Its one thing not to fear the US (which they shouldn't, they are a quality team), its another to say she doesn't respect them. I think something may be lost in translation. She was teamates with both Abby and Mia, and I hardly think she would think of them as anything close to arrogent, fame/money-loving, over-confident, and lazy. Many countries have caught up. It is ridiculous to think that the US will win every tourny it plays in. It won't, not when the world is full of quality players. I do however think that with the absence of the WUSA, the number of teams that will have a legitamate shot at winning in 2007 is limited. Not many countries have the commitment to the women's game it takes to make them champions. Many benifited greatly from this league. The top players in the world playing against each other. This may have been the deepest, most wide-open WC the women's game will see for awhile.
Now the Bundesliga is the best league in the world. Someone in Germany said this win was a win "Bundesliga over WUSA".
steffi is absoltely right with the things she says about the americans arogance. in every american pre-game comentary i read, the u.s. team were called the favourite, despite germany´s tremendous perfomance during this world cup! i also read that april heinrich forbid her players to watch their opponents games, because they should concentrate on their own game! she only forget that her team isn´t good enough to to play with such a self confidence. they also were not good enough during the WWC´99, but back in those days the germans lacked the confidence it needs to win such a big game. germany has the best women soccer team in the world since the 2000 olympics! they didn´t lost one single official game since then, only friendlies where they didn´t play with there best squad an tested some of their big talents (that´s the reason why german players don´t have the same number of caps like the others nations players), but the americans didn´t want to see those facts because they couldn´t accept that another nation is better than they are, that makes them arrogant i
I'm not finding anything particualry disrespectful or offensive towards us by Steffi Jones' remarks. As far as the team attitude (by the "founders" at least), she's pretty dead on. In interviews and on the field, they thought they had it all won before it started and were just going through the formality of actually playing. The rest of the interiew covered pretty relevant topics affecting women's soccer worldwide (including the taboo homosexuality topic that every translator here exept Yoda missed)
6, actually. Prinz, Jones, Pohlers, Wiegmann, Minnert and Meinert have all played in the WUSA. I'm not giving the WUSA all the credit for teams improving, but, come on, playing against the world's best (note: not the United States' best) will make anyone better. The WUSA did wonders for the international soccer community. In both developing players and for all those that before the WUSA were scared of the USWNT(ie:Jones) it gave them an opportunity to match up against them (and beat them) on a regular basis, giving them confidence in beating them on the international stage.
I forget... who was the last country to invade another without provocation? And which country was trying to talk them out of it? I guess they were trying to stop us from taking over the world so they could do it themrselves? Never mind. Off topic. Moving on...
Amazing if true. Watching good players and teams makes you better, or so I've been led to believe. Does April even like soccer?
The Americans coming in were the #1 team in the rankings, playing a World Cup in their home country, while playing in a tougher group and giving up one goal. Of course they were favored. She is not the only coach to do such a thing, however, I know the US watched other teams play. There is a video on the FIFA site showing the US watch the game were Jones got hurt. Wambach showing concern over a fallen teammate. Many coaches believe that the game is not about the opponent, but about their team and what they do. The coaching staff scouts and developes a game plan. The objective of the team is to excecute that plan. That is not arrogence. Believing you are the best is not always arrogence. What are they to believe. They won't win if they don't think they are better. Being confident in your abilities does not make you arrogant. Thinking you are going to win every game you play is not arrogence. It would be arrogent of them to discredit Germany's win however, every article I've read the Nats have given credit to Germany. Germany may have been the best team since the 2000 Olympics, you can think that. Germany has never finished in the top three at the Algarve Cup (which is third only to the WC and Oly's). The US won this year. So, I believe the US is to be thought of as the best team until proven otherwise. Germany proved they were better Sunday. So now, if they win the WC, will it be arrogent of them to say they are #1?
1. There was provocation, though it didn't amount to a hill of beans. We are still looking for the hill of beans. 2. Realpolitik.
Ha. You don't read Soccer America then. Two issues ago they predicted that Germany would win the WWC, knocking the US out in the semi-finals. Looks like they aren't in the arrogant crowd...just the realistic one.
