Ok I know I'm new here, but let me just say I know about the nats as anyone, I've watched all of their matches since WC 98, and I have a US passport and was born in Los Angeles so I'm not jsut some dumb israeli comin in here to bust your party. But the way you guys are talking about our soon to be world cup campaign in Germany... I see know way we can qualify from our group, much less get a point. Ghana has class players like Appiah and Essien, Essien plays for and stars in the richest club in the world. We could surround Essien with a team of canadians and he'd still probably be able to beat us. Ghana isn't at all the walkover most of you guys seem to think they are. Africa is the 3rd best football continent in the world and Ghana is their top team. With teams like Italy and Czech Republic, it really doesn't matter if they underestimate us, even if they do they have so much talent and class it wont matter, and on top of that we'll be playing in europe, a place where we haven't had a particulary good record (I think it's something like 1 win in the past 10 games) , and the only US player we've ever had who I'd rank as class was Brad Friedel, but he doesnt even play for the nats anymore. You guys have to understand that Italy and Czech Republic are full of the top players in the world, they're used to playing against the top players in the world, and their entire nation behind them in the stands cheering, they'll pretty much not not have a choice but to blow us out. I'll be in germany cheering my boys on and in the stands at all their matches, but i just hope you all realize we in no way have any chance at this, football isn't like hockey, and in no way will we be able to pull off a miracle on ice.
I'd just like to say that merely reading your screen name brings me to a state of sexual arousal. Carry on.
The ball is round and the game goes 90 minutes...after that, anything can happen...and usually does. I think you're selling our guys a little short here... OK, a whole lot short. Do the other teams in our group have better talent? Probably - they certainly have more star power at least, though I have elsewhere questioned the depth of both the Czechs (I doubt they'd even be here if they didn't convince Nedved to come out of international retirement) and Ghana (they're recruiting Freddy. No more need be said.), and I think the Italians are vastly, vastly overrated. The Czechs, also, look a little long in the tooth to me - sort of like Portugal did four years ago... Anyway, they have better talent, but we have the better team. Could we do a repeat of France and go three, over and out? Sure. It's a possibility...but nobody blows us out. Brazil doesn't even blow us out. They (almost - thanks Kasey) always win, but they haven't blown us out in over a decade, I think (and we play against them a lot). If the best team in the world doesn't blow us out, Italy and the Czech Republic certainly won't...no matter how badly their supporters want it to happen. We could also win the group. That is a possibility. And a stronger one than people think. My opinion on the whole thing? No African team will advance. Three teams from CONCACAF should (sorry, Dwight, but T&T ain't one of them...).
No offense, but I think that argument is getting pretty tired. The "look, we have no chance because the other team is full of superstars, tradition, and world class talent" does not matter when the whistle blows and the ball starts rollin. The same argument was made when the US faced Portugal...and we won. The same argument was made when the US faced Germany...yeah, we lost, but most Germans will admit they got outplayed that day. The same argument was made when France took on Liberia, and I am sure the same argument was being made in the Turkish, and South Korean press prior to Japorea. The other poster said it, when a "team" gets out there and goes balls to the wall for 90 minutes anything can happen...especially a US team with loads more talent than 2002 and something to prove.
Amazing. The first post of yours I've ever read and you already make my ignore list. That's a new record!
don't forget miracle on ice had HUGE home field edge...tiny auditorium sitting maybe 3000 or so.... and dont' forget usa pulled off the same trick against the soviets in 1960, so 1980 was all that unique...
