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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    We've had a discussion before on how public perception influences Klinsmann's roster selection and lineup construction? Or are you talking about point 2 above? If so, this is the only other time I've gone into that with any kind of specificity, and I don't see any replies from you on that post...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    1. If you think Jurgen Klinsmann gives a rat's ass what a bunch of unwashed, know-nothing American soccer fans think about him, to the point where he's actually altering team composition and lineup construction as a result of that, I don't know what to tell you. He might care about getting...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    That's not how this works. The fan base doesn't threaten Klinsmann with termination. The fan base has no influence on Klinsmann's job security. We can / do bitch all we want about him, but the actual authority to hire and fire him rests with Sunil Gulati, who's clearly signaled that he's not...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    Another uncomfortable truth is that even if you think getting players to Europe is our #1 priority, MLS, together with a national team coach who's willing to call up in-form MLS players, remains essential for achieving that goal. Last I checked, EPL teams weren't falling all over themselves to...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    Here's a very simple idea: Do the obvious thing and play Bradley as a 6 and Diskerud as a 10 (or better yet, leave Diskerud on the bench and play Nguyen as a 10). Instead, JK did the exact opposite last night, Bradley and Diskerud were out of sorts, and consequently butchered that goal kick that...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    The debate is over. We got clowned by a team that started 8 guys from the Guatemalan first division, 2 guys from MLS, and 1 from the German third division. By any objective accounting, we had more talent out there. Our coach is a fool. It's time for the pink hats who think that anything...
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    Copa America Centenario

    Our pool probably isn't markedly better, but (outside of a couple of big names on the Costa Rican squad) it's not markedly worse, either. Admittedly I'm not an expert on Paraguayan soccer, but I wasn't blown away when I scanned through their squad and saw where their guys are playing their club...
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    Copa America Centenario

    Option #1 is too measured for US soccer fans (and maybe not even justifiable - I know it's a comparatively tough group, but if we can't finish ahead of Costa Rica and Paraguay on home soil, then what the fuck?). So it'll be option #2, with people choosing the scapegoat that reinforces their...
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    Serie A 2015/16 - Calcio dopo Pirlo

    There are two separate but related issues here. The first is the poor optics of Serie A games on TV (which I think causes the league to be perceived as being of lower quality than it really is), and the second is the lackluster attendance, which is one factor contributing to the poor optics on...
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    Serie A 2015/16 - Calcio dopo Pirlo

    The stadium atmosphere hurts the perception of Serie A in comparison to the other big European leagues as well. England and Germany have well-maintained, well-designed stadia that are filled to capacity, whereas Serie A -- due to the fact that the country's been in economic crisis for a while...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    If potential in isolation meant a thing, Jovan Kirovski and Freddy Adu would be US soccer legends. Brooks had 10 good minutes against Ghana in the World Cup (primarily due to his offensive contribution, which isn't top of the list among things I'm looking for from a central defender). Then he...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    I'm not saying they shouldn't call up guys who are eligible for the national team just because they don't meet some strict definition of "cultural identifiability" from my personal standpoint. I'm saying it takes some of the fun out of rooting for the team for me personally when they do that...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    Donovan is hardly some far-right neanderthal. He was one of the loudest voices in pushing for acceptance of gay athletes in pro sports locker rooms, and for destigmatization of mental health issues in pro sports. (He had serious issues with depression, which is what caused him to take time off...
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    USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

    Look, this really isn't that controversial. Some of the stuff Wambach said came across as redneck-y, whatever the intent, but Donovan's first point ("I wouldn't feel as good about it if we had a team full of players that didn't really grow up or didn't really identify as being American") isn't...
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    One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread

    That was nuts. To be fair, I think that in most leagues that RBNY goal would have been disallowed because BWP impeded Clark, and then BWP looked offside on that last chance that he headed off the post, but still...that was exciting as hell. Now I'm thinking back to the final 2 years ago, when...
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    One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread

    Great result. Congrats. How terrified are you about the prospect of starting Urruti in the final if Adi can't go? (Or is he better than I think he is? Outside of that goal against KC in the conference semis, I haven't gotten the impression that he's particularly effective, but I don't watch...
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    One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread

    Yeah, it looked and sounded amazing in there. How much of that was TV production magic, who knows, but FS1 has been doing a fantastic job in general with their coverage. The games look and sound like a big deal. Getting the NBCSN production guy to join their team seems to have paid off...
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    One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread

      Interesting, yeah, and definitely the case that LA's recent losses to Portland and KC didn't have much to do with Ricketts. It's true that their big pieces don't fit together. I just thought they had enough talent outside their DPs (and whatever Dos Santos is) to overcome that. I think it's...
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    One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread

    Has to haunt LA that they couldn't make things work out with Penedo. They assembled all that expensive talent, only to be undone by a suspect goalkeeper. He was partially at fault on the first goal, too. Anyone moderately competent back there, and they probably make a deep run in the playoffs...
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    One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread

    I assume you guys are already familiar with the practice of calling SKC the Missouri Azzurri, but it seemed like the logical next thing to point out in this discussion.