USMNT Drama

sockma said:
On the girl's side, it's still ECNL and the improvements will not be made until the European countries start beating our national team on a consistent basis.
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I think this is fast approaching with the European professional leagues and more importantly the best young European players are being recruited as teenagers. The ECNL > College > USWNT route is already outdated for the next generation of international players.

The USWNT played England, Spain & Germany (X2) in Oct/Nov and ended up with 1W and 3L.

Here's one view of the 100 best female players in the word at the end of 2022 - note where the overwhelming majority play.

The 100 best female footballers in the world 2022 | Football | The Guardian

PS, I still think the USWNT can win the WC next summer, but the gap between the best sides in razor thin now and there are a lot more top sides than ever before.
 
whatithink said:
That kind of ignores the rest of the world and what they are doing, i.e. US soccer could never promise a specific outcome in a specific time period. The current situation is that US players are playing in the top European leagues at far greater numbers than ever previously and that is now filtering into the USMNT. The USMNT has a real potential to have a deep run in the WC in 2026, but and it is a very large BUT, the rest of the world isn't sitting on their laurels, so they may crash and burn just as easily.

Case in point would be Italy, a renowned powerhouse who are the reigning European champions but they couldn't even qualify for this WC.

The fruits of the DA are being borne, and if MLS Next is as successful, then the USMNT will be very competitive going forward with the potential for deep runs at the WC. There are zero guarantees though.
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You seem to be a DA advocate, so please tell us what specific programs or practices of the DA improved the state of youth soccer development for the USA.
 
sockma said:
If Berhalter is a friend of the Reynas, he should not have publicly brought up Gio's issues once it was resolved. If Berhalter was professional, he would not have brought up Gio's falter after it was resolved.

Yes, Gio's mom should NOT have interfered but what is a mom to do when your son is publicly humiliated by his coach and a close friend of the family? Do you expect her to sit still and twiddle her thumb?

Gio's mom felt the need to defend her son and she felt betrayed by Berhalter's actions in publicly humiliating a kid that is practically his nephew.

Would you have publicly humiliated your close friend's kid?

Berhalter should never have been the coach because he was too close to too many people but on a personal level, that was shitty how he publicly humiliated Gio on a national level.

This is not about playtime, so don't use this as a comparison. I'll never retaliate about playtime, but if you ever decide to publicly humiliate my kid on a national level, I might just humiliate you back for being an ass to my kid.
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Plot twist number 599:
Did Berhalter bench Gio in retaliation to Claudio not giving Sebastian Berhalter a contract at Austin FC!
 
espola said:
Asking for details is not deflecting.

You have been vaguely in support of the DA program. If you don't wish to discuss specific details of the program, so be it.
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I have given details, but you want to have a different conversation. I think Klinsmann was correct to push for an elite youth development level (DA) and for players to play in Europe (the original comment). We are seeing the benefit of that now, imv, as I've laid out.

WRT the implementation or aspiration of the DA back in 2007/8 by US soccer ... I don't really care tbh.
 
whatithink said:
I have given details, but you want to have a different conversation. I think Klinsmann was correct to push for an elite youth development level (DA) and for players to play in Europe (the original comment). We are seeing the benefit of that now, imv, as I've laid out.

WRT the implementation or aspiration of the DA back in 2007/8 by US soccer ... I don't really care tbh.
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The only detail you have given is its founding date.
 
Brav520 said:
www.espn.com

Gio Reyna's mother gave USSF Berhalter info

Danielle Reyna, wife of Claudio and mother of Gio, says she told USSF about USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter's past domestic violence incident.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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There was no compelling reason to bring Berhalter back. His success was minimal. His handling of the Reyna situation was abysmal. Communicating that they almost sent someone home - obviously Reyna - demonstrates incredibly poor judgment. Has no coach ever had to handle a player who acts out due to a lack of playing time? The situation was handled internally - as I am sure happens on many teams - until he opened his mouth. I'm not sure of the timing of when he told Reyna, but if it was after they were already in Qatar, that was also a mistake. If Berhalter wanted to deliver that message, he should have done so before the team traveled and ensured he got Reyna's buy-in. Those mistakes, combined with just an OK performance in the World Cup, indicate to me that US Soccer should be looking elsewhere for a coach. The kicking that occurred when Berhalter was 18 doesn't even enter my thinking about keeping Berhalter, but it does appear to give US Soccer an easy out in replacing him. If that's the reason they are replacing him, I question their process.
 
