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Report: 2016 Copa America Centenario to go on in USA as planned

CopaAmerica2016Centenario2 (CONCACAF)

The 2016 Copa America Centenario was in real danger of being held somewhere other than the United States, if it took place at all, but the tide appears to have turned and the once-troubled competition appears to be ready to go on as originally planned.

ESPN FC is reporting the Copa America Centenario will go on as planned, with a formal announcement potentially coming as early as Friday. The report also states the final will be played at the Rose Bowl, the cite of last Saturday’s CONCACAF Cup won by Mexico.

The 16-team tournament has been in doubt since May, when the U.S. Department of Justice arrested several FIFA officials with ties to CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, and the Copa America Centenario, on corruption charges.

Venues for the competition will need to be chosen, but the Rose Bowl will reportedly host the final, while MetLife Stadium will host one of the semifinals. There were 23 venues identified at the start of the year as potential candidates to host matches.

All 10 CONMEBOL teams will take part in the tournament, along with six CONCACAF teams, including the U.S. and Mexico.

What do you think of this development? Excited to see the tournament go on as planned? Think the USMNT can get its act together and compete for the title? Hoping for a USA-Mexico rematch in the final?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I like to see full transparency, where the money us going, whoes getting the money, how much money, what USSoccer is getting,. how much there getting want are USSoccer plans to use the money for, ect,. get the picture, a great new beginning, right?

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  2. Do you want Klinsmann; are you sure you want Klinsmann; are you absolutely sure you want Klinsmann as your head coach through 2018 World Cup qualifying? Then, you’ll get Klinsmann.

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      • soccer fan

        The C team thing is not the reason. They don’t care about that. They care about money.

        The US has turned down Copa America invitations a few times because the scheduling and travel have often been unworkable.

      • Btw, that was not C team, more like B plus. Go and look at the squad. That team should’ve done better than to lose three and out.

  3. I repeat, this is not Copa America, this is Copa America Centenario, a tribute tournament, almost like a glorified number of friendlies, such as the International Champions Cup.

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  4. Yawn

    Semis will be Mex v USA in Cowboys and Arg v Bra in Metlife

    Final in Rose Bowl

    Everyone makes money. All other teams get pissed because of outrageous refereeing but who cares.

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  5. Copa America 2016 will be greater than Euro 2016. So much so that I think it will become a regular thing. Especially now that the Euros will be washed down with 24 teams.

    More teams from North/South/Central America made it to the World Cup Round of 16 than their European counterparts. Not that that really proves anything. Rather it’s more of a manifestation of the traditionally decent, but still lower level, Western Hemisphere nations improving (Costa Rica, Chile, Columbia, Panama, etc.)

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    • This is not Copa America, this is Copa America Centenario, a tribute tournament, almost like a glorified number of friendlies, such as the International Champions Cup.

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    • Ah, the problem of linear analysis. We were a quarterfinalist in 2002. We have actually backslid since, whatever JK may be selling.

      Similarly, if you know your history the competitiveness of our region flips back and forth based on the site. 1990 CR was round of 16 and we were dead last. 1994 you had two round of 16 teams with us hosting. 1998 Mexico made the round of 16, one third place team and us last. 2002 we had a quarterfinalist, round of 16, and a 3rd place team. 2006 every single CONCACAF team was last in their group. 2010 we had two round of 16s, and a last place in a group. 2014 was a good year, but to assume linear progression? Heck, that would assume our own improvement.

      If you see the pattern, we (Concacaf and specifically USA) tend to do poorly in European sited Cups. Where is 2018? Hmm…

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      • When was the last time a team as good as Panama finished fifth in the Hex? Mexico finishing fourth? When was the last time a team aside from the US or Mexico played so well at the World Cup?

        To quote another poster on here, the 2005 Jamaican Gold Cup team had 15 out of 23 players playing in the Jamaican league. This year’s had two.

        Soccer has been growing quite a bit in the Caribbean nations, especially after Jamaica’s ’94 World Cup and T&T’s in ’06. And much of Central America was devastated by civil wars in the 80’s and this is the first generation of players raised afterwards. They’ve imported Argentine managers and now that they’ve had some continuity in their programs for some years now, they are starting to improve. Most importantly, the MLS has been a boon for these nations and provided them with a (relatively) competitive league nearby that gives their players opportunities and even a stepping-stone to Europe or Liga MX.

