4 Essential Questions For Soccer Parents and Players

Tryout time can be a very stressful experience for American youth soccer players and their parents. Here are four very essential questions that all players and parents should be asking of their past year and possible future 12 months in the sport. The answers to these questions can help in making the family soccer experience and the decisions regarding that experience much easier to navigate. Just click the link below! Comments are welcome!

Why Many American Fans Aren’t Happy With USMNT Results

The United States Men”s National Team qualified for next winter’s World Cup. So, how come so many American fans are so negative about their results? In his latest podcast Alan Goldstein ( the Soccer Yoda) discusses his observations as to why this is happening. Give a listen, comment and follow! Thanks so much!

The Attempted Americanization of European Soccer

Last week Manchester United fans demonstrated in front of their home stadium and managed to postpone an important match between their team and Liverpool. Why did this happen? What were they protesting? And why, in the view of the Soccer Yoda, was the whole premise of their discontent rather hypocritical? That is the subject of our podcast in this post. Just click below, comments are welcome, please follow if you would like to be notified of each post when it comes out. Thanks!

It’s A Podcast!

Hi All! Big surprise! We have graduated to podcasting! Hope it works! Hope I get better at it! Hope you like it even in this first time form! Click on the link below to give a listen to the Soccer Yoda clear up the confusion and complaints regarding the mens United States Olympic Team and it’s failure to qualify for the Summer Olympics – again. But, this time is very different then previous attempts. Give a listen to understand the men’s Olympic situation ( the women’s is different).

BTW, it’s about apprx.15 min, thanks!

It’s Still All About The Ball

To begin this post- a note: as regular readers of this blog know, the writer ( that’s me – the Soccer Yoda) usually writes in the third person. This is an attempt to put the more of the emphasis of the writing on the subject matter and less on the writer. But, for this post, I (that’s me – Alan Goldstein) have decided to write in the first person, since a number of the events being referred to in this post are those that I personally experienced.

In the mid-to late 20th century, as more and more American soccer teams participated in competitions with teams from other nations, it became very obvious that 1) our success rate was poor (like not qualifying for the World Cup from 1954 -1986 and then again in 2018) and 2) it was not because we lacked athletes on our teams. Americans could run and jump as well as anyone… so what was the issue? To those who watched and studied the game, it was obvious –  American players could not handle the ball in any way close to the ability demonstrated by players from other nations – almost any other nation. This was apparent at all levels – our youth specialized in kicking the ball as hard as possible; our national teams tried, rather unsuccessfully, to emulate quality play – but without the quality.

Other than a few immigrant-heavy enclaves in our cities and notably St Louis, Missouri where the CYO had sponsored a membership-heavy youth program, there was no youth soccer in the USA until the 1970’s. As interest in the sport grew and youth teams began to flourish – the expected rise in the quality of American teams and players failed to match expectations. Our kids and therefore our teams, mostly specialized in running fast, kicking hard and ( as so many coaches exclaimed loudly from the sidelines ) “beating the opponent to the ball”. As one observer in the Netherlands expressed to me,” we see many American teams here, they like to come to our country. They seem to fight the ball all the time”.

Let’s now jump to present day. A couple weeks ago one of my grandsons, age 4, went to his first “soccer class”. Although there is a number of experienced family members who could provide coaching, his parents felt that the social experience (especially in the pandemic era) plus the authority and knowledge represented by an neutral, trained coach could benefit the little Goldstein more than backyard training by relatives and I agreed. So, he was enrolled in a program with a national presence, marketed as a specialized soccer experience for youngsters – mostly young youngsters -ages 4-8.

