BuffOrange Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 Or we can just fold the team and stop getting embarrased by the rest of the world. 712699[/snapback] 'Embarrased' is a bit extreme. They were not a favorite to come out of the group. They played Italy very well to a draw. Ghana is one of the best teams in Africa and that was a draw w/out the brutal PK call. Granted, the Czech game was awful.
ACor58 Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 'Embarrased' is a bit extreme. They were not a favorite to come out of the group. They played Italy very well to a draw. Ghana is one of the best teams in Africa and that was a draw w/out the brutal PK call. Granted, the Czech game was awful. 712720[/snapback] The only goal that they scored prior to today was by the opposing team and they only had one shot on goal prior to today. I call that embarassing.
meazza Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 The only goal that they scored prior to today was by the opposing team and they only had one shot on goal prior to today. I call that embarassing. 712725[/snapback] Czech Republic got 2 shots on goal today. You played the best defensive team in the world and the probable winner of this tournament (careful not to jinx it). It was a difficult group.
BuffOrange Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 Oh, that, well that's just the mechanics of the FIFA seedings. Italy was the top seed in our group. FIFA places the top eight seeds into different groups. The top 8 seeds were determined partially by FIFA ranking and partially by how you performed in the last 2 world cups. USA missed out on a top seed because of our last place finish in World Cup 1998. We came up as 9 seed based on those calculations. You can read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeding_for_2006_FIFA_World_Cup After that, it is basically drawing balls out of hat. There are some rules about not having too many teams from the same region (Europe, Asia, CONCACAF) in the same group. But it basically boils down to some bad luck in the draw. 712589[/snapback] I don't understand how Mexico got such a sweetheart deal when the US beat them in the llast cup and Mexico hasn't beaten them outside of Mexico City in like 10 years? Anyway, speaking of Mexico - from what I understand from people who follow the sport - both teams' ratings were inflated because of who they play. I didn't realize that pretty much all international non World Cup games were played between teams from the same continent. I mean, the North/Central America is no Europe, so I guess that inflates our record and ranking.
ajzepp Posted June 22, 2006 Author Posted June 22, 2006 well, I'm really surprised and disappointed at our performance. One friggin goal???? WTF is that?? Hell, there are a couple teams in this WC for the first time EVER and they scored more than one damn goal. I'm of the belief that smart players/coaching and working harder than your opponent can go a long way toward offsetting a talent deficit. I know we don't have the most talented soccer players in the world, but Arena is supposed to be a genius, and we're supposed to have the most physically fit, hard workign team in the world. That has all been shown to be a bunch of bunk. Hell, we even have the best psychological tools in the world, which is why the German coach has taken some American philosophy to the German national team. There should be advantages that we have being Americans that can close the gap in competitveness with the powerhouse teams. So WTF happened?? As frustrated as I am with the bull sh-- officiating and all the damn cards, the fact of the matter is that we were badly outplayed. With the exception of Pablo and maybe Dempsey, I think this team is mentally weak. There are teams in this WC - teams that are not as good as we are - that have played their ASSES off. Where is that sort of effort from the US?? Sure, maybe against Italy there were flashes of that. Maybe even today you could see that in the second half a little. But for a team that is supposed to be the most physically and mentally fit in the WORLD, they sure looked flat a whole fuggin lot of the time. Oh well....we sh-- the bed. Nothing we can do about that now.....All I know is that the damn US team is not going to ruin this WC for me. The best soccer of this tournament is yet to be played, and I hope that Bruce Arena and the rest of the National team sit, watch, and LEARN how this game is supposed to be played. There are a lot of young players on this team who need to start getting their sh-- together NOW.
