"Huerta was on the Second XI of the NWSL in 2015 as a forward and in 2017 as a midfielde" She was. around 2018, I guess realizing she wasn't going to displace Ertz/Horan/Mewis/Lavelle/Lloyd, she moved to right back. I guess it worked for O'Hara and Dunn, why not give it a try... Seems like she's ok at an nwsl level, but not against top intl sides.
Vlatko said in his post game presser that Horan was moved back in the second half and it freed up Sullivan. To my eye, the second half of last nights game was the best she has looked yet. Sullivan needs to be part of a double pivot, she can't play as a lone 6.
With all apologies to Andi, anyone that would compare her to Ertz should be locked up. And, that's not a knock on Sully. Since Julie was moved to D mid, she's played at Golden Ball level. She's a legend.
she has spent a lot of her career at forward and mid so it is a late conversion. Very Crystal Dunnish.
Yeah at this point plan A is Maccario comes back, but I agree my plan B is play smith in the middle and Rodman and Pugh wide and go for max pressure and forward chaos. Girma needs to tighten her ball handling and passing but yes I think she is a 10 yr starter. And yes Iwe need to see more bench and midfield combinations. Midfield is the main problem and I don’t know the answers there right now. I think everything needs to be in play as an option even Rose at this point.
I read that Macario was in rehab in Qatar. Is it because she’s under the direct care of the USSF? Or under the French(due to her club being Lyon), or do to some international medical unit set up temporarily over there to deal with soccer related injuries like ACL? The way they screwed up Hegerberg’s recovery(1year & half to get back) I hope she’s not under Lyon’s care! Their two big clubs(Bayern Munich & Wolfsburg) demanded that their players weren’t over used, as they both compete in the Champions League as well next week. So their NT coach might of had her hand tied up a bit, but what did them in when they got slaughtered in the 2nd half, is that German arrogance of throwing the FB’s & even CB’s into the attack, leaving their back door completely exposed to counters, whereas in the first game they were in way more defensive mode(4, even 5-back at times)thus Smith & Pugh weren’t that effective(as it was them taking on the defense 1v2 instead of 1v.5, lol)
She's been there since September-ish. It's a special FIFA rehab clinic in Qatar where Macario has been doing extra rehab. She's still rehabbing under the direction/oversight of her club, but obviously in consultation with USSF.
Even for those of us with full medical degrees from the university of the internet, this seems pretty raw. The "same" injury is often not the same prognosis. For all you or I know, God intended her rehab to take two years, and they did a supernatural job getting her repaired in 18 months... It is kinda worth our while, IMO, to learn the trick of having judgement rather than passing judgement.
The only reason Sullivan looked better in the 2nd half of last game was she was doing half of her job. Why can't we expert a Julie Erzt? We have 300+ milllion people , millions of Soccer players and we can't expect someone better than Sullivan? Look at all other countries. They all have several defensive mids better than Sullivan.
Even the severest ‘grade 3’ ACL’s should only take 9 months to recover—-that’s if the surgery is successful(over 90% usually are). Unfortunately Ada’s the first 2 operations got botched, plus she hurt herself again at light practice during the recovery period—and yeah, would assuming be under Lyon’s responsibility & care
Here is a thought, while we wait for Vlatko to find another defensive mid, try one of these players:Coffey, Alana Cook , Sonnet. We've seen enough of Sullivan. We also know these players are faster, can play defense better and have better skill on the ball.
It is hard not to, because Andi is replacing Ertz, at least for now. I know, I know, one can only hope.
Speaking of Macario: 🤩 Hello @catarinamacario ! Le travail continue pour notre américaine. 💪 pic.twitter.com/m7WsJCgmfz— OL Féminin (@OLfeminin) November 15, 2022
He tried Coffey. She is not good enough. She cost us the game winning goal in the first Germany game, so she did not get a look in the second game. She has zero presence in there. She is too small and no special pace to make up for it.
