http://www.espnfc.us/german-bundesl...former-us-star-on-coaching-national-team-more Short article, but interesting bit about Steve's opinions on the short comings of coaching in the U.S. .
Steve make some great points about the differences between a player's job and a coach's job. It really undermines the argument that we should assume any top class player will also be a top class coach.
What I took from the article was his backing up the idea that one of Arena's strengths is finding combos of players on the field who work well together, making the team more cohesive and more than the sum of its parts. I guess that's the sign of a good interview when there's enough in there for multiple different readers to come away with different things they found to be most interesting. Anyhow, I hope Cherundolo gets a shot at a head coaching gig once he gets his license. He seems like a thoughtful, intelligent guy.
I remember his college days. He was a dominant player and a joy to watch. He stayed in college two years because Clive Charles said he really wasn't big or strong enough to be in Europe and play at the tougher level. . The two years with the fitness program ( the one part of training that is unrestricted and colleges do well) got him up to speed and Clive sent him on his way. He was an instant success there. Interesting that he says those are the key years that the USA doesn't measure up.
Nice interview. Steve has been doing things the right way for a long time. Hopefully he has a long and productive coaching career, too. Could be a great influence back here in the US.
It is interesting, and I think he's correct. I think the US is improving in this area. MLS academies are definitely improving each and every year. I think a big hurdle is the sheer size of the US. It is extremely difficult for MLS academies to play top level competition week in and week out simply due to the fact that the academies are spread out. So MLS Academies end up playing other developmental academy teams that aren't set up as professional environments. It's a difficult challenge to overcome. But it is clear that the US is advancing by leaps and bounds with their youth development. There is a definite connection from academy to USL to MLS that simply wasn't there even 5 years ago.
Steve here echoes my feelings: "The U.S. does an unbelievable job of developing players technically and physically. What I think happens at some points is that we lose the ball on the tactical side of the game. When the boys turn 16, the level of play in the U.S. from the age of 16 to 18 isn't good enough compared to Europe. I think Pulisic came over [to Europe] when he was 16, and there are a few other examples now. If you can get a European passport, I would recommend that to the young American players, because the level of play from 16 to 18 here in the junior Bundesliga is excellent. Until we can achieve that in the U.S., I don't think we can maximize our talents in the U.S. They need to move to Europe."
Actually, I respect Dolo and everything, but he didn't say anything what wouldn't be a common knowledge.
Pulisic went over at age 16 and less than 12 months later was into the Dortmund first team by age 17. Surely, that's not a great example of the superiority of the youth development on hand in Germany.
Pulisic had the advantage of developing with the elite superclub third division Harrisburg City Islanders, learning from their tactical genius coaches, and using their world class facilities.... guys in the MLS development academy system don't have that.
Same thing can be said for Weston McKennie. Left FCD and within a calendar year had made his debut for Schalke. But somehow folks give zero credit to our domestic programs, and believe that kids go over to Europe and get sprinkled with some sort of magical pixie dust. Every year MLS clubs invest more and more and more in their academies and youth development programs. The MLS homegrown initiative is only about 10 years old, and folks seem to expect these programs to start churning out Pulisic's with regularity. It was never going to work that way. Its going to be a slow and steady build. Less publicly discussed is how the non-MLS academies continue to improve as well as former MLS and pro players take over. The Houston Texans won the U18 Development Academy title this year with former MLSer Eric Quill at the helm. Culture eats strategy for lunch, and culture takes a long time to build up organically.
Cherundolo's views may be outdated. On the other hand, when asked whether as an American, he had felt extra pressure to prove himself: . That is what I have most consistently seen quoted from players: the European game is a colder, more cutthroat environment.