Now, little Goldstein is an independent thinker and due to the last quarter of his life in our pandemic-affected society being spent without socialization with many other children, he was at first reluctant to join the group which consisted of 10 kids. The coach gathered them in the middle of the indoor soccer facility, they sat down together, and the coach began addressing them. It was jovial and fun, with lots of laughing and group affirmations. And my grandson wanted no part of it. He went out onto the floor – it was an indoor soccer facility –  ran to the balls which were gathered together in a corner of the area, took one and started dribbling around on his own. The coach, to her credit, didn’t push the issue. The rest of the kids were clearly enjoying their group talk. After about 10 minutes, the group broke up and began an organized version of tag. The majority of children ran toward the coach and each other, avoiding tags by individuals appointed as taggers. Small Goldstein, meanwhile, kicked his ball into the goal, pulled it out, dribbled around, beat a couple imaginary defenders and struck it again into the goal – numerous times. After about 10 more minutes of several running and jumping games, the group finally got to the balls. They spent a few more minutes kicking the balls with force , then gathered to sum up the 30 minute class with the coach. At that point young Goldstein went over to the group, listened for a few seconds and then went back to his movement and scoring exercise until time was up.

Young Goldstein readies to beat the next imaginary opponent.

Of course, the socialization skills( or lack thereof) of my young grandson is a point for discussion by his parents, but it is my purpose in this post to bring up – once again – the issue of effective training to develop quality soccer players and (perhaps more important for overall support for the sport) training that keeps, grows, and rewards an interest in the game. For while 4 yr old youngsters can be entertained and happy with a soccer training session that includes about 10 touches of the ball in 30 minutes – older players are not, especially if that type of training session is repeated at frequent intervals.

The use, or perhaps the overuse, of training exercises that center on physical attributes has been a discussion point since the USSF first introduced it’s National  Coaching License program. I know, because I attended a number of them, as early as 1978, while earning my license. From the beginning, the instructors at these programs harped on the need for ball work in training. That is where I first heard the phrase, “no laps. no lines, no long lectures”. The prevalence of abstract cross-country style running during youth soccer training was so high that at one point the national Director of Training at that time – the internationally well-respected German coach Karl-Heinz Heddergott posed this rhetorical question and supplied it’s answer to the license class I was attending: ” do you know what you get when your team does a lot of lap running? … Good lap runners! But if you want to develop good soccer players – they must play a lot of soccer!”

Despite the constant mention of the benefits of training with the ball – both individually and with the team – coaches have been slow to adapt the all-ball type of training sessions that produce the quickest and best results. Actually, many coaches and clubs have incorporated the “agility practice” into their training regimens. This is a session in which players do wind sprints, long runs, push-ups, jumps into the air, and many other exercises, none of which involve a soccer ball. An entire training session without once touching a ball. I discovered the commonplace use and acceptance of the “agility practice” a few years ago when discussing our training with a young teen squad I was coaching. One of the players suggested that a session without a ball would be good for the players. I was aghast … “If I did that I would be the worst coach in America!”. With that response, the players got silent for a number of seconds. My self-critical brain began talking to myself,” hey, maybe they are thinking that you are already the worst coach in America!” Later one of the players eased my mind – sort of – ,” hey coach, do you realize that each of us has had coaches that you just called ‘the worst coach in America’?”

young players at soccer practice – learning to wait in line

When a coach combines lap running with exercises in which players wait in lines to touch the ball at a ratio of 10 or more waiting minutes to one ball touching minute, it becomes easy to understand why American players, as a whole, still trail their international counterparts as soccer players. Even worse, many of our kids give up the game as their practice sessions become farther and farther distant from the reason they wanted to play in the first place – the joy of working with a soccer ball. It is not a difficult job for youth coaches to use practices in which as many players as possible use as many soccer balls as possible. Or use variations of the game such as small-side games, possession games, variable pressure exercises and so on to emulate game conditions and keep training interesting and fun.

An effective training exercise

In the above photo there are certainly points to be emphasized – such as the youngsters keeping their heads up so as to view their surroundings. But the major idea is that each player has a ball and they are working with that ball in a manner that simulates the game. In 2016 the USSF changed the rules in which our kids play for every age group under 13. The number of players was reduced along with the field size in addition to some other rules that force players to learn to control, pass and dribble the ball. More touching the ball and less kicking it. More loving the ball and less fighting it as my Dutch observer called it.  It is too early to see the results of these changes. But the next few years will be very interesting as the youngsters who have essentially grown up under these rules become teenagers.  One would hope that we will see a measurable increase in the ball playing ability of these children. And that the training methods used by the vast majority of our coaches  now include using the ball far more and the running, waiting in lines , and “agility practice” much less.

