I'm sorry for Jozy if his manager is going to take that attitude. Could make trouble for him. The translate program was pretty hard to follow, but it looks like he didn't like the 11 hour flight, and he took the opportunity to dig at Klinsmann's club coaching career. Did he have another reason why he shouldn't release Jozy for the international break that I missed?
I'm sure Jozy's coach would have seen Jozy just being called up for the Belgium match as a more reasonable approach given that these are friendlies.
There is something to be said for Klinsi to take a strong early stance on FIFA dates, so everyone knows his position. He can make exceptions later as he sees fit, and actually did so for Beckerman.
I'm sure, but I can understand Klinsmann needing to see Jozy for the whole camp, and both games. Did Jozy miss any actual games? Did his coach just want him to rest? I know the travel is onerous, but Jozy is a young guy. Maybe it's a good sign that the coach is excited - he values Jozy. If he didn't care that would be worse.
What a Wanker! 11 hour trip isn't that bad considering it was a 10 day camp. The camp ends in Brussel, Jozy will not have any travel related problems when he returns to Alkmaar.
The Alkmaar's coach was not being unreasonable here. He's still not a 90 minute player, so asking him to fly across the world to play in a friendly, when he could have just rested and trained in Holland, and them met up with the US in Europe was probably a good idea. Even if he didn't like it, you'd like to see our manager work with the players' head coaches, not against them. That's a something good that Arena and Bradley, and I'd hope JK would as well. You have to put these players in a position to succeed, and making thinks difficult for them at the club level, hurts their prospects with the USMNT in the long run.
Yea, while I defended him in my above post, that doesn't take away from his general douchebaginess with these comments.
If Klinsi kowtows to every club manager who whines about FIFA date rules, we are going to have to recall Jay Heaps....
He did play Jozy 230 minutes in 8 days in Holland. One of those he went the distance. The fitness part would be a bad excuse for many reasons. It has been said many times here, a player doesn't get match fit in training. Jozy is a professional athlete, a little travel isn't going to hurt him. If Alkmaar's manager doesn't want to give his players up for International duties, then he probably should move down a division or two.
I added "example?" because I want to know of a time when BB pissed off a player's manager when it could have helped save his job? Chandler, maybe? But I'd think there's a chance that BB not forcing Chandler to play in the Gold Cup, while hurting the US chances, maybe helped the US keep Chandler moving forward.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] The US Costa Rica game was an experimental friendly for a new coach. That's all it was. Having said that you have to be disappointed to have lost to a less than first team Costa Rica at home. There were some positives from the game. You have to like the way the US played in the first half. The possession, the movement, the passing, and the ability to spread the field were very nice to see. I thought Altidore, Torres and Shea had excellent games in the first half and were solid in the second for the most part. Edu also had a good game. He covered well in front of the back four. Donovan was surprisingly ineffective and looked tired through most of the match. Rodgers had a poor game even when the US was controlling play. The attack did not run through Rodgers and he was rarely involved. I just don't see him making a contribution at this level. At the back Bocanegra did a good job except on the goal were he kept the CR attacker on side. Chandler also played well. Both Castillo and OF were very poor. I was not impressed with both of them against Mexico and nothing in this game has changed my mind. The US has a lot of work in front of them and we will see further experimentation in the next several games so that Klinni can get a handle on who can contribute and who will not.
l. I agree. I am not sold on Altidore...at least not as a lone striker. I think they should either be tried out together or Agudelo should be started with Dempsey at Belgium. 2. Pretty much agree. He did seem to be okay the first half, but then went down hill. 3. Totally disagree. He has played under the old system for 5 years, and, in my opinion, it will take him a long time to get use to JK's way of thinking, if ever. The move to Italy may help him with this, but I think with him in the midfield, he will revert back to a style we need to lose. 4. Agree. When players are asked to play against how they have been playing a long time, it takes mental and physical energy to remember how they are to play. This will be especially hard for the "old" timers on the team. I think Dempsey will adjust much sooner than LD. I think Jones will adjust much sooner than Bradley. 5. Disagree. I think it should be shared as LD did muff a lot of his corner kicks. 6. Agree. He seems to do well coming in centrally with Dallas, but not so much with the national team. With a strong central pairing, no matter who it becomes, I think Shea will be more effective on the wings. All-in-all a good start to the game...not so much in the second half. I am concerned just a little that no adjustments were made in the second half, but I will give JK the benefit of the doubt and hope there was a reason no other subs were made and no adjustment made. I hope this is not on the assistant coach, as I would not like to start thinking badly of him so early on in his term (and I hope JK is flexible enough to replace him if needed).
Just a general comment for the game. In the second half, it seemed like the team lost its way in how to press. I was kind of dissappointed in Edu and Torres in particular, and I felt they conceded too much space in the central midfield. Not sure if I was happy with the back 4 as well. We were pushing awfully high as a team not to keep the pressure up. And after watching Beckerman vs. Mexico and Edu vs. Costa Rica, I would prefer Beckerman. It looks like Klinsman is going to face 2 primary challenges, getting the attackers to form a coherent attack on a consistent basis, and getting the defenders to continue to be aggressive over 90 minutes.
Yeah, because MB has only played in one system his whole career. He couldn't possibly figure out something taught by someone other than his dad. The other guys who've played in the old system the last five years will definitely adapt much quicker.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] Good luck on your journey towards the middle. bc that seems to be the only ambition that you have.
Optimism Optimism. That is the word here... I am optimistic for this US. There is a old Spanish Soccer saying: "Jugaron como nunca... perdieron como siempre" They played like never before and lost like always... True if you want to be firm and heartless but true that the US is playing like that great team that I once saw in the 1995 Copa America... JK is making this team play fluid creative and attacking soccer... Problem is and it is a problem long before JK is the US still cannot finish... But I remain optimistic. The US against Costa Rica showed all that it can and might do under JK. But also showed why we just want to beat the hell out of all of them. Fluid and nice for the 1st 30 min... Then.... Then... A crap goal by a slew of horrid defensive meltdowns and a 0-1 lose... But I understand JK point.. We can learn more from a 0-1 lose playing the way JK wants us to play than a 1-0 win off a set piece playing horrid.... We must make a note that LD and Dempsey and Bradley have not been on the field together in this new voyage. And as a matter of fact we still really don't know what or who our first team is.... So we rate the guys who were there: Jose Fransisco Torres is a player and a serious one in JK set up if he keeps up performances like this... This is a good sign! With a guy like JFT we can dream of moving either Dempsey or LD up front to score goals. Timmy Chandler is a talented footballer although this was not his best game for now he is a perfect understudy for Dolo... Michael Orozco Fiscal am still shaky on. But until TRULY someone better comes along he is in the line up. My first gripe with JK. Goodson... He is NOT a bench player... And should be Bocanegra's partner in defense. PERIOD. These guys are VERY GOOD now they need games to play good TOGETHER! It was nice to see Sacha Kljestan come on and be effective I think he has gotten much better in Belgium. So speaking of Belgium.. ON to belgium... A true test for JK in his young campaign as coach... a 1-1-1 after three games s okay the US has 3 more friendlies to end this sad 2011 on a highnote. Optimism... thats the word, hopefully we get a optimistic win to keep that Optimism up...