World Cup

Here we go. I hope today that we see an aggressive strategy from Klinsmann. Can't wait around any more. Attack today. Attack now.

 

That is why we do it. It is supposed to make everyone else hate it. If we ever conceded the name, the rest of the world would take a sign of relief and probably admit how much they envy the NFL and American "Football".

But since that won't happen, we can just dream that the US wins the world cup, while calling it soccer, meaning that we are better than the entire world in their favorite sport, something that we don't even care enough about to call by it's real name....

Then, the following day we can say, okay, now the rest of yoooz have to call it soccer. And then we will let you guys play real football.

 

We got outclassed, but finally went after it in extra time. Howard had more saves than any other keeper in like 100 years. That could have been ugly.

I hate to be nasty to the guys, but damn, fitness levels were terrible. Hand on hips with 30 minutes to go in regulation. Both of our fullback wings were getting SMOKED. Guys weren't spreading out and covering. Very lacking on the defensive side, with minimal attacking.

unfortunate. Belgium was the better team today. Better touch. Better style. Better opportunities. Better coaching.

 

Yup, that equalized the karma train for sure. But they put like 20 shots on goal, ANY of which could have ended it. I was confident when we put that last shot on goal, but had that gone in, we really would have "snuck" by. I was impressed, top to bottom with Belgium. I underestimated them. They pretty muched danced around us most of the game. We had flashes of brilliance, but at the end of the day, we could have easily been down 4 nil at the end of regulation. Howard was just in beast mode. Our whole defense was garbage.

 

Yes and no. A lot of what we consider "top" athletes are really not "built" well for soccer. We consider top athletes in the USA the tallest, strongest, most physical guys. I.E. NBA Players. NFL Players. Even MLB Players... Most guys that excel in all of those sports would never translate well into Soccer. Almost similar to surfing. While a tall, fast athlete would be great in soccer, they are injury prone, historically and it is hard to find a tall, physical enough athlete that can keep moving for 90 straight minutes.

So, no, I don't think that if we streamlined NBA, MLB, NFL players into soccer, we would be any better. It is that our NATION does not consider soccer a big enough deal to dedicate 4 years of training to it....

I mean, about a month before the games began, we still didn't even have our ROSTER! We cut the most successful player EVER in our history about a month out. I don't know all the "rules", but in countries like Mexico, or Belgium or ANYWHERE, they have spent the last 4 years grooming their team. Getting a game plan. If you think that politicians in Mexico haven't been greasing the players pockets, making sure they have been practices and talking strategy for YEARS, that is crazy....

Countries like the US and England (which is strange) just don't take it seriously enough. You can't get together a month ahead of time and think you are going to compete with the best in the world.

Poor coaching. Poor training. That is why we didn't stand a chance. The top 18 athletes in US soccer, ALL HAD FITNESS ISSUES. Everyone one of them was out of shape by international futbol standards. Every game, our mid field had their hands on their hips with 30 minutes left. Our fullbacks couldn't keep up. They held their line to close to midfield and got smoked when it was off to the races. We didn't even have a true striker. Dempsey, god bless him, did his best, but he looked like he could have fallen over dead at any moment.

The truth is, we should have decided who was playing on our squad two years ago. Bradely, Dempsey, Donnovan, I hate to say it even Howard, CAN'T be the best any more. They have the most experience, but they all (Howard not included) got out classed.

All of our decent players are overseas getting that paper. They come home for a month, try and throw together a hodge podge team... There were SO many mistakes that were clearly from lack of time together. Confusion on the back line. The Portugal cross and header is a perfect example. We got beat to the corners on every overlapping play. There were consistent passes that breached our lines integrity basically every time anyone brought an attack....

Our fitness levels are so busted that we couldn't even throw an extra striker, or even 3 at a times to apply some pressure. It would have been 4 on 1 by the time the counter got back....

With all the high hopes I had for the US, at the end of the day, I was disappointing in Klinmann and his choice of guys and the over all fitness levels they had going. My college team was better prepared and in better shape than those guys....

It truly shows how much HARDER the rest of the world trains for this. You think Germany just got together a month ago to figure out their roster? I doubt it... You think the German's lack fitness and discipline? Doubtful.

 

Did anyone else just watch Germany embarrass Brazil? I mean, that was inhumane. Should have been 10 nil.

I have NEVER witnessed a beat down like that so late in the WC.

I picked Germany to win the whole thing from the jump, but I am from German ancestry, so I had Bias.

But hot damn, that was just demoralizing.

Wiki "OUTCLASSED" and it reads: See Germany Vs. Brazil, 2014 World Cup with a link....

That was just an absolute, Deutsche BEATDOWN

Grown men and children alike, draped in yellow and green, sobbing in the stands before the first half was over. It was like watching a funeral.

 

Yeah, Brasil let like 5 through balls get behind their line and the German strikers just stopped running and let the ball go out. At least Brazil got their consolation goal at the end.

 

Haha. No doubt. I thought that same thing about the Brazillians when they all got on their knees when time expired and started praying. I was just thinking, these dudes are saying their last prayers, knowing that when the exit the stadiums, the cartel mobs are not going to be thrilled with them, what with them blowing the spread by 7 or so goals. Reminded me of what they did to that Keeper from Columbia like 12 years ago when they shot his ass the day he got back to the country. Cause he let in that own goal.