Winning versus Development

There is growing sentiment in the United States Soccer hierarchy that we are producing young players who know how to win but do not properly know the game of soccer.  Parents spend thousands of dollars for their children to play club soccer with two major expectations in terms of return on investment, the prospect of a college scholarship and wins. Lots and lots of wins.

In terms of money for college, the money they spend on youth soccer would be far better invested in a growth fund or even a simple savings account. The NCAA allows for the funding of 9.9 scholarships for men’s soccer to be distributed over a roster of 30 players. That is not favorable math.  As parents begin to realize this an even greater emphasis is placed on winning.

In youth soccer, the teams with the most big, strong, fast kids often dominate in terms of wins and losses. They impose their will through aggressive strategies built around physical play.  The myth of this being the proper way to develop players was given some credence by Bruce Arenas 2002 World Cup team that used superior conditioning to somewhat level the playing field and produce the USA’s best tournament results ever. The United States sank back to global soccer reality  when the USA failed to sustain that “success” and failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

The United States in World Cup 2014

The United States Men's National Team enter the 2014 World Cup ranked as the 13th team in the world. When the World Cup is finished they should be ranked in the same general area.

I Believe That We Can Win!

The US Naval Academy cheer taken as it's own by the American Outlaws has become a rallying cry if not the soccer anthem for US Soccer.  Reports were the American fans in Brazil far outnumbered those from every other country save Brazil itself.  ESPN and overnight Nielson ratings indicate the US matches were among the most watched sporting events ever with more viewers than the recent NBA playoffs, the Rose bowl and other noteworthy events.

In many ways, it appears the United States has finally arrived as a power on the world soccer scene.  This is well illustrated by the commentary on an English Soccer podcast that has gone viral on social media.



From the loom of the team and the attitude they brought with them, I think they believe they belong as members of the world soccer scene and that is as important as anything else to take from this World Cup. 

Many years ago the notion that America could not only compete with but win the World Cup was conceived.  The belief that we can do so has blossomed before our eyes.  The next step is to achieve that goal.

I do not wish to put a damper on all the great work done by US Soccer and specifically it's players and coaches, but in my opinion the USMNT still has a ways to go before it can realistically threaten to win a World Cup.  We are much improved, good even, but not yet great.

The USMNT entered this World Cup needing great performances from its two best players - Tim Howard and Michael Bradley.  You can make a case for other players importance, but these two gentlemen had to have not good, but great performances if the USMNT were to seriously challenge.  Howard came through with flying colors.  Bradley struggled throughout but played progressively better over the course of the US's 4 matches.

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann made Bradley the center piece of his team.  I Believe Landon Donovan was left off because Klinsmann wanted this to be Bradley's team.  New coach, new culture. I understand that.  However, while I am okay with Donovan being left of the team, I also believe Bradley struggled in part due to Donovan's absence on the pitch.  Simply put, Bradley was not up to the task of carry this team on his shoulders by himself. He needed help, but understand what Klinsmann's intentions were - the USMNT needs a world class star in the worst way.  Bradley was given the opportunity to ascend to that status. Given Donovan's age, it was a clear choice to make.

I think the same reasoning went into the single forward formations employed by the USMNT.  This was to be Jozy Altidore's showcase.  Klinsmann did not even roster a similar player. They were going to ride Altidore until he dropped. Unfortunately, Altidore dropped in the first match and Clint Dempsey was thrust into a role he just isn't suited to fill.

This highlights another area that needs shored up before the US can truly be considered established in the world soccer scene - quality depth.  The USMNT put a quality 11 on the pitch but to say they were 23 men deep would be a stretch of the imagination.  Consider that 5 members of the USMNT were dual nationals - United States and Germany.  Klinsmann quite literally scoured the world to find players to his liking.  Much of the talent we saw on the pitch was not home grown, per se.

And that is the challenge to be answered before qualifying for the 2018 World Cup begins - developing better home grown talent and uncovering the first world class American soccer star. DeAndre Yedlin or Julian Green anyone?

When I watched the USMNT this World Cup I saw a team that had learned to work far more intelligently and effectively than past US teams had. I saw a team that competed to an extent it probably overachieved in most matches. Klinsmann the tactician was brilliant for the most part - formations utilized, personnel deployed and the general systems of play.  The USMNT played to its strengths while hiding its weaknesses fairly well.   Possession play really suffered due to these strategies, but the USMNT was at its best defending and counter attacking. Possession soccer or slow builds to attacking play just is not something the USMNT does well namely because it lacks a world class star gal scorer... unless it's Altidore and we may have to wait another 4 years for that answer.

I don't believe the USMNT can afford to be satisfied with its performance although they played well and perhaps above realistic expectations.  I understand their being disappointed in being knocked out.  I can even appreciate being encouraged by making it through to the knockout round for two consecutive World Cups.  There is still much to do before we can declare ourselves to have arrived though.

