Brutal. Not really sure how else to describe yesterday's game. Just a really rough way to end our World Cup. A few post-game thoughts:
1) Obviously, hindsight is 20-20, and it is easy for us to pick apart Bradley's coaching decisions after they turn out to be duds. But, we need more from our manager. Ricardo Clark played bad against England and helped hand them a goal. Therefore, he sits out the next two matches. Then, he inexplicably starts yesterday, turns the ball over in an extremely dangerous area, and we are punished with a goal in the 6th minute. About 10 minutes later, Clark picks up a yellow card for a silly challenge. Bradley subs him out 15 minutes after that. For a frame of reference, Bradley made one substitution before halftime in all of the qualification and world cup matches before yesterday; it was because of an injury. The decision to start Clark altered our entire gameplan. When we really could have used a sub, we didn't have any left. I am not sure what Clark has been doing in practice, but it must be really impressive. Edu is clearly the better, smarter option. Until Clark proves himself on a big stage, there is simply no way he should be starting.
Findley was another crazy decision. In the first two matches of the world cup, Findley created very little and failed to capitalize when other players created for him. This was exactly what happened yesterday. The partnership of Findley and Jozy was never going to be enough. When Findley had a great scoring chance from about 6 yards out, he fired directly at the goalie. I'm not sure why Bradley was so bent on starting Findley.
When it comes down to it, Bradley's player selections were poor. He was asking a lot from players who have not shown they can deliver. It's hard to justify why Buddle did not get any playing time yesterday. Ok, I think you get the idea.
2) Where is our finishing? Jozy did not have a single goal during tournament, but yet he had soooo many chances. The same goes for Findley. If we want to be a great team (and yes, we are capable of that) then we need to finish a greater percentage of our opportunities! Our forwards need to want the ball and command attention. They don't do that right now. Jozy is clearly part of our future, but he needs to improve. I wasn't really considering it until yesterday, but how much different would our tournament have been with Charlie Davies?!?! Davies has an "it" factor that none of the others do. I hope he can keep developing, improving and rehabbing. It would be fantastic to see him in our squad in 2014. (For those of you with limited soccer knowledge, Davies was involved in a very serious car accident and suffered severe injuries which prevented him from being on our squad.)
3) The toughest thing about the loss is that we outplayed Ghana. They capitalized on two huge mistakes by our team. Other than that, they created very little. I already discussed Ricardo Clark's turnover in the defensive third of the field. Going into extra time, we looked like the likelier team to score. Within three minutes Ghana creates a goal from nothing as Bocanegra is out of position and shoved off the ball too easily. It was one of those plays that makes you realize how athletically inferior we are to most of the other teams. I think we can all agree that if the game had gone to penalty kicks, our money would have been with Tim Howard.
4) We need to develop defenders that are soccer players. I think we all should applaud Demerit and Bocanegra, but they simply cannot keep up with top-class strikers. If Onyewu had played, he probably would have suffered a similar fate. Additionally, our defenders need to be better with the ball. Like Ryan said, it is so valuable to have centerbacks that can distribute and kickstart a scoring opportunity. Too often, our defenders just bomb the ball down field. We need to improve in this area if we want to reach the next level of international soccer. I think it is safe to assume that Demerit, Bocanegra, Cherundolo and possibly Onyewu will not be in our squad four years from now. So we need to find the next wave of defenders.
5) I know it seems like this whole post is negative, but there are some positives that we can take away from this World Cup. First, we won our group. Second, we still have some good, young talent that will take a lot away from this tournament. For example, Michael Bradley played great, and I've never been a big fan of his. But he proved that he can play on the big stage. I also think the whole experience will do great things for Jozy. He needs to improve the mental aspect of his game, and I think he will. Keep in mind, he is only 20 years old. So there is plenty of time for him to expand his game.
Overall, our team played well for stretches of the World Cup. But we were consistently plagued by mental and physical lapses. We got caught out of position too frequently, and our opponents made us pay. Well, it's four more years until we get another crack it. In August we play Brazil in an exhibition match in New Jersey. It will be very interesting to see what our lineup looks like. I hope that it includes some fresh faces because we all know that preparation for the 2014 World Cup starts now.
Other Cup News: Despite the US being out, there is still tons of great soccer to go. Look for Germany v. Argentina on Saturday. That should be a classic. Also, Brazil plays Chile tomorrow and Spain faces Portugal on Tuesday. Both of those matches are worth watching. I'll be rooting for Spain the rest of the way. I might try to preview some of these later matches if people are interested. Thanks for putting up with the US previews. If the blog is still up and running in four years, we will have to do it again! Haha!
Do good and be good.
Jon
Great post Jon. I think it's pretty easy to talk about all the bad things the United States did against Ghana, but I'm happy you also mentioned some of the good stuff.
