Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
As far as the Gold Cup goes, the U.S. men's national team is where it should be. But the road to get to this point of the tournament has been far from perfect.
The United States enters its quarterfinals tilt against Jamaica on Sunday (3 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel) at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., having instilled little confidence amongst supporters that it can win the Gold Cup over co-favorite Mexico.
Poor finishing, shoddy defending and mental breakdowns are all partially responsible for that. The Americans know, however, that a win against an undefeated Jamaica team (3-0-0) can help their self belief while also getting them one step closer toward achieving their goal of lifting the Gold Cup trophy.
"We need to be a little sharper and maybe a little more concentrated in the final third," U.S. midfielder Alejandro Bedoya said. "We're creating chances, which is good, but we need to come out with a lot higher energy and intensity next game."
The Reggae Boyz have not played the United States since a 1-1 draw in April, 2006. For Jamaica, that result is as good as it has gotten, as the United States has never lost in the all-time series, winning nine games and tying eight.
But with Dane Richards and Luton Shelton leading its attack, this speedy Jamaican team stands as good a chance as any to knock off the Americans, who have admittedly not been playing up to their potential.
"We've got to move the ball, defend well, not spread ourselves out. The same that we've been saying all tournament," U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra said. "We've just got to do a better job at it."
Don't expect the Jamaicans to sit back and allow the U.S. team time and space. They'll likely push the game from the opening whistle, challenging the likes of Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones.
How the Americans' defense copes with Jamaica's speed and technical ablity will help determine how successful they are. If the U.S. team can contain their opponents and not concede easy opportunities, then the game might open up to its advantage.
The United States hasn't really had too much of a chance during the Gold Cup to hit back on the counter, a strength of Bob Bradley's team. Jamaica's approach to Sunday's game should provide the Americans that opportunity, and that's something they aren't against.
"A lot of times when we have to possess the ball and we've got to make the game, we don't always do so well," Bocanegra said. "That's something we work on when teams sit back and we've got to break them down; it's difficult sometimes."
Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey will surely be the focal point of the United States' attack, but with the duo missing training this weekend to attend family weddings, it is unknown how much of the load will need to be carried by someone else.
Jozy Altidore seems like a good candidate to step up and help the veteran Americans. The 21-year-old forward has two goals in the tournament, including the beauty of a blast he hit versus Guadeloupe for the game-winner, and he has been a handful for defenders.
Who pairs with him against Donovan Ricketts and Jamaica's defense is anyone's guess. Juan Agudelo has had his chances, and so has Chris Wondolowski, but neither has made the most of them. There's also the thought that Dempsey could be pushed up top next to Altidore, but Bradley has been reluctant to do so, preferring to start Dempsey in the midfield before moving him to forward in the second half.
No matter whom Bradley opts to pair with Altidore, the United States knows it cannot start out the match slowly. That's been something that has plagued this American team in recent years and something that could ultimately cost it its dream of winning the Gold Cup.
"We have to have the right mentality, because if we come out and play slow and play lazy again we're going to be on vacation, and we're not going to be happy," U.S. midfielder Sacha Kljestan said.
The Americans may be aware that they're not be playing at their best, but they still have the confidence and belief that they will improve on their group stage performances, starting with Jamaica.
"We still think we're the strongest team in CONCACAF so we still have to go out there and play hard," Kljestan said. "We need to play harder and better than we have in the first three games. That's for sure."
Nobody understands nothing until they play
Plus, how boring to only spend one month out of every four years in meaningful competition?
Nah, the one just becomes nonsense
“The talent that Bob Bradley has to play with is so much better than any other American team so having an equal winnnig percentage as Arena is not a good thing.”
That is highly debatable. You may not have seen Arena’s 2002 team.
The US talent pool in comparison to Arena’s time is a mile wide but only an inch deep.
