US vs. Guatemala, the Bruce (R)

[superdave]

Let's discuss Bruce's tactics and substitutions here.

[CbR]

start several more threads while youre at it:rolleyes:

[MLSNHTOWN]

Well the starting lineup sure is interesting. IMHO though it is exactly what we need in this game with the Revs and Galaxy players gone. All three bubble forwards on the pitch at the same time, Klein with his last chance. Of course Zavagnin and Olsen is not pretty at all.

What I like is that I don't expect us to have great possession with that midfield. Which means that the defenders (who all need to be tested) should be on there toes a lot, if the Guats are worth anything (which most of the time they are not...)

[superdave]

start several more threads while youre at it:rolleyes:
No, 4 covers it.

I've done it before, and it works much, much better than the omnibus post-game threads, which always suck. Not because of the posts, but because they contain 10 conversations at once.

[superdave]

You have to be impressed how what's basically a 2nd rate MLS all-star team passed the ball around. Bruce + 3 weeks = trouble for our opponents.

The Boswell-Hejduk substitution made no sense to me, unless we were playing 3-5-2 after that. But what's the point of making such a late switch in tactics?

Nice use of Eddie Johnson. He played a half, and got his goal.

I liked the set piece in the first half that Wolff choked. Our first team would have scored with that.

[SUDano]

I liked the set piece in the first half that Wolff choked. Our first team would have scored with that.

How the hell did Wolff choke. He ran onto the ball and made a perfect cross without anyone running through the middle. If you think that was a shot and he should have scored you know nothing about soccer. Blame Wolff for everything.

[Nimbus2000]

Don't have much to say about tactics but...

Bruce is a Boyscout - he just loves to go to camp.

Watching the team gel over the past weeks has been a satisfying experience. A Team, B Team, C Team, etc. is not what set these two teams apart; the US was playing coherently and with an awareness of each other. It's been said before but Arena is excellent at preparting his teams in the build up to games

[Slingerfan1977]

The Boswell-Hejduk substitution made no sense to me, unless we were playing 3-5-2 after that. But what's the point of making such a late switch in tactics?Arena was just rewarding Boswell with his first cap. I really don't think it had anything to do with tactics.

[DoctorD]

I love the planning.

1) Get experience for the fringe players (see: Totti injury)

2) Help decide the final roster spots.

3) Show appreciation for all those guys who were at camp but won't get on the WC roster

4) Show up with a 4-3-3 just to throw doubt into our opponents' planning.

[dredgfan]

How the hell did Wolff choke. He ran onto the ball and made a perfect cross without anyone running through the middle. If you think that was a shot and he should have scored you know nothing about soccer. Blame Wolff for everything.

Should I blame him for this rash or bruce's tactics since thats what made the fat chick vunerable? Really, Wollf didn't do much in the way of scoring but he did have the positioning. Bruce did well considering the roster available albeit the Guats were shite. The subs were average but there wasn't much to accomplish up 3-0.

[sidefootsitter]

I didn't like 4-3-3 to open the match and wish he opened with a standard Diamond. I felt his offensive players were a little unsure of where they were supposed to be.

[VTSoccerFan]

I liked that Bruce got all players in the game. It seemed like a class act, a nice reward, and a thank you to all the guys for their hard work at camp.

Seeing the way some of the players looked, thinking of Rolfe and Pearce here, if this game was any kind of reflection on their entire camp performance I can see why other options have seem more of the field in the friendlies.

I liked the tricky direct kick (pass to Wolff) in the first half.

I like how Bruce genuinely seemed happy for all the players after they scored.

