agree with your assessment of the technical skills of Donovan, Beasely, JOB, and Reyna. These players can do more than "run and gun" as you put it. I'm not refuting that they are not like other players, very few are. But the problem with the USMNT has always been the large variation in technical skills and soccer IQ among the players.

Claudio Reyna has always been able to play high level soccer (though there was a time I thought he needed to vary his pace a bit, but thats a long time ago). Now we have more players who can do this in terms of Donovan, DMB, and JOB. No, they are not Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, but neither are they "run and gun" players.

The ability of the USMNT to possess the ball and vary the pace of the game by possessing the ball has steadily improved and gets better every year. The number of players who can do this is also steadily increasing, and I think is reflected in Ursula's post about what Arena likes. I think he has improved the team by increasing the number of players with better technical skills and soccer IQ (as opposed to even great "run and gun" players like Cunningham etc).

I think at this point both Bobby Convey and Clint Dempsey have hurdles to overcome with respect to lifting the sophistication of their game, but they both have very good basic technique. Quaranta could end up ahead of these guys if he adds technique and smart varied play. Notice even a player like Eddie Lewis who started out as a classic winger (run up the flank and cross) has matured and varies his game with cuts inside and close passing with teammates. I think these are the reasons why he has remained strong with the USMNT and its possible that he gained there aspects of his game under the coaching of BA.

[sidefootsitter]

I do not agree with your assessment of the technical skills of Donovan, Beasely, JOB, and Reyna. These players can do more than "run and gun" as you put it... You may want to re-read my post.

[DonCorleone]

what arena has something to do with moreno ?

[rollo]

I don't mind Moreno as a player but I don't think he fits into the USMNT style because Jaime has very subtle ball skills and soccer IQ while the US is more run&gun style.

Now, if you got Moreno, you definitely want a lot of one-touch passing because Moreno and Etch could do that perfectly. You also didn't mind a back-pass as much because the duo could move the ball in and out and side to side.


But you don't play this style when you got Donovan, Beasley and Quaranta, whose main skill is running people into the ground.



I'm sorry if I misrepresented you, but I was going on these statements of yours.......