Back in 2015 on the old blog I wrote about the national teams game against Mexico. The point of that post was to highlight that while the team won the game they were losing another battle. I come back to the point that you are only as good as your competition. The national team was not playing up to its potential because they didn't have to. The belief that the U.S. was good enough to always make it to a World Cup is based on potential. If the sport kept growing in the country than they should always make it to any world cup. The problem is that potential is based on the growth of that potential. The growth of that potential is nourished by the competition it faced. The lose to Trinidad and Tobago highlights that the U.S. Soccer Federation is not growing therefore not reaching its potential. The sad part is the previous coach mentioned that this problem might occur but the Soccer Federation did not listen.
The previous coach Jurgan Klinsman took the job as head coach for the mens soccer team with the idea that winning the World Cup won't happen soon. The idea that the United States Mens National Soccer team was going to win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was ludicrous. Klinsman played on a German National team that won a World Cup back in 1990 so he knew what a World Cup winning team looked like. The U.S. was no where near being a World Cup winning team. But what they had and still have was the resources to develop players that together can eventually win a World Cup. He understood that this was not a overnight situation, it would take a lot of time.
The team played well under Klinsman but no one expected them to win the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Coming from Germany he understood that building a foundation to build quality teams that could compete with the established powers in soccer was important. Klinsman saw the need for this first hand in Germany back in 1998 and 2002. The German National team was considered one of the world powers in soccer having won three World Cups out of seven in 2002. The Germans looked at their team and concluded that they could make the semi-finals and even the final for the next few World Cups but they weren't likely to win. This was not good enough for the Germans. So they began a program that began with the lowest tier of the German professional and amateur soccer leagues. The program program was to last ten years with the results showing in the 2014 World Cup. The Germans won their fourth World Cup Championship in 2014 in Brazil.
Jurgan Klinsman was brought into the United States Mens Soccer team program because he helped implement that program with the Germans. Klinsman was the German National team coach when they placed third at the 2006 World Cup. Having been apart of a championship winning team and a high placing national team coach it made sense to have him be the coach of the U.S. mens National team. The success of the Germans extended not only to the mens team but also the women as well. The German womens national team has also won a Womens World Cup. The success that a nation with such a high level of success for both the mens and womens national teams is something the United States Soccer Federation was hoping to duplicate. We already know the U.S. Womens National team has won Womens World Cup more than once. The hop in bringing in Klinsman was to bring in someone who could help the men reach the height the women already have.
The debate about whether or not Klinsman was "the right" person for the job is debatable. Whether or not he was tactically proficient enough to guide the national team to a semi-final at least is debatable. His own record of past success was not open to debate. What I think was debatable was why the head of the U.S. Soccer Federation couldn't implement a program similar to the Germans here in the U.S. It's like he lacked the resources to do so. What really drives this point home is not the success of the Germans. They already won the World Cup, European Championship and many other accolades. They did what they did because third or second place was not good enough for them. What drives this point home was The past success of the Netherlands and the Iceland mens national teams performance at the 2016 European Championships.
Quick history on the Dutch soccer team. In the 1970s the Dutch soccer team was the most feared team in the world. They were considered the most complete team in the world. They could attack, defend, counter-attack, play ring around the rosey with a soccer ball if they wanted. The Dutch had created something called Total Football. This meant that every player could attack, defend, counter-attack and even play goalie if they had to. This made every player on the field an expert at all facets of the game. They were expected to easily win a World cup in 1974 or 1978. They lost both World Cups Finals first to the Germans and than to Argentina. But the effect of Total Football carried on into the 1990s. The caliber of player that came out of the Total Football system changed the way player development was done in many other countries as well. While the exact training methods ahve evolved since the '70s the basic idea is still in many training systems today. So why can't the United States Soccer Federation do a similar thing?
This upcoming World Cup in Russia will feature the Icelandic mens soccer team as a participant. This will mark the second straight major tournament they will play in. They made headlines by defeating the English mens national team to advance in the European Championships in France back in 2016. This was a major achievement considering that England have won a World Cup back in 1966 in England. The English Premier League is the most recognizable soccer league in the world. And England is the birthplace of soccer. So when a country the size of the state of Rhose Island beats them that is a big deal. Here's the thing the Icemen did the same thing that the Germans did to build up the power of their soccer program. They started their program a few years ago but have already seen dramatic improvement.
Now get this. A country the size of Rhode Island so about 350,000 people with only a handful of full time professional soccer players. Their head coach is a dentist by the way. Their nation is the smallest to ever qualify for the World Cup in 2018. They created and popularized the Viking Thunder Clap which many other sports teams has stolen (Minnesota Vikings). They barely have a professional soccer league. Their located near the Arctic Circle. And they don't have a massive budget to spend on producing a soccer program that should be so successful so quickly. How the hell does Iceland qualify for the World Cup when the United Sates of America cannot?
