....you guys actually think that just because a player has a Mexican/Hispanic/Spanish heritage that they'll have a better style of play?? And we don't have many on the NTs/see them in NWSL just because of prejudice? Two MAJOR things you should actually consider: --America is backwards in that soccer is a game of the wealthy here. Parents pay for their kids to develop in youth leagues, and it's those kids more likely to get noticed by high school and college coaches. It's the same reason why you don't see many African-Americans on the NTs. (Or kids who group up in inner cities.) --European/Western cultures are well ahead of Hispanic cultures in accepting women in sports - there's very little support to develop female soccer players in countries like Mexico. It's also probably why you see more African-Americans than Hispanic-Americans in American sports. There's no lack of black female athletes for girls to have as role model. But for Hispanic girls (in or out of the US) there's noticeably less. Will there be some prejudice? Yes, of course, we're not a post-racial society like some people think we've become. There's definitely a case to be made for why Garza didn't see playing time in CHI's last two games. But I think that's a rather minor factor after you account for skill, which is a function of opportunity more than anything else. Everything - EVERYTHING - comes down to economics. (Which I honestly hate most of the time, but it's a sad truth.)
Some more tidbits as we inch closer to the playoffs: -WNY and POR have tied all their matches between them. -KC has never beaten WNY. -NJ has never beaten CHI (not playoff relevant, but still interesting while I'm on the topic). -Since June of last year, WNY has only lost two of twenty games at home. Both losses were to BOS.
Oh I'm sure Garza's playing time came down to skill and maybe lack of aggressiveness. I don't know. It appears to me Red Stars coaches like those that go 100%, play aggressive, give everything they got and so forth. Maybe she doesn't have that mindset, I don't know. We are just speculating why a player didn't get a whole lot of playing time even though her Federation allocated her and paid for it. I would also think that the Red Stars and their coaching staff wanted to go out with a win and give it all they got like they have all season. My point is the Mexican Federation is paying for this kid not just to dribble around cones in practice every day but develop game day exposure and knowledge. Practice is great and I'm sure the Mexican players learned a great deal but there is nothing like game situations to learn from and the last 2 games were an ideal situation to play 1 player who didn't get much playing time. Her country paid for it. I am not pointing the finger at any one or any coach at all. I think when folks say prejudice in this case, they are NOT referring to a racial or, nationalistic. They mean styles of play, IMO. I'm just saying that often the South/Latin American style of play and the Anglo style of play are different. Some coaches prefer one over the other.
this used to be true. not so much now. good american coaches don't believe that anymore. they pass the ball around. look at swanson at virginia who won the world cup with the u20s. it doesn't matter to the good coaches if you pass the ball around, but you have to be able to win the game eventually. that's my point. he still played above the ability of a lot of american players, so he got picked! because she was not better than the uswnt players. because their players were poorer. even for mexico she could not make the starting 11. because, by and large, the american allocated players were better than the mexican allocated players. the mexican federation should have known before the first ball was kicked that most of their players were going to improve by practicing during the week with players that were better than them, not by playing in the games. posters were talking about that on these boards when the league was being planned, the mexican fed had to know. they are only making noise to prop up their players - which they should absolutely do. if we take the same argument, we'd say that if trinidad paid for a few players next year, they should get playing time. i understand that this is a problem for the league, but players cannot be picked by fed pay.
I don't think this has been posted yet, but here is a good interview with Rapinoe from Soccer Wire. Most notably, she says she wants to stay in Seattle rather then play in Portland.
Sure. Nevertheless, the Mexican coach, the Mexican Federation have to sit with each of their players and evaluate their experience. Did they enjoy the environment? Did they get enough playing time for their liking? Did they agree with the coaching style that they were on? Big question would be if the player progressed during her time with the team or did the coach just ignore her? If the Mexican federation is paying then they should expect progression in that players play. And last, is it worth the money? They need to figure out if it is worth for the Mexican Federation to keep funding allocations for the NWSL. If yes, then we move forward and tweak what needs to be tweaked, if not then let their players be free agents and if an NWSL team wants one of them then they have to pay for them.
The main question I think for most people is not whether she is in Portland or Seattle but rather will she be available for either team for a full season?
