Another horrible start

[ATWizJr]

by the USMNT vs. Brazil.  Bradley needs to go.  Early goal against followed by second goal.  Yikes.

[ATWizJr]

and now we're playing short due to another send off.  We suck.

[SaintPaulWarrior]

#15 from Green Bay, DeMerit, was awful against Italy.  Did he play any better today?

[ATWizJr]

He looked tired against Italy, probably due to playing a man down for more than an hour.  To be honest, After we got down 2 zip I only watched sporadically so I cannot comment on DeMerit specifically.

However, if this was the dress rehearsal for WC 2010, I hope Bradley got some answers at this tournament.  I predict another tough game against Egypt who  had no trouble playing Brazil in the first round.

[Golden Avalanche]

#15 from Green Bay, DeMerit, was awful against Italy.  Did he play any better today?

I didn't think DeMerit was that bad against Italy. He looked like a guy whom the coach will never give a fair shot and knew this was his only chance. In short, he was jumpy. Today, he was alright. The defensive problems started in midfield.

Bradley has his guys and sticks with them to the detriment of developing depth. Not even throwing a bone to Torres or Adu today but instead putting Casey in at the half with the game out of hand is shocking. You've already been bitch slapped, blooding the young isn't going to hurt.

[BrewCity83]

Dude, if you're gonna talk about soccer, please warn us in the subject line so we don't get sucked in....

[Skatastrophy]

Dude, if you're gonna talk about soccer, please warn us in the subject line so we don't get sucked in....

The World Cup is next year in South Africa.  If you're not pumped for than then you're not a real sports fan!

[MU_all_over]

I've been very disappointed with Bradley's coaching in this tournament. He's playing guys that don't deserve to be out there. Beasley has been out of form for over a year now, and he still plays!? At least he had the sense to take him out at half today, he was just shockingly bad for 45 minutes. Dempsey seems to have quite trying. I've always like him, but it looks like he thinks his position is locked and plays without the determination he used to bring. I hope he gives Torres a shot against Egypt. And lets get Jermaine Jones in camp soon, he can't be worse than Ricardo Clark or Klejstan.

[ATWizJr]

Dude, if you're gonna talk about soccer, please warn us in the subject line so we don't get sucked in....

Dude, you a UW attendee?  It's a Superbar topic about the World's Game!  Oh right, you're still debating the name change. 

Got it.

[BrewCity83]

Dude, you a UW attendee?  It's a Superbar topic about the World's Game!  Oh right, you're still debating the name change. 

Got it.

What??  The name change??

[ATWizJr]

What??  The name change??

Yeah, didn't you hear?

[rugbydrummer]

Yeah i must be bad luck for the men's team; i went running and they were up 1-nil and by the time i was done running they had lost 3-1

[ATWizJr]

It looks like US Soccer's Project 2010, the WC by which they were hoping to win it all, is a bust.  Now, on the women's side, quite another story.

[MU B2002]

They still have a match against Egypt correct?  Would be nice to see a decent showing, although Egypt has looked pretty solid against both Brazil and Italy.

[ATWizJr]

Egypt will be a very tough match seeing that they upset Italy yesterday 1-0 and need a win to advance. 

I think we will play better and a draw is certainly possible, but we don't seem to have much firepower.

[GGGG]

Until more American boys stick with soccer, WC success is going to be limited.  I just looked at a picture of my son's 7th grade travelling soccer team.  Five year's later all but two of those boys moved on to other sports...most of them pretty good at those sports as well.  I know that this is just a very small sample, but I think it is indicative of the overall problem.

[Golden Avalanche]

Until more American boys stick with soccer, WC success is going to be limited.  I just looked at a picture of my son's 7th grade travelling soccer team.  Five year's later all but two of those boys moved on to other sports...most of them pretty good at those sports as well.  I know that this is just a very small sample, but I think it is indicative of the overall problem.

We've had this exact issue in America for the past 20 years. Most every child plays some sort of youth soccer but with the popularity of the NFL, NBA, and MLB the attractiveness wears off for the kid and in addition soccer cannot keep their attention as even a part-time hobby.