Arena had Mcbride. BB has Jozy. Arena had Tony Sanneh, BB has Dolo. Arena had Reyna and JOB and BB has no one like them. Arena had the younger faster Donovan and DMB. Arena had Clint Mathis, a young Joe-Max Moore and a young Josh Wolff. BB has Wondo or Agudelo. Arena had Eddie Pope, BB has Boca. Finally, Arena had the arguably the best keeper of the 2002 World Cup Freidel,the best US keeper ever. BB had an inconsistent, choking Howard in the 2010 World Cup.
And even if what you say is true, the talent level of other countries has gone up as well. Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, all these teams are tougher than they were during Arena’s time.
Buddle hasn’t been playing well lately. And he was crap in the World Cup. Missed a sitter against Algeria and generally looked useless.
I’m not saying you are wrong but there seems to be more to it than Flynn being the bad guy:
Just When you thought Everyone had Forgotten Klinsmann!!
by Shortpasses
When we last looked at this soap opera, Jurgen Klinsmann was back watching the waves; Bob Bradley was thanking his lucky stars that he had a job; and Sunil Gulati (US Soccer President) and Dan Flynn (US Soccer CEO and Secretary General) were avoiding the issue by “concentrating” on the 2022 World Cup bid. (How did that go?) US fans were divided between those who hated Bradley and blamed him for among other things, world poverty and those who were satisfied and willing to give him another chance.
With the benefit of several months for everyone to cool down, myself included, I decided to try to identify for my own satisfaction the causes of Klinsmann’s rejection. I started by trying to piece together a time-line of events following the World Cup. This was ultimately rather frustrating since any early discussions went unreported. I finally settled on the following critical events: (1) US Soccer Board Meeting on August 10; (2) Meeting between Gulati and Klinsmann on August 27 or 28: (3) Announcement of Bradley’s contract renewal on August 30.
My initial effort was to check out the US Soccer Board of Directors Meeting Minutes for August 10. Nothing there. However, the Board did go into Executive Session that day and those minutes are not publicly available. Given the fact that Gulati needed Board approval for the hiring, I believe he must have received his “marching orders” here. Less than 3 weeks later, August 27 or 28, Gulati and Klinsmann met, according to a report on ESPN.com. And then with no further explanation on August 30, Bradley’s contract renewal was announced. Despite the hope it initially engendered, I believe that the 27/28 meeting was just the final nail in the negotiating coffin. Gulati couldn’t give in and Klinsmann wouldn’t.
Blame for the rejection of Klinsmann has pretty much been laid at the door of Gulati, with some mud thrown at Flynn and a little saved for the big money players from MLS. I have never felt totally comfortable with these explanations particularly regarding Gulati. Why did he reopen this can of worms? He obviously is not a strong leader but he also isn’t stupid. He must have believed that Klinsmann would back down, this time or, more likely, he felt that the Board of Directors would acquiesce to Klinsmann’s terms, this time. Because I find it very hard to believe that Gulati thought that Klinsmann would back off, I am left with the conclusion that Gulati totally misjudged his Board. I am convinced that the Executive Session of the August 10 Board Meeting drew the line in the sand that ultimately Klinsmann would not cross and Gulati couldn’t undraw..
The Board vote was critical since Gulati, as President, is quite limited in his individual authority. According to the US Soccer By-Laws:
Bylaw 402. RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The President of the Federation shall have the following responsibilities:
(a) preside at all meetings of the National Council and the Board of Directors, and
serve as Chairperson of the Board;
(b) appoint all committees as provided by Bylaw 431 and serve as an ex officio
member of those committees;
(c) provide an annual report 30 days prior to the annual general meeting of the
National Council; and
(d) to be or to delegate someone to be the official representative of the Federation in
FIFA, CONCACAF, and other international organizations.
As Board Chairman, Gulati has the ability to sway his Board Members but only to the extent that his own political skills allow. Other than that he is just another voting member of the Board and shares in their authority as defined by the By-Laws:
Bylaw 411. GENERAL AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 1. The Federation shall have a Board of Directors. Except as otherwise
specifically provided by these bylaws, the Board of Directors shall have all governance,
supervising, and administrative authority of the Federation as provided.
