we need some kind of world cup thread

[Van093]

No player wants to hear their coach say things of that nature, I don't care what level it is. There's ways to convey the intended message without putting a negative spin on it. In a country where soccer is still trying to break into the mainstream, comments and an attitude like that certainly don't help. Identifying talent at a younger age won't necessarily be effective here like it is elsewhere. Kids here play soccer at a young age because they aren't always old enough to play the major sports. Once they are, you see the talent pool dwindle. Pressure to specialize can and does lead to burnout and falling short of expectations (Adu). It's a blessing and a curse that we have such a diverse sports landscape in this country. In a majority of the world, the main sport is soccer. Kids play from the time they can walk. Their best athletes play soccer. Because it is not and likely will never be a part of our culture and because our federation isn't necessarily concerned with advancing the game, mediocrity will continue for our men (and our women are sadly on that same course).

How do you consider our women mediocre? Are you forgetting the already won multiple World cups???

And since you brought up Freddie Adu. He wasn't ready for the level he was pushed into (that's what I mean by the right way)but he sold tickets for a while. As far as 'burn out', that can happen in any sport. The federation isn't concerned with advancing the game??? Are you even old enough to remember where soccer was in the country years ago and how far things have come. Realize that the rest of the world didn't pick up a ball one day and instantly become GREAT.

 

[KelBel12]

How do you consider our women mediocre? Are you forgetting the already won multiple World cups???

And when was the last one? 1999. The rest of the world is getting better and we are not. The USSF is screwed up. They're more worried about keeping the old guard happy (why Pia and Sermanni were fired/resigned) than advancing the game. Then there's the hiring of Jill Ellis who was offered the job before Sermanni and she declined because she liked her role as an assistant. This time, the position of the USSF was "If you want any involvement with this team, it will be as a head coach." If she declined again, she was gone. There were more than qualified candidates (Riley, Parlow-Cone) who would've brought a new energy and philosophy to the team but as evidenced by Sermanni's short tenure, that wasn't going to work. The old guard looked upon Ellis favorably, so that's who got the job. If you pay any attention to the women's team, you'd know that the level and style of play has declined. We are barely getting results against teams we used to beat easily. We should've gotten beat handily by France tonight but they caught a few unlucky breaks. Canada has caught up and is almost even with us (they've also got Sermanni helping out right now). Germany has always been a challenge. Japan. Denmark smashed us at the Algarve. Sweden. I've been te biggest USWNT fan for the last 18, 19 years but the way things have been going is extremely disconcerting with the WWC less than a year away. There's a lot that needs to happen if we want to win #3 and not a lot of time for it to happen.

 

[Van093]

And when was the last one? 1999. The rest of the world is getting better and we are not. The USSF is screwed up. They're more worried about keeping the old guard happy (why Pia and Sermanni were fired/resigned) than advancing the game. Then there's the hiring of Jill Ellis who was offered the job before Sermanni and she declined because she liked her role as an assistant. This time, the position of the USSF was "If you want any involvement with this team, it will be as a head coach." If she declined again, she was gone. There were more than qualified candidates (Riley, Parlow-Cone) who would've brought a new energy and philosophy to the team but as evidenced by Sermanni's short tenure, that wasn't going to work. The old guard looked upon Ellis favorably, so that's who got the job. If you pay any attention to the women's team, you'd know that the level and style of play has declined. We are barely getting results against teams we used to beat easily. We should've gotten beat handily by France tonight but they caught a few unlucky breaks. Canada has caught up and is almost even with us (they've also got Sermanni helping out right now). Germany has always been a challenge. Japan. Denmark smashed us at the Algarve. Sweden. I've been te biggest USWNT fan for the last 18, 19 years but the way things have been going is extremely disconcerting with the WWC less than a year away. There's a lot that needs to happen if we want to win #3 and not a lot of time for it to happen.

If 'you' paid attention, you would see that their level hasn't declined as much as the rest of the world has caught up. That's because foreign women's teams are now getting the same level of training the men are getting which previously wasn't happened. It's easy to say "USSF is screwed up" but that's a cop out. The problem is much, much deeper and you can't just throw money at it.

 

[KelBel12]

If 'you' paid attention, you would see that their level hasn't declined as much as the rest of the world has caught up. That's because foreign women's teams are now getting the same level of training the men are getting which previously wasn't happened. It's easy to say "USSF is screwed up" but that's a cop out. The problem is much, much deeper and you can't just throw money at it.

You're absolutely right. I pay zero attention. None. Whatsoever. Sorry I'm not a delusional homer. You feel saying the federation is screwed up is a cop out. I don't. It all starts with them. If you can't see how things have declined in the last 8-12 months (and I'm certainly not alone in feeling that sentiment), I don't know what more to say.

 

[thefishfryer]

We need to get more women interested in footie

Picture removed by moderator, in violation with the Forum Rules. Please DO read the Forum Guidelines regarding posting pictures in the forum. Thanks!

Please accept my apology for displaying a link to what I thought was a fairly innocent photo of some gentlemen playing football (soccer) in the nude.

 

[Van093]

You're absolutely right. I pay zero attention. None. Whatsoever. Sorry I'm not a delusional homer. You feel saying the federation is screwed up is a cop out. I don't. It all starts with them. If you can't see how things have declined in the last 8-12 months (and I'm certainly not alone in feeling that sentiment), I don't know what more to say.

KelBel...This turned confrontational and I did not intend for that. You are obviously very passionate about your feelings on this and I can respect that. I agree the federation plays a big role in the state of US soccer but I don't think it begins and ends with them. I think you will agree if you allow and incourage a player to be creative in practice it will translate to the feel. But in US, we have a variety of regimented styles that are being forced for all the wrong reasons. Players are discouraged from being an "Individual" in favor of the team concept. Truth is we need both. We don't have that 'feared' player capable of deft ball control in close quarters like a Messi because that is not being developed. That's where I'm coming from and my apologies for what I said