One thing about his time with the Mexican National Team (Not the Spain friendly) is that Ojitos wanted to impose a system, he's a rarity in Mexico in that he seems to be team oriented- He talks at length with his players on the sidelines and tries to get everybody on the same page. This is why he bombed with Mexico previously (When every Mexican player had the ego the size of a gas giant) and looked great against Spain- because now Mexico are no longer a collection of individuals, but have embraced a team mentality. The one weakness that Meza does have is his insistence on zonal defending. This has never really translated well with any Mexican side but his defensive setups remind me a lot of Bruce Arena, who did fairly well with the personnel he had to work with. Like Bruce Arena, he has a problem with keeping a defender after his sell by date- in the Meza system, a player seems to be rendered worthless before he is benched or pulled. However, as slow as he is and as infuriating as a Pachuca/Cruz Azul fan can deem it, he's still a step up in this regard than Bob Bradley. And that's pretty much the reason I like Meza so much- He has the emphasis on one-touch play and a commitment to attack and speed- and he's not opposed to a well placed Longball when it suits him. Because of his coaching philosophy and his team-building approach, Meza is the one Mexican coach whom I think most resembles the US paradigm, but keeps the emphasis on creativity and attack that makes him distinctly Mexican. Also, I think Meza has a rapport with American players. Three times in his career, Meza has named US players as his starters- Carmelo D'Azni, Cle Kooiman, and Jose Francisco Torres. I can't think of any other Mexican coaches that have done that. He is on my 5 name shortlist as Bob Bradley's potential replacement.
I have heard his name a few times and I know he has done well with Cruz Azul. Do you think in reality, he would come and do you believe the Federation wants him?
First of all, the Federation doesn't seem to want anybody. Bob Bradley is coach, and the US effectively gave up when they couldn't land Klinsmann again. So that's kind of a moot point. Meza would probably be happy to coach the US, but that said I think he still has another season on his contract. He wouldn't be coach until just before qualifiers start, which gives him no time to build a team. In terms of timing, Okada is probably the better bet.
I am enjoying your messages, you have done an excellent representing US Soccer...I am trying to stay with but I keep getting infractions.
He was awful for Argentina, but being in America would be a whole different situation for him. If you look at his whole career, I would argue that it is not a step down.
As long as Trolls like you, without any takes are involved then it will surely bottom out. However, The intelligent soccer Fans please keep the ideas rolling.
Why get our hopes up that Bradley will get fired, if it is just a huge rumor,and nothing more.Give me some inside information. At this point I want anyone but BB.
I don't think any promises were made here but it's for people like us who hope and pray for it to happen. As bad as BB has done this year, it has to be on the mind of the federation.
Despite the loss to Germany, the team looked really good in the 2002 World Cup. There were great expectations immediately after the World Cup that the USMNT would continue to trend up. The realization soon set in that the team had peaked. Teams like México (Erikson vintage), Argentina (4 coaches in 5 years) and Brasil have had recent periods of under-performing. Both Arena and Bradley provided periods of over achieving,which in turn paved the way for their respective 2nd terms. I think the key to U.S. success in 2014 is already unfolding. Jozy to Eredivisie. Onyewu to Sporting Lisbon. The rise of Chandler and Lichaj. The return of Holden. The re-emergence of Adu. The stability of Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley Jr., Howard and Bocanegra. The seeds are all there. Some of the coaching suggestions are interesting, but I'd still pass. I continue to believe Bradley is on the right track and will have a far more successful 2nd World Cup run than Arena did.
From a NY Times article: "Kreis is at or near the top of a lot of lists to become the next coach of the United States national team. And for Beckerman, there could not be a better choice, should it come to that.“I don’t see any reason why not,” Beckerman said after the all-stars’ light training session at Pier 40 in Manhattan on Monday. “I think we have the players in this country that could play in his system perfectly and play attractive soccer. And his style is to really go after teams instead of hanging back and waiting to counter. It’s let’s go kick some butt. I think he would bring that philosophy to the national team.” Well, right there is why the RoboBoboleros hate Kreis so.