I am hopeful Klinsmann remains as coach for the next 4 years.  I believe we will continue to see an infusion of youth into the USMNT as it prepares for 2018 World Cup qualifying.  I think the future is bright.  The next steps are to develop or uncover a world class American player the likes of a Messi or Ronaldo or Suarez while also deepening the overall pool of world class talent here in the states.

 Time to take another step.

I Believe That We Will take that step and finally move from knocking on the door to kicking the door open as only Americans can to grabbed our spot in the world's soccer spotlight... in 2018!

USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann has the roster for Friday's World Cup Qualifier against Jamaica to be held in Kansas City


GOALKEEPERS: Guzan, Howard, Rimando

DEFENDERS: Beasley, Besler, Cameron, Castillo, Evans, Gonzalez

MIDFIELDERS: Beckerman, Bedoya, Diskerud, Jones, Kljestan, Zusi

FORWARDS: Altidore, Boyd, Donovan, Johannsson, E. Johnson

Injured
Dempsey (hamstring)
Bradley (ankle)

Scouting the Opposition

The reason coaches scout the opposition is to gain an advantage for their own team. It can help to know the opponents formation, whether they play zonal or man marking defense, their set pieces and certainly the most dangerous opposing players. It is quite natural to want any and every advantage we can accumulate.

There is also some inherent risk in scouting opponents and I will use two examples from this summer to highlight what I mean by this.   

The first example comes from my spring team. We were set to play for the championship of the Creek Classic against a league rival. We had defeated this same team twice earlier in the season. The first match was a close hard fought win at their place, The second was a more comfortable win on our home pitch. This third match was on a “neutral: pitch in the opponent’s backyard. 

I knew from the first two meetings that they would seek to double and even triple team our Portuguese exchange student, Calo. The first meeting he played forward for us and they had a difficult time handling him. The second meeting, in anticipation of them double teaming Calo we moved him around quite a bit. For this third meeting, we intentionally didn’t even start him.

We had another secret weapon they were largely unaware of due to his being injured much of the year. Unbeknownst to the opponents, Taylor was a goal scoring machine for us. Beginning the match with Calo on the bench momentarily threw them off their game plan. We went up 2 – 0 before Calo entered the game and for all intents and purposes the game was over by halftime.  It was 3-1 with Taylor having scored twice and the opponents lone goal coming very late in the half as I rested the starters. We started the second half with both Calo and Taylor on the field as they had begun to double team Taylor. Now they had to pick and choose their posion. We won by a comfortable 6-2 margin with my having called off the dogs early.

I firmly believe because our opponents had built a game plan around stopping Calo based on what he had been able to do against them in the first two games  his absence from the starting line confused them. Then having to deal with both Calo and Taylor simultaneously in the second half caught them completely off guard. It just wasn’t in their scouting report on us rendering that report useless.

The second example comes from the Findlay at Shawnee game I wrote about earlier this week. I had accompanied a couple members of Shawnee’s coaching staff to scout Findlay 2 days prior to Shawnee playing them. Their opponent that evening played a 4-4-2 man-marking system. Shawnee plays a 4-3-3 zonal system. I attempted to broach the subject of how Findlay’s approach might differ against Shawnee due to the difference in systems, but did not get a lot of reaction to this. The consensus seemed to be that Findlay wouldn’t change anything. I wasn’t so sure.

A couple of nights later everyone was proven right. Findlay began the game playing exactly as they had when we scouted them. Shawnee held their own during the first half and quite honestly probably had the better chances. Good call by our coaches and we went to half tied 0- 0.

To start the second half it was immediately obvious Findlay had entirely changed their approach to the game. The scouting report Shawnee had on them could have been thrown out the window for it was now useless. Findlay made the adjustments based on Shawnee’s system of play that I had warned about. Being completely honest, I did not know exactly what adjustments they would make, only that they would adjust to having to defend three forwards instead of defending two forwards. They did and completely dominated the second half winning the game 2-0. Kudos to Findlay’s coaching staff on the adjustments they made. It was the difference in the game.

The point being made here is one must be careful in scouting opponents. In the first case above our opponents did not anticipate I would change our lineup thereby negating what I know was a large part of their pre-match planning. In the second case above Shawnee scouted an opponent against a team using a drastically different system than what Shawnee would employ two nights later largely rendering Shawnee’s scouting report useless after halftime adjustments by Findlay.

Scouting reports need to come with a warning and understanding that they are based on limited exposure to the opponents. Adjustments and adaptations are likely to be made on a game by game or opponent by opponent basis. The scouting report is a basic foundation from which to build your own game plan but it would be prudent to attempt to anticipate the adjustments the opposition will make to defend and attack YOUR system as opposed to how they defended or attacked the opponents you scouted then against.