And as for little grandson Goldstein? Maybe he will become more inclined to join the group in his soccer class, maybe not. Maybe his class will play with the ball much more, maybe not. But as far as his soccer development is concerned, if he still enjoys the experience and he still gets lots of touches on the ball , however it happens is ok with his grandfather.

VAR – Visually Atrophied Referees?

The introduction of new technology has become a part of the evolution of many sports. Here in the United States, the use of “instant replay” or video review of the action, came into play many years ago in our “football” and after a couple years of fine tuning to determine how it works best, it became a very successful and accepted part of the game, particularly at the professional level. It was so successful that other ” American based” sports ( basketball and baseball ) adopted it in similar forms. And hockey ( which, it must be said, is really Canadian-based) uses video review although on a reduced level compared to American football.

Soccer also saw calls for the use of video review, but it’s adoption was much slower. This was because, unlike North American sports, soccer is 1) world-wide in it’s regulation and oversight and 2) therefore much more bound by tradition. It took an obvious and meaningful mistake in the 2010 World Cup when England’s Frank Lampard clearly scored an equalizing goal against Germany and yet was denied by both the referee and assistant referee, who must have been staring at the sky to miss what the whole world saw…..that the ball was definitely over the line before it’s reverse spin (after hitting cross-bar and bouncing down) took it back out.

Lampard’s not – given goal

The ensuing embarrassment and comments finally pushed FIFA into adopting goal-line technology to determine if a ball has completely crossed the plane of the goal line and it has been very successful. Eventually the Video Assisted Referee, which is the FIFA name for instant replay, was adopted for much of the world, and last year the English decided to use it in their own unique way. The frequent display of obviously incorrect calls, particularly concerning offside, was the largest factor that contributed to the innovation of the VAR system. However, soccer is a sport with few breaks in the play and the ongoing philosophy has always been ” the fewer the stoppages, the better”. So, if the game is stopped for a VAR check that proves to be incorrect – a needless stoppage has been created. And, if a call made during the run of play, after a VAR check, proves to be an incorrect call, there is no remedy for the injured team since the play was stopped. So, after a short period of time, it became apparent that the VAR tool was best used to review action that has already occurred. Most attacks do not produce results that affect the final result of a match and therefore VAR is not needed to review the play. Of course, when a possible offside or handball, etc. takes place, the end result of the play is not known, so it became commonplace and eventually became policy, that unless an infraction is clear and obvious, the play is allowed to continue and then, if a goal results, the video can be checked for an infraction that would rule the play to be no goal. This brings up a conundrum of sorts: the referee has been, and still is, the sole and final decider of the action on the field. Originally the emphasis on the use of VAR was to correct clear and obvious referee mistakes. But the clear and obvious calls are the only ones actually whistled now, anything else is delayed with no call made until the action is stopped, especially if a goal results from the play. So, the original concept – using VAR to correct clear and obvious errors, is gone…the only calls made on the field anymore are already clear and obvious. This has produced exactly what many thought that VAR would eliminate – controversial calls. It’s as if the referees, both assistant and in the center, have developed extremely poor eyesight and can only see the obvious- and must rely on video to view the close stuff.

