Is this the USMNT future?

March 23, 2012 Leave a comment

With the Olympics rapidly approaching, I have been thinking a lot about the future of football in the United States. The Olympics is a solid indicator for the future potential of a national football program as almost every player must be under-23 to be on the roster.

Change takes time. You did not hear that first here. Jürgen Klinsmann’s appointment as the US Men’s National Team head coach almost eight months ago really is not that long in a national program context. I think short-term course corrections are possible, but long-term impact takes on the order of four years to take hold. Surely Klinsmann’s talent as a coach in putting the right players in situations that could yield success cannot be questioned after defeating four-time World Cup winners Italy in Italy. But I don’t think he can be held too responsible for the current performance on his team or even the U23 team. But the wily German is responsible for coaching appointments, and he astutely ensured that the coach of the 2010 NCAA Division I Soccer champions was appointed as the U23 head coach. Coach Caleb Porter enabled an immediate connection of an immense wealth of player knowledge in the US to the U23 team for nearly free.

On the same day Klinsmann steered the senior squad to victory over a young but still strong Italy squad (in Italy no less), Porter’s squad made the Mexico U23 team look like a middle school team. In my mind, there is no stronger rivalry for the US than Mexico. I personally take great satisfaction and disappointment for every win and loss. The U23 team’s handling of Mexico was a great showing, but there was a more important conclusion in my opinion. What I saw was potential.

If you take the top Division I coach and put him in charge of players who mostly came through US college soccer, you’d expect to see that style football. But, what I saw was very different. I saw an emphasis on possession and poise and technical ability, instead of an emphasis on strength and fitness (not saying those weren’t there…it just wasn’t the emphasis). What I saw was attacking and aggressive football. Joe Gyau dazzled and Freddy Adu displayed some of the finest technical skills I’ve ever seen on a US player. What I saw was exciting.

Excitement was quite the opposite of what I saw in the U23 team against Cuba last night. I admit that my bad attitude might be in-part due to my only option was a Spanish-language station, but you should certainly not be impressed by the score line. Cuba was greatly overmatched, exacerbated by going a man down in the 20th minute to a straight red card (not to mention mentally gimped by wearing mismatching jerseys with sleeve patches that were dangling in the breeze before halftime). We had some strong moments where we displayed the potential I saw in the Mexico game. OVerall, we were lazy and complacent. We repeatedly played unchallenged balls out of play, gave the ball up in our own half more than we should have, and our front line really didn’t deserve six goals. Performances like that might get a good result against a shorthanded and weaker squad, but it will not yield good results against Italy, France, Brazil, and other countries known for strong youth development

I know that a hat trick is a very noteworthy achievement, especially one in an international match that matters, but in my entire life I have never seen an uglier one than Joe Corona’s. His first goal was fair, third was deflected slightly, and his second goal was off his shin. I give him credit for consistently getting into threatening space and having a well-developed nose for the goal, but these three goals were against Cuba. I’ll take Adu’s scorcher from 21 yards or Juan Aguedelo’s blistered header any day…those goals would go in against Italy and France and Brazil.

By the way, Freddy Adu continues to impress me, even after the Cuba match. He is ridiculously talented for an American…if only he were five inches taller people would take him more seriously (even though he is an inch taller than these clowns: Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta).

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Does America have enough patience for Jürgen Klinsmann?

November 14, 2011 Leave a comment

I don’t think I am overstating when I suggest that humanity’s collective attention span is in serious retrograde. The amount of stimulus and information to which a human is subjected is drastically larger than it was 21 years ago. It was only that long ago when the US Men’s National Soccer Team started regularly qualifying for the World Cup. “Back then” there was no Web browser, no iPod, and no smart phone…heck, a mobile phone was larger and heavier than the Scooby Doo lunch box I took to grade school. The advent of the “information age” gave me serious pause as I watched yet another lackluster performance by our US Men’s National Soccer Team. It caused me to wonder if America has enough patience for our new coach, Jürgen Klinsmann.