Yeah, I think I've probably relayed this story before, but I had a trial with an Eredivisie team when I graduated from high school back in the late 90s. I had obviously played at pretty high levels in the US prior to that (ODP, high-level club teams, etc.), but I came realize that there was still more of social component to the youth game here in the US. At least in part, going to tournaments was a time to hang out with friends. Even ODP training camps still were appealing in part because you typically got to run around a college campus largely unsupervised with kids your age. When I went to the 1st training session with the reserve team in Holland, it was crystal clear that those guys had no intention of being friendly. They were mostly guys in their early- to mid-20s who were clinging by their fingernails onto that dream of making it to the 1st team (and the salary that entailed). Otherwise, they were going to have to go be bakers or dairy farmers or whatever in another year or so. Anyone coming in on trial was someone who was potentially going to steal their spot, and it was extremely cutthroat. Once it became clear that I wasn't good enough to really be a threat, they did get friendlier (and my play improved once that happened, but not enough to merit a contract), but I was not at all prepared psychologically for that sort of environment.
That misses the bigger point. I recall an article where Klinsmann discussed this in one of his moments of clarity. It was something at the moment that he was focused on. It was right before a couple of friendlies. And what do you know? We went out and played well utilizing these 'combos.' The bigger point is Bruce is focused and consistent. Jurgen's attention span was that of a fruit fly and he moved on to something else. Cherundolo made this point clear in his Q&A without bad-mouthing Jurgen like I and many others here do (or did).
Hmm, I read the interview. Chero didn't appear to say what you're implying he said. He pointed out we're doing a good job of developing physical and technical kids. Problem is what we do with them in that 16-18 yr old range which is a common refrain. About 16-20 is our biggest hole in development. So did BVB take a 16 yr old Pulisic and do more with him than we usually do with 16-18 yr olds here? I'd say yes. Assume most would. As a comparison, some think Carleton is the next Pulisic. He's 17. Not even making ATL's bench. Pretty much stuck in limbo. Chero wasn't pointing out our lack of production, he was pointing out the lack of what we do with our production, not maximizing it. Then you might trek over to the youth in MLS forum and see it's mostly complaint after complaint of our 16-20 yr olds stalling and/or not playing. That's what Chero is referring too, along with the tactical education. BTW, Pulisic's father credits some of his development with their annual summer trips overseas where Pulisic would train in these environments, like La Masia on three separate occasions, Porto, PSV, Chelsea, as well as his time in England. By the time he arrived at BVB he already knew what to expect in that kind of environment. The goal of those trips wasn't merely to showcase Christian's talent. "We wanted him to get used to being put in a new, uncomfortable situation and having to adapt, and to go places where he wasn't the best kid in his group," Mark says And that goes to what @largegarlic said about his experience. He wasn't ready to handle the cutthroat environment, or prepared for it. Would he have been had he made regular training stints overseas starting at age 10? Maybe.
The issue I've always had with MLS is they put dozens of small impediments of its 'rules' culture to ensure that our soccer culture grows at a slower pace than it really has to. Everything you say is true but can be sped up by innovative and insightful people. The MLS homegrown initiative is about 3-4 yrs too old, it has outlived its purpose. Rules for rules sake. MLS homegrown initiative was to make MLS teams to start and minimally invest in development. It does not exist to encourage the fast growth and innovation to development. It helped early but is now in its present form is one of those impediments to culture growth. We need more steady growth and much less artificially induced slow downs.
I absolutely agree what Steve Cherundolo says for those few dozen or so. What he ignores is that most can't go to Europe at 16. So we get a few more to go at age 18 to go to Europe. What about the other 95% of players playing in our top development youth structure. What I'd like to hear from the Steve Cherundolo's of the world is what do we need to do to quicken the pace of US development while they are still in the US so we can rival what Germany has far sooner than later. Top soccer playing countries don't outsource development to other countries.
Here's what Cherundolo stated: Not every phenom is going to get minutes, but MLS has given sizable minutes to a few of this season's youngsters. Player(age)-----Minutes played Adams(18)----------1138 Tabla(18)-------------997 Davies(16)-----------648 Yep, the European game is more cutthroat, impersonal, and more professional. That's what these players are and have been saying. That's a cultural thing.
Steve Cherundolo was 18 when he went to Hannover after two years of college ball. He started right away and ended his career as captain in 2014. In the process he was the core that took Hannover out of the second division.
That was then, this is now. That happened about 18 yrs ago. I hope based on your post you are not encouraging our top prospects to go play 2 yrs of college at Portland then go to a European second division team. I truly respect what he did, but that in no way should light the path for our countries top prospects in 2017.