You saying it is wrong, does not make it so. That was the stated goal and it appears that is the path we are on. You do not have to like it, or agree with the wisdom of the choices, but that was the stated goal. Many would argue, and apparently many includes Sunil and JK, that the only way to change the kinds of players we produce is to change the way the senior team plays and watch the development follow. It is a perilous task as missing a WC would be a serious setback for the entire soccer program here. As for no player development in their twenties, well Mike Bradley would like a word. Would twenty five shots on goal and a 3-0 defeat in Azteca have made you happier? You cannot argue that we are getting the results we need. If it is simply because Klinsman is a lucky dude, well then lucky is beating good and that works for me.
Changing the culture through the senior team is way, way late. Not how it happens nor is it a sustainable way of doing it.
Bradley has had this ability for years. Just too many people were yelling nepotism to see it. He is just maturing into the final product right now. Basically 'form is temporary, class is permanent. Luck usually runs out. Good usually does not.
Bradley continued to improve in his 20's, but the ground work for his success was laid LOOOOOONG before that.
Didn't you know that Messi and Ronaldo and Rooney didn't start developing as players until they were in their mid 20's? That's just how soccer works. Youth development in other countries is just a scam that clubs use to get rich by making parents pay thousands of dollars to "train" their children for......wait a minute.
Two things. First: this response to Vaquero ... ...was made based on the assumption that he was accusing another poster of being afflicted with dementia and ADD. That is incorrect. He was referring to an instance in which such a comment had been made about him. My apologies to Vaquero about the mistake. Second: I'm going to collect the responses to my earlier call for questions that are still in play about Klinsmann's coaching and use those to start the next Klinsmann coaching thread (coming soon to a web browser near you). No, discussion in that thread will not be restricted to answering those questions only. The idea behind it is to generate some topical continuity while leaving the personal hostility behind. Do I think this will work? If it does, yes I do. If it doesn't, then I knew it all along.
And Beasley was very lucky to not be responsible for a couple of goals against and for not being sent off (2nd yellow offence). Usually when a player puts in a defensive performance like Beasley's vs. Mexico, everybody agrees the player was a huge liability and should not play at LB ever again. But 'cause we grabbed a heroic draw all is forgotten. I guess it does totally prove that Klinsmann is tactically savvy.
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/50934/michael-bradley-from-runt-of-the-litter-to-us.html "As a young kid, Michael was always around the game, and he was around good soccer people. I'm sure that had a lot to do with his love for the game." "He was the runt of the litter. Athletically, he wasn't, let's say, fully developed. Sometimes when you look a youth team, people say the best guys are the ones who are the better athletes. "Mike wasn't that. But he loved the game. He had a passion for it. He was a soccer rat. And he always had the desire to improve." Michael’s favorite hangout was the Sockers' headquarters -- the Soccer City indoor facility in Palatine, where his mother, Lindsay, would drop him off almost daily after school. "Some young players shy away from the things they're not good at," said Richardson. "Mike understood his weaknesses. He focused on them rather than avoiding them, whether it was defensive play or the fact that he wasn't the fastest guy." "The kid wanted to play, all day, every day," says Lindsay. "It didn't matter with whom or when." "Michael is the example of a player who recognizes the educational aspects on the field, but also off it. He understood what it takes to dedicate yourself to the game and have focus and commitment. Michael is the exception, not the rule, as to how players develop in this country. He was surrounded by the game constantly...threw himself into it...studied it...worked on his areas of weakness. Not many kids are wired like this. However, they DO exist and it's up to MLS academies to find them and get them into a proper training environment with good coaches so that their natural talent and work ethic can be taken advantage of.
How many times does a guy have to make a lucky call and get it right on accident before he gets any credit? He mostly pushes the right buttons at the right times. Zoidberg, why all the hostility and name calling? Can't we just disagree without one of us being a genius and the other deficient? This is not the first time in the history of man that several people look at the exact same thing and draw different conclusions. At the end off the day aren't we all NATs fans and we love our team. We will know more about this midsummer, and even if we get all nine points I suspect many here will still want Klinsi to clean out his office, and move back to sunny California to retire in obscurity.