        Sure, throwing around a few World Cup statistics is never going to prove anything (sample size) but it’s obvious to those of us watching that CONCACAF has never been better.

      • @ The Imperative Voice

        I think you better go back and check your stats for 2006 because i’m pretty sure Mexico made it to the Round of 16 and almost beat Argentina i believe they are 1 of only 4 nations that always make through no matter what group there in a world cup.

      • yes, mexico was 2nd in the group in ’06 and knocked out in R16. last time mexico did not get out of their group, ignoring ’82 (did not qualify) & ’90 (banned), was in 1978.

  6. Great opportunity for some US redemption. And I wouldn’t at all mind seeing a u26 team, like some other poster mentioned. Has a format been decided on? Will there be round robin groups, then knockouts like the WC?

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  7. Can’t wait, If we have a new coach, Howard starts in goal, we draw a CONCACAF team other than Mexico or Costa Rica, and the officials allow the field to be soaked until players are passing through puddles (Rose Bowl ) than we might have a chance to win a game.

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    • Yeah we were so bad last cycle! Finishing last in qualifying and last in our World Cup group was a huge disappointment considering how many world class players we have.

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      • We didn’t do any better than three cycles ago. Under Bruce Arena we nearly made it to the semis in a world Cup. But, we let him on for a second term and even though he did not get humiliated like Klinsi has we had an abysmal WC in 2006. This time if we keep Klinsi, like it looks we will thanks to the ignoramus who heads the federation, we may not even qualify for the World Cup in 2018, mark my words. I said it here first a few days ago after we looked like a complete ass against Costa Rica.

      • Do you remember that we finished first in the Hex (the strongest in history, btw)? And that we saved Mexico, who wouldn’t have qualified?

  8. I have come to the conclusion that this site now officially sucks. It’s the most negative place on earth.

    The only thing I care about is the US winning, because that has provided some really awesome moments in my life. I am not going to waste any more time caring about who’s in charge, or what’s up with Jozy, or LD’s bitterness, or any of this noise anymore. It is completely defeating my enjoyment of the sport so it’s time to get out.

    As always, Let’s Go Yanks

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    • Haven’t you figured it out yet? Most of these guys are not even US fan.The site doesn’t suck; it’s the posters. Just wait until Mexico starts stinking it up; then they will disappear.

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    • Bravo. The posters here are unbelievably lame.

      We had a great World Cup but that’s not good enough for these people. We have to win every game or something. We have a couple bad games and all of the sudden we need to tar and feather the manager and then replace him with Sigi Schmid or Caleb Porter. I live in Argentina and they got one point from their first two CONMEBOL qualifiers. Their manager wasn’t a very popular hire to begin with but, I kid you not, there is way less negativity and criticism surrounding the team here than there is on SBI. Absolutely ridiculous.

      And the anti-Jozy stuff is pretty outrageous, too. He’s a talented striker that could have really made a name for himself in Europe had he not made such awful career choices. Whatever, he’s still better than Wondo. But the people here enjoy rooting against him and tearing him down…it’s weird.

      I think we need to remember most of these people starting watching a couple years ago and were introduced to the sport but the World Cup in 2010 (or 2014) or by playing FIFA.

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    • what do you expect when there are deep differences in opinions??? I’m sure the site will not miss your input but i’ll say thanks for your comments.

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      • The problem is that people here take their opinions so seriously. There are actually two camps, JK supporter and JK haters, and they act like it’s a presidential election or something. I’ve been an expat for over five years now and have traveled all over the world and have never seen anything like this in any country. Most people don’t like Gerardo Martino as the Argentine NT manager but you don’t see them act like this.

        No one gives a sh!t what you (not you personally, the general “you”) think about the manager. No one gives a sh!t what lineup you use when you play FIFA. The chances of the manager picking the exact same lineup you use in FIFA are miniscule, and even if he did, he would be picking a different line-up than 99% of the other fans.