I admire Klinsmann greatly for his football acumen and on-field performances, both as a player and a coach. His statements about his vision and our program truly excite me. I believe that he is exactly what America needs. Like most coaches, he faces a very difficult battle to drag America out of footballing obscurity. It should be no surprise to you that I strongly contend that we must entirely tear down football in America and build it back-up from a new foundation. Achieving something as large as this cannot be done overnight and I fear that America’s default expectation that “we want it, and we want it now” will lead to Klinsmann’s sacking. That would be a tremendous shame.

What kind of battle does Klinsmann face? Let’s examine our latest effort against France last Friday. Starting from the back, you see the battles immediately. The defense was surely solid defensively, but solid defensive skills are not enough to compete at the highest level. We suffered from horrible distribution from the back line in transition to the attack. Both Steve Cherundolo and Timothy Chandler consistently played balls up the line either out or with too much pace for the receiver to handle. In classic American style, defensive panic resulted in balls played over the top which we rarely won. France’s pace in the attack was very difficult for us to match. When you’re constantly playing off your back foot, you will eventually make a mistake that will lead to an easy scoring opportunity. If not for the brilliance of Tim Howard, we could easily have lost that game by at least 2 – 0.

In the midfield, I have mostly only one point to make: enough of Beckerman already!!! (Jürgen: you’ve given this guy more than a fair chance to make an impact in the game.) Beckerman is a great example of our endemic lack of technical skills. He consistently gives the ball up in possession, starts absolutely nothing on the attack, and struggles to maintain control of the ball in all but the easiest situations (but he sure is a solid and aggressive tackler, isn’t he?) (Jürgen: I’ve never been a Michael Bradley fan, but Bradley has out-performed Sasquatch…put him back in already!)

On the attack, I love the physicality and confidence with which Jozy Altidore is playing. If he had better service from the back and better support in the attack, we might actually have goal scoring opportunities in the future. We must attack with gusto. Right now, our best effort is Altidore making a crafty turn for a deflected shot. I want to see outside mids and backs blowing down the field and serving sitters to a striker polishing his nails on the penalty spot.

Oh, and please don’t waste my time with the trite sentiment that “if we could ever get Landon on the field with Clint, we’d do well.” Hello?!?! They both played in the last two World Cups together, right? The one where we embarrassingly didn’t make it out of groups and the other where we couldn’t beat a country just slightly larger than Minnesota to get beyond the Round of 16, yes? So, exactly what are we waiting for?

Already the “experts” are talking about Klinsmann not delivering on his promise of progress. It is true that a 1-4-1 record is dismal, especially considering some of the opponents. Ambitious changes like Klinsmann has articulated will take nearly ten years to be fully realized; begin now without our youth program, boys aged 8 to 10 years old, then add 10 and you’ve got your team.

And that’s exactly my concern: I’m not sure America has the patience to see such a strategic change to our footballing systems through to the end. It is going to get worse before it gets better…the real question is if Klinsmann can keep his job while our current batch of U10 boys teams can come fully through the new systems and bring home the World Cup someday (hopefully in my lifetime). In the meantime, Klinsmann might be better off flogging the old American style with the same player base until the youth programs start churning out the players we need to compete at the highest level (such as against France or Spain).

Do I have a message of hope? Absolutely! Current players Daniel Williams and Brek Shea and Edson Buddle and Maurice Edu give me hope. These are players who break the traditional mold of American footballers: creative, fearless, and technically skilled. Go get smart players like Tim Ream in the back who defend well and distribute better and I believe we’ll be on the right path to achieving Klinsmann’s vision very soon.

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Me and my big mouth

November 2, 2011 3 Comments

After going on ad nauseam about the state of football in the United States, I suggested that what we need most is experienced and qualified coaches serving our local and recreational teams. After some reflection, I decided to follow through and coach a boys team (U10) in the local recreation league. Why not? I no longer drive four to fourteen hours for my own kid’s matches…I have plenty of time on my hands.