If we assume that Klinsmann was telling the truth about having a verbal agreement with Gulati, then it would appear that Gulati was over-ruled by his Board at the August 10 meeting. Given the importance of the Board vote, it is surprising that more attention has not been paid to the individual members of that Board. See the Board Composition below:
Bylaw 412. COMPOSITION
Section 1. The Board of Directors consists of the following Directors, with each Director
having one vote except as otherwise provided:
(1) the President.
(2) the Vice President.
(3) the Immediate Past President (non-voting).
(4) two out of the 8 Commissioners of the Adult Council elected for a 2-year term
expiring at annual general meetings of the National Council.
(5) two out of the 8 Commissioners of the Youth Council elected for a 2-year term
expiring at annual general meetings of the National Council.
(6) two out of the 8 Commissioners of the Professional Council elected for a 2-year
term expiring at annual general meetings of the National Council.
(7) Athletes, which shall be at least 20 percent of the total number of voting Directors
of the Board, rounded up to the next whole number (currently 3), elected as
provided by Bylaw 322.
(8) two independent directors elected by the National Council in odd-numbered
years, beginning in 2007, for 2-year terms each, expiring at annual general
meetings of the National Council.
(9) one independent director elected by the National Council in even-numbered
years, beginning in 2008, for a 2-year term expiring at annual general meetings of
the National Council.
(10) one “at large” representative elected by the procedures set forth in section 3
below, for a 2-year term expiring at annual general meetings of the National
Council.
(11) the Secretary General (non-voting).
Based on the above, there are 15 votes available, (Attendance at the August 10 meeting showed 14 voting members). Eight (8) votes would have been needed to reject giving Klinsmann the authority he wanted. Here are those Board members who were indeed responsible for this decision:
Sunil Gulati – President (1 vote)
Mike Edwards – Executive Vice President (1)
Jeff Agoos, Danielle Fotopoulos, Jon McCullough – Athlete Representatives (3)
Don Garber, Tonya Antonucci – Professional Council Representatives (2)
Richard Goff, Jim Hamilton – Adult Council Representatives (2)
Bob Palmiero, John Sutter – Youth Council Representatives (2)
Francisco Marcos – At Large Representative (1)
Carlos Cordiero, Fabian Nunez – Independent Directors (2)
Donna Shalala – Independent Director (Absent)
My personal conclusions:
Blaming Gulati alone is probably overdone. Can we believe that Klinsmann had a verbal agreement with Gulati?. Probably. There is no doubt that Gulati did initiate discussions with Klinsmann for a second time, knowing full well what Klinsmann’s sticking point was before. Unless Gulati likes hitting his head against a brick wall, he had to believe that this time he could get the votes from his Board. He obviously misjudged his Board.
Blaming the MLS owners is also in my opinion overdone. Regarding their involvement two things should be considered. (1) On paper they have only two assured votes on the Board (2) Money and prestige wield a lot of influence. However, if the MLS owners chose to use that influence the question is why? What’s in it for them? From a monetary standpoint, how does MLS lose if Klinsmann succeeds? Klinsmann states that his intention would be to revamp US player development and bring an improved style of attacking play to the USMNT. How does that hurt MLS pocketbooks? Besides, MLS would ultimately bathe in the shared sunshine of a successful USMNT. The often touted reason for MLS opposition has been Klinsmann’s desire for unrestricted access to players. But this is a common complaint heard around the world, Why reject a perfectly qualified coach for something that any coach of a MNT’ would ask for?
