USMNT: Hold My Beer

Erik Hanson's Hook

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Guys, we're just not good at soccer/football, and that's okay.

I don't see any creativity in our mechanics. We're boring. We're a boring team. And have been for the last 20 years except for occasional splashes from the Landon/Clint generation.

Dudes are playing beach soccer at, like, age 2 in Brazil. Our kids aren't. That's just how it is.
 

dirtynine

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Guys, we're just not good at soccer/football, and that's okay.

I don't see any creativity in our mechanics. We're boring. We're a boring team. And have been for the last 20 years except for occasional splashes from the Landon/Clint generation.

Dudes are playing beach soccer at, like, age 2 in Brazil. Our kids aren't. That's just how it is.
We’re top 15 in the world, though.
 

speedracer

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I disagree with the original post, but I also don't think we're top 15 in the world. If we played in UEFA I think we would have struggled to qualify
Elo ratings has us swimming in the 21-25 range which seems fair to me.

For all the strides that the US has made in skill and understanding of the game over the last decade, the other teams are advancing as well. While we're mastering our full-field press, other teams are figuring out when to turn it on and off so they don't blow out their guys. While we're mastering our possession game, other teams are figuring out when they can be comfortable sitting back and let us rack up the possession stats while they wait for us to overcommit and then shred us on the counter. Etc.
 

McBride11

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Guys, we're just not good at soccer/football, and that's okay.

I don't see any creativity in our mechanics. We're boring. We're a boring team. And have been for the last 20 years except for occasional splashes from the Landon/Clint generation.

Dudes are playing beach soccer at, like, age 2 in Brazil. Our kids aren't. That's just how it is.
Our pay for play youth system sucks. But the mls academies are growing.

But i think it will help we have more and more youth coaches with interest and knowledge, not some random supportive parent. I mean shit my mom coached one of my teams growing up. U8? She still doesnt know the rules.
 

Mr. Wednesday

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SocrManiac

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Our pay for play youth system sucks.
Look no further than this. I’m staggered at how much my son’s U8 team costs. It’s bordering on obscene. This is supposed to be premiere, and in terms of coaching and 50% of the players it very much is. The second half (including my son) wouldn’t have made the team on merit. Does anybody doubt those slots could have been taken by players potentially even more talented than what was already there, but for the price tag?

Until that’s fixed, I struggle to see the US developing the elite talent needed to win a WC.
 

Titans Bastard

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Guys, we're just not good at soccer/football, and that's okay.

I don't see any creativity in our mechanics. We're boring. We're a boring team. And have been for the last 20 years except for occasional splashes from the Landon/Clint generation.

Dudes are playing beach soccer at, like, age 2 in Brazil. Our kids aren't. That's just how it is.
I just don’t get people who watch this team with our current crop of players and think that this group is boring.
 

SocrManiac

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I just don’t get people who watch this team with our current crop of players and think that this group is boring.
Seriously, if your blood pressure wasn’t unhealthy four times in the last couple of weeks (specifically during the second half of all of their matches), it never will be watching this sport.
 

speedracer

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Look no further than this. I’m staggered at how much my son’s U8 team costs. It’s bordering on obscene. This is supposed to be premiere, and in terms of coaching and 50% of the players it very much is. The second half (including my son) wouldn’t have made the team on merit. Does anybody doubt those slots could have been taken by players potentially even more talented than what was already there, but for the price tag?

Until that’s fixed, I struggle to see the US developing the elite talent needed to win a WC.
What do other countries do to develop kiddie talent? Like, how does Ajax fill out their 10yo team/academy class or whatever. Are they scouring local kiddie leagues? Street pickup games? Etc.
 

Cellar-Door

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I dunno, it might just be that the U.S. staff decided to live with the devil they knew (NED attacking the flanks) because they were trailing and thought it was still their best chance at an equalizer.

Sometimes the way you force another team out of their strategy isn't by adjusting, it's by playing right through it so that it doesn't work.
Maybe, but honest question

What is the last match you remember Berhalter making significant adjustments in?
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Seriously, if your blood pressure wasn’t unhealthy four times in the last couple of weeks (specifically during the second half of all of their matches), it never will be watching this sport.
Especially when previous “exciting” teams could barely string three passes together.
 

