Yes the Portugese coach admitted after the match that he had not scouted the US at all. It was a stunning lack of professionalism. We will not get that pass from a coaching staff again. I think a better hope is that the players will be overconfident on a personal level. At least that is what I hope. That could go either way. We better be ready for the best from each of our opponents.
perhaps you might notice a difference between the US media's attitude towards soccer and that of the European media. perhaps that might go a teensy way to explaining things for you? and in the weeks leading up to the world cup most major dailies will have WC previews, including stories about team's we'll face.
prior to the match, the portugese players were very jovial, not having their game faces on.... figo took about two minutes to decide he didn't want to be on the same side with beasley.... 2002, usa had the 1998 performance, and could easily be overlooked... with 2002 in the books, and the ranking, no matter it's relative worth, usa won't get a free pass.... it's pretty clear lippi and bruckner have done a lot of tape analysis of the usa.. ghana...who knows really
1. This is just silly to pretend that the coverage we get now in the foreign press is similar to what we got in 2002 or "98 or "94 or '90. It's not even close. You used to be able to go to WC qualifier matches in MEXICO (for the 2002 cycle) and they'd have Eric Wynalda listed as a possible starter for us. In short, most of the world concluded that the Yanks don't know squat about this game and a small minority had concluded we produced great GKs, had a few naturalized guys worth looking and and our other players didn't know squat about this game. I'm not saying people say we're 4th best in the world. But beating Portugal, making the Quarters, outplaying Germany---we're not sneaking up on folks anymore (or at least this cycle). 2. To push bltleo on this is ignorant. He's doing a great service, pulling up press coverage we normally wouldn't have access to or translating it. He didn't write this stuff--he's just being a great guy. 3. Yes, be a strong supporter of the USMNT. Yes, believe we can do it again. But recognize we're not sneaking up on anyone this time. We're in a tough group with a trio of coaches that have already scouted us several times in person or on tape. In "98, Berti Vogts thought it necessary to watch only one old video of the US. Doesn't mean we should be scared. But last time we got the Euros off of their soil. This time, they're going to be in Europe, with many of their fans, access to a lot of what puts them at home and they will have studied us. As the Italian coach pointed out, you can watch a lot of tape of a mixture of our players and you start to see some of the things Arena likes to do. Not b/c he's repititive but b/c you start to learn how he reacts to certain situations, what his tendencies are, how he uses talent. People have never scouted us before like they are this time. I don't think that spells doom. It just means that the combination of: no surprise, and really good competition means our boys have their work cut out for them.
Also, the technology has changed since then. Nowadays, you have specifically designed software programs that track down all the touches with as much detail as the NFL games. Considering that the Euro club teams all have some sort of a computer-based system that breakdowns the games to a minutia and the National teams having the same systems and a lot more time on their hands, being underscouted is extremely unlikely. That Portuguese team, btw, was not just a bit ignorant, it was also poorly coached from a strategic POV.
thanks for kind words. This is nice from you. But as shaster said, I´m not a "great guy", but lady, german lady. But I´m really glad that so many people here appreciate my reports. It is pleasure for me to make all this translatation work for you all. Go USA Go Germany bltleo Germany
My apologies bltleo. This is not the first time I've been accused of gender confusion online. And thanks again for all that you do here--your reports are invaluable and I'm sure I speak for everyone that we appreciate the time and effort it takes you to translate and post them.
no need to apologize.. It is my pleasure to inform american fans about czech or german soccer. I like to translate them...even though I know my English is not perfect.. but I´m glad that people appreciate my reports ....I ´m doing that because of my love to soccer..and because I like US soccer and your country! So I like translate all these reports for you all bltleo Germany
that's what you think. remember last summer when you were writing to someone called harley-girl? Apart from that, I think that people hoping the czechs are underestimating us need a bit of a reality check. No team in our group is even underestimating ghana. Today on Los Protagonistas, Jose Ramon, the famous long time commentator at this round table here in Mexico mentioned the united states among those teams to take very very seriously, as much as brazil (his words, in spanish of course)....I don't think anyone would commit so atrocious an error as to underestimate the strength of the u.s. team.