The one group that easily had the votes to reject Klinsmann’s request for full authority and has received little if any publicity is what I will call the “Insiders”. They start with a base of four votes. (Adult Council-2 and Youth Council-2). To this, add the Athletes’ representatives, currently 3 votes. The final members of the Insider’s block come from the so-called Independent Directors, all elected by the National Council, currently 3 votes. It’s quite easy to see where the votes could come from but the real question is why? The answer is simple! Jobs, money, and pride. Literally thousands of people within US Soccer derive all or a portion of their livelihood from using and disseminating the current US Soccer coaching philosophy. They are “certified soccer experts” They range from coaches directly employed by US Soccer to those running soccer camps while proudly displaying their A, B, and C, licenses. What happens if Klinsmann not only cleans house on the internal US Soccer coaching staff but also changes the current development program and with one stroke makes all of their expertise, outdated. Also, for the Athletes’ representatives, it would be a slap in the face. Their skills and accomplishments were being downgraded by this “foreigner”. Truly a bitter pill for all that just couldn’t be allowed to happen. I won’t even bother discussing the possibility of pure outright xenophobic motives
The Insiders, with the possible help of Mr. Flynn, definitely get my vote as the villains
Unfortunately, my conclusion that the rejection of Klinsmann was a US Soccer grass-roots effort paints a truly dismal picture for player development in the US, a continuation of the physical, helter-skelter play that has marked us as a perpetual second tier country (intermittent round of 16 appearances notwithstanding). The only possible ray of light is the enhancement and expansion of MLS youth development programs (like the Chicago Fire’s program) and the appearance of European training facilities, like Arsenal’s proposed east coast facility.
Maybe, just maybe, the rejection of Klinsmann will be looked back on 20 years from now as a watershed, the beginning of the end of US Soccer’s stifling dominance over the sport in the US.
“I totally understand why the old School like Balboa Harkes Wynalda,jones, are angry. They are the ones who took every competition seriuosly, COpa America Gold CUp, WC Qualifying,.. ”
Those guys never played in the Copa America because the US turned down every invitation until 2007.
i’ll go with Jamaica 3-1. No one’s put a ball in the reggae net thus far. I think the us will sneak one in. I have no evidence to warrant anything more than that though.
You my friend are optimistic with that 60% thing. If you mean 10 games played right now the usa in my opinion might sneak away with one based on current form. Fortunately outside of major tournaments these teams probably wont play each other very often and there’s room for many things to change. Hystorically speaking they might be in the same league but currently my friend they are not. I also share the view that dear old bob needs to go. Soccer is a very unforgiving sport except, it seems, in the usa. Case in point, the Jamaica squad is made up largely of mls talent…arguably less talented individually than the usmt stars, yet they are visibly very different.
Maybe so and maybe not. The WC is in 2014. Lot’s will have changed by then,hopefully for the better.
Well said. No one should want to lose this game or any other game in this tourny.
Tainted beef?
It IS doom and gloom. Too many people sayin’ we’re going to just flat out lose. You may end up being right, all I’m saying is that it isn’t some bygone conclusion. As far as squeaking by, I’m okay with it as long as we win 🙂 And Mexico does not always beat CONCACAF teams handily, but they have put in a nice run of three games *respect*.
I’ll be here celebrating Jamaica’s Yank stomping, bad coach’s career ending, rude boy soccer party. Dance hall style. Look for me!
if you’re going to nitpick, both are grammatically correct, but the meaning shifts slightly.
you are probably right.
I think there is an additional game that we need to after Jamaica and before Mexico.
I think whether you call it a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 is relatively insignificant and doesn’t necessarily signify a tactical change. The basic idea is to have J.Jones and Jr. dropping back in the middle to receive the ball from the defense and setup the attack- something of alternating holding roles, with Jones probably holding back more. Then there are two players on the wing. Jozy would be the furthest striker, acting as a big target (wish he was better at this). Demspey will be more free to roam around and create playing behind Jozy. Some could call that attacking center mid (hence the 4-5-1 reference).
Also, with the influx of new talent I see Onyewu’s time trending downward. Lichaj looked impressive at LB and showed an ability to be involved with the attack. Timmy Chandler will hopefully prove to be a lock at RB, forcing our veteran’s to share time in the center.
