That is one of the reasons I think USSF should form a USWNT B team. Let it be somewhere both the aging vets can play until they feel like they are done, while also being a place to work in the younger talent to the high competitive environment involved with national teams. It would expand the player pool for the coaches so if there are any late changes to a roster, there are fit vets and younger players already in the system.
While it sounds good in theory I very much doubt it would at all catch on or be accepted particularly by the veterans that one would think it is aimed at. The younger players already have the Uxx teams for that purpose and the training and screening tasks really belong with the clubs. The kind of personalities that make up the best of national teams do not readily accept being labeled as "B" team material. It is better to simply allow those that are not quite there to remain and train with their clubs. Of course those that get passed up but are on the radar need good communication with the coaching staff so they can know where the coaches perceive they have weaknesses. The place the women's game needs shoring up is not at the top but rather at the middle and bottom and that is done at the club level. The US clubs must get things together and get good coaching and competitive matches and a longer more diverse schedule. "Contracts" that so many seem to try to blame for perceived but really nonexistent problems with the selection process are not the problem. In fact there is no problem until the USWNT starts losing on a regular basis. Like I have said on other forums about other subjects, "If it ain't broke', don't fix it" and, at least for now, the USWNT selection and development process ain't broke'. One more thing: Different does not necessarily equal better and we should allow the process to continue as is until it breaks or something clearly better, not just different, comes along.
agreed. 2016 was a crack in the olympic cycle of the system. vlatko should be paying near obsessive attention to what went wrong and make sure he does not repeat it. people who study great companies that fail suggest that it may be hard to rewire systems while they are running well. nevertheless, we must not wait until it actually breaks.
To me there is currently zero signs that anything is broken therefore there is nothing that needs fixing. People think the there are players that are no longer productive and keep getting selected but those very players continue to excel in big games. Any coach would be a fool to mess with the currently working system and from all reports Vlatko is no fool. If players excel he will play them and this camp could well be where he wants the ageing vets and several others to prove they still have "it." There is actually quite a bit of time before the Olympic roster needs to be finalized and the pool is quite large. If any players fail to measure up they can be easily replaced for at least another two, three or even four months and still have plenty of time to get everyone working together. The "mistake" Ellis made was not from taking old players but rather it was from misjudging the recovery from injury time for at least one or two players. It is also well to remember that the US did not really fail at that Olympics but, rather, they played a slightly down game against a pretty talented team that played the bunker nearly perfectly and then losing because our PK takers and our goalkeeper simply failed when it was on the line.
Ellis and USsoccer both apologized to Megan for how they handled the situation. https://www.insider.com/us-soccer-president-apologized-to-megan-rapinoe-for-kneeling-response-2020-6
Catarina signs 2.5 year deal with Lyon. wow. https://www.stanforddaily.com/2021/01/12/catarina-macario-finalizes-2-5-year-deal-with-lyon/
Pinoe accused Ellis of freezing her out of the team because of kneeling, vs. not calling her in when she wasn't 100%. Where has the Fed apologized for freezing her out of the team? And, where is any apology by Ellis? Not saying those didn't happen. I'm saying neither of those is in your post.
Imagine being Vlatko and any other coach and telling aging stars: "Hey, you've done a hell of a lot for the USWNT and we will always honor you... but this year you're on our B team!" Wow! I wouldn't want to be within 100 yards of that!
lol, Catarina - "I spoke with one of my teammates, Ada, or Adā or, I'm not really sure how to pronounce her name."
even Hope Solo claimed she was bullied by the USWNT "mean girls" Hope Solo says she was bullied in USWNT's privileged 'mean girls club' | USA women's football team | The Guardian
When I read that, I was reminded of the scene during the WC where Solo got replaced by Brianna and spoke out pretty stupidly. According to Solo, in a team meeting where they were (rightfully) letting her have it, someone said "you need to call Julie and apologize." If that happened, that is ridiculous. Foudy was retired at that point. I tried to find an article about that, so I googled Solo, Scurry, Foudy. This came up. It's kind of classic. Solo references the "Pony tail posse days." Hope Solo rips Julie Foudy for saying Briana Curry is US women's best all-time goalie (larrybrownsports.com)
Macario approved to play for the USWNT: 🇺🇸 𝐔𝐒𝐖𝐍𝐓 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 🇺🇸@catarinamacario has been approved by FIFA to represent the U.S. Women’s National Team in international competition.More 👉 https://t.co/WCm8nssA6T pic.twitter.com/5603rxmMVx— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 13, 2021
From what I’ve seen from Lyon players, other than going for the money, big mistake joining that club. Other than PSG, there’s no competition in the French League. So that’s 20 out of 22 games where the opponent is going to basically park the bus against them(so their playing a mostly half sided field type game), thus the Lyon players have a habit of becoming complacent after a while. It’s starts showing on their national team performance; France has flopped in all major tournaments since 2013. Ada Hegerberg was a spectacular failure at the last Euro championship(where upon she quit her NT). English fans keep criticizing the post/Lyon performances of Bronze, Parris & Greenwood. The once promising Dutch player, van de Sanden(who helped her team to the Euro champ.) plays like a shell of her former self. I personally feel Marozsan keeps letting German NT down in their losses(she couldn’t score for them in over 1500 minutes of play, despite being the 2nd leading scorer on Lyon). Only time will tell if Macario will buckle the trend...
I listened to Hopes coverage of the WC on the BBC. She was very good. She always seemed a little nervous, but she was great. And, the other radio personalities just oozed with respect when they spoke to her.
Yes RM, Living here in the UK I saw all of the coverage. She was my inside line to all things USWNT during the broadcast. Really enjoyed her work.
yes. a good listen. was amused by their not quite "get off my lawn" attitude re younger players today.
More videos from camp: Behind the Crest: And Kristie Mewis and Horan at the [virtual] press conference (sounds like Horan did not have an asymptomatic case):
Sauerbrunn named captain of the team going forward: Oh Captain! Our Captain! 🇺🇸Head coach Vlatko Andonovski shared on his MD-1 media call today that moving forward @beckysauerbrunn will be the captain of the #USWNT pic.twitter.com/wP3pYNF2hY— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 17, 2021 I guess we may never know what happened with Sauerbrunn not being captain for the past few years. But, imo, she's been the best choice for awhile: a clear leader whether she is wearing the armband or not.