He had a poor season in England but, it is not like the US has a ton of talented strikers to choose from. He was also U.S best player during the qualifiers. So I think yes.
Team America at the World Cup
- Thread starter Sir Matt
- Start date
Yeah I see, I've read everything and it was interesting. And I must say things can change very quickly in football, that's the beauty of it. Look at Belgium for instance, who hadn't even qualified for tournaments in years. And now they have a sick batch of good players and excellent prospects at the World Cup, playing in an easy group. Same can happen to America within four or eight years.
I think it was better for him to stay in Holland.
I liked him very much at AZ where he scored a lot of beautiful goals
If the USA manage to beat germany, i´ll laugh my ass off. would be great.
Whats going to be the starting line-up; any guesses?
Whats going to be the starting line-up; any guesses?
A large population and the state of development doesn't correlate to being a world champion team in football/soccer. Some people are not into the game, so what? In the US, it's more of an amateur sport and professionals play other games, so you want them to fade away? What kind of shit attitude is that? India is big on Cricket and doesn't like Football? You want the entire country to fade away too? Why should you hate on a nation based on their football prowess? On top of all this, US has been consistently qualifying for the World Cups, which is a not a mean feat at all.
What does ignorant mean in this case? Is it hard for us to admit that perhaps they just do not like it that much and it has nothing to do with ignorance. Would it be fair for an American to say someone from Europe who doesn't like Baseball/basketball/ NFL,etc. is ignorant as well?
The highest rated EPL game in the U.S.A this season was Cardiff vs. Swansea(1.24 million). That says it all. They just do not care for the sport. The same way Europeans do not care much for some American sports.
spot on.
What a backwards view of things you have.
You think we never heard this shit before? What makes you think it would be useful or welcome in the US world cup team section? Just tell me how as a nation of 16 million people Holland continues to suck sweaty nutsack at baseball and basketball for decades. How is that possible? Ignorance? Bad pronunciation? Genetics? Wooden shoes? When will your people learn how to hit a ball with a bat or throw a decent curveball?
The US Soccer team is going to play some very average to below average international level soccer at this world cup. Our main striker is a decent hobbyist rapper and his understudy is averaging 0.03 premier league goals per game. Ghana owes us big time since they dumped Freddy Adu on us so I expect a win there even though it doesn't begin to repay the trauma of believing a 29 year old man was a 13 year old soccer prodigy. We can hope for Nani to do something stupid in the Portugal game, we will need all the help we can get as we are always dominated in possession and movement and midfield and most other areas.
Whatever happens, we can all respect Landon Donovan for gradually going bald in a much more graceful way than Wayne Rooney. And Tim Howard has made for a very acceptable soccer announcer on TV when he's not stopping shots. We are getting at least 4 points from this group. It might be enough.
That plus Mike, Dave, Ben, Rick, Jake, Dan, Ryan and Andrew.
Well nobody in the civilized world then.
Wanting the US national team to succeed is mutually exclusive with wanting free healthcare.
ew
It's like a rant from 10 to 15 years ago isn't it.spastic
Remember that in the US, Soccer ( a term invented by the English in case you did not know) really only started getting a big push in the late 70's or early 80's, and then the NASL collapsed under its own stupidity and there was a void until the early 90's when the MLS started up. By time "soccer" started getting any sort of push towards developing talent it was decades behind other sports in the US, in some cases close to a century behind.
Even for many immigrants for a good part of the last century they often focused not on the traditions and sports of their home country but in trying to "fit in" with their new home which meant sending their kids to play baseball, American football, etc. So often times the people who would have been great ambassadors from the game turned their back on it when they came to the US, of course not having a US league to follow made that easier for them. This is going back into the early 20th and up into the mid to late 20th century.
You also had issues of even when schools began having "soccer" teams they were up against already entrenched sports in an effort to pulls kids into the game. If played in the fall well then most of the best atheletes were already on the schools American football team, if played in the spring then they were up against baseball and track and field. So "soccer" started at many schools as the sport for anyone who could not make the other teams.
Plus in the early days you had people being named coach and then handed some book on the rules and the basic strategies of the game, having never played the game themselves.
So hurting youth development for years was the complete lack of any adequate coaching. This is starting to be less of a problem as the people who began playing the game in the 70's thru 90's are now starting to coach. Not all of them great, but at least they have played the game. But even in many youth leagues the coaches are people who are parents of players and as soon as their kids move up a level, they are gone, so there often is not stability in the coaching ranks.
The increase in games from around the world on TV that we started seeing in the 90's and really picking up steam this century should also help develop coaches as people get exposed to a wide variety of ways to play plus seeing how the game should be played. Really for a large part of the US population up until recently (10 to 12 years) they saw the best in the game play once every 4 years at the World Cup and it could be argued that often times the pressure of that event brings out some pretty boring strategies by many coaches.