kickingandscreaming said:
There was no compelling reason to bring Berhalter back. His success was minimal. His handling of the Reyna situation was abysmal. Communicating that they almost sent someone home - obviously Reyna - demonstrates incredibly poor judgment. Has no coach ever had to handle a player who acts out due to a lack of playing time? The situation was handled internally - as I am sure happens on many teams - until he opened his mouth. I'm not sure of the timing of when he told Reyna, but if it was after they were already in Qatar, that was also a mistake. If Berhalter wanted to deliver that message, he should have done so before the team traveled and ensured he got Reyna's buy-in. Those mistakes, combined with just an OK performance in the World Cup, indicate to me that US Soccer should be looking elsewhere for a coach. The kicking that occurred when Berhalter was 18 doesn't even enter my thinking about keeping Berhalter, but it does appear to give US Soccer an easy out in replacing him. If that's the reason they are replacing him, I question their process.
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My senior year I was not a good enough hitter in baseball to take second base a way from a two time starter. I sat, pouted and struggled as I tried to find away on the field as a starter but it was a big fat no and coach told me early on because I was a two time starter at my old school. Coach told me straight up to get me to buy in. He said I would only come in to steal a base or for defense in last inning and my pride got in the way of my ego. My piss poor attitude caused me to quit school altogether bro and go work for the man at 18. Gio wanted to be a starter and coached had other plans. Bad blood when friends get in the way.
 
espola said:
The only detail you have given is its founding date.
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So, the correlation between the avg age of the players and the founding date and now, isn't a detail and a probable correlation; odd! Maybe our view of details differs, but you want to have a different conversation, so I'm not surprised that the details you are interested in don't align with the content & details I've provided.
 
whatithink said:
So, the correlation between the avg age of the players and the founding date and now, isn't a detail and a probable correlation; odd! Maybe our view of details differs, but you want to have a different conversation, so I'm not surprised that the details you are interested in don't align with the content & details I've provided.
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"...most likely..."?

So be it.
 
That is some pretty damning stuff. I can't say I agree with either side. I think Berhalter made some very bad roster choices and it really did impact our outcome. Gio and Joe Scally being excluded for lesser players may have made the difference in games. Not including Pefok on the roster or Brooks was bad. We aren't going to be able to keep up with the rest of the world with the same MLS level talent. I can see why the Reyna's got mad. Hell I was mad Gio was not playing. When Shaq Moore went in and immediately made 3 mistakes and Joe Scally is just sitting there I actually smacked myself on the forehead. I don't think Berhalter did a very good job with the talent he had and as with all things coaching doesn't really have to justify his choices but has to live with the result.

That being said the Reyna's reaction is wrong on so many levels. This whole thing shows how very small the US Soccer community is. The same families are embedded at all levels. Berhalter is coach and his brother is on the board. That this even happened shows how small and petty this group is. We need to clean house and bring in professional management and coaches and lose the good ol boy network that is in place now. This isn't 1990s anymore and we need to move on from those same retreads that run the show over there.
 
Brav520 said:
sports.yahoo.com

Investigation reveals extent of Gregg Berhalter's 1992 assault, Reynas' meddling and threats

U.S. Soccer said that, based on the results of the investigation, Gregg Berhalter remains a USMNT coaching candidate. The investigative report, meanwhile, revealed that Claudio Reyna had a "pattern."
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
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Too bad they didn't discuss and include their nepotism hiring practices and conflict of interests bt Berhalter and a parent of a national team player. Berhalter should never have brought his kid to Reyna's club.

Berhalter should never have been hired in the first place by his own brother. This isn't a family company.

Of course they only focused on the mistakes of outsiders because it protects the insiders.
 
Nothing good happens when drinking too much booze. The whole thing is full of egos and very disturbing. So sad. The girls don't have it any better either. The past is the past but the Training Centers from the past were a joke and all about parents ass kissing Docs (who ran the TCs) and paid to play to make the list.
 
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This is a tangent, but whatever happened to Double Pass's assessment of US soccer? Was there ever a report or findings issued? Was anything ever implemented? This was supposed to revolutionize the US Soccer development system :cool:. I know my son's DA club was one of the clubs that was assessed. I guess it just died with the death of DA, although the Double Pass investigation started many years before the demise of DA.

 
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