What does the U.S. need to do in this World Cup to gain respect from Europeans?

[Ludahai]

This is a genuine question that I hope does NOT turn into a flame war.

[kakaboypuf redded]

reach Semi Finals.

[Ludahai]

reach Semi Finals.

That option leads so far. Why?

[tutto_azzurri]

nothing they do will get them european respect.. except maybe win a world cup.. but that wont happen in any other part of the world but maybe in north america

[babytiger2001]

Where's the "win the group" option? Perhaps not a be-all and end-all, but winning Group E would certainly raise some eyebrows around Europe.

As for the limits of the poll, another run deep into the tournament would help, perhaps advancing further than they did in 2002 as well.

[jcsd]

t. The USA did earn itslef more respect in 2002 - in 2002 most would of rated it as the one of the worst teams goign itno the tournamnet, going into this torunament most people are putting them in the middle of the bunch (i.e around and about the 16th best team), it's just some US fans expect more respect than the US have earned - there still quite a logn way from being a real heavyweight.

The USA coudl go out in the first round and still earn itself a little more respect. tbh in the gorup stages in 2002 the USA wasn't that impressive. USA raise dit's rep in the Portugal game, but it doesn't get as much repsect as some US fans woudl liek for that as htough it ran out desrved winners it was against a sidethat didn't turn up and even then it almost squandered a 3-0 lead. The USA proved in the Portugal mathce sit could beat teams of these calibre, but it ceratinly did nto look like a team that would be able to do it with regularity. The rest of it's group games went pretty much as would of been predicted at the start of the tournament.

In this World Cupif it comes out plays soem very good football, but still loses to out to top notch teams like Italy and Czech it can raise it's rep as many are expecting a cakewalk for these two countries, perhaps more repsect than if it fluked it's way to the quarter finals.

Getting repsect is more about how you do things than what you do. Look at GErmany, they got some respect for getting to the final in 2002, but not a lot because they didn't deserve to be there.

[Galaxian]

I think getting out of our group will get us respect , but at the same time nothing we can do this summer will get us respect , they will still look at it as a fluke . But i'm fine with that . If we prove this summer that we can play with the best and get out of a very tough first round group , I dont care what the Europeans say .

[Neutral2]

If u make it out of your Group you will get respect of most europeans, i am pretty sure. (<--ger):)

[squadra_azzurri]

i think if you can beat #2 Czech Republic and Legendary Italy as they look like they couldnt be in any better form.. then yea, im pretty sure other countries will fear you dearly

[Dear_Claudio]

I voted nothing as that's the answer, but getting out of the group would atleast gain the respect of a few sensible Euros.

[voros]

Why exactly do you care whether Europeans give the U.S. respect or not?

[Chizzy]

I don't think that gaining "respect" benefits a football team.

[karny9]

no matter how far they'll go, Europeans will always look upon the U.S.A. as having an easy ride because of their region, and hence, will not garner as much respect, arguably, as they should.

[Dante]

reach Semi Finals.

The US has already done that once before.

[PaulGascoigne]

The US has already done that once before.

Hardly relevant...as a matter of fact, NOT relevant. We're talking about now.

I voted Quarters, but in retrospect I should say "make the final." Turkey and S. Korea made the semis last time, and neither one seems to enjoy massive amounts of respect (i.e., Turkey had a really nice cohort of great players like Croatia in '98 but isn't a great soccer nation overall, and S. Korea was a well-trained, fit team with a good team, home-field advantage and the ability to exercise mind control over the refs).

We beat Mexico over and over again, including in the cup, and huge numbers of them don't respect us (although they should).

Realistically, making the semis two times in a row or making the final once seems to be the bare minimum, although exactly what "respect" means and from whom it should be expected from is a matter of debate.

Winning a final would be only sure-fire way to do it, although repeatedly making it to the upper knockout rounds would have to go pretty far).

[TimB4Last]

Improving our foreign policy during the tournament would be a good start.

As to soccer, I think national teams (have to) earn respect one match at a time. I should note that (for the most part) we're talking here about the respect of fans. Our team's self-respect/self-confidence has improved tremendously over the years, and so has the respect opposing teams and coaches have for us.

As others have noted, we shouldn't worry too much about the respect we receive from opposing fans. There's not much we can do about that anyway. Mexican fans are the clearest example, but I'm sure there are plenty of European fans that see things the same way.

Good results are vital, obviously, but so is style of play. In theory, we could play dull, uninspired defensive soccer and advance; or play exciting, creative attacking soccer and be quickly eliminated. The former would impress more people, but if I had to choose one over the other, I would choose the latter.

You can't please everyone. Even our prospective good results can be rationalized. If we beat/tie the Czech Republic, well, they were an aging, injured, overrated side. If we beat/tie Italy, well, that wasn't really 'Italy.' If we need to beat Ghana to advance and we do, well, don't confuse Ghana with Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, etc. And if 2006 resembles 1998 more than 2002, we'll take a tremendous pounding as regards fan opinion.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. If we win and/or play well, respect will take care of itself - especially on the field, where it matters.

[tutto_azzurri]

[QUOTE=PaulGascoigne]

We beat Mexico over and over again, including in the cup, and huge numbers of them don't respect us (although they should).
[QUOTE]

***edited by mod*** mexico is 2nd most over-rated team next to the US

[Ludahai]

[QUOTE=PaulGascoigne]

We beat Mexico over and over again, including in the cup, and huge numbers of them don't respect us (although they should).
[QUOTE]

***edited by mod*** mexico is 2nd most over-rated team next to the US

That's the same MExico team that won the group Italy was seeded in four years ago, right?

Seriously, to hear the Eurosnobs say it, the only countries outside of Europe that can play soccer are Brazil and Argentina.

[bwach]

This is a genuine question that I hope does NOT turn into a flame war.

Interesting question. However, I might suggest you ask that the poll only be voted on by Europeans, rather than BigSoccer as a whole.

[OMfreak]

the US need to just wait to produce great players that will be in the tenure of Zidane and such to gain respect.