Famous last words.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for all. I articulated my goal of developing passionate footballers with the boys and their parents …nothing more, nothing less. Despite the fact that we had only one win and two draws, I feel I accomplished that goal for the most part.

During the nine week season, we had 13 training sessions and 12 matches, each at least an hour long. Each player showed up for an average of 9 matches, and played an average of over 70% of each match…I have the spreadsheets to back that up (I am a bit addicted to spreadsheets). The point I am trying to make is that each boy had an average of 345 minutes of match experience and the opportunity for 780 minutes of training. That is a lot of touches on the ball. Beyond the math of the experience, I learned a bit about coaching football and a lot about youth players.

First of all, I’ll be honest with you: volunteering to coach recreational soccer takes a ton of time. Among other things, it kept me from posting here. The fact that I don’t have to travel too far to the training and matches gives me even more respect for coaches who drive significant distances to coach. I doubt that many of the paid coaches are even breaking even considering the gas prices of late. I estimate I spent at least 37 1/2 hours during the past nine weeks on just training and matches. That doesn’t include phone calls, e-mails, and other administration efforts.

Also, the attention span of an average U10 boy is less than seven seconds. I struggled with that because some of the elite youth players I’ve observed have significantly longer attention spans for football. When describing a technique or drill, over half the boys would be lost in the first 20 seconds and nearly all of them would be mentally disconnected if I talked longer than 30 seconds. The first adjustment I made was greatly simplifying drills and incrementally demonstrating techniques. For example, show them a move, have them perform the move, then have them count how many times they could make the move in 60 seconds, then show them a twist on the move or a new move, have them perform the move, etc. To be clear, there were about three boys who paid deep attention to everything I did and said. Those are the boys on whom I am pinning our entire country’s hope for a World Cup.

Those boys were not, however, the most athletic ones in the group. Not by a long shot, actually. The two most gifted athletes on the team and the best soccer players really never worked hard or paid attention. The sheer power of their natural talent made them shine. It is important to note that this will only lead these two boys to undoubtedly becoming three-sport-lettering-jocks at whatever high school they attend. They will likely never go far in a professional context unless they change drastically. Becoming a professional footballer starts with their outstanding athletic ability but requires incredibly hard work and dedication and a little bit of luck. If you are finding this difficult to comprehend and are interested to hear more, I highly suggest you listen to the coaches’ responses during this 10 minute interview about making a squad. You’ll need to turn the volume up when the coaches respond to the interviewer’s questions.

I also learned about coaching players whose native language is not English. I had three refugee families and a first-generation Chinese family on the team. I tried giving them the typical parent treatment: here is your parent meeting, here is your detailed schedule, here are my expectations…see you at the end of the season. That just did not work for these non-English speaking families. What ended up happening was that their boy would miss an activity and then would be lost to the team for an extended period. To overcome this, I would reach out to these families directly and ensure they understood only the very next activity, and nothing more. My wife and daughter would laugh every time I used a special voice on the phone with them, but it was the only way I could reach them. It is wonderful that their boys got signed up to play recreational soccer, but I struggled with the amount of time the parents could devote to supporting their boy…it was significantly less than the other families. I drove one player to every training and match, unless the match was at the field around the corner from his house.

Otherwise, the support given to the boys by their parents was fantastic. Realistic encouragement and positivity was the rule, not the exception, and that was very motivating. Also, I appreciate the amount of time they spent dragging their boys to and from training or matches as well as following up with them on my behalf with their “homework.” But the most personally rewarding aspect was their honest appreciation of my efforts. They went above and beyond when compared to my previous coaching gigs; in some part, I think, because I did not have a son of my own on the team. I also got the strong sense of appreciation from the parents that they were happy with their players’ progression.

Surprisingly, I was also encouraged by my peer coaches. A few of them had very significant playing experience and were very good with kids. I still strongly believe that the US needs coaches who both love youth soccer players and have loads of football skills themselves…one or the other won’t lead us to a World Cup.

