Has USMNT arrived?
- Thread starter Larzby
- Start date
CleatSniffer
BRONZE
Its probably a result of the Player Development Initiatives from 2016 that the bulk of the top USMNT talent went abroad and got properly developed 
| Player | Left U.S. at | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Pulisic | 16 | Borussia Dortmund (Germany) academy |
| Gio Reyna | 16 | Borussia Dortmund academy |
| Weston McKennie | 18 | FC Schalke 04 |
| Chris Richards | 18 | Bayern Munich |
| Joe Scally | 18 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| Haji Wright | 18 | FC Schalke 04 |
| Tim Weah | Childhood | Grew up/developed in France with Paris Saint-Germain |
| Sergiño Dest | Childhood | Grew up in the Netherlands, AFC Ajax academy |
| Antonee Robinson | Childhood | Grew up in England, Everton F.C. academy |
| Malik Tillman | Childhood | Grew up in Germany, Bayern Munich academy |
| Folarin Balogun | Infant | Grew up in England, Arsenal F.C. academy |
It’s going to be impossible to tell as the fix is clearly in. The Germany game? Everyone was warned the refs would call it that way. The us red card while ignoring the Bosnian rope a dope? Harder to ignore. Croatia? Even harder. But the incompetence, favoritism or outright corruption in favor of Argentina by the referees is impossible to ignore. The missed foul, waiting on the corner, the dfk without the whistle and promptly blowing the whistle at the end could individually be let go as mere refs are subjective. But when all calls go in the direction of one team it’s not just coincidence. The fix is in. The results are meaningless. Soccer is a broken sport. And because of what’s happened it will never catch on in the us— Americans will never accept a sport where whether the officials like a team is the deciding factor.
Ive always considered soccer to be like competitive checkers. Everyone can see whats going to happen next. What makes the difference is every possible action that makes up the next move. What sucks about the sport is cheaters (in all different forms) can highly affect the outcome. Ironically unlimited money solves the cheating issue at the EPL level. But, everyone else is on their own.
CleatSniffer
BRONZE
I believe the statistics/opinions of pundits have shown that the World Cup has had less wrong calls than your average Premier or La Liga season. It could be due to the World Cup having the best referees across the world participating. The reason the missed/bad calls are felt is because the stage its on. Its not like watching the Wolves v. Burnley.
The reason USA wont ever win the world cup is the structure for players beyond high school age, IMO. Where do the best players go? MLS? That's about the level of the Championship/League One in England. College- even lower standard versus the rest of the world and they get out of that machine in their early 20's - too late.
Contrast with the UK, you've got 7+ tiers of club soccer, a true meritocracy. Plenty of players bloom later and start out in lower leagues. Vinnie Jones and Ian Wright are two good examples. The best teenagers find their way into a top team academies, everyone else gets a 2nd,3rd, 4th chance by joining lower league teams and might develop later and find their best form and work their way into the top. Either way, the cream rises to via many different routes and it truely is the top world level of soccer, eg Premier League
If American kids are 15/16 I'm not seeing any opportunities for them to get to the highest level in the world. It seems like a bit buffer with ALOT of people running into it. In Europe, there are tons of routes.
As cleatsniffer points out, the best USAMT players didn't do ECNL/College/MLS etc
Talented American soccer players should find a way to relocate to the UK or Europe when they are about 12!!
Also, as referees will tell you - if your team lost because of a split second subjective decision by a person sprinting down the pitch on their 6th mile of the game, you might want to see if your team made any mistakes that led to that being the tipping point upon which you relied
Contrast with the UK, you've got 7+ tiers of club soccer, a true meritocracy. Plenty of players bloom later and start out in lower leagues. Vinnie Jones and Ian Wright are two good examples. The best teenagers find their way into a top team academies, everyone else gets a 2nd,3rd, 4th chance by joining lower league teams and might develop later and find their best form and work their way into the top. Either way, the cream rises to via many different routes and it truely is the top world level of soccer, eg Premier League
If American kids are 15/16 I'm not seeing any opportunities for them to get to the highest level in the world. It seems like a bit buffer with ALOT of people running into it. In Europe, there are tons of routes.
As cleatsniffer points out, the best USAMT players didn't do ECNL/College/MLS etc
Talented American soccer players should find a way to relocate to the UK or Europe when they are about 12!!
