After the US was eliminated against Ghana, Jurgen Klinsmann outlined a blueprint that could cause a US soccer revolution. While I'm skeptical that there will ever be a soccer "revolution" here (I see it as more of a very gradual growth), the fact that he took the time to do that on ESPN said a lot. He too clearly saw that Bradley and his team had under-performed, and may have been jockeying for position for the job. In the end US Soccer balked at Klinsmann wanting total control of the team and went with 'ol reliable. The interesting thing here is the only national team job that Klinsmann held was with Germany in the 2006 World Cup. When Klinsmann took over for Germany he completely changed the German program. He decided that a youth movement was in order because he felt the team had gone stale (how's it going Italy). After a relatively poor lead up to the Cup, Klinsmann was facing heavy criticism. The German fans didn't like that he had replaced many of the older staples on the team with younger talent, but they especially were not too fond of him living here in the US while coaching the team. However during the World Cup Klinsmann and his team silenced the critics by making a semi-final run where they lost to eventual champions, Italy.
I could go on for days about this but I will stop myself here. Basically I feel let down by US Soccer yet again. Rarely is it a good idea to keep a coach on for more than one world cup cycle because it is a long, gruelling process and it is easy to get complacent at the wrong time. Even worse, they kept a coach that never really impressed. I wish Bob Bradley and our team the best, I really want us to succeed. Oh yeah, one more thing... Screw you Aston Villa, you should have taken him.
Transfer Updates
- Asamoah Gyan (a personal favorite from the World Cup) signed a 13 million pound (don't have the symbol on my laptop) deal with Sunderland. This deal is actually the biggest in the clubs history.
- Robinho transferring from Manchester City to AC Milan is pretty big news. He was unhappy at City (who wouldn't be) and had been asking for a move to the Spanish or Italian league for awhile. It is believed to be around a 22 million pound deal.
- Klass-Jan Huntelaar left AC Milan and is joining Schalke 04. Deal believed to be around 11 million euros.
- Last but certainly not least (okay, maybe), Demarcus Beasley finally got out of a bad situation at Rangers and is joining Hannover 96 and US National teammate Steve Cherundolo. I couldn't find the price anywhere so maybe someone can help with that. Now it's time for Edu to get out of there, if only he was better.
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ReplyDeleteIt's a matter of perception. Soccer can never truly catch on in this country if the expectation is a comparable national support that can be seen in European and African nations. American football, basketball, (god help me) even baseball are too big of a draw for there to be much room left on the pie for soccer. That being said, soccer is obviously more popular now than it has been in the past, but that may be a viewing spike that occurs only every 4 years. I don't think Americans are likely to be devoted to soccer through the long haul in the same way that we follow and digest thousands of hours of media with the other top sports. It seems more likely that we reach a plateau as opposed to some massive increase in American soccer fandom. Of course, whose to blame? The product. Why should people get hyped to watch an inferior showcasing of talent. Thinking of Beckham and Henry, sure big names lead to more media exposure, but I'm not sure that MLS latching onto fading international stars will really translate to a steady upswing in soccer viewership in the US. Simple fact is that we need better domestic talent. Yet, to improve American talent, more players probably need to play overseas. But, that sword bites both ways since if the yanks send their best players abroad, the dregs of the MLS will be forced to take on a larger role (a prospect that nobody relishes). Still, if Al Sharpton wants to pout about slave/master relationships in professional sports, maybe he should look at poor Landon Donovan
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Cherundolo doesn't deserve a shout out. He is a busta.
@eric... i know cherun-solo-dolo doesnt deserve a shoutout. but he got one. punk.
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of room in this country for soccer fandom... we have soooo much money and there are no sports played during the MLS season nor the world cup.
and as far as players at the end of their career... just watch a red bulls game. its actually fun to watch. henry and rafa marquez are making the rest of the red bulls players considerably better in a short time. Soccer hasnt reached its plateau yet. the average attendance for an MLS game is only 200 fans less than the average attendance for an NBA game. And its been increasing recently. Plus I dont feel US players going overseas hurting the MLS because they will come back at the end of their careers. and if more players are going overseas it means more players are getting better, and some of them will have started in the MLS.
THIS.
ReplyDeletei was so disheartened to see Bob was renewed. Biggest reason was the blatant nepotism; his son sucks. Edu and Feilhaber should have been the starting central mids.
/rant off
honestly i dont mind michael bradley all that much. I think him and Feilhaber have the most upside out of our center middies. I think Edu should be reserved for if... no when.. one or the other makes multiple bad decisions... which both are prone to do.
ReplyDelete