The Soccer Thread

[wvcbxl]

I kinda like this month's FIFA ranking, even if I don't believe for a second it's an accurate reflection of team strength. :D

[USSoccer]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/nov/05/cristiano-ronaldo-film-messi

 

This line made me spit coffee:

 

The film is a remarkable vanity project and, even more than before, it is difficult not to come away with the feeling that Ronaldo must shout his own name during sex.

[shnsajax]

I kinda like this month's FIFA ranking, even if I don't believe for a second it's an accurate reflection of team strength. :D

 

It will be funny and sad if Belgium wins a WC before Holland.

[shnsajax]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/nov/05/cristiano-ronaldo-film-messi

 

This line made me spit coffee:

 

The film is a remarkable vanity project and, even more than before, it is difficult not to come away with the feeling that Ronaldo must shout his own name during sex.

 

I'm more interested in the other Real film that Benzema is being charge with. What the hell is going on there.

[wolf stansson]

Some choice excerpts from a Matt Miazga profile: http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/matt-miazga-polish-american-centre-back-whos-caught-eye-chelsea#:v7rjV3OILBxUhw

 

According to sources, he previously received offers from Premier League sides Stoke City, Chelsea and Leicester City, but ultimately decided that playing every week for the Red Bulls is best for his development.

 

Jurgen Klinsmann has been unable to settle on a regular centre-back pairing recently - especially following the decline of Omar Gonzalez - and Poland boss Adam Nawalka has struggled to find a player to complement Torino stalwart Kamil Glik at the back. Zbigniew Boniek - arguably the greatest Polish player of all-time and now the president of the country's federation - contacted Miazga and made his pitch recently, promising that he’ll be called up soon. "My family wants me to play for Poland and my friends encourage me to choose US. I'm torn. I feel both Polish and American, I really do. It’s hard, so hard.”

[wolf stansson]

The questions Sunil Gulati is dodging:

http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/soccer/u-s-soccer-head-gulati-dodges-questions-fifa-scandal-article-1.2423883?cid=bitly&utm_content=buffer8e0ef&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDNSports+Twitter

[USSoccer]

"I'm not doing any media today," Gulati told a handful of reporters at Securing Sport 2015, an annual conference organized by the Qatar-backed International Centre for Sport Security.

 

That [expletive] World Cup is going to stay there, isn't it.

[wolf stansson]

Roster drop weird as per usual.

 

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2015/11/06/17/29/151106-mnt-klinsmann-calls-23-players-for-begining-of-2018-world-cup-qualifying-cycle

 

U.S. Roster By Position:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton)

DEFENDERS (8): Ventura Alvarado (Club America), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Tim Ream (Fulham FC), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Miguel Ibarra (Club Leon), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland)

FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy), Jordan Morris (Stanford), Bobby Wood (Union Berlin), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)

 

 

Miazga and Nagbe, fantastic. Mix, Jones, Beckerman but no Kljestan or Benny still baffles but that fight is over. Dax, too for that matter. [expletive] Alan Gordon and Ventura Alvarado, lol.

[USSoccer]

We get two new callups and I'd bet they only see the field in the St. Vincent game. Ibarra, Gordon, Beckerman, Jones and Alvarado have no business being there. Hamid is going to get to sit the bench behind two keepers that he's better than. Bobby Wood sucks, too. Gyasi doesn't deserve to be there based on current form and neither does Mix.

 

Still no Agudelo, Trapp, Finlay or Hedges.

 

Jurgen sucks. I hope we lose at least one of these games.

[wolf stansson]

Hamid is our best keeper, isn't he? He needs a move away from DC.

[wolf stansson]

Also haha re: Fab. At least JK isn't letting ego get in the way of that one.

[USSoccer]

Also haha re: Fab. At least JK isn't letting ego get in the way of that one.

 

He's calling in Fabian so that he can continue to pretend Yedlin is a midfielder and not a RB.

[wolf stansson]

ussoccer.com: There’s a lot of experience in World Cup qualifying on the roster, and also a number of players getting their first shot. Obviously Clint Dempsey isn’t in for these first games – what went in to that decision?

JK: “At this point in time, I want to give the younger strikers a chance to prove themselves and this is a good stage to do it. I communicated with Clint about it and it’s all fine.”

Yeah we need to go younger. Hold on, gotta make a call...

"Gordo? Yeah. Jurgen. What's up bud? What are you doing next week?"

 

 

Just say Clint preferred to make a run at the cup with Seattle.

[wolf stansson]

MLS playoffs continue to be nuts/fun as hell.

 

Everyone in Seattle has been trash except Dempsey, Frei, Marshall and Scott but somehow they're still in this in OT.

 

Can't believe their old legs are still in this with this young Dallas team. Oba is invisible and Deuce is covering more ground than I've ever seen him cover.

[USSoccer]

Clint was playing left mid until Roldan came in which I haven't seen since he was at Fulham.

 

He's going to miss his PK though. And he should have hit that shot with his left instead of trying to sell the worst dive ever

 

And Oba has been useless all 4 games of the playoffs

[USSoccer]

Balls.

 

On the one hand, good for FCD and their home grown players. On the other, f FCD.

 

Got to figure Sigi goes now. Kreis in? Do they keep this core?

[Guest]

In hindsight, it really was a miracle that they came this close to advancing with Evans and Alonso combining for 0 minutes in this round.