ReplyDeleteWhen Landon Donovan was being called "the best American soccer player EVER", I was thinking...not so much. Don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of his since he started his career in San Jose, but he didn't do enough in this world cup (on or off the ball) to convince me of such a grandiose title. In fact, I remember being more impressed by him in 2002 than any other world cup.
And, I don't know what lit a fire under the american butts in the second half, but that's definitely worth figuring out. (Since Landon was on the field the whole game, I would probably argue it wasn't him. )
Overall, we really do need to find some new, young talent; but we also need to develop the young players we have now, so we can have some leaders on the field in 2014. I know Landon was supposed to be that leader, but he didn't really fit the bill.
Maybe we, as americans, are so used to ONE key player (you know, the Kobe Bryants of the world), that we forget about the other, equally valuable, players. Perhaps if it was more about Landon+Dempsey+Edu, or some combination of players, the team dynamics would be stronger.
Anyways, after all this drama, I am officially unsure of who to support for the rest of the world cup. Argentina seems like a pretty good bet with Maradona coaching and Higuain being the leader in goals, but Brasil, Spain and Germany aren't so bad either. I guess I'll just have to keep my heart set on 2014 for the US and Italia!
The key for 2014 has to be Jozy. These next few years are critical for his maturation and development. If he can be the leader on and off the field at age 24 like Landon is now, the team will be in a good place. That's a big IF, though
ReplyDeleteSince Liana mentioned Kobe that got me thinkg, he played soccer growing up in Italy, and like Nash could have gone pro. Can you imagine Lebron in goal with his size/wingspan/athleticism? CP3 or Rondo in that Donovan role. KG as Gooch? Get Dirk to defect from Germany - reminds me of England's Crouch for some reason, big lanky dude to lob up corner balls. Steal Mbah Moute from Cameroon to shore up the midfield. Who am I forgetting, Wade as striker?
Pulling for zee Germans
Egel: The most crucial aspect to the development of our team is getting some of those types of athletes to play soccer instead of other sports. I think in 20 yrs, there will be some of them choosing soccer, and then, the world will see great US teams.
ReplyDeleteLiana: Landon has those moments when he is the best player ever. I think one big problem is that we are sort of forced to use him on the wing. If we had more players who could play the wings, we could experiment a bit with other formations that would allow Donovan to move inside and get more touches on the ball. I think that was one big weakness with Bradley's strategy was that he never fostered talent like Stuart Holden to play out wide.
Another problem is how we started every game. I'm not sure you can put that solely on the coach, but we needed to come out of the locker room with a different intensity. We could never do that.
I totally agree that it needs to be a combination of players who lead our team. Getting Davies back would be huge because he really plays well with Jozy, unlike the guys we saw this world cup. Also, we need to find a partner for Bradley. I firmly believe that it's Edu after his showing. The huge question mark will be with the defense. We have to find/develop our young talent. Hopefully we start to see some names pop up over the next year or so.
I am just rooting for good games the rest of the way. I like Spain because I have been there a few times and like the players, but I am not really attached to them. David Villa is probably my favorite player in the world. Watching him put in 40 yard bombs is something special.
The game tomorrow between Spain and Portugal should be fantastic. I'd urge everyone to watch.
Hey Y'all- I could not agree with a blog title any more. Well, maybe if it was, "Bradley kills chemistry". Haha. Although I will probably fail, I am going to try to stay away from analyzing the Ghana game. It still upsets me too much. I like the direction these responses have gone. Let's think about the future. One huge positive is that Donovan and Dempsey will have one more World Cup in their bodies. Hopefully, next World Cup, they actually play their desired positions.
ReplyDeleteOne player I want to adress right away is Jozy Altidore. I am not a fan. Yes, he is only 20. Yes, he is very athletic. HOWEVER, he lacks the technical ability to play at a level needed for the U.S. to take the next step in international play. I hope I am wrong. If someone can take a chance on him and really craft his on ball skills, he could be a beast in 2014.
Next, I agree with everything Jon said about the defense. I touched on it already so I don't want to beat a dead horse. But, seriously! Their play is what decided the fate of the team. Horrible, inexcusable play. What makes me the most mad, Jon Spector didn't see the field once!!! Spec is the man. I played with him for 4 years on Region 2 before Untied's youth program picked him up. Bradley has had it out for him. It's a shame. He is the best on ball defender the U.S. has and doesn't shy away from possesion.
Lastly, I agree with you, Jon. Edu impressed me more than any player on the U.S. He showed he is going to be a force in the future. I just wish Holden would of had a chance to show his maturity.
As for the rest of the Cup, it's about to get real gnarly. Spain v Portugal, Argentina v Ze Germans. And with a healthy Robben and Van Persie, the Dutch looked poised to make a run at it. Keep the soccer blogs comming!