The team is obviously changing its focus on controlling the tempo/pace of the game starting in the backfield. Onyewu in the past has not shown the necessary composure to fit into this system and it’s unlikely that things will change even if he asks European teams to take him on for $0 compensation.
Cultivating a winning mentality is a yes, your attitudes (not you Louis Z even though this is a reply to you), is not acceptable
.
+1 – good sense on players being off their game.
We should never hope for a loss if we want soccer to succeed in this country. One way that is going to happen is if the national team is going to cultivate a positive self image and winning the gold cup and making it to the Confederations Cup (Which ended up getting a ton of press) is a great way to do so, even if it means Bob Bradley stays. Those who think that us losing so Bob gets fired think they are being farsighted, but in fact it is they who are nearsighted. The long term prosperity of the USA national team is going to be all about how people view us and losing in the Gold Cup and missing out on the Confederations cup is not the means to do that.
Further how do you know we will lose to Mexico, While I might give Mexico the edge soccer is not a game where the better team always wins, in fact when Mexico is, as they are, only marginally better than we are I would expect them to win no more than 60% of time.
Hmm.. I understand why you would want Onyewu in because of his size and physicality, but the quarterfinals isn’t the place to be “mixing things up” in the backfield.
I believe our lineup will remain unchanged with the exception of Wondo. I believe well see Juan back in the mix with Bedoya and Edu as subs as you have mentioned.
I think you should consider the possibility of other nations progressing as well. When I look at our ability to move the ball cleanly from our back line into our midfield, we are clearly an improved team. Our midfield possession and ability to create chances is improving as our team stylistically changes. At the same time, the teams in the CONCACAF tournament in 2011 are much more competitive than those in the past.
I believe we have progressed and are going to continue to progress, but the days of skating through the tournament are over.
I seriously think this should be our startin line up…
Altidore Agudelo
Donovan Dempsey
J.Jones M.Bradley
Lichaj Cherundolo
Bocanegra Onyewu
Subs
Bedoya for Agudelo and put dempsey up top
Edu for bradley
I wanna see the U.S come out with a winners mentality and to start the game off aggressive and get some quick goals in. BB please do not start us off with the usual defensive mentality you have done for the past few games it frustrates me to see us defensive when we have the capacity to outscore any team.
Yeah…I have tickets for the final!
“As far as the Gold Cup goes, the U.S. men’s national team is where it should be.”
I stopped reading after this. No, we’re NOT where we should be. We did not win our group. We failed to beat Panama. We beat Guadeloupe by a goal.
No, we are NOT where we should be.
Agreed, or maybe as 4-4-1-1 with Dempsey playing under Altidore so he has a little more free reign to drop into the midfield.
Sweet correction bro!
If early elimination eliminates Bob Bradley…lets do it…
I’m down on the US right now overall, and I think the coach is out of ideas, but let’s not be too negative with regard to the probable outcome here. Jamaica isn’t Argentina and Dane Richards isn’t Messi or DiMaria. We haven’t ever lost to them for a reason. As for Mexico, they have only proven the large gulf between a top CONCACAF side playing well and the rest of the region not playing well. Yes, they look very good and more skilled than the US, who had two bad games and a good game with bad finishing. But that is almost always what gets said before we play Mexico. Mexico is technically better. Mexico is faster. Mexico controls possession, etc., and we usually win with our A side at home anyway. Having said all that, I think Bradley needs to go if we don’t win and has to stay if we do. US has to win the Gold Cup in the year the Confed Cup is on the line, period, and all chips should fall accordingly.
Finally some optimism here. USA is not playing that bad. USA has proven that it can score when it really matters. Lets have some faith in our guys and show some support.
no. I think the winner of Jamaica-US will beat Panama.
no. At this point, Mexico looks the clear better team in this tournament.
I hope you are right with your predictions but…Arenas’s WC of 2002 played excellent games with less quality players. His Galaxy team is also a very good passing team within MLS. At this point I can’t say BB game has been as good as Arenas and BB has the better players.