Titans Bastard

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Seriously, if your blood pressure wasn’t unhealthy four times in the last couple of weeks (specifically during the second half of all of their matches), it never will be watching this sport.
It’s not just the tension and drama of the games. These kids can ball. This group strings passes together well. They can control the ball in tight spaces and maneuver out of traffic better than any USMNT I’ve seen. They have dynamic attackers, even if not as many goals flowed in this tournament as we wanted. We could easily have scored more if the gods of finishing smiled on us.
 

67YAZ

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What do other countries do to develop kiddie talent? Like, how does Ajax fill out their 10yo team/academy class or whatever. Are they scouring local kiddie leagues? Street pickup games? Etc.
The general shape of the system that the Belgians, Dutch, & Germans use had the FA pay clubs to run organized leagues, programs, and tournaments for all youth in their local catchment with licensed coaches. At age 10, players can be recruited in to team-run & FA-supported academies - all are fully accredited secondary schools, some residential & some day schools. At age 16 players can sign professional contracts, either with the team whose academy they came through or another club, which would owe the academy club a solidarity fee for training the player.

There some variation, but the keys are that professional teams and the FA have systems for training up youth with licensed coaches & that they are paying the costs, not the kids’ families.

In many other soccer-mad countries, the clubs or professional intermediaries scour youth teams, parks, and pick up games looking for talented youth to funnel into academies. In poor countries, this often includes payment to the parents or jobs for them. And in many of these countries, the school part of the academies is a joke or barely existent - kids are training 8+ hours a day.
 

Yo La Tengo

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Is it too soon to talk about Pulisic's underwhelming performance for this tournament? Terrible service on his corners (how many times did the first defender simply head the ball away), missed opportunities (he should absolutely have scored on that first chance, which would have changed the whole trajectory of the game), and he never took control during any of the games. His pass to Weah in the Wales game was well played and I give him credit for crashing the net vs. Iran. But, I expected more from him.
 

Titans Bastard

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I don’t think it’s necessary to have a crisis of confidence in our player development. The visible results of American development have shown plainly apparent improvement in the last half decade. It’s worth remembering that the lag time in player development improvement is long. These guys were shaped in large part by practices already in place in the late 00s and early 10s. Change takes time.

MLS academies are cranking out talent at a vastly greater rate than before. The world market is taking notice and is paying up for it. We have engaged the positive feedback loop as laggard MLS clubs see the on field and financial benefits of developing talent. Not every MLS club will be that good at this, but we also don’t need them to be.

The next four years should see continued improvements to the player pool. There’s every indication that things are heading in the right direction.
 

67YAZ

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Is it too soon to talk about Pulisic's underwhelming performance for this tournament? Terrible service on his corners (how many times did the first defender simply head the ball away), missed opportunities (he should absolutely have scored on that first chance, which would have changed the whole trajectory of the game), and he never took control during any of the games. His pass to Weah in the Wales game was well played and I give him credit for crashing the net vs. Iran. But, I expected more from him.
Not at all. Pulisic is still young, he can improve. But he needs to be at a club in the Big 5 leagues that plays him every week and club with a good player development program would be a real plus, too.
 

Cellar-Door

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I don’t think it’s necessary to have a crisis of confidence in our player development. The visible results of American development have shown plainly apparent improvement in the last half decade. It’s worth remembering that the lag time in player development improvement is long. These guys were shaped in large part by practices already in place in the late 00s and early 10s. Change takes time.

MLS academies are cranking out talent at a vastly greater rate than before. The world market is taking notice and is paying up for it. We have engaged the positive feedback loop as laggard MLS clubs see the on field and financial benefits of developing talent. Not every MLS club will be that good at this, but we also don’t need them to be.

