Copa America 2024 General Discussion Thread (13 Viewers)
- Thread starter Mark
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@Bjerknes don't know your age,, but sad to say my friend I believe he's right. I remember back during the 1994 WC in US my young son and too many people getting all excited about the USA soccer team. Most probably knew very little about Euro soccer + BRA + ARG and how good they were. Of course us Americans think we can do everything better than the rest of the world. Just give us some time.
Okay so in 1994 I say we got lucky advancing and battling BRA well. Excitement abound looking forward lol. Kept telling son we aren't that close and don't expect it anytime soon. Well fast forward 30 years and how much better have we become? Of course good coaching would help but not enough looking at this squad top to bottom. Seriously Weah starting at a forward position?
Yes Weah's RED killed our chances going forward and that REF vs Uruguay shouldn't being doing college games, let alone pros ones, but I don't see the US being as close as their world ranking shows. I sadly think how many WCs we might have missed out on if we were grouped with the SA countries for qualifying? Maybe I'm just looking at glass half-full?
Okay so in 1994 I say we got lucky advancing and battling BRA well. Excitement abound looking forward lol. Kept telling son we aren't that close and don't expect it anytime soon. Well fast forward 30 years and how much better have we become? Of course good coaching would help but not enough looking at this squad top to bottom. Seriously Weah starting at a forward position?
Yes Weah's RED killed our chances going forward and that REF vs Uruguay shouldn't being doing college games, let alone pros ones, but I don't see the US being as close as their world ranking shows. I sadly think how many WCs we might have missed out on if we were grouped with the SA countries for qualifying? Maybe I'm just looking at glass half-full?
I was a kid during 1994 and that's when I really started following the game overseas. Baggio was my favorite player back then.
There's no doubt we have way more talent than we did back then. Our best players were Eric Wynalda and Tab Ramos. They didn't play at major clubs like the kids nowadays. Pulisic is one of the best wingers in Serie A, back then we didn't even have anyone playing in Serie A. Obviously we don't have the same level of talent as the Dutch or Italy, but we have improved massively since then.
Where we haven't really improved is in our tactical intelligence. We do some really stupid things, honestly. Against Nederlands we tried to take the game to them and got easily exposed at the back because we left ourselves open in the middle, while we tried to have a dog fight against Uruguay, one of the most physical and solid sides in the world. Both of them have more talent than we do, but we don't help ourselves whatsoever by playing directly into opposition's hands. That's why Berhalter is a massive failure and isn't the right person to lead us. We need someone who is proven tactically.
There's no doubt we have way more talent than we did back then. Our best players were Eric Wynalda and Tab Ramos. They didn't play at major clubs like the kids nowadays. Pulisic is one of the best wingers in Serie A, back then we didn't even have anyone playing in Serie A. Obviously we don't have the same level of talent as the Dutch or Italy, but we have improved massively since then.
Where we haven't really improved is in our tactical intelligence. We do some really stupid things, honestly. Against Nederlands we tried to take the game to them and got easily exposed at the back because we left ourselves open in the middle, while we tried to have a dog fight against Uruguay, one of the most physical and solid sides in the world. Both of them have more talent than we do, but we don't help ourselves whatsoever by playing directly into opposition's hands. That's why Berhalter is a massive failure and isn't the right person to lead us. We need someone who is proven tactically.
Douglas Luiz did everything wrong when he came on last game. He got jinxed already?
I called it ages ago It’s time to move on from Brazilian coaches, there’s a reason you don’t see them coaching any relevant teams in Europe. These players aren’t bad but they’re set up for failure.
94’ had the most impact on me of all the world cups I’ve seen, from 86 to today. I can recall with great details every match Brazil played, every goal.
Obviously the win is a major factor for that but there was something special about teams like Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden and even the USA who turned out to be an extremely difficult opponent. This was still a time when referees turned a blind eye to violence. Games were tougher.
I remember Brazil being utterly criticized by the so called football specialists back then for playing a more defensive approach, almost looking more like Italy than Italy themselves. In retrospect they wouldn’t have won it any other way.
After 1990’ (which by many is still considered the most bland not to say boring brand of football ever seen in a World Cup) football was becoming a more compact, defensive and tactical minded sport which then helped highlight teams that weren’t that technical but were well organized and worked well as an unit like the USA.
Obviously the win is a major factor for that but there was something special about teams like Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden and even the USA who turned out to be an extremely difficult opponent. This was still a time when referees turned a blind eye to violence. Games were tougher.
I remember Brazil being utterly criticized by the so called football specialists back then for playing a more defensive approach, almost looking more like Italy than Italy themselves. In retrospect they wouldn’t have won it any other way.
After 1990’ (which by many is still considered the most bland not to say boring brand of football ever seen in a World Cup) football was becoming a more compact, defensive and tactical minded sport which then helped highlight teams that weren’t that technical but were well organized and worked well as an unit like the USA.