This is completely wrong. 1) Coffey did not cost us the 2nd German goal in the 1st. game. The play started near the half way line in the German half. Coffey and Huerta against 2 Germans. Huerta was the last US player who touched the ball but lost it to a German. Ball was sent long toward US's goal. 2 German players against 3 defenders : Cook, Girma and Dunn. Dunn completely lost her mark who scored. I suggest you go watch again. 2) Coffey is 5'6, Sullivan is 5'7, Coffey is no speed demo but I think she is faster than Sullivan. You have to watch them run to know that. I say not much difference physically between the 2. 3) You don't judge a player with 1 play and decide she does not get a second look. 4) To judge who has more presence in games, you have to watch each player individually. Have you done that? I have, I rewatched each game several times in entirety (including CONCACAF) and sometimes replayed crucial plays. I have seen enough of Sullivan. She is not getting any better. I have not seen much of Coffey, what I've seen is decent, not enough to judge the job is 100% hers , not even 50% but she should get more chances. BTW, there are 2 other players I mentioned. Cook and Sonnet. What do you think?
You are awfully defensive of Coffey. I have watched her and she is not a starting 6 at the international level. Sorry. Sullivan is better than her, and I am luke warm at best on Sullivan (although I did like Sullivan's last game). Cook is too slow to be a center back at that level, and she gave up goals left and right the past two windows (yes, she was partly responsible for Germany's game winner, as was Dunn - who was absolutely lost out there -) so she is worth a try. I have never seen her play the six. Sonnet is worth a look if she gets healthy sometime soon. I am more of the belief that we need a double 6, with Rose at the 10.
Are you ok with this ball winning (or lack thereof) from our 6 (Coffey) in the 89th minute at midfield? What a game 🤯Germany defeats the USWNT 2-1 with this late game-winner from Paulina Krumbiegel. pic.twitter.com/IjfrkkPrJQ— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) November 11, 2022
I sure hope all y’all’s fav rave Ms. Macario doesn’t turn out to be a damp squib when assigned as the all knowing, glorious team leader. I have huge doubts that she will make all the eggs in her basket shine. Remember, they need 11 outstanding players at the top of their game and another 7 or so with equal or better methods of execution to get the job done. Outside of the CL final goal what has she achieved internationally?
It's not about what they have done. That was then, this is now. It's all about what they are about to do.
She scored an amazing 32 goals & 23 assists in her final year at college for Stanford/her team mate, Sophie Smith only managed 9 goals, 17 assists. In her first full year at Lyon, Cat scored 14 goals/8 assists, which was 2nd best total output in the French league, tops for Lyon, on a squad that’s known to have several superstars from around the world. And of course winning the prestigious Champions League to go along with the NCAA championship among her many accomplishments. She can play several positions; striker, false #9, CAM, outside mid. This is why she’s become the darling of Vlatko & basically build his tactics around her mobility Here might be Macario at her best, starting around the 3.25 min' mark of the video, Cat socres twice with two missiles that the opposing goalkeeper can't even react I agree with this, and here is where Vlatko shows his weakness; both in scouting for newbies & unwillingness to switch his lineup. He’s used the exact starting 6 mid/fwds in the last two sets. This will inevitably exhaust his squad if trying to get through the 7 games needed to win the World Cup And his record vs Europe’s is still dismal since the Olympics ; 3-4-1, the 0-2 loss to Spain’s B team is still an shocker to me; I mean here I’ve been told off plenty of times that Vlatko starts the exact same 6 mid/fwd starting lineup for cohesion. Yet after the rebellion of 17 of Spain’s best players, their coach had to build from scratch just one week prior an brand new squad that ended up beating Vlatko so handily?
You failed to mention that Macario also had 9 goals, 3rd best in the Champions League, which brought her total to 23 goals for the season. She managed also to make 3 separate Top 10 lists of best players in the world for last season. Those rankings were 3,5 and 6. With her contract expiring at the end of the season, would not be at all surprised to see her become one of the highest paid women players in the world.