The next four years should see continued improvements to the player pool. There’s every indication that things are heading in the right direction.
It's probably improved, but also worth noting among our best players:
Dest- all Dutch development.
Robinson: English development
Musah: English development
Adams: Domestic development (at Red Bull, one of the few MLS side that runs a Euro-style development in house starting pre-puberty)
McKennie: 5 years in Germany, then 6 at an MLS academy, then back to Germany
Reyna: 4 years at NYCFC (note he's a pro's son so probably had some training before that) then Germany.
Pulisic: Domestic (lesser level pro-father) until 15 then Germany.
Weah: Domestic (mostly teams run by his all-time great pro father or his uncle) until 13 then PSG.


Most of our best players spent all or part of their development years in countries with much better development systems. Adams and Pulisic the true domestics (and even Pulisic left at 15 and got a lot of growth in Germany), the Reyna is a half and half, but also had a pro dad.

Also not sure if it's good or bad that all the domestics except Pulisic were ones who were in MLS acadamies by age 13... is that because we're identifying the best and getting them to acadamies, or the more likely.... if you don't get identified early, the other routes are far inferior.
 

speedracer

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I don’t think it’s necessary to have a crisis of confidence in our player development. The visible results of American development have shown plainly apparent improvement in the last half decade. It’s worth remembering that the lag time in player development improvement is long. These guys were shaped in large part by practices already in place in the late 00s and early 10s. Change takes time.

MLS academies are cranking out talent at a vastly greater rate than before. The world market is taking notice and is paying up for it. We have engaged the positive feedback loop as laggard MLS clubs see the on field and financial benefits of developing talent. Not every MLS club will be that good at this, but we also don’t need them to be.

The next four years should see continued improvements to the player pool. There’s every indication that things are heading in the right direction.
For sure, we can definitely tell that e.g. FC Dallas and NYRB have excellent academies and it shows in their transfer business and year-to-year results, I'm just wondering what can be done to develop talent below academy age since pay-to-play cuts out a lot of kids who don't have cash/don't live in cities/etc.
 

sodenj5

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Is it too soon to talk about Pulisic's underwhelming performance for this tournament? Terrible service on his corners (how many times did the first defender simply head the ball away), missed opportunities (he should absolutely have scored on that first chance, which would have changed the whole trajectory of the game), and he never took control during any of the games. His pass to Weah in the Wales game was well played and I give him credit for crashing the net vs. Iran. But, I expected more from him.
Pulisic, on the world stage, is an above average winger. He has shown a few flashes of form where he can get really hot, but for the most part, he’s a nice player. For the US, that’s an excellent player, because we typically don’t have above average players playing in the Premier League.

I don’t think he’ll ever be a dominant, take the game over type of player at the Prem or WC level.
 

Titans Bastard

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It's probably improved, but also worth noting among our best players:
Dest- all Dutch development.
Robinson: English development
Musah: English development
Adams: Domestic development (at Red Bull, one of the few MLS side that runs a Euro-style development in house starting pre-puberty)
McKennie: 5 years in Germany, then 6 at an MLS academy, then back to Germany
Reyna: 4 years at NYCFC (note he's a pro's son so probably had some training before that) then Germany.
Pulisic: Domestic (lesser level pro-father) until 15 then Germany.
Weah: Domestic (mostly teams run by his all-time great pro father or his uncle) until 13 then PSG.


Most of our best players spent all or part of their development years in countries with much better development systems. Adams and Pulisic the true domestics (and even Pulisic left at 15 and got a lot of growth in Germany), the Reyna is a half and half, but also had a pro dad.

Also not sure if it's good or bad that all the domestics except Pulisic were ones who were in MLS acadamies by age 13... is that because we're identifying the best and getting them to acadamies, or the more likely.... if you don't get identified early, the other routes are far inferior.
The stuff that matters most to generate high upsides is development that happens early. It’s very stingy to not give the US full credit for McKennie, Reyna, and Pulisic — they benefited from their moves overseas but the reason why they were in demand was because of development that happened in the US. Obviously all players with high upsides will need to move on to the biggest leagues to fulfill their potential, but that’s different from cultivating the upside in the first place. But we need to be generating the raw materials, and we're doing a much better job than we have been.

Things are also changing fast. MLS has been a solid enough pathway that guys even a few years younger than some of the players on this list are using MLS as a launching pad for their pro careers at this point. And for the most part, they are getting chances, improving, and drawing Euro interest.
 

