After reading what Zambrano has to say about Mathis people will have to admit that Arena's concerns about Mathis' self-control and training habits were on the money. I hope those diehard holdout Bruce-haters will at least admit that Arena's concerns were valid, as events have proven. But somehow I doubt it. Sachin
I'm betting this will be put down to Zambrano being as big of a moron as Arena, in some circles at least.
it is depressing that one of our best players is absolutely determined to throw his career away. And he is half-way there already.
Thankfully, we've come to a point of development where the downfall of one player will not affect our program as much as it has in the past.
Of course, the optimist could say that this is a sign that we've arrived, because now we have our own George Best/Paul Gascoigne/etc.etc.... And maybe Clint could add a new twist to this old story by taking his career seriously, again.
Big Soccer Revisionist History Yeah, Mathis's temper is a problem. But when Clint got his card a few months back, most people were congratulating him for "standing up" to the thugs. General sentiment was that we needed 10 more guys on the field with Clint's temperment, that we were too soft. Perhaps after we advanced to the World Cup quarters without bashing anybody, while Mexico bowed out earlier while embarrassing itself to the world, we can drop this antiquated notion that the team needs a hard man. Good footballers, excellent fitness, and some mental toughness, that will be quite enough, thank you very much.
I think Mathis started against Korea and Poland. I'm not a die-hard Bruce hater, but I am a die hard Clint fan. I think Bruce's inappropriate public comments paved the way for Zambrano's, who is in need of a scapegoat. Mathis' red card was a horrible mistake at the worst possible time, but how many red cards has he received as a Metrostar? Saying he needs counseling publicly?
Yeah, I am a bit pissed at Clint Myself. I had his name and # put on the back of the WC jersey when I should have had my hometown boy DMB put on.
I am a Clintho fan and to be quite honest this thread bothers me. I think this is supposed to be some sort of "I told you so" for Arena supporters who were bashed when everyone questioned the lack of playing time Mathis was getting. Should Mathis' temperment be considered a problem with regards to the USMNT? Yes of course, any coach should consider the propensity of your players to get cards. Is Mathis' fitness habits an issue for the USMNT? Yes of course, if he is a drunk and it affects his ability to be the best player possible, then it is in an issue Now that Zambrano said the above, is Bruce Arena right in what he did during the cup? I don't know. Truth is no one will ever know. Even during the cup, I don't believed to pretend to know. The coaching staff at the USMNT is exposed to the everday training habits etc., of the players. They are more in the know with regards to what is actually happening with the team. As a fan, I would have wanted to see Mathis more because I think he is a special player and you want to have that special player on the field as much as possible. If he was drunk or fat, then he didn't deserve to play. All I saw was his class when he nailed the South Korea goal. A goal that I don't think any of our other striking options would have buried, let alone controlled that pass from JOB.
Why were the comments inappropriate? Merely for being public? To me, it was wrong to go public "out of the blue." But in both cases, there are clear indications that OZ and Arena talked privately to Clint, multiple times, and the pep talks didn't take. At that point, what choice does the coach have? Seriously, this isn't a rhetorical question. What would you have Bruce'n'OZ do when Clint continues to f' up things that they have told him in private to watch out for?
I'm going to use reverse psychology on Clint in hopes that he will prove me wrong. Clint sucks and is a no talent.....he is only fast against slow defenders. PS- The Rooster shoots like a GIRL!
Spot on. Bruce did Mathis no favors by making his criticism public, and Mathis made a play vs. Korea that our other forwards might have missed. Whatever criticisms we each might have of Mathis, those facts remain.
You're right, I guess, there will never be objective, definitive proof that Bruce was right. But since the game last Thursday, I've been (mostly) lurking at the MetroStars boards, and there are alot of complaints about team morale. Some blame OZ, some say Mathis' attitude is infecting the team. (Most blame OZ.) But here's the thing...if the superstar continually defies the manager, how in hell is the team supposed to have good morale? One thing you can say about the USMNT in K/J...they had great team morale. Bruce was lucky...once he decided that Clint had only limited value, he could sit him against Portugal, Mexico, and Germany. OZ pretty much has no choice but to play him. My opinion, based on what I've seen in the news, is that Clint wants to be Clint. Fine and dandy, it's his life. But since his emergence as a superstar, he's not fitting into the team concept too well. Two different managers have tried to deal with him, to bring him into the fold. (And one of those managers, Bruce, is widely reknowned for being a "player's coach.") Clint doesn't bend, and it starts to undermine the coach's ability to lead the other guys on the team, AS WELL AS diminishing Clint's value to the team. The coaches have gotten tired of trying to handle Clint. Bruce had it easy. He started Landon and McBride or McBride and Wolff. OZ is screwed.
What it should be, more than anything is a realization that Clint Mathis is keeping Clint Mathis and by default the USMNT from being the best it can be.
The Mohican can do and act how he wants and apparently he seems to deal with it maturely off the field. Obviously he has been advised on some things he can improve upon, so it's up to him to decide whether or not he wants to make those adjustments to further his career or not. If he's content at where is he right now in his career then he probably won't make changes too soon.
Which brings to mind this classic Nick the Dick moment from just this past June: "I think Bruce needs to take a hard look at the national team's training before he criticizes a program he doesn't know." (Nick Sakiewicz, June, 2002, responding to Bruce Arena's criticism of the MetroStars' fitness regimen) Oops. Nick inserts foot in mouth (again) ...
Clint's talent is not in question but we can't have a guy on our team that can't run hard for 90. He is NEVER in shape like the rest of the team. We are not Brazil that can have Romario walking while the rest of the team runs. For a guy at his level to have a weight problem is an absolute disgrace. And he better drop the smokes too.
What evidence is there that both talked privately to Clint? I thought Clint said that Bruce never talked to him about it.
"Octavio believes there is a problem there and the only reason he is bringing it up publicly is to get my attention," said Mathis. "That's fine. We'll do whatever we have to do to fix it." Personally, I find airing dirty laundry publicly is distasteful, but at least it seems like Clint got the message. Regardless, I still think Arena under utilized Clint Mathis @ the WC, and the manner in which Octavio Zambrano choses to chastise or motivate isn't going to change my mind.
It is questionable whether Clint deserved a red card Saturday night. I've gone through the tape frame by frame, and a good case can be made that he was simply trying to keep his balance. As a DC United fan, of course, I loved it, but I certainly would have been screaming if the same call had been made against one of our guys. That said, Clint appears to have some problems. Bruce Arena isn't the kind of guy who makes a habit of knocking players publicly. I suspect he had his reasons for knocking Clint last summer. But it is interesting that OZ is one guy who doesn't seem to question the red card at all -- and even Ray Hudson did. Maybe OZ would rather talk about this than why he substituted for Faria and not Mamadou initially, and then, when Big Mama apparently hand ankle problems, found himself with no forwards. No doubt someone, somewhere, in the 7 years of MLS did a worse job of coaching than OZ did Saturday night, but I didn't see it.