When taken as a flat figure you can say out of 300mil there should be some great "soccer" players, but the reality is that nobody is born a great player, they need both the talent to develop, the coaching to develop the talent, the will to develop it.
The game just faces an up hill battle in the US because it got started so late compared to the other sports.
Even for many immigrants for a good part of the last century they often focused not on the traditions and sports of their home country but in trying to "fit in" with their new home which meant sending their kids to play baseball, American football, etc. So often times the people who would have been great ambassadors from the game turned their back on it when they came to the US, of course not having a US league to follow made that easier for them. This is going back into the early 20th and up into the mid to late 20th century.
You also had issues of even when schools began having "soccer" teams they were up against already entrenched sports in an effort to pulls kids into the game. If played in the fall well then most of the best atheletes were already on the schools American football team, if played in the spring then they were up against baseball and track and field. So "soccer" started at many schools as the sport for anyone who could not make the other teams.
Plus in the early days you had people being named coach and then handed some book on the rules and the basic strategies of the game, having never played the game themselves.
So hurting youth development for years was the complete lack of any adequate coaching. This is starting to be less of a problem as the people who began playing the game in the 70's thru 90's are now starting to coach. Not all of them great, but at least they have played the game. But even in many youth leagues the coaches are people who are parents of players and as soon as their kids move up a level, they are gone, so there often is not stability in the coaching ranks.
The increase in games from around the world on TV that we started seeing in the 90's and really picking up steam this century should also help develop coaches as people get exposed to a wide variety of ways to play plus seeing how the game should be played. Really for a large part of the US population up until recently (10 to 12 years) they saw the best in the game play once every 4 years at the World Cup and it could be argued that often times the pressure of that event brings out some pretty boring strategies by many coaches.
When taken as a flat figure you can say out of 300mil there should be some great "soccer" players, but the reality is that nobody is born a great player, they need both the talent to develop, the coaching to develop the talent, the will to develop it.
The game just faces an up hill battle in the US because it got started so late compared to the other sports.
Absolute nightmare group for the US team given where it sits talent wise. It would need a miracle to pull off a win vs either Germany or Portugal and even Ghana has to be favorites over us. Sadly for US National Team supporters this will be a 3 and out year for us. Would almost have to view getting out of that group as being a huge success.
What I hope is that we do play well and at least give these other teams a tough game. 3 and out will be bad enough, 3 and out without even looking like we belong there would be depressing.
What I hope is that we do play well and at least give these other teams a tough game. 3 and out will be bad enough, 3 and out without even looking like we belong there would be depressing.
America's snowballs chance in hell scenario that sees them through to the knockouts.
Think they lose to Germany..... Obviously.
They must must MUST beat Ghana..... Which they haven't been able to do.
Ask they have to draw against Portugal...... Seems reasonable.
But all the fun comes after. They need Portugal and Ghana to draw. They also need Portgual to draw with Germany.
Germany 7 pts
USA 4 pts
Portugal 3 pts
Ghana 1 pt
There's a chance..... Otherwise, they're done.
Think they lose to Germany..... Obviously.
They must must MUST beat Ghana..... Which they haven't been able to do.
Ask they have to draw against Portugal...... Seems reasonable.
But all the fun comes after. They need Portugal and Ghana to draw. They also need Portgual to draw with Germany.
Germany 7 pts
USA 4 pts
Portugal 3 pts
Ghana 1 pt
There's a chance..... Otherwise, they're done.
I'm actually glad America has little interest in football. The last thing we want is another country that's better than England, there are enough of them already. 
Things are changing in the US attitude wise towards the game. On ESPN highlight shows when they do plays of the day you are seeing the game well represented and without the old sarcastic comments about the game. As the game increases in popularity those old school sportswriters/broadcasters who used to make the stereotypical comments about the game have changed their tune, stopped talking about the game or just are not being given a chance to discuss the game anymore. They are not gone yet, but they are becoming rarer.
In sporting goods stores where you used to only be able to find the replica shirts of the typical US sports you are now finding more and more space devoted to replica shirts for football clubs from around the world, not just the MLS. Heck you are even seeing decent selections of US National Team related merchandise. If you live in an area where the game is popular it is not unusual anymore to find stores that focus solely on the game not paying attention to any other sports.
Of course I live in an area that was once a mainstay of the old NASL, home of the Rochester Lancers. We still have the Rochester Rhino's in USL, a team that in the 1999 won the US Open Cup the only non-MLS team to win the cup since the MLS came into being.
In sporting goods stores where you used to only be able to find the replica shirts of the typical US sports you are now finding more and more space devoted to replica shirts for football clubs from around the world, not just the MLS. Heck you are even seeing decent selections of US National Team related merchandise. If you live in an area where the game is popular it is not unusual anymore to find stores that focus solely on the game not paying attention to any other sports.