        Here’s another newsflash, neither Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, or Carlo Ancelotti are not going to come manage the USNT. Not only do we not have the money, such a move would be unprecedented. Big name managers don’t leave Europe. Guus Hiddink is an anomaly and a weirdo (and a mercenary, like Eriksson, the other exception, who is a second-rate manager BTW). The fact is that if we fired Klinsmann (Gulati already made his bet and signed him a big contract and gave him the keys to the team, so the only way that is happening if we miss out on qualifying for the WC), we would replace him with Sigi Schmid, Caleb Porter, or maybe Jason Kreis (if NYCFC let him go, which is doubtful). If you people think that any one of those guys would get wildly different results than Klinsmann, you’re delusional. If you think they would get the same results or slightly better, why spend all of your waking hours commenting on these articles?

        If you want to come on here to talk about soccer, great, but if you come here to campaign for or against the manager, you’re wasting everyone’s time, including your own.

      • Much respect to you, but you left out the most important camp of fans: fully supported Klinsmann’s hire and have tried to back him and wanted the team to succeed, but have lost faith over the years of not seeing any progress in terms of the style that we play with or in terms of the type of player that we put on the field.

        Frustrating really because Klinsmann said all of the right things, but his actions and the way the team has played has not supported those words. He has gotten some good results, but they are mostly highly overrated when you look at the full context of those games. The WC was a success in terms of the mission accomplished, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of HOW we played. Everything since the World Cup has been a disaster, not including the two friendlies that we won in Europe — but those were probably much closer to being big losses than they were to how they did play out in a competitive environment.

        Fans should be critical, and it’s hard to see how this team can make progress going forward based on the numerous questions that should be asked of the current manager. The fans have a right to be turned off by the way he has handled the team.

        There does not seem to be any sort of plan at all in terms of style of play, and I can hardly think of more than a couple of players that he has managed to get their best from.

        I don’t like the juvenile bashing of anybody, but I would be more bothered if people didn’t care. Or if they applauded horrible decisions/performances.

        You might not see it where you are, but people around the globe care deeply about their teams. Probably much more so on the club level than the international level, and maybe that’s why you don’t recognize it in Argentina.

      • If you expect us to be able to play really quality soccer with this group of players, you’re wrongly mistaken. You don’t seriously think Sigi Schmid would do a better job in that department, do you?

        If you don’t like how we played in Brazil…if you actually think we could have gone out guns blazing versus Germany and Belgium…man, I wouldn’t even know what to say. We defended when we needed to and attacked when we needed to. I really don’t think Coach Bob’s team could have attacked the way we did against Portugal in the second half. I never saw us play like that under his tenure against quality opposition. We had a tremendous world cup, there’s no way to spin it.

        If you didn’t see the seriously positive changes last cycle, I’m not sure which games you were watching. Coach Bob did a lot of things well. I don’t want to knock him. But we played some very ugly soccer and we were very one-dimensional. We couldn’t ever string together more than two passes at a time.

        In 2013 and 2014, the team played a much better brand of soccer than we had in previous cycles. The 2013 Gold Cup, for example, with our B team, was unlike anything I remember seeing from the USNT.

        We’ve had some bad results this year but after last cycle, Klinsmann was given room to experiment and will (and should) get some leeway. We can’t fire our manager every time we have a poor run of form. We’re just not good enough. It wouldn’t be good for the program. Luckily, the people posting on these sites have nothing to do with the USSF.

      • So, everything is rosy?

        It’s not that we have a great player pool that is going to take us to the top. It’s that, while there are players who probably should be looked at much more heavily, Klinsmann gets nowhere near the best out of the players he does choose.

        On top of that, there is absolutely no tactical plan. Certainly nothing like what was promised. At what point does the accountability come into play? And, I’m not talking about against top-notch competition. The only times we have played the way he said he wanted to was when Donovan was leading the team. We all know how that ended.

      • He does get the best out of the players he chooses. That’s why he had the best winning percentage ever and we had a fantastic World Cup.

        What does Donovan have to do with anything? The point is that Klinsmann, at times, had us playing better quality soccer than we ever have. Whether or not Donovan was there is irrelevant. Coach Bob had Donovan in his prime as well and we never played the way we did in 2013 and 2014.