NO CLASS??? well let's see... Keller is one of the best gk in the world Our back four with Gibbs(injured now but should be healthy by summer), Cherundolo, Onyewu, and Bocanegra all start for really good clubs in Europe. Bobby Convey and Marcus Hahneman are dominating the championship league and will soon be promoted to the EPL. DeMerit and Lewis also stand a good chance too. Beasley would drive Gandhi insane with his blazing speed and tenacity. John O' Brien(although injured now but should be healthy by WC) and Claudio Reyna are both main frames for their clubs in europe. thats two engines we have to run our team. We have a 19 year old defender(spector) that was playing for Manchester United but yeah he was loaned out...to CHARLTON not some mediocre DIV2 team but another EPL team. our backup goalkeeper (howard) was EPL goalkeeper of the year in 2003. Donovan...wow he didn't make it at Leverkusen. if you can honestly sit here and tell me that Donovan couldn't START for most top european teams you're freaking crazy. but if he's happier living in the US than europe than good for him. it's his decision. Brian McBride has one of the best heads in the game. and i don't think anyone in the world could disagree with that. also, at 33, he's in the best shape he's ever been in his entire life. Berhalter might be playing in the 2nd division but he's still the captain of a german team. Hejduk, Pope, Wolff, and Mastroeni yeah they might be MLSers but if you think they were anything less than superb in 02 you're crazy. Johnson before he got injured was a goal scoring monster. and that's not all we have either. yeah we might not have as much talent as the italians but don't underestimate our boys either. even if the italians bring the best game they have ever played they will still struggle to get a POINT out of us. yeah the italians have more of a soccer culture than we have. whoop-de-freaking-doo-dah! they can shove the culture up their @$$ when we get 3 pts and they go home with zero baby! it is possible that we could go home with 0 points but i sure as hell am not going to go up to Italy, CR, and Ghana and beg mercy from them. it's like if you're fighting, it doesn't matter if you're 5'9 180 lbs facing a 6'9 280 lbs guy i would NEVER admit to him he could whip my @$$ till after he did it. this is the american way. we have more balls than anyone. but the most important thing is like what the others were saying. the ball is round and the clock says 90 minutes anything could happen.
Thank the lord for your wisdom and your generosity in bestowing it upon us. I was just sitting here at my cubicle at work thinking to myself.. "You know what Brandon, you know what your life is missing? Another thread on Bigsoccer.com advising all of us to remain level-headed going into the World Cup." Had it not been for this post, this particular post, not the 80,000 others like it further down the page, but this particular post, I would have allready purchased my USA World Cup Champions T-Shirt and hat. Thank you kind sir, thank you. Without your guidance, I would be lost.
All right, Let's be honest US fans. We don't have the talent to compete with the big dogs of soccer. Why? They are much more talented. They play in Europe, none of our guys do. They have superstars everywhere. What do we have? Nada zip zilch(excluding the 11th highest scorer in the EPL, an extremely fast winger on a CL side, a keeper thats been nominated for Bundesliga player of the month, a captain who was named to the first 11 last world cup, a defensive back line that should be one of the most physically imposing of the tourney, and the American attitude that we can take whatever is thrown at us head on). But let me tell you, if there is one thing that we should learn from international sporting competitions its that the most talented team always wins. Just like the international basketball tournaments where the US plays a team and usually the 13th best player in the gym is the other teams stud. And the US never loses. I'm sorry, but if the US can't win a basketball tournament with 12 of the top 17 players in the world on their roster, im not gonna be scared of a bunch of Italian chokers, or Czech geezers. Get real pirate, if you had followed the US as much as you do you would know, THE WHOLE OF THE US TEAM IS MUCH GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS. Thats something none of the Euro teams in our group can say.
star power doesn't mean much in these tournaments. look at the 2002 world cup. senegal didn't have any real star power, s. korea(although playing at home) didn't have any big stars, turkey had one or two known players, and if i remember correctly i think a team with pretty much no star power made it to the quarter finals and left portugal in its dust on its way there. Argentina, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, star power didn't show up for these teams. its a 90 minute game, where anything can happen. GO USA!!!!!
and this time around portugal gets angola.... so we'll see if colonial oppression gets a measure of revenge their
Greece 2004 Point to star power meaning nothing. Well, golly, what are we going to do when that big mean man Totti comes out on to the field with a bunch of us skilless hacks? Poor little ol' us might as well roll over and die. I mean, Essien is a man amongst boys. He'll probably score 3, 4 goals without even entering our half. Yes, sah, it's all over for Team USA. You're Israeli. As much as you are American I don't think you've grasped a simple concept of the American attitude: We don't admit defeat even when defeated. Look at Vietnam. What's the point in going if you're just going to roll over and die?