Yes and no. First of all, Batista did win a World Cup, but- 1-Batista's very wide 4-3-3 was revolutionary when he played it in Mexico '86 but he seems to live and die by that formation. This is why Japan ate his lunch with their 5-man midfield looks (4-1-4-1 and 4-2-3-1). It's also why Argentina struggled a bit with the USA. It's an offensive system doesn't support itself. It demands a playmaker like Maradona was in 1986, as well as distribution from the back line to give it a chance of holding it together. Messi is not the same player as Maradona, and it's folly to think that guys like Milito and Burdisso could do the same things that Oscar Ruggeri did. 2-While Batista's system depends on a team-based approach where everybody supports each other (And fits the US psychology more than Argentina's), we certainly don't have a center back of the caliber to distribute to the mid. Remember, Batista uses a deep-set holding midfielder in Mascherano, so play from the back requires, from time to time, a Central Defender pushing up to support. It's possible to set Jones in that wide 4-3-3 and have Edu at CB push up to support, but you are basing our entire National team's system on three players. (Edu, Jones, and his central attacking playmaker, and that is playing Edu out of position until Ream gets good enough.) 3-As such, considering the limitations of his system and of our player pool, I don't see Batista as a good fit for the USA. I wouldn't say he's worse than Bob Bradley, but like our aforementioned sweat-panted one, he is stuck in an outdated system of football and has serious problems with lineups and substitutions. He may be well liked by players (As Bob Bradley once was), and I feel he's superior to Bradley- but I can't see his system working for the US considering our central defensive options. 4-And considering our defense, Hoddle, Okada, and Meza are all three much better fits for the US if we are looking at foreign coaches.
Yep. Kreis and Bob Bradley aren't seperated by much, but Kreis has two things going for him that Bob Bradley does not: 1-The commitment to one-touch and passing, and 2-Much better player management and substitutions. He's also my favorite of the Americans to replace Bob Bradley. Critics may say he's not ready, I think he's more ready than Bob Bradley is now.
The first thing I would do is hire Jurgen Klinsmann to "over see" our youth system along with Claudio Reyna. As far as coaches (in no order): 1. Louis van Gaal 2. Marcello Lippi 3. Claudio Ranieri 4. Rafa Benitez *5. Jose Mourinho* In a couple yrs Jose's daughters will be starting college (right now they are in a boarding school in Italy) and he has always said (he wants/they want) to go to school in California (Probably Stanford, UCLA or Pepperdine). He also said he wants to continue coaching during that time. So why is it so impossible to think he would coach the USMNT?
I like your rationalization on the subject. You brought up a lot of points that I never thought of. I know a lot of things are rumors and I don't want jump on any one idea. Before this thread started I was dead set on Klinsman ( Still my first choice ) However, I am now open to many other coaches that people have suggested. For me, My short list is now Klinsman, Hiddink, Meza, and hate to say it but Kreis...The bottom line is we need change and soon.
Isn't Lippi the only one from your list that is available? It's a great list and I wish we could get any one of them but I think it is too simple for the Federation to pay the coin for solid coach like the ones listed.
-van Gaal was sacked by Bayern with about a dozen games left last year, thus he is available -Lippi as you mentioned is available -Ranieri resigned as Roma's coach w/ about 10 games left last year. -Benitez last job was Inter so he too is available... However I agree that the USSF won't pay for a top notch coach. The reason they have went after Jurgen Klinsmann is because he is close to home and would work for cheap. And the reason they went after "El Loco" is because he is a South American who loves coaching and was being abused by the Chilean Fed. He too would work for cheap.
Thanks for clarifying that. Sooner or later, we are going to have to pay a coach. Hopefully it is Klinsman, Lippi, Renerie, or Benitez...I would hate for them to make a change and it doesn't improve the system. Thanks for the info
Note that those teams did not overcome periods of under-performing by sticking with the coach that was the cause of under-performance.
I think Ath. Bilbao is just more his style: 1. It's La Liga and an up tempo style 2. It's a Spanish speaking Country 3. It's it's communicating with Spanish players 4. It's warm weather 5. It's more his lifestyle than our American lifestyle would have been. Marcelo is a very smart and down to earth man and Sunil meet with him in New York City for gods sakes... if anything. He should have had the meeting in Tuscon, Pasadena or somewhere like that...
Lippi's overachievement with Italy in 2006 and underachievement with them in 2010 shows something about how much of the variance in soccer results doesn't depend on the coach or on the player pool. Lippi was the second best paid manager at the 2010 World Cup, after Capello. If Lippi were hired and did for the US in 2014 what he did for Italy in 2010, then the US won't make it to Brazil. That isn't really a point about Lippi.