LA Galaxy Flavored USMNT in 2015

I've watched most of Gyasi's professional career and notable flaws of his are that his touch and finishing are erratic.

 

It's true that his first touch is as far away from velvety soft as you can get. But Z has improved at executing it in a way so that he can still maintain possession and even has added a flick turn while receiving the ball. His finishing rate was a very good 22% in 2014 but it was down to 13% in 2015. For comparison in 2015 Gio's shot conversion rate was 12%, Villa's 13%, BWP's 15%, and Sir Robbie Keane's an amazing 27%. Also - in large part because of the arrival of Dos Santos - Zardes also only got off 45 shots this season versus 75 or so last season. He's not getting the good set-ups he got when he was Keane's main partner.

 

FYP

 

Well I guess Donovan probably helped a little... but remember he only had 19 assists in 2014 so he was obviously way past his prime. A step behind, as it were.

 

I know this isn't USMNT... but I'm watching the WNT game against TnT right now, and I'm embarrassed for US soccer.

• First of all, the field that they're playing on is atrocious. There's already been one TnT player go off with a non-contact injury, and Tobin Heath had to leave the field because she was bleeding profusely from a turf burn.
• The TnT squad only has 4 field players on the bench, two of whom they had to drive in from local colleges because they didn't have enough players. So the US is essentially playing against an amateur side.
• Despite this, the US players are playing with an intensity that makes it look like a WC final.
• The US scores on a PK call that is probably the worst call I've seen in my life. A long ball over the top, and Alex Morgan is deep in the penalty box. As the TnT GK comes out and cleanly punches the ball, Morgan leaps in the air and kicks her in the ribs. Her boot had to be at least 6' high. It wasn't intentional, but it was clearly a dangerous play. Should have been a yellow on Morgan, but instead they call a PK. So after five minutes of treatment on the pitch, Lloyd takes the PK and buries it in the corner. And they celebrate like they've actually accomplished something.

Honestly the US organization looks like an insecure 3rd-world dictatorship and the players look like a bunch of arrogant jerks.

Maybe that's harsh... but it just looks like there's no sense of what is actually going on here.

 

I'm following up on this post because I don't want to seem like I'm trashing the USWNT players.

I watched the rest of the match (US won 6-0, and I think Solo touched the ball twice and TnT didn't have a single shot). The US players seemed to play with a chip on their shoulder. I suppose that there are mitigating circumstances that create an atmosphere in women's soccer where they are constantly having to prove that they deserve a league and the attention that they get from the press. Sexism is alive and well, unfortunately, and I think a lot of youth women's coaches drill it into the girls that they need to be "as tough as the boys". However, I really feel like this drive for toughness may create a lack of respect and empathy for your opponents, and a lack of sportsmanship. This was certainly the case in this match. I'm not saying that they should "go easy" on TnT... but at the same time, they were all-out attacking up to the final whistle... scoring their final goal in stoppage time. There was simply no need for that.

Imagine how much press they would have gotten if Lloyd had deliberately given the ball to the 'keeper on that bad PK call. It would have been all over the news. It would have made papers world-wide. The US was always going to win this game, and the only thing it would have changed was creating feelings of good will towards the USWNT.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that they should have done it for PR reasons. They should have done it because it was the right thing to do in that situation. It should have been an EASY decision in that case. This is a friendly, and there is NO downside to being magnanimous and sporting to your badly over-matched opponent in those circumstances. Instead of coaching girls to be tougher than boys, we should be coaching them to be more like Miroslav Klose.
/rant

 

i think you're right, but i'll try to defend them a bit.
some of what you're seeing is individuals - there are a few that are just not as sportsman like as others
and some of it is that there are only a handful (i think 2 more) games for the women before olympic qualifying in Feb. it's only a friendly against a split-squad T&T team, but it's also an audition for the Olympic 18-woman roster and a coveted USSF contract(variable # of those). i wouldn't want to give Ellis any reason to drop me if im established and i want to get on that olympic team if im on the fringe. USSF (plus a potential victory tour) pays a lot more than the NWSL. like 200k+ vs having a side job.

 

This isn't Galaxy related either, but I couldn't resist a bit of JK bashing. From Rene Mark on Twitter via Yahoo Sports. I wonder if Sunil is aware of this?

Great interview in @zeitonlinesport with Toni Kroos. I translated some interesting quotes. V harsh on @J_Klinsmann. pic.twitter.com/er8W3alh5d

— René Marić (@ReneMaric) December 11, 2015

RM ‏@ReneMaric
Great interview in @zeitonlinesport with Toni Kroos. I translated some interesting quotes. V harsh on @J_Klinsmann.

 

For a little context here Kroos only spent the fall portion of the 2008/2009 season at Bayern while Klinnsman was there, was played sparingly by Klinnsman and was summarily shipped to Leverkusen on an 18 month loan. So Kroos spent a grand total of 4-5 months under Klinnsman and was not in Klinnsman's plans for Bayern's future at that point.

