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American Soccer |OT2| Party Like It's 1999.


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I've always admired Klinsmann as a player since I first watched him win with West Germany in Italia '90 when I was a kid. And it was a great thrill for me when I met him a few years ago.

But it's been painfully obvious for at least the last couple of years that he's reached his expiration date with the team. Far too many players play worst for their National team than their club teams. Also our player talent isn't strong enough to constantly play so many players out of position. For them to be effective on the international level, our USMNT players need to be in their comfort spot. Klinsmann never seemed to understand that and would pick the worst times to do tactical experiments.

Klinsmann did do a pretty good job of introducing some solid youth players from both the obvious and unexpected places (Bobby Wood, Pulisic, Yedlin, Morris, Zardes, and etc) and established some nice trade routes with German clubs, which our upcoming youth players will benefit from. It's too bad he got fired as the Technical Director as well.

But another of Klinsmann's shortcomings was that he never established a creative and composed midfield. He valued work-horses like Bradley, Jones, and Beckerman, while pretty much ignoring technical creative players like Nagbe and Nygen. His obsession with fitness in training camps also seemed counter-productive.

I'm guessing Arena will basically just be tasked to get us through qualifying utilizing the existing assets (ie. our old and busted players). But I really hope we get someone in the next couple of years who will drain the swamp and go in a drastic different direction. Someone who can motivate and inspire the players with their gravitas. Klinsmann was able to inspire the players early on but eventually his antics overshadowed it.
 
Last night I wrapped up my fifa season, playing as the sounders. The conference finals were exactly identical to the real world version (previous round wasnt).

Toronto beat Montreal 3-1 on aggregate.
I beat Colorado 3-2 on aggregate.

Fucking Giovinco scored a beauty in the 89th minute to give Toronto the cup in a 3-2 final.

So... I guess fifa predictions are only accurate up to a certain point is what I'm saying here :)
 
Steven Goff said that Bruce Arena as USMNT coach is official.

EDIT:

- Breaking: Bruce Arena named coach of U.S. national soccer team
It’s been more than a decade since Bruce Arena last coached the U.S. men’s national soccer team, an eight-year run that included both historic and disappointing World Cup performances.

Now he’s back, assigned with righting a 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign that lost its way under Jurgen Klinsmann and is in danger of missing the sport’s quadrennial spectacle for the first time since 1986.

The U.S. Soccer Federation on Tuesday announced that Arena, a three-time MLS Cup champion the past eight seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy, will take over the program, effective Dec. 1.

“When we considered the possible candidates to take over the men’s national team at this time, Bruce was at the top of the list,” USSF President Sunil Gulati said in a written statement. “His experience at the international level, understanding of the requirements needed to lead a team through World Cup qualifying, and proven ability to build a successful team were all aspects we felt were vital for the next coach.”

His hiring comes one day after the federation fired Klinsmann, whose recent on-field failure overshadowed his long-term vision for remolding American soccer. Arena was not hired to revolutionize anything; he was tapped to navigate the final round of CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying competition — something he did successfully twice — and get the Americans to Russia two summers from now.

“Any time you get the opportunity to coach the national team it’s an honor,” Arena said. “I’m looking forward to working with a strong group of players that understand the challenge in front of them after the first two games of the Hex [final round]. Working as a team, I’m confident that we’ll take the right steps forward to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.”
 

Dartastic

Member
Last night I wrapped up my fifa season, playing as the sounders. The conference finals were exactly identical to the real world version (previous round wasnt).

Toronto beat Montreal 3-1 on aggregate.
I beat Colorado 3-2 on aggregate.

Fucking Giovinco scored a beauty in the 89th minute to give Toronto the cup in a 3-2 final.

So... I guess fifa predictions are only accurate up to a certain point is what I'm saying here :)
I hope they're actually accurate because if the Sounders win the MLS Cup 2016 really is the darkest timeline.
 
Considering how long they waited to pull the trigger it was really their only option. Had they done this a year ago they would have been free to go out and find someone new and better.
Yup. He's the best choice for a quick fix to get the team back on track. Being stuck in this position is on Gulati for the early extension before the 2014 World Cup and not pulling the trigger last Summer before qualifying started. Hopefully they get someone interesting in the TD role in the meantime.
 

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Yup. He's the best choice for a quick fix to get the team back on track. Being stuck in this position is on Gulati for the early extension before the 2014 World Cup and not pulling the trigger last Summer before qualifying started. Hopefully they get someone interesting in the TD role in the meantime.

There was 0 reason not to pull the trigger after the CONCACAF Cup fiasco. Bob Bradley got fired for less and had better results. With any luck they've already started talking to some people about taking over after Russia.

I do wonder who will get the TD job.
 

Dartastic

Member
Nagbe is apparently visiting Celtic Park for some reason. Please oh please oh please don't be getting sold to Celtic FC.

Also, I feel like this is a good time to post this gif. I love it.
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zroid

Banned
I don't know what tthe result of this game will be, but I can say with the utmost confidence that Piatti will score a goal
 
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