Futbol Talk

[jesmu84]

So until we do, we're better off finding someone willing to be a center forward and embracing the workmanlike role that a guy like Emile Heskey, or Brian Ching, was willing to play.

I definitely agree with this sentiment. Considering his size and youth, I really think Jozy could learn to play this role extremely well. If we can develop younger wings in the Dempsey/Donovan mold over the next few years, as well as establish a Ballack-like attacking central mid to play below Jozy (I have no idea who this could currently be... Holden? Adu? Torres? Feilhaber?), I think that could work really well for the US for years to come.

[JWags85]

Real made 5 moves on new players too...but as a lifetime Real fan I have gotta swallow this hard and admit Barca is simply the best.

I was chatting with a friend in from London, who is a lifetime Liverpool fan, ...he said, and I agree..."Watching the elegant play of Barca, makes them everybody's second favorite team, to watch."

My initial reaction was Fabregas is only 24? Good god.  I just think how I've watched him at Arsenal since college forgetting that he started with the Gunners when he was only 16.

Barca just plays such precise fluid football.  Its just incredible to watch, they are so calm.  I mean, you take the WC champs, add the best player in the world, and a couple other select ex-pats, and you just have a positively frightening team.

[groove]

Barca just plays such precise fluid football.  Its just incredible to watch, they are so calm.  I mean, you take the WC champs, add the best player in the world, and a couple other select ex-pats, and you just have a positively frightening team.

Unless they are playing Real Madrid, in which case Barca turns into one of the most cynical teams you will ever see. Never seen so many dives. Embarrassing.

[JWags85]

Hey, they gotta keep up with Ronaldo's diving arms race...

[reinko]

Hey, they gotta keep up with Ronaldo's diving arms race...

If you watch Ronaldo in La Liga he doesn't dive nearly at all, now the WC is a WHOLE other story...

[HouWarrior]

The Supercopa is still considered preseason... but its still a classico. Fabregas already contributed with a beautiful setup...and Messi was awesome. Real actually looked pretty good for most of the game, but after Barca's 3rd goal it went from chippy to ugly late.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6871922/lionel-messi-winner-helps-barcelona-supercup-title-real-madrid

[groove]

Barca are a bunch of pricks. I don't understand why other teams just don't go after messi. He's just a little guy. If I was the other team I would concentrate on taking him out of the game by the 25 minute mark. Just beat the crap out of him. I hate cynical play as much as the next guy, but I would target Messi for some serious ankle breaking. Of course Messi is so good it's as likely that anyone trying to defend him would have their ankles broken by some of his moves.

Yeah, I also believed that in the playoffs if you were playing Jordan you needed to knock him on his ass anytime he drove the lane, but then the NBA changed the rules to stop the Pistons from winning

[Golden Avalanche]

The Supercopa is still considered preseason... but its still a classico. Fabregas already contributed with a beautiful setup...and Messi was awesome. Real actually looked pretty good for most of the game, but after Barca's 3rd goal it went from chippy to ugly late.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6871922/lionel-messi-winner-helps-barcelona-supercup-title-real-madrid

This line of thought seems a bit overdone for me the last 12 hours.

Cesc threw a pedestrian pass to Messi in the middle of the pitch. It was then Messi who lined up the leading pass to Adriano, and then Adriano was the real inspiration of the play with a perfect set-up for Messi. Adriano should be the one noted as the creator.

I understand the emotion and sentiment of sexy Cesc being back home and the media wanting to create a magical, and orgasmic, moment around that but Fab's pass to Messi is one he completed 40 times a match at Arsenal. Much ado about nothing.

[JWags85]

Barca are a bunch of pricks. I don't understand why other teams just don't go after messi. He's just a little guy. If I was the other team I would concentrate on taking him out of the game by the 25 minute mark. Just beat the crap out of him. I hate cynical play as much as the next guy, but I would target Messi for some serious ankle breaking. Of course Messi is so good it's as likely that anyone trying to defend him would have their ankles broken by some of his moves.

Yeah, I also believed that in the playoffs if you were playing Jordan you needed to knock him on his ass anytime he drove the lane, but then the NBA changed the rules to stop the Pistons from winning

Probably cause they have respect for him cause he plays hard and eschews alot of the BS that other players engage in.  He's tiny and takes hell most games and keeps ticking.