I think fatigue is a big reason we have looked so flat. Which players have looked the best so far in this tourney – probly Bradley and Altidore, two players who haven’t played much for their club teams. Donovan is ill/injured/something, Dempsey just off a grueling season with Fulham. And really the biggest problem we’ve had is finishing, and the ugly truth is that after the inconsistant Altidore, we dont have any international quality strikers. All that said, I expect us to play our best game against Jamaica, advance to the final to face Mexico.
JW it is not gloom and doom, aren’t you tired of seeing the US team just squeaking by? If the US wants to become a top team in soccer, we should be doing what Mexico is doing to other teams in the Concacaf region, beating them handily.
But Bradley is not the guy to take the US to the next level.
I thought Buddle was better than WONDO, and it looks that way by the way WONDO is playing. Did BB have an issue with Buddle?
It is not about winning the final or not, it is about the direction the US team is heading in towards the World Cup. Right now that direction is backwards! If the US loses against Jamaica, there will be some serious heat for Bradley to get canned. But really all of this rests on Bradley, and the teams shoulders.
any loss to a concacaf team (except mexico) would be an embarrassment.
Im not a Bradley fan. However WINNING comes first for me, especially in a tournament that leads to the confed cup. People on this site would rather see us lose and Bradley fired then us possibly make a run and win the gold cup. This is pathetic and unsupportive IMO.
I don’t think it is neccessarily about which players Bradley has, but more about how he motivates them, or in Bob’s case the lack of motivation. I get a sense that the current team is bored, and unispired. There is no threat to any of these players position on the team. Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, Howard, all know they will be playing, guarenteed. If no position is secure and everyone is fighting for a spot game to game, things might be different. Bottom line Bob must go!
Question for Ives (or anyone else who wants to answer):
Can the Jamaica-US winner possibly lose to Panama?
Can the Jamaica-US winner knock off Mexico?
Is there another side capable of winning the cup besides these three?
Agree, Flynn is the guy behind it all, and as long as USSF continues to make money he will be in control. Fans need to boycott, friendly games like the one against Spain. It is just a pure cash cow for USSF, and it was a lame game on top of it.
The talent that Bob Bradley has to play with is so much better than any other American team so having an equal winnnig percentage as Arena is not a good thing. It shows a lack of progression during a time where the natural talents of the players have progressed. That being said, I still want to win the Gold Cup and if we can get out of this funk, I think we should still be considered co-favorites
+ infinity and beyond.
I’ll be looking for you on this board come sunday.
+ ALOT
Very Well Said! Growing up watching the Nat’s in the 80’s & 90’s there were questions of technical quality as comapred to most of the rest of the world but there was never any doubt about intensity & work rate which showed how much pride they had to represent thier country.
With Landon and Clint gone most of the week, I highly doubt you will see a different formation or a formation that uses them differently. There may be tinkering with personnel, but much more likely that we come out with the same formation.
Busdriver,the gentleman who posted above me HOPES that we get beat by Jamaica so we don’t get embarrassed by Mexico. This is a cowards mentality. The US is in poor form at the moment while Jamaica and especially Mexico are flying high. This is footy in CONCACAF. We most certainly can compete with the Jamaicans and IMO we can compete with the Mexicans. If you and Pistol Pete got the check written all ready then head on down to the bank and cash it. I for one remain confident that we have a shot at winning this tournament. Final thought- your simply clueless if you think these guys are hungry for nothing.
Wow, lots of doom and gloom here. We had 2 goals scored on us in 3 games, one from a bad mistake leading to a PK. While we’ve hardly been the most inspiring side, the Jamaica game is far from a foregone conclusion. Deep breath people.
Besides, y’all are acting like we romp in an destroy everybody every year except this one. I mean… we don’t. Also, Mexico isn’t a foregone conclusion to advance to the final. As much as the US has a tendency to win games when they’re playing poorly, Mexico has a tendency to lose a few when they’re playing well.