Kroos did not play for Klinnsman internationally at any point that I am aware of. He was part of the U-17 program 2005-2006ish but didn't make a debut with the senior team until years after Klinnsman was gone. I'm not sure I'd put all that much weight into Kroos' opinion of Klinnsman's contributions on the international stage because Kroos would not have much to base it on.

Far more damning would be some of the things Philip Lahm has said, especially given that Lahm had to deal with Klinnsman for several years at both international and club levels.

 

True, but Lahm's comments on JK are old news, while Kroos is new ink.

 

While true this is misleading. Kroos started playing for the Sr. BM side in 2007 and split his time there with the second team. He made 6 starts and 20 appearences for the first team, before Jurgen was hired. However, JK was only the coach of Bayern from July until almost the end of April or a total of 10 months. If Kroos was there from July until December then he was with Bayern for a majority of JK's time prior to being fired.

However the quote was in response to JK's role in development leading to the World Cup. Kroos was right in the middle of that effort and the 2007 U-17 World Cup Golden Ball player. He if anybody would have been able to attest to changes JK implemented in 2004 that impacted player development.

I agree completely. This just adds a little more to that.

 

Have you guys seen this new quote about Klinsmann?!!

"He is complete and utter shite when it comes to training, coaching, selecting squads, and developing players. Oh, and as a person."
-Skydog, 12/14/2015

I think this is a clear confirmation of what many others have suggested and pretty much seals the deal.

 

Really? you think that we should insult them and go easy on them just because they're not as good as us? Don't you think that is a little demoralizing? Forbes played a great game. You're expecting the team not to try their best because the opponent isn't as accomplished as us? I think that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!

 

Stick around for a while. You will hear a lot worse.

I take your point that the integrity of the game demands that you play up to your skill level. But an over the top celebration when you grind an inferior into the dirt also says something about the players that is less than admirable. And it's not going easy to pass up a goal in extra time when you have already demonstrated the superiority and the game is functionally over. I would also fault the ref for giving any extra time. What's the point.

 

First of all, you need to remember that this was a friendly. When you watch the USMNT play against Brazil or Germany in a friendly, you will see a completely different performance from our opponents that you would in a competitive match. This is not because they are "insulting us and going easy on us." It's because players are, generally aware of the fact that friendlies are opportunities to test out tactics, formations, and players, with the secondary goal of winning the match.

In addition to that, there are plenty of examples (both in friendlies and competitive matches) of players behaving in a sporting manner while not "going easy" on their opponents. It is commonplace for players to maintain possession and run out the clock by taking the ball to the corner. In matches when the outcome is already decided, often players will take an attacking free kick and just pass it backwards. As someone who has played and coached soccer for more than 30 years (blatant appeal to authority) I know how to get my team to work on improving while not humiliating our opponent. That's why when I see Australia beating American Samoa 31-0, I will accuse the Australians of being unsporting. This USWNT performance wasn't that bad, but I expect better from our organization, players, and coaches.

Finally, one of my biggest issues in this match revolved around the PK call that was about as bad as any call you will ever see. Did you read what Andres Guardado said about the PK call against Panama in the Gold Cup semis? If that were a friendly, I guarantee you he deliberately would have missed the PK out of respect for his opponents. Did you follow the link to Miraslav Klose's non-goal that I posted earlier? He told the ref to disallow a goal he scored because he had handled the ball. This was in a competitive match in a top league. He did that out of respect for his opponent.

Your post implies that sports is all about crushing your opponent, and that modulating your performance in any manner to take into account the circumstances of your competition and the nature of your opponents is "insulting." This is simply an unexamined social construct that falls apart under even the slightest critical examination.

In my opinion, the USWNT made a series of poor decisions in how to modulate their performance in this match. I was embarrassed for them. You clearly disagree. However, if my statement is in fact "the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard," then you should go watch this. Maybe that will make my statement seem less ridicules.

 

Two USMNT matches at Stubhub:
http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...ay-iceland-canada-in-los-angeles-to-open-2016

 

I can't tell you how sad it makes me to see Klinsmann's name still attached to events in 2016 - January camp, friendlies. <Sigh>

 

Absolutely. When will our nightmare end? Two games at StubHub in early 2016, and I shouldn't consider going to them in all good conscience. The players will be heavy-legged and lethargic, anyway.

 

Maybe Abramovich should hire JK for Chelsea after he fires Morino

 

So you're saying the team the ruthlessly and cold bloodedly takes apart crap teams in friendlies also happens to be world champs? If only the men's team could be less than sporting and win a World Cup...they seem to enjoy making smaller teams feel good.

And if they'd have taken it easy, played half speed and say, gotten a scoreless draw, people (especially those who paid to be there) would have ripped them for mailing it in.

 

I don't have a dog in this fight but that is a straw man argument. In fact that was the whole point that was being made was about whether the team should continue running up the score (especially late, including stoppage time in this case). None of these issues even come into play until your team is already ahead by several goals.

 

Dare to dream.

 

I do agree that the "playing half speed" part is a straw man argument. However, in @JBZTV's defense, I am advocating deliberately missing the PK when the score was still 0-0.

I see those as two separate issues, but both related to overall sportsmanship.