I don’t think this is true. If it were true, the issue would have started before Gio was born. But as you know, the issue started when Gil’s playing time didn’t meet his expectations.
Nothing is funnier than that soccer soup podcast with MLS/USMNT vet hosts from 2020 during covid talking about their experiences playing with Tyler when he was like 14-16 and one of the guys is literally laughing remembering Tyler, "Barking at players when he wasn't cursing them out to get their ---- together on the field" or something of that sort. There's something hilarious about him even as like a high school freshman/sophmore ordering adults around on the field.
Was referring to the very tight relationship between the Berhalters and Reynas. Gio would simply not have had such a level of familiarity with another coach.
benched by three managers in one season? benched for the champions league final after playing well in the semi? a whole goal and assist in four matches in the world cup? part of the team that missed the wc four years earlier? current team desperate to offload him for a fraction of what they paid for him? which one exactly?
Yes. Although I suspect Puli has politics I deeply deplore (the opposite of Donovan, whose politics coincide with mine in nearly everything), and even though on the field Puli lacks the Talisman value (making those around better), overall for the NT he's shown raw talent that is unmatched by anyone so far, not even Donovan or Dempsey (even though both had better vision on the field and Landon was brilliant when he was on, capable of making types like Connor Casey look awesome), and he's shown a lot of heart, love for the shirt. I bet by the time he retires. Pulisic will have more goals for the NT than anyone before him. With 23 goals and 16 assists at 24, I expect him to reach 60 goals and 40 assists once all is said and done. Reyna should be close. We'll see.
If you pick your players by their politics then you must be miserable watching sports. Peoples’ politics change and evolve. The people I enjoy watching are those who are not dogmatic and who show the ability to learn and grow.
Why denigrate Pulisic? If the player you are advocating for is worthy of displacing Pulisic, the replacement will occur of its own merits. Why denigrate the player? Pulisic had a fantastic World Cup, by the way.
Pulisic was the best US player at the World Cup. He's the only guy of the current crop who was there in 2018; he's got a fire in his belly the others don't right now. Reminded me of Donovan in 2010, who was motivated to bounce back after 2006, and how he just put the team on his back against Slovenia. Pulisic pretty much did that in every match of the WC. He may not be a captain material, but he's definitely a leader. Kudos to him, he hasn't shrunk from the pressure of being the US "Golden Boy" (on the contrary, sometimes he does too much). In fact, he seems to relish it.
The point of my post is that I care about production on the field for the NT above all. Even club career. And politics, but only to a point --if a sportsman starts promoting actively things I find morally objectionable, I will stop being a fan. I do have a moral compass.
I would be more than happy to see Pulisic get his career back on track. But .... If not we have to start thinking about other options.
Reyna has played only a handful of games in a two-way role for BVB. Almost all of his minutes are spent on the attacking line behind the ST. That’s even counting early in Reyna’s tenure at BVB when they would use a 532 in defense that turned into a 3421 in possession and Gio would be the AM who shifted back while Sancho or Reus stayed higher. Mostly he has been a RM or an LM in a 4231 (or a 4132 under Rose) or as an AM. Transfermarkt has Gio with only 2 career appearances at CM. Conversely TM has Pulisic with 5 BVB appearances where they put a right wingback.
You sure do. It's clear. You're bright, current, extremely well-informed. I find you agreeable and often fun. I've learned that it's unreasonable to expect anyone, let alone everyone, to line up with me morally, politically; ideas, beliefs are to be promoted AND opposed. For me it's about how someone promotes a belief or expresses opposition. I admire independent thinking and dissent. I suspect that most of us do. Anyway, this Quindio coffee is superb.
But could he do it against Qatari semi pros a week before the World Cup Gio Reyna scored twice Folarin Balogun and Taylor Booth were the other 2 who scored for the USMNT. Final score was 4-0. https://t.co/wkBy1rbatm— Takes 🇺🇸 (@USMNTTAKES) June 11, 2023
lol ream was the best player at the wc 'fire in his belly' that probably hurts how many goals is that worth? didnt seem to help him this season with chelsea 'put the team on his back'...team scored three goals in four matches he had a single goal and a single assist..shocked he wasn't talked about the all tourney team atleast oh he wants to be the golden boy...now all he needs is a club where he gets off the bench lol
At this point, do you even believe what you are arguing? It was two matches, by the way. He also had a number of good UCL games with Dortmund.
Pulisic wasn’t that good against Wales and was still clearly our best player in the World Cup. Ream had the better club season.