***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (5 Viewers)

[Desert_Power]

I am starting to feel like we are going to need a coaching change to have a chance to get through the group stages of the WC.

 

[Native]

How do you explain that? Its just poor tactics.

 

[The Kansas Comet]

That was awful - we don't connect on a short corner and it becomes a 2 on 1 breakaway for a goal. Simply dreadful.

 

[Sammy3469]

That was awful - we don't connect on a short corner and it becomes a 2 on 1 breakaway for a goal. Simply dreadful.

Dios Mio

 

[Desert_Power]

DMB isn't playing well, but the fact that the announcers have been talking about it for ten minutes is annoying. Nobody on our team is playing well, DMB isn't the only player out there.

 

[Mjolnirs]

Being behind a government firewall simply sucks.

Sounds to me like everyone is seeing why most US soccer fans have another National Team they pull for in International competitions.

 

[whoknew]

DMB isn't playing well, but the fact that the announcers have been talking about it for ten minutes is annoying. Nobody on our team is playing well, DMB isn't the only player out there.

He's not the only one playing poorly, but he has stood out this game as playing exceptionally bad.

 

[Moe.]

Adu needs to come in at halftime, nothing to lose, get him some pt.

 

[Texas Football]

You have to figure DMB and beasley are coming off at halftime.

DMB should be benched going forward...

 

[ffldrew]

Possession Time in first half Brazil 95% USA 5% - Not official but that is what it seemed to me.

 

[Rev. Jim]

USA = jogo feio.

This is frustrating to watch.

 

[Sammy3469]

DMB isn't playing well, but the fact that the announcers have been talking about it for ten minutes is annoying. Nobody on our team is playing well, DMB isn't the only player out there.

He's not the only one playing poorly, but he has stood out this game as playing exceptionally bad.

and it doesn't help that he keeps getting put on the field. I don't have many gripes with Bradley (we really don't have that many options that I would rather see on the whole besides not working in Holden), but that's the big one. We just aren't that good.

 

[The Z Machine]

That might be the worst half of football I've ever seen the US play.

Beasley is done. Get him out of there. He's lost whatever form he used to have and I'm not suer it's ever going to come back.

If the US doesn't score a goal in the run of play, I think Bradley should be fired. The USSF should be in touch with some elite foreign coaches to come into camp quickly and reset this squad. They have no heart, no soul, no passion, and very little skill.

 

[scoobygang]

Question for the soccer fans - why is the US team not very good? Is it style? Speed? I'd genuinely like to hear informed opinions. I ask this not as a soccer hater, but as someone who has come to the game recently and appreciate the flow/movement of the game. I'm a huge hockey fan and I see a lot of similarities. TIA.

I think we have ridiculous expectations. Look at the last few pages. We're gnashing out teeth over the fact that our team hasn't steadily progressed in World Cup play in 15 years. But what team really has? Nobody asks why Sweden hasn't steadily progressed and they've had some of the most talented players in Europe over the years (Henrik Larsson, Freddie Ljungberg, Ibrahimovich). England hasn't gotten past the quarterfinals in that time. The Netherlands might have made one semi. I was watching Finland play Russia in World Cup qualifying. This was the last gasp of Finland's "golden generation". Players like Forsell and Hyppia who have played for big European clubs. They never made a World Cup.We can count the teams that we expect to be bona fide contenders in any World Cup on one hand. Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina. Maybe Spain or France. But look at Spain. They handn't won a major competition in 45 years before last summer. France wins major competitions when they have a player the caliber of Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane. When they don't they struggle to get out of the group stages. All of which is to say that in order to make a real, noticeable difference the US is going to need to do more than produce good players. We need to produce good players and one or two GREAT players. That will happen when it happens.

 

[Native]

That might be the worst half of football I've ever seen the US play.Beasley is done. Get him out of there. He's lost whatever form he used to have and I'm not suer it's ever going to come back.If the US doesn't score a goal in the run of play, I think Bradley should be fired. The USSF should be in touch with some elite foreign coaches to come into camp quickly and reset this squad. They have no heart, no soul, no passion, and very little skill.

And no teamwork. They have no idea as a unit how to get the ball into the oppositions half. This must fall on the coaches shoulders.I agree that a new approach may be in order.

