You're calling me out for going off topic, Mr. Mexico? Really? Lol Your argument is that our team played well during patches of the game. Well yes, every team, even while getting its ass kicked usually has at least some stretches of playing well, controlling the game a bit more, or simply finding a way to stop the bleeding. That shouldn't mean we stick our heads in the sand and not realize we're sucking ass.
Overall, I give us a D+ Some decent passing and possession in the first half. Terrible second half. Torres our man of the match.
I disagree with D+ and this is why...It wasn't decent passing, it was strong passing. There were times that Costa Rica didn't get close to the ball. It wasn't a terrible second half, it wasn't a good second half either. Although Torres was solid, I think Shea was the man of match, they just doubled him in second half.Over all I still believe it was a B+
If that's just "Decent" passing, I think you feel that Barcelona is just an "Above Average" team. The US lost because we had four basic problems- Finishing, Familiarity, Fatigue, and Focus. Finishing was the biggest problem, especially in the first half- as Altidore constantly mistimed his runs, resulting in a bevy of offside calls. Of course, it would have also helped if Robbie Rogers didn't step on the ball every single time he was called to make that timed pass to Altidore as well, and in my book Rogers was the man genuinely not up to speed. Neither Altidore nor Rogers made a strong case for further inclusion, I think they get only one or two (Definitely two for Altidore) more chances before other options are utilized. Which brings us to familiarity. This is a new coach with a new system, with a relatively new squad of players that have never played together before. Albee, do you ever wonder why the best XI in MLS tends to lose to a Manchester United B-Side in all star games? It's not because the Manchester Reserves are better than the MLS's best, but when you have eleven players playing in one match against a bunch of players who regularly train with each other, even with limited first team experience, there are going to be bugs. Miscommunication with Orozco, for one. The mistimed passes and runs from Rogers and Altidore. This is common in all the US squads- the US didn't exactly play well in the first two games of the 07 Copa America, the 09 Confederations Cup, and the 11 Gold Cup. And in the run up to the 2010 World Cup, our first match against the Czechs was a poor effort, and we put in half a good effort against Turkey before playing well against Australia. I also know fatigue is a problem. Klinsmann is putting the players through a regimented German training system. Hard training and conditioning. Currently, the US players aren't 90 minutes in a possession game. This is an issue that will be addressed. Our performance began to wane after 50 minutes and noticeably dropped after minute 60. Finally, there was the issue of Focus. Some US players were eager to nail down their roster spots and played out of their skin, Torres, Shea and Edu played with tenacity and fire. Other players, even Landon Donovan, looked unfocused and angry. Players (Like Chandler) began to give in to mental games that CONCACAF teams routinely play. In short, the US came out and played like a friendly, Costa Rica actually came out to play. They were not rattled even after getting played off the pitch in the first half. The US needs to learn from that. So Albee, I have listed four areas in which Klinsi needs to improve and work with the players. I have also discussed (at length) just why the US needs to establish a possession game, and why scorelines should not be everything when friendlies are concerned. So, Albee, once again I will ask you the same questions I asked you in the last post I wrote to you: I am still waiting for your answer, one with a little more substance than "We suck ass, so there", fellow "US Fan".