US v Costa Rica

And the train kept a' rollin'...

Arena with some brilliant insight on the current composition of the USMNT squad. To each their own.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/03/bru ... rview.html

And it gets better:

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/soccerusa/id/1858?cc=5901

" "Arena discovered unexpected players could set the tone, comparing Dutch-born midfielder Earnie Stewart, the son of a U.S. airman who had been stationed in the Netherlands, to Klinsmann's German contingent.

"Admittedly he spoke English which is different to what we see today," he said, "but the fact he fully bought into the team brought unbelievable energy." "

but there's this too:

""Cobi Jones was not even in the starting 11," he reflected, "but his enthusiasm and attitude made it clear to the rest that they should all understand their roles, so they all bought into our goal and supported each other." "

Come together, USMNT. Everybody is predicting doom, but, simply, win on Friday. COUSMNT!

 

Arena is neither an idiot, a hypocrite, or a xenophobe, but instead is one of the best soccer coaches in this country. A guy who earned his coaching credentials by actually coaching not by just being a great player, which he was by the way, in both soccer and lacrosse. He should have described it differently than "born in other countries" but unless you've seen the interview you dont know if he goes on to qualify that more accurately.

All he said is that we are not making progress. That is what Klinsmann was brought in to do - take us to the next level. There is no way we are making progress when the US has the number of players in it's senior player pool who have exclusively come through the German system. Arena did not have that situation with his teams. Earnie Stewart at least had a season or two playing in MLS. The heart of Arena's teams were products of Bradenton, the US's first organized effort at an academy system to develop our top soccer players. We now have Bradenton, 80 US development academies across the country, and a pro league that is 17 years old, and Klinsmann is giving call-ups to German players who cant make the bench in the second level of the Bundesliga. By all accounts Morales is a talent but why is he developing that player in lieu of working with one of the players coming through the US's system, perhaps even one who can make the bench of his pro team. Why does that player not have to earn his call-up by the same standards as Carlos Bocanegra? Klinsmann wanted unprecedented control over the whole show, he has got it, but he is using the US system's players less than any other coach in the last decade. That is not progress, that is not taking US soccer to the next level but is instead going backward. You dont think Arena gets pissed when young German players are getting all these opportunities with the senior teams and his players like Jose Villarreal and McBean get nothing?

Arena is arrogant, but thankfully he is a credible person who has always had the guts to say what needs to be said. I'll take the reasoning of a Cornell graduate over a former footballer who's only education is a bakers apprenticeship any day of the week. :bow-yellow: :handgestures-salute: :character-beavisbutthead:

You dont have to agree with Arena, but you cant deny this conversation is worth having. Why did Arena's 2002 team have such success with so many young players that came through the American system, but over a decade later we arent seeing that despite still having Bradenton and 80 additional academies supposedly modeled after it?

 

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There is a key difference that no one I've seen seems to be acknowledging, Arena and Bradley were hired just to coach the senior team. They were hired solely to win. Bradley didnt get the job until he showed that he could win as an interim coach. So even if they did go out and get as many players with zero affiliation to our domestic soccer as Klinsmann has that would be fine by me. Those German players are American citizens and if the coach feels they are needed to win then you have to accept it. Klinsmann is the one who made control over the whole youth set-up a requirement for him to accept the job, presumedly because he felt he needed that to bring US soccer to the next level. What is the point of doing that if he is going to spend his time and valuable caps on players that are already in a development system of the level the US aspires to? Klinsmann responds to the players criticism by saying you expect that, he is pushing them, getting them out of their comfort zone so they can get to the next level. Yeah, and a lot of the players he is doing this with are in the German system not the US system. Isnt he suppose to be pushing the US system, getting the US systems' players to the next level. If he gets more out of Terrance Boyd good, he will go back to Germany and the second division Bundesliga will benefit. What about Juan Agudelo? No caps in how long? Given the control Klinsmann asked for and was given, does he not have a responsibility bring along players in the US system, give them preferential treatment for the sake of their development? Because if he doesnt then who is doing it, is there a vacuum? That is the difference between Jurgen and Bruce. That is why Klinsmann is the one that can more acurately be described as an idiotic hypocritical xenophobe, although I wont do that. He is simply stupid, scatterbrained (as one of the players described him), and trying to remain important.

 

While I won't crush Arena... totally :roll: , since without seeing the interview I don't know the tone he was using. Some of his quotes were ignorant for a man who went to Cornell (in fact some of the quotes sound like he was an uneducated baker's apprentice). Not sure if he was misquoted, but he said "Ernie Stewart spoke english, which is different than what we see today'. Was he implying that the German-Americans (let's not forget these guys are Americans) don't? They all speak english, some better than others, but all pretty fluently. Ernie's english at first (Mo, Ernie ended his career in the MLS, he was in the dutch league when he joined the USMNT) wasn't great either, but not better than the G-A's. I guess having only one German-American was acceptable back when Thomas Dooley was the captain.