[John L]

The Bruce seemed to have different strategies for the Forwards, Midfielders and Defenders

Forwards - Try them all out for at least a half - Put your injured and most vulenerable in when the game is out of reach and the hacking may be lower then normal - Trust Guatemala to keep on hacking all the way through

Defenders - Keep the center with Pope in middle all the time - Put Boswell in, but paired with Pope and a good outside defender next to him

Midfield - A puzzling strategy to play Midfielders out of their normal position (except for Zavagnin at DMid) - Arena really does seem to demand and expect his Midfielders to go where they are needed - AMids tracking back; Outside Mids cutting inside and distributing the ball; DefMids organizing play and coming up into Attack - Some guys have the versatility and vision to carry it off - I you're up to it, then you'll be be playing more -

[livestock]

The 4-3-3 is a great formation played correctly (not the Dutch '74/'78 4-3-3, but the contemporary 2006 4-3-3 that flexes between itself and a 4-5-1 depending on possession/transition.
That free kick with Wolff and the pass across missed by a hair (Pope, I think) was just off by a few inches on his run. The timing to make that type of free kick work needs to be impeccable and the US were close but no cigar...not Wolff's fault or Pope's, just soccer.
Is it just me or has Hejduk really improved his service, with either foot, too, over the course of like the last month?
Frankie still never runs out of energy, but he seems like he's even playing a bit of soccer these days. Great to see him bust everyone (by a leg and a half at least) in the beep-test clip at the break, as well.
Cherondolo, Pope, Onyewu, Lewis with Hejduk and Bocanegro in reserve
Donovan, Reyna, O'Brien, Beasley with Dempsey and Convey ready (Convey Reddy)
McBride and Johnson with Twellman and Wolff also kept warm.
Kasey, with T-T-T-Tim and Marcus H.
Conrad, Berhalter, Klein and me make 23...always wanted to see Germany.:)

[sidefootsitter]

The 4-3-3 is a great formation played correctly (not the Dutch '74/'78 4-3-3, but the contemporary 2006 4-3-3 that flexes between itself and a 4-5-1 depending on possession/transition... Technically speaking, the 1974 Dutch were playing a 4-4-2 Box with split forwards (Rep and Rensenbrink). Cruijf and Neeskens were the attacking mids, with Johan I in a totally free role. Van Hanegem and Jansen were the defensive mids, with Wim I having a deep distribution role.

4-3-3 was played by the Germans then, which suited them fine since they had two decent wingers (Hölzenbein and Grabowski) whereas the Dutch mids didn't feel confined to a touchline and relied on their wingbacks Suurbier and Krol to provide width.

Bruce formation was thus extremely odd since neither Rolfe nor Wolfe is a touchline player and Klein and Hejduk both worked the same side.

But, hey ... it worked.

[GOYA-GOYA]

Technically speaking, the 1974 Dutch were playing a 4-4-2 Box with split forwards (Rep and Rensenbrink). Cruijf and Neeskens were the attacking mids, with Johan I in a totally free role. Van Hanegem and Jansen were the defensive mids, with Wim I having a deep distribution role.

4-3-3 was played by the Germans then, which suited them fine since they had two decent wingers (Hölzenbein and Grabowski) whereas the Dutch mids didn't feel confined to a touchline and relied on their wingbacks Suurbier and Krol to provide width.

Bruce formation was thus extremely odd since neither Rolfe nor Wolfe is a touchline player and Klein and Hejduk both worked the same side.

But, hey ... it worked.

It worked because Guatemala played like they were frozen to the pitch. ;)

[superdave]

How the hell did Wolff choke. He ran onto the ball and made a perfect cross without anyone running through the middle. If you think that was a shot and he should have scored you know nothing about soccer. Blame Wolff for everything.
Rewatched the game. Stand by what I wrote...the first team, McBride or Johnson in form, scores on that more often than not. Wolff's release was a hair slow, and even so, if he got the ball off the ground, and put some power behind it, he had an good chance to score. A quicker release, and it's an excellent chance.

[bigtoga]

If you guys haven't seen it, USSoccer has uploaded the podcast of Bruce's post-match interview: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315957

[StillKickin]

I thought Bruce did a fine job. He prepared us to play. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the victory was. Class on his part to let everybody play. Good job, Bruce.