I think it is more that it's truly the "right way" to handle them to come in and not try at all. That's how the true professionals do it.
I remember when we went to Italy, Germany, and The Netherlands and beat those teams their fans said similar things; The US played too hard and took it too seriously. Did not matter to me, they were the more talented squads and we beat them in their houses. Canada did the same to us, kudos to them. They also beat us in WCQ2022 and there were excuses from some parts of the fanbase then.
Italy went on get 2nd and 1st in the Euro. Germany went on to win a Confederations Cup. I'd say they had their priorities in the right order.
Italy went on to not qualify for the next two world cups, Holland didn’t qualify for the next one and Germany was grouped. If only they always had your priorities. Im giving you a hard time but I don’t think it’s crazy to say it’s just a friendly there’s no need to go balls to the wall. It’s the accumulation of blasé efforts where we disagree. For example, you wrote the US played just as hard as Colombia and that makes me think we’re watching different sports it’s so offbase to me. Another place we disagree is when Pulisic says ‘we need to change the mentality’, I don’t chalk it up to cliches and memes, I’m pretty jaded but not that much.
Pulisic is by far our best player and Bombito put him in his back pocket. And don't tell me Bombito is the best CB in the planet. He's good, but just a few weeks ago during Copa people here were calling him a disaster.
Wait... so THAT was cliches and memes. But not when he says we need to change the mentality, THAT he's clearly serious about and speaks to a real problem with the players and the program?
If you follow our conversation I’m gently mocking eleven for saying when Pulisic said one thing, it was sincere, and another it was insincere. He responded it’s all bs. That’s too jaded for me.
I think that what Holden said is/was more important. He said the team needs leaders. This one has one great leader that is injured....frequently. Pulilsic is the same type of leader that Deuce was...he's a quiet leader; he just goes out and does his job but it requires other players that will follow his example. The problem with that is that he isn't the type to kick others in the butt to get them going. It would be wrong to say that everyone has been slacking but it really doesn't take much. Some have mentioned Zimmerman...I think he is a leader. As Holden said, McKennie can be a leader as well but obviously he wasn't here in body this window and missing in spirit last window. I have a hard time taking anything Lalas says seriously...even if he is right. In this case, I think he was right...he was the pot, so he knows what color the kettle is.....
The team needs competition for places more than emergence of 'leaders'. Competition for places and a less mechanical style of play. Forget Canada, When Panama,T&T, and Jamaica can give you a hard time in your yard, in competitive matches, there's just a major problem.
Since we are talking about Pulisic now, I thought I would mention his interview immediately after the game. I know some were asking about or wondering if he would comment on the effort/culture/motivation etc of the team. If you didn't see the interview (the question was about Pochinetto coming), he expressed, verbally and visually, extreme frustration over the current situation in the team. One of the phrases that stands out to me was "lack of will to win" (or something to that effect. That interview seemed to confirm much of what people have been discussing but the one thing that he said that does worry me a bit (I'm probably reading too much into it) was his comment tha the hopes Pochinetto can fix that (the mentality etc) in the team. It worries me because, ultimately, he can't do it for the players. He can help by imposing consequences (selection/drop) but it really has to come from the players. They have to step up.
competition for places should be happening all the time, even when things are going good. We need leadership/coaches that are always trying to find ways to improve the side through roster and lineup tinkering. Team building should be seen as a complex puzzle of matching player’s strengths and weaknesses to maximize performance and not some simpletons task of picking out the top players for each position, formation, and style of play. I don’t really know if there’s enough time time for this coaching staff to do anything but make obvious choices here. We’ll see