The problem with USMNT is strange in that individually we have more talent now then perhaps ever but as a team they are abysmal. The standard of coaching in the US is poor and its clear now that a new voice is needed to elevate the performance.

[MUfan12]

What's crazy is that the 94 team had considerably less talent, made it out of the group stage, and took Brazil to the limit. I think the difference is in coaching.

They need to stop hiring American managers. Need a fresh perspective on things, from tactics to training. If there's such a thing as an "American philosophy" to the game it does not work.

[bma725]

What's crazy is that the 94 team had considerably less talent, made it out of the group stage, and took Brazil to the limit. I think the difference is in coaching.

They need to stop hiring American managers. Need a fresh perspective on things, from tactics to training. If there's such a thing as an "American philosophy" to the game it does not work.

And yet, they made it further win an American manager in 2002 than they did in 1994.

[squirrel]

If you are not a young player, and are starting in Europe or a star in the MLS, you should not be seeing the field in these games.  If Bradley ever caps Beasley or Sacha Kljestan (or Casey, IMHO) again, he should be fired immediately.

At least we should be getting Jermaine Jones in August now, in time for the Mexico qualifier. http://goal.com/en-us/news/1614/americans-abroad/2009/06/17/1331868/schalkes-jones-eligible-to-play-for-usa-in-august

a line up of
Howard
Spector - Gooch - Demerit - Bocanegra
Dempsey - Bradley - Edu - Jones - Donovan
Altidore

Should at least give us a chance in 2010.

[ATWizJr]

Don't forget Michael Parkhurst either.

[77ncaachamps]

We've had this exact issue in America for the past 20 years. Most every child plays some sort of youth soccer but with the popularity of the NFL, NBA, and MLB the attractiveness wears off for the kid and in addition soccer cannot keep their attention as even a part-time hobby.

The problem with USMNT is strange in that individually we have more talent now then perhaps ever but as a team they are abysmal. The standard of coaching in the US is poor and its clear now that a new voice is needed to elevate the performance.

Club soccer is big in the US...for girls.

I too see the same shift for boys as they select the top three sports (FB, BB, BK) over soccer.
More must be done to provide US kids an opportunity to display their talent. MLS will NOT cut it.

[Golden Avalanche]

And yet, they made it further win an American manager in 2002 than they did in 1994.

You are correct but many feel that the 2002 World Cup is an anomaly.

First, the tournament was moved up due to the rainy season in Asia. As a result, it came straight on the heels of a 10-month season for any of the major leagues in Europe. Looking back, a lot of the poor performances of some European nations could be down to fatigue from the season and travel to Korea/Japan. The US had Portugal and Poland in its group.

Second, the USA benefited from being in a group with a host nation. Every host nation has been boosted in performance. Under arguably the best international manager out there (Hiddink), Korea put in a performance that shocked even their own federation. Korea helped to knock down Portugal and Poland.

Third, the US couldn't have gotten a better Round of 16 opponent in Mexico. Around the turn of the decade, the US program started to inch ahead of the Mexicans (and remains so to this day) and it was clear they had the mental edge when you remember the petulance by Blanco and the straight red by Marquez.

It was a wonderful accomplishment but many, many, many things were lined up perfectly for the USA that June. If you believe in karma, their run of good luck ended when Hugh Dallas failed to spot a handball by Frings of Germany in the penalty area. In the end, it all evened out.

[reinko]

Until more American boys stick with soccer, WC success is going to be limited.  I just looked at a picture of my son's 7th grade travelling soccer team.  Five year's later all but two of those boys moved on to other sports...most of them pretty good at those sports as well.  I know that this is just a very small sample, but I think it is indicative of the overall problem.

Doesn't help that when American-born stud soccer player, decides to turn his back on the USA, and play for the Itals.   

http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/ussoccerplayers/2009/06/rossi-it-will-be-an-emotional-game-for-me.html

[GGGG]

What's crazy is that the 94 team had considerably less talent, made it out of the group stage, and took Brazil to the limit. I think the difference is in coaching.

They need to stop hiring American managers. Need a fresh perspective on things, from tactics to training. If there's such a thing as an "American philosophy" to the game it does not work.

Didn't they try to get the guy who coached the Germans in 2006?