As a starter, in a critical game, sure. She isn't an important game starter now. Also, a systemic failure at development would fall on the Head Coach of the National Team how? It isn't his job to develop young players. Young players have been given chances, Macario, Smith, Davidson Lavelle... More will follow, and everyone expects Macario to be a fixture on the National Team soon ebough.
Quite a few knowledgeable people active here have raised serious questions about whether various aging stars of the USWNT are way past their best years. If you think that star X and/or star Y and/or star Z doesn't have it any more--if you think that the U.S. has a serious chance of NOT winning a gold medal this summer (in my view, it's far from certain)--then you have to consider making some controversial moves NOW rather than waiting till this summer becomes a fiasco. For various reasons, as I've said before, I myself would keep the aging stars for, hopefully, a glorious last hurrah this summer. And I think that's what Vlatko is going to do. But I respect those on this board who've argued that this approach may prove to be a fiasco in Japan.
Got to remember that the 2016 Olympics was an fiasco but we went on to win the 2019 WC in more dominating fashion than ever. Main reason is that the adage ‘the world is catching up’ from an decade ago proved to be false as very few countries around the world have treated their woso programs as equal to their men’s as we have/plus the massive infrastructure structure we have in place(part TITLE XI/part due to woso being such a popular participation sport in our country) of course their can be reasons what could go wrong; we could get two major injuries on defense . Complacency could take over a veteran squad that’s seen few lineup changes(so hopefully Macario can give us an extra spark). But remember that single sports events get often lost at the Olympics, the biggest respect in soccer is to win the WC(obviously the men’s side don’t care much for the Olympics since they made it an almost u23 event) as previous posters noted; apparently the players union yields a lot of power within the USSF, so Vlatko might not have the authority to fire/get rid of some of the old timers as compared to an pro club that will usually either release or trade players they deemed past their prime. But right now our strength lays in our powerful midfield; Lavelle(25 years old) Horan(26) S Mewis(28)Ertz(29).are all in prime ages. It’s are fwd line that’s getting a lil old; Morgan(31) Press(32) Rapinoe(35)Lloyd(38) plus a few defenders; Saurbrunn(34) Naeher(33) O’Hara(32). But they all seem in remarkable great shape & that the USSF picks up the tap by paying their salaries gives them an longevity that players from other countries simply can’t enjoy since their pro clubs often prefer dumping their older players for younger ones. I still feel that it’s hurting our younger players by not being able to make our NT due to our oldies not retiring , preferring them to give up soccer due to the low pay scale of the NWSL(about $40-50K salary compared to USSF $200-250K? plus bonuses for winning tournaments) early season NWSL results seems to suggest an new golden era of promising young Americans out there, so it be definitely a shame IF they wouldn’t get a chance to get on the USWNT
Actually if you wait to replace players until you lose you are pretty much guaranateed to lose. But there are no guarantee to not lose either way, just the possiblity to not make it a sure thing. NB! I am not sure that it is time to replace the old starts yet, but waiting until the starts to lose is not a good strategy. The trick is to replace them before they start lossing but not to long before, not an easy thing at all.
It isn't. It is just that some people do not understand the difference between is catching up and have catched up.
I refer to it as the "Buddy Biancalana test". If you win a World Series, and you decide the fan-favorite 0.188 hitting shortstop who had a couple timely post-season hits is an integral re-sign at all costs part of the championship team, then you deserve to go 29 years before playing another post-season game. Lesson: Just because you win, it doesn't make all the players irreplaceable and necessary. The other side of the coin is Scotty Bowman, the legendary Detroit Red Wings coach. When the Red Wings seemingly won the Stanley Cup ever other year, Scott was annually changing two of his top six forwards and regularly replacing goaltenders. He knew when to buy low and sell high. The lesson is that it's alway the right time to bring in new talent.
I, for one, don't think anyone has remotely caught up to the USWNT. At least not in talent pool. We only give the world hope by refusing to stock our team based on talent and form. Only doing real change when we show up so out of form, old, and injured that we lose.
As I mentioned in another post, the USWNT has brought in young talent and at least 1 is starting, Rose. Davidson is a mainstay back up waiting in the wings. And yes, Smith and Macario are waiting for their turn. Macario was not ready last go around to even make the roster. Now with some seasoning in Lyon, perhaps so. Or a little bit of luck if Heath can't go.
