So ... five year's after the fact Sunil Gulati finally found a way to wrangle in his fair-haired boy, Jürgen Klinsmann to the U.S. soccer fold.
Call it a (possibly) good day for U.S. Soccer and an (assuredly) great day for umlauts.
However you want to look at it, in the Baker's Boy, the U.S. has a bit of the best of both worlds: a legit German legend with both a World Cup and European Championship to his name as a player, who'd probably rather be a California beach bum. At least that's how it goes in theory.
He's the European coach some people seem to think is so imperative for the U.S. to take the next step in the World Cup "process," yet he's lived in America and is familiar with the unique flower that is soccer in the States. Again, in theory.
Naturally Klinsmann's surprise hiring -- after turning down the job in 2006 and 2010 -- makes you wonder how he and Gulati were finally able to figure out a deal. In fact, the hiring only raises questions. Hopefully these will be addressed Monday at the formal press conference in New York City.
For now, all there is are questions.
Will Klinsmann be the man to turn around U.S. Soccer?
Will he be the man to snap the senior national team out of its post-2010 World Cup doldrums?
Will he be able to inspire a young generation of players like he did during the 2006 World Cup with Germany?
Will he be able to turn the U.S. striker pool into the next generation of Rudi Völlers? (Mullets not included.)
Will he have to borrow some of Joachim Loew's ever-so-stylish cardigans to get the job done?
The bottom line, there's absolutely no rational way to project how successful Klinsmann's job with the U.S. will turn out. It's going to tough to evaluate it, really, until 2014 at the next World Cup -- assuming Klinsmann doesn't pull a Sven Goran-Eriksson style flop and put the U.S. in danger of not qualifying.
And what is success for the U.S. National Team at this point? World Cup quarterfinals? Semifinals? Smashing teams routinely 5-0 in CONCACAF?
Where we'll really see if Gulati was serious with Klinsmann this time around if there are institutional changes with the way U.S. Soccer runs its show. If there is money spent on new youth development coaches and trainers, trying to establish a pattern of play starting at a young age and moving through the ranks. One man can't make all that much of a difference, can he?
More than anything, it comes down to the players. You could create a Frankenstein's monster, using parts from Arrigo Sacchi, Brian Clough, Valery Lobanovsky, Herbert Chapman and Béla Guttmann, if the player's don't improve how much can (perceived) European tactical nous really do when push comes to shove? Look at Paraguay as a recent example at the Copa America. Gerardo Martino had a smart system and disciplined pros. It wasn't a fun team to watch, but Paraguay made the tournament final, eventually being outclassed by a better skilled team -- Uruguay.
The crazy thing was, under Bob Bradley the U.S. tended to play up or play down to its opponent. It could look great against a Spain or an Argentina while completely hapless against, say, Panama.
As it stands right now the U.S. national team pool is in a bit of flux. If Klinsmann's track record with Germany counts for anything, he wasn't beholden to play the old guard of German players and took the chance on a few younger players, although Loew seems to probably have been the driving force here as we've seen with how he unceremoniously told Michael Ballack his international career is over.
How that applies to the 30+ brigade of U.S. internationals? Time will tell.
For now it's a much-needed shot in the arm for the U.S. team, for better of worse.
If there's one concrete fact from today's Klinsmann hiring, it's that it's a different approach. Gulati and the rest of the USSF are trying something ... different. (Change for change sake?) Not sure why they strung Bradley along for almost another full year with the axe dangling above his head. Regardless, as Albert Einstein put it, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Anyway, enjoy the highlights.
Labels: bob bradley, jurgen klinsmann, Soccer, sunil gulati, USMNT
"You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." -- Richard Nixon
That was the first thought in the unexpected Thursday midway news that U.S. Soccer boss Sunil Gulati had "relieved" Bob Bradley of his coaching duties. It's been a fun ride, starting with this post in January 2007 and until today.
Naturally, with the end of the statement from the USSF adding a cryptic, "U.S. Soccer will have a further announcement on Friday," it only leads to more questions and speculation.
Namely the first thing pops into mind is why this happened in July 2011 as opposed to July 2010?
And who, if not Jürgen Klinsmann, will Gulati hire?
