Maybe. Update on Matthew Hoppe’s status.He’s rumored to have suffered a very minor injury in the match against Real Madrid after the collision with Nacho, so the team has rested him as a precaution.He’s 100% fully fit now and ready to go - expected to feature in upcoming matches.— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) October 24, 2021
Me oh my. What an excellent question. I will heavily bet "the source" is one person I have warned about.
Maybe Wait he’s so hurt that they let him leave and join the national team and get mins. While continuing to have him on the bench? pic.twitter.com/XoLlmwZyaV— Matthew Gonzales🇲🇽🇺🇸 (@matthew_gon24) October 24, 2021
The real story about why Hoppe did not play can be found at min 14. I told you guys about Hoppe's agent. Also this show is absolutely amazing.
For those who don't want to listen, these dudes say that whispers from the training ground are that Hoppe isn't getting along with his teammates and that's why he's not playing. They also say he's not injured. His agent says he's injured but Hoppe himself says he's not. I don't know if they have any history of being right about such details. Anyone know if they generally have good info? It seems perfectly believable that he's not getting along with his new teammates. He's shown a kind of arrogant attitude and hot temper before (with the NT) and I can imagine that sort of behavior from a new young teammate turning some people off.
Hoppe coming in hot with the attitude can definitely rub people the wrong way in a chill vibe like Mallorca. Dudes want to bring it together enough to avoid relegation, not beef with some kid scarred by the turmoil of Schalke. But that means the Hoppe redemption narrative begins right now!!
he wouldn't be the first to have a head to big for a team setting. only a few can be that and back it up. even they seem to bounce around until they calm down a little or find a team that will put up with that sh#t. this guy it too young to start this behavior. I really think he is a special talent, but if you can't get on the field because your head won't get thru the doorway, we and you'll never know. it's alway better to shut up and listen when you're new to a team or job or any kind of established situation. but, what the hell do I know.
I don’t care I’m team hoppe here. His play ON THE FIELD was good enough to warrant further playing time. no one here knows the real reason, but if it’s true that he hasn’t been getting along with teammates, then the young/brash American will always be the scapegoat.
Youth is wasted on the young. Sucks that perspective can really only be gained by either living through it or actually being open to listening and absorbing advice. For those of you who have sons, and for most of us who were adolescent males (which continues for many into the 20s from a maturity standpoint), you understand how limited the latter is for most males at that age. Interesting from an evolutionary standpoint that being able to have perspective take so long to develop in males. It would seem that listening to advice from a caveman father about how to gather food would be important to assimilate quickly.
I think it is more believable that he is not injured. I think the podcast got that right. However..... Sounds like the 'not getting along on the training ground' could be as much meme as truth. In fact, I would bet on it. These guys on the podcast don't seem to have ability to talk to several players on that team, do they? That is the quality reporting you would need to prove this. It sounds much more like the kind of thing that gets started by one person saying it (a journalist....or even one player), and then a 2nd person says it- and off it goes as internet truth. There are players in all sorts of leagues who are not the favorite of teammates and yet, they play and star all the time. If you perform to a peak level in practice and your time in games- you are going to play. I think a much more plausible explanation is that this was (1) a late transfer that (to some degree) the coach was blase about Hoppe coming in or didn't fill a specific gaping need. (2) Also, the player is new to his teammates in transition (on other threads- this is poo pooed...but these younger players need time to integrate) and finally (3) Hoppe has his strengths as a player for sure, but he does look raw at times- so it would not surprise me if there are technical things that the coach wants to see improvement me on as well. Given the coach plays only 1 spot for a #9 in lineup, and he had 2 possibilities already....some combination of the factors above seem more likely than 'his teammates don't like him'. Finally- I would put 'not understanding Spanish' within my paragraph above regarding (transition). It's part of the transition to a new club to communicate and understand communications effectively..... and yeah- if you don't speak the language, that's an issue in a highly technical league like Spain (or can be) We all take for granted how difficult it is for 19,20,21,22 year olds (and even older) to bop around Europe to different clubs and get up to speed quickly on all fronts. It is damn hard...even if your living in Mallorca (which could be a helluva a distraction, if you let it) I would see it as a major victory if by 2nd half of season, Hoppe could be getting some more regular minutes (but not replace the current #9), chip in a few goals and be seen as a real competitive option going forward by his coach in future seasons. Anything above that at this point would be stupendous.
Take a look at Guyland (Kimmel), which sounded alarm bells in 2008 - doubt there's been much improvement in recent years. From the Wiki summary: "Kimmel notes that, in 1960, almost 70% of American men had by the age of 30 left home, completed their educations, found a partner and started work. By comparison, today less than a third of men reach these milestones before their thirties. Kimmel writes that young men are reluctant to grow up because they "see grown-up life as such a loss". In order to avoid the responsibilities of adulthood, young men retreat into a homosocial world Kimmel terms "Guyland", a social space and a stage of life where "guys gather to be guys with each other, unhassled by the demands of parents, girlfriends, jobs, kids, and the other nuisances of adult life"... Sounds a little like BS, except I assume that many/most here have hit those milestones, though likely not at a young age (relative to prior generations).
You wonder what we as parents can do to prevent sons from feeling that life as an adult ain't the worst thing in the world?
Historically, US players, brash or not, have been well liked by their teammates. It's really rare for one to be on the outs, for the most part. And when they are involved in "personality clashes" it tends to be with the likes Ibra or other guys with "reputations" - or the relatively few Ams (the 2 Clints, for instance) who are generally confrontational guys. From Dolo to Reyna to McBride to Freidel to Boca to McKennie to Cameron to Pulisic to Ream to Steffen to you name them the vast majority of American players in Europe have great reps with teammates - and often get leadership roles above their perceived skill level.
This sounds like a ridiculous spin of old people on young people. I'm no longer young, but like most of us here, I hit 30 somewhere in between 1960 and 2021. And yes, people are "growing up" later in a variety of ways, including doing less work as teenagers (partly because homework and extra-ciricular demands are so insane). People are getting married later, but that's largely a smart move (and we've seen a decline in divorce). It's partially driven by women working and not needed an income provider, partially driven by people wanting find the right partner as well as any kind of dodging of responsibility. There's a lot more we can do these days in terms of living in different places, pursuing a career or traveling the world. Yes, people live at home more. But part of that is the absurd cost of housing, and it's pretty common worldwide to live at home in multi-generational houses. There's not a massive unemployment issue with young men or low college rates, etc. This is a weird painted picture of something I'm not seeing at all. In many ways, these generations feel more responsible than the older, who might have gotten married and had kids, but didn't often actually want to be a parent or a spouse.
I mean, no, not really. I find all the generational dogging just dumb, and I'm not young. I finished college at 22. Every generation has its slackers, but when everyone was bitching about millenials, I found that most of the ones I worked with, even straight out of college, were far more respectful, eager to learn, and generally responsible than most of the people my age or older. Yes, there were duds, but in general, they also had their priorities far more in order, caring more about other people than money and having a strong ethical base. Yes, they don't know how to change their oil or whatever, and there's real changes in generational perception about certain things, but I've seen nothing that speaks to generational laziness or wanting to dodge responsibility. I work less with Gen Z as I've gotten older, but I expect we'll see a similar theme -- lots of bitching about them, but the same damn mix of good and bad. Every generation wants to act like they were so much better.
Matthew moved out and got a job by the time he was 20. So what are we, worried about his love life here?