The Soccer Thread

[wolf stansson]

Really dreading Fox's World Cup coverage in 4 years.

[Mark Priors Calves]

Really dreading Fox's World Cup coverage in 4 years.

ESPN's coverage has been excellent. I'd like to think Fox would raise their game, but I'm sure we'll see Gus Johnson and Wynalda.

[USSoccer]

Really dreading Fox's World Cup coverage in 4 years.

 

That just ruined my night even further.

[USSoccer]

Tactical cam shows the AR didn't flag Wondo for offside. He put his flag up to signal goal kick after the ball crossed touch.

 

Which means that Wondo failed to accomplish the one job he had in Brazil.

[Guest]

All 8 group winners advanced to the quarterfinals.

 

The QF matchups should be good. Costa Rica's the weakest team left and they still managed to beat Uruguay and Italy to get here.

[wolf stansson]

Tactical cam shows the AR didn't flag Wondo for offside. He put his flag up to signal goal kick after the ball crossed touch.

 

Which means that Wondo failed to accomplish the one job he had in Brazil.

Brutal. No words for that.

[OleMissCub]

Ok, I'm bringing this to you guys because I know less than nothing about the game, but I thought about something when that Kakalu guy came in. If the sport keeps progressing in popularity and becomes a huge mainstream sport, in 100 years won't we be absolutely dominant just because of the athletes we can put on the field? If a specimen like Reggie Bush had been raised to play soccer or if someone like Lebron James learned to play keeper. That would be outright scary, right? Wouldn't they just out-physical these skinny Europeans?

[Rex Buckingham]

Ok, I'm bringing this to you guys because I know less than nothing about the game, but I thought about something when that Kakalu guy came in. If the sport keeps progressing in popularity and becomes a huge mainstream sport, in 100 years won't we be absolutely dominant just because of the athletes we can put on the field? If a specimen like Reggie Bush had been raised to play soccer or if someone like Lebron James learned to play keeper. That would be outright scary, right? Wouldn't they just out-physical these skinny Europeans?

 

People bring that up all the time, but I'm just not sure it will ever happen. It would take football becoming immensely less popular because of danger or something and even then, most of the guys that I feel like would be the best soccer players are generally basketball players... And basketball doesn't seem likely to lose popularity any time soon.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I just don't see it for the most part. Several of the most important skills (stamina, foot dexterity) don't lend themselves to being the type of athlete that excels in most American pro sports.

[OleMissCub]

I just don't see it for the most part. Several of the most important skills (stamina, foot dexterity) don't lend themselves to being the type of athlete that excels in most American pro sports.

 

I would think those are learned skills. You don't think that if you had someone like Reggie Bush from age 5 playing Soccer that they couldn't develop elite foot skills and stamina? They'd have those skills PLUS the god given ability to run a 4.4 and juke people out of their cleats.

Edited July 2, 2014 by OleMissCub

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I just don't see it for the most part. Several of the most important skills (stamina, foot dexterity) don't lend themselves to being the type of athlete that excels in most American pro sports.

 

I would think those are learned skills.

 

Doesn't mean some don't have more natural talent for it than others.

[wolf stansson]

Of the consensus top 5 or so best players of all-time, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Zidane, Messi, Beckenbauer etc, only one of those players is an athletic specimen in the mold of a Reggie Bush/Derrick Rose/Rickie Henderson. That being Pele in his day. That doesn't mean athleticism isn't a factor. DeAndre Yedlin runs a 4.2 40 and in another life could have been an awesome running back or point guard. We are all incredibly excited about his future because of that. What matters is just getting as many kids playing as possible, as many scouts watching those kids as possible and as many quality coaches teaching them as possible. Increased popularity, MLS and more understanding of the game by parents will make that happen.

 

Have the biggest talent pool possible, coach them well and identify the elite talent so they can be placed in a professional environment as quickly as possible.

[OleMissCub]

Have the biggest talent pool possible, coach them well and identify the elite talent so they can be placed in a professional environment as quickly as possible.

 

Good answer. Our talent pool currently is minuscule for what it could be one day.

[USSoccer]

Of the consensus top 5 or so best players of all-time, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Zidane, Messi, Beckenbauer etc, only one of those players is an athletic specimen in the mold of a Reggie Bush/Derrick Rose/Rickie Henderson. That being Pele in his day. That doesn't mean athleticism isn't a factor. DeAndre Yedlin runs a 4.2 40 and in another life could have been an awesome running back or point guard. We are all incredibly excited about his future because of that. What matters is just getting as many kids playing as possible, as many scouts watching those kids as possible and as many quality coaches teaching them as possible. Increased popularity, MLS and more understanding of the game by parents will make that happen.