And did Gulati finally cow to the simmering anti-Bradley forces to take some of the pressure off of him and the rest of the people at the Soccer House in Chicago?
This certainly seems like Gulati throwing the angry mob some raw meat -- slapping Bradley's head on a pike as it were -- because nothing really changed with Bradley in the last 11 1/2 months. Bradley was still the same coach, with the same tendencies and blind spots for players -- (cough cough, Jonny Bornstein). He was boring and vanilla, yet a little savvier than he tended to let on in the media. You don't coach 43-25-12 as a coach, even in a cupcake region like CONCACAF, if you're incompetent.
Bradley Mach 2.0 did at least try to be different. He tried to creep away from the 4-4-2 into a more modern 4-5-1 formation. (Is it his fault the U.S. striking pool is virtually non-existent?)
Hell, Bradley even brought Freddy Adu(*) out from the European hinterlands for a run-out in the Gold Cup.
(*) Maybe this did more harm than good, as in the games Adu played he was the best U.S. player. Perhaps some at the USSF wondered why he was frozen out of the 2010 World Cup?
What did change, however, was a lingering stagnation that crept into the U.S. senior team. In losing the 2011 Gold Cup to Mexico, the old guard of Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo seemed old and tired compared to the fast and exciting Mexican team. The bridge of new players -- Juan Agudelo, et al -- seemed far away and the gap generation -- Jozy Altidore, Tim Ream, (insert MLS guy of the month) -- a little out of their element in international play.
The same players Bradley went to war with, lodging a famous 2-0 win over Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup were the same who ended up coughing up leads in that tournament to Brazil and to Mexico two years later at the Rose Bowl. Wherever you stand on Bradley, pro or anti, the team's dual Achilles Heels of a) giving up early goals and b) inability to hold leads in big games is a tough pill to swallow.
Missing out on the 2013 Confederations Cup was the biggest black mark for Bradley, aside from the horrific Ricardo Clark decision in the 2010 World Cup Round of 16 against Ghana. Watching Mexico -- on U.S. soil no less -- ascend to the thrown of CONCACAF couldn't have gone down well, especially with his pseudo adopted son, Bornstein, was fileted by the El Tri attack.
Maybe this is retroactive history, but Bradley did what he could with the hand he was dealt. No more, no less. He still got the U.S. into the 2009 Confederations Cup final and won the 2010 World Cup group -- albeit from a minor 93rd minute miracle from Donovan. Again, is it Bradley's fault that on the eve of the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League the only American in the competition proper at this point is Bayer Leverkausen backup keeper David Yedell -- a naturalized German-American. At some point someone at the USSF has to give a hard look in the mirror why an industrialized nation with 300+ million people cannot produce international players consistently.
Bradley, it might prove, was an easy scapegoat. What with his emotionless bald head and track suit, he was an easy target in our mean-spirited Internets culture. For whatever reason, it was fun to mock Bob for all his warts, real or imaginary.
The problem is, Bradley might be Gulati's pound of flesh ... but it's only going to be temporary.
The U.S. soccer fan base, almost universally, loath FIFA dictator Sepp Blatter and its corrupt way of business. In the wake of losing out on the 2022 World Cup, Gulati has looked nothing short of a Blatter -- and to another extent New England Revolution owner Bob Kraft -- sycophant. People are fed up with FIFA ... whether they pursue actual change remains to be seen.
There's a chance Gulati has smelled the winds of change and realized he had to change the conversation. To distance himself from Bradley. To change the conversation away from why the USSF has failed fundamentally in both player development and securing a World Cup?
Yet firing Bradley today is basically sawing off the arm of a body infected by gangrene. The problem goes deeper than the national team coach playing a 4-4-2. It's more about how soccer is played, taught and most importantly THOUGHT in America. The changes the U.S. needs to make to move from the World Cup chaff to World Cup cream start at the lowest levels.
This might be a bit of a stretch, but think of that goal Neymar scored last night. Do American players even think about a goal like that in their dreams? A national team coach, in the dozen or so times he gets to work with players in a year, can't shape all that much. It has to start at the ground floor. It's not about little kids getting participation trophies. Or finding some guy with an English accent, throwing money at him for a "travel" team and think the rest will work itself out.
