World Cup Thread.

shmessy said:

Yeah, I would. Good stuff - - I enjoyed many of the non-U.S. games the past couple of weeks.

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If you want to watch great soccer follow the EUAFA Champions League, you will see most of the best players from this World Cup in it playing for their Club Teams, after that I would recommend The EPL (English Premiere League) which is the best Club League there is, and then the Euro''s, which will be in 2016, with the best Euro Sides playing for the European Title, which is really only second to the World Cup in terms of quality.

Hmmm.... Great defense, with an offense that can't do much.... Why does that sound so familiar?

BritPat said:

A performance full of character and grit and determination who simply didn't know when they were beaten. I'm embarrassed to call myself English after seeing a performance like that compared to the shambles we demonstrated.

The commentators on the BBC and the guys in the studio loved the game and your performance.

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What he said!

Folks who are criticizing the U.S. team are like the Pats gameday thread. I know it's hard in the middle of a game to accept that your team is hanging in with total commitment against a more talented side, but that's the way it was. I'd be incredibly proud of the way that they played.

As for getting more talent, it isn't a matter of size and athleticism but skill on the ball (though skill with size and athleticism is good too).

You should listen to Klinsmann. The problem isn't the siphoning off of players to other sports or even the competition levels in MLS. It's the youth development system. You have to take gifted child players into elite training academies early and then put them into top-level competition when they're ready. It's OK for the NFL to let colleges do the development work and take players who will only be playing at their top level when they're 23 or 24 but it's just not possible for soccer. Look at James Rodriguez, look at Joel Campbell.

The problem as I see it is that young athletes in this country simply are not interested in becoming soccer players - instead they are more interested in other sports like basketball and football and recreational activities like baseball (not a sport IMO). Thus, we end up with players like graham zusi, who probably wouldn't crack the German squad.

Overall, I was underwhelmed by the U.S. performance. They played well against Portugal and not so well against Germany and Belgium. Based on how well they played over the last several years, I honestly thought this team had a chance to make it to the final 8.

The team clearly needs more skilled players. Donovan would have helped a lot, as you can't rely on Dempsey to provide all the offense. Donovan, Dempsey and altidore probably would have gotten this team into the quarter finals.

TommyBrady12 said:

The problem as I see it is that young athletes in this country simply are not interested in becoming soccer players - instead they are more interested in other sports like basketball and football and recreational activities like baseball (not a sport IMO).

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I think this is exactly why USA is behind in soccer, and it's not a bad thing. Football and basketball attract all the freak athletes (can you imagine Rondo or Lebron on a soccer field...), and I'm glad they do, I find those sports much more interesting, particularly football. What other sport attracts the range of sizes, speeds & strengths as football?

Aaaaaand my World Cup viewing is done. Take it easy, fellas and good luck to your respective countries.

KontradictioN said:

Aaaaaand my World Cup viewing is done. Take it easy, fellas and good luck to your respective countries.

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The fun of the World Cup isn't the U.S. team that was ballsy but not very good. That's kind of like not watching the NFL playoffs once your team is out if you're, say, a Dolphins fan.

Tons of great games coming up - far better than ones we played in.

BelichickFan said:

The fun of the World Cup isn't the U.S. team that was ballsy but not very good. That's kind of like not watching the NFL playoffs once your team is out if you're, say, a Dolphins fan.

Tons of great games coming up - far better than ones we played in.

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I like and enjoy the sport of American football a lot more than football/soccer. I said from the beginning that I was only interested in watching because my country was in it. I'm not going to badmouth the sport on the way out, though. If at I'm at a bar and there's a match on, I'll probably follow the match but I'm not going to make it a point to watch the WC with the U.S. out. Just a personal preference.

KontradictioN said:

I like and enjoy the sport of American football a lot more than football/soccer.

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I know, me too. But I will be watching for sure, too many great games.

KontradictioN said:

I like and enjoy the sport of American football a lot more than football/soccer. I said from the beginning that I was only interested in watching because my country was in it. I'm not going to badmouth the sport on the way out, though. If at I'm at a bar and there's a match on, I'll probably follow the match but I'm not going to make it a point to watch the WC with the U.S. out. Just a personal preference.

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Fair enough -- thanks for joining in.

BradyManny said:

I think this is exactly why USA is behind in soccer, and it's not a bad thing. Football and basketball attract all the freak athletes (can you imagine Rondo or Lebron on a soccer field...), and I'm glad they do, I find those sports much more interesting, particularly football. What other sport attracts the range of sizes, speeds & strengths as football?

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*sigh*

Yeah, they'd be about as useful as they would running the 10,000 metres. Soccer isn't a game that requires you to be a balletic giraffe.

Mike the Brit said:

*sigh*

Yeah, they'd be about as useful as they would running the 10,000 metres. Soccer isn't a game that requires you to be a balletic giraffe.

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Great article on what the US needs
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...lgium-usmnt-player-development-joe-posnanski/

I agree that lebron is too tall to play soccer or even american football. However, it is clear the US needs game breakers - where was our Thomas Muller?

