Thanks for sharing but the "I love soccer, I hate soccer" thread was a few weeks ago. :rolleyes:

italy out :bgi:

Almost Knockout Time!
 

2010 FIFA World Cup™: Round of 16
Uruguay vs. South Korea - 26 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
United States vs. Ghana - 26 Jun 8:30pm (South Africa Time)
Germany vs. England - 27 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
Argentina vs. Mexico - 27 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
Netherlands vs. Slovakia - 27 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
Brazil/Portugal vs. (Chile/Spain/Switzerland) runner-up - 27 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
Paraguay vs. Japan - 27 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)
(Chile/Spain/Switzerland) vs. Brazil/Portugal - 27 Jun 4:00pm (South Africa Time)

Germany vs England is going to be a great match...good way to start a Sunday

Tough loss for the US after a great effort to get to the second round. Have to question the coach's decision to change a couple of players and also their inability to bring into play any width into the attack. That being said there is a lot to build on for 2014 as the core of the team will still be available. Imagine Jozy and Edu with four more years of experience plus Donovan and Dempsey still at an age where they can be productive if they stay away from injuries.

I don't know man this is pretty optimistic. I saw a team with some major issues on D. They need to fix the early goal thing. I'm not impressed with their performance at all and I think this is a setback for progressing the popularity of the sport in the U.S. While the rest of the worlds top teams recharge the U.S. always seems to be trying to find it's international identity. Time for Pats trianing camp talk!

I agree that they were not all that impressive but the last thing this tournament has been is a set back as far as the popularity of US soccer goes. The ratings were great and if you turned on the TV you heard about the US team and how they were doing. They dominated Sports Center. It was really disappointing for the team to lose to Ghana again but at least they didn't take a step backwards.

when i READ or hear the word "cup" i think of a ladies bra size
or coffee and nothing else

Lord Stanley is rolling in his grave!:rotf2:

I read an article which addressed your last point. Basically the theory was that all the great football nations have a national identity when they play. With Italy it is defense, with Brazil they attack, etc. Until the US forms that identity so that youth playing in the junior teams all grow up in the national system they will always be starting from square one as each coach has his own plan. With a German youngster the transition to the national side does not require that much effort because the Under 21s played the same system.

Yea, exactly! I heard one Irish announcer say that we are the most educated team in the world. Meaning that almost all of our players played in the NCAA. He said that as long as the US continues to develop it's young talent that way they will never win. Think about it, they are 22 by the time they play for the US and all are coming from different college teams with different styles. If we had a true junior team or system these kids wouldn't be going to college at all but instead being groomed for the next level with many of the same kids, so by the time they reach world cup level they have been playing their national style for years and years. We'll never win the world cup at this rate with this system or lack there of. I don't consider the US a world class team at all. World class to me is consistency year after year. So far the US is just consistently unknown in their style. They keep switching coach's and tactics and never truly develop a youth program which will keep us in the lower teir. It's kind of ironic that we are the most educated but no one can figure that out. Most of our team this year is over 22 with this being their first national experience. Germany on the flip side is mostly comprised of 22 or under players with many years of national experience. It's interesting, while it may be growing in popularity here we don't have a national strategy on how it should be carried out for the US to ever really be considered a cup threat. If they could keep this group together and add a few pieces to the D maybe they can do better but I honestly don't think they'll do it.

The us's style is basically to play predictable, high school style soccer - just at a higher level. Good hustle and teamwork, but no style or imagination.

It'll be a really hard thing to change. I don't buy into the whole, we just need to attract out best athletes to soccer argument. I think they are fine from an athletic standpoint, not from a soccer standpoint. American players aren't plucked up and put into development programs and youth teams of elite clubs at 14-16years of age like they are in Europe and other parts of the world (kind of like juniors for hockey in canada). because of this, they develop playing with inferior players and coaches, and develop to be only good enough to stand out in that system. just look at the style and level of play in the MLS.

just a few examples. rooney (who was very disappointing in the cup) was with united at 16. giggs (my favorite player as a kid) too. remember when holland was churning out stars like kluivert, van de sar, bergkamp, gullit - they were all coming out of the Ajax youth progam (although in hind sight, steroids may have had a lot to do with it). Spain and Portugal have both built their current teams out of their national development programs from U14 to U21 to olympics to full squad. The African and South American countries have development camps, often sanctioned by european clubs looking to farm talent, where success is a way out of poverty - a level of motivation very few american players have.

i'd love to see the US soccer federation bring in Klinsman either as a coach or a consultant to help develop their program from the ground up. there's no reason that the US, with our population and diversity, cannot become an elite (say, top 5) team in the world.

Anyone else been watching the news lately with the reporter in Framingham because of the huge Brazilian population ?

Bay State Brazilians Primed For World Cup Match - Video - WCVB Boston

I'm watching the reporter and saying to myself,
WHY THE HELL IS THE INS NOT DOING IT'S JOB ???
70% of them in Framingham are ILLEGAL !
(this info assured to by a legal Brazilian I work with)

Am sorry call me an ignorant american but one word describes the world cup for me " JOKE "

Congrats to Spain. Intriguing team to watch and a very deserved win. (which is a strange thing to say about a team that won by scoring a total of seven goals in 8 games). Iniesta and Xavi are a joy to watch.

Fascinating game today and a very tough test. I thought Holland looked like thugs....but you do what you gotta do and they almost pulled it off.

I was disappointed in the Germans. I think they had the wheels to take it to Spain, but lost their coaching nerve and played too conservatively. Enjoyed their other games, however. That kid Mueller looks like the real deal.

Kudos, too, to Paraguay and Uruguay. Both tactically great teams that put scares into teams full of much better players. Forlon was immense. MVP of the tournament in my eyes. Wipes out those memories of him missing the easiest goal ever while with ManU.

A fun month. Great theater, top class skill, low class acting, plenty of controversy, overall good reffing (a few major gaffes aside), neat venues, HDTV.............. a great show by a great sport.