There r a lot of issue I would have tossed on the table before I decided this was about being anti Hispanic. As many have mentioned, it may have been about style. Here's a corollary to that...it may have been about defense. The first thing u hear about other leagues throughout the world is they r less about defense. Another factor to throw in the mix is some coaches just dont like getting stuck with players. The problem with allocation is the coach goes from picking the team to trying to fit seven players into it. If the Mexican coach was saying there was favoritism then this is the more reasonable view. The players the coach recruited got preference in playing for exactly the same reason they got recruited...because the coach liked them and thought they would fit the system. The players from allocation who were just too talented to ignore got showhorned in. Here's an example. Chicago got stuck with mostly defenders in allocation though injuries sorted that out a bit. When it came down to trading one of their DMids they sent off Winters instead of Osborne. Now u can argue which one is better but Winters was free. Still the coach chose Osborne and got allocated Winters.
I think Rapinoe kinda loves the one she's with. It was all Lyon love when she came back and now it's all Seattle love. The important thing is she's happy. As to the point, as this seems to come down to a loan situation, Seattle is crazy if they loan her out until June. Let her play as much as she can in France but when games start in April she needs to be in Seattle. The Reign shouldnt have to suffer twice in a row for Lyon's gain.
Could it be possible that some Mexican players came into the league with undisclosed (publicly to us) lingering injuries that took time to heal and then get into playing shape, or that Mexican players that had not played in the US college system or former WPS did not appreciate the conditioning expected early on, thus were behind Americans/others from the start and may have falling into the "dog house" with their coaches? (hey if I am a coach, if a player can play well and can help me, I don't care what language she speaks).
And it is a general feeling among coaches that it is harder to get a player you don't share any language with to play as you want.
Technically speaking about the allocated Americans, Mitts, LePeibet, Boxx, and A-Rod did not play. But your point is correct, all the other available allocated US players did play even if limited in the case of Loyden.
Short Thorns promotional video where Morgan, Heath and Buehler surprise a local U-12 team. Apparently there were no yellow cards handed out. http://www.portlandtimbers.com/video/2013/08/20/thorns-fc-spread-love
Loyden is good example. SkyBlue stayed with Cameron long after Loyden was able to play because had been doing a great job and the coach was reluctant to change in mid stream. It's also fair to say that none of the Mexican NT players make the USWNT so it's really hard to make that comparison.
Article by Frank Giase in today's Star Ledger, mostly with Tom H. of SB: Giase On Soccer: National Women's Soccer League on solid ground http://www.nj.com/soccer-news/index.ssf/2013/08/giase_on_soccer.html "...Though the three federations paid the salaries of their respective national team players, which lifted a considerable financial burden off the eight teams, Hofstetter said Sky Blue still lost money. But not as much as expected. "Our No. 1 objective was to come in on budget and we were under budget," he said. "(In the last year of WPS) we had to revise our losses on a biweekly basis. The revenue on tickets was better than we expected and we accomplished our goal to make the playoffs."... "...So as women’s soccer moves forward, there is talk of expansion, not contraction. Hofstetter says there is interest, but the question is how many teams to add. While there is a concern the talent pool will be diluted, Hofstetter said coaches feel two teams should be added rather than one. There is also no plan to expand the schedule — "too many complications with the national team and player contracts," Hofstetter said — so it will remain a 22-game season in 2014...." "...Hofstetter also hopes Sky Blue’s fan base can be expanded. "We want more out of the market," he said. "This is a tough market. Movies, concerts, the shore. It’s different than other markets, very high-paced. It’s not an excuse, but we can certainly attract more people. How many? I can’t tell you."..."
One thing I've also heard and coming from reliable sources is that for the first time in women's pro soccer we know that ALL 8 teams are coming back next season for sure. That is great news!
Playoffs on TV update from NWSL: http://www.nwslsoccer.com/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::73928+L3/Display+E+NDX+NDX+748859 What channel is Fox Sports 2 on Comcast in Chicago?
Interesting tidbit number I've-lost-count: Buried in here is the (unofficial?) announcement of the title of the regular season standings championship is - the "NWSL Shield".
....how many times do we have to be reminded that KC came out several weeks ago saying they had no plans to play at Sporting Park?? Likely too expensive (unless SKC had interest in supporting FCKC, which I'm guessing they don't), too large, and it completely eliminates their home turf advantage. It make almost literally zero sense except to whiny fans who "have" to watch on TV/stream and don't like football lines.
Well it still wouldnt be Portland but lets say they sold 10,000 instead of 6,000. That extra 4,000 easily covers the rent difference plus u make further inroads in the fan base. Maybe they did some market research and didnt think they could sell much beyond their 6,000 seats. Maybe they asked and got a no. Maybe the date is booked. It not about lines, its about selling seat to the first NWSL playoff game.