News: FIFA Approves Tyler Boyd's One Time Switch to The USA

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by Sebsasour, May 18, 2019.

  1. schrutebuck

    schrutebuck Member+

    Jul 26, 2007
    US Soccer interviewed Boyd and posted everything on its site. I've pasted some highlights below:

    ussoccer.com: Can you explain your decision to file a change of association to the United States and what went into it?

    TB: “Basically, I have loyalty to both countries. I have a parent from each. I spent 10 years in each country, and its like being asked to choose between your mom and your dad. But I had already represented New Zealand, and I was able to make my dad proud and he saw me do that.

    “Now it’s my mom’s turn and I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for me. I’m super excited. It’s a great set-up, it’s a great opportunity for me and I’m excited to make my mom proud now. As far deciding, I can’t say I love one country more than the other, but this decision is final and I want to represent the United States.”


    ussoccer.com: How did Gregg come in contact with you? Can you describe what those conversations were like?


    TB: “Yeah, he got in contact with me one way or another. Straight from the beginning I could see that he was a great man and a great guy, and his knowledge of the game was impressive as well. It was intriguing for me to have someone who I could personally learn from, and an honest guy as well. The conversations were really exciting for me and I didn’t want to get too excited because I didn’t know if the possibility of switching was one-hundred percent. We went through the process of seeing what I had to do, if I qualify, and yeah, just the conversation with him was exciting and it still is.”

    ussoccer.com: You began your professional career in New Zealand. What transpired to get you to Europe?

    TB: “I had three years in New Zealand playing for Wellington Phoenix in the Australian league. My agent lives in Portugal but he’s half Australian and he saw me playing and he got in contact with me. He said, ‘look I have interest’ and we started working together and he started helping me with videos and video analysis. Eventually he had a contract offer from Vitória de Guimarães in Portugal. It was my dream to go play Europe and I took the opportunity and played there for the three-and-a-half years, and in the last four or five months I’ve been on loan with Ankaragücü Turkey. So yeah, that was just another opportunity for me to get game time and open another market for me, to prove I can play in a different country and that I have quality to be able to produce in that kind of league.”


    ussoccer.com: What is your most memorable moment watching the U.S. team?


    TB: “The Landon Donovan goal against Algeria at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I’d say in general something I love about America is just how enthusiastic they are, how encouraging they are, and how much they get behind their teams. That’s something that is super special and beyond the drama of that moment and what it meant, that’s what I remember about that particular goal.


    https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2019/06/qa-getting-to-know-tyler-boyd
     
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  2. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He just applied to switch back...
     
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  3. Master O

    Master O Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Man, Boyd sure did make the wrong move...
     
  4. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
     
  5. TOAzer

    TOAzer Member+

    The Man With No Club
    May 29, 2016
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, that's pretty much what happens as Mikey keeps getting trotted out as a starter for the USMNT. Chicken B'US.
     
  6. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You have to wonder about the mental health of a poster who brings up Bradley in a thread like this. Me posting that vid is my way of letting him know I’m praying for his mental health.
     
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  7. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Obviously a thread about winger Tyler Boyd is the perfect place to b**ch about defensive midfielder Michael Bradley who did not play a single f'ing minute in either of the last two games!
     
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  8. gunnerfan7

    gunnerfan7 Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 22, 2012
    Santa Cruz, California
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Even worse, a guy who's an obvious upgrade over Trapp, if we're married to TA at RB.

    I'd rather put Lima there at RB and have TA as the 6, but still. Baby steps.
     
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  9. dawgtide

    dawgtide Member

    Jun 5, 2005
    Atlanta, Ga.
    Berhalter’s scouting looked good last night. Let’s hope Boyd can keep playing this way against better competition.
     
  10. skim172

    skim172 Member+

    Feb 20, 2013
  11. truefan420

    truefan420 Member+

    May 30, 2010
    oakland
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hopefully he’s smart and says no
     
  12. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If they hit him with the Godfather offer he will be South Beach bound.
     
  13. skim172

    skim172 Member+

    Feb 20, 2013
    They'll put the severed head of a racehorse in his bed? I don't see how that'll help.
     
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  14. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  15. truefan420

    truefan420 Member+

    May 30, 2010
    oakland
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It’s not anti anything. I want to him to push himself at the highest level possible to become the best version of himself as a soccer player. Going to the MLS won’t do that.
     
  16. Mantis Toboggan M.D.

    Philadelphia Union
    United States
    Jul 8, 2017
    This. I'd like for him to stay in Turkey if not move to a better league if he can find a good situation in one. He's only 24, moving to MLS that young (especially for an offensive player) is going to keep him from reaching his full potential. (On the field anyway--I realize it may be the best move for him financially and/or personally)
     
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  17. la torre

    la torre Member+

    Dec 27, 2008
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've been out of the country so just getting caught up on the Gold Cup. What did people think of his play? I'm watching the final against Mexico right now and I'm fairly surprised he didn't get minutes ahead of Arriola and Morris who were both absolutely freaking worthless. Did Boyd have a couple bad games in the group stage or something? If he is behind Jordan Morris in the pecking order he's probably not going to get much playing time for this squad...
     
  18. truefan420

    truefan420 Member+

    May 30, 2010
    oakland
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No one knows what Byod did. My guess, piss in Greggs cheerios.
     