Does Klinsman or Marcelo Lippi or some other European savior riding in on a white horse change this? Look no further than England, which suffers the same pratfalls and institutional memory under Italian Fabio Capello as it did under any English coach.
Changing coaches isn't hard ... well, unless you're Gulati then it takes about a year after the fact.
Changing a flawed system ... well, that takes time, effort and patience.
Not exactly the core values of 2011 America, are they?
Either way, via con dios, Coach Sweats.
Labels: bob bradley, Soccer, sunil gulati, USMNT
Welcome back to the blog.
Sorry, but for a change I decided it was more prudent to spend my summer at the beach with a good book -- damn you George R.R. Martin -- working on tan, rather than slaving over the latest transfer gossip and touring European club whupping up on MLS opposition. Call it wanting to have some semblance of a life away from the glamorous unpaid world of soccer blogging.
Or call it what it more likely is, laziness.
Either way you want to look at it, I'm back. It's far past due for a new post, especially since my last writing in the wake of the U.S.'s loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final was probably my highest spike in traffic since the days when I actually wrote for a site called Deadspin, in earnest.
A couple readers, an Andrew Smock in particular, even took the time to email me that I had to write something about the Women's World Cup. Little they those readers realize, like Depeche Mode I was "enjoying the silence."
Then again, like most American sports fans I found myself in rapt attention for the U.S. vs. Brazil in the quarterfinals. A little less so in the semifinals vs. France. Sadly, for the Sunday final vs. Japan I had to miss all of the second half and overtime to play softball -- duty calls. To my surprise as we waited to take the field most of my teammates were talking about the game and how the U.S. went ahead in the first period of extra time.
Suffice to say, when I yanked my phone from my bag afterward, scrolling through Twitter was like a horror show in reverse. Lo and behold Japan had fought back and won in penalty kicks. This set some kind of Twitter record, which makes sense since probably a million people tweeted live commentary of every penalty kick.
Anyway, the fallout of the U.S. losing has spurred me to write, mainly from the reaction it's triggered in the media and in the American sporting consciousness. Part of me wanted to ignore this, but Bill Simmons soccer podcast with ESPN's Rob Stone was emblematic of a larger pet peeve of mine.
Enough preamble rambling. Enjoy this summer soccer version of, "Clearing out the sports desk." (I've embedded some of my favorite tunes from 2011 in a YouTube playlist at the bottom, feel free to get that going while you read.)
To choke, or to choke ... that is the question:
Here is the indisputable fact, the U.S. women allowed Japan to tie them not once, but twice during the course of 120 minutes of the World Cup Final, before losing in penalties. In wake of this, fans and media have debated a) was it a choke by the U.S. and b) is it right to scrutinize women's sports the same as men? (Deadspin compiled a lot of the media reaction here.)
My answer: a) no b) sure.
The problem soccer is always going to have in America is the major of media -- talking heads, national writers, talk show yakers -- don't follow the sport. They parachute in on the big events, like World Cup Finals or the Champions League Final, etc. It's always funny, to me, since soccer tends to exposure their general ignorance and how little they know about other sports, but more on that later.
Columnists or media types out to get an opinion want to see things in black or white issues, hence labeling it a choke, or writing why the U.S. women shouldn't be showered in platitudes for coughing up a goal with four minutes left in extra time. Or go the other way and write about how, gosh darn it, our girls gave it their all and we're all better people for it. Fine. Write the same narrow-minded, paint-by-numbers columns, rise, lather, repeat ... and forget about soccer for a couple years.
Here's where the ignorance to the game rears its head. In simplest terms, how did the U.S. "choke"? This is the same team that beat Brazil after a goal in the 123rd minute. It's doubtful the U.S. didn't have the mental fortitude to see out the game.
Is a defensive blunder that allowed the first Japan goal a choke? It was a mistake. If it happens in the first half, it's hardly a "choke" play. Nor is allowing a very nice goal by Homare Sawa on a header from a corner a "choke," no more than it's poor marking.
If anything these are bad soccer plays. These things happen.