 

I haven't really heard any chatter about Sigi being gone, the general sentiment I've seen is that injuries derailed the season far more than any coaching deficiencies

[USSoccer]

In hindsight, it really was a miracle that they came this close to advancing with Evans and Alonso combining for 0 minutes in this round.

 

I haven't really heard any chatter about Sigi being gone, the general sentiment I've seen is that injuries derailed the season far more than any coaching deficiencies

 

I had heard that barring winning MLS cup, Sigi would either be fired or resign but maybe that's just idle speculation.

 

I thought he got it wrong tonight, fwiw. I thought Pappa should have started and Valdes come on at 70 or so, because Valdes's inability to run I thought hurt them.

 

Toledo's usual inconsistent officiating also seemed to really throw Ivanschitz and Martins all game

[Guest]

In hindsight, it really was a miracle that they came this close to advancing with Evans and Alonso combining for 0 minutes in this round.

 

I haven't really heard any chatter about Sigi being gone, the general sentiment I've seen is that injuries derailed the season far more than any coaching deficiencies

 

I had heard that barring winning MLS cup, Sigi would either be fired or resign but maybe that's just idle speculation.

 

I thought he got it wrong tonight, fwiw. I thought Pappa should have started and Valdes come on at 70 or so, because Valdes's inability to run I thought hurt them.

 

Toledo's usual inconsistent officiating also seemed to really throw Ivanschitz and Martins all game

 

 

That could be, I've been working on my fledgling Sounders fandom but I can't claim to have my finger right on the pulse. In the absence of any ultimatum or benchmark though, it seems to me like having Sigi back for one more go makes sense. Try to win the CCL, get everyone healthy and try to win it all. After next year you have to retool a bit anyway, Morris could (maybe) come into play, at that point it seems more logical to try to get a change in direction.

 

As far as Valdes v. Pappa, I think you have to start Valdes. I didn't notice his workrate specifically tonight but he's a much better defender than Pappa so you want him on the field more with all the outside runs that Dallas was making. It's less ideal for substitutes because you don't have a pure energy guy(Pappa's touch in OT looked like he had played 100+ minutes, Neagle was on the bench but he's terrible), but a necessary evil.

[shnsajax]

Of course once I moved out of Dallas they develop what should be really good team for the next several seasons. How many of the originals have never won the league again?

[Guest]

Of course once I moved out of Dallas they develop what should be really good team for the next several seasons. How many of the originals have never won the league again?

 

Looks like New York, New England and Dallas (plus Tampa but they folded in 2001).

[shnsajax]

Of course once I moved out of Dallas they develop what should be really good team for the next several seasons. How many of the originals have never won the league again?

 

Looks like New York, New England and Dallas (plus Tampa but they folded in 2001).

 

Had to look it all up. I was thinking NE had won it before but lost in the finals 5 times. Dallas won the Open in 1997 but that's it. NYRB never won the open either.

[wolf stansson]

In the absence of any ultimatum or benchmark though, it seems to me like having Sigi back for one more go makes sense.

There's never been a public mandate, but it's always kind of seemed like every year he doesn't win it, the pressure tightens a little bit. I don't necessarily think there's a better man for the job, but I get the sense that when this core is done, he'll be done. He's 62, morbidly obese and has some health issues. If and when they have to rebuild, it will be a very quick rebuild and with coaches like Kreis not being available that often and with Kreis' existing, championship winning relationship with Garth Lagerway, it makes a ton of sense that this will be the year they go in a new direction.

 

Seattle has the ultimate luxury of being able to play the Jordan Morris card at any minute when they need to get younger, and they need to get younger. The problem is that the bulk of their payroll is tied up in the attack. I know he's been hurt, but I don't see Nelson Valdez as being a fit. Either he or Oba has to go if they bring Morris in just because they're not getting rid of Deuce and they have too much in the attack to play him.

 

When they signed Valdez as their third DP after buying down Ozzie, I thought they should have kept their powder dry for a truly league class central midfielder. A Kljestan/Feilhaber type to pair with Ozzie to help with distribution and running in the MF was what they needed. The difference between what they have in Rose, Friberg and Pineda and someone like that is bigger than Neagle, Morris and Valdez. They lacked balance and depth in the MF and back line, but they spent on the attack. Ivanschitz was a great find, but Valdez just seems redundant. Especially when he's hurt and can't play the wing and they have to put Clint in the MF. He doesn't have the legs for that in a playoff run and it removes the fulcrum from the tip of their attack for Oba to run off of.

 

If Ozzie Alonso, Brad Evans and Roman Torres are healthy, they probably win it all. That's not Sigi's fault. But now they haven't won with him in charge and Marshall, Pineda, Scott and probably some others are done. They need a rebuild.

[USSoccer]

That's a pretty solid summary there. Seattle's lack of midfield depth beyond Alonso has hurt them the last 2 years. Buying Valdez seems to me a move more geared toward CCL than MLS play, because you're right. He's just a redundant piece given Martins and Dempsey.

 

In Fisher, Scott, Rose and Valdez you have four guys that probably shouldn't be on the field if you're a serious MLS Cup contender.

 

I'm still sticking with my Columbus pick for the cup.

[wolf stansson]

Patrick Viera in at NYC FC. I hope someone asks him what they're planning to do with their targeted allocation money or who they like with their first round pick of the super draft.