        Donovan quit soccer, came back, and then showed up to a friendly three months before the World Cup with a beer belly and then in the days leading to the final cut for the 23-man roster publicly said he couldn’t train 100% anymore. Klinsmann puts a big emphasis on fitness and psychology and so he left him at home (having a legend on the bench who expects to play every minute but is too old to is a great way to create distractions and friction).

        But that is besides the point, as is whether or not you agreed with that decision. We were great last cycle. The manager got his contract extended. Period. Luckily, we don’t run things like the FMF does and fire our manager every time we have a few bad games.

      • @ soccerfan
        best quality soccer we ever had? oh please! this is the hyperbolic jive that sucks on this site these days

      • So when did we ever play like that under Bob or Bruce? I’m not talking about results, I’m talking about aesthetics.

      • play like what? the ONLY times the US has played anything close to attacking soccer has been when Landon Donovan was on the field. He should be leading this team, not Klinsmann!!!

      • And I am not implying that Donovan should be the coach. I am saying that he should be leading them on the field. He is more important than the coach, and he has more value to bring as far as what he could contribute to the team. He would, at the very least, be a leader, which is something that is SORRY lacking right now.

      • Argentina was just in the finals of the WC! good grief

        more to the point, did he secure his job by ripping the establishment and promising amazing change simply because he would now be the manager?

        I think it’s funny to compare us to Argentina in general but if you want to, if Argentina’s struggles continue, do you think Martino will remain anyway? I do not

        one more point: the fact that all of this emotion is being shown by the American soccer public is a good thing!! It may not be the emotion you want to feel about the situation, but bottom line is people care AND see better now in the states than ever before when it comes to US soccer

      • Martino was NOT in charge last cycle, Sabella was.

        Martino obviously isn’t going to promise change because Argentina doesn’t need it. Argentina is not the US, they are one of the best soccer nations in the world. In the US the sport is new and we’re developing. We need people with ideas to try to speed up the process.

        Of course Martino will get fired if the struggles continue but what does that have to do with the US? Our manager last cycle had the best winning percentage of all time and a great world cup. Now we have a couple bad games and everyone thinks he should be fired.

        I’m glad people care (although let’s not forget, the majority of Americans don’t care) but I look at the posters on here and if this is what the present-day US fanbase looks like, I’m disappointed. Nine years ago when I went to the World Cup, all the people there I met were really cool. I don’t get that vibe from this group.

      • you make all my points for me

        the vibe is JK dismantled the cool vibe you felt 9 years ago. said he knew better. but the emperor wears no clothes realists aren’t stoked

        blame the fans, blame the players (some posters are ready to right off Fabian now on this board) everything but the one, hold them all acountable

        and I know who the coaches for Argentina are and were ; again, I think it’s funny to compare us with them

      • Not the vibes from the team itself, which were great last World Cup.

        You read the comments on here and it’s ridiculous. It is funny to compare them to the Argentines because the Argentines are much more passionate about soccer and always highly critical of their national team, yet it doesn’t compare to what you read on here. It’s a bunch of FIFA-playing noobs that are mad the coach picks different players than they do when they play FIFA. In 2006 the fanbase was a lot smaller but now that the sport is getting more mainstream, everything is changing.

    • I hate to see you go. I only hope I didn’t contribute to your decision making. Hope to see you back after Klinsmann is gone. Then, it will all be positive around here and we will all be able to hold hands and rally together behind our team.

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    • it used to be FUN to follow the USMNT, win or lose. Now it’s not. I do not blame the fans for that though.

      I’ll miss you and always read your posts

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  9. After losing to Panama (and tying), Jamaica, Mexico and Costa Rica… Should the US be given an automatic berth? Just saying…

    I guess all those scary CONCACAF teams got so good all of the sudden with MLS heavy squads…

    It must have been a miracle for Bradley and Arena and Sampson and Bora to lay waste to the non-Mexico and non Costa Ricas of the region when they were at the helm not having won a World Cup as players

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    • Ot exactly sure what you are saying , but I think you are contradicting yourself.

      The CONCACAF teams HAVE gotten much better with MLS. You wouldnt even included Costa Rico in the same breath as the US and Mexico, but you had to when they won their World Cup group stage

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    • Blokhin

      “After losing to Panama (and tying), Jamaica, Mexico and Costa Rica… Should the US be given an automatic berth? Just saying…”

      When you host a tournament you generally get an invitation. Russia might have had trouble getting to the 2018 Wc but since they are hosting it…..You tell Putin he can’t play in his own tournament.