The coach of the mens national team was Bruce Arena. This was his second stint as coach of the team. His first stint was fine for a mediocre team with low expectations. After him came Bob Bradley who had slightly higher expectations. Then came Klinsman who came with honest expectations. This for some people is where Klinsman started to go wrong. He came in with the belief that the United States were not going to win the World Cup anytime soon. He expected the team to truly be able to compete for the World Cup around 2022 or 2026. This level of honesty did not sit well with some within U.S. Soccer. But to everyone else around the world he was just stating the obvious. This willful blindness by people within U.S. Soccer and those who claim to support it was the start of the arrogance that has now cost us a spot in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
After Klinsman came in we won the Gold Cup. That was not a big deal. In an older post on the old blog I wrote about how the U.S. needs better competition than just Mexico if they are to become a better team. The idea being the old adage, 'you're only as good as your competition'. When the U.S. played in the Copa America Centenario in 2016 I thought it would be a great thing for them. I never expected them to win. They weren't good enough to win and no one with a sense of honesty gave them a real chance to win the tournament. The fact that they were in the tournament and could play against Lionel Messi and Argentina was a good thing. They could test their metal and see where they stand against one of the best players in the world and his team. The fact that they made it to the semi-final and lost to Argentina by 4 to 0 was nothing to be ashamed of. They played the Third place game like they were somehow disappointed. They should have won that game and at least shown that they had pride in being the third best team in a competition that the United States had never played in until that tournament. They were special invited guest to the tournament. The should have been thankful just for having the experience of being in this prestigious tournament. But instead players acted like entitled children who didn't get a cake at someone elses birthday party.
That's when things got worse because Klinsman was replaced with Bruce Arena. I don't care what he did in Major League Soccer he wasn't good enough to coach the national team again. It was like going back to an ex-girlfriend who you now wasn't good enough for you anymore but you do it so people can see your with someone. Arena was brought in because he was one the people who kept complaining about how Klinsman was coaching. This was his shot to back up his big talk. Instead he went back to what he knew. That wasn't much to begin with but I knew that. People outside the U.S. knew. Even the people within U.S. Soccer knew it but they brought him back anyway. So when they didn't qualify for the World Cup I don't see why people are surprised.
It's not just that the players who have to carry the weight of this failure. Bruce Arena left before he was fired which is good. But the President of U.S. Soccer needs to go as well. He's had more than enough time to put a stamp on U.S. Soccer but this failure must fall on his head as well. He needs to either leave on his own or be fired. A clear signal needs to be sent that the United States Soccer Federation takes its job seriously. We will play to win a World Cup not just "believe we will", that is not good enough anymore.
To finish this off I implore you to watch this video I saw on ESPNFC. It speaks to the problem of mindset of the American professional soccer player.
www.espn.com
www.foxsports.com
www.fifa.com
www.ussoccer.com
If you liked this post please share and subscribe to receive future posts.
The previous coach Jurgan Klinsman took the job as head coach for the mens soccer team with the idea that winning the World Cup won't happen soon. The idea that the United States Mens National Soccer team was going to win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was ludicrous. Klinsman played on a German National team that won a World Cup back in 1990 so he knew what a World Cup winning team looked like. The U.S. was no where near being a World Cup winning team. But what they had and still have was the resources to develop players that together can eventually win a World Cup. He understood that this was not a overnight situation, it would take a lot of time.The team played well under Klinsman but no one expected them to win the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Coming from Germany he understood that building a foundation to build quality teams that could compete with the established powers in soccer was important. Klinsman saw the need for this first hand in Germany back in 1998 and 2002. The German National team was considered one of the world powers in soccer having won three World Cups out of seven in 2002. The Germans looked at their team and concluded that they could make the semi-finals and even the final for the next few World Cups but they weren't likely to win. This was not good enough for the Germans. So they began a program that began with the lowest tier of the German professional and amateur soccer leagues. The program program was to last ten years with the results showing in the 2014 World Cup. The Germans won their fourth World Cup Championship in 2014 in Brazil.
Jurgan Klinsman was brought into the United States Mens Soccer team program because he helped implement that program with the Germans. Klinsman was the German National team coach when they placed third at the 2006 World Cup. Having been apart of a championship winning team and a high placing national team coach it made sense to have him be the coach of the U.S. mens National team. The success of the Germans extended not only to the mens team but also the women as well. The German womens national team has also won a Womens World Cup. The success that a nation with such a high level of success for both the mens and womens national teams is something the United States Soccer Federation was hoping to duplicate. We already know the U.S. Womens National team has won Womens World Cup more than once. The hop in bringing in Klinsman was to bring in someone who could help the men reach the height the women already have.
The debate about whether or not Klinsman was "the right" person for the job is debatable. Whether or not he was tactically proficient enough to guide the national team to a semi-final at least is debatable. His own record of past success was not open to debate. What I think was debatable was why the head of the U.S. Soccer Federation couldn't implement a program similar to the Germans here in the U.S. It's like he lacked the resources to do so. What really drives this point home is not the success of the Germans. They already won the World Cup, European Championship and many other accolades. They did what they did because third or second place was not good enough for them. What drives this point home was The past success of the Netherlands and the Iceland mens national teams performance at the 2016 European Championships.
