[feyenoordsoccerfan]

yesterday evening Ruud Gullit and Ronald Waterreus were guests in the soccer tv program "Studio Voetbal" and to throw a huge stone (to some it may be a rock) in the tranquile pond of Yankee soccer fans they had something to say about the quality of coaching in the MLS. One of the moderators asked why it was that with the huge numbers of youngsters playing soccer in the US it doesnot show up in quality players. Ronald started his answer with Arena, but switched to a general view, that he that in most of the teams he observed the level of coaching is horrible, especially at the tactical level.
Ruud added to that an experience he had with Coby(?). During a training session Coby did something and Ruud asked what he was doing. The practice was about defending. Coby kept the field coverage wide, and Ruud told him that that's not the way to defend, in fact you cannot defend unless you compress the field. Coby reacted to that: G.dammit, I knew it I knew it but every coach told me otherwise.
These are observations by two men who have been playing at the highest levels and with superior coaches and the main defieciency they see in American soccer is the lack of tactical knowledge, at least at the levels we are accustomed to in the Netherlands. Before someone starts hammering his keyboard about Dutchosnobism I like to point to Franz Beckenbauer who once (about two years ago if I recall well) said that he always watches a match of Dutch teams when he gets the chance as he is interested in the tactical strategies used by Dutch teams. He admires the Dutch teams for their tactical skills.