You have to do it at all levels. The change at the NT is important because that is the example and the carrot for the rest of the program. The challenge is to transition the NT level while continuing to get results to get to WC2014. So far we are doing well.
Beyond the Pitch has a nice podcast with Lalas as guest touching that issue just a couple of days ago. They all agree that Klinsmann has not at all reached what he promised. One of the hosts though says that many top development experts have been pointing out that the USMNT has not found the same quality of players to replace the outgoing players. Lalas doesn't quite agree but admits that a case could be made for that and hopes that this is not a downward trend. On my part I have to say that I'm underwhelmed by the talent of the mid 80's. To me this a huge issue, we have no true impact field players in the key ages of 27, 28 and 29. If I were to characterize the development of talent this cycle I would say that we're desperately looking for 24 and 25 year olds to replace 32 year olds. What sucks even more is that, with the current style of US development, 25 year olds are just starting to become solid pros.
As we're moving forward MLS clubs and their academies are the "program" to which you refer. Our best players are going to be coming from those clubs/academies. How does changing the style of play for the national team affect the way business owners run their MLS clubs and their academies? They're independent of the USSF. They're interested in making money. Their full team will play any way that gets them wins. They'll develop players the best way they see fit in order to make more money.
I'm not trying to be fresh here but the topics will be the same as they have been for the last ten years. 1. Is [coach] competent or incompetent? 2. Does [coach] have tactical chops? 3. American vs Foreign coach 4. American vs Foreign players 5. Should [coach] develop players? 6. Should [coach] have players out of position? 7. Recruiting/cap-tying bi-national players
I can't find the post or the article but I remember a Mexican recruiter in the US saying that he looked for players that were thinking ahead in essence players that were trying to develop their soccer IQ. Compare that to the quote above.
Well you know which way I lean. See response #1 I don't care if the coach is from the planet Zamboo in the Jibacan galaxy. So long as he knows the player pool, can identify weaknesses, implement a style that fits our current player pool (not what everyone wishes it was) and puts us in a position to play good, effective soccer. I don't care where a player is from so long as they are 1000% committed to the USA and they actually deserve their spot on the team over other options. This is impossible to do for a national team coach. Impossible. The limited number of training sessions a national team gets makes it impossible for any sort of development to occur. No. This one should be obvious. If your preferred system requires you to consistently play guys out of position because there are no players in the player pool that naturally play that position, they your tactics are grossly flawed and need to be changed. If you are cap tying someone just so they can't play for anyone else, and you don't really have that player in your long term plans, then absolutely not. Otherwise, refer to the response the the foreign vs. domestic players.
No. The program is the various youth and adult national teams associated with the USSF. Our best players will likely still come from the big 4 Euro leagues.
Scouting is obviously very difficult and I applaud anyone who is successful doing it, but it basically boils down to a few key issues: -Comfort with the ball. -Vision (seeing plays happen before they actually do). -Work ethic. Physical maturity can/can't happen later on. You have to gamble and sign a bunch of guys who have the attributes above and hope they mature physically enough to handle the pro game.
Where did most of our players start playing the game? In the U.S. Who is/will be in charge of developing young players in the U.S.? MLS. Bradenton and it's affiliates are not going to be the major player for much longer. You could argue that they no longer are. The guy that got on the scoresheet twice against Haiti at the recent U17 World Cup qualifier and bossed the midfield? He's a Red Bull Academy kid. And what about this Villarreal guy?
They all do it differently, but they all do belong to the USSF Development Academy program. They all hear the same things so there is some commonality. Whether they train the Red Bull way or the Sounder way, the fact that they are dedicating to full-time pro track at say age 16 rather than choosing the college route, will allow them to develop in more the Michael Bradley way rather than going to college route where washing out you have a fairly comfortable safety net.
What does any of that has to do with this discussion? The program is the various youth and adult national teams associated with the USSF. All the NTs will be continue to source players from various entities both domestic and abroad.
Being around the game at all times, especially if with older players, your soccer IQ is developing as well.
I don't think Sunil, Klinsmann, or anyone from US Soccer said "The senior mens team is the only place to affect that at all levels." That is your interpretation and I agree with the others who say you're wrong. He was hired to "lead our team and lead our technical program" per Gulati. And from Klinsmann...