Quick history on the Dutch soccer team. In the 1970s the Dutch soccer team was the most feared team in the world. They were considered the most complete team in the world. They could attack, defend, counter-attack, play ring around the rosey with a soccer ball if they wanted. The Dutch had created something called Total Football. This meant that every player could attack, defend, counter-attack and even play goalie if they had to. This made every player on the field an expert at all facets of the game. They were expected to easily win a World cup in 1974 or 1978. They lost both World Cups Finals first to the Germans and than to Argentina. But the effect of Total Football carried on into the 1990s. The caliber of player that came out of the Total Football system changed the way player development was done in many other countries as well. While the exact training methods ahve evolved since the '70s the basic idea is still in many training systems today. So why can't the United States Soccer Federation do a similar thing?
This upcoming World Cup in Russia will feature the Icelandic mens soccer team as a participant. This will mark the second straight major tournament they will play in. They made headlines by defeating the English mens national team to advance in the European Championships in France back in 2016. This was a major achievement considering that England have won a World Cup back in 1966 in England. The English Premier League is the most recognizable soccer league in the world. And England is the birthplace of soccer. So when a country the size of the state of Rhose Island beats them that is a big deal. Here's the thing the Icemen did the same thing that the Germans did to build up the power of their soccer program. They started their program a few years ago but have already seen dramatic improvement.
Now get this. A country the size of Rhode Island so about 350,000 people with only a handful of full time professional soccer players. Their head coach is a dentist by the way. Their nation is the smallest to ever qualify for the World Cup in 2018. They created and popularized the Viking Thunder Clap which many other sports teams has stolen (Minnesota Vikings). They barely have a professional soccer league. Their located near the Arctic Circle. And they don't have a massive budget to spend on producing a soccer program that should be so successful so quickly. How the hell does Iceland qualify for the World Cup when the United Sates of America cannot?
The coach of the mens national team was Bruce Arena. This was his second stint as coach of the team. His first stint was fine for a mediocre team with low expectations. After him came Bob Bradley who had slightly higher expectations. Then came Klinsman who came with honest expectations. This for some people is where Klinsman started to go wrong. He came in with the belief that the United States were not going to win the World Cup anytime soon. He expected the team to truly be able to compete for the World Cup around 2022 or 2026. This level of honesty did not sit well with some within U.S. Soccer. But to everyone else around the world he was just stating the obvious. This willful blindness by people within U.S. Soccer and those who claim to support it was the start of the arrogance that has now cost us a spot in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.After Klinsman came in we won the Gold Cup. That was not a big deal. In an older post on the old blog I wrote about how the U.S. needs better competition than just Mexico if they are to become a better team. The idea being the old adage, 'you're only as good as your competition'. When the U.S. played in the Copa America Centenario in 2016 I thought it would be a great thing for them. I never expected them to win. They weren't good enough to win and no one with a sense of honesty gave them a real chance to win the tournament. The fact that they were in the tournament and could play against Lionel Messi and Argentina was a good thing. They could test their metal and see where they stand against one of the best players in the world and his team. The fact that they made it to the semi-final and lost to Argentina by 4 to 0 was nothing to be ashamed of. They played the Third place game like they were somehow disappointed. They should have won that game and at least shown that they had pride in being the third best team in a competition that the United States had never played in until that tournament. They were special invited guest to the tournament. The should have been thankful just for having the experience of being in this prestigious tournament. But instead players acted like entitled children who didn't get a cake at someone elses birthday party.
That's when things got worse because Klinsman was replaced with Bruce Arena. I don't care what he did in Major League Soccer he wasn't good enough to coach the national team again. It was like going back to an ex-girlfriend who you now wasn't good enough for you anymore but you do it so people can see your with someone. Arena was brought in because he was one the people who kept complaining about how Klinsman was coaching. This was his shot to back up his big talk. Instead he went back to what he knew. That wasn't much to begin with but I knew that. People outside the U.S. knew. Even the people within U.S. Soccer knew it but they brought him back anyway. So when they didn't qualify for the World Cup I don't see why people are surprised.It's not just that the players who have to carry the weight of this failure. Bruce Arena left before he was fired which is good. But the President of U.S. Soccer needs to go as well. He's had more than enough time to put a stamp on U.S. Soccer but this failure must fall on his head as well. He needs to either leave on his own or be fired. A clear signal needs to be sent that the United States Soccer Federation takes its job seriously. We will play to win a World Cup not just "believe we will", that is not good enough anymore.
To finish this off I implore you to watch this video I saw on ESPNFC. It speaks to the problem of mindset of the American professional soccer player.
www.espn.com
www.foxsports.com
www.fifa.com
www.ussoccer.com
If you liked this post please share and subscribe to receive future posts.
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