The following is a recap of last night's U.S-Costa Rica friendly that I wrote for He Wrote. Here it is: As the saying goes, “Success is a journey, not a destination.” The United States men’s national soccer team proved that yesterday with a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica in a friendly played at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The game marked the team’s second under the guidance of their recently hired manager, Juergen Klinsmann. After a 1-1 draw in a friendly with Mexico last month, fans were hoping for a better showcase from the American squad. However, it is important to remember that these initial friendlies are experimental exhibitions; in theory, the outcome is meaningless and the coach has an opportunity to get acquainted with the players and mess with formations. Despite the disappointing result, fans can take solace in the fact that the team is gradually picking up on Klinsmann’s attacking style and improving its amount of possession. During the Bob Bradley era, the Americans were restrained under a conservative approach in which the primary focus appeared to be defense – though they were not necessarily masters of that, either – and goals seemed to be an afterthought, or perhaps a bonus for good play. Obviously, the objective in soccer is to score and Klinsmann is still in the process of recruiting the right players, as well as showing the U.S. team the patience and tactics necessary to get that ball into the net. Contrary to the last few years, the U.S. dominated the game early on. During the first half an hour, the Americans looked like Spain from the way they owned possession. In fact, the team’s most threatening opportunity came in the sixth minute, in which Donovan got a dangerous shot off that was just slightly right of the goal. Although the team was patient with possession, the fact that they could not materialize translated into increasing momentum for Costa Rica. Leading up to halftime, the visitors showed signs of life, though American goalkeeper Tim Howard heroically prevented any score before halftime. The second half was a completely different story for the U.S. In typical American fashion, the opponent scored the first goal and the Red, White, and Blue were forced to play catch-up yet again. As desperation heightened, so did emotions. The teams got tangled up a couple times, but order was soon restored, albeit with questionable yellow cards to Brek Shea and Sacha Kljestan. On the bright side, aside from not connecting for a goal, the U.S. executed the way it was supposed to. In hindsight, both Klinsmann and the players were acknowledged the result, but expressed satisfaction from the overall play. “You get chances in front of the goal and they don’t go in,” Torres said. ”Overall though, we had a lot of possession, attacked a lot from the wings and we played well.” As with any game, certain players stepped up while others did not represent themselves well in front of their new coach. Midfielder Jose Torres was the MVP of the U.S. squad, having done a brilliant job in maintaining possession as well as making smart passes. Juan Agudelo once again proved to be a spark off the bench and deserves to start. While Klinsmann chose not to pair him with Altidore in the front this time around, do not be surprised to see Agudelo and Altidore play alongside each other in the near future. As for the veterans, midfielder Maurice Edu, who was robbed of a goal in the 2010 World Cup, played in control but needed some more help from his teammates. Altidore looked fit as ever and had some good chances, but he still needs work on creating a goal. Donovan had an off-night, but was arguably the most effective player after Torres. Carlos Bocanegra, in his 95th cap, proved to be a beneficial veteran presence, but will he last another World Cup cycle? On the other hand, Brek Shea was not as impressive as he was against Mexico and made some rather lazy passes on what could have led to potentially threatening attacks. Edgar Castillo has stood out but for the wrong reasons in the past two friendlies, to the point where fans may start to miss defender Jonathan Bornstein. Timmy Chandler was a decent call-up, but Steve Cherundolo is certainly a more worthy starter. It was tough to evaluate Robbie Rogers; he continued to move well off the ball, but admittedly squadered the ball in some dangerous positions. The experimentation will continue on Tuesday when the squad heads overseas to play in a friendly against Belgium. Who knows, maybe back-up goalkeeper Bill Hamid will finally see some playing time. There will definitely be different players in the mix with Donovan heading back to join the L.A. Galaxy, while midfiedlers Kyle Beckerman and Clint Dempsey, as well as defender Steve Cherundolo join the team in Belgium. “Every game you learn a lot things,” Klinsmann said after the match. “The players come away from this game with a lot of good information. Every situation they saw out there was different and it was a challenge for them…Belgium will be another good experience for them. We want to try to develop that style of play that we are confident on the ball and that we try to pass our way through difficult situations and tight spaces. It will take time.”
Pride. Bad luck. Hope. Disappointment. Those are all descriptions of the past decade in U.S. Soccer. All those emotions are best captured in "Dying Bravely," an awesome chronicle of the United States' in the past three World Cups dating back to 2002.
For recent followers of the national team, the montage provides a brilliant prologue to South Africa. For long-time supporters, the video does an excellent job of recapturing the peaks and the valleys of the United States' journey.
