I agree. My view is that the best teams (international, pro and the better amateur leagues including the top level D-I NCAA teams among others) play a combination of possession and direct soccer depending on what the opposition defense presents. If a team tries to play possession only, any otherwise evenly matched or better team will rule the day. I've seen it many times. ... and a classic version of this is when a well known possession team falls behind a well organized defense and grinds to a halt with meaningless passes back and forth at midfield before attempting some penetration and eventually loosing possession, and then near the end of the game starts launching ill fated long balls in a desperate attempt to get back into the game. Or to put it differently, the two games styles complement each other when skillfully executed. Both have to be in the arsenal of the best teams.
And that's actually what ended up happening not too long ago when USC won it all after losing to the rivalry match. Once the tournament starts, anything can happen, that's the beauty of the second season.