Maybe Arena meant by 'lack of progress' was that we are missing the next generation of American born stars? Let's not forget that there are two players that would be stalwarts on the current squad if not for catastrophic injuries, Holden and Davies. Add those two with Jozy, Zusi, Guzan, Shea, Omar, et al. and that's the norm.

The assertion that American born players are not given the chances that the G-A's simply isn't true. One of the main criticisms this week of JK was that he tried too many combinations. He has in fact brought in more MLS players than his predecessors. Why is that? I'll speculate that he is trying to get his message across of change to as many of the young players as possible. JK hasn't taken away opportunities for US born players, he's given more. We could go on a case by case basis with players i.e.. Boyd over Aguedelo. I believe Juan played v Russia in Nov, and was invited to the Jan. camp. Boyd has been tearing it up with his club team, while Juan can't find the back of the net with Chivas USA. Take a look at both players current form and there is no way anyone can say Boyd isn't more deserving than Aguedelo on merit.

Another thing that bothers me reading that article is the implication from Arena, that the G-As aren't team players. Sociology is a fascinating subject, and the 'point a finger at the different' ones is a ready made excuse. Let's never forget that while we've qualified for ever WC since 1990, it's a bumpy road (aside from 94) every single time.

I'm glad to see Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey have spoken up this week about it and I have a feeling the lads are going to have an inspired performance tonight.

 

If Klinnsman thinks Terrance Boyd is one the top US strikers then he should be calling in Terrence Boyd. Are you going to argue that he should not be calling in Jozy or Clint or Bradley? Players deceide where they play and the majority of the better players are going to go abroad becasue they can make more money by doing so. Regardless of Boyd your agrument that Klinsmann is not pulling players from the US is false Mo. He called up and used Cameron and Brek before they went to England and nine of the original twenty-three players called in for the upcoming matches are from the MLS. The addition of Brad Davis makes ten which means Klinnsmann is paying attention to the MLS but if he doesn't think those players are the best of the American players available than he will call in who he feels is best. If you don't like Klinnsman I get that but your diatribes get very one sided when you ignore the American based players he is chosing either for your convenience or for whatever reason. If you want to complain about Klinnsman go right ahead becasue I get it but don't make up reasons to do so when there is enough real meat on the bone to take a bite out of. Klinsmann has used at least as many players from as many leagues as any coach I can recall and good for him for doing so but i don't feel at all as if he has ignored the US system in doing so. Whether he has done it effectively or not is a whole different question.

 

Joe and Barry please show me where I said Klinsmann is not calling up MLS players. I didnt say it, anywhere. I said he has been guilty of not holding G-A players to the same standard as non G-A players in terms of getting playing time with their club as a requisite for call-ups. I gave a specific example of Alfredo Morales which cannot be disputed. The guy cant make the bench for a second division side and he gets called up. I also said that the only reason this is relevant is because Klinsmann has authority over our development system. When so many of the players he calls up have come exclusively from the German system that does not represent an improvement in US soccer player development, something he has responsibility for. When he denies a call-up to a player in the US's system for a less or equally deserving one (by his stated criteria) out of the German system, he is not doing the job of improving player development here in the US. The anonymous USMNT players in Straus's article said the G-A were held to a different standard, do you guys seriously think they were lying ?

 

Forget everything else for a second, I can't believe we're up to 50 posts and really haven't talked about the game. :shock: The weather for Denver could get ugly, hope it's not to detrimental to the quality of play.

Mo, one of the great things about debate is you can always go player by player, is Morales getting preferential treatment? I have no idea, I don't even remember when he was last invited to camp? Had to look it up and he did go the full 90 for Hertha Berlin last time out, but as a mid (thought he was a defender?) I have no doubts that Villareal is very much on the radar.

 

Did you read your own reply to Heather? You know that part about showing favoritism to Boyd over someone like Agudelo and the part where you insinuate that Klinsman is doing nothing to advance US soccer? The part where you almost don't call Klinsman a xenophobe? Your post comes across as unbalanced as you claim Klinsmann to be because you give him no credit for bringing in guys like Mixx, Corona or any of the other young Americans he has called into camp. Would Shea have gotten a chance to move abroad if Klinsman had not kept calling him into camp even when he was being questioned for doing so?

Klinsman may be the idiot everyone thinks or he may be going to Germany to plug some gaps until he can develop some young talent. Time will tell.

 

apparently we scored a goal somewhere there. I didnt quite see it. well done boys but I'm not sure this game will or should go on.

 

imo the game should be suspended. This is NOT a soccer game

 

Three points is all that matters. Props to Beasley for putting in an excellent night at left back. I hope someone remembered to fix them all hot chocolate after they came in from the snow.

 

:text-+1:

Hard to really judge individual performances in a match like that, but solid enough all around. 3 much-needed points at home and hopefully galvanizing enough to give us a shot at coming away with something Tuesday.

 

In Honduras vs. Mexico it was 105 degrees, and Honduras came back from 0-2 to tie at 2-2. In CONCACAF, you use weather to your advantage whenever you can. Well done gentlemen.