Your hatred for Barca is amusing.  I watched the game and I wasnt abhorred by anything they were doing.  They played the tight fluid soccer they always do.  Did they exaggerate Real's over aggressiveness?  Sure, but honestly, thats soccer.

All that being said, what a game.  Both of Messi's goals were top class.  Pique's back heel was gorgeous on the first.  Ronaldo's deflection was sublime.  It looks like nothing, but most players don't put that away.  Its unfortunate that nobody else in La Liga can run with either of these squads.  I will say, Barcelona has more chemistry as a team than Real and I think its a large reason they have had the upper hand as of late.

[HouWarrior]

!No mas Huelga, Vamos a los Juegos!
With La Liga agreeing to back up payment of $72 million in back pay owed to players, the strike (huelga) is over, and the games begin.
The huge debt leverage, and cash flow insolvency of many teams continues to be an unresolved issue.

 http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6894154/la-liga-strike-deal-reached

[reinko]

EPL Buy and Sell:

BUY (in order): Man U, Man City, Liverpool
SELL: Arsenal & Blackburn

Creeping toward BUY: Chelsea, Aston Villa

Middle of the pack: Everton, Norwich City (my favorite of the new teams), Wolves, and Newcastle

The rest....

[GGGG]

EPL Buy and Sell:

BUY (in order): Man U, Man City, Liverpool
SELL: Arsenal & Blackburn

Creeping toward BUY: Chelsea, Aston Villa

Middle of the pack: Everton, Norwich City (my favorite of the new teams), Wolves, and Newcastle

The rest....

CHAMPIONS: ManU, ManC, Liverpool, Chelsea

EUROPA: My head says that Arsenal or Tottenham will manage to comeback to grab fifth.  Otherwise perhaps Stoke or Everton???  I just don't trust Villa or Newcastle.

RELEGATED: Blackburn, WBA, Swansea

[MU B2002]

The Man U Arsenal match was horrific.

[Chili]

The Man U Arsenal match was horrific.

That was straight prison rape...no lube, no spit, just straight up raped.....Arsenal didn't even show up.

[johngills]

We preview the friendly between the U.S. and Spain that will take place Saturday.

[Golden Avalanche]

That was straight prison rape...no lube, no spit, just straight up raped.....Arsenal didn't even show up.

RVP does what he's supposed to and it's 1-1 in the 25th. Would have been interesting to see if Arsenal went against type at that point and parked the bus.

[jesmu84]

Thoughts on last night's match vs. Costa Rica:

 - The build-up, possession and attack of the US looked GREAT in the first half. I love Klinnsman for bringing this to the USMNT. But: will he find the right players to be able to perform against high-level international competition? And: the US seems to need to change its training strategy due to the need for higher level fitness in Klinns' system.
 - Donovan looked old last night; missing open shots, terrible set pieces, bad passes/first touches, etc
 - Brek Shea is the real deal
 - The Castillo experiment at LB has to be over... right?
 - Torres was incredibly impressive
 - Altidore looked so much more comfortable in this role, as opposed to what Bradley was having him do
 - Where is the US going to find the young, gifted players it needs at CB?
 - With klinnsman at the helm, I feel very positive about the direction the US is headed in terms of style/strategy as well as long term development.

[brewcity77]

Nice comments, socrplar. Glad that I'm not the only one not irate because we lost a friendly. Here are my thoughts:

• I love your fitness comment. We dominated the opening 30 minutes, but didn't have it in us to finish. Shea looked dead by the end of the game, Donovan disappeared, to play Klinsmann's style we don't need guys that can just go for 90 minutes, but guys that can run for 90 minutes (like Torres)
• Loved Shea and Torres, and think Timmy Chandler has a lot of upside. He had some gaffes, but should develop nicely
• I'm really sick of our forwards, especially Agudelo, who looks like the next Johnson/Findley/Altidore type to not deliver at this level. He plays with his head down, is useless at hold-up play, dribbles 1-on-3 far too often, and gets too much respect from the commentators; it might sound like sacrilege, but our forwards need to stop thinking they are goal-scorers, they don't have the ability of an Henry but they all have that mindset -- bring the midfielders into the play and know your role
• Castillo had a few decent moments, drew some nice fouls and made a few nice passes, his mistakes were par for the course for us at LB, no worse than Bornstein or Beasley back there; I have no idea what the answer is at LB
• Omar Gonzalez deserves a chance, maybe even Gale Agbossomondu, we've got young CBs and aren't playing them, I don't know why
• Klinsy needs to sub more frequently in friendlies...does he not realize you get 6 subs? The team was dead and he kept the same guys out there, completely senseless
• We should have won, I accept the result and we played well early on, but against a depleted CR with an interim manager on home soil...we really should have won. I'm not livid, I accept it's a friendly, and there were positives, but these are games we really should win

