This is likely the best Brenden Aaronson we were ever going to get, and it's very good. The idea that a positional change would have yielded better results is simply wrong. That was your argument and now you are falling back on some vague idea of elite, as if Brenden being an elite possession player was ever a possible outcome. What position is less demanding than fullback? The fact that Berhalter searched very often for a regista-style 6 to either complement or replace Tyler actually shows that he was more on your page than you say. He tried Bradley, Trapp, Yueill and Reyna there at different times. But here's the issue: we don't have a regista. They aren't developed at the national team level. So he did what any intelligent person would do: he changed how we played to best accomodate our talent. Not really. It's backwards. You want to try and play like an elite team without a lot of talent. You develop the talent first. A lot of people much smarter than you (and less arrogant) work on this. Pretending that someone is something they aren't is a far bigger mistake that simply taking a guy and playing him in his best position, which is what everyone else is doing.
Again, you have zero ways of knowing that, but your posts are always both exceedingly arrogant and often wrong, so par for the course. When did I say sacrosanct. Every nation in the world prioritizes talent in attack. Any country is far less likely to move an elite talent that can be a good 10 or striker backwards and defensively because the attacker is worth more and harder to replace. This isn't a US thing. It's something everyone in soccer knows. Players tend to move back because they don't have the skillset for forward. Reyna definitely always had questions here, but my point is the comparison to Busquets doesn't make a lot of sense. Busquets isn't lazy; he's just slower than some. Reyna tended to drift off when off the ball for sure, though many young players fix that. But his issues with speed, which you were trying to note, are all post-injury. At the time you desperately wanted him moved, apparently, he was actually quite fast and quick. The point, which requires quite a bit of mental density to miss, is that I don't think Claudio Reyna, a non-defensive, metronome-style 6, didn't move his kid to become a 6 because he thought that sixes have to be destroyers as you've posited. Of all the Americans who do have that bias, I'm gonna guess the dude who played 6 but wasn't a destroyer isn't one of them. Neither is an organization headed by Pep Guardiola. The fact the coaches of two ELITE EUROPEAN soccer organizations that got him at like age 12 or 13 haven't been able to unlock is a surprise? I thought your argument it was only the dumb American developmental system that screwed up?
Well, we'll never know, will we? This purple patch hes gotten to has only allowed Leeds supporters to no longer call for him to be sold. We DO know this, because across his career, he's never shown this ability. Not even right now, when he's hit a fortunate bit of form. GK. The list of single pivots at an elite level is a short list. It worked for the USMNT vs CONCACAF fodder, safely at home in cashgrabs, but never against elite sides. Adams is a fine player, but no one would pick him to be a solo pivot. FFS, SPAIN, with their embarrassment of riches in the MF, rarely attempt a solo pivot. Nor do France, nor Portugal, nor Argentina. So why would anyone think that Adams can do that? I can agree to this. A deep lying playmaker, as you say, a registra, FFS, anyone who can progress the ball is/was needed at the #6. As noted, we all despise "square pegging" players out of position, or out of role. Not finding a player's optimum position, just because he was a god at u14 IS, in fact a form of "square pegging" players.
Hardly. It's a whole different skillset but it's far more demanding and important. No one did. If you don't have one, you simply adjust tactics. Which we did. Brenden was not a god at 14 at anything. They did find his best position. A kid who was not a prospect and isn't overly a physical specimen is playing in the EPL. Just because he plays on a team where you don't like the style doesn't mean his career isn't a massive success.
And again, we do know this, because at the time, Busquets wasn't highly regarded at Barca as a CB. Him being switched to the pivot was part of making him an elite player. (I followed that club then, and yes, its true.) And you're wrong here. Elite nations want to put round pegs into round holes. And yet, Marcus Rashfors started out as a GK at United, and became an elite LW. Neither were high workrate types. As I wrote a few posts up, it is a part of it.
1. Why can’t we make a Busquets? For the same reason we can’t make a Lewandowski or Van Dijk. 2. The first sentence seems to put the blame on the American development system. An informed person wouldn’t use Reyna to make that point. He was born in 2002; look up his bio and see how many of his 24 years on this planet he lived in America.