      “I guess all those scary CONCACAF teams got so good all of the sudden with MLS heavy squads…”

      Have you watched that powerful Mexico team cut through those weakling CONCACAF teams lately ? Did you see Mexico’s 2014 WC qualfiying campaign?

      The 2015 Jamaica Gold Cup team that beat the US had 2 of their 23 players playing for Jamaican clubs.
      The 2005 Jamaica Gold Cup team had 15 of their 23 playing for Jamaican clubs

      “It must have been a miracle for Bradley and Arena and Sampson and Bora to lay waste to the non-Mexico and non Costa Ricas of the region when they were at the helm not having won a World Cup as players”

      Lay waste? You are looking through rose colored glasses.

      The US was butt f++ked in the 2011 Gold Cup in humiliating fashion and did not really play well for much of that tournament. The US lost the 2009 tournament final 5-0 to Mexico. The US won 2007 but in 2005 they beat Panama in the final on penalties. Laying waste isn’t exactly accurate.

      There is no miracle. Bob and Bruce’s non-Mexican opponents were players that were a lot less professional than they are today.

      They are catching up and it shows. And yes MLS is a big part of that. Barnes and Mattocks the two Jamaicans who knocked out the US are MLS players.

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      • the US lost 5-0 in 2009 when we sent a B team to the tournament because the A team was playing in the Confed Cup..the FINAL no less. That B team’s performance was pretty darn good in that tournament until that final. It was Kyle Beckerman’s coming out party for the USMNT even though he was thoroughly outclassed in the final by Torrado

        Arena’s team beat Mexico in the World Cup…laid waste to those mofos dude. Also beat them in the Gold Cup with LD scoring that pressure packed PK…laid waste. Literally changed the region’s power structure

        Until the 2011 Gold Cup, Bradley’s teams did fine against Mexico. Then when they lost in 2011, he got fired.

        Speaking of butt f++ked, did you see this year’s Gold Cup, with our A team no less? How about that game vs. Mexico last week? some folks still can’t sit down because of that abuse

        And the Accountability for that…Bueller? Bueller?

      • beachbum,

        “Speaking of butt f++ked, did you see this year’s Gold Cup, with our A team no less? How about that game vs. Mexico last week? some folks still can’t sit down because of that abuse
        And the Accountability for that…Bueller? Bueller?”

        The 2015 Jamaica loss was two great goals and Jamaica putting ten men behind the ball. The US has done that to “bigger teams” a number of times.

        The latest Mexico game was two minutes away from penalties if not for a pretty unbelievable wonder goal by Mexico.

        The US had gone down twice and come back twice.
        In the 2011 Gold Cup final the US were up 2-0 after 23 minutes.

        Mexico came back and put up 4 on Howard. That game was effectively over by the 50th minute with Barrera’s goal. If not it surely was after Gio’s 76th minute goal when Gio made Timmy chase him and look like a fish out of water.

        Last Saturday the US lost a tight one with two minutes left in overtime.

        In 2011 they were ripped apart and humiliated and the game was over after 76 minutes. Getting to overtime was never a consideration.

        Yeah, I think the 2011 defeat was far worse.

      • Man, you always see the glass one half full when it comes to Klinsi. The problem is, the glass isn’t even at a one third full.

      • That’s an ironic observation coming from one of your ilk.

        If JK discovered a cure for cancer you’d curse him for not having found it sooner and saved more lives.

        The glass has never been close to being half full since 1990.

        2002 was an aberration.

        The 2009 Confed Cup final was aberration.

        The USMNT player pool this whole time has been second or even third rate and the reality is Bruce, Bob and JK were all lucky to get as far as they did. An objective investigation of how their World Cups progressed will tell you that if you care to actually look..

        The only reason the US has achieved a semblance of parity all these years with Mexico is because Mexico keeps shooting themselves in the foot. at inopportune times. I’ve given up trying to figure out why.

        Mexico have more good players than we do and it isn’t at all close.

