Belem Posted June 19, 2006 Report Share Posted June 19, 2006 The US has a major rebuilding task ahead of them for the next World Cup, as a lot of their players are older. Reyna will not be around in 2010. McBride will not be around in 2010. Keller will not be around in 2010. Whether Arena sticks around to rebuild the roster or someone else comes in, it will be a challenge to continue the advances the US soccer team has made since the World Cup in 2002. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Are they borderline now? Teams have bad games. They had a bad game against the Czechs. The Czechs played great as well. As for CONCOCAF, Faroe Islands is not in the region. I think they are UEFA as I recall Scotland playing them a year or two a ago. Also, in the '02 world cup CONCOCAF teams were the ONLY region to have ALL its entrants get out of the group stages. All regions aren't equal in depth and quality obviously. The FIFA rankings are a joke but I think the Ameriacn team deserves to be in the competition. They got there the same way everyone else did. As for who the U.S. team had to play to get in it, its not as rough a road as the UEFA and south american region had but ask Iran and the Saudis who they had to beat? As well as the Koreans. Its speculation on my part but I think outside of UEFA and possibly the south american region, the U.S. are good enough to qualify from any other region INCLUDING the African regions. There is plenty of youth in the side and there are plenty of players coming up to take the place of McBride. Of the starting 11 v. Italy, Bocanegra bor in '79, Beasley in '82, Dempsey in '83, Oneywu in '83, Donovan in '82...all 27 or younger. The U.S. isn't a top 5 team but I would say a definite top 20 side and I would ask 20 countries better than the U.S. I will say this though. I watched the Italy game with some friends who I was trying to convince to give 'football' a chance and it failed. It failed because of the incessant play acting and diving. Its a cultural thing. In american sports you are taught not to show weakness to an opponent. When players roll around grabbing their ankles and seemingly get a miraculous recovery with the 'holy' water from the spray bottle, its no wonder the typical American sports fan sees the sport as a 'sissy' or 'girly' sport. I disagree obvioulsy as a fan of the sport but its hard to dissuade American men from that view when they see it at the world cup. If FIFA wants the sport to catch on in America they need to get the referees to stamp that out. If I may make a suggestion, I would have referees weed out diving and if a player tries to waste time by feigning injuries and having to leave the field of play in the last 10 minutes of the match he has to stay out for at least 5 minutes and not be allowed back in immediately. McBride took his elbow to the face like a man as we say here. If it were an Italian, he'd need life support equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 ...and I stand by my statement that fat Frank Lampard is overrated. He's a good player but NOT world class by any stretch of the imagination that all Chelsea fans and some English fans think. Mourinho's system is tailor made for him as I've said, he doesn't have to defend and not the primary playmaker. He gets to wait to get into a scoring position while others do the work. The reason why he's not been successful in the English side is because he doesn't bring anything to the table that is unique. Gerrard does. Carrick does. But he's not a box to box center mid or a defensive center mid and Joe Cole is a better playmaker than he is from the wing position or he's not a good enough playmaker for the WC. Sorry, it may sound harsh but its how I see it. A poster or two called Fabregas overrated and he masterminded Spains comeback. Torres would not have scored if Fabregas had not been on the pitch and I don't think he's 18 yet! My totally unsolicited and probably totally unwanted advice is have Carrick play the Nicky Butt role. Let Gerrard loose in the middle of the pitch. Becks can stay on the right if he's having an impact, if not, Lennon comes in. Joe cole on the right, leave Crouch in England, he shouldn't even been allowed on the plane. Owen doesn't have enoguh matches since his injury so he stays on the bench. Rooney gets some minutes, Defoe should have had a call up, Put Walcott in, he looked great the few times he came on in the games he's played and if age was important Owen shouldn't have played in '98. there are a few strikers they should have had instead of Crouch. His presense begs a squad to hoof it long so he can he can win the ball in the air instead of a good buildup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belem Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Obrien, Pope, Mastroeni, Ching, and Lewis will also be too old for the World Cup in 2010. Hopefully, younger players will emerge, but the USA made significant strides with the older players, and replacing them is easier said than done. If Arena moves on, Klinsman would be a good choice to coach the US national team as he lives in California.:: England was effective against T&T with Beckham playing the center midfield role and Lennon on the right side. After England went with this lineup, Beckham had a beautiful cross to Crouch for a goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristianTroy Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Hey you people from the not so sunny island! Frank Lampard is a leader on the field, sometimes it is not important if he is playing an unbelievable innovative ball, it is more important how he keeps the shit together! He is t he leader, not the guy who wears the underoos of his spice girl! Lampard is amazing, no matter what. England has 6 points, it cannot be better, there are only 6 points to take! They don't have to show their full potential at the group stage! They will power up in round 2, I have no doubt about it! All this crazy talking who is better and who is not based on your guys premier league teams preferences is contraproductive! All players in your team have 3 lions on the shirt! It is ONE TEAM, it doesn't matter where one plays, they play for England god damnit! You win or loose together as a team (Sir Bobby Charlton) If you guys keep on arguing like that you will loose as a team, because the same shit is talked on the media and the team is aware about it, which is definately not helping! England has a shot on the title, other countried admire players like Gerard, Lampard, Rooney, Cole, Beckham etc... why in gods name are you bashing your own players? It is world cup and England won every game. Celebrate! Don't expect the same football than in the Premier League.... you can't buy Drogbas, Henrys, Ronaldos, Van Nistelroys, but you have amazing players, all they gotta do is sticking together like a team and it should be impossible to beat them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted June 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 The problem with the English squad is that they don't gel, and possibly this time around that not the best players have been taken to Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 Lampard is not the england's team leader. At this level, just about all the starters have leadership experience and a fair amount of them captain their club side. Some players are better suited and some arent'. I happen to think that Lampard is not suited for the present England make up. I see no evidence that he does. I ask this. What is Lampard's role? Can someone answer that? I think part of the problem is the manager. As far as the American team, no one is worried about retiring stars. We've had that before. The '94 team had a lot of experienced guys who passed the mantle on to others. We'll do the same. More Americans are playing in Europe than at any point ever. America has a domestic league now which helps considerabl. I was big on Klinesmann being manager and thought he was the perfect choice. He loves America and doesn't want to leave. Hopefully he will be offered it after Arena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belem Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 Let's hope the successors to the older guys on the US team are not as bad as the guys who played in the 98 World Cup. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 Before 1994 U.S. couldn't even dream of qualifying. In 1994 we only got in because we were hosts. 1998 was the first time we qualified in a long time and we were newbies and played accordingly. 2002 we were in the quarters and a bad call prevented us from the semis. In the interim we have placed no worse than 2nd in our region. We have come leaps and bounds. You don'be beat Portugal and draw against Italy by having luck. America's learning curve is huge and its compounded by the sport not having our best athletes. I think we are getting stronger and stronger. Cobi Jones and a host of others were the old vets that some thought couldn't be replaced and they were more than adequately replaced. The sport is growing and that means more and more athletes choosing it over the top 4 sports. The future is very very bright for American football. We may not equal 2002's accomplishments but one bad game in a tough group happens to teams all the time. I feel badly for the Ivory Coast I think had they been in just about any other group they would have gotten into the next round. They have a good nucleus and a great spine with Kolo Toure, his brother Yaya, Zakora and even Dogma...er...Drogba...sorry...hehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belem Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 No excuse in finishing last in the entire World Cup field in 98, and, in particular, losing to Iran. That was embarrassing. For Ivory Coast, I'm surprised you didn't mention Arsenal's next fullback star, Eboue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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