 

[Rev. Jim]

If the US doesn't score a goal in the run of play, I think Bradley should be fired. The USSF should be in touch with some elite foreign coaches to come into camp quickly and reset this squad. They have no heart, no soul, no passion, and very little skill.

Jurgen Klinsmann should be near the top of that "to call" list.

 

[The Z Machine]

There has been no semblance of anything in the attacking midfield. That space is simply vacant. The US has pushed up ONLY on the extreme sideline with about 2 feet to play in the field.

On the other hand, Brazil has had the entire field to work with, but particularly so on their right side. Maicon and the right back have been overlapping runs at will. Beasley is useless as a defender, and his play has led to both goals. Like I said, he's done. Put Torres in, or maybe move LD over to the left side with Adu in the middle.

This team is bad. I don't care what kind of teams they play on in Europe. The are being shown up by every other team (well maybe except New Zealand) in the tournament.

 

[scoobygang]

You have to figure DMB and beasley are coming off at halftime.DMB should be benched going forward...

He was bad, but you can't sub him twice. I thought Klejstan was also pretty awful. I would move Landon back to the left wing, yank DMB and Klejstan, and sub in Feilhaber and Davies.We might lose 5-0 that way, but at least it would be a positive attacking lineup.

 

[The Z Machine]

scoob, we're ganshing of teeth because while the players themselves seem to have progressed (individually) with increased international exposure, the PLAY of the US in the last WC and in the Confederations Cup has been piss-poor at best.

Simply put, the players are not playing to their abilities.

 

[The Z Machine]

scoob, we're ganshing of teeth because while the players themselves seem to have progressed (individually) with increased international exposure, the PLAY of the US in the last WC and in the Confederations Cup has been piss-poor at best.

Simply put, the players are not playing to their abilities.

 

[Moe.]

There has been no semblance of anything in the attacking midfield. That space is simply vacant. The US has pushed up ONLY on the extreme sideline with about 2 feet to play in the field.On the other hand, Brazil has had the entire field to work with, but particularly so on their right side. Maicon and the right back have been overlapping runs at will. Beasley is useless as a defender, and his play has led to both goals. Like I said, he's done. Put Torres in, or maybe move LD over to the left side with Adu in the middle.This team is bad. I don't care what kind of teams they play on in Europe. The are being shown up by every other team (well maybe except New Zealand) in the tournament.

take a few deep breaths

 

[Moe.]

is first-touch considered a skill you either are born with or without, or is it something you can learn/develop?

 

[Mjolnirs]

Question for the soccer fans - why is the US team not very good? Is it style? Speed? I'd genuinely like to hear informed opinions. I ask this not as a soccer hater, but as someone who has come to the game recently and appreciate the flow/movement of the game. I'm a huge hockey fan and I see a lot of similarities. TIA.

I think we have ridiculous expectations. Look at the last few pages. We're gnashing out teeth over the fact that our team hasn't steadily progressed in World Cup play in 15 years. But what team really has? Nobody asks why Sweden hasn't steadily progressed and they've had some of the most talented players in Europe over the years (Henrik Larsson, Freddie Ljungberg, Ibrahimovich). England hasn't gotten past the quarterfinals in that time. The Netherlands might have made one semi. I was watching Finland play Russia in World Cup qualifying. This was the last gasp of Finland's "golden generation". Players like Forsell and Hyppia who have played for big European clubs. They never made a World Cup.We can count the teams that we expect to be bona fide contenders in any World Cup on one hand. Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina. Maybe Spain or France. But look at Spain. They handn't won a major competition in 45 years before last summer. France wins major competitions when they have a player the caliber of Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane. When they don't they struggle to get out of the group stages. All of which is to say that in order to make a real, noticeable difference the US is going to need to do more than produce good players. We need to produce good players and one or two GREAT players. That will happen when it happens.

After the US made the quarterfinals in World Cup 2002 expectations did get ridiculous. But, I think most fans of the USMNT, would like to see us to at least be competitive on the international stage.I would love to see us win things like the Confederations Cup, but I don't expect it. What I would really like is to be in these competitions and not be thought of as just a speed bump for the teams from Europe and South America.

 

[guru_007]

Question for the soccer fans - why is the US team not very good? Is it style? Speed? I'd genuinely like to hear informed opinions. I ask this not as a soccer hater, but as someone who has come to the game recently and appreciate the flow/movement of the game. I'm a huge hockey fan and I see a lot of similarities. TIA.