Cellar-Door

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The stuff that matters most to generate high upsides is development that happens early. It’s very stingy to not give the US full credit for McKennie, Reyna, and Pulisic — they benefited from their moves overseas but the reason why they were in demand was because of development that happened in the US. Obviously all players with high upsides will need to move on to the biggest leagues to fulfill their potential, but that’s different from cultivating the upside in the first place. But we need to be generating the raw materials, and we're doing a much better job than we have been.

Things are also changing fast. MLS has been a solid enough pathway that guys even a few years younger than some of the players on this list are using MLS as a launching pad for their pro careers at this point. And for the most part, they are getting chances, improving, and drawing Euro interest.
Yeah I think most of the credit for those 3 is in the US. I'd give almost full credit for Pulisic, McKennie is the interesting one, because he's the reverse of the rest, he did his first 5-6 years in Germany. The question there is, do we think the foundation built before age 12 is more or less than the polish put on from 16-18. I'd guess that the most important stretch is probably like 10-16? But some are late bloomers, and some also stall out (hey Freddy Adu). So it's tough to grade. I think overall though, the MLS academies are pretty good, but the rest of the youth system is mostly garbage and we're missing tons of kids, where in other nations far more kids are on the radar of the clubs and far more clubs have good academies (despite way fewer people).

LIke even of the ones on this list (minus Pulisic), McKennie went straight from a club in Europe to FC Dallas, Reyna had an in through his father, Adams came from one of the expensive pay to play clubs mentioned upthread (currently I think Ironbound SC is hundreds of dollars).

I think there is a tiny piece of the elite development process that is working really well, I think that all of the youth leagues across the country that hypothetically feed into them are corrupt, ineffectual money grabs, and likely will stay that way since the people making all the money off them have a ton of power in the USSF structure.
 

OCST

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I liked watching Aaronson when he was with Philly and I was explaining his trajectory from there to Leeds to my wife, in particular the academy. She showed me that a guy she went to high school with in York County PA and later played in the Icelandic league is now a teacher at the Union academy- not a coach per se but even the academic teachers there have footy backgrounds. She didn’t realize that the “soccer school” her friend taught at and the MLS academy that can put a kid in the PL and WC were the same thing.
 

Yo La Tengo

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Pulisic, on the world stage, is an above average winger. He has shown a few flashes of form where he can get really hot, but for the most part, he’s a nice player. For the US, that’s an excellent player, because we typically don’t have above average players playing in the Premier League.

I don’t think he’ll ever be a dominant, take the game over type of player at the Prem or WC level.
Pulisic just turned 24, so I don't think we can be sure what his ultimate ceiling will be. But, looking back at those highlights at Borussia Dortmund, I thought this World Cup would be his coming out party. Didn't happen. As someone else stated, he needs to find the best club that will let him play because his touch and his confidence both underwhelmed over the last 2 weeks. He needs to play.
 

OCST

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The stuff that matters most to generate high upsides is development that happens early. It’s very stingy to not give the US full credit for McKennie, Reyna, and Pulisic — they benefited from their moves overseas but the reason why they were in demand was because of development that happened in the US. Obviously all players with high upsides will need to move on to the biggest leagues to fulfill their potential, but that’s different from cultivating the upside in the first place. But we need to be generating the raw materials, and we're doing a much better job than we have been.

Things are also changing fast. MLS has been a solid enough pathway that guys even a few years younger than some of the players on this list are using MLS as a launching pad for their pro careers at this point. And for the most part, they are getting chances, improving, and drawing Euro interest.
FWIW Everton Twitter & boards were impressed with USA generally and interested in McK, Weah, and Musah of players they didn’t know. Lots of “gee wish he didn’t get away” for Jedi, and then “oh yeah I remember why we didn’t think he would be the heir to Baines” when he went downblind alleys or lost the ball.
 

