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July 14, 2014Kyrie Irving selected to join Team USA for 2014 Training Camp
July 14, 2014After 31 exciting and dramatic days, the 2014 World Cup has finally drawn to a conclusion with Germany’s 1-0 extra time defeat of Argentina on Sunday. While Die Mannschaft lifted the golden trophy, they are not the only nation who can call this Brazilian edition of the World Cup a success.
The United States, though they were eliminated by Belgium in the Round of 16, can lay claim to victories both on and off the field. However, the Americans will also leave Brazil astutely aware of their own limitations and weaknesses.
Success: The United States advanced from the Group of Death.
When the groups were drawn last December, doomsday predictions abounded. The Stars and Stripes had been exiled to the torture chamber of Group G with world number two Germany, world number four Portugal and their consensus top-two player on the planet Cristiano Ronaldo, and American boogeyman Ghana, one of Africa’s strongest sides who had eliminated the USMNT from the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. It was not inconceivable that the Yanks would leave Brazil with zero points, and many predicted just that fate.
But that is, as they say, why they play the games. The United States got off to a blazing start through Clint Dempsey’s goal after just 29 seconds in the first match against Ghana. After allowing an equalizer, the USMNT would battle back and, in the 86th minute, young defender John Brooks became an American hero when he headed home Graham Zusi’s corner kick to earn the U.S. an important three points.
Following that heart-stopping opener, Jürgen Klinsmann’s squad fell behind early against Portugal. But they battled back, controlled possession, and looked increasingly dangerous offensively before finally equalizing through Jermaine Jones’s firecracker and then taking the lead on Dempsey’s goal. Only a moment of wizardry from the Portuguese dynamo Ronaldo robbed the Americans of three points they truly deserved, meaning they would have to wait until their third match to advance to the knockout round.
That third match saw the USMNT bunker in the face of the immense talent of the German lineup. Tomas Müller beat Tim Howard in the 55th minute to down the U.S. 1-0, but the Yanks still advanced with Portugal’s 2-1 defeat of Ghana.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the United States had cheated the Group of Death and earned themselves a fourth game. Regardless of how it looked, advancement for a second consecutive World Cup (a first for U.S. Soccer) must be viewed as a great triumph.
Lesson Learned: The United States does not yet have the talent necessary to play the type of attacking, aggressive soccer that Jürgen Klinsmann promised.
As mentioned above, the USMNT found itself playing conservative, defensive soccer at various times throughout this World Cup. The 80 or so minutes between Dempsey’s opening goal and Andre Ayew’s equalizer for Ghana saw the United States dominated by the Black Stars, who finished the match with 60% possession and 21 shots to the U.S.’s eight.
That story repeated itself in the loss to the Germans. The Stars and Stripes had only 37% possession in that match and mustered just four shots, only one of which was on target. Klinsmann had his team sit back, and, in spite of a typically strong performance from Tim Howard, it doomed them when Müller was able to fire a long distance shot past the American keeper.
The match against Belgium in the Round of 16 followed a similar pattern. Howard was superhuman, making a World Cup record 15 saves and getting the United States to extra time. But, with the Americans exhausted from defending for 90 minutes, Belgium managed to get two past Howard in the first extra time period. The U.S. pulled one back in the second period of extra time, but it was too little, too late. Once again, the Yanks’ defensive posture ended in a loss.
When Klinsmann took over as United States head coach in 2011, he promised to reform American tactics. No longer would the USMNT sit back in a defensive shell and hope to strike on the counterattack. They would play positive, attacking soccer, no matter the opponent. With the exception of the Portugal match and the second period of extra time against Belgium (both situations in which the U.S. was behind and chasing the game), that attacking posture was conspicuously absent. The injury suffered by striker Jozy Altidore just 21 minutes into the Ghana match did the team no favors, as Dempsey and midfielder Michael Bradley were forced to play out of position for the remainder of the tournament.
In spite of that unfortunate event, many criticized Klinsmann for his failure to deliver on the promise of attractive soccer. He should be praised for advancing the side to the knockout round, but much work remains to be done if he is to make good on his promise for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Success: This World Cup served as a heroic last act for one generation of American stars, as well as an introduction and vital experience for a younger generation that will lead the team in the years to come.