 

Have the biggest talent pool possible, coach them well and identify the elite talent so they can be placed in a professional environment as quickly as possible.

 

MLS academies.

[CubInOK]

Ok, I'm bringing this to you guys because I know less than nothing about the game, but I thought about something when that Kakalu guy came in. If the sport keeps progressing in popularity and becomes a huge mainstream sport, in 100 years won't we be absolutely dominant just because of the athletes we can put on the field? If a specimen like Reggie Bush had been raised to play soccer or if someone like Lebron James learned to play keeper. That would be outright scary, right? Wouldn't they just out-physical these skinny Europeans?

 

People bring that up all the time, but I'm just not sure it will ever happen. It would take football becoming immensely less popular because of danger or something and even then, most of the guys that I feel like would be the best soccer players are generally basketball players... And basketball doesn't seem likely to lose popularity any time soon.

This already might be happening.

[USSoccer]

If the money that MLS is able to pay its domestic talent is able to increase relatively quickly, you'll see the player pool widen substantially.

[shnsajax]

Kompany trying to make me like him.

 

Two words.. TIM HOWARD #Respect #BelUSA

[mul21]

Kompany trying to make me like him.

 

Two words.. TIM HOWARD #Respect #BelUSA

 

I don't think it can be said enough times how badly we got our asses handed to us and how amazing Howard was to keep us in it. Just ridiculously amazing play.

[mul21]

Of the consensus top 5 or so best players of all-time, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Zidane, Messi, Beckenbauer etc, only one of those players is an athletic specimen in the mold of a Reggie Bush/Derrick Rose/Rickie Henderson. That being Pele in his day. That doesn't mean athleticism isn't a factor. DeAndre Yedlin runs a 4.2 40 and in another life could have been an awesome running back or point guard. We are all incredibly excited about his future because of that. What matters is just getting as many kids playing as possible, as many scouts watching those kids as possible and as many quality coaches teaching them as possible. Increased popularity, MLS and more understanding of the game by parents will make that happen.

 

Have the biggest talent pool possible, coach them well and identify the elite talent so they can be placed in a professional environment as quickly as possible.

 

Messi has some pretty other worldly feet, but I generally agree with you. It's a game where so much depends on your feel for it and playing a lot as a kid with good coaching is really where a lot of that develops.

[OleMissCub]

OK, another soccer question. In high school or youth baseball, your best players often pitch and play shortstop and in football they are often the quarterbacks of their team and then become some other position later as they get onto more mature teams. Is it the same way in soccer? Were Omar Gonzalez and Fabian Johnson forwards in younger life and then became defenders as they got older? Seems like in younger leagues you'd always want your stud kid out there making goals.

[wolf stansson]

OK, another soccer question. In high school or youth baseball, your best players often pitch and play shortstop and in football they are often the quarterbacks of their team and then become some other position later as they get onto more mature teams. Is it the same way in soccer? Were Omar Gonzalez and Fabian Johnson forwards in younger life and then became defenders as they got older? Seems like in younger leagues you'd always want your stud kid out there making goals.

Your best players are center mids and forwards and then filter out. Omar was a fwd, Fab a mid.

[OleMissCub]

In hindsight was it a mistake to leave Donovan off the team? Couldn't he have stepped in when Altidore went down?

[mul21]

In hindsight was it a mistake to leave Donovan off the team? Couldn't he have stepped in when Altidore went down?

 

He would have helped support when Clint got pushed up top, but he doesn't do what Jozy does. I'm sure the experts can give a more detailed answer.

[bukie]

Unfortunately nobody does what Jozy does, aside from maybe Boyd, who would have been a better call than Wondo in hindsight.

[USSoccer]

Kompany trying to make me like him.

 

Two words.. TIM HOWARD #Respect #BelUSA

 

I don't think it can be said enough times how badly we got our asses handed to us and how amazing Howard was to keep us in it. Just ridiculously amazing play.

 

 

Going to disagree slightly:

 

Possession:

 

54.1% to 45.9% in the U.S.'s favor

 

Passes completed in the final third:

 

182 to 165 in favor of Belgium

 

Not nearly as lopsided as my memory, and yours, tell us how the game went. The 25 minutes Belgium spent in our final third shooting straight into Howard because Zusi and Bedoya couldn't pass out of pressure masked how many opportunities of our own we had. Belgium are a good team, but I still think they were beatable today.

 

Fun fact: after the Ghana game, Clint Dempsey spent only 50 minutes of the rest of the tournament in his SS/ACM role. Asinine that JK built his roster in such a way that screwed us as hard as it did when Jozy got hurt.