There was guest on SiriusXM FC talking about this the other day, pushing back at some of the criticism of Berhalter. He said, first of all, Berhalter is a smart tactical guy, but bringing in a tactical genius to a national team is tough because they simply don't have time to install intricate systems. Fostering a culture is much more important. He's doing that.
Not to hijack but the %s w/r/t PKs seem ridiculous to me in context. Curious though - is anyone aware of any studies as to whether drawing PKs is a repeatable skill or is completely random?
Call him Saver. (or "Savior").
Garbage stuff. McKenzie is one of several youthful MLS players who have been leaning into leadership roles on racial issues, so he's certainly not going to be one to shy away from grappling with this sort of behavior.
You don’t really need a study. You just put on a Man United kit and penalties fall from the sky like rainNot to hijack but the %s w/r/t PKs seem ridiculous to me in context. Curious though - is anyone aware of any studies as to whether drawing PKs is a repeatable skill or is completely random?
Seems like the aspiring soccer sabermetricians should be trying to figure out how to optimize PKs in soccer strategy if at all possible.
Call him Saver. (or "Savior").
Funny. I poked around a little after my post and while not finding anything on my original question, I did find this study - https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/78898261.pdf - of the 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Cup plus the 2004 and 2008 EURO tournaments, a team that converts a PK wins or draws almost 90% of the time.
I'd think you'd also tell your offensive players to try to initiate contact with the defenders so that perhaps the refs will blow the whistle - kind of like how NBA players lower their shoulders on drives. Giving up a few fouls in the box pales in comparison to getting the PK.
If someone has the bandwidth, you could probably use StatBomb's open data sets to identify types shots and passes that most commonly result in PK calls (starting location, angle, height, position of other players).
https://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41106791-4&sport=soccer
It has been night and day and very encouraging. Everything I complained about their connectivity versus Mexico is much improved here. Intensity of Mexico match may just have gotten to them
Mexico also pressed the hell out of the USMNT, Costa Rica are very content to sit in.
It certainly was a part of that intensity. It also has broken down a bit since. There just aren’t enough options for the man on the ball and they resort to trying to run past 2 or 3 people. For those first 20 they were more cohesive and let the ball do the work but they are playing a bit loose again. I’m spoiled week to week watching a team play Peps football and I hardly expect that level of sophistication but the way you withstand that kind of pressure is by having options and using space to decompress the press. USMNT just never seems able to not breakdown into attackers and defense with some poor soul chasing the match in the middle.
He sure as shit didn’t lack the killer instinct at Barnsley, but it hasn’t happened yet for the USMNT. He needs to get locked into the tactics, after Barnsley-ball he might’ve just been shocked to have an opportunity right into feet and not slung at his head.
I'd like to claim a reverse jinx plan... but I can't.
Feels like a guy you won’t be able to keep out of matches, even if for consistent 30-35 minutes of run as Twellman suggested.
Weah too. The wings went from thin to somewhat deep surprisingly quickly.
Yep. And to put a finer point on it, at DM we have a high-end performer but no depth and at forward we have a lot of depth but no high-end performer.
As a USMNT fan of the past 20 years I feel that we are more likely to win a World Cup than we are to have LB depth.
