USWNT
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LilStriker
SILVER
Be careful, now all the local clubs are going to hire all these Mexican coaches and then sell it as we have Spanish coaches.... heh
NoGoal
DA
Spaniards and Mexicans don't look alike though. At least I don't think they look like.
MakeAPlay
DA
Some Mexicans from Mexico City do. Blond hair and Blue eyes is not uncommon.
Really we just have to get rid of kickball(although there are times going over the top can be the smart play). Not sure there is anything wrong with having bigger and faster. Bo Jackson with Messi skills(sorry, Bo knew baseball and football, I can just visualize him on the soccer field with amazing skills).
Try knocking someone like that off the ball. Teach amazing technique and then take the quick, strong, and fast girls when technique is equal. The US women just don't have the amazing footwork and touch that the top 3-4 teams have. Too often the first touch goes right towards the on rushing defender. Or a sloppy pass. 20-25 year old women should be better than that.
Dont discount creativity and intelligence either.Really we just have to get rid of kickball(although there are times going over the top can be the smart play). Not sure there is anything wrong with having bigger and faster. Bo Jackson with Messi skills(sorry, Bo knew baseball and football, I can just visualize him on the soccer field with amazing skills).
The US women just don't have the amazing footwork and touch that the top 3-4 teams have. Too often the first touch goes right towards the on rushing defender. Or a sloppy pass. 20-25 year old women should be better than that.
Predictability is the condiment paired with our US "style".
Maybe roasted Sonora salsa, or Caribbean spice, instead of just ketchup all the time.
NoGoal
DA
That's what US Soccer has been selecting already. The most athletic player with a touch that has been taught over a "slightly" less athletic player with better technique, skill and IQ.Really we just have to get rid of kickball(although there are times going over the top can be the smart play). Not sure there is anything wrong with having bigger and faster. Bo Jackson with Messi skills(sorry, Bo knew baseball and football, I can just visualize him on the soccer field with amazing skills).
The US women just don't have the amazing footwork and touch that the top 3-4 teams have. Too often the first touch goes right towards the on rushing defender. Or a sloppy pass. 20-25 year old women should be better than that.
MakeAPlay
DA
I have to wonder when our style changed to vanilla. It would seem that with such a wonderfully wide and diverse land with so many points of origin that we would have a style so free flowing and diverse as this great land. Maybe instead of us blending it all up and making a smoothie we should try for something more like a 7 layer dip. Utilizing many styles but layering them seamlessly.
I know I am dreaming but we can hope right?
Mexicans are as diverse as we are.
Its a country with a rich cultural heritage.
You have to ask yourself, what exactly are you looking for in youth soccer in general, and for your kids in particular? If you are looking to win at all costs, then the easiest way is to put a fast player who can shoot up top and kickball it. It takes the least amount of skill and coaching, and you can get by sprinkling talented players in key parts of the field and surround them with lesser talent.
I love to win as much as the next guy, but I truly believe that youth soccer (before HS) should be about developing individual skills and soccer IQ. I think kickball soccer can develop longball defensive specialists and aerial receptionist specialized strikers, but that's it. Developing a team of players with high quality passing and receiving skills, and the soccer IQ to make the right runs and intelligent off ball movement is hard as hell, and it's guaranteed you will lose games during the development process because there are going to be dangerous turnovers while the team learns to play this kind of passing system.
But once you train up players capable of playing this way, you have a team of players that have the ability through ball control in tight spaces and accurate passing/intelligent off ball movement to maintain possession and create multiple scoring chances.
Soccer is the beautiful game. Why strive for ugly?
LilStriker
SILVER
Well, i think it's because there are way better opportunities in the US career wise than professional soccer. While it can be an amazing experience that is unique, over the long term, you probably be better off financially by working to become a doctor/lawyer, etc... we talk about kids in other countries who play soccer from dusk till dawn - why the hell aren't they in school? Here it is more about getting into higher education while playing something you love. Given that you really do need intelligence and creativity to truly play the beautiful game, a lot of the players who have the most potential in soccer also could be very successful in much higher paying and less physically demanding jobs.
So, at the end of the day, you end up with these players that are very good, but not GREAT. And for those to succeed, rather than creating their own style, they have to emulate others and so they all end up looking the same.
Just my theory...
twosoccergirls
BRONZE
clearly we have a problem selecting the right talent. There are so many soccer players in the US-we should be dominating. What I watched tonight makes me wonder if selection on WNT is just all a scam. They cannot event connect passes! The defense is just sending the ball to noone! Just embarrassing!!!
TangoCity
GOLD
Just like State Cup finals.
It's the head coaches fault for failing to develop the talent in the hopper and kowtowing to the incumbent even as she made mistakes and embarrassed the organization.
NoGoal
DA
The goal could have been saved. Watch the replay (WatchESPN app) Naeher was slow to react off her line and then actually stepped backwards vs coming all the way out, making herself big and cutting off the angle.
As for Ellis, some advice...when you play a 4-4-2. Make sure you don't play 2 holding mids, Long and Mewis seriously. How about a holding mid and an attacking mid? Sure Lavelle and Heath are injured, but IDK maybe start Morgan Brian. Also why sub out Taylor Smith, IMO I haven't seen anything in Short after 4-5 games already. Press and Horan was an atrocious pairing uptop.
NoGoal
DA
Remove the Russian wins and the US WNT record in 2017 isn't very good. She Believes Cup fail, 1st game in this tournament fail. USWNT reminds me of Tiger Woods. The intimidation factor is GONE.
soccer is not supposed to be a game of domination. It should not be games of 5-0, 6-0, 4-0 games all of the time. The style of play that got us those results doesn't cut it anymore. That was the beginning of women's soccer, which, unfortunately, wasn't as far back as anybody here would like. This change has been going on for years now, and it was a staffing/coaching problem that the USWNT didn't adjust to the game and to the other nations starting to play not just adequate soccer that compete,s but good soccer, and that now that there are countries who overwhelm us in one way (i.e. France, faster AND more technical) or another, I would say we're behind the curve.
The game evolves. That's why it is the beautiful game. That's why UCLA, Stanford, (USC) don't when all the games even though they are probably the top two teams in the conference. It's why UNC doesn't when all the championships anymore. It's why Barca doesn't win all the games, why Real doesn't, why Man U, or Juve doesn't. I agree with many posters who say there is a coaching process and that there are those who should get a call up with our WNT. However, there are those in that lineup, who deserve to be there and are world class players. That cannot be argued.
Having a lot of soccer players and having quality soccer players that can compete at the international level are two different things also.
Great point about the formation! Have some depth. I feel like every single time anyone (ESPN, interviewee, even when Mia is calling the game, and definitely Ellis) uses the word depth is talking about the bench and who they have as subs and not on the field as much. Why was Horan even up top!?!