Definitely a tale of two halves. The first half I thought the US looked as good if not better than I have ever seen it. Being aggressive going after the ball getting back as soon as it was lost. However as good as they were in the first half, they equally as bad in the second. Completely missing the pace of the game, making bad passes, losing the ball unnecessarily. I like Klinsman and the style he has brought but yeah he needs to work on many things before any US team is good enough to live up to the new system.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] I don't know, maybe the Wannabe coach knew they weren't at the game?
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] Indeed, I've never understood the concept of not playing guys just because they're older. If he is good enough to play on the upcoming Saturday, then he plays.
So? Does anybody on this board have that illusion? I'm not talking to Landon here, I'm talking to the posters who seem to think it's important we take his happiness about living in LA into consideration in our wishes for career. The point is, I am a fan of his soccer. That's the only thing about him special enough for me to pay attention to, so that's the subject I am considering when it comes to discussing him on this board. If Landon ever visits a board about me, then he will certainly tend to discuss the things about me worth writing about on that board - Of course nothing comes to mind at the moment
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] Indeed, sometimes being useful for one game makes all the difference in the world.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] Of course it's fine playing here. But at 29, his chances of being a starter in 2014 are small, even if he is the best fit in midfield. And, even if he does start in 2014, it'd have been a lot better to have him performing well when he was 23, no?
Well, that sort of misses the point. First of all, from a players perspective, if you're good enough to play for your country then it totally blows that because you've been overlooked for 6 or whatever years, then they use that as a reason to freeze you out. It's such an honor to play for your country, if you are good enough to represent, then you should be given that chance. Second, qualifying is a long, difficult route and we're going to need to draw from a large pool of players. Don't tell the guys that suited for the US team in the qualifying rounds but that didn't make it to South Africa "Hey, you weren't involved in that World Cup team", because they were and that belittles their achievement and effort. Finally, he won't be that old and you will usually need some experience, if nothing else to show the other guys how to behave (don't know what Kyle is like here). How old was Forlan, 33? Look at the Italian team from 2006, old as the hills. Not playing guys just because they're older, especially when they're better, is just stupid.
I thought this was a positive outing really. Just seeing Brek Shea run at defenses at international level makes this game a success. Even if his play was erratic and he made lots of mistakes. He will scare defenses. There aren't that many USA players who do. Having one more is a big deal. Klinsmann is testing out players in systems too. This is why a new coach wants friendlies. I think Klinsmann's goal right now is to teach our team that we can play with the ball. Ultimately, Klinsmann will give up on Castillo and probably Orozco, and probably get a 2nd striker out there. And I see us shifting back towards a more counter attack type of game. But I think having gone through this exercise of playing with the ball will help us be more capable of dictating tempo, protecting leads and seeing out games. I start caring about results in the spring as qualifying approaches. I'm going to stay positive on Klinsmann and his aproach
Which of the Costa Rican defenders could be considered "international level"? Nondescript MLS and Costa Rican league players don't suddenly become more talented when they put on the national team jersey.
We dominated for 60 minutes and looked better than we have in years. Klinsmann is on the right path but it will take some time to get there. We cannot be afraid to take chances and to compete. We've just ended years of playing not to lose instead of playing to win and we'll have to take some lumps before we become a force but this is the only path to get better. I think Shea shows promise and will stay in the mix but in the end we will need somebody that can deliver the ball. That he didn't do that well. I believe Dempsey and Donovan will be outside in the end. Donovan didnt look good in this game and. I can see Torres in his central spot with possibly Beckerman or someone else behind him. I see a greatly reduced with possibly no role for MB. The single DM position is getting crowded and with a level playing field, he may be the man out. Forward is still wide open for me
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] I wouldnt. If I had to choose, I would rather lose continously.. and get better slowly, and gradually, and be a better team when it mattered.
hmmm.... o'rly? Holden was leading the Premiership in tackles ,was voted his teams most valuable player, and scoring goals as the number 8, literally and figuratively, for Blackburn, and you think that for the special US team he should be played out wide? this is the problem with US soccer and the thought process.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] With all the young talented players we have coming up, I'd rather we stick to this attacking style that they are also trying to implement at youth level. I don't want to see players like Lleget and Gil playing bunker ball.
In the 35 minutes or so againt Costa Rica where the Usa was doing anything Rogers was involved in all of the key touches. And of course he was involved in the goal Altidore scored that was called back. Ratings wise I would give him a 5.5 or maybe a 6 rating. Same with Donovan. It was pretty obvious from where we were at HDC they both suffered from dead legs. The biggest disappointment for us was Altidore. I would have given him a 3 at most. Torres was good in spurts but ran out of gas. Same with Shea. The USA was a far better team than Costa Rica until they got tired. But thats soccer/football. Even crappy teams can win.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] Ahhhh... thanks for reminding me. I was there and completely agree. I loved the dominate posession but, as usual, the finishing was terrible.
If it was 60 minutes... How many good scoring chances were created through this dominance? I know some nice passing led to a clear chance for LD in the 6th. Any others?
Klinsmann pissed off Jozy's manager. Oh well, that's life. http://www.vi.nl/Nieuws-item/206097/Verbeek-fileert-Klinsmann-om-selecteren-Altidore.htm
Torres was impressive. The loss was a little disappointing given how well we looked early on, but we paid the price for lack of end-product. In attack though we looked very dynamic in that first half. More dynamic and fluid than I have seen us in awhile...but it didn't last and CR bunker-countered. Again the one thing that I will really remember from this game is how well Torres looked on the ball for us. Maybe against better competition he gets dispossessed more but I kept thinking: how is it that this kid looks this good right now? He reminds me of Reyna but quicker and more attack minded.