The USA are definately not out yet, to claim that would be plain stupid. BUT at the same time it looks much more realistic for Italy and the Czech to advance (and that's the name of the thread). I really hope the US win the group and if everything works out perfectly they might even just do that. But the quality of the players is just far behind Italy or the Czech. Y'all are right when you're saying that the biggest advantage of the US is that they have a real teamplay. And that's what stunned Portugal in 2002. But this time I have the feeling that the Euro teams will be more prepared. First of all they'll have more time to prepare than in 2002 and secondly, this time they know what the US can do. So there is still no reason to become depressive, but a little realism can't hurt. Plus, if the US team goes to the WC with that "we're the best team" attitude they would lose their main advantage and make the same mistake as Portugal 2002.
We have a chance if the boys get really motivated and Bruce Arena has them pull a Greece, they do seem to have the ability to run at top speed for long amounts of time, and we do have a surprising counter attack, but in that comes a new problem, would you rather have the USA win ugly with anti-football or go out guns blazing and lose.. wait why'd that question even come up? Anyways, sorry but I'm new here, i didnt realize thousands of others posted the same exact post as me.
the reason a good chunk of the world thinks our group is the group of death is because they realize that the US can hang. if we bring our best players healthy and motivated, in a 90 minute game we have the chance to upset some euro-powers. i'm hopeful and optimistic. and anyway, isn't this what we want: the chance to go up against the best? whatever happens, this can only help US soccer.
i don't think it is possible to win the world without great players and heart. both are necessary you can't do it with just one. there have a lot of hungry teams that don't make it cause they don't have the talent, and a lot of talented teams that don't make it cause they don't have the heart. so i would agree that star power does mean something to winning the world cup, but advancing past the group stage and having a succesful tournament is possible without star power.
Of course, failing to acknowledge your utter humiliation in Vietnam could be seen as a wonderful example of the good ol' never-say-die spirit that typifies the USA. Or of course it could be seen as utter pig-headed arrogant refusal to admit that you were humbled by a bunch of third world peasants on bicycles*. By the way, when you get knocked out in the group stages next year, good luck in claiming that you are still actually in the tournament. * special bonus points to anyone who includes the phrase "We kicked your asses in 1776" in their response
ok Mobile seriously you need to shut up before you make yourself look anymore stupid or we just decide to conquer australia. we didn't come close to losing the vietnam war on the battle field. the only reason why we didn't "win" is because of the liberals in DC. only the US could send not even half of their military into a country and conquer it in 3 weeks. you realize we only used 2 of aircraft carriers in OIF. but enough about the US what has australia EVER done? soccer is what our 5th most popular sport and yet we can still beat down these so called super power futbol fan crazed countries. NO ONE can stop the US. we will divide and conquer at everything we do.
Classic. Now I see what Ictar meant about refusing to admit defeat. So the US actually didn't lose in Vietnam. Right. Erm - well I'd have thought it depends on what country it is you're trying to invade. But since we're on the subject of Iraq, are you seriously trying to claim a victory there as well? Haven't more US soldiers died since the supposed 'end' of the war than during the conflict itself? Some victory that is. Well, I'm not Australian, but since you bring it up, I believe the Aussies were daft enough to tag along in both Vietnam and Iraq. But you're clearly on a roll with your rewriting of history, so let's just ignore their involvement and claim that the resounding success that was OIF was purely, 100% down to the US of A. Yeah! And we're back to football, good. Unsurprisingly, your perception of the US' status in the world game is as warped as your views on everything else, but never mind. Care to name these 'so called super power futbol fan crazed countries' who the US have 'beaten down'? Let's see, I can think of Portugal. Oh, and I suppose you can have Mexico too. Well that certainly shows that 'NO ONE can stop the US', doesn't it? Unless of course you count Germany. If I were you I'd get back to wanking off over your latest copy of Guns 'N Ammo. The US is a decent team that has made large strides forward in the past 10 years and deserves a fair amount of credit and respect. Let's face it though, they're still a level below the top teams in the world and all this talk of 'divide and conquer' just makes you look a bit of a twat. They have a chance of getting out of their group next year, but it's by no means a certainty and they could easily finish bottom.
Mobile, Eleven Bravo, everyone else--TAKE THE POLITICAL TALK ELSEWHERE! IT DOES NOT BELONG ON A SOCCER BOARD.