With the failure of the officiating crews to signal anything that might be overturned by VAR, the technology has become the means of decision-making in the vast majority of close calls. This would be ok if the electronics themselves made the calls – ala goal-line technology. But, goal-line is very different. The goal posts don’t move and the rule is very specific and always has been: the ball must be completely over the plane of the goal line to be considered to be a goal. So it was possible to create a system that makes the call strictly by computer…. and provides graphics to prove it is correct with the call. Matters such as offside or handballs are not as easy. The play can take place over a wide range of locations and the official interpretation of the infraction has a tendency to change from one season to the next. So, it falls to humans to view the play and make the call. Further, all close calls, as we have said, are being made by VAR. This leads to inconsistencies and frustrations in the performance of the system. First, every goal, every possible infraction leading to a goal, is scrutinized. This leads to the :” GOAL!…no wait…” situation which can be extremely frustrating. Spectators, both live and watching tv, don’t know how the VAR is judging the action, and, since these calls are being considered as the first view by a referee, they are judged by the smallest of margins.

The system is still comparatively new and the use of video has produced an ability to look at a play with microscopic closeness. This has produced a need for official interpretations of infractions , particularly those involving offside and handballs, that were not necessary before VAR was instituted. Is it offside if a players nose is closer to the goal than the defender? How about the players hair? Is it a handball if the possible offender’s hand is only 2 inches from his/her body? How about 3 inches? Since the VAR referee is making the call, there are going to be inconsistencies in the final determination of foul/no foul. Given that all close calls are being made by VAR , there are many of these inch-by-inch decisions, and the system is getting vilified by those who feel they have been done in by the calls….which – sooner or later – means everybody.

So what can be done? or should anything? The Soccer Yoda has two possible solutions, although they are admittedly slightly off the wall…ok, more than slightly.

A) Originally the VAR was considered as a means to correct the obvious errors that occur once in a while during a soccer season. This has changed so that now it is THE manner to examine play and make close calls that the officials don’t make anymore. So, lets combine the ideas. No change to the process is needed. Officials continue  to hold off on calls that might stop the game incorrectly. And VAR is still used as the major deciding factor on closer calls. BUT it is used as originally planned -to correct clear and obvious errors – if the call isn’t immediately obviously an infraction – it isn’t called. That would mean that any close offside would 1) not be called during the run of play, and 2) unless the non-call is considered to be a “clear and obvious” violation of the rules – the play stands. No more “armpit offsides”, no more drawing computer graphic lines to determine if a player’s little finger was in an offside position. No more – was the hand that touched the ball in an unnatural position when it was in front of the player’s face preventing a broken nose? If the VAR can’t tell by looking quickly and directly at the video still picture, the play stands. Would that eliminate all controversy? No. Aggrieved fans would still argue whether a decision about an infraction was “clear and obvious” or not. Would it reduce the number of controversial decisions? Undoubtedly yes. Would it mean many more goals? Yes. So what is wrong with that?

B) Ok, here is an even crazier idea. Because an incorrect call stops play and the team that actually did not do anything wrong, would, in effect, be penalized, referees refrain from making any calls. The problem is not the call, but the fact that play would be stopped for it. As Americans, we are familiar with that problem and the solution for it. Signal the foul, but don’t stop play. If the assistant referee thinks a handball occurred during an attack…..raise the flag but don’t stop the action. IF and only IF a goal results …then have VAR check it out and if the call is correct and not a “clear and obvious error”, then the goal does not count. The advantage is –  once the flag goes up everybody knows that any goal which results is subject to VAR examination and in all likelihood will not count, unless the call was an obvious mistake. Give the central referee a flag to throw if that official spots an infraction. Yes, I know , it sounds nuts and , of course, comes from American “football”. And there still might be calls that fans think are wrong. But the controversy caused by the system would be limited. And, perhaps, referees would again use their eyes and minds to make calls, rather than constantly deferring to the VAR.

USA Men – More Than Potential Now?

In our last post we discussed the USA men and how talented they are and how young they are. After their 0-0 effort against Wales their potential was clearly present , but a combination of unfamiliarity , a passive system, and youth prevented them from turning that potential into a result.

Well, things have changed. Four days after meeting Wales, the squad played Panama in another friendly match. To be fair, it must be mentioned that the Panama side that played against the Americans was not as strong as the Panama team that qualified for the 2018  World Cup or that will compete next summer for another visit to the 2022 version of the same tournament.