  19. largegarlic

    largegarlic Member+

    Jul 2, 2007
    My quick synopsis on Boyd:

    --He was the best US player against Venezuela, but that's a low bar.
    --He was very good against Guyana.
    --He was pretty good against T&T.
    --He didn't start against Panama.
    --He was kinda bad against Curacao. He lost possession quite a bit, didn't seem to provide an outlet to the US defenders when they being pressured, and didn't make up for this by being dangerous offensively.
    --He didn't play against Jamaica, which seemed reasonable given that he wasn't great the previous game, and the US was leading the whole, so more defensive subs made sense in the 2nd half.
    --He didn't play against Mexico, which makes no sense when the US was down 1-0, and we're putting on Roldan, Zardes, and Lovitz instead.

    I think he was either somewhat injured, which explains his ineffectiveness against Curacao and subsequent lack of time, or did something to really annoy Berhalter. I'll guess we'll find out when the fall call-ups come around.
     
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  20. ChambersWI

    ChambersWI Member+

    Nov 10, 2010
    Club:
    AC Milan
    I also get the impression that for how the tournament was going Morris was a better fit for the Jamaica and Mexico games. Whole Morris doesnt provide the goal threat Boyd does, his work rate and positional awareness/discipline did lead to chances during the tournament.

    Not to take anything away from Boyd as I think he proved he can be an asset. Him not playing against Mexico in the 2nd half still strange but i give credit to Morris too
     
  21. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    While nothing official has been said, there's been a decent amount of chatter that he picked up a knock (hamstring?) and it was kept quiet because he hadn't signed with a club yet.

    You can also make an argument that his inability to contribute to build up and lack of tracking back made him lose time to Morris, but I wouldn't ignore when more than one media member starts floating the injury point. It's not something you can always admit given the scenario.

    That said, I thought Boyd was clearly a starter in this set of people. Fast, dangerous, perhaps a bit selfish, but good on the ball and one of the better shots we have.

    I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.
     
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  22. skim172

    skim172 Member+

    Feb 20, 2013
    #73 skim172, Jul 15, 2019
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2019
    Greggg went conservative starting in the knockout rounds, and only grew more defensive with each match. Against Curacao, I remember Greggg yelling at Lima - loud enough for the mics to capture - to drop back, drop back, while the team was in possession (Lima also lost his starting role after that match). In his post-Mexico match presser, Greggg's explanation for subbing in Roldan as a winger was that he felt the attack was too direct, the team was getting too spread out when attacking, and he wanted to possess the ball more and slow the game down.

    My general assessment of Boyd is that (a) he's very attack-oriented, (b) he likes to improvise and drift from his position in the final third, and (c) he's very, very direct in his attack. He is not a possession guy.

    So I think Greggg dropped Boyd as a tactical choice, to support his chosen strategy of defensive-minded possession. In the final, he found that Morris still wasn't sufficient, so he subbed in a mid for the position instead.

    I think this was an error on Greggg's part - an error which I find understandable. He's a defensive-minded coach, and a system coach. When stakes grow higher, and elimination is on the line, coaches are more likely to draw back into their safety zones - in Greggg's case, that's defense and his system.

    It's also the sign of an inexperienced coach. A veteran would've felt more confident about taking a risk in such scenarios, and would recognize that when facing a superior opponent, sometimes taking a risk is necessary to gain an advantage. I think Greggg knows that in principle, but it's hard to take that gamble when you haven't really been tested before.

    (e.g., switching to Roldan in order to increase possession and slow down the game - a tactic that did indeed slow down the game, but how were we supposed to score out of that? Our best chances had previously all come out of the quick counter.)

    I also think that when Mexico broke through and gained their goal, Greggg might've ... frozen. He realized that he had 10 minutes left, a defensive formation on the field, one sub left, and no strikers left on the bench. I'm not sure he had really prepped for that - a situation where he'd need a total, balls-to-the-wall, damn-the-torpedoes attack mode. Because that's just not in his nature.

    I think his plan was that if we're losing, we adjust attacking balance by subbing in an attacking fullback and leaving the backline with 2 + 1 (Bradley), which was exactly what he said in his presser. That's something that might've worked with 30 or more minutes left. But I don't think he ever planned or practiced for when he would need a goal desperately - something nuts like pulling a defender to throw on an extra forward - because that's just not in his nature, and certainly not part of his normal gameplan.

    And I think, realizing he had nothing prepped for it, Gregg froze, and just defaulted to his norm: stick to the plan. Put in attacking fullback for Ream. If he'd been a veteran coach, maybe he would've had a plan, or been more willing to improvise.

    Put that down to experience. Hopefully Greggg learns from it. Hopefully he doesn't double-down on his convictions and become even more conservative and defensive.

    (Incidentally, maybe this is why you don't hire inexperienced coaches for your national team, but what the hey, we're stuck with him now.)
     
  23. Pegasus

    Pegasus Member+

    Apr 20, 1999
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Sampson, Arena and Bradley didn't have any international experience while Klinsman and Multinovic did. US mostly hires from MLS so unless they've already coached the team they have no experience. I'd like to start seeing them choose between foreign coaches who've coached and impressed in MLS or MLS coaches who've gone overseas to test themselves. I really hope no matter how Berhalter does he's a one cycle coach as the second cycle hasn't worked out for US coaches. Next cycle look at Tata, Almeyda (if he continues what he's doing), Marsch etc. Also depending on how the pool works and interest from great international coaches it may be time to choose an exceptional coach for the next cycle because the team can handle it.
     
  24. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    I'm not sure it's really on topic in this thread, but I see no reason US national team coaches need any experience in the MLS.
     

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