What is in store for The Grumpy Footballer in the future? I think I will continue my coaching certification in the upcoming off-season and grab another recreational team next season. After all, it is the only way we’re bringing home the World Cup, right?

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In Klinsmann we trust?

August 4, 2011 1 Comment

Just in case you’re living under a rock, Coach Bob is gone. I’m appreciative of his efforts as the Head Coach of the US Men’s National Team and know he maximized the results from the rostered players, but I’ve never thought of Bradley as anything more than a tactical placeholder for coaching. I’ve always hoped for a strategic visionary that can lead the US out of the 80s. Is Jürgen Klinsmann that person? Maybe…maybe not. Only time will tell.

So far, I am encouraged by Klinsmann’s actions. During US Soccer’s press conference introducing him as Coach Bob’s replacement, he spoke to a lot of points that confirmed my previously felt confidence that he could have a significant and positive impact on soccer in America. He won’t just select and manage the players served to him by the existing system. He said he is interested in improving soccer at “the grass-roots level” and recognizes that the diverse sports culture in the US makes ”technical capabilities” and decision making abilities well behind those in other countries. I have to be totally honest: I could listen to a loop of Jürgen Klinsmann saying “technical capabilities” all day long! He also acknowledged that he must account for America’s fascination with higher education. It requires him to integrate collegiate soccer into his plan instead of ignoring it as his European peers can do. Finally, Klinsmann is coming in at a time where he has the ability to influence the hiring of the U-20 and U-23 coaches, which goes a long way towards him being able to put his stamp on all of US soccer.

In naming his squad for the US’s upcoming “friendly” against Mexico, I think he made some really interesting decisions. The first (and obvious) thing Klinsmann got right is that the roster looks nothing like the tired and beleaguered squad that was embarrassed by Mexico in the Gold Cup final. I want to see a significantly different set of tactics and formation for next Wednesday’s match before I totally support Klinsmann’s roster choices. I will be very disappointed if he just throws a bunch of new players out there with the same strategy and tactics. I was encouraged that he tapped one of my favorites in Torres, even though he fell out of favor recently for understandable reasons. Also, the injection of very fresh talent (Shea, Pearce, Castillo, Orozco, and Hamid) really expands the player pool, giving Klinsmann the opportunity to see as many players as possible. Sure, part of this is due to the fact that some players like Dempsey and Holden are not available, but I believe it is also part of Klinsmann’s claim that he is looking to adopt a different style, perhaps with more Latin American flavors.

I don’t truthfully expect the US to overcome Mexico in next week’s “friendly” unless Mexico selects nothing but new players to their roster, giving them the ability to lay a loss of an unimportant match on youth. If Mexico has the Gold Cup roster (even without Chicharito), I don’t think we stand a chance. But that doesn’t matter: what I do expect to see is a ton of attacking soccer which has been sorely missing from our US Men’s National team for a very, very long time.

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John Feinstein is an idiot

July 12, 2011 1 Comment

Some of my favorite sports books were authored by John Feinstein. I read and loved his book about Army-Navy football titled “A Civil War” and found “A Good Walk Spoiled” entertaining and worth reading. I certainly have a lot or respect for a writer willing to go off the beaten path and write so passionately about our military academies.

Until this weekend.

This overinflated, pompous windbag had the audacity to proudly state on CSN this weekend that he was watching CC Sabathia instead of the unbelievable United States Women’s National Team match this weekend. Feinstein claims that soccer isn’t “a real sport.” This intellectually stunted opinion is based on his claim that a sport must be decided “by playing the sport.” Because a soccer match can end in penalty kicks, as the United States Women’s National team did this weekend, all of soccer isn’t a sport. And to think I actually gave Feinstein some credit as a reporter.

