I think Sanneh will be fit next year again. Well maybe was sanneh the best defense in 2002, but he did not manage to prevent one score of our German. Such a pity for american team. You were really close to win against Germany, but then Ballack, Kahn and some mistake of Sanneh. Well only because he looked washed up against Cuba, does not mean he is "OUT". Maybe he will wake up and I´m sure he wants to go to Germany next year. bltleo
Just got back from Seattle, and on the long flight, thought a bit about the games I saw..... The US, in CONCACAF, is the hunted. Where the US team, once upon a time, simply played for a draw or a close game, other teams play the US with that approach. Canada and Cuba both played defensively, rarely entering the attack with any numbers. Our counter-attacking style will struggle to score unless we can get a numerical advantage, or the ball behind the defensive line. In both games, this rarely happened, and that had little to do with how the US played. Defensively, we played extremely well against Canada, not giving up a decent shot until late in the game. We played OK in back against Cuba, but give them some credit for finding the weakness in a 3-man backline. The Cubans had little ballskill, but they did have decent speed and a striker who could finish. Their goal exposed Sanneh for a lack of pace, and they ran at him fairly consistently. The problem with that formation is it puts incredible pressure on your backs, and they need to have the talent and pace to play it. Arena thought...what the heck, it's Cuba. They were a bit better than we thought, and suddenly, the talent we had in back wasn't quite what we needed to shut them down. They got opportunities, but faded badly due to our superior conditioning. Lastly, against either a better team or a team in a defensive posture, opportunities will be limited. We created enough opportunities to put up a final score indicative of the game on the field. But we didn't finish our chances. The Gold Cup might be the start of a needed mental adjustment, and I'm sure it will come once we qualify and get into a slate of friendlies against WC-class competition. Too often, in CONCACAF qualifying, we've had numerous opportunities, so the team plays loose with finishing. An attitude of "don't worry, we'll get this chance again" hangs on our finishing, and we can't bring that to Germany. Enjoyable games overall, and the tournament will provide some insight for Arena into who'll get some time with the team in the upcoming qualifiers, and who might be seeing their last go-round. Finding those answers while playing in a competitive situation is useful for any team, and we still have a few questions to be answered. But for one-year away from the WC, we really are in a good position with a good team that's playing well. Addressing deep bench slots or choosing which qualified player to start are not exactly pressing issues....
I agree with you i loved that post from, i forget who, he said that it's so unfortunate that we only have like 3 or 4 good finnishers...how many do you need to win a game?
Arena has a different agenda then you. He always has his eye on the grand prize. And it's not the Gold Cup my friend.
well I think you don´t need 3 or 4 good finnishers.. I think you need good starters, good players who are not getting kaputt soon and good finnisher - so you need "perfect" team... it is team sport...so just 3 or 4 good finnishers is not enough to win a game....you should play good from the beginning..not just at the end....... your bltleo
hey sandy, I think we have good depth as far as goal scorers, and I know you do too, our strikers can last the long haul mickhayafe
well, with ching and casey and ej getting hurt, the depth at forward is being tested... dempsey is interesting, basically because he causes things to happen....he's not pretty, but I'd really like to see EJ and dempsey paired because the havoc clint creates will get finished by EJ... also, I do like wolff and his creativity outside the box meshes well with donovan and beasley....