[jesmu84]

any have ESPN insider and want to share this article?

http://insider.espn.go.com/sports/soccer/blog?name=us_national_soccer&id=7030815&_slug_=german-influence-us-national-team-strengthening-jurgen-klinsmann&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fsports%2fsoccer%2fblog%3fname%3dus_national_soccer%26id%3d7030815%26_slug_%3dgerman-influence-us-national-team-strengthening-jurgen-klinsmann

[jesmu84]

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/09/klinsmann-releases-roster-for-friendlies-against-honduras-ecuador.html

Solid call ups. Spector, Beasley and Gooch getting new more chances at the national level, though not sure how I feel about that. Injuries to Torres and Holden hurt us. Interesting with the flood of Latin players and now German-Americans (Chandler, Johnson, Williams). Good to see jurgen is looking past the mls and domestic players to find more foreign born talent; nearly all the Europeans have been doing this for years.

[brewcity77]

I'm happy to see Spector and Gooch getting a chance again. Gooch is definitely earning it with his play in Portugal. Not so pleased to see Rimando -- he's 32 and a runt, we have bigger, younger, better options -- or Orozco Fiscal, who's quickly looking like a failed experiment.

Holden is starting to feel like a frustrating story. Wasn't quite ready in 2010 to take a major role, finally broke out at the club level for Bolton, now can't stay on the pitch. I really hope he isn't the next Charlie Davies or Benny Feilhaber, the guy that looks like the difference maker who just can't consistently get into the team.

Up front, I don't know what I want. I think Altidore's our best current option, but that's not saying much. Agudelo has really disappointed me, and I'm ready for the same from Bunbury. I feel like the young guys just aren't ready and none of the vets even offer what we need, the holding forward that is just as concerned with laying off as he is with scoring (if not more so). Guys like Ching and Casey are clearly past it, and were never what McBride was, I wouldn't mind seeing Justin Braun get a chance, or Davies be allowed to show that he's returned to fitness.

I don't know...our forwards just suck. I hope Klinsy finally gets his first win. These draws and losses aren't what I was hoping for at this point. Oh...and here's that story

The U.S. national team took on a decidedly Mexican flavor in the first three games of the Jurgen Klinsmann era, but his Yanks figure to look a lot more German in the coming months.

• EnlargeJurgen Klinsmann

Hunter Martin/Getty ImagesThe U.S. team will likely take on a more German feel under Jurgen Klinsmann.

That's not simply a result of an injury that could sideline Jose Torres into early 2012, or because of unconvincing performances put in by Edgar Castillo and Michael Orozco Fiscal against Costa Rica last month.

The recent club form of Mexican leaguers DaMarcus Beasley and Herculez Gomez could see both veterans recalled for next month's home friendlies against Honduras and Ecuador, but it's becoming clear that the program's long-standing German influence is taking another leap forward under its new German coach.

After inviting Hoffenheim's Fabian Johnson -- who still awaits FIFA approval of his national team switch from Germany -- to last month's training camp, Klinsmann followed up with a recruiting visit to Johnson's club teammate, Daniel Williams.

Williams -- like Johnson, Timothy Chandler and Jermaine Jones -- is the German-born and -trained son of an American serviceman. Unlike Johnson, however, he has never played in an official match for Germany at the youth level, which removes at least one bureaucratic hurdle.

But Johnson's eligibility for the U.S. remains unclear, since being born in a foreign country to one American parent does not automatically make one a U.S. citizen. Williams reportedly is a citizen, but even if that information is accurate, getting a passport -- and all the documents required to apply for one -- could take time. (Calls and emails to Williams' agent and to Hoffenheim were not immediately returned).