Seriously, John…do your homework. First,  a tiny percentage of matches can end-up in penalty kicks. Only tournaments that have a single elimination phase can end in penalty kicks and, even then, only a small percentage of those matches actually ever go to penalty kicks. An English Premier Team will play 38 matches in a regular season, not one of them ending in penalty kicks. Second, a penalty kick is described in the FIFA rules explicitly as a result of an infraction resulting normally in a direct free kick. A penalty kick is as much a part of soccer as a free throw is a part of basketball, a field goal is part of football, and a home run is part of baseball. Third, the Yankees over your National Team? That’s a pretty telling sign…you know what: the prosecution rests, your honor.

In the end, this is about the uphill battle the United States faces in trying to convert the ignoramuses among us. Sure, I probably should just turn the other cheek when someone like Feinstein shoots their uninformed mouth off (he’s never even been to a professional soccer game), but it is especially difficult to do so when it feels like we’re finally making progress towards becoming a respected presence on the international soccer stage (I know, I know…we’re America…”we don’t need no one’s respect”). For every Feinstein out there with a pulpit to bash soccer as a pretend sport, there are thousands of like-minded Americans chanting “you go, John” from the pews. I am certain that those who stuck with basketball after the introduction of the three-pointer or kept watching baseball even after it created the designated hitter can easily understand this point: someone who easily discounts an entire sport because of a minute detail really deserves no attention whatsoever.

So, John Feinstein: welcome to my ignore list. You’ll find your books on the curb this evening.

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Is there any hope for American soccer? (Part 3)

June 29, 2011 2 Comments

Warning: I do not intend to disparage the dedication and effort of youth coaches and recognize that not every rec league coach out there is a horrible soccer player. I also acknowledge that every national team player did not come from a background I describe below. What I describe are my observations and thoughts for the norm, not the exceptions.

As I was completing my coaching certification, my mind races at the potential in my newly found expertise. Perhaps my lowly license and passion for soccer could result in a team of U10s with the local club, guiding them to untold levels of success with every player (except the keeper) eventually winning a starting roster spot on the national team. Who knows, after that maybe I could continue to progress up the certification ladder and secure even more prestigious coaching assignments, eventually becoming Coach Bob’s replacement? Looking around the dingy indoor facility at my class of peers, I knew I was much more qualified than those clowns to coach at the highest level. Hell, three quarters of them couldn’t even trap the ball properly.

After I got over my überness and realized what a pompous jackass I was being, I felt myself falling into the trap that is a large cause of why the US has such an uphill battle in our quest to win a World Cup. Coaching youth soccer requires the ability to demonstrate the basic skills of soccer such as dribbling and shooting. Strategic vision, positioning advice, formations, and other “Special One” skills are unnecessary at the youth level. Showing a group of six year-olds how to dribble means you can’t look like a giraffe trying to catch a bus while demonstrating. As I watched a majority of my peers do their best impression of pendulums during a passing drill, it dawned on me that these people would end up coaching their local recreation teams. The more skilled coaches-to-be would likely dream of fame and glory and end up coaching a travelling or elite club team. That’s just completely what US soccer doesn’t need. The best coaches in the country should be focused on youth development; by youth I mean all youth, not just a small portion of already sufficiently skilled players from affluent families.

No, I’m not a communist advocating for the proletariat. Stick with me here…I’m going to move as quickly as I can through youth soccer today at the highest levels. Elite clubs trying to attract the most talented coaches must provide an incentive for those coaches, whether it is compensation, equipment, transportation, or the payment of your pub tab. No matter the compensation scheme, at some point it requires financial resources. Add to that cost those of the training facilities, insurance fees, administrative and marketing costs, and a myriad of other items and you’re starting to look like a business with a pretty large expense line. Even a not-for-profit club must strive for a revenue line that at least matches the expenses.

This is where I come in as an admitted Elite Parent of an Elite Soccer Player. There is no doubt that elite clubs with their elite coaches (and elite facilities, elite Web sites, elite uniforms, etc.) are attracting talented players. Unfortunately, access to these coaches does not come cheaply. I would not be far off when I suggest that over 75% of American households could not afford the “tuition” fees of elite soccer clubs in the US, especially considering the absurd rising costs of even the most basic needs. Is it reasonable to assume that the most talented players in the country would come from only the affluent segment of our population? Absolutely not; you’d have to be an idiot to believe that to be the case. Sure, there is “financial aid” for elite clubs, but I’m here to tell you that financial aid in these clubs is the exception and definitely not the norm. The best player I ever played with made All State our sophomore year. He played in K-Mart cleats and was brilliant, but he never played on our local travelling team and I could never imagine him and his family able to afford one of these modern elite clubs.