Also, as referees will tell you - if your team lost because of a split second subjective decision by a person sprinting down the pitch on their 6th mile of the game, you might want to see if your team made any mistakes that led to that being the tipping point upon which you relied
What would bend everyone's brains is if Premier League let in an American club and they could play/function by EPL rules. Yes the travel would suck but it would instantly make MLS and US Soccer look stupid. Everyone in America would support that club no matter where they were located.
The issue isn’t that one split second subjective decision is making a difference. That happens in every sport but the issue is held more keenly because soccer is a low scoring sport. The issue is now systemically with the way the officiating operates to decide matches which they can’t even seem to get right at that highest levels. The horror that is Paraguay (3 yvs for France, none for Paraguay) shows that. When the officiating decides matches you’ve gotten a broken sport. And when it becomes systemic to favor Messi it’s beyond worse. FIFA is a disgrace and the sport is…
How does one cheat at checkers?
Not a New York team.
Somebody posted somewhere that the referee's use of VAR on the red card call didn't meet FIFA guidelines for the use of VAR. The logical outcome in the situation was a yellow, perhaps for both players.
Whether its fixed or not, a single referee has too much influence over the outcome of a game. They love the power. If you have any doubt go over to the referee forum on bigsoccer.com. A bunch of arrogant yahoos, that are equal parts sad and comical.
Setup a closed league where only the players you deem as the best are allowed to play each other. Charge "the best" players ridiculious fees to train and play each other. Host events where hand picked (not results defined) players play each other. "Hand Picked" is often sold to players with the most money or used as recruitment to steal players from other groups. During games pay referees a small amount of money in cash. Which sets up an environment where referees are willing to accept a little more cash for favorable treatment during games. Only employ reffs that call games the way you like. Should I keep going? Maybe point out privates with coaches? Or coaches barring players from advancing if the troll toll isnt paid in full? Etc etc etc etc.
You know exactly how P2P youth sports are setup and run.
soccerdadlight
BRONZE
You are exposing Surf's modus operandi.
I think Mauricio Pochettino is making a major difference. That is a surprise to me. I don't think he is a poor coach, but he has gotten the tone right with the players, getting them to buy in, and they are successfully executing what he is envisioning.It's only the sweet 16, but who thinks the USMNT has turned into a team to be reckoned with?
Who thinks this success is a result of the Player Development initiatives from 2016
I didn't foresee him uniting them they way he has tactically nor in the esprit de corp aspect.
I think he definitely used all matches leading up to the competition to vet his final choices and his starting groups for each game have executed very well.
Watching these other teams struggle vs Paraguay after the US dismantled them, there is something in that.
They've won without Pulisic, they have won with him.
In multiple games they have been presented with a new significant challenge, what are you going to do if you lose your most dynamic player for a game? how are you going to handle going down to 10 men up by 1 with 35' left?
The bounce, the mentality, have not seen that from our teams at World Cups prior. Its different and extraordinary.
And checkers?
in re Balogun RC reversal --
My son was the recipient of such a benefit when the TD of a local weekend tournament explained to the referee in question that he had knocked out one of the players he had listed as likely to be playing in the final to several college scouts. The referee rescinded the red card.
My son was the recipient of such a benefit when the TD of a local weekend tournament explained to the referee in question that he had knocked out one of the players he had listed as likely to be playing in the final to several college scouts. The referee rescinded the red card.
I got suspended from the referee forum for a while for agreeing too fervently with another poster's opinion about an obviously corrupt referee.
CleatSniffer
BRONZE
Obviously they are talking about things like ignoring forced jumps, phantom captures, double-stepping, the sliding slide or the ghost king
Balogun should not have received a red card. But lots of players have received cards that should not have been issued.
According to AP news, the 1-game ban was lifted after Trump asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to "review" the decision. In other words, political pressure was exerted, and the rest of the teams in the tournament just got home-towned.
If Balogun plays, and if the U.S. advances, nobody in the world will accept the result; not even me, and I am a U.S. fan. When playing decisions are made by politicians instead of referees, the sport suffers. We look like cheaters. Because now we are.
According to AP news, the 1-game ban was lifted after Trump asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to "review" the decision. In other words, political pressure was exerted, and the rest of the teams in the tournament just got home-towned.
If Balogun plays, and if the U.S. advances, nobody in the world will accept the result; not even me, and I am a U.S. fan. When playing decisions are made by politicians instead of referees, the sport suffers. We look like cheaters. Because now we are.
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