OCST

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Pulisic just turned 24, so I don't think we can be sure what his ultimate ceiling will be. But, looking back at those highlights at Borussia Dortmund, I thought this World Cup would be his coming out party. Didn't happen. As someone else stated, he needs to find the best club that will let him play because his touch and his confidence both underwhelmed over the last 2 weeks. He needs to play.
As with every one of the small army of Chelsea younger players and their diaspora of loanees, it’s been rumored that Lampard was close to him and could woo him to Everton. Of course who knows how long Lampard has.
 

DJnVa

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Pulisic still did a lot of good things. The issue is not getting much club time so he doesn't seem very consistent--but his goal against Iran was world-class in the sense of total fucking determination to get to it. He also did some nice work getting the ball, driving at players and drawing fouls and made some nice passes. But he needs someone more than Ferreira making the runs, looking for his through balls, etc.

Soccer is truly a game of inches--he finds the net in the second minute that's a different game and who knows how this story is written.
 

Cellar-Door

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Turns out that this was taken out of context and was basically a compliment.

View: https://twitter.com/AnAbnos/status/1599174693226827776
I don't know if that's a compliment, more, I think it's more him saying... teams that get this far usually have faith in their system, for example the US didn't adjust. I don't think it was meant as a shot at Gregg either, just "that's how it is, we saw their system and attacked it" I think people who follow the USMNT were taking it as an attack, mostly because it plays into one of the most consistent criticisms of Gregg.
 

rguilmar

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15 months and 22 matches ago says something.
I guess that’s the point. His in game adjustments have been very poor. The one examples where the USMNT obviously improved was the result of an awful first 45.

I moved on from Gregg a long time ago. He has his strengths, but he’s probably better suited to the club game.

When it comes to replacing GGG, my preference is for a manager who does NOT prioritize system over personnel (like Marsch) and someone who has had success at the international level. I’ve been banging the Lopetegui drum for a while but I know he recently took a new position in the EPL. But someone of that ilk would be perfect. I like the Mancini shout but if Italy has stuck with him to this point I can’t see him quitting the position. I don’t think we should risk 2026 on an unknown like Cherundolo or even a Pep, if he would even be available (the Catalan in me hates saying that).

I imagine several candidates will emerge after this WC. Let’s actually interview several quality candidates and go from there.
 

Silverdude2167

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Alright I got some space and slept on it and now have gone from that was an acceptable result and we should be proud of the team to ... angry.

All three of their goals could have been prevented with basic defending. It feels so much worse to not be outclassed while losing in the knockout round.

I guess I need to lean into the positive takeaway that we played them even if not for the basic defensive lapses.
 

Reverend

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LVG without regard for humanity!

If the opposing coach is this bold to call out GGG, guys gotta go more than ever
He’s Dutch. For them, that’s playing coy.
Just wanted to point our that @67YAZ ’s pithy comment (which made me laugh out loud) is actually on point here. Dutch is one of the most emotionally direct cultures in the world, and that’s an academic assessment. So much so that the woman who “rewrote the book” on culture and emotion did so and was able to do so because she herself is, in fact, Dutch, and as a foremost expert on the study of culture and emotion previously, she realized the whole thing was wrong. Like, she married an American and moved to America and was like, Um… wtf?

Anyway, in Dutch, things like unnecessary praise can even cause suspicion. Heck, the idea of thanking someone your close to for a kindness is off-putting; We love each other why the heck would you want to be thanked
for getting me a cup of coffee?

So anyway, yeah, @67YAZ is correct: LVG almost certainly wasn’t trying to rough GGG up or anything. But by the same token, we can take what he said as the brutally honest truth without chalking it up to him being a jerk, as @McBride11 suggests.


FWIW: Hidden Brain has a fantastic podcast (transcript available) on this, for anyone who is into such things:
https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/decoding-emotions/

Really been enjoying these threads by the way! Learning lots.
 

Reverend

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Guys, we're just not good at soccer/football, and that's okay.

I don't see any creativity in our mechanics. We're boring. We're a boring team. And have been for the last 20 years except for occasional splashes from the Landon/Clint generation.

Dudes are playing beach soccer at, like, age 2 in Brazil. Our kids aren't. That's just how it is.
I dunno if it’s beach soccer so much as…

@InstaFace , do you have that awesome Tweet you posted about the soccer alternative for kids with the smaller dead ball that forced an emphasis on ball handling handy?
 