Just where are the talented players who cannot afford these elite clubs going? They might start out playing in their local recreation league being taught by a well-meaning but seriously unskilled coach. If for some odd reason they are able to make their way through this experience without turning to a different sport, they might end up playing high school soccer where access is supposedly based on skill. If they are lucky, their high school coach is talented and able to make up for lost time during that player’s development. It is much more likely, however, that the soccer coach is also the baseball coach or some insufferable schmuck who is trying to relive his or her glory days of high school soccer twenty years ago where tackle football and track tactics won games. Add to this the fact that the value of high school soccer (which is open to all) to professional and collegiate soccer is running a very weak second to “what club do you play for?” and you’re really left with a dysfunctional youth system. The systems does not enable identification and development of the best players in the country because it is only drawing from a small segment (the affluent, or the segment that doesn’t have to decide between eating and paying the light bill) of the overall community of players.

At this point you may be wondering how on Earth I could ever be hopeful for US soccer (remember: “¡claro!”). Consider this: we’ve qualified for the every World Cup during the last 20 years even though our national team is coming from only a subset of our entire population. While I am resigned to the fact that I will likely not see the World Cup won by the US in my lifetime, I feel that the pieces are in place for that to eventually happen. We have a fundamentally solid coaching system. It is just a matter of time where the increasing numbers of players transition to an increasing number of coaches, thereby allowing for better coaching at the recreation level. Better coaching at the recreation level means more players being developed, an overall larger player pool and, someday, the World Cup!

So what will I be doing? Despite the allure of a live-fast-die-young lifestyle as a coach in one of the local elite club systems, I’m considering putting my money where my mouth is and devoting myself to a new rec team every year at a very young age. After all, that’s where I’ll have the most impact,right?

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Is there any hope for American soccer? (Part 2)

April 18, 2011 Leave a comment

The mostly-well-intended former-basketball-player-and-current-baseball-coach who coaches his daughter in soccer during the off-season must be what is wrong with soccer in America, right? This is the guy who thinks that “finish” is only something you put on furniture or the woman who requires her players to “put it through” at every opportunity. Some of these coaches are even sophisticated enough to encourage their players by telling them they were “unlucky,” even though it was obviously lack of technique that resulted in the player blasting the ball yards over the bar. It must be the uninformed masses that are the cause of our soccer woes, right?

While I strongly feel that teaching kids to “put it through” without thought is nonsensical, I don’t think that the coaches I’ve just described are the reason America is lucky to barely get out of the groups in World Cup play. Let’s face it: we’re not a soccer-nation. Only 19% of respondents a Sports Illustrated poll two weeks ago said they will probably watch more Major League Soccer if there is an interruption in the National Football League, and I’m honestly shocked that number is so high. When I was a kid living in Scotland, before school, we’d play soccer. At recess, we’d play soccer. At lunch: soccer. After school: soccer. After dinner: soccer. Only one country of hundreds in the world that lives, eats, and breathes soccer. How can we compete with that?

And for the pompous amongst you who are snickering “Scotland…tee hee…when was the last time they were in a World Cup?”, consider that they qualify against England and France, where our toughest opponents for qualification are Mexico and, ummm…Costa Rica? Put Scotland in our qualifying group and I guarantee they get at least the same results as the United States, if not better.

It is our culture that is the issue, but it’s not because we don’t play a lot of soccer. The issue in our culture is one caused by our elitist attitude towards soccer and our narrow and privileged player-base.

(to be concluded in next post)

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Is there any hope for American soccer? (Part 1)

April 11, 2011 2 Comments

In a word: ¡claro!