The video also portrays recurring themes, notably the poor officiating the U.S. has suffered, in a truly fascinating way. It is lengthy in the sense that surpasses 11 minutes, but how else could one do justice to U.S. Soccer's pursuit? As Brian Strauss of AOL Fanhouse said, "It's well worth your time, and pays appropriate homage to a team well worth remembering."
The video has been posted on numerous soccer sites and even garnered a reaction from the national team's very own Stuart Holden, who commented on a soccer forum saying, "Cool video!! Thanks!"
I was so impressed with the video, I decided that to get in touch with the filmmaker. It turns out that the montage was produced by Nick Butler, a senior at Satusma High School - which is all the more impressive. Although he took breaks in between, Butler shared that he spent a month of his summer working on the montage. Personally, I wondered what motivated him to do so.
"One reason I was making videos was because I’m actually on a forum right now," Butler said. Every six or so months they do a video competition. I did one a previous year and I decided to do another one. I figured I’d do one about the USA getting in the World Cup."
After about two days, the video started attracting a plethora of views and promotion through Facebook and Twitter. Butler admits that he didn't expect his video to attract so much attention so rapidly, but he's quite pleased. Among those who noticed his video was the brother of a national team player, who has asked Butler to make a montage of his sibling. At this time, I can't disclose the specific player, but the video should be up in the next week.
Overall, the video is an amazing recollection of the United States successes and pitfalls, with a particular emphasis on the emotional aspect. Take the time to watch the montage - it's worth it.
The committee has scheduled a jam-packed itinerary for FIFA's inspectors. Obviously, Downs mentioned, three days is not much time to showcase the entire arsenal, but there will still be plenty of attractions to impress FIFA. Throughout their inspection, the delegation will visit New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Dallas, and Houston.
Obviously, there are many different opinions on whether or not extending Bob Bradley's contract was the right decision. Here are some excerpts of them:
From Ives Galarcep at Fox Soccer: The harsh reality is Bradley must do better over these next four years if he is going to prove Gulati’s decision to be the right one. He must construct a team better equipped to avoid the early-game blunders that have plagued the United States. He must rebuild his defense and he must continue his search for reliable goal-scoring talent. And when 2014 comes, if Bradley is still the head coach, he must learn from the lessons learned in 2010 and use that experience to build a team capable of reaching the levels many believe the U.S. men’s national team can reach.
From an interview with Fox Soccer's Christian Miles: "I think US Soccer made a good decision by extending Bradley's contract. Bradley is a fine and capable manager who fulfilled US expectations at South Africa. However, despite my personal admiration of the current US boss, who was able to get this current crop of players to closely realize it's potential, Juergen Klinsmann would have been an excellent choice to progress US Soccer. The German has demonstrated his ability to lead a national program through his efforts four years ago, while guiding his native country to the World Cup semifinals."
I don't think it's a matter of foreign versus American, rather it's who is the best man for the job. Klinsmann is not a typical foreigner that has no existing knowledge of the working of soccer in the US. He's lived in the US for years and is familiar with soccer in this country. He has also taken a role with the LA Galaxy in the past. With an extensive US background and fresh methods that brought success to Germany, I have no doubt Klinsmann has the capability of taking US Soccer to the next level."
From Yahoo! Sports' Martin Rogers: "Whatever Bradley does between now and the next World Cup, it will never be enough for those who love to bash the United States head coach, his methods, his philosophy and his decisions.
And it needs to stop...For those who simply can’t bear the fact that Bradley remains in charge, ponder this: Perhaps your ire should be directed not at the man, but at the federation that decided to hand him the keys not once, but twice."
From Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl: "Bradley did a good job in his first four years. My skepticism over his reappointment has less to do with Bradley than with any coach in this position, even ones who got historic performances out of their teams like Lippi in 2006 or Arena in '02. The history of World Cup second acts, especially over the last 16 years, is not a particularly good one."
On Monday, the U.S. Soccer Federation finally decided on a manager, opting to extend Bob Bradley's contract through 2014. After the United States' early exit against Ghana in the past World Cup, it was unclear if he would continue to manage the national team. In the ensuing weeks, Bradley would eye possibilities in Europe and U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati would make his own assessment. Ultimately, the two sides rejoined forces.
In a conference call with members of the media today, Gulati began by saying, "I think Bob’s done a great job of putting a group of players together and not just at the World Cup, in developing that group over three and a half to four years and we’re looking forward to building on that." It seems like Gulati exemplified the famous saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Although Gulati had initially expressed disappointment after the United States was knocked out, he clarified that the disappointment was not specifically in the coaching. "the disappointment part, as I stated then, was not in the team or Bob’s efforts or winning the group, obviously, the disappointment was that we all, always want one more game."
In a nutshell, the general vibe from Gulati is that the United States reached pre-World Cup expectations and he was proud of the respect U.S. Soccer gained during Bradley's tenure. However, after winning the group and with interest in U.S. Soccer at an all-time high, he foresaw a deeper run. Obviously, the team would not subsequently receive "one more game."