I consider the first half of the match you play against the opponent to be the critical time to scout and those precious minutes at half time to be crucial game planning time. Even then there must be recognition the opponents have also been scouting you during the first half and are busy making adjustments to their own game plan. Can you anticipate what those adjustments will be and incorporate them into the game plan you present at halftime? That right there is often the difference between winning and losing.

One of the best in the world at half time adjustments is USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann. How many times have we seen the US struggle in the first half of matches only to come out in the second half with a dominating performance? I have long had a fascination with half time adjustments but have only begun to really study the process the last 4 or 5 years as I have studied game tape and evaluated my own performances as a coach. 

In the first example above I was ahead of the game in my scouting and anticipation of what the opposition would do, how they would react. In the second example, I “knew” Findlay would make adjustments due to Shawnee playing a different system, but I failed to anticipate what the adjustments would be. It was not until reviewing the film of the game that the changes became apparent. Another learning experience for me. By watching the tape from a Findlay perspective I discovered what they had seen to prompt the changes they made at half time to swing the game in their favor. In a way, Findlay used our own scouting against us much as I did to the opponents in the first example above. I’m better for the experience but it was still a painful lesson to learn.

Talent Evaluation.

Summer camp season is coming to a close and high school season began yesterday here in Ohio. Talent evaluation is very much on my mind this week. At every camp I conducted I found that I valued certain players differently than the coach I was conducting camp for did. Beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder.

As I prepared for a camp that was to focus on striker play and finishing a coach sent me an email detailing the virtues of two players that would be attending. I believe one was a sophomore and the other a freshmen. The abilities of these players were lauded as the coach proclaimed they would be his starting forwards this fall. There was a third player from his team, a senior. After the first session I was wondering about the coaches reasoning as the senior put on a show. The senior demonstrated a strong work ethic, great attitude and the ability to strike powerfuly and accurately with either foot.  The senior also possessed a strikers mentality - worked hard off the ball and was always thinking about scoring the ball.  The younger players were certainly solid players but not on the level of the senior, in my opinion.

The United States 2 Panama 0

First and foremost, Congratulations to the USMNT on their 2-0 victory over Panama in World Cup qualifying!

Solid overall performance in a highly competitive game. The unsung heroes, in my opinion, were Besler, Gonzales and Howard-the core of the defense. Others garnered more acclaim in-game and post-game, but I came away impressed with the center backs and goalkeeper. They were solid, steady and went largely unnoticed due to lack of significant error on their part. The importance of that type of presence in the back line allows teammates to play aggressively in front of the them allowing for confident, creative attacking play which is exactly what we saw last night.

To be perfectly honest, I have been concerned about the USMNT ability to qualify for the next World Cup. They have not exactly been a juggernaut since Juren Klinsmann took over the program.  Change can be difficult and the type of change Kilnsmann has brought particularly so.  He has upset the status quo by bringing in new players and attempting to change the style of play.  While I recognized the process he was undertaken, I admittedly doubted his ability to implement enough of his system in time to bear fruit during this qualifying round.

As I watched last nights match I found myself reviewing this past spring season with our U17 team in my mind. The similarities are striking. From the beginning there was promise, but we stumbled and struggled to find our stride. Even though we won, I often felt we played incomplete games. This is the same type of feeling I have had about the Kilnsmann led USMNT.

Over the last two weeks of the spring season there was a distinct change in our U17's play.  "Something clicked" and it was almost magical watching it all come together.  Solid defending, good distributions from the midfield, outstanding target play, getting the ball wide and backs into the attack. Varying the attack resulting in scoring through strong build ups, off quick counters and on set pieces. We were a dangerous team.  Last night the USMNT seemed to have found that same magic.

The back to goal target play was exceptional last night. Off that action they hit runners coming forward out of the midfield and on the flanks. Off-the-ball player movement was outstanding  and led to some spectacular combination play creating wonderful chances. They stretched the Panamanian defense to the breaking point and had they finished a bit better the result might have been a rout.

I am not ready to proclaim the USMNT has arrived with nothing but calm seas and following winds from this point forward. No, they need to build upon last nights accomplishments and demonstrate consistency in performance. The signs are present that something really good could be about to blossom with this group.  I feel better about qualifying and the future of US men's soccer than I have... ever.

As strange as it seems, this new found confidence admittedly stems in part from the journey our U17 team just completed. The parallels and similarities of the processes are striking. From positional changes to building depth to formational tweaks it's all eerily familiar. I am cautiously optimistic the USMNT is on the verge of playing the best soccer in the history of the program. I am perhaps even more excited at the prospect of the style of play we saw last night filtering down to the youth ranks.  I sense a significant change for the better of the soccer culture in the United States emerging with the USMNT leading the way.