        And of course the rest of CONCACAF is now becoming much more professional and making everything tighter. I’m amazed that everyone forgets how hard it was for Mexico to get to the Brazil in 2014.

        I saw most of their qualifiers and they really were garbage. and our minnow CONCACAF rivals looked pretty good vs them.so don’t tell me that the US should be brushing those guys aside like a JV team.

        Do I think it’s time to get hysterical with about two and a half years before Russia and without even one WC qualifier being played yet?

        No I don’t.

        JK like Bob and Bruce before him , is a good enough manager for this team. I didn’t want Bruce or Bob fired but “fans” like you treated them both pretty much like you treat JK and you got what you got.

        I’m a USMNT fan not a Bob Bradley or a JK fan so their personal foibles don’t particularly interest me.

        I don’t see the program as being in the dissarray that so many of you and the media seem to think it is in.

        In fact it is more or less where it was just after the World Cup and is in my view a little better off. A number of players have now probably ruled themselves of consideration and that just means some of these younger guys may have a shot at establishing themselves.

        Fabian out? It’s just as well he goes now.

        Yedlin now has to step up. Chances are good that 75% of who you saw vs. Mexico the other night won’t be around for Russia anyway so the sooner that is clear and new blood is brought in and realistic expectations are attached the better.

      • awesome, a righteous argument of which defeat was worse. it’s got to be the nadir, I hope

        anyway, this is your apologia man? Bradley never came in fourth in the Gold Cup with his A team.

        and Bradley, who I loved as a manager, deserved to be fired.

      • beachbum,

        This is no apologia.

        There were two points:

        The first point was that there seems to be a quaint notion out there that the US has always strolled through the Gold Cup.

        That perception is innaccurate. If you don’t agree, look it up. The “minnows” have been catching up to Mexico/US for some time and will only get stronger.

        The surprise is not that the US finished fourth . The surprise is that this is the first time it has happened.

        The second point is that in comparing the US’ failure to make the Confederations Cup in 2011 vs. the same failure in 2015, the 2011 was more disheartening and much worse.

        If 2015 Mexico is so much better than the US why could they not get past a much slower, less dynamic and apparently less talented team in 90 minutes? Why did it take them until 2 minutes left to finish off the US with a pretty miraculous goal?

        Mexico are good but they have trouble keeping it up long enough. They are soft in that they can’t finish off weaker opponents sooner than they do and it wll cost them going forward. .

        And this US team had guts and heart, if no talent. They defended well for the most part. As far as I’m concerned Mexico deserved their win but the game could easily have gone to penalties. .

        In contrast the 2011 US team was more dynamic, had a 2-0 lead after 23 minutes and they had Donovan and Clint, the Glitter Twins, in apparently good form. Yet Mexico came back and blew them off the field and had the game won , really by the 50th minute if not then by the 76th minute.

        Clearly a more depressing defeat
        Much more of a b++tf++k.

        I consider that game the most humiliating USMNT loss I’ve seen going back to 1990. Add to that that it was allegedly a home game but might as well have been played in Azteca for all the support the USMNTgot “at home”..

        I didn’t think Bob should have gotten fired for that defeat because he and JK were both in the same position. BB was a good enough manager to get something out of the otherwise professionally useless Fredinho in that Gold Cup, something about 50 other managers failed to do.
        Both BB and JK lost the Gold Cup with post World Cup teams that everyone knew were going to have to be transitioned soon for the next World Cup.Bob should have been given the support to rebuild the team.

        Of course, we now know that Bob was really just keeping the seat warm for JK and probably had been since 2007. Bob was probably going to fired anyway and the loss just gave the USSF a good excuse. It seems now that the only reason they did not axe BB after the 2010 WC was that they hadn’t worked out that iron clad deal with JK yet.

      • The only arguments that you argue against are those comparing Klinsmann against previous coaches. But this has nothing to do with what Arena did or what Bradley did, or how they did it.

        This is about Jurgen Klinsmanns team and how they have played for forever. Besides the time one certain player was on the field…

        Traits of the USMNT under Jurgen Klinsmann:

        – The team does not show any signs of cohesion or “chemistry.”

        – The rules for who makes the team seem to be greatly screwed in favor of certain players for certain reasons.

        – Tactics, or any semblance of a plan at all when it comes to the formation, are few and far between.