Looks like Macario has won a starting position for Lyon. Was penciled intp a 4-3-3 at CF. Four starts in a row. Four goals in row. And that goal today saw that Brazilan razzle dazzle footwork of hers in action. And by the way she is a 90 minute player for them at this point. On a squad of good ball handlers she is turning out to be one of the best. You can watch a replay of the game on ESPN+. Her goal came around the 80 minute mark of the game. All four goals she has scored has come in and around the goalie box.
Check out this Macario goal. Fancy feet from @catarinamacario to turn and get the goal! We love to see it, don’t we @USWNT fans? 🇺🇸🔥 #WatchWithAta #D1Arkema pic.twitter.com/EqRsxxZesV— DAZN Women's Football (@DAZNWFootball) April 30, 2021 This is why Lyon is paying her the big bucks and why Macario will be on the Olympic roster.
It has to be said, though, that not all international defenses are similar to the one of the club that's dead-last in French league, with just 5 points made in 19 games (Le Havre, OL's opponent in this video). What I mean is: Macario is a brilliant player and everything, but she can't sure hope to freely dribble this way in the middle of the box vs top-NTs at the Olympics.
I was ready to post the same thing, but upon closer look; among Le Havre’s 12 starters & subs, 3 of them were Americans, 3 were from Iceland, 1 from Chile, 1 from Turkey . So it’s hard to figure out if Le Havre is considered an amateur or pro club? Wouldn’t the foreigners be getting free room & board plus an allowance? or do they pay their own way?....this from a team that most likely will be send back to 2nd division also another interesting thing was Macario’s classic ‘step back’ dribbling to get the goal. It’s a move that we teach our kids at an early age over here in the US, yet I’ve barely see it in Euro soccer. Is it an move that’s frowned upon Europe?/perhaps doesn’t work well in men’s soccer?(but still very effective over here in all levels in woso) Now that Macario lookin good as an center-forward, will she be getting the chance to play that position knowing that Vlatko been using Morgan, Press, Lloyd, already at various times for that position? So basically we need to shore up our wing positions; we got Williams/Press on the right side, but only Rapinoe on the left(as I doubt Sophie’s going to get selected). Do you think Macario will be comfortable playing down the left?/does she have the speed to play winger?
If you remember in the first game, due to an injury to Sophie Smith, they subbed her in for Rapinoe. While at Lyon, she is penciled in at CF in a 4-3-3 most of the time, you will find her at times during the game on the left and right wing.executing some great crosses into the box. They also occasionally play her at CAM in a 4-2-3-1. In the last 10 minutes, after she scored her goal against Le Havre, they switched from a 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 ;and moved her back with Henry to defend. They really like her versatility. I am just amazed in the short time she has been with the team, how she basically has become a key player for them. In the last four games she started, she played a full 90 minutes in three games and was subbed out in one game at the 74th minute. I would expect her to start all of their remaining games, and definitely put in a full 90 minutes against Bordeaux and PSG.
I'm thinking it all comes down to Williams or Lloyd if Heath is healthy: Otherwise: Naeher and a backup tbd (2) D- O'Hara, Dahlkamper, Brunn, Dunn, Davidson (5) M/D-- Ertz, Purce (2) M--Horan, S Mewis (2) M/F-- Lavelle, Macario (2) F--Pinoe, Morgan, Press (3) Williams/Lloyd/Heath (2)
I guess it would depend on the opponent as to whether she would be capable of doing the "magic feet" footwork. That has not been something she attempts to do in every game. She is a smart player and has done an incredible job of learning how to play Lyon's possession style game, even with the language problem during the game. What is clear is that she quickly became a starter, and she did it with only college experience. There were 8 other American's that played for Lyon over the years, most did not have much success, except for Morgan who played only 8 games scoring 5 goals, and Rapinoe who played the longest, 28 games, scoring 8. goals. All had one thing in common. They had all played professionally for a club before playing for Lyon. By the way, Press played in a game today where Manchester United won 1-0 on an own goal. That particular team, Bristol City, is in last place and is expected to be relegated.
