I imagine a lot of people will be relieved when they manage to keep us out of WC finals in Russia: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...tadiums/ar-AArTqkb?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp
another MLS coach??! really?? is that really the plan? i hope not....i mean, theres a few i wouldnt mind....but i really hope we see a south american coach or euro coach who is a great TACTICIAN....and who also knows how to select talent. JK didnt fail cuz he was foreign he failed cuz he doesnt know how to be a national team manager. i hope JK's failure doesnt mean we will be stuck with a mandatory MLS coach for USMNT ad infinitum....
That's how I see it. But not necessarily our best option for that role either. Depends on his form, and maybe the opponent, etc.
Tywin Lannister got shot to death with a crossbow while on a toilet. Maybe Bradley could have chosen a less ominous GoT quote. I mean, "You know nothing" is right there for you.
No he is not. IF (and at this point it is an IF) we qualify for Russia, Arena is finished when he get back. He was an interim choice -- the ONLY coach -- US or foreign, MLS or not -- who at this point could have jumped in at the last minute and gotten us through. I still think he will. But after Russia, he will stay on for a short time to pack up and send the equipment into storage. A new coach will be chosen for the next cycle. And he knows that. Maybe he goes back to MLS for one last hurrah. Maybe he hangs it up and retires (he turns 66 next week). He deserves it. He is the closest thing we have t a soccer coaching legend in this country. If this ever happens again, there will be other MLS coaches who can jump in on an interim basis.
Lalas is a troll and plays a character when he's in front of the camera. He definitely enjoys the attention and the entertainment side of things. A bit of self-promotion is always fine for him. A lot of people think he's a blowhard and don't enjoy his shtick. Lalas knew he'd get the reaction he did. Fans are frustrated and even angry, so he capitalized on it. I didn't think the rant was too much, just genius frustration by him IMO. Hate the guy or love him, he's not stupid. You can definitely criticize his rant though. You could say Lalas only said it to get attention for himself (I don't believe this). More so though his rant was lacking any type of analysis and was mostly general talking points like "play better." True they need to play better, but it didn't offer a solution. Instead it seemed to attack the team's lack of heart, desire and grit. You could go further and say that while the team is lacking these things right now... it doesn't hit the root of the problem. And that is related to USSF and MLS player development. edit: Lalas comment at Pulisic was my only disagreement. It's personal opinion whether to take his rant seriously or not. One interesting point that I heard during this whole thing was from former USMNT player Herc Gomez. It was from the podcast he does with Max Bretos for ESPN FC. Herc brought up the point that some of the 1994 guys are bitter that the current team get perks that they didn't. Which is probably true.
I would love to see a couple of Europeans play a qualifier in honduras, costa rica and panama, they would struggle. No matter what anybody says, it is not easy, minnows or not. Losing to Costa Rica at home, now that is a shitty performance.
Sometimes it feels like a working class team bought into all of the social media hype and thinks it can pull a "beautiful game" Germany/Spain/Brazil, forgetting that this is a street fight with no rules. I'd love them to play the beautiful game, and they seem to have more talent to be able to do that sometimes. But CONCACAF is not a pretty thing.
In other confederations we wouldn't be playing teams of Panama's or Honduras' calibre. We'd be playing Malta, Slovakia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Guinea-Bissau or something. The Hex has had the minnows weeded out through successive rounds. The only other remotely comparable qualifying schemes are Conmebol and maybe the AFC fourth round.
These are the guys who dumped Italy and England out of the last world cup. I think you're underestimating CR substantially.
The idea that the USMNT has always "FOUGHT!" and "PUNCHED ABOVE THEIR WEIGHT!" is a bit of an urban myth. The USMNT is 1-32-6 or something when trailing at halftime in WCQs. That is remarkable. Shows how amazing that Bobby Wood goal was, totally against history. You score one on us, we fold. We have two great and one good international competitive results against non-CONCACAF teams away from home. Two of those, England 2010, Portugal 2002, came in the first group stage game of the tournament. History shows a great many upsets of top teams in that game. The other was, of course, 2009 and Spain. Three in three decades? Arena utterly failed. The team looked like it did under JK. They need to maintain shape and tactical discipline and stop having everyone watch Pulisic.
MY GOD YOUR TAKE IS SO HOT HOT LIKE A WHITE DWARF SUN MY GOD ITS JUST SCALDING BURNING HELLFIRE MAN YOU ARE SO COOL
You are missing a couple 1995 copa america vs argentina (3-0), and although it wasn't that prestigious of a tournament a 2-0 win vs Germany in the 1999 confederations cup. And the 2014 win vs Ghana is also a good international competitive result as well.
I would agree and would add... Arena is never going to play younger players coming up thru the lower level teams... ever. For my money, that makes him a bad coach. He could bring them to camps but not roster them... doesnt happen. There is a similar problem on the women's side. A bad coach thats coaching us into oblivion. One step above both coaches is US Soccer. That IS where the problem is
Yes we did. Our feats being that we beat Paraguay/Ecuador at home narrowly. We did get shut out by Colombia and Argentina. I want to point out that this is an indicator of how we would do at home. I dont favor us to take points off Brazil/Uruguay/Chile at home. Then comes sending our team to S. America for away games. If we cant get it done in Honduras, we are not getting it done in Quito, Montevideo, La Paz, Santiago etc. Id guess we would be between 6-8th place for most qualifiers dipping into 5th with a good showing. Just being brutally honest.
Look, for all the yelling and screaming, a lot of which is justified, the US teams' record of advancement at the WC is near elite (in terms of getting out of group). Since 1994 we are 4/6 getting out of group. Teams that are better? And by better I mean gotten out of group more times than us. 6/6: Brazil, Germany, Mexico 5/5: Netherlands 5/6: Argentina Also advancing 4 times in the last 6 WCs: 4/6: Italy, Spain, United States 4/5: England I'm not trying to be Kevin Bacon here (ALL IS WELL!). But that is some pretty fine company to be keeping. We have lost the best field player since the 1930 squad this cycle (Donovan). The #2, Dempsey, is on his last legs. The grit & fight Lalas wants was personified in Jermaine Jones. Jozy ain't McBride either. Bradley is diminished. As is Howard. There is no heir in the Keller, Friedel, Howard run at GK. Point being, we are losing our golden generation guys and aside from Pulisic, I don't see replacements. And the rest of CONCACAF is better (thanks MLS). On top of that, Sunil & USSF got complacent & screwed us on the venues. Memo to morons, treat every Hex game like Mexico. Cool them if possible in Columbus, SKC, RSL, or Colorado. Minny is an option soon. Or ensure us support in Portland or Seattle (with grass). Sac an option soon. Avoid NY, DC, Miami, Chicago, Houston, LA.
Hahahaha, that's funny, especially when NFL fans talk so much smack about soccer in the US. I guess the NFL ain't so popular after all...