Teams do not have to release players for the men's Olympics. For the A-team U23 players, no team is going to let their players play in 2 major tournaments over the summer as they had already played in the Copa.
I had no idea. I just saw there was a discussion before in this thread where many folks were saying the only thing that mattered was winning... not development.
That is one of the sillier things I've read on here in a while. Not sure why you need quotes. Players continue to develop throughout their careers (with the exception of all those MLS lifers who stall a couple years in). Gaining experience in these competitions develops a player to be more successful in them in the future. People claim this tournament doesn't matter, but I have seen some pretty good soccer played. Id bet those guys learned a lot getting their asses handed to them by France and Morocco. The captian sure thought it was a special experience. So glad we wasted that those crap overage players. An experience of a lifetime. These past two weeks haven’t fully sunken in just yet. Memories that will last forever with my brothers, friends, and family. Couldn’t feel more blessed to represent the United States of America at the Olympic Games in Paris. It’s been a true… pic.twitter.com/QFgmaBnWQ7— Tanner Tessmann (@frantanjam5) August 5, 2024
Yup. We clearly prioritized the Copa on home soil, which is fine. And the fact that clubs thought some of our other U23s were "too important to release" is a good problem too. That's fine. Could we have made some other roster decisions of available players? Yes. Sure. Of course. That will always be the case with every roster. ...............Do I think Diego Luna or somebody makes us better than those Spain, France, Argentina, Morocco teams? No, I don't. If folks want to argue that they would, be my guest. This doesn't mean we hang our heads in shame. We keep working. We keep building the pool. France and Spain had the most players in top 5 leagues last year. They have the depth we want to build.
Span is also required to release players for the Olympics which no one else can really compete with (as all their U23s are pretty much all in same). Though this was not their best U23 team as they decided not to repeat the mistake they made in 2021 of having Pedri play in both and gave players like Yamal and Nico Williams a rest. But that was a choice as they could have forced those players to be released had they wanted.
I think it might be time for the men to sue the federation for deciding to only be competent as it relates to women's team. A solid coach who prioritized building for the future while winning gold. It is amazing what happens when the federation doesn't make the domestic league the biggest priority. I cant watch a game without an announcer telling me what MLS team its players are on, but watched the gold medal game and don't think I heard NWSL mentioned once.
I'm good. I'm worried about these people that think itnis their job to defend our federation. MLS is a disease for US soccer and it gets clearer by the day. They used the Olympics to market that 17 players were former or current MLS. The quality of play was crap and it was obvious the former players are much better off being abroad. They were noticeably better than current MLS players, including the those overage MLS lifers.
They did? The announcers were hired by MLS? Or did MLS just announce which players of theirs made the Olympic Team because they were proud of them? Which every hometown, club, organization, state or federation does. Shame on them.. They should have kept their mouths shut and not mention it.
There are multiple things going on here. Both MLS and USSF made a significant deal about it. I guess I get why MLS would do it. Not sure the motivation is near as strong for the federation, but they always tally those types of statistics in their roster notes. MLS is basically all about marketing all the time, with little concern for quality of play. So I guess they view it as any attention is good attention. That being said, it was made clear that this was a very MLS team and from a soccer standpoint I would want to distance myself from it. I know I made sure anybody around me knew this was an MLS team. It was great platform to educate people about the league and how they operate. I also will always have it as a reference point along with Berhalters MLS lifers if the full team starts doing well. The more annoying one is the announcers. They are all in the pocket of the federation and league so act like their job is to sell the league. Watching a random Copa America or Euro match and having Stu Holden go on and on about what irrellevant MLS team guys play for serves no purpose and annoys a lot of soccer fans. Most soccer fans view of MLS is anywhere from couldn't care less to actually despising the league with people moving out the spectrum over time. I rarely watch women's soccer so doesn't matter much to me, but one positive to watching the game will probably be gone by next Olympics and maybe WC as MLS continues to look to dominate/control as much soccer in this country as they can. They have been able to stifle growth in the men's game their whole existence. It is going to be interesting to see their impact on the women's game.
For the next "U-23 player pool" and "Summer Olympic roster" threads: "Pochettino... will play a role leading up to the 2028 Olympics." Pochettino’s decision to take the USMNT vacancy is both a football and family decision.Appeal of managing a World Cup on home soil is high. And he will play a role leading up to the 2028 Olympics.In addition to his wage, role comes with sponsorship and endorsement… https://t.co/Sue0NWL0Vx— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 15, 2024 Uh oh if Marko Mitrović isn't selecting the Olympic roster does that mean Djordje Mihailovic is in danger...
Not that I had him on my roster either, but Rokas Pukstas being on the verge of joining Parma in Seria A a few weeks after being left off the Olympic roster isn't the best optics for Mitrovic's talent evaluation... Rokas #Pukstas is one step away to #Parma from #HajdukSplit. #transfers https://t.co/L5LgI9gXip— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) August 19, 2024
Hajduk Split wouldn't release him. That was what was reported months ago, well before the roster came out anyway.
Quinn Sullivan and Diego Luna... not good enough for the Olympic roster From MLS's statisticians:Quinn Sullivan has 10 assists in this year's regular season if you count secondary assists, which MLS does but the rest of the world doesn't.Just 5 players in MLS history have recorded 10 assists in a year (by that definition) before turning 21.— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) September 25, 2024 If that's a sign that Sullivan is doing good things, so is the company he keeps on that list of five players:Diego Luna, RSL, 2024 (12 assists, including secondary ones)Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 2018 (11)Talles Magno, NYCFC, 2022 (10)Landon Donovan, San Jose, 2001 (10)— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) September 25, 2024
Huh, so Davies and Donovan were a little younger and had a few more goals but it's notable company for sure.
What makes it worse is just how underwhelming Pax has been for Utrecht thus far... and it seemed like Yow's inclusion was almost entirely based on a single sub appearance against France in that friendly (albeit a great appearance). Hindsight is 20/20... but Luna was a snub then and it seems even worse now. Quinn was borderline at the time but his stock has certainly increased.
Max Arfsten breakthrough came too late for the Olympics, but I’m consistently impressed watching him this season. Wilfried Nancy is helping him make big steps If we’re doing one of those 20/20 highlight things, I would have entertained Luna, Quinn, and Arfsten. I also would have taken Sands as an overager over Djordje. No slight on Djordje, but Sands addressed a bigger weakness after Aidan Morris switched clubs and wasn’t released.
US Soccer has ignored the UC Davis -> Quakes 2 -> SuperDraft -> Columbus development pipeline for far too long
Luna, Sands, & Sullivan weren't exactly hindsight picks. I think I had all of them in my roster. Plus Neal, Downs, & Jones. That was definitely a questionable selection by Marko. About that assist list, it's worth noting Sullivan & Luna still have 4 games to add to the total. And Sullivan is tops of anyone (Donovan n/a) in expected assists, at 7.3. Magno's was the flukiest.
Damion Downs: not good enough for the Olympic team Both goals from Köln striker Damion Downs 🇺🇸🇩🇪 this morning. First one was an excellent first touch and finish after a ball over the top was played to him. Second one was a nice curling effort from the edge of the box. 4 goals on the season for Downs. https://t.co/Q8x1S17SmC— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) September 29, 2024