Just so you know there really is no "language" problem during games in soccer. You only need about 20-30 words for full communication on a soccer field. To add to that most soccer players world wide can speak and understand those words in English and, usually, about four other languages. Giving interviews and otherwise communicating with "people" can be a challenge in other languages but soccer players are not just people. Even coaches discussions in the locker room or on the field is not much of a problem. Also during the game you only need, baring injury, to communicate with the other players and the ref. During games anything the coach yells is basically meaningless. It is just their attempt to "play" with their mouths. I actually read, in the past, that 10-15 words is all that is needed but I really think that is is closer to the 30 I mentioned earlier. She may have other problems or she may be a player that gabs incessantly but, with her quality I do not think she is either a geyser mouth or has other problems. If language was a real problem for soccer then the "international" teams with players from all over would find it much harder to play at the level many do. Lastly a huge minority, maybe a majority, of people in Europe speak some amount of English. It is very popular in Europe to learn English. Communicating during a soccer match does not require much and teams get around most language problems quite easily. BTW: It is a little harder for a native Spanish speaker on a French team but Spain an France are close neighbors so people bilingual in French and Spanish. The only thing that limits communication on a "French" team is the renowned French arrogance.[/QUOTE]
Based on past accolades, everybody would want Tobin Heath on the team, but Man U been especially bad reporting how serious her knee injury/recovery been(which happened last December). MU promised her back on the field by April, but since than recanted to she’s out for the rest the season. So should we take a chance on her knowing that possible over straining her fragile knee could cause an career ending injury? Purce another fav of mine, but used by Vlatko as an FB at SheBa Cup, and why wasn’t she not taken on the Euro trip vs those tough opponents? Got to wonder if Vlatko wasn’t satisfied perhaps with defensive skills vs Canada who were able to creep up on us & nearly scored 3-4 times
I believe Tobin's original injury was an ankle... Which was suppose to be healed up in time for the balance of the season. The knee happened during "rehab" or so I read.
Wasn't Macario's first start after Lyon lost the Champions League? She didn't get that much playing time before PSG took them down. When your biggest prize is down the tube, it's easier for coaches to experiment with new talent who otherwise weren't starters. Morgan has experience playing wing, as she did for Lyon and various times for the WNT. I'd take her any day over Williams.
Or if he perhaps was and didn't feel he needed another look over looking at someone else and something else... You can create such a narrative out of any inclusion or appearance.
And better practitioners than we are, ones with access to the actual joints involved and the internal images thereof will make that determination; not us and not Vladko. And we are reaching the point where worrying about career ending injury to Heath is perhaps less concerning than it has been-- to a certain degree careers are things to be expended judiciously, not things to be protected and preserved in packing peanuts. It wouldn't surprise or concern me if Carli makes the next World Cup roster, even-- but if Tobin's still in consideration for the one after that as it approaches, Andy Mead's apt to succumb to apoplexy...
Good general point about coaches and when they're willing to experiment, but in this case Macario started against Paris-St. Germain. I have no idea if the coronavirus had anything to do with it; the fixture was postponed because Lyon players tested positive. Morgan vs Williams isn't a real question because Morgan almost never plays on the wings anymore (if she ever did in a 4-3-3) and tends to play more towards the left than the right anyway, though in a pinch I can see Morgan on the right. The US is hopefully going to play 6 matches in 17 days; it's foolhardy to count on doing it playing the same 3 forwards every match; or even relying on a 4-man rotation given the age of our forwards. The US has been a good dynamic team under Vlatko and Lynn Williams has been a consistent presence in the lineup under him. She's fine. The US can win going to battle with Lynn Williams on the right side. I'd worry more about the right side of defense and Kelly O'Hara, who's a red card waiting to happen.
Just an FYI since someone asked earlier. From April 15 article: "Heath has been sidelined since January after suffering an ankle injury, but news broke on Friday that she returned to the U.S. due to a knee injury. Manchester United women's manager Casey Stoney said that the forward is "hopeful of making the Olympics." The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Tannenwald said that Heath's rehab will be "closely monitored by the U.S. Soccer Federation medical staff." The current hope is that she will reportedly be ready for the U.S. women's national team gathering in June." Credit: SI Soccer