American soccer fans are quite familiar with names like Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, and DaMarcus Beasley. For Dempsey and Howard, this was their third world Cup, and both played major roles. Dempsey served as captain, scored twice, and embodied American grit and toughness as he continued on gamely after having his nose broken by an errant kick against Ghana. Howard, in his second World Cup as the first choice American keeper, was spectacular throughout the tournament. His performance in the Belgium match, which will likely be his last World Cup appearance, was one that no American fan will soon forget. The Everton starter had a strong case for consideration for the Golden Gloves award as the tourney’s best keeper, but was left off the list of finalists.
Beasley made history as the first American player to participate in four World Cups, but his role was much larger than that. Formerly a forward and later a wide midfielder, Klinsmann converted the 32 year-old to fullback and installed him as the starter on the left. In spite of his age and the position change, Beasley shined, playing every minute of each of the team’s four games.
All three of these players have more than likely donned the red, white, and blue for the last time in a World Cup. They will be remembered and missed by American fans. They surely leave United States soccer better off than they found it.
While this Cup was probably the farewell tour for the three aforementioned veterans, it also served an exciting first look at a new group of Americans who will likely be around for a while. German-American Julian Green (18) and DeAndre Yedlin (turned 21 on July 9) get most of the headlines due to their youth and the surprising nature of their selections to the final roster, but a number of other World Cup debutantes should be around for a while.
John Brooks, another German-American who recently committed to play for the United States, gave the Stars and Stripes their only victory of the World Cup with his header against Ghana. Icelandic-American Aron Johannsson did not do much when he came on for the injured Altidore, but he figures to continue improving and should be in Russia in 2018. Three of the four starting defenders, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, and Fabian Johnson (another German-American) all played in their first World Cup and should form the core of the American defense in 2018.
Klinsmann was criticized for selecting this roster of youthful potential and dual citizens while leaving players like American legend Landon Donovan at home. But his choices proved justified with the contributions of these players. The experience of Brazil 2014 may prove vital when they are looked at to lead the USMNT four years from now.
Lesson Learned: Depth is a key component for a deep run at the World Cup. The United States lacked it.
In the 113th minute of Sunday’s final, German winger Andre Schürrle broke down the left and played a perfect cross between Argentina’s two center backs where Mario Götze calmly corralled it off his chest before firing the World Cup winning shot into the Argentine net. Schürrle plays his club soccer for England’s Chelsea, one of the wealthiest and most famous teams in the world. Götze plays for Bayern Munich, the biggest club in Germany, who bought him for €37 million in 2013, the second highest transfer fee ever paid for a German player. German coach Jogi Löw brought on both of these players as substitutes in the final.
In the USMNT’s Round of 16 clash against Belgium, Klinsmann brought on striker Chris Wondolowski for Graham Zusi in the 79th minute. Wondolowski is a consistent goal scorer, but he has spent his entire career playing in MLS. In stoppage time, with the match still scoreless, the ball fell to Wondo in the box. He had only Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois to beat to give the United States a victory. The ball ended up in the 12th row.
At the beginning of extra time, Belgium brought on striker Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku, only 21 years old, is owned by Chelsea, but has spent the last two seasons on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Everton. All he’s done for those two clubs is tally 32 goals in 66 appearances. Faced with an American defense running on fumes, Lukaku used his strength and pace to set up the first Belgian goal before adding one himself to double the lead.
The U.S. has a number of players who have been successful at big European clubs. Michael Bradley thrived at Roma. Clint Dempsey was a star for Fulham before a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur. Tim Howard spent time at Manchester United before moving to Everton. Jermaine Jones has played in the UEFA Champions League for Schalke. The pool of possible USMNT selections for 2018 includes players at clubs like Arsenal, Fiorentina, Liverpool, and Borussia Dortmund. Hopefully some of them are ready in 2018. But until both the starting XI and the substitutes’ bench are littered with players at those top clubs, the Yanks will struggle to compete with the world’s best teams.
Success: The USMNT galvanized a nation and showed Americans that soccer is here to stay.
Once relegated to the back pages of the sports section and the back of the minds of average Americans, this World Cup seemed like a turning point for soccer in the United States. In bars, parks, and stadiums across the country (and around the world), Americans in all manner of red, white, and blue paraphernalia packed in to cheer on their national soccer team. At water coolers and lunch spots, conversation of our boys in Brazil was inescapable.