Rarely a morning has gone by in the last 30 years where I’ve not stared at myself in the mirror and wondered “what the hell is wrong with soccer in America?”  We’re not an un-athletic culture. No one would ever accuse us of being anything short of manic-competitive. We certainly don’t lack financial resources. What could be holding us back from the spotlight on the international soccer stage?

Screaming at Coach Bob Bradley though my television or from the stands, I’ve exhorted that soccer in America really needs a complete reboot. The flaws in the system are endemic to the entire system and you cannot fix them without wholly tearing down the existing structure and re-build it from scratch. Save nothing. Accept the costs and the pain. The new head coaches of the Men’s and Women’s national teams must be given full authority and responsibility for the player and coaching development in America. Jürgen Klinsmann was to be our savior, if not for the inability of Sunil Gulati to release the reigns of control over US Soccer…Gulati was wrong and we’re stuck in status-quo purgatory as a result.

Even I’ve grown tired of my own whinging. To the complete shock of my family, I signed up for an entry-level coaching certification offered by the United States Soccer Federation. The plan was for our mild-mannered hero to complete this certification and subsequent certifications to be able to agitate from the inside for change and, if that didn’t work, at least be able to rant about it from a fully-informed reference point. But here is the thing: there’s nothing wrong with the curriculum…it is spot on. Everything, and I mean everything in the instruction materials I read was fantastic. Techniques, tactics, player and team development, and even parent management looked like they came directly from The Grumpy Footballer’s manual.

So, it must be the coaches, right?

(to be continued)

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US vs. Paraguay thoughts

March 30, 2011 1 Comment

If last night’s match of the US Men’s National Team against Paraguay was proof of anything, it validated that it is time to get rid of the “legacy” players and coaching and turn our attention towards the youth of the program. If we fail to recognize that a majority of our players with previous international experience need to be thanked and dropped, we will again be hard pressed to make it out of the group stage in the 2014 World Cup (assuming we even make it).

Agudelo, Chandler, Ream, and Lichaj proved themselves more than worthy of roster inclusion. Every one of these players showed abilities sorely missing from the squad: shocking creativity, extreme technical ability, and absolute fearlessness. I realize this is Paraguay and not Argentina or Brazil, but why on earth is this the first time we’ve seen Tim Ream? His composure and passing ability was nearly inconceivable for an American player.  The more “experienced” players on the team could barely adjust to his precise distributions. Also, let’s be clear about one thing: DeMerit is wholly at fault for Paraguay’s goal. Ream was on the ground but that would never have been an issue if DeMerit chose the safe and smart option for clearance instead of the risky gambit he tried. And what about Timmy Chandler’s aggressive runs on the outside?  Quite the contrast to Bocanegra and Bornstein bumbling down the sides, eh?  Finally, Agudelo’s consistently threatening play and game intelligence kept defenders from Argentina and Paraguay (not to mention South Africa) on their heels. I’m totally stoked to see him and Charlie Davies combine up top for the US as soon as Charlie is ready to come back at the international level.

What to do about all the “legacy?”  A hearty handshake and genuine appreciation for their service, but their service is no longer required. I’m not suggesting we gut every ounce of experience that we have because it is worth keeping some around. It’s just time to get rid of the players who are unable to adjust to the “new” style of American Soccer. Who do we keep?  From the 2010 roster: Donovan, Dempsey,  Howard, Goodson, and Holden.  That’s it. Say good-by to Bocanegra, Onyewu, Bornstein, Altidore, DeMerit, and Bradley.

Oh yeah, while we’re on the topic, it’s time for Daddy Bradley and his entire coaching staff to go, too. While Coach Bradley deserves credit for some sharp tactical decisions during games, his roster selection and commitment to certain “legacy” players has done us no good at all. The players he’s rostered while coach are all wonderfully skilled at the beautiful game, but so inconsistent it hurts to watch. We need both skills and consistency at the highest level of competition if we ever hope to see a semi-final.

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