simply not true at all. Their national team has made big progress over the last few years and they had a pretty good WC last year. They put up a great fight vs Germany and losing after extra time vs Belgium (one of the best teams too, very young and loads of talent ... should be a contender over the next few tournaments) is nothing to be ashamed of either. No, they are not there yet to compete with the absolute best, but that needs time and I'd say they have done a pretty good job in recent years.
sorry, but you base this on what exactly?
They had a pretty good tournament because of one guy...Tim Howard. They were significantly outplayed for the bulk of their time on the pitch. They were close to Belgium because Howard set a World Cup record with 16 saves in a single game (as an example). A good goaltender can be a big asset and for the US it was. If Tim Howard was not playing out his mind, the US gets embarrassed in a couple of games.
I think while they are certainly in a second tier of teams that they just won't be ready to truly compete for a significant amount of time yet. It takes quite a bit to build a team up to a level and then keep them there. US is still a long ways away on the building up part yet.
They had a pretty good tournament because of one guy...Tim Howard. They were significantly outplayed for the bulk of their time on the pitch. They were close to Belgium because Howard set a World Cup record with 16 saves in a single game (as an example). A good goaltender can be a big asset and for the US it was. If Tim Howard was not playing out his mind, the US gets embarrassed in a couple of games.
I think while they are certainly in a second tier of teams that they just won't be ready to truly compete for a significant amount of time yet. It takes quite a bit to build a team up to a level and then keep them there. US is still a long ways away on the building up part yet.
I disagree. I think the team was basically peaked at 2014 and they performed well, not just fluky. Belgium although not a traditional powerhouse, is and was one of the top teams in the world. They have been kicking ass for more than 2 years straight and continue to do so.
I think USA is currently on a slight decline, but they are closer to achieving something at a WC than most people give them credit for I think.
I think USA is currently on a slight decline, but they are closer to achieving something at a WC than most people give them credit for I think.
Agreed. I cheer for the US in every world cup, just because the USA doing well makes a lot of people lose their minds. That factor alone means they are continually discounted as being a decent team. I think it's just a matter of time before the USA eventually joins the most elite teams as the sport continues to gain popularity.
I disagree. I think the team was basically peaked at 2014 and they performed well, not just fluky. Belgium although not a traditional powerhouse, is and was one of the top teams in the world. They have been kicking ass for more than 2 years straight and continue to do so.
I think USA is currently on a slight decline, but they are closer to achieving something at a WC than most people give them credit for I think.
The thing to remember with the States is that Klinsmann is revamping how they develop players from the top down. They're going to stagnate a bit in the short term, but as the academy players become of age, they're going to be reaping the rewards. More of them will be of European technical quality and not just impressive athletes. Of course, it's all moot if they go out and replace Klinsmann with someone poor.
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Agreed. I cheer for the US in every world cup, just because the USA doing well makes a lot of people lose their minds. That factor alone means they are continually discounted as being a decent team. I think it's just a matter of time before the USA eventually joins the most elite teams as the sport continues to gain popularity.
The thing is, the USA is generally one of the locks to make it out of the group stage, thats a great first start, hell, you cant even say that about England most years and even this year England and Italy didnt make it out of the group.
And, as with most things the USA doing well at the World Cup is really good for us too in terms of generating interest and expanding MLS to Canada and even potentially hosting our own World Cup one day.
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The thing to remember with the States is that Klinsmann is revamping how they develop players from the top down. They're going to stagnate a bit in the short term, but as the academy players become of age, they're going to be reaping the rewards. More of them will be of European technical quality and not just impressive athletes. Of course, it's all moot if they go out and replace Klinsmann with someone poor.
Doesn't hurt that he got a bunch of kids from Germany that had an American parent that was playing for the German u21 or u18 teams, that boosted the talent right there especially with Green.
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Doesn't hurt that he got a bunch of kids from Germany that had an American parent that was playing for the German u21 or u18 teams, that boosted the talent right there especially with Green.
Haha so true. Half the team is German and the one crazy haired fellow with the dreads barely knows English. All is well though, that doesn't bother me.
Reminds me of Roger for Poland. He basically became a Polish citizen right before Euro 2012, and when asked if he knows the name of the Polish prime minister, he did not. Did not know a lick of Polish either. That bothered me though.
Haha so true. Half the team is German and the one crazy haired fellow with the dreads barely knows English. All is well though, that doesn't bother me.
Reminds me of Roger for Poland. He basically became a Polish citizen right before Euro 2012, and when asked if he knows the name of the Polish prime minister, he did not. Did not know a lick of Polish either. That bothered me though.
Hah. He played one tournament and now can't play for Brazil and can't make Polands squad either.
Classic mix up.
But on the flip side Germany is team is all Polish anyways.
Swiss federal prosecutors opened criminal proceedings related to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, throwing FIFA deeper into crisis only hours after seven soccer officials were arrested and 14 indicted Wednesday in a separate U.S. corruption probe.
FIFA, meanwhile, said Friday's presidential election would go ahead as planned with Sepp Blatter going for a fifth term. Blatter was not named in either investigation.
FIFA also ruled out a revote of the World Cups won by Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
The U.S. case involves bribes "totalling more than $100 million" linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s for soccer tournaments in the United States and Latin America, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said. The Justice Department said the corruption is linked to World Cup qualifying matches and the Copa America — South America's continental championship.
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The Baur au Lac hotel, a five-star palace on the banks of Lake Zurich, has always been Ground Zero for the stench that pervades FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. With its $4,000-a-night suites, the Baur au Lac hosts the biggest of soccer bigwigs when they come to Zurich, the home of FIFA, for major events like this Friday’s FIFA presidential election.
The timing of the arrests makes perfect sense. With the FIFA election taking place this week, all the top soccer officials from around the world were gathering in the same place, most of them staying in the same hotel. The key for the FBI was getting cooperation from the Swiss government in making the arrests and setting up those indicted for extradition to the United States.
Unsealed indictment notes that guilty pleas have already come in from Blazer, Warner’s two sons and Brazilian-owned Traffic Sports. Those are the people the FBI has turned or will turn.
The question now is how high up this investigation will go. Will the 14 people arrested on Wednesday have the goods on Blatter himself? And will the stunning events really change FIFA? Plenty of open questions remain, but May 27, 2015, will be remembered as the day the federales finally came for FIFA.
