WTF happened to Paraguay? 1 win, 1 draw and 6 fuckin' loses??? They are in last place in a group that does not contain Brazil, since they are hosting. Also, the US barely escapes with a win with a goals scored in added time vs Antigua? Are the "Klinmann, Raus" chants getting so much louder after today?
Klinsmann has never showed himself to be too capable, even with Loew he was not the tactician, but rather - Loew was. Portugal lost today, which was interesting, not really a fan of that flamboyant football. Kaka also impressed with Iraq, that man is pure class - shame he's at a club where he is sure not to shine.
In defense of Klinsmann the US was playing without several regular starter including Donovan and Fabian Johnson. The pitch was awful and they had to measure the width to make sure it was regulation size. Rained throughout the entire match further hindering play. He also called up Eddie Johnson and Alex Gordon at forwards for the US over Altidore and Boyd among others. Johnson hadn't played with the national team in something like 2 years. He had both goals and Gordon had the assist on the game winner. That said, he played Johnson as a wide midfielder in a 4-4-2 which was odd and Dempsey and Bradley did not seem to click in the formation.
Russia looked pretty good in their match against Portugal. Got a pretty early goal and defended very well the rest of the way, getting a few chances to add another on the break. If Capello can get them to defend well consistently and not get too cocky, russia should be a fun team to watch play in Rio. There's a lot of players that are really strong on the ball as long as the backline holds up.
Klinsmann was handicapped by his critics from day one. He won't last long at this rate unfortunately.
I agree that he's probably not the greatest coach or tactician but then I don't think he's as bad as to not be able to manage the US or at least do what he was brought in to do. Remember how Germany did with him before the WC? Obviously two different circumstances but Klinsmann also managed what no other coach in history did with them and is trying to give the NT a fresh new face and attitude. Stuff like that takes time naturally but it's not going to happen without support.
England remains the worlds most overrated national team of course. Beating San Marino 5-0. A bunch of losers.
The media and the fans. I have a ton of english and african friends who love the team and think they're the best in the world or something. The media writes a ton of articles, for example - on welbeck and rooney against san marino while not a mention of a talent like Reus.
English speaking media tend to write more about the England team than others and I think it is more because of the Prem's popularity. I really don't think any press or fans think they are the best in the world unless they know nothing about the sport making their opinions invalid.
Yah see how they do next tournament 11 man defense and then flop as usual R16... If you look at their youth development and their league. They have no youth philosophy and very few homegrown players in the big teams. Look at the top 5 epl teams right now, I bet you can maybe do less then a handful that you can honestly classify as world class.. Or even great for that matter...
Well Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United and Man City certainly have more quality than the top 5 in germany, i never disputed that. They have a lack of homegrown players for sure.
If Germany could pay FIFA and Colombia to make Falcao play for Germany, it would be awesome. Falcao( or a 24 year old Samed Yesil) is the missing piece.... Rooney is good but he is no Falcao.
They have a good record in youth tournaments though.. But it seems somewhat strange. The U17 usually looks like boys playing men whereas their U21 and sometimes even the U19 are focussed on the physical aspect of the game. They also didn't produce talent for the highest stages.
I really should have said homegrown players.... I hope that's how people took my post. I was saying 99.99% of the world class players on the top 5 teams aren't English. In fact 99% of the top 5 teams aren't English period....good or not
I heard the FA are thinking of implementing a homegrown rule for English clubs? I think it was that you have to have a minimum of a certain amount of English players on the starting 11.. Anyone know more about this?
The Dutch are whooping a$$ in qualifying again. They cannot be stopped....in the quals. Can't wait to see them ride this remarkable qualifying form to a WC victory in Brazil !!!!!!!!!!