The Beautiful Game Thread 10/11

[fsquid]

Euro teams threatening to break away again!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011 ... -fifa-uefa

[toonarmy]

Euro teams threatening to break away again!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011 ... -fifa-uefa

This could get interesting.

[fsquid]

Bob Bradley......Boom outta here!

[toonarmy]

Bob Bradley......Boom outta here!

I hope US Soccer has someone of great quality lined up. If not then this firing will be pointless. I have mixed feelings about Bradley. I think overall he did a good job and has shouldered too much of the blame. Team USA has had some good moments under his leadership, but I'm sure the last performance against Mexico sealed his fate. There is only so much any coach can do with inferior talent. I'm sure Klinsmann's name will be popping up a lot after this firing.

[fsquid]

from what USsoccer has told the media, they should have one next week.

[Naples39]

Chasing Klinsmann round 3?
Might Michael Bradley *gasp* not be in the 11 for a game or two?

I can only assume the decision to fire Bradley came after the gold cup, and they've spent the last few weeks lining up a replacement.

Should make the USA-Mexico game next month, for which I have tickets, more interesting.

[fsquid]

Tons of journalists on the Twitter say Lippi.

[toonarmy]

Tons of journalists on the Twitter say Lippi.

Get ready for some of this then:

[fsquid]

US Soccer insider: "You're not going to be surprised" by identity of new coach.

that makes me think Klinnsman

[10spro]

This is the Neymar that everyone expected to see for the Brazilians at the recent Copa America but failed to show up like the rest of the team.

However his skills did show for Santos against Flamengo.

[toonarmy]

This is the Neymar that everyone expected to see for the Brazilians at the recent Copa America but failed to show up like the rest of the team.

However his skills did show for Santos against Flamengo.

Awesome goal!

[XXXIV]

This is the Neymar that everyone expected to see for the Brazilians at the recent Copa America but failed to show up like the rest of the team.

However his skills did show for Santos against Flamengo.

Yowza! ...

That looked like me back in my high school playing days. Wait. Except I think they termed mine an own goal. Ahh the memories they last a life time.

[fsquid]

Jürgen Klinsmann it is

[Naples39]

Jürgen Klinsmann it is

Gulati finally got his white whale.

Maybe he was willing to cede more control to Klinsi after looking clearly inferior to Mexico recently.

[toonarmy]

Well this should satisfy the, "Only if we had Klinsmann" crowd. He has my support 100% but I am not expecting miracles, especially from a coach who does not have a long successful coaching resume. Of most interest to me is whether or not he backs up all of his talk as a tv analyst as to how Team USA should play, or if he will see things differently once he is coach and the pressure is on him to win matches. I really do hope things work out and he can help the USA up their game a notch or two, but I will not be shocked if our success rate stays roughly the same as it was under Bradley. I'm sure if he loses to Mexico on August 10th there will already be some meatheads calling for his ousting.

[Rodster]

Does Klinsmann have more power than Bradley regarding players etc? I agree with Toon, I think Bradley did an above average job with the talent he had. Losing to Mexico sealed his fate but he took the team a notch above his predecessor.

[wco81]

Didn't Klinsman want control over player development for prospects in the early teens?

So it would take 5-10 years for such a sweeping change to show any result?

[Naples39]

Meaningful change will take a while, but immediate change in formation, tactics and player selection will occur like changing any other coach.

Bradley held the fort, but was never going to make anything exciting happen. Anytime things seem to be going the right way they came crashing back down (winning WC group, confed cup finals, Gold Cup 11). Also repeatedly falling behind in home games against inferior competition was embarrassing for which the coach has to take some blame.

Klinsmann is an exciting choice, but based on his failings in Germany we can only hope that he has good Xs and Os assistant, and that he's a better national team manager than club manager.

[wco81]

But is the issue poor tactics/strategy or talent?

Do we assume the talent on the team should be doing better, with better game management?

Or are we about where we should be given the talent, which is sometimes getting out of the group stage and winning a game now and then before bowing out to the powerhouse teams?

[Naples39]

But is the issue poor tactics/strategy or talent?

Do we assume the talent on the team should be doing better, with better game management?

Or are we about where we should be given the talent, which is sometimes getting out of the group stage and winning a game now and then before bowing out to the powerhouse teams?

The point is the team is stagnating. No one expects Klinsmann to work miracles.

Though I would say this is a matter of preparation/coaching;

The results were revealing. While Bradley (.670 in 44 games) and Arena (.674 in 69) have almost the exact same winning percentage in official competitions, Bradley's U.S. teams have given up the game's first goal significantly more often (38.6 percent) than Arena's did (26.1 perecent). The difference is even more pronounced in official games on U.S. soil, in which they also have virtually identical winning percentages (Bradley: .870; Arena: .861) but Bradley's teams have given up the first goal 30.4 percent of the time (7 of 23 games) compared to Arena's 8.3 percent (3 of 36).

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1TYZ2wOfA

[toonarmy]

I noticed there are several fairly interesting matches today. Arsenal v. Boca Juniors, Inter Milan v. Celtic, and Barca v. ManU.

[10spro]

In less than four minutes of inspired play Boca Juniors tied the home team Arsenal 2-2. The Apertura tournament starts next week and coach Falcioni still needs to make a few adjustments with this group, especially on D. Bringing back Schiavi to anchor the back four is a risky business and at 38 years, Van Persie was having a field trip around him.

Lucas Viatri shows promise and needs to forget what former #9 Martin Palermo( just retired) meant to this team.

Boca ends their trip to Europe in Paris, playing against Saint Germain as I post this.

[fsquid]

ACutally Boca played PSG in London today. New York takes the Emierates Cup.

[10spro]

No go for the 38 national teams competition in Argentina.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... m-?cc=5901

[fsquid]

Rosenberg and RAngers crashed out of the Champions League today. Don't even get a Europa League birth.