Put it in men's soccer terms. Bayern Munich coughing up two goals in stoppage time to Manchester United in the 1999 Champions League final -- that's a choke. It's not LeBron James in the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Finals, as some wanted to compare, either. Lightning bolt strike me down, this wasn't even comparable to the U.S. men gagging a 2-0 early lead in the Gold Cup final vs. Mexico.
Leave it to FSC's Bobby McMahon to be the voice of reason, saying if anything the U.S. lost the game by failing to put it away in the first 25 minutes. I'd take it one step further. Left unsaid in the U.S.'s rally against Brazil in the quarterfinals was that the Samba Queens flat-out choked. Up a player and a goal with 15 minutes to play, you simply shouldn't lose that game.
But on ESPN in the aftermath of Abby Wambach's now-famous header, it was all about heart, hustle and never-say-die attitudes. Analysts Brandi Chastain of Tony DiCicco never mentioned how Brazil had no clue how to see out the match through possession, instead reverting to fake injuries to kill the clock. DiCicco -- the former U.S. women's coach -- flatly denied tactics even mattered.
If anything, the U.S.'s failure to play a possession-based game -- something the women did in most of the final -- and kill off the game in a style like Spain when it has the lead allowed Japan to creep back into the game. And credit to Japan for out American-ing the Americans, not only in the final, but the quarterfinals against host Germany.
Remember, though, writing about black-and-white issues like "choking" is the low-hanging fruit -- the dietary staple of most writers in the American media.
Penalty Paratroopers:
Hate to even acknowledge this next little nugget, but another thing that rankles me about soccer and the way its presented in the U.S. crept up away Sunday's bellwether game.
With the game decided by penalties -- and the U.S. losing -- everyone decided to decry how it's an unfair way to decide a title, with John Feinstein going as far as to say soccer isn't a sport because of it.
Hey, debate the merits of PKs all you like. I'll move on, politely, thanks.
Do Chelsea fans bemoan the format for losing to Manchester United in rainy Moscow three years ago? No, they likely curse John Terry for slipping, falling, missing his spot kick and crying like a baby girl afterward.
As soccer fans know, it's a necessary evil, penalty kicks are.
It's galling when media types or non-soccer fans parachute into soccer and decree they know what's best for the game. I don't much care for tennis, suppose I watch Wimbledon, should I come up with a new way to decide the championship? Or any Olympic sport? If I watch pole-vaulting for one day after eight years, all of a sudden I'm an expert?
Penalties are an imperfect solution to a game that is imperfectly beautiful.
Oh, Sports Guy:
Loyal reader and part-time contributor here Erik Kriebel started tweeting Monday night about how out-and-out awful Bill Simmons' soccer state of the union podcast with Rob Stone was. Little did I know until the next day it was worse than anticipated.
Some of Simbo's transgressions:
* Calling USWNT coach Pia Sundhage, "he."
* Suggesting the best case scenario for women's soccer would be to go Co-Ed with MLS.
* Feigning not to know what the name of MLS actually was.
* Calling for a World Cup every three years, forgetting nearly everything else on the FIFA calendar.
It was awful.
The problem here, isn't that Simmons is trying to dip his toes into soccer. Go for it. I'm not an exclusionary "soccer snob" contrary to what you may think by my usual prickly tone. No, Simmons' out-and-out ignorance is galling, especially with the reach he has at his disposal from ESPN/Grantland.
Take five minutes and learn how things work instead of trying to force feed your agenda. It's not that hard.
Simbo talks, people listen.
Fortunately my buddy Mike started a fun, Twitter hashtag game Tuesday afternoon, #BillSimmonsSoccerSolutions.
Good stuff, from Mike, not Simbo.
WWC Miscellania:
* Megan Rapinoe certainly had the USWNT market cornered for "alt" appeal. Pretty sure Carles at Hipster Runoff was paying attention.
* If there was one thing to take away from the WWC, the goalies -- non Hope Solo variety -- and defenders lag far behind the offensive players. It made for a fun tournament, much like the recent U-17 World Cup in Mexico.
* Brandi Chastain can rest easy, as my friend Adam pointed out on Twitter, "Happiest person in the country: Brandi Chastain. Her legacy lives on."
