edcrocker
23 May 2006, 05:16 PM
I can understand you not wanting to vault Arena into legendary status just yet, but to act as if "only" winning two games in the world cup and "barely" qualifying for the 02 world cup renders those accomplishments less meaningful is a bigger mistake than overrating an outstanding coach.Those accomplishments are meaningful. I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. However, I'm saying that partly (though obviously not entirely) because we won only two games in the World Cup and qualified on the last day, it is not clear whether one should rate Arena with Wooden and Lombardi. One important aspect of Arena that seems better than Lombardi is that, overall, Arena seems to have a better relationship with his players.
Also, it is important that we not be overconfident. That tends to result in playing less well than we otherwise might. And I worry that the tone of the Gratoff article can contribute to overconfidence.
on top of that - you seem to overlook that since squeaking into the quarterfinals of the '02 cup we went on to win our regional qualifying group and easily make the 06 cup. we also barely won the gold cup. our win loss percentage, not to mention our goals-against average, are remarkable over the past four years.[/I]That's fair. But world soccer is odd in that World Cup qualifying and the World Cup is so big. Specifically, they should be seen as hugely more important than friendlies and the Gold Cup. Still, those other accomplishments are significant.
in fact, you could say we have gone from one of the better teams in the region to arguably THE dominant soccer force in concacaf.[/I]"Dominant force in concacaf" is too strong. Costa Rica beat the US 3-0 in Saprissa, and we tied Costa Rica in the Gold Cup. Mexico outplayed the US and beat the US in Azteca. And both Costa Rica and Mexico did pretty well in the last World Cup. However, if the US does better in this World Cup than Mexico and Costa Rica, then it would be fair to say that the US is the best team in Concacaf. In fact, it is reasonable to say that the US is currently the best team in Concacaf. However, if the US loses all three matches and Mexico makes it to the round of 16, that would be grounds for saying that Mexico is the best team in Concacaf.
we've gotten quite spoiled under bruce arena. we didn't used to dominate like this. there's a reason some people might be overreacting.Of course there are reasons that some people might be overracting. Reasons can be causes. But they still might be overreacting.
Also, it is important that we not be overconfident. That tends to result in playing less well than we otherwise might. And I worry that the tone of the Gratoff article can contribute to overconfidence.
on top of that - you seem to overlook that since squeaking into the quarterfinals of the '02 cup we went on to win our regional qualifying group and easily make the 06 cup. we also barely won the gold cup. our win loss percentage, not to mention our goals-against average, are remarkable over the past four years.[/I]That's fair. But world soccer is odd in that World Cup qualifying and the World Cup is so big. Specifically, they should be seen as hugely more important than friendlies and the Gold Cup. Still, those other accomplishments are significant.
in fact, you could say we have gone from one of the better teams in the region to arguably THE dominant soccer force in concacaf.[/I]"Dominant force in concacaf" is too strong. Costa Rica beat the US 3-0 in Saprissa, and we tied Costa Rica in the Gold Cup. Mexico outplayed the US and beat the US in Azteca. And both Costa Rica and Mexico did pretty well in the last World Cup. However, if the US does better in this World Cup than Mexico and Costa Rica, then it would be fair to say that the US is the best team in Concacaf. In fact, it is reasonable to say that the US is currently the best team in Concacaf. However, if the US loses all three matches and Mexico makes it to the round of 16, that would be grounds for saying that Mexico is the best team in Concacaf.
we've gotten quite spoiled under bruce arena. we didn't used to dominate like this. there's a reason some people might be overreacting.Of course there are reasons that some people might be overracting. Reasons can be causes. But they still might be overreacting.