If by this, you mean many America FANS, who cares. If you mean our coaching system…Kyle Beckerman played in the way you like and that dude is so old he was at Bradenton with Landon, DMB, etc.
Pretending that Busquets move to CDM wasn';t influenced by Barcelona having Puyol and Pique starting at CB is a choice. Considering that Busquets was 19 when he played for Barca B, he was no longer a member of La Masia. Pep moved him to CDM because he thought his skill set would translate to that position, and more importantly to how Pep wanted Barca to play. Otherwise he would have been a depth piece stuck behind to future alltime greats.
1. France is a pretty damn elite national team, and they thrive on the counter. 2. He’s using the first name because there are two Aaronsons. You’d know that if you followed soccer. 3. I can’t help but notice in your attack on the US development system, you are relying on one player from the best academy in the world. Why hasn’t Barca developed more Busquets, if it’s just a matter of moving a teenager from one position to another? 4. Unless I missed it, you’re the only person talking about Lopez. You can’t get more strawman than bringing up a name first and then decrying the comparison to the dude you just brought up. Look, there can be a lot of intelligent discussion of the flaws in our development system. Being an ignorant shitposter isnt going to contribute to said discussion.
The “he” here is Reyna. Are you blaming the American development system, which as has been pointed out is a small portion of Reyna’s development, for his injuries?!?!?! Reyna really truly was elite as a teen. I’m not going to do it again but a little while ago some dumbass tried to make the same point and I posted various stats and rankings from back then. But injuries happen and that’s mostly a matter of luck, not failures in the development system.
And gio was also 5 years old when his father was living in the US and playing here. He began his career at NYCFC.
And yet, neither they, nor Spain, nor Portugal, nor any number of top national teams play with a single pivot. Why would the US, with a one-way player like Adams, attempt it? QUOTE="superdave, post: 43592425, member: 5058"] 2. He’s using the first name because there are two Aaronsons. You’d know that if you followed soccer.[/QUOTE]It was clear from the rest of our discussion. QUOTE="superdave, post: 43592425, member: 5058"] 3. I can’t help but notice in your attack on the US development system, you are relying on one player from the best academy in the world. Why hasn’t Barca developed more Busquets, if it’s just a matter of moving a teenager from one position to another?[/QUOTE] They've done it before then. Guardiola was moved to that role as well. Theyve moved players from their roles as teenagers. So have pretty much every elite club. QUOTE="superdave, post: 43592425, member: 5058"] 4. Unless I missed it, you’re the only person talking about Lopez. You can’t get more strawman than bringing up a name first and then decrying the comparison to the dude you just brought up.[/QUOTE] Thats fair. But in no way is "Brenden" an elite off the ball 10, in the same way that Jude Bellingham or Fermin Lopez are. QUOTE="superdave, post: 43592425, member: 5058"] Look, there can be a lot of intelligent discussion of the flaws in our development system. Being an ignorant shitposter isnt going to contribute to said discussion.[/QUOTE] Go check your sugar level; this ain't worth going to ground over.
Because back around 2010 or so, USSF decided by God, we were going to transform our national playing style to play attractive attacking soccer, and the way to do that was to say we are playing in a 4-3-3 like all the countries/teams we want to emulate. Teach all the youth coaches, rewrite all the coaching courses, force it on the USSDA. Let some Dutch guys redo the curriculum after 5 years of not seeing instant results, stop teaching the youth coaches anything other than asking "how can you get the ball downfield faster" until they get to a place where an old boy will vouch for them to take the C license.... 1. Play the 4-3-3 2. ???? 3. Profit We're still somewhere around the first ? of step 2....when the women crashed out at WC2023 and their coach finally caved to pressure to go with a double pivot was like the dam breaking....
If playing soccer in the US is more expensive than it is in places where there is a stronger culture is that a good way to build culture?