Perhaps the two most important questions were 1) What was the key factor in bringing Bradley back, and 2) Did Gulati speak with other managers?
"What was the most decisive factor was experience, the record over the last four years, in games that mattered especially," Gulati said. As for exploring other candidates, Gulati would make a point of not commenting on the matter.
When asked if he, indeed, met with Jurgen Klinnsman to discuss managing the national team, Gulati would not confirm. “We’re here to talk about Bob’s appointment as national team coach. I’m not going to talk about any conversations that we may or may not have had with any other candidate. We are going to talk strictly about our national team coach... That’s all we’re going to be talking about today.”
Another thought-provoking debate is whether or not the Federation should consider hiring a foreign manager. Until things dramatically change, the best soccer is being played in Europe - meaning the world's top managers are there, too. Someone like Klinnsman, who guided Germany to third place in the 2006 World Cup, could be a tremendous asset to U.S. Soccer. Having had a greater exposure to premier leagues and teams, he may have an edge in knowing how to beat the best.
By the same token, there can be cultural barriers to hiring a foreign coach. For example, the United States is not under as much pressure as, say, Spain. The demands are simply different. Moreover, there's the question of whether or not a foreign coach could identify with U.S. players. Perhaps Ruud Gullit's stint as manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy was the best example.
In an interview after the World Cup, Landon Donovan chided in on the debate: "I'm a little skeptical of foreign coaches in our league and in U.S. Soccer just because of how different our league is and our players are than other players around the world. So in theory sometimes it sounds sexy to have a guy like Ruud Gullit or in this case, who knows?
You could bring in [Fabio] Capello and I'm not sure you would get the results you wanted because there's so much to our league and our players than people realize. So it would be a little risky to do that unless you find the right person who really cares and understands and wants to learn about our league and our players."
Interestingly enough, in the same interview, Donovan said he would also be fine if Klinnsman, whom Donovan had played for while on loan to Bayern Munich, ended up manager of the national team. Well, today the most important opinion, that of Sunil Gulati, was expressed.
“Do I think there are some natural advantages to having a coach who understands the American system? The answer is yes. That does not mean there aren't also advantages to having a coach who has coached in the Premier League, or Serie A or two World Cups or whatever else it might be."
Different candidates bring different attributes. I don't think there's any doubt that having knowledge of the American setup is a plus. I said that four years ago and I think that's the case now. That doesn't mean we wouldn't consider an international coach, it just means they'd have a different set of strengths. In this particular area it would likely be a weakness since they would not have the same experience here [in the United States].”
Bradley, who also participated in the conference call, had recently been linked to job offers in Europe. Now that he will be back for a second cycle with the national team, there are questions of staleness. After all, he's already been around for four years. Will the players still be as responsive?
Bradley addressed staleness, in part, by citing Sir Alex Ferguson as a role model. “Obviously, it’s been noted at times where I’ve said I’ve been lucky to spend some time at Manchester United. And when I see someone like Sir Alex Ferguson, how he continues to know how to keep his environment fresh and sharp, I think that is what coaching is about. Your credibility is put to the test every day as a coach, regardless of whether you’ve been on the job four years or four days. I understand that. That’s part of the profession."
With the manager situation settled, Bradley can now focus on coaching the national team, while Sunil Gulati and the Federation can work on their securing a World Cup in the United States. FIFA's inspectors will arrive in America next week.
Asked about his vision for next four years, Bradley identified an experienced nucleus, the development of young players, and play against tough competition as keys to success. Although he wouldn't set a goal for the 2014 World Cup, but mentioned that success in tournaments such as the Gold Cup and Confederations Cup are imperative.
The next games for the national team consist of a friendlies against Poland on October 9 and versus Colombia on October 12. Both games will be played in the United States. Soccer fans should be open to a surprise or two, as Bradley stated that he is eyeing younger players.
"Every fixture date gets assessed: whether there are days of training leading into the game, who the opponent is, what the schedule is for players in MLS or abroad. We put all those things together and try to find the right time and place to introduce players into the national team."
Certainly the next fixture date in October gives us opportunities. There are players out there we have watched, and we do a thorough job of keeping track of players around the world as we go through games with the idea of looking for players who we believe can be moved into our program.”
Overall, it seems like the decision to extend Bradley's contract was a good one. Gulati recognized Bradley's rather remarkable achievements, primarily the United States' victory in the Gold Cup and reaching the final of the Confederations Cup. Who knows if Klinnsman could do a better job, with the risks being much higher. Bradley provides valuable stability, which might turn out to be just what the national team needs. I guess we'll have to wait and see in the next four years.