        – The coach finds every reason besides himself to explain why things are not going well.

        Is he able to change these things, which are beyond trends… or even willing?

  10. Yes!! Now we have 4 WC qualifiers and maybe 2 or 3 of the calendar (mls) friendlies until these games. Dont waist a minute, bring in as many new players, as soon as, possible!

    And for the Copa, lets get some games in Chicago and Denver!

    Reply
  11. Perfect time for Dempsey to retire

    And if Jozy doesnt perform during the COpA he needs to be banned from the NT

    A semi-final finish would be Glorious for us

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    • Dempsey has stated publicly that he would like to play in Copa America.

      He knows it’s a big time tournament and I don’t think he has ever played in it.

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    • All due respect but if you look at the 2015 stats to date, it’s Dempsey 9 Jozy 4. Dempsey bashing seems to be the popular “thing” of the moment but he is our most productive striker by far.

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  12. How much will this cost?

    People can barely survive and they ezpecr us to spend 100 bucks on a soccer match

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    • They’ll fill the stadiums.

      It sucks as fans that the tickets are jacked up so much, but for a lot of the fans of these teams it’s going to be their only chance to see them play competitive matches without traveling to South America.

      Reply
  13. Yessir!!! I hope the US plays in Dallas or Houston. I’d prefer Dallas, but Jones doesn’t know how to put a proper soccer field in his stadium. Reliant knows what’s up…

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    • Reliant has switched to turf.

      I am not a fan of grass over turf, which is how a lot of the Gold Cup was played. I unfortunately figure they’ll do the same again because the football venues are the bigger ones for ticket sales.

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      • Really? Man, I didn’t know that. Well, one or both of those stadiums are likely to be used despite that, so I’m going to a game one way or another…

  14. This will serve as a useful mid-term (i.e., mid-WC qualifying process) report card. On the other hand, the Gold Cup and the CONCACAF playoff were supposed to be important too, and we all know how those turned out.

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  15. This will be a very important benchmark to see where the team is at. They must push themselves to the limit. I will take this team to the finals of the 2018 World Cup!!!!

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  16. Cash rules everything around me, CREAM get the money, dollar dollar bill y’all.

    Anyone bet on seeing a run by Me-hi-co to the finals (aided by, as Juergen would say, “questionable refereeing decisions”)? Got to get that 93K in Azteca Norte!!!

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  17. “Think the USMNT can get its act together and compete for the title?” Hopefully there’s a lot of turnover and this is used as a learning experience. If we’re hanging on to players as we did in the Gold Cup that’d be a mistake.

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      • I agree and been saying it, this is a meaningless tournament and it is NOT Copa America, it is Copa America Centenario. Yes, associations will send teams but more like B teams or local league teams.

        Having said that, there’s no doubt in my mind that a Primera Division team from Argentina will make it to the finals in Copa America Centenario. As for Mexico an MX team will also be competitive and since they play in the USA they are at home basically. Just look at Copa Libertadores and understand what I mean.

    • I agree, considering there are a limited amount of non-quali games, it will be interesting to see how experimental we are willing to be. Particularly as host. But we obviously need to take some risks and see some new people.

      Heck, even though we know the roster needs churning I’ll be interested to see how far changes go during qualifying. There’ll be the same “need to win” pressures against change, even though realistically a MLS team could go out and win some of these games.

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  18. Would it be safe to assume that after this weekend’s pair of poor results, Gulati capitulated and did whatever was in his power to get the U.S. into ONE other competition before the World Cup?

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      • Partially agree. I think there was a money part to this (there always is with these things) but there was a legal aspect to this that most of these folks are not used to. I feel like many people wanted i’s dotted and t’s crossed before they put there name anywhere near this thing.

    • Capitulated?

      What on earth are you talking about? The event was practically his idea in the first place. You talk as though he was somehow standing in way of it. The whole FIFA debacle was the reason it got thrown into jeopardy, as half of the CONCACAF brass were in jail or under investigation.

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      • Please offer ONE trace of evidence it was Sunil’s idea to host a centennial tournament involving two different confederations. Thanks.

      • So you offer speculation, so stretched that it flirts with the ridiculous, but yet are demanding evidence to a counter point? OK.

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