meazza Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 well, I'm really surprised and disappointed at our performance. One friggin goal???? WTF is that?? Hell, there are a couple teams in this WC for the first time EVER and they scored more than one damn goal. I'm of the belief that smart players/coaching and working harder than your opponent can go a long way toward offsetting a talent deficit. I know we don't have the most talented soccer players in the world, but Arena is supposed to be a genius, and we're supposed to have the most physically fit, hard workign team in the world. That has all been shown to be a bunch of bunk. Hell, we even have the best psychological tools in the world, which is why the German coach has taken some American philosophy to the German national team. There should be advantages that we have being Americans that can close the gap in competitveness with the powerhouse teams. So WTF happened?? As frustrated as I am with the bull sh-- officiating and all the damn cards, the fact of the matter is that we were badly outplayed. With the exception of Pablo and maybe Dempsey, I think this team is mentally weak. There are teams in this WC - teams that are not as good as we are - that have played their ASSES off. Where is that sort of effort from the US?? Sure, maybe against Italy there were flashes of that. Maybe even today you could see that in the second half a little. But for a team that is supposed to be the most physically and mentally fit in the WORLD, they sure looked flat a whole fuggin lot of the time. Oh well....we sh-- the bed. Nothing we can do about that now.....All I know is that the damn US team is not going to ruin this WC for me. The best soccer of this tournament is yet to be played, and I hope that Bruce Arena and the rest of the National team sit, watch, and LEARN how this game is supposed to be played. There are a lot of young players on this team who need to start getting their sh-- together NOW. 712733[/snapback] My suggestion. There are plenty of good coaches out there. My suggestion, hire one and build this team. Remember. Only 32 teams qualify for the world cup every year, Just that for some is an accomplishment on its own.
PromoTheRobot Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 USA soccer...rated #5 in the world! Oh, really? Could've fooled me. Maybe they mean 5th from last. PTR
ajzepp Posted June 22, 2006 Author Posted June 22, 2006 My suggestion. There are plenty of good coaches out there. My suggestion, hire one and build this team. Remember. Only 32 teams qualify for the world cup every year, Just that for some is an accomplishment on its own. 712735[/snapback] Yeah, true....it's just back to the 'expectations' thing....same bull sh-- with the Bills. When there is good reason to believe that we're going to be good, then DAMMIT we should produce. I'm all for bringing a foreign coach in here. Hell, the German guy already lives here and was taking a lot of crap from the Germans for using Amercan training methods....maybe we can sign him up.
meazza Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 Yeah, true....it's just back to the 'expectations' thing....same bull sh-- with the Bills. When there is good reason to believe that we're going to be good, then DAMMIT we should produce. I'm all for bringing a foreign coach in here. Hell, the German guy already lives here and was taking a lot of crap from the Germans for using Amercan training methods....maybe we can sign him up. 712740[/snapback] Now... I went through this already. Best thing to do is forget it and worry about Ze Germans. Our next match is vs the Aussies. What sucks. My final exam is from 9-12 and the game is at 11. How the hell am i gonna concentrate Seems as the road to the semi's is done for us. I so can't phucking wait. Totti played 90 minutes. He seems ready. Nesta is out for indefinite period, but Cannavaro, what a game!!!
ajzepp Posted June 22, 2006 Author Posted June 22, 2006 FUGGIN GREAT...Freddy Adu was just on PTI and couldn't even say which National team he'll play for in 2010. He kept saying, "well I haven't even been given the chance to play yet, so I don't know", which I pretty much took as, "well, since the US dissed me and didn't give me a shot on the National team this year, I may very well play for Ghana in four years." I'm sorry, but the US was STUPID for not giving this kid a chance. What's the worst that could have happened, we only get THREE shots on goal instead of four?? We should have taken him to Germany and given him some playing time....for all we know, he'd have been the difference.
Britbillsfan Posted June 22, 2006 Posted June 22, 2006 FUGGIN GREAT...Freddy Adu was just on PTI and couldn't even say which National team he'll play for in 2010. He kept saying, "well I haven't even been given the chance to play yet, so I don't know", which I pretty much took as, "well, since the US dissed me and didn't give me a shot on the National team this year, I may very well play for Ghana in four years." I'm sorry, but the US was STUPID for not giving this kid a chance. What's the worst that could have happened, we only get THREE shots on goal instead of four?? We should have taken him to Germany and given him some playing time....for all we know, he'd have been the difference. 712755[/snapback] Don't get me started on squad selection - England's forwards = only one recognised, fit striker. Two unfit (one already back home with an injury) and one who has NEVER played a single minute of top flight football........and that's it. And we don't have the excuse of a comparatively limited talent pool, there are plenty of good strikers out there. So I can sympathise with dodgy squad selection - one more injury or a couple of bookings and England will really struggle (or struggle even worse.....).