I think we have ridiculous expectations. Look at the last few pages. We're gnashing out teeth over the fact that our team hasn't steadily progressed in World Cup play in 15 years. But what team really has? Nobody asks why Sweden hasn't steadily progressed and they've had some of the most talented players in Europe over the years (Henrik Larsson, Freddie Ljungberg, Ibrahimovich). England hasn't gotten past the quarterfinals in that time. The Netherlands might have made one semi. I was watching Finland play Russia in World Cup qualifying. This was the last gasp of Finland's "golden generation". Players like Forsell and Hyppia who have played for big European clubs. They never made a World Cup.We can count the teams that we expect to be bona fide contenders in any World Cup on one hand. Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina. Maybe Spain or France. But look at Spain. They handn't won a major competition in 45 years before last summer. France wins major competitions when they have a player the caliber of Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane. When they don't they struggle to get out of the group stages. All of which is to say that in order to make a real, noticeable difference the US is going to need to do more than produce good players. We need to produce good players and one or two GREAT players. That will happen when it happens.

Pretty sure other countries have ridiculous expectations for their teams too...like 100x what we chirp about in here. In Europe, soccer is life.Also, maybe Spain and France as WC contenders? Spain has already been annointed in this thread as the best team in the World, hands down. France still has a few good players around last I checked.No mention of Portugal?

 

[Texas Football]

You have to figure DMB and beasley are coming off at halftime.DMB should be benched going forward...

He was bad, but you can't sub him twice. I thought Klejstan was also pretty awful. I would move Landon back to the left wing, yank DMB and Klejstan, and sub in Feilhaber and Davies.We might lose 5-0 that way, but at least it would be a positive attacking lineup.

Whoops!Was thinking dempsey as the other one off, but DMB had filled my head with his utter awefulness.Bye Klejstein! Jeebus this is poor.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

If the US doesn't score a goal in the run of play, I think Bradley should be fired. The USSF should be in touch with some elite foreign coaches to come into camp quickly and reset this squad. They have no heart, no soul, no passion, and very little skill.

Jurgen Klinsmann should be near the top of that "to call" list.

he'd be a good team cheerleader perhaps, but not a coachI would look for someone like Scolari, or maybe one of the dutchies like Advocaat, Hiddink or Van Basten.

 

[scoobygang]

scoob, we're ganshing of teeth because while the players themselves seem to have progressed (individually) with increased international exposure, the PLAY of the US in the last WC and in the Confederations Cup has been piss-poor at best.Simply put, the players are not playing to their abilities.

It's not going to be a linear progression. The rest of the world is getting better too. Just because we make the quarters in 2002, doesn't mean we're going to get out of the group stage in 2006. France played like ### in the 2002 World Cup and the 2008 Euros. The US doesn't beat Italy. We don't beat Brazil unless Kasey Keller stands on his head. We don't win in Costa Rica. We didn't play badly for the most part against Italy. So what we're really complaining about is the team getting housed by a team we expected to house us. Just because Egypt played above its head against Brazil (and BTW, Egypt is probably not going to qualify for the World Cup, just like they didn't qualify after the last time they won the African Nations Cup) we shouldn't overreact. Let's at least let them play Egypt, which is the team we should really be measuring ourselves against.

 

[Mjolnirs]

RED CARD

US playing with 10 again.

 

[Sammy3469]

scoob, we're ganshing of teeth because while the players themselves seem to have progressed (individually) with increased international exposure, the PLAY of the US in the last WC and in the Confederations Cup has been piss-poor at best.

Simply put, the players are not playing to their abilities.

You see I disagree with this...I think we're playing exactly to our abilities...I don't think we've gotten much better technically (whether its first touch, dribbling, trapping in tight spaces, passing in tight places) much if at all in the past 6-8 years while we have gotten better athletically (both speed and size). We play a very physical style relying on set pieces or the counterattack. That's the style and plays to our abilities.

 

[Desert_Power]

On the DMB issue, I am not saying he is playing good at all. But, he played largely alone on the left side with little help from Bornstien and Sasha in either the attack or defense. It is difficult for any player to not look terrible in that situation.

 

[The Z Machine]

This is the worst game I've ever seen the US play. It's that bad. I'm not overreacting.

