Official Team USA Soccer Thread

[J-Mezzy]

Found it on univision deportes lol

[GS Warriors 1]

I liked the attack of the 352 but defensively, it was rough waters. I think they have the wing backs to pull it off when you think of someone like Fabian Johnson but the CB's looked out of sorts, maybe it could get better with time.

[EArl]

So why does our defense suck? What do we need to improve in that aspect?

[PANDEMONEUM]

we were and are HORRIBLE in the air
Besler and Jones are not good in the air
Omar and Brooks would help in that regard
problem with having Omar there, u lose possession and playing out of the back

good start to the game
good attacking good energy
but then, the last 20 mins of the game we looked tired and didnt care
maybe, since we are losing games at the end, we should take it easy to start so we can still be strong at the end

Rimando was good
made some good saves
a few 1v1

Shea, good in attack, a little lost on D.
in the 1st half when he was the "wingback" he was fine
and had a goal, so that makes up for his shortcomings
2nd half, we went with a more traditional 4-4-2 and he was a FB, with defensive responsibilities he looked lost

Besler, very nice lead ball to Shea for the goal
ive always thought he has good passing for a CB
bad in the air. bad communicating with Jones.

Jones, very bad in the air.
tried to dribble past a defender, when hes the last man, thats NOT allowed.
part of me feels like we are wasting our time making him a CB
when we could b finding young quality CBs that wont make the mistakes Jones will
when hes a DM, as we saw in the WC, he can b excellent

Birnbaum, had a nice game. surprised me a little.
no complaints.
he was on the same side with Yedlin, so i guess hes partially to blame for the goals.

Yedlin. 1st half good, 2nd half horrible.
idk if he got tired, or underestimated the Chile players after he shut them down a few times
should have taken a better shot, had far post open.
idk if that was a poor shot, or a poor pass

Bradley, Mix.
both played well. were in good positions, active.
Mix with a nice assist and set up Jozy for an easy one.
Bradley had that strike that hit top bar.
but, i still want Mix positioned ahead of Bradley.
Mix is more of an AM than Bradley is

Dempsey, didnt do anything.
except for fall over.
really dont like him at the AM position.
his work rate is getting lower and lower and hes not someone who creates for others

Wood is a complete waste.
stop calling him in

Altidore, is LUCKY Mix gave him that easy pass for goal
up to that point, he was worthless and pissing me off
he never cuts off the angle when hes defending
he lets all the CBs and FBs have the time they want and feel comfortable making the pass ahead

Zardes, was our best forward.
he should have started over Wood
he has nice controls and touches
not enough time to make some dangerous runs and not enough support

Ngyuen should have started at the AM spot with Dempsey up top

[fatlever]

Thanks for the review. I agree with many of your points, specifically about Jones and Dempsey. Jones at centerback is a waste of time. Dempsey needs to play as a 2nd striker. I've never liked him as a CAM. I've yet to see anything about Wood that is impressive.

[J-Mezzy]

I was really hoping that the team was able to beat Chile's B team but the defense is atrocious

[PANDEMONEUM]

we have a BIG identity problem
we dont have one
wer not a defensive team
wer not an attacking team
we dont score on set pieces (anymore)
no team speed

at the WC, non-usa fans, liked our effort, grit, and that we dont dive or complain
i dont feel like we are even an "effort" team anymore

imo, this is my biggest issue with Jurgen
hes in year 5 of being in charge, and we dont have a system or an identity

[PANDEMONEUM]

im ready to move on from Altidore and Dempsey
ive never liked Altidre
imo, if hes not scoring goals, hes worthless out there
he has a very low workrate
and for a team like usa, we cant afford a player like that
we are a mediocre to low scoring team
so, we can be defensive, possession, or high effort
i dont think Altidore fits in any of those descriptions

the Dempsey that we have been seeing of late, also has a low work rate
maybe because its a "meaningless" friendly, he doesnt put in the effort
maybe now that hes made his $ and is not looking to go to a "better" league, he feels like he can turn it on when he wants. but for team usa, this is UNacceptable.
give me someone who has a higher workrate with a little less skills