ajzepp Posted June 22, 2006 Author Posted June 22, 2006 Don't get me started on squad selection - England's forwards = only one recognised, fit striker. Two unfit (one already back home with an injury) and one who has NEVER played a single minute of top flight football........and that's it. And we don't have the excuse of a comparatively limited talent pool, there are plenty of good strikers out there. So I can sympathise with dodgy squad selection - one more injury or a couple of bookings and England will really struggle (or struggle even worse.....). 712763[/snapback] Which of your players go with each of your descriptions? Where does Crouch fit in? And do you see much of Brian McBride over there in the EPL? I thought Tim Howard was also playing over there in the EPL too, but our goalkeeping was the least of our problems.
Hardy Pyle Posted June 23, 2006 Posted June 23, 2006 Did anyone watch any of the qualifications matches of the US? If so, these results should not be surprising. The US needs to ditch Arena, bring in a south american coach and adopt a south american soccer style. That's the best thing USA soccer can do in the long run, have as many south american soccer coaches in the youth system as possible. And someone made the comment about hard work, etc. overcoming a talent deficit. This ain't hockey where you can just check harder or hustle harder...I think in Soccer, it's very hard to beat a team with a significant skill advantage....impossible, no...harder, yes. Soccer requires alot of skill, something lost on the average joe...so I don't care how fast you are or how hard you work, someone with a nice touch on the ball, will beat you all day long, because the ball can move faster than you can. The reality is, the USA is not a very skilled team. And got beat by teams that were much more skilled and showed more quality. But I give them credit for the Italy tie....I thought it would be 0-3. And really it should have been two ties and a loss as they got hosed on the penalty shot. Also....with such a large hispanic population in the US, why are their not more hispanic players on the national team? Seems strange to me.
C.Biscuit97 Posted June 23, 2006 Posted June 23, 2006 Which of your players go with each of your descriptions? Where does Crouch fit in? And do you see much of Brian McBride over there in the EPL? I thought Tim Howard was also playing over there in the EPL too, but our goalkeeping was the least of our problems. 712767[/snapback] I know very little about soccer but I remember hearing quite about Howard the last couple of years. I think he has some disease but he also was playing really well for Man U, I believe. Granted our goaltending wasn't the problem but I was really suprised he wasn't on our team. Anyone know why?
Britbillsfan Posted June 23, 2006 Posted June 23, 2006 Which of your players go with each of your descriptions? Where does Crouch fit in? And do you see much of Brian McBride over there in the EPL? I thought Tim Howard was also playing over there in the EPL too, but our goalkeeping was the least of our problems. 712767[/snapback] Crouch is the only recognised striker Sven picked who was fit. Owen and Rooney were both coming off injuries - Owen hardly played all year and Rooney broke his foot 5 weeks before the start of the tournament. Walcott has yet to play a single minute of top flight football in the EPL. McBride started well last season, running up 9 goals in the first couple of months. However he only added one goal to his tally in 2006 (in 5 months of football). Considered an okay striker, but not a great one. No idea where Howard went.....
N.Y. Orangeman Posted June 23, 2006 Posted June 23, 2006 The US needs to ditch Arena, bring in a south american coach and adopt a south american soccer style. 712921[/snapback] We have a winner!
X. Benedict Posted June 23, 2006 Posted June 23, 2006 The US needs to ditch sports like baseball, basketball, gridiron football, and even hockey and channel our best atheletes into soccer. That way when a FIFA referee calls a penalty shot in the box that decides the game we can feel more screwed.
Ramius Posted June 23, 2006 Posted June 23, 2006 FUGGIN GREAT...Freddy Adu was just on PTI and couldn't even say which National team he'll play for in 2010. He kept saying, "well I haven't even been given the chance to play yet, so I don't know", which I pretty much took as, "well, since the US dissed me and didn't give me a shot on the National team this year, I may very well play for Ghana in four years." I'm sorry, but the US was STUPID for not giving this kid a chance. What's the worst that could have happened, we only get THREE shots on goal instead of four?? We should have taken him to Germany and given him some playing time....for all we know, he'd have been the difference. 712755[/snapback] freddy adu can go !@#$ himself if he doesnt wanna play for the US. deport his ass back to ghana if he wants to play for them soo badly.
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