AB in DC

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Alright I got some space and slept on it and now have gone from that was an acceptable result and we should be proud of the team to ... angry.

All three of their goals could have been prevented with basic defending. It feels so much worse to not be outclassed while losing in the knockout round.

I guess I need to lean into the positive takeaway that we played them even if not for the basic defensive lapses.
I'd give the Dutch credit on the first one, Memphis just out-ran Adams and received a gorgeous pass. Really hard to defend that one.

The other two...yecch.
 

Reverend

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Mr. Wednesday

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I'd give the Dutch credit on the first one, Memphis just out-ran Adams and received a gorgeous pass. Really hard to defend that one.
Someone (Doyle I think) suggested that goal might have been on Musah for not recognizing that he needed to cover the middle soon enough. On replay, it makes some sense, as one of the defenders, Zimmerman most likely, also was covering the same man.
 

Double Down Trent

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Dudes are playing beach soccer at, like, age 2 in Brazil. Our kids aren't. That's just how it is.
One of the more eye opening things you see if you visit any busy beach in Brazil, is the sight of literally miles of circles of kids juggling soccer balls to one another, trying to keep it off the sand. It reminded me of when I was a kid, you used to see groups of kids playing hacky sack at school recess. But I've never seen a group of kids juggling soccer balls a beach in the US. In Brazil it's everywhere, it's just built into their cultural DNA in way I'm not sure it will ever be in the US.
 

67YAZ

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Just wanted to point our that @67YAZ ’s pithy comment (which made me laugh out loud) is actually on point here. Dutch is one of the most emotionally direct cultures in the world, and that’s an academic assessment. So much so that the woman who “rewrote the book” on culture and emotion did so and was able to do so because she herself is, in fact, Dutch, and as a foremost expert on the study of culture and emotion previously, she realized the whole thing was wrong. Like, she married an American and moved to America and was like, Um… wtf?

Anyway, in Dutch, things like unnecessary praise can even cause suspicion. Heck, the idea of thanking someone your close to for a kindness is off-putting; We love each other why the heck would you want to be thanked
for getting me a cup of coffee?

So anyway, yeah, @67YAZ is correct: LVG almost certainly wasn’t trying to rough GGG up or anything. But by the same token, we can take what he said as the brutally honest truth without chalking it up to him being a jerk, as @McBride11 suggests.


FWIW: Hidden Brain has a fantastic podcast (transcript available) on this, for anyone who is into such things:
https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/decoding-emotions/

Really been enjoying these threads by the way! Learning lots.
For a number of years I ran a student and faculty exchange program with the Netherlands. I first understood Dutch bluntness when I checked in with a student after 2 weeks in Boston and she told me in a perplexed tone, “every time I meet someone they say, ‘nice to meet you.’ But that’s not true.”

I’ve grown to love Dutch directness. You never leave a conversation wondering what they really think or want. Makes for great colleagues.

Of course, I spent all last week talking trash to my Dutch friends and now am getting a steady barrage of shit in return. Ah, the World Cup!
 

rguilmar

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Someone (Doyle I think) suggested that goal might have been on Musah for not recognizing that he needed to cover the middle soon enough. On replay, it makes some sense, as one of the defenders, Zimmerman most likely, also was covering the same man.
The Scuffed guys brought it up too. I think Greg. I think all three just looked like mental fatigue to me. All were preventable and guys looked like they shut off for a moment.
 

candylandriots

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For a number of years I ran a student and faculty exchange program with the Netherlands. I first understood Dutch bluntness when I checked in with a student after 2 weeks in Boston and she told me in a perplexed tone, “every time I meet someone they say, ‘nice to meet you.’ But that’s not true.”

I’ve grown to love Dutch directness. You never leave a conversation wondering what they really think or want. Makes for great colleagues.

Of course, I spent all last week talking trash to my Dutch friends and now am getting a steady barrage of shit in return. Ah, the World Cup!
That’s hilarious!
 

EP Sox Fan

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SoSH Member
My 2 cents.