high effort/workrate IS a skill

*

imo, we need our GK to play his A game every time
we need a DM
those 2 things are standard for usa
i would like our players to be interchangeable on the field so we are not stuck in certain roles and positions. the best guy we had for that was Donovan. the next guy we have is Fabian. but thats still a huge dropoff of quality.
systems now are trending to more fluidity
for our team and skill set i feel like the 4-1-2-3 formation is best for our player pool
its very flexible and can change and adjust as the game dictates
the standard is that "1" the Defensive Mid, DM
this is our strongest position with multiple options
Jones, Beckerman, Cameron, Edu, Bradley, Trapp, Kitchen, Williams
then our next strongest the Center Mid, CM
we can go with box to box guys, 1 CM 1 AM
we have flexibility
Bradley, Bedoya, Diskerud, Ngyuen, Zusi
i am very excited about this group and possibility of 2 of them on the field together

what if we could have Bradley and Bedoya in the middle
they cover so much ground, and have super high workrates
x..........x..........x
.....mb........ab
..........DM
put a defensive mid behind them and they are free to go where they need to

another look, what if we have 2 Attacking Mids there like
mix and ngyuen
with bradley or jones behind them
our possession and attacking could increase
then if we have a lead we have plenty of other Mids and DMs we could sub in, to close out the game


sorry ive been spouting this 4-1-2-3 nonsense for a while
sorry if its getting old

[fatlever]

who do you have in mind for the front 3 positions heading into the next cycle? wide guys - fabian (or do you like him better as a fullback?), yedlin (same), green (still waiting), johannsson (is he healthy yet?), zusi? shea?

[LittleOzzy]

One win in last nine? USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann explains reasons behind rough patch

The US national team has won just one of its past nine games, dating to the group stage in last summer's World Cup, and is winless in its last five outings after Chile rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Yanks last week.

Fitness, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann noted following Wednesday's defeat in Rancagua, is an issue, just one among many, and according to him it points to the evolution of the USA as a soccer nation.

“In many different ways, [the results are] explainable. The tension drops after the World Cup. I think all of the teams go through that, but I think the more experienced teams, the teams that have far more peer pressure in their environment, they maybe allow themselves to drop 10 or 20 percent and not 30 or 50 percent. That is the difference to what we deal with [in] the aftermath of the World Cup in Brazil.”

That drop-off has shown up in a series of poor second halves to matches, with the US conceding late goals in October draws with Ecuador and Honduras, November defeats to Colombia and Ireland, and when Chile tallied twice in the final 25 minutes as the Americans wasted another early lead.

Klinsmann believes education is paramount, and he's working to ensure his pool understands what they need to do with their club teams and during the offseason.

“It's an educational topic we try to talk them through. You've got to understand again to take these things in your own hands, and whatever you lack in that moment, when these phases happen, that you have to work yourself back: 'OK, I understand that I'm not where I should be now ... for sure I'm behind now, so I've got to get myself back into pole position,' and that's what they're going through right now. They've lost their pole position because [the World Cup] was a lot for them. [And] our players are not yet in an environment where they actually get put into line right away.”

The current fitness issue is mostly about players coming off of offseason breaks and needing to build fitness, according to Klinsmann. The January camp always has been seen as something of a preseason gathering, but Klinsmann said the friendlies with Chile and Panama on Sunday (4 pm ET, ESPN and UniMas) redefine it as something more. He'd like to see them further along with their fitness when they arrive in camp.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... hind-rough

[PANDEMONEUM]

who do you have in mind for the front 3 positions heading into the next cycle? wide guys - fabian (or do you like him better as a fullback?), yedlin (same), green (still waiting), johannsson (is he healthy yet?), zusi? shea?

Im ready to move on from Dempsey and Altidore
But for sure Jurgen is not.
They both only work in the middle, but barely because of their low work rates.

Imagine zardes, johannsson, agudelo
With bradley and bedoya behind them
And a DM behind them

If we have Garza and Yedlin as FBs,
Then Fabian can be one of those high wings.
Im a big fan of Zusi, and he would also fit in that wing position
Green has a long way to go, and I have low expectations of him.
Shea one of my faves is a great late game sub. I dont trust him yet for 90mins. Let's hope in Orlando he can put together some quality games. Some talk of converting him to L.FB. I think wing or outside mid suits him just fine.

If we have goal scoring types up top we can go with center mids behind them. If we go with wingers/mids we can put 2 attacking mids behind them, like mix and ngyuen.

My whole thinking is the front 3 are interchangeable and can play in any of the front 3 roles. we are very easy to read right now. Our movements are stale and predictable.

[LittleOzzy]

Jozy Altidore says USMNT struggles part of "transition" to new World Cup cycle in Fox Sports 1 interview

t’s been quite the year already for Jozy Altidore.

From the headline-grabbing move from the English Premier League to MLS with Toronto FC to rejoining the US national team amidst their post-World Cup struggles, Altidore has been front and center in the American soccer world in 2015.