 

[scoobygang]

Pretty sure other countries have ridiculous expectations for their teams too...like 100x what we chirp about in here. In Europe, soccer is life.Also, maybe Spain and France as WC contenders? Spain has already been annointed in this thread as the best team in the World, hands down. France still has a few good players around last I checked.No mention of Portugal?

That's exactly my point. Portugal's not a contender until they win something. Anything. Portugal isn't leading their qualifying group. Their last qualifying game was a tense 1-0 home win against the always fearsome Albanians. And if we can't count on Portugal, how can we be surprised that we can't count on the US?EDIT: BTW, anyone remember the scoreline the last time Portugal played Brazil? It was a friendly last year, but both teams played their first choice team. It was 6-0 Brazil.

 

[Sammy3469]

This is the worst game I've ever seen the US play. It's that bad. I'm not overreacting.

Dismal

 

[The Z Machine]

scoob, we're ganshing of teeth because while the players themselves seem to have progressed (individually) with increased international exposure, the PLAY of the US in the last WC and in the Confederations Cup has been piss-poor at best.Simply put, the players are not playing to their abilities.

It's not going to be a linear progression. The rest of the world is getting better too. Just because we make the quarters in 2002, doesn't mean we're going to get out of the group stage in 2006. France played like ### in the 2002 World Cup and the 2008 Euros. The US doesn't beat Italy. We don't beat Brazil unless Kasey Keller stands on his head. We don't win in Costa Rica. We didn't play badly for the most part against Italy. So what we're really complaining about is the team getting housed by a team we expected to house us. Just because Egypt played above its head against Brazil (and BTW, Egypt is probably not going to qualify for the World Cup, just like they didn't qualify after the last time they won the African Nations Cup) we shouldn't overreact. Let's at least let them play Egypt, which is the team we should really be measuring ourselves against.

Like I said, Bradley's team needs to do something against Egypt (like scoring a goal), otherwise I think he should be fired.Someone mentioned Guus Hiddink as a good fit for the US.

 

[Desert_Power]

A lot of teams like Egypt come to tournaments like this and play above their abilities. We come into tournaments like this and play like we play in Azteca. Uninspired and lacking any confidence. We have the talent to compete with these teams, certainly more so than Egypt yet we consistently get embarrassed. It's hard to watch.

Maybe we would have a better chance if we could formulate a game plan better than trying to keep them from scoring until Landon gets to take a PK.

 

[Native]

Do we have a shot on goal?

 

[Moe.]

Bradley with an unbelievable run to deflect that shot. He is damn good.

 

[Desert_Power]

Pretty sure other countries have ridiculous expectations for their teams too...like 100x what we chirp about in here. In Europe, soccer is life.Also, maybe Spain and France as WC contenders? Spain has already been annointed in this thread as the best team in the World, hands down. France still has a few good players around last I checked.No mention of Portugal?

That's exactly my point. Portugal's not a contender until they win something. Anything. Portugal isn't leading their qualifying group. Their last qualifying game was a tense 1-0 home win against the always fearsome Albanians. And if we can't count on Portugal, how can we be surprised that we can't count on the US?EDIT: BTW, anyone remember the scoreline the last time Portugal played Brazil? It was a friendly last year, but both teams played their first choice team. It was 6-0 Brazil.

6-2, and not exactly what I would think is the first choice team for Portugal without Nani, Carvalho, and Tiago as well as a keeper who had lost his job as first choice keeper at Benfica.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

This is why I gave up watching the US team.

 

[Christo]

scoob, we're ganshing of teeth because while the players themselves seem to have progressed (individually) with increased international exposure, the PLAY of the US in the last WC and in the Confederations Cup has been piss-poor at best.Simply put, the players are not playing to their abilities.

It's not going to be a linear progression. The rest of the world is getting better too. Just because we make the quarters in 2002, doesn't mean we're going to get out of the group stage in 2006. France played like ### in the 2002 World Cup and the 2008 Euros. The US doesn't beat Italy. We don't beat Brazil unless Kasey Keller stands on his head. We don't win in Costa Rica. We didn't play badly for the most part against Italy. So what we're really complaining about is the team getting housed by a team we expected to house us. Just because Egypt played above its head against Brazil (and BTW, Egypt is probably not going to qualify for the World Cup, just like they didn't qualify after the last time they won the African Nations Cup) we shouldn't overreact. Let's at least let them play Egypt, which is the team we should really be measuring ourselves against.

