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Postby ThadFilms » Wed Jun 28, 2006 2:06 am

CalallenStang wrote:Some day we won't have to send our best to Europe...


Yup, but until that day - the best thing for US soccer here - in the NEAR future is to have our best talent in the best possible leagues. A great showing in 2010 World Cup is needed.

Count me as a big Kenny Cooper prognosticator as it were. I say don't forget about Kenny, and then he scores for FCD that night. It seems he has scored everytime I bring his name up before/during a game...

The crazeist moment was when, a few games into the season, I'm in a sports bar - here in Austin TX - and I take a few moments to step away from the table (where we were watching some other game). So I'm stanging there, and my buddy walks up - I say to him, "Dude, that guy's Kenny Cooper. He went to our high school [Jesuit College Prep., in Dallas]." "Is he any good." I laughed, somehow I knew, "Just watch, he's going to show you where the goal is" I say. Fifteen (fifteen!) seconds later he scores. I just smiled and chanted -

Super! Super hoops!
Super! Super hoops!
Super! Super hoops!
Super FC Dallas!

- as I walked back to my table.
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Postby JasonB » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:35 am

CalallenStang wrote:JasonB - I agree.

Meanwhile, do you think it's better for American soccer to keep Freddy Adu in MLS for marketing purposes, or should he play in Europe to get more experience?


The American players need to get a grip on their egos. Adu is still a kid. He is not very mature. In England, if he throws a fit, he won't ever see a minute of PT.

The MLS is a better system to play in than being stuck on a reserve team in Europe. Much better for player development. There is no question.

Adu needs to wait until he becomes a star in MLS before he leaves to go somewhere else. And he isn't there yet. Otherwise, he will just sit on the bench, and that will stunt his growth more than anything else. Ask Jovan Kirovski
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Postby giacfsp » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:39 am

JasonB wrote:The MLS is a better system to play in than being stuck on a reserve team in Europe. Much better for player development. There is no question.....
After seeing Landon Donovan in the World Cup, I think there is a serious question. He was a reserve in Europe, then came home and tore up MLS .... and did absolutely nada in the World Cup.

I agree with you that Adu needs to mature and dominate here, though, before thinking about going overseas.
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Postby JasonB » Wed Jun 28, 2006 4:07 pm

giacfsp wrote:
JasonB wrote:The MLS is a better system to play in than being stuck on a reserve team in Europe. Much better for player development. There is no question.....
After seeing Landon Donovan in the World Cup, I think there is a serious question. He was a reserve in Europe, then came home and tore up MLS .... and did absolutely nada in the World Cup.

I agree with you that Adu needs to mature and dominate here, though, before thinking about going overseas.


No, Donovan improved drastically when he came to MLS from Germany. It helped his game tremendously and he was fantastic in his second year in MLS. The reserves overseas don't do enough for improving your game.

Donovan's problem is NOT MLS. His problem is that he is a right winger that every American coach tries to play at attacking mid or forward. Show me any other high quality national team that tries to put 5'8, 140 up top or in the middle. It works fine against the small latin american teams, but it is a disaster against anyone else.
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Postby me@smu » Wed Jun 28, 2006 4:21 pm

JasonB wrote:No, Donovan improved drastically when he came to MLS from Germany. It helped his game tremendously and he was fantastic in his second year in MLS. The reserves overseas don't do enough for improving your game.

Donovan's problem is NOT MLS. His problem is that he is a right winger that every American coach tries to play at attacking mid or forward. Show me any other high quality national team that tries to put 5'8, 140 up top or in the middle. It works fine against the small latin american teams, but it is a disaster against anyone else.


Hmm how about Maradona...he wasn't a bad striker and only 5'5'' at that. Or a modern version, two time Fifa World player of the year, Ronaldinho is 5'11 with cleats on. Donovan's problem is a combination of alot of things, including being coddled. The MLS is slowly growing to be a good league however, it is not just hometown cooking that makes our MLS stars absolutely flop when they go to Europe. In the MLS, Donovan will never be pushed for his starting stop and will face world class defending only every couple of games and even then only one defender at a time. He didn't so much improve as his competition became much easier.

And to say you gain nothing from being a reserve? Never heard the saying "you get better by playing people better than you?" Never mind that if he is supposed to be the star of our national side, it is a pretty sad statement that he can't crack the lineup of a mid-tier bundasliga team.
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Postby giacfsp » Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:26 am

I agree - when he was in the Bundisliga, he was practicing daily against some of the top players in the world. I thought he and Pope and Beasley were embarrassed in the World Cup. My guess is that Pope is done as a member of the national team, and the other two will not get the star treatment next time around that they've enjoyed for the last four years. Whoever coaches the U.S. in four years will make them earn their playing time, whereas it seemed like they were hailed as our stars before they showed it on the international level.
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Postby JasonB » Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:58 am

I am talking about Donovan's first trip to Germany, when he was truly a reserve. It is fine to go to a club and fight it out for a starting spot, but if you are stuck on the reserve team, which means you aren't competing for a starting spot, then it is doing you no good. 1) The reserves practice with the reserves in most places in Europe, not with the first team. And 2) Game experience is just as important as the practice time.

MLS is a much MUCH better place to be from a growth and development perspective than the reserves. I don't argue that players who can go to Europe for a quality side and battle for a starting spot should do it. But sitting on the reserves will hamper, not help, their development.

Also, comparing Donovan to Rooney, Maradona, or Owen isn't valid. Look at those players. They have a massive base (big butt and thighs). That are built with a low center of gravity and can maintain possession against bigger opponents because of it. Donovan and Beasley are sticks. They don't have the lower base to be able to maintain possession at the top or in the center of the field. They just don't have the right build. You are right, height isn't everything, but you have to be able to handle the job.

If Donovan either got bigger or allowed coaches to push him out to the wing, and didn't pout about it, then he could be a good player in Europe or whatever. But if he wants to play in the middle, he has to stay in MLS.
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Postby JesuitPony » Thu Aug 03, 2006 9:36 pm

Has anyone heard anything lately about the coaching search for the US men's national team. Is Jurgen Klinsmann still a candidate?
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