I've posted this in the mls bias thread: I've been rading the comments on the soccer culture or the supposed lack of it with interest. First of all, I think when so many people play it and follow it, it is a soccer culture, different from for instance in Mexico etc., but definitively a culture, a specific American soccer culture. Another thing I was thinking about, is that this culture didnot emerge in a vacuum, it's embedded in the general culture of it's environment. So it must be influenced, I think, by the other big American sports culture as part of it's environment. What do you see in the American soccer culture, that reminds you of what you recognize from the other big sports? Or do you think I'm seeing things that arenot there? Maybe a separate thread on the soccer culture deserves a go?
One of the bigger issues is that kids simply don't play sports on their own nearly as much as they did 20 years ago. In this new digital age, kids play sports on screens and not on grass/turf/hardwood/ice/etc. People have FAR more sources of entertainment and hobbies nowadays then just a decade or two ago.
Odd that the kids would flock to esports where they area allowed a lot of trial and error, without parents who have no clue yelling instructions at them.
Funny that you mention that, because a couple of years ago the KNVB introduced behavioral rules, that parents of little kids playing soccer, have to stay at a respectable distance, so the kids can play their game without being yelled at by daddy or sometimes even mummy.
My experience in youth soccer was that the female of the parenting duo was mostly the most obnoxious and loudest person during matches. However the male of the duo was the most likely to try and interfere with practices. I also taught the parents of the kids was was not to use their names during cheering at matches because it always was a distraction. Most kids are "trained" almost from birth to show recognition whenever the parent calls their name and most kids can hear the parent's voice even when there are a lot of voices. So if during a match if a parent calls the kid's name the kid either completely loses concentration or, in the best of cases, has to suppress the trained response and stay in the match. Whatever happens there is at least a part of the kid's brain redirected to responding or not responding to the most important influencer in their life. I can't count the number of times I heard a parent call their kids name and then the kid makes a mistake. I also instructed the parents to NOT come onto the field, unless called, when their child gets an injury. I have seen cases where a child, even very young ones, not start to cry unless they know a parent is watching. "The only problem in youth sports today is the adults."
This is what I mean, we don't have the soccer culture. Parents don't watch, play, or have any knowledge of the sport. There are about 3 million youth players, but more than 60% of youth and USMNT are dual nats. Why is that??
Almost half of all Americans are eligible to represent another country through a parent or grandparent born abroad. Add in Americans eligible to acquire citizenship in another country, and you'd get to perhaps close to 60 percent. Add in Americans eligible through 5+ years of residence abroad, and you've got even more.
I do not think they mean dual nationals as in guys like say Patrick Agyemang who was eligible for Ghana through his parents. Since Agyemang grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut. It is that when you look at our most talented players some grew up in England(Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun) Germany(Malik Tillman), Netherlands(Sergino Dest) and Brazil(Johnny Cardoso). And it would be hard to find the numbers but I am comfortable in guessing that their are more kids playing soccer in the US than there are kids with American passports playing soccer in the traditional soccer hotbeds. And we are not like Morocco where they know they have a huge diaspora in Europe that they can rely on. There are really not enough expats for guys who grew up elsewhere to be about half of our most talented players. And yes I know it goes multiple ways. We have an MLS youth product who grew up in Alaska that recently got a transfer to a European giant in Obed Vargas who plays for Mexico. Esmir Bajraktarević grew up in Wisconsin and came up from the New England Revolution Academy and he plays for Bosnia. Queens raised Christian McFarlane is trying to play for England.
The numbers the poster quoted clearly encompass mostly players who grew up in the US and were developed here but have the potential to be dual nationals. You don't get anywhere near 60% without it. Yes, we're at a place currently where we have four likely starters raised elsewhere, which is high for us, but is also a high point and I think somewhat outlier based. Even when we've had less talent, we've had less foreign developed players. The dual national relevancy for this discussion is that the dual nationals -- those with grandparents from other countries or parents ... are the ones with more soccer culture. Why did Mark Pulisic or Claudio Reyna pick soccer? Why were they good at it? You better bet it had a decent amount to do with their parents being immigrants from countries where soccer was more popular. People focus a lot on the machinery later in life, but the bigger gap -- as evidenced by the constant discussion of kids with soccer parents -- is early life.