My frustration doesn't come from the results. It comes from watching the games. I don't care what people think about the skill level of the individual players. From what I've seen on the field, the current team just isn't good.

 

[Native]

scoob, we're ganshing of teeth because while the players themselves seem to have progressed (individually) with increased international exposure, the PLAY of the US in the last WC and in the Confederations Cup has been piss-poor at best.Simply put, the players are not playing to their abilities.

It's not going to be a linear progression. The rest of the world is getting better too. Just because we make the quarters in 2002, doesn't mean we're going to get out of the group stage in 2006. France played like ### in the 2002 World Cup and the 2008 Euros. The US doesn't beat Italy. We don't beat Brazil unless Kasey Keller stands on his head. We don't win in Costa Rica. We didn't play badly for the most part against Italy. So what we're really complaining about is the team getting housed by a team we expected to house us. Just because Egypt played above its head against Brazil (and BTW, Egypt is probably not going to qualify for the World Cup, just like they didn't qualify after the last time they won the African Nations Cup) we shouldn't overreact. Let's at least let them play Egypt, which is the team we should really be measuring ourselves against.

My frustration doesn't come from the results. It comes from watching the games. I don't care what people think about the skill level of the individual players. From what I've seen on the field, the current team just isn't good.

Agreed. It not that we lost to Brazil thats so aggravating, but that we lost while play completely uninspiring football. Had we lost by the same score with 10 shots on goal, consistent ball possession and stronger tactics, I think people would be singing a different tune on the board.

 

[The Z Machine]

Exactly.

This team plays so introverted it's disgusting.

My brother raised an interesting point in regards to the 2 red cards in this tournament. He said that the reason the refs rae giving those straight reds so quickly is that they have little reason to think that the US isn't really out there trying to hurt people on these late tackles. The refs see the poor play by the USMNT and the really bad errors and conclude that the US players simply don't have control over their bodies, and therefore are a danger to the opposition in tackles.

There's no way that those 2 cards are straight reds if Ballack or Lampard makes them instead of Clark and Sacha. This is not anti-US bias, nor is it pro-star athlete (a la Michael Jordan) but rather a reflection on the poor play by the US that leads up to those tackles. Both were dumb tackles the went in late. This one today was simply not a straight red IMO. It wasn't high, it wasn't flagrant, and there was no intent to injure. But those are the breaks that happens when you prove you're a bad team that can't control a short corner, leading to a 80+ yard breakaway goal.

I'm giving Bradley 1 more game before I'm calling for his head.

 

[Native]

The other thing that bothered me about the game is that Brazil wasnt playing defense after the 20th minute. They basically gave us a free pass into their half and we still couldnt make any plays.

 

[El Floppo]

Traitor? Seriously??

Seems to me that criticizing/penalizing people for being proud of their heritage is pretty ####### un-American

Can we stop with the jingoistic myopia?

Would it be great if Rossi had chosen to play for the US? Sure...

Were any of you complaining when Freddy Adu was annointed as the next big thing?

I doubt it...

ETA: You know the "Miracle on Grass" in 1950 when we beat England? 3 of our starting 11 weren't born in the US

This is the nature of the sport

Jingoistic myopia? really?Nature of the sport aside- this is the first US born and raised player good enough to reverse commute. That makes him different and special and deserving to be called traitor and worse in my book. Not saying I blame him for going to his dad's team (didn't his dad play professionally in Italy?) or wanting to play on the team that gives him his best shot at winning a World Cup... well, alright- I am blaming him for the latter.

And re: Freddy- I'm not from Ghana, so no complaints needed.

You keep saying this, but he moved to Italy when he was 13.I wonder if he'd be anywhere as good as he is had he stayed in the US?

He would absolutely not be as good if he stayed in the US. Went to join the Parma youth team as a 13 year old... playing on the Teaneck SC Premiere youth team isn't quite the same thing.And what part of born and raised are you having a problem with? So he only spent his first 13 years in the US... that makes him Italian somehow? He hadn't learned the foreign US culture or American English language yet in his brief 13 years?

 

[The Z Machine]

Gold Cup starts in 2 weeks. What happens if the US wins it again? Will Bradley keep his job?

 

[El Floppo]

is first-touch considered a skill you either are born with or without, or is it something you can learn/develop?

both

 

[Desert_Power]

Gold Cup starts in 2 weeks. What happens if the US wins it again? Will Bradley keep his job?