Mike the Brit said:

What he said!

Folks who are criticizing the U.S. team are like the Pats gameday thread. I know it's hard in the middle of a game to accept that your team is hanging in with total commitment against a more talented side, but that's the way it was. I'd be incredibly proud of the way that they played.

As for getting more talent, it isn't a matter of size and athleticism but skill on the ball (though skill with size and athleticism is good too).

You should listen to Klinsmann. The problem isn't the siphoning off of players to other sports or even the competition levels in MLS. It's the youth development system. You have to take gifted child players into elite training academies early and then put them into top-level competition when they're ready. It's OK for the NFL to let colleges do the development work and take players who will only be playing at their top level when they're 23 or 24 but it's just not possible for soccer. Look at James Rodriguez, look at Joel Campbell.

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Right on the money, and the US didn't just hang in against a more talented Belgian side, they hung in for four straight games against more skilled teams, and that was a massive achievement. Record aside they played an outstanding tournament and i would say that anyone who doesn't realize that really doesn't know much about soccer.

Klinsmann is right and the US Soccer federation should follow his suggestions and keep him around for a long time, if they do it will pay off down the road, if not then i have serious doubts about the road ahead. I have a feeling guys like Lalas and Garber are gunning for him because of his stance on the MLS, and they will try to get him replaced with a coach who will be subservient to MLS interests, we'll see if they succeed?


James Rodriquez is a star in the making, Abromovich is getting the checkbook out as we speak.

TommyBrady12 said:

Great article on what the US needs
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...lgium-usmnt-player-development-joe-posnanski/

I agree that lebron is too tall to play soccer or even american football. However, it is clear the US needs game breakers - where was our Thomas Muller?

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Undeveloped as of yet, the stars you speak of come from countries that have known how to construct a system to develop that talent, the US hasn't figured that out yet.

TommyBrady12 said:

Great article on what the US needs
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...lgium-usmnt-player-development-joe-posnanski/

I agree that lebron is too tall to play soccer or even american football. However, it is clear the US needs game breakers - where was our Thomas Muller?

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LeBron has the athletic ability to play goal had he had the long term training, and 6'6 small forwards and 6'4 WR's also have the ability to play soccer,however the cultural push for most of them is towards basketball.

I watched the American kickball team in a couple of its games. It's sort of like baseball, where you can get plenty of work done while it's on and not miss anything. The only time you have to look up is when the announcer's voice gets excited, which happens every 10 minutes or so.

What they need to do is cut the field in half and THEN you'd have an exciting sport to watch.

TommyBrady12 said:

Great article on what the US needs
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...lgium-usmnt-player-development-joe-posnanski/

I agree that lebron is too tall to play soccer or even american football. However, it is clear the US needs game breakers - where was our Thomas Muller?

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LeBron could absolutely play American Football. As a TE, he'd be unstoppable. As a matter of fact, he used to play football. That Wade to LeBron full court alley-oop that they had a couple of years ago was basically a deep post...

KontradictioN said:

LeBron could absolutely play American Football. As a TE, he'd be unstoppable. As a matter of fact, he used to play football. That Wade to LeBron full court alley-oop that they had a couple of years ago was basically a deep post...

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Lebron James at 6'9 and 250lbs or whatever he is remains one of the most purely athletic people in the world. He's a freak, and I am certain he would dominate in either football or soccer, if he chose to play it. He's bigger than Gronk and is much, much more athletic. He might be too soft for football, but from a physical standpoint, he'd be a beast.

Rondo would excel in either too.

People need to come to grips with the fact that if you are a top young athlete in the USA, you aren't going to pursue soccer over football or basketball. Therefore, the US soccer team is pulling from a pool of athletes deprived of most of its elite. It has nothing to do with said athlete being incapable of playing soccer. I don't see any way that changes any time soon.

BelichickFan said:

The fun of the World Cup isn't the U.S. team that was ballsy but not very good. That's kind of like not watching the NFL playoffs once your team is out if you're, say, a Dolphins fan.

Tons of great games coming up - far better than ones we played in.

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I think the US is a good team i just don't think they are skilled enough to play even with the best programs in the world, they got by on heart and goaltending but if you are watching the flow of play each team they faced in this WC had more skilled players and was able to dominate control and possession as such. If they can get close to even in terms of fielding skilled players they will have a really great team because all the intangibles are there, they just aren't as good individually. Over and over I heard Lalas making veiled complaints that Klinsmann had promised a more aggressive team and failed but the truth of the matter is that is posturing by Lalas and you cannot be aggressive without the ball, and they simply don't have the skills to maintain possession unless all of their best players are out there and playing there very best. When Altidore went down they had no one to replace him and Klinsmaann was forced to play Dempsey and Bradley higher up and their ability to maintain possession disapeared once that happen ed, however even with them they would not have won the possession battles in those matches, they just would have done better than they did. In the future they will have to develop field players who can match up at that level because i doubt they can count on goaltending at the level Howard provided in this WC. IMO he will be named the goalie on the all toutnament team, despite not making the quarterfinals.