And in an interview on America’s Pregame on Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday, Altidore discussed all of it. He said he feels the national team struggles are do mostly in part to transitioning from a grueling World Cup in Brazil to a new cycle with new players, and that they will turn things around when it matters after having won just once in their last nine matches, with three straight losses after last week's 3-2 defeat to Chile.

The team’s current January camp is made up of a mixture of mainstays such as Altidore and younger players just beginning their senior-team careers.

“You have a lot of young guys coming in and getting their first caps, and I think they need their time to get accustomed to the higher level,” Altidore said. “And I think that’s a natural process that any national team goes through.”

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... ycle-fox-s" target="_blank

USMNT's Jermaine Jones confesses to discomfort in new 3-5-2 role: "That system, for me it's not easy"

Jurgen Klinsmann gave the 3-5-2 formation a go for 45 minutes in the US national team's loss last week in Chile, and it went much as might be expected.

There were a few good things that emerged and plenty that needs an awful lot of work, hardly surprising, given that the Yanks had never trained under Klinsmann in the system until the current camp.

Jermaine Jones' third outing in his USMNT transition to center back didn't go particularly well in Wednesday's 3-2 defeat, and the formation had something to do with that.

“I always say when I lose, I don't play good. I don't feel I was playing good,” Jones said Monday. “Of course, new formation, new system [and new position], it's not easy. I would say I prefer, of course, to play more midfield, but if I go back [to the backline], I prefer to play in a back four.

“Still, the coach has an idea with three in the back, but sometimes it's tough. To see that formation, see that whole system, for me it's not easy ... Chile was not one of my best games.”

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... e-its-not-" target="_blank

[magik9113]

2-0

[EArl]

Looks like we got a solid win against Panama.

[Black Lavender]

Looks like we got a solid win against Panama.

I think the final score says more about how poor Panama is than how well the US played. The back-line in particular continued to look poor. Yedlin and Shea both struggled to get forward and when they did their crossing was sub par. Rimando wasn't tested much, but his distribution was really poor. Dempsey could have easily been sent off in the first half for a two handed shove of a defender. On the bright side, Bradley looked like the Bradley from a couple of years ago and Zardes had a nice performance, though he trailed off a bit in the 2nd half. I'm curious to see how much longer Wondolowski will continue to get looks. He lacked composure today whiffing on a shot from the 6 and spent more time chirping at Panamanian defenders than getting involved in the attack.

[EArl]

I just saw a replay of Bradley's goal. That was a nice corner kick goal. (Gol Olimpico as they are called)


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5SzMG9u5YQ[/youtube]

[PANDEMONEUM]

USA vs Denmark
March 25, 2015
2 PM CT
NRGi Park; Århus, Denmark
ESPN2, WatchESPN, UniMás, UDN

3 weeks from today

heard the players in Denmark are unhappy about their national team
not sure the details, something about $

i want an all Euro based team

.............Johannsson
......Bedoya............Rubin
...............Hyndman
........Williams - Morales
Fabian - Brooks - Cameron - Yedlin
................Guzan

[PANDEMONEUM]

http://www.ussoccer.com/matches/mnt/2015/150325-mnt-v-den#tab-2

Forwards-
Jozy Altidore
Clint Dempsey - OUT, hamstring injury
Miguel Ibarra - WHY? he is not international quality
Aron Johannsson
Gyasi Zardes - very happy and excited to see him. hope he starts
Rubio Rubin -

Midfielder-
Alejandro Bedoya
Michael Bradley
Julian Green
Danny Williams - has been starting and going 90 for Reading. glad to see him back
Alfredo Morales

Defenders-
Fabian Johnson
Ventura Alvarado - i believe he is a CB. im ready to see him over Orozco and Ream
John Brooks
Timmy Chandler
Greg Garza
Michael Orozco - not international quality
Tim Ream - versatile. but is always good for 1 big mistake
Brek Shea
DeAndre Yedlin

Goalkeepers-
Cody Cropper
William Yarbrough
Nick Rimando

[PANDEMONEUM]

what I, would like to see

................zardes
rubin...............................aron
.........bradley - bedoya
...............williams
garza - brooks - alvarado - fabian
...............rimando

but, JK loves him some Altidore
and he probably starts Shea over Garza
and i dont see how Alvarado gets a start in his first call up

[tmanjr121]

IDK if this was already discussed but did anyone hear that FAGundez isn't gonna play for the MNT. What do u guys think about his decision ?