After two years, the WUSA teams have really congealed and their styles are emerging. I wonder what you'r opinions are on which teams play like which countries. Here's mine: Atlanta-Canada; physical, direct...should play with more of a finesse style, but somehow always resorts to hard physical style. Boston- Germany; very technique oriented, good positioning. Carolina- Germany/Norway; varies plays with short and direct passing NY- Norway; very direct passing over the top, although weak in midfield. Philly-USA/China; Excellent team overall. Can play a possession game or counter-attack when needed, excellent athleticism and passing skill. Most tactically mature team. SD-No clear style. Shows only flashes of brilliance. Can play with the best of them if coached correctly. Would play nicely with a counter-attacking style...leaning more towards a Chinese counter-attacking style than a Norwegian one because of their soft midfield and fast attackers. SJ-Brazil; flair and speed Washington- USA; possession team with good attacking flair and team unity
Good analysis. I have had some thoughts on this as well. The reason that a lot of these "styles" happen is that the dominate player(s) drive the team in that direction. Atlanta: With Hooper and Nonen and Parlow on the team attempting to play in any way other that physical is absurd. Can you just picture Hooper doing a dainty, Brazil style, turn and pass and get delicate return with Parlow? Not that they could not do this, they both have the skills BUT it is in their best interests to use the size and strength they have with the skills. San Jose: Having Sisi on the team virtually forces the team into samba soccer. Again she "can" get very physical if needed but why force her into a style that fights against her best talents. Also this is even more true because her personality DEMANDS the ball and San Jose struggles when the ball does not flow through her. New York: They do play like Norway because they believe that Milbertt is a "Norway" style forward. But she is NOT! She comes back into the midfield too much for that style to work and as good as she is she does not hold the ball well at the center circle as a "Norway" style forward should. I really think they would have been better off playing closer to the Nigerian women’s style than trying to use a target forward. But instead of Nigeria they play like Jamaica, an exercise in futility. Boston: I did not get to see them enough to really have much of an opinion. But they also seem to be fighting against the "natural" style of the leaders on the team. Maybe Pia Sundhage can coach them into a style that suits the players better. Carolina: Just like Norway at their best. Two forwards that are both physical and can hold the ball and the best attacking midfielder in the world and defense that can find the best pass and get it quickly to the midfield or forwards as is open. It is not always pretty BUT it was clearly the best in the WUSA this year. Philly: Here I disagree a bit because of their dominate forward and absolutely solid defense and good controlling midfield. I think that they are a blend of the best of Brazil, Nigeria, and Norway. Or to put it another way they remind me of France’s men’s team in ’98. San Diego: A mystery wrapped in an enigma. The players suggest a "possession" style while the mix seems to suggest a direct one and then they put it on the field and play like Mexico. Go Figure. Washington" They "should" be very American like looking at the players but they really play much more Chinese. Even with Mia on the field and playing her top game they seem much more "team" and a lot less "player" in their play and their overall approach than even the USA. At its best Washington often looks like a well oiled machine. {There’s a thought; The Little’s well oiled. (Sorry another dirty old man thought.) }
Brazil, Nigeria, and Norway...NO..France, yes. Brazil has no defence and all offense, while Nigeria is very physical and not as tacticcally gifted. Well, maybe they could play a style similar to Norway, but why would they want to. I dont think Philly ever plays that way. I really feel strongly that they do play a USA/China combo. They have the tactical knowledge and all of the players have excellent skill. The only thing about France 98 is that they only did well because of Zidane (we saw how they did without him). With Philly, they have a good all-around team and they can all produce goals. There isn't one single most important person on their team. They all work together very well. ---------------------- I am a Beat fan, and I really wish that they could find the right mix between the physical side of the game and the finesse side, like the USA style. I remember the Beat-NY game in NY where we absolutely dominated because our sidebacks got into the attack. The whole team produced and stringed together short passes. I want to see that for every game. I hate it when they have to resort to the long ball tactics. Charmaine Hooper has excellent dribbling abilites and can psyche out defenders just like Mia and Milbrett, so the best way to get her into the game is to vary their attacks with direct balls and short passing and not with constant longballs over the top.
The only reason NY started playing long ball in the first season is because they consistently lost possession in the midfield. Farmer's solution was to just bypass the midfield. Millie started coming back to the middle a lot this season in order to "rescue" the ball when her teammates kept losing it!
I agree with that but, as I said, Millie is not the player that should be holding the ball waiting for the rest of team to catch up. By playing the style that was chosen NY fell into the trap of being unable to attack and they took their best scorer, kind of like DC last year, and put her into a roll that ill suits her. So she tried to adapt and did too much becoming less effective with every game. Millie is at her best, and NY plays their best, when she faces up the defense and has options. The extreme defensive, counter attacking alignment that was chosen only served to emphasize the weaknesses and minimize the strengths. This was a case of trying to shoehorn the players into a system that the coach wanted. That is why I compared them to Jamaica, great athletes in a system that makes them average. This is marked by their ability to snach defeat from the hands of victory.
I agree. Maybe if NY gets Wagner in the draft, things will turn around for them. She CAN hold the ball under pressure and play-make. Then pick up some center defenders and play a style that fits better.