Anyone read about Gio Reyna vs. Gregg Berhalter these last couple of days? Reyna wasn't my favorite beforehand, and now it's even worse. One thing I don't like: non team players. Putting yourself above the team is a big no-no in the Berks book of competition. I LOVE team sports. LOVE THEM. And the diva crap? No bueno. I feel like those that are complaining are part of the "anything that is from Europe must be treated with kid gloves BECAUSE THEY ARE THE NEXT SUPERSTAR!!!". But that could just be my twitter feed to be honest. That said Gregg needed to manage this too. Seemed to do it at the time and then this leak which feels gross from a breaking the locker room stance. More perturbing is the loss of respect from Gio's own teammates. He's going to have to change to mend those fences. Weston did this quite well...so far Gio....
Big game today. LM10 vs. LM10. The funny thing is Modric is more like an old school, "possession hub" type 10 than Messi, which is why he can lift his team up so much. Messi OTOH is barely involved if the ball is not getting to the final 3rd.
Argentina looks closer to making it 3-0 than Croatia getting a goal, BUT if Croatia gets one, this will swing.
3-0. No Croatia come back in this one. They laid an egg. A giant egg. credit to Argentina and Messi for putting it away.
Stick a fork in Croatia. They shot their wad against Brazil. Messi messing around being Messi but that Julian Alvarez had himself a game.
Is it just because they conceded possession? Croatia looked thoroughly outmatched, but also looked like ARG's best match of the tournament.
Can’t remember the last time a team ran through Croatia’s midfield like that. Argentina kept catching them on counter over and over again and there was just no response from Croatia. I’ll give Messi and Argentina credit— that was as amazing of a performance as you can dream of for a semi of a WC. It’s so weird to think Messi could be playing in Miami next season.
I thought Messi had his best game in a long time. He took over the midfield at times winning balls he had no right winning. He was quicker than usual and often 3 Croatians couldn’t take the ball away from him. Very impressive.
Messi was just finding things to make himself upset over. He did a Michael Jordan. "Van Gaal had suggested ahead of the quarterfinal that Messi did little to help his team when they don't have the ball." So he said that Messi doesn't play much on defense.
I've been following this. It's really disappointing to hear not only about Gio's lack of effort in training but also the fact that Berhalter failed to keep his part of the bargain by letting it leak out to the public even if it was supposedly "off the record" and he never mentioned Reyna by name. Reyna has since release a statement on Instagram with his side of the story and the sporting director from Dortmund has also spoken out in support of Gio. It will be interesting to see how the team moves forward, I really hope that they can put this behind them quickly. This definitely throws a new wrinkle into the situation with Berhalter's contract expiring soon.
Personally I am glad all this came out. In other countries this sort of stuff is NEVER kept secret because of the level of media coverage and te contacts they wield at any given time. As a fan I welcome a glimpse into the inner workings of this team. It's OUR team after all is said and done. I hope Berhalter takes a year off and the comes back to club level where he belongs. Probably to take over Vanney. But I don't blame him for making this public. I would not have beat around the bush and used somebody else to point out Reyna. Just point it out. This dude became a pain in the ass. Having said that, it's true that Reyna is a young player with perhaps much more room to grow and mature but this, this was straight entitled punk business. I am emotional too but you won't see me half-assing it because I've been told we may not exactly be building our game to game crews around you this time around what with your injuries and attitude and all. What would the other players have thought if Berhalter would have kowtowed to the Chosen One's outburst? Mckennie learned his lesson, this fool will too.
I've been trying to defend Berhalter, which is probably a fool's errand. But I'm surprised that, according to a bunch of people commenting on this around these parts, Gio Reyna turned out to be the player on the level of someone that could win a playing time argument with the coach. Because I haven't seen it. To be fair, I'm not even sold that Pulisic is on the level that I keep reading he is, and he at least makes good plays for us.
Giroud causing lots of trouble for Morocco. Man, too bad Portugal didn’t have a lethal, historic player like Giroud who can stretch the defense and make space for his talented teammates..
The problem I have with Berhalter making it public is the issue was supposedly dealt with and resolved internally. If that is the case, there's no need to re-open the wound and bring it to the public weeks later. Secondly, it sounds like Berhalter had made it clear that team issues such as this would remain in-house, not be brought out to the public. He broke his own rule and broken the trust of the players. Assuming he doesn't renew his contract this won't matter much for the national team going forward but could affect his ability to gain the trust of players anywhere he coaches in the future. As for Reyna, he definitely shouldn't expect special treatment and is lucky he wasn't sent home. If anything he should have been practicing with even more intensity and focus to show Berhalter that he deserved more time on the pitch (assuming he really was 100% healthy). I know he has great potential but some people talk about him being our best player and how he was one of the best players during CONCACAF qualifying. In reality, he started only one game out of 14 during the octagonal round of qualifying (used as a sub in 3 more) with zero goals scored in those four matches.
not a fan of either finalist, so I guess I'll go with the story book ending of Messi, hoisting the Cup. also what is fascinating to me is how two giants of this Football/Soccer era are handling their fleeting moments of being in the spotlight
I get your points of contention. Berhalter may have succumbed to the media press. He was being taken to task over the lack PT in Reyna's case and he may have decided I am not taking one for team over this entitled brat and spoke up. You are right about Reyna's level and the assumption of everybody that he will be the one to build the team around. That may happen but it's not happened yet. This is like Pulisic 6 or 7 years ago when we all thought he was the chosen one. He turned out a good player but not the game-changing star we once thought he could turn out to be.
Crazy game with Morocco. They certainly did not play like Croatia. They could have done the deed. In the end France is just too much but man, I got those vibes like when Sacramento Republic was whacking MLS teams left and right to the curb and making a beeline to the Lamar Hunt trophy. This is the kind of games I watch the World Cup for. France/Argentina is nice but this stuff is what stays in my mind forever. Morocco got me all emotional like Reyna.
France is a formidable foe. They are si damn athletic - fast, strong, many with good size. While they are skilled it was their quickness and power that created chaos for the Moroccan defense. It didn’t help that Morocco lost 3 of 4 starting defenders to injury. Morocco was excellent in midfield. They are great with the ball at their feet. Their weakness is a lack of a good forward. With a in-prime Suarez type poacher they would have scored at least two goals today. Instead they played in the box like they do in midfield- cut, cut back, pass, cut back again…. anything but shoot! Should be a great Final. An in-form Messi/Alvarez/Argentina vs an in-form Mbappe/Giroud/France.
Morocco/France was chippy - in my mind the Mexican ref let too much go and held on to his yellows to the detriment of the game. Morocco really put the pressure on, but France held the ball or ceded possession and didn't push their offense for large parts of the game. They/Mbappe seem to be able to score when they need to. I'm rooting for Argentina in the final but betting on France.