There is no shortage of other German-based prospects emerging from the country's world-class youth system, a list that includes potential dual-nationals like Hertha Berlin's John Anthony Brooks and Alfredo Morales, and Bayern Munich's Fabian Hurzeler, as well as Americans abroad such as Charles Renken and Joseph Gyau of Hoffenheim, 1860 Munich's Bobby Wood and Dortmund's Terrence Boyd, who Brent Latham profiled in this blog earlier this week.

And while there are also scores of young Yanks learning their trade in quality environments in Mexico, the relative strength of Germany's national team and domestic league works more to the Americans' advantage.

Despite seeing increased playing time in the Bundesliga this season, players like Johnson and Williams, ages 23 and 22, respectively, are known commodities who probably missed their window for a call from Die Mannschaft. While Chandler turned down a call to represent Germany's U-21 squad after making his U.S debut last March, recent reports that German senior team coach Joachim Loew was trying to woo him were quickly debunked.

The California-based Klinsmann clearly admires Latin flair, but the circumstances, the strong connections to club coaches in his homeland and the Yanks' evolving player pool suggest that his U.S. team will be built more in the ex-striker's own image of archetypal German skill and physicality.

Notes

• There's no doubt there's a new feel to the U.S. national team under Klinsmann, but on the field, there's actually a lot of the same-old, same-old. In fact, Klinsmann has yet to give a single U.S. player his first cap. Will someone new take the field in the next set of friendlies, against Honduras or Ecuador? We'll get an idea when the Yanks' roster is released this week.

• With many European teams still trying to qualify for Euro 2012, the U.S. isn't likely to finalize its November schedule until after next month's FIFA match days. Expect a pair of games, though, even if a potential foe -- Scotland, perhaps? -- unexpectedly qualifies for UEFA's playoffs. If such an eventuality unfolds, the U.S. has backup options so it isn't left in the lurch.

• One team the Yanks definitely won't face in November is Germany, which has games scheduled against the Netherlands and Ukraine. That doesn't rule out the possibility of playing in Germany, however, against a South American or African national team with a mostly European-based roster. If it doesn't happen this year, expect it to at some point under Klinsmann. Deutschland hosted the last neutral-site U.S. friendly, against Poland in 2006.

[reinko]

Getting excited for the Darby this weekend!

Go BLUES!

COYB

[MUfan12]

Getting excited for the Darby this weekend!

Go BLUES!

COYB

"In my time at Liverpool we always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool reserves." -Bill Shankly

[JWags85]

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/09/klinsmann-releases-roster-for-friendlies-against-honduras-ecuador.html

Solid call ups. Spector, Beasley and Gooch getting new more chances at the national level, though not sure how I feel about that. Injuries to Torres and Holden hurt us. Interesting with the flood of Latin players and now German-Americans (Chandler, Johnson, Williams). Good to see jurgen is looking past the mls and domestic players to find more foreign born talent; nearly all the Europeans have been doing this for years.

Its nice of him to bring up DaMarcus Beasley's corpse.  And no Bornstein, hurrah!

I'm hoping Agudelo kind find some sort of form.  He showed flashes initially but has been largely disappointing since.  Here's to proving me wrong.

Also, for those of you who are interested/inclined, Grantland has a podcast called "Men in Blazers" with Michael Davis and Roger Bennett who talk mostly EPL and some international/other European leagues.  Its both awesome and entertaining as its two Brits with ample soccer knowledge and terminology, but they have been in the states long enough that they use plenty of American analogies and references to other sports you won't find from alot of European commentators.  Good stuff.

[brewcity77]

Wow...rugged loss last night. This team is really frustrating to watch right now. In almost every game, they seem to dominate possession early, create all kinds of chances, and be the better team from the kickoff. Yet every game, they run out of steam in the second half and end up giving up a goal. Costa Rica, Belgium, now Ecuador. I don't know if they just aren't well-conditioned enough or if it's that we don't have a poaching forward that can get the final ball after all the first half possession we build. Either way, this clearly isn't working right now.

Also...can we never see Tim Ream again? Why is Omar Gonzalez mulling over switching nationalities and Tim Ream is giving up goals for the national team? Omar should be up in a heartbeat getting caps. He's bigger, stronger, and I honestly believe just better.

*Sigh*

Things may be different under Klinsmann, but the results sure haven't been any better. I know they're just friendlies, but this team needs to show something real soon, because WC qualifying is just around the corner.