I really thought the USMNT had a chance to beat the Dutch. Until I watched them systematically and methodically score that first goal. That was a masterclass in ball progression and breaking the press. Where the US was more chaotic in possession and off the ball, the Netherlands were calm and composed. All that said, and we had a puncher's chance. Ultimately, poor finishing and LvG did us in. This was probably the best soccer I've seen from a USMNT. I grew up watching players like Jeff fucking Agoos (who I loathed) and Alexi Lalas. Taking a look at the 1990 USMNT roster, the first time the qualified for the WC in like 30 years, it's amazing to see where they plied their trade in club soccer. We had very few players that were technical players (Harkes, Reyna, Ramos) and a lot more that relied on athleticism (Cobi Jones) which meant we were limited to defensive / counter-attaching game plans. Now we have players playing in the best leagues and some of the biggest clubs in the world. Watching this team play now, it's light years ahead of where they were even ten years ago. It's been a slow burn but there's been substantial progress over the last 30 years. The MLS academy system took a long time to develop but it's here and has churned out some real talent. That will only continue in the future. The future of the USMNT player development is bright.

I'd really like to see a manager with strong international experience for the next cycle. I think Berhalter did an admirable job building the roster and creating a positive team environment over the last 5 years. As TB stated up thread, the USMNT was in complete shambles after failing to qualify in 2018. It's great CONCACAF rival Mexico seemed to trending up and set to dominate the qualification process. Now Mexico is in shambles and the US seems to be in a great spot with an excellent core of young talent who will be going into their prime over the next four years. Now that the US has the technical ability to play a high pressing and passing game, I would love to see a manager who can set them up based on the opponents and maximize their strengths and the opponents weaknesses. That's what LvG did in the NED-US game. Clog the middle, force it out to the wings (which led to a lot of low percentage crosses in the box where colossus VvD is going to dominate) and generally deny McKinnie, Musah and Pulisic to build attacks through the middle and finally attack the space behind the fullbacks going forward. I do not feel that GGG knew how to counter that or what adjustments to make in order to give us a chance in the second half. I am also not sure that American managers in general are great tacticians in general, mostly due to lack of experience and training. The one caveat is that the international manager would need to understand and accept the unique qualities of US soccer and it's players. Coaching Germany, Italy, the Netherlands is very different than the USMNT. You wouldn't want someone coming over and crapping all over the MLS or alienating players on the roster. It's a tough needle to thread and given the USSF's track record, you have to wonder whether they are up to the task. In 2026, the expectation will not just be to get out of the knockout round. It will be at least a quarterfinal appearance on home soil. That's a ton of pressure on the USSF to get the hire right and the manager to get the team there.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,838
Taking a look at the 1990 USMNT roster, the first time the qualified for the WC in like 30 years, it's amazing to see where they plied their trade in club soccer.
You made me look.

1990
TEAMS:
Albany Capitals (3)
SF Bay Blackhawks (2)
Washington Stars (2)
Baltimore Blast (1) THIS IS AN INDOOR SOCCER TEAM
Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (1)
LA Heat (1)
Milwaukee Wave (1) THIS IS AN INDOOR SOCCER TEAM
Portland Timbers (1)
Real Santa Barbara (1)
San Diego Nomads (1)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1)
UVA (1)
Wake Forest (1)
UCLA (1)
Gyori (1)
Volendam (1)
Figureres (1)
SV Meppen (1)

BY LEAGUE:
APSL-13
Europe-4
NCAA-3
MISL-2
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
You made me look.

1990
TEAMS:
Albany Capitals (3)
SF Bay Blackhawks (2)
Washington Stars (2)
Baltimore Blast (1) THIS IS AN INDOOR SOCCER TEAM
Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (1)
LA Heat (1)
Milwaukee Wave (1) THIS IS AN INDOOR SOCCER TEAM
Portland Timbers (1)
Real Santa Barbara (1)
San Diego Nomads (1)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1)
UVA (1)
Wake Forest (1)
UCLA (1)
Gyori (1)
Volendam (1)
Figureres (1)
SV Meppen (1)

BY LEAGUE:
APSL-13
Europe-4
NCAA-3
MISL-2
this is fucking crazy.