If we lose to Egypt hopefully he won't make it to the Gold Cup.

 

[The Z Machine]

Clearly, something is wrong with the US's left side. There was a LOT of attacks that progressed down that side.

Can LD play on the left? I think i saw him over there a bit. I hope that Dempsey doesn't play against Egypt as he's been bad to non-existent in these last few games. Adu and Torres should start.

Run the 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 with Bradley and Feilhaber in the defensive MF, Torres, LD, and Adu across the attacking MF, and Altidore up top. Or, put LD up top alongside Altidore, play a diamond MF with Bradley in the back, Adu in the front, Torres on the left, and I don't even care who on the right.

Things have got to change.

 

[El Floppo]

Question for the soccer fans - why is the US team not very good? Is it style? Speed? I'd genuinely like to hear informed opinions. I ask this not as a soccer hater, but as someone who has come to the game recently and appreciate the flow/movement of the game. I'm a huge hockey fan and I see a lot of similarities. TIA.

I think we have ridiculous expectations. Look at the last few pages. We're gnashing out teeth over the fact that our team hasn't steadily progressed in World Cup play in 15 years. But what team really has? Nobody asks why Sweden hasn't steadily progressed and they've had some of the most talented players in Europe over the years (Henrik Larsson, Freddie Ljungberg, Ibrahimovich). England hasn't gotten past the quarterfinals in that time. The Netherlands might have made one semi. I was watching Finland play Russia in World Cup qualifying. This was the last gasp of Finland's "golden generation". Players like Forsell and Hyppia who have played for big European clubs. They never made a World Cup.We can count the teams that we expect to be bona fide contenders in any World Cup on one hand. Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina. Maybe Spain or France. But look at Spain. They handn't won a major competition in 45 years before last summer. France wins major competitions when they have a player the caliber of Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane. When they don't they struggle to get out of the group stages. All of which is to say that in order to make a real, noticeable difference the US is going to need to do more than produce good players. We need to produce good players and one or two GREAT players. That will happen when it happens.

Pretty sure other countries have ridiculous expectations for their teams too...like 100x what we chirp about in here. In Europe, soccer is life.Also, maybe Spain and France as WC contenders? Spain has already been annointed in this thread as the best team in the World, hands down. France still has a few good players around last I checked.No mention of Portugal?

Gene-Lots of factors in where we are, where we've been and where we're going as a Soccer country. We didn't have a pro league that looked seriously at developing US players until 1994 (NASL, although great for opening our eyes to a 'new' sport, wasn't about sustainging itself or bringing up new US talent). That's 15 years ago. Is 15 years enough time to develop into a world class team? That's not even a full generation of players getting to watch pro soccer or look at soccer as a viable pro career- and that's important. There's a reason the best former US players are sons of immigrants- there was nowhere else for them to learn the game but at home. That's a notion a soccer culture that will develop good players as much as coaching/etc. IMO.Damn... I want to write more on this as it's a topic near and dear, but I want to get back tot he US game today....Side note- I've seen two kids in the last couple of weeks with a soccer ball at the playground I take my kid to (one here in NYC, one near Ocean City MD). Each one was around 7 or 8 and each one was probably the best 7 or 8 year old US kid I've ever seen with a ball. Granted, it's been a long, long time since I've been around kids' soccer (I played through college, semi-pro after... no MLS at that point... and used to ref and coach soccer camps) but it got me thinking- was it a fluke that I was 2-2 in runing across two astonishing talents? Or has the level of play at the youth level risen that far. I fully believe it's the latter- and again, for their whole lives, these kids can go and watch MLS games- or watch European leagues on TV... neither of which were available to me (although I caught the tail end of NASL and Soccer made in German on PBS). Couple that with the fact that these kids' dads are essentially me and my peers- the first generation of US citizens to grow up en masse playing the game- so they can learn the sport at home.

 

[El Floppo]

Pretty sure other countries have ridiculous expectations for their teams too...like 100x what we chirp about in here. In Europe, soccer is life.Also, maybe Spain and France as WC contenders? Spain has already been annointed in this thread as the best team in the World, hands down. France still has a few good players around last I checked.No mention of Portugal?

But France is really not so good these days and Portugal is currently looking on the outside of their qualifying group (Denmark, Sweden and Romania?Bulgaria? all in front of them.