I think one shouldnt get too political about this little comment from her. (especially those great "invade Germany haha"-comments are the ones that generate this horrible picture of Americans in Europe and in many other countries... but that is ot, so we should keep it there) "Die Amis sind überheblich und arrogant, selbstbewußt ohne Ende." It sounds to me like she said this without really meaning to bash anybody, but more to simply stress the fact that the American team might underestimate their opponents in the course of the tournament. An old soccer truth that became bitter reality for many famous teams (Bayern Munich, Juventus, 1000times for Italy, etc. pp). So let`s not overreact to this comment. I think all other comments by German players (who were btw not injured but actually had to play the USWNT) showed all their respect and appreciation of what the US women have accomplished for female soccer.
Actually this seems to be a kind of urban legend in the US. "Ich bin ein Berliner" is correct German (and in Kennedy's case it was the only proper form he could have used), allthough a Berlin native would be expected to use "Ich bin Berliner". Wow, i just replied in a Women's soccer thread !
Yes, and it allegedly was a presidential advisor and translator (Robert H. Lochner, who died just recently and had lived in Germany for many years) who gave Kennedy this card to practice: "ish bin ine beaLEANer".
"Ich bein ein Springfieldah!" As much as I can make from the hysterical babelfish translation, Steffi's comments seem far more confidence than arrogance. And I agree with her 100%, you go Steffi!
There was nothing really controversial there. If there was, maybe she was just trying to say something provocative to get some press. "is really a Ausnahmespielerin. It is in training always in front. It fires on, walks around, so that the Leutchen wakes up. Learned I of it a still more intensive attitude to the football. Mia perfects everything. In former times there it is before training, remains longer, in order to train freistoesse. It lives only for the football. It is a type of insanity." I couldn't have said it better myself. And the part about "Do you stand on women? Do you stand on men?" Do the Germans have a fetish about standing?
To stay off topic, I don't think the Germans really should say anything about invading without provocation. Let's just be honest and say many Iraqis will probably live better without Saddam. Although I really do miss his information minister. Getting back on topic. I think the loss for the US will be a watershed moment. Just like for the men in 98, there will be some serious housecleaning.
I am getting so tired of hearing about other countries progress. Yes they've gotten better but thats only because they were terrible. The real problem is that we've stopped and waited for them to catch up. We've stayed with the same players too long and we have not progressed as a team. In fact, we're going backwards. We were 100% better under Dorrance and then Tony then we are today. Until the USSF admits that the program is NOT MOVING FORWARD and makes the obvious changes that need to be made, we'll be were we are today. The German's comments are totally correct in reguards to the US and I hope Sweden rubs our nose in it because we deserve it. The men's team did it when they cleaned house and brought in Arena. It's time for the women to do the same
I think it's admirable that controversy, anger, spite, and one-ups-(wo)manship has rooted itself in the WWC. To me, this is a positive step in the right direction in terms of the emotion with which the sport should be played. If only more fans could treat women's soccer like a passion and not a charitable activity, the next version of the WUSA could have a chance.
To FormerGermanGuy only. Or maybe we're sick of sitting in the world's bullseye for twelve years with our troups stuck in Saudi Arabia enforcing the U.N. blockade of Iraq that countries repeatedly violated. Meanwhile an incompotent European Hanz Blix made a mockery of the inspections of Iraq for years thus making it impossible for the USA to even consider pulling out of Saudi Arabia. And lets not even bring up the Isreal / Jewish issue. Don't want to make the German's feel self conscious. We obviously have a different opinion of the definition of "provocation". I think you need to learn the definition of "proximal cause". Go on and keep hating America but just know that our role in the world has changed as well as the willingness of the American taxpayer to underwrite U.N. "peacekeeping" missions that only serve to tick people off at America and not the U.N.. Never mind. Off topic. Moving on.... Take it to the politics forum please. The people here in a soccer forum have no interest in your America bashing politics or in my response. To the others who wasted time reading this, I apologize.