A variety of factors – a favorable time zone for American viewers, a good showing for the USMNT, exciting games and intriguing storylines, ESPN’s first rate production and analysis – contributed to the massive popularity of this World Cup, but the interest did never felt artificially inflated. Even after the United States was eliminated, television ratings remained high. Every game was accompanied by active Twitter discussion. Athletes and commentators from more traditionally American sports joined in. For a month, the U.S.A. truly felt like a soccer nation, and that is a great victory for the sport and U.S. Soccer.
I fully expect a similar experience for the 2018 World Cup, even if TV ratings are somewhat weaker due to a challenging time zone in Russia. Before then, there are a number of great opportunities to watch American soccer. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, pick an MLS or European club team (or both!) to follow. Don’t be afraid to jump headfirst into the expansive world of international soccer. The next World Cup may be a long way off, but there’s no need to hide your soccer fandom until then.
8 Comments
There are things to enjoy about the World Cup that go beyond rooting interests and the games themselves. Watching the games on TV has been fun.
There are no replay challenges.
There are no commercials and no time-outs.
And no commercial time-outs.
And the announcing is vastly superior to what we’re used to. The announcers are interesting, witty and intelligent; they speak in that melodious English accent that Americans like; they are very candid with their praise and criticism; they don’t hype the mundane; and they don’t blather inane cliches. Those broadcasts were outstanding.
Klinsmann’s promise of an attacking-style of play was always predicated on him making changes to the youth training system and building toward the future. This year’s campaign was all about winning however possible with the existing talent pool (personal relations with Donovan and the wisdom of not bringing a backup for Altidore aside).
“Depth is a key component for a deep run at the World Cup. The United States lacked it.”
This can’t be emphasized enough. It’s not a coincidence that Wold Cup powerhouse teams are also the ones with the deepest benches. As Brazil, Portugal, and to a certain extent Argentina found out this year, a single superstar player can only carry a mediocre team for so long.
The most important success, in terms of long-term prospects for the USMNT, is the last one.
That’s because to get one LeBron, you need millions of kids playing basketball in public courts and schools wanting to be like Mike. To get one Tom Brady, you need hundreds of thousands of kids playing high school football wanting to be the next John Elway. And to get the next USMNT great, we need millions of kids who are playing soccer and idolizing Donovan or Altidore or Howard.
We already have this to a degree on the women’s side, and the result is a very competitive USWNT: Mia Hamm is a legend in a way that Candace Parker never really has been, and the result is that we have younger players like Alex Morgan focusing on soccer rather than basketball.
“That’s because to get one LeBron, you need millions of kids playing basketball in public courts and schools wanting to be like Mike.”
And a year-round full-time dedication to the craft starting very early in life. Lebron had all the necessary gifts and freakish athletic ability, but he was being trained by a former college college coach and traveling the country playing AAU ball by the age of 12.This is where America is really lacking in regards to soccer.
European and South America future superstars are sent to academies to become a full-time soccer player very early in life. American programs are developing, but still pale in regard to what they are doing elsewhere. Most American soccer players are going to college, and college soccer programs are nowhere near the equivalent of European soccer academies, or even the might-as-well-be-semi-pro football programs at places like Alabama or Ohio St.
I could listen to Ian Darke call a game in just about any sport.
There is always one thing about this argument that bothers me. A country like Uruguay only has 3 million people total and yet has won two World Cups and is regularly among the top teams in the world. The United States literally has 100 times more people. Of all the sports that people really focus on, you would only need one out of 100 of the sports enthused to be playing the sport. I suspect more people here are playing and dedicated than there are in Uruguay (I wonder if anyone can find those numbers), but there’s more to it than the available talent pool. I think Klinsmann is right when he suggests that there is more a problem with confidence, with belief – and that filters all the way down into the way in which the game is taught at the lowest levels. A poor child in Uruguay (leave your Suarez jokes at the door) has a huge history to draw from; that provides confidence. (And if numbers were everything, India and China would dominate athletics, right?)
“pick an MLS or European club team (or both!) to follow.”
^^^^This^^^^
After last world cup, I decided to pick an EPL team to follow, and also get behind the local MLS team. It’s been great to follow on Saturday mornings and just keep a regular interest in soccer. Highly recommend.
Klinsmann is really good.