Of course I live in an area that was once a mainstay of the old NASL, home of the Rochester Lancers. We still have the Rochester Rhino's in USL, a team that in the 1999 won the US Open Cup the only non-MLS team to win the cup since the MLS came into being.
I'd have thought that the biggest problem would be the standard of coaching, and how to address that not at the professional level but at the grass roots level. Also, what is there between grass roots and MLS?
High School Soccer, Travel Soccer, US Developmental Academy and College Soccer.
3rd time a charm?
what's the tiebreaker if teams are locked on points? is is goal diff or head to head?
I'm glad the US are in a group with Germany, Portugal, and Ghana. At least when the US play against tough opponents, the Americans all around the world watching the US will actually see good football and realise that it isn't the boring sport that many over there perceive it to be.
Plus, with the work Klinsmann's doing, I'm hoping that the US do better in their international matches in the future so that the sport becomes more and more popular over there and overcomes the established American sports + ice hockey. I'm sick of hearing North Americans think that football is a boring sport that consists of weak players who would rather play-act than play football.
Plus, with the work Klinsmann's doing, I'm hoping that the US do better in their international matches in the future so that the sport becomes more and more popular over there and overcomes the established American sports + ice hockey. I'm sick of hearing North Americans think that football is a boring sport that consists of weak players who would rather play-act than play football.
I've got nothing but respect for the US national team. In the last 3 World Cups they've made a good go of it and done themselves proud. For a country where 'soccer' is not the primary sport too.
Unfortunate for them that they're in a group where they have no chance of qualifying.
Unfortunate for them that they're in a group where they have no chance of qualifying.
God I live in NYC and I hate when the world cup comes around. I'm in Brooklyn and you have all these Hipsters come out of nowhere making ridiculous claims about teams and players like during WC10 or EU12 as if they have any idea what they are saying. Oddly enough they are very patriotic or rather the U.S national team doesn't get much support and they relish breaking new ground.
I just assumed it was goal differential. Could be wrong though, usually World Cups are just time fillers between seasons.
I live in NY too and I know exactly what you mean. They crowd all the bars and they all often have a puzzled look while trying to understand the offside calls.
Worse than those are the soccer snobs ''I've been watching football every week since xxxx. I look down on you part time fans''.
I'll be watching Beasley and Edu, both ex-Rangers players who I wish well. I've heard they've converted DMB into a left back?!
He is one of the smallest footballers I've ever seen so it will be weird seeing him defending the back post. Presumably though he's more of a wing back than a traditional full back.
He is one of the smallest footballers I've ever seen so it will be weird seeing him defending the back post. Presumably though he's more of a wing back than a traditional full back.
Beasley is awful at defending. He's decent getting forward. I wish we had an alternative. He shouldn't be playing LB at the World Cup.
Was he previously a winger?
Yep, for his entire career. Even played for City few years ago.
He was a star for me on Pro Evo back in 2006 or 2007... He and another winger on the sides, and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink as a target man.. PSV would thump much better teams!
Beasley would be an excellent first name.
Whatever happened to Taylor Twellman?
Whatever happened to Taylor Twellman?
Is one of ESPN's main soccer analysts. Also does the show ESPN FC on some random ESPN channel daily. Kind of their main guy it seems at times. Also tweets a lot!
I live in a border town where soccer is quite as popular as American football and baseball. Although, Most of the of the fans here are recent immigrants from Mexico or 1st generation Americans who support Mexico. The sport is strong in certain regions of the country but as a whole, not widely followed. Outside the major cities in both coasts and the southwest, the sport doesn't get a lick of attention. With that said, to be considered one of the best nation squads with a once an a while win over a European giant is still a great accomplishment considering the sport is considered a niche in this country.
you touched on a good point there: many who could've been decent soccer...errr...football prospects choose to chase the dream of breaking through at a sport they'll never make it in because it was ingrained in them from birth.
one last thing is the brewing story around concussions/long-term brain injury in the NFL and which has yet to hit the fan on a collegiate level. this could push more parents to push their kids towards football and create a larger youth talent pool, but with the other limitations already mentioned who knows if that will make much difference. basketball will still rule the urban areas, and the Southern/Midwestern towns which are the feedstock of the NFL will still glorify the pigskin-the long term mental health of its participants be damned...
America should do ok as long as they remember not to pick up the ball and throw it, shouting 23! 45! 54! Huppity Hup!
Sawker in the US has an excellent amateur base. The current system which is excellent at developing basketball and "handegg" talent is less geared towards soccer. I'm not sure what can be done, apart from waiting for the interest level in soccer to reach a critical level.