a lil bit of coaching points

Okay, so I had to be a coach for a minute and record my thoughts on the US Men’s National Team thus far. I’ve missed coaching since I left Utah, don’t tell Skyler, so I’m getting my fix on the blog…

Direct play: All too often, when we win the ball as a team we look like Jo-Jo the idiot circus boy with a pretty new pet (yes, that’s a Tommy Boy reference). We get the ball and we just want to go. Our midfielders run forward before running wide and creating space. Our forwards put their head down and their backs to the ball and just go. That makes it hard to keep the ball and you saw the effects of that in the second half of today’s game and for most of the first two games.

Onyewu: How good has Guc been for two straight games? He wins everything. His instincts are incredible. It’s been out of form for a while – weeks into months - and all of a sudden he found his form against Egypt and was phenomenal against Spain. If anyone knows anyone who knows Onyewu, please introduce me. He is perhaps the sexiest man alive in my book currently…

Bocanegra: I’m impressed with the way he performed against Spain. There’s no saying how difficult it is to be out of game action with an injury and then have your first game back against none other than the best and hottest team in the world, Spain with a mobile, creative and tactically and technically superior attacking side. His touch was impressive, his fitness good, his decision making up to par. I’m pleased with our skipper.

Red cards: How ridiculous is it that we feel the need to challenge for unwinnable balls? I don’t get it. Stupid. Dumb. Unnecessary. You can say all you want about the decisions of the referees but three different refs in three different games on three different occasions gave straight reds… not even two yellows, but straight reds. Ridiculous. Our central midfielders need to figure themselves out.

Final: Who do we put on the field instead of Bradley? That hurts. If Sacha gets the start, I call a 3-0 loss (you heard it first here) with his poor decisions/touch directly responsible for at least two Brasilian goals. Just saying… give Feilhaber a shot. He’s earned it. Please, PLEASE, puh-lease leave Beasley and Sacha off the field… only if you want to chance to win.

Onyewu: Can I just mention how attractive his scruff is? Yes, I like that.

Donovan: I’ve always admired his work rate, but I’ve never seen him work so tirelessly as he has this tournament. In the first couple games he resorted back to not taking enough responsibility in the final third and passed opportunities he should have taken himself. That said, he is the most important player on the US squad. Our best will almost always be our keeper, but he is the most important and he wore the captain’s armband well. In the second half of the Spain game he played endline to endline, LITERALLY. He was on the end of crosses in both of the final thirds. That’s work. Also, his set pieces were almost always dangerous. His services had great pace and gave our guys a chance. Not much more you can ask.

Dempsey: After not defending for basically three games, he came out and had a great all-around game. He came back and defended well and obviously went forward well. He created some good chances on goal and finished one. It’s good to have him back with a chip on his shoulder and playing with his team. Let’s hope that stays.

Casey: As a second half sub in the Italy game Connor came on and was lazy. Really? You’ve been watching your teammates cover the field with 10 for most of the game and are put up front to direct the opponent’s flow of play and make them predictable so the defense behind you can get a bit of shape and you walk? You walk? Then jog and walk more? So unimpressed by him. There has to be another striker in this great country that is willing to work when playing against some of the best teams in the world. Just a hunch. In the Spain game he was better, but not much. Just write his name on the seats next to Beasley and Sacha.

Whining: I’m sick of our reactions. In our first two games let’s be honest, we made millions of mistakes- that much was all too clear. What I don’t want to see is the DeMarcus Beasley hand slap on the ground before he decides to get back. I understand that you have to sppeal calls, just do it as you work, don’t stop working to turn and talk to the ref. if you think a forward is offsides, throw your hand up, scream like mad, and GET BACK. I expect to see us make mistakes, I don’t ever want to see a reaction to the mistake. Seriously, so sick of this.

Spector: He did well for himself this tournament. He’s no Steve Cherundolo (cue University of Portland and Clive Charles love), but he was close to solid. His GLARING weakness, defendin the cross on the far post. He was nearly always beaten to the ball by his mark to the cross on the backside and it cost us at least one goal I can think of right now and multiple other chances. Ya, he should work on that.

Onyewu: And that body…really? Um, that’s nice too. Let’s just say I like him. A lot.

Harkes: Worst. Announcer. Ever. (Skyler, those periods are for you since I know you might be the only one who reads this!) He is unabashedly biased, and adds absolutely nothing to the commentary. He says nothing that makes you think, nothing that opens your eyes. Basically, he says nothing, and yet he says it over, and over and over again. Just for fun I think I’m going to count how many times he says “again” in the final.

Guts: who knew we had them??? This performance is exactly the result you knew we could have as a group, but for so long, with the exception of the 2002 World Cup, the whole has been less than the sum of all the parts. We’ve always boasted some of the best pure athletes in the world, but we’ve lacked the tactical and technical greatness that the best in the world possess—outside of our keepers. That can be attributed a lot of factors that I won’t go into here, but finally in these last two games we’ve decided to grow a pair, take a bit of pride in our work, scrap a bit and leave something on the field. I remember back in the day when April Heinrich was the coach of the WNT and she addressed the regional teams at a tournament in Boca Raton and she said she was worried that soccer was becoming elitist, prima donna, like we were owed something. It wasn’t about being dirty and getting the job done, it was about looking good and doing it “right.” I think she’s mostly right. For two games, the MNT proved her wrong.

Bradley: After the first two losses in this tournament in which the team forgot that this game is played best when passion and heart are involved, his job was in question. Actually, doubts started in a stadium in Costa Rica and were reaffirmed for the most part of the game against Honduras in Chicago. But, he was resilient and made some great personnel decision in the Egypt and Spain games. His decision to put Dempsey upfront was HUGE. Let’s be honest, it saved his job. Well done Bob, well done.

Onyewu: It’s official. I would have his children.

Go USA.