Oso planning to go pro
I'll stick with my opinion on Gold. He'll be in foul trouble within the first eight minutes.
Zardes stinks.Is mckennie good?
We seem to be enamored with strikers past their prime. Zardes is just the latest in the line of Wondo, Eddie Johnson, Ching, Conor Casey, & others.
And what do they all have in common? They were toiling around in the MLS when they were getting run well past when they should. Safe, easily monitored, "comfortable" domestic players. Its a toxic mentality and I think it will prevent the US from ever really excelling, until we get past it.
Electing Carlos Cordeiro was a mistake.Arena & Bradley were fine tacticians, but neither were very exciting in their roles. They kept things stable, kept us as a top-20 or so side, good enough to get out of the groups at the World Cup & be one of the best in CONCACAF, but never good enough to get past that level.Klinsmann was...well, he wasn't a good coach. He wasn't a good man manager & not a particularly good tactician. But by American standards, he had ideas. He had a vision. The problem was Gulati wanted the name without a willingness to transform to the vision that name wanted. Klinsmann would have been better taking over a developmental role. Recruiting players & overseeing a long-term vision. After 2014, he should've been moved upstairs into a role like the one Earnie Stewart took.I really hoped Stewart would be a change-maker, and maybe he will be, but it feels like Cordeiro is just going to maintain the Gulati status quo. MLS-centered rosters, hope to have a star or two to keep the masses attention, never good enough to take us over the top. As a long-time Cubs fan, this feels like the 1990s Cubs when they had Sammy Sosa. Sure, his home runs kept the fans coming out (like Donovan, Dempsey, Pulisic) but they were never a serious threat to win the World Series. Just like a USMNT that is stagnant with one good player or two will never be good enough to win a World Cup.Maybe I am being too hard on Berhalter after a couple tough friendlies, but this feels like the end of the Bradley era all over again, only with lesser tactics.
So...double championship day, or do the men fail to reach the women's standard? I'm expecting a USA loss.
so is soldier field in mexico or US feels /sounds like a road game
Disgraceful. The complete capitulation in the second half was pathetic. Until the last 5 minutes, the USA may as well have not taken the pitch in the second half.Berhalter showed no ability to adjust to the pressure. Altidore had to come off, but Zardes continued to do nothing. How does Boyd, who was undoubtedly the most likely goal scorer on the bench, not get in?A couple bright spots in the group stage, but otherwise a disappointing tournament with questionable selections and inadequate strategies.I know it will seem harsh as Mexico was the favorite, but this is the judgment. Beat Mexico, win the Gold Cup, that's success. Anything less is failure. This was less. This was failure.