* ESPN did a nice job with its WWC presentation -- throw Sir Ian Darke behind the mic and you're halfway home -- but the network made me irate, in the wake of the U.S./Brazil game to keep talking about the 1999 Women's World Cup final won by the U.S. in penalty kicks. We alllllllll get it, at this point. It was a big deal, yet not all that relevant to what transpired in Germany.
* Will women's soccer see a boost after this tournament, beyond "bros" snickering to themselves Beavis & Butthead style that Hope Solo and Alex Morgan are, huh huh, pretty hot? Who knows. It doesn't help that WPS is relegated to a one-game per week Sunday telecast on FSC. Nor will the public tend to embrace a team named magicJackFC.
By Thursday, most of the media will move on to the NFL lockout being over and the 2011 WWC will be but an afterthought. That shouldn't be an issue, though -- against type -- I found myself enjoying it for what it was and that's not a bad thing, either.
All-the-globe Miscellania:
* On the surface, Jozy Altidore making AZ in the Dutch Eredivise his ... fifth European port-of-call since 2008, seems like the right move. If anyone needs the proverbial, Jose Cancesco "slumpbuster" it's Altidore, who has all of three goals since moving to Villareal from the New York Red Bulls.
And if a league was ever the "slump buster" its the Eredivise. During the 2010-11 Dutch top division campaign 25 players tallied double-digit goals. The value of the goals might not mean a lot, but Alitdore is a starving man. He'll take what he can get.
More immediately, AZ lost its top scorer -- Hungarian Balázs Dzsudzsák -- to the Manchester City of Russia, Anzhi Makhachkala. (Other recruits include: Roberto Carlos, yeah this Roberto Carlos, Jucilei and Mbark Boussoufa.)
With Altidore, nothing is ever certain. At AZ he's going to play and he should score on a regular basis. How that applies to the USMNT is anyone's guess.
* Another European team on a summer spending spree? Spain's Malaga. Bought by a Qatari royal family or something to that effect, the middling La Liga outfit has added: Joris Mathijsen, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Joaquín Sánchez and Jérémy Toulalan. Could be a sneaky play in "FIFA 12."
* Enjoying the Copa America as it's progressed. Uruguary/Argentina had everything you'd want in a match.
* In brief, as far as EPL movement goes this summer? Like the depth Liverpool is building, but it still needs another defender or two to be safe. ... It seemed weird to see Ashley Young in Manchester United shirt vs. the New England Revolution. Not sure where he plays, but Sir Alex seems to find a way, always. ... Sunderland, as is Steve Bruce's wont, is making a million moves. John O'Shea as new club captain sums it about up. ... Wolves made two smart moves -- adding Roger Johnson and locking up Jamie O'Hara long-term. ... Curious to see if Roberto Mancini puts faith in new recruit Stefan Savić to pair alongside Vincent Kompany in the defense, moving Kolo Toure further to the fringes. ... Arsenal adding Gervinho seems to be putting a new coat of paint on a boat with a hole in the hull. It must be a point of personal pride for Arsene Wenger to hold firm against a trusted, quality defender. The Gael Clincy loss is huge, if only since he was essentially an automatic starter at left back for the last five seasons.
* The Luka Modric transfer drama from Tottenham to Chelsea is why I loathe the "silly season," or more specifically how business gets done in Europe.
Let's say this, Modric is, what, a Top 40-ish player in the world? Is playing for Tottenham such an affront to a player of his talents? Is he going to lose his place in the Croatia team because he's in the Europa League rather than the Champions League? Is it his god-given right to play in the Champions League every season?
Why even bother signing a six-year deal with the team, when he signed from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008? Contracts in soccer seem to be worthless since players -- or more likely agents whispering in their ears -- have all the power. You know Modric's agent wants another juicy transfer for his player and the percentage that comes with it, right?
At least, for all his warts, Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has held firm. And no fault to Chelsea, either, to trying to exploit the system and bring a very good player to Stamford Bridge.
The way soccer business is done is the diametric opposite of the old Major League Baseball reserve clause.
One other thing:
Thoroughly enjoying "Wilfred" on FX. Highly recommend.
Oh, and here's that playlist. You might like one or two of the songs. Maybe.
Labels: Bill Simmons, Jozy Altidore, MLS, tottenham hotspur, uswnt