Nevertheless, the Yanks turned in a effective performance in running past Panama 6-2. There were a number of reasons for that impressive result and yet, in some ways their overall performance was not as dominating as the score suggests. But, if the knock on the Americans against Wales was the failure to turn good play into goals, any list of criticisms of the team in this match won’t contain that one..

Coach Gregg Berhalter lined the team up in a similar fashion to the formation used against Wales, at least it seemed so on paper. As seen below, it appeared to be a 4/3/3 with a few personnel changes made to the starting lineup that competed against Wales. The midfield of Adams, McKennie and Musah remained the same and if fact, they played very much the same way as in the first match. In the back, John Brooks was replaced by Tim Ream. Ream has been a regular in the tough English Premier League for several years, currently toiling for Fulham. At 33, he is one of the oldest team members in the USA squad. He has been inconsistent with the USA but his experience looked to give him an edge in working with this young of a group. Sergino Dest switched sides, going to the left back and Reggie Cannon came in to the right back position that was occupied by Dest against Wales. Cannon went from Dallas in the MLS to Boavista in Portugal and has done a surprisingly good job there. His recent play justified a chance to show Berhalter what he could do with the national team. Cannon is 22, making him somewhat more of a veteran in this very youthful selection.

USA 4/3/3 vs Panama

But it was on the front line that the biggest change took place. Gio Reyna stayed on the right wing…supposedly. The left wing spot was occupied by Uly Llanez. Llanez fits the profile of the “new” USA team to a tee. First of all he is only 19 years old. He also plays in Europe, in the Netherlands to be specific. But a different player represented perhaps the biggest change that took place, and that was at the center forward spot. Against Wales the position was filled by Sebastian Lletget who plays as an attacking midfielder with the LA Galaxy of the MLS. He played the position as a withdrawn forward, linking with the midfield. This caused a lot of possession for the USA but few chances to score as the packed midfield did not use their ball control to get at the goal. Against Panama, Burkhalter went with Nico Gioacchini. Now, Nico is an interesting story. He was born in Missouri and spent time there and Washington DC as a youth where he stood out playing for several youth clubs. He then moved to Italy. As a 15 year old he was signed to Paris FC and in 2018 as an 18 yr old he moved to club Caen who play in the French second division. Last year he began lighting up that league and had scored enough goals to get Burkhalter’s attention. With Christian Pulisic and Josh Sargent sidelined, Gioacchini represented one of the few players on the squad who go forward to the goal naturally. So, with Nico pushing forward, there was room for Reyna to play his Dortmund position –  supporting the forward line. As a result, the Yanks actually played a 4/4/2 diamond.

The 4/4/2 Diamond played by the USA vs Panama.

At the beginning of the match,it was apparent that both teams planned on being more aggressive than in the games they had played earlier. For Panama this was going to be a CONCACAF type match-meaning lots of gamesmanship – playing the ref, taking cheap shots, trying to get into the minds of the opponent. And a mix up between Miazga and Ream gave the Central Americans a rather shocking early lead. A long pass reached the Panamanian left back Alejandro Yearwood  who controlled it well and immediately hit an accurate cross to forward Jose Fijardo who was streaking diagonally across the American goal. Neither defender stayed with him and he ran between the two and glanced a header perfectly past Steffen.

And at that moment, this team established it’s credentials. It was a surprising lead that Panama had earned and many former USA teams would have never recovered from it. But this bunch, as young as they are, showed their maturity by remaining calm and settling into their game as if the goal had never been scored. 

The effect of Gioacchini pushing forward was very consequential as it gave Reyna space to work, to combine with the other midfielders and it gave the Panamanian backs a major headache as the American midfielders used that space to get into the attacking third. Sure enough ,just 10 minutes after their goal, Panama was forced to foul Musah as he broke past their midfielders and approached the penalty area. Reyna took the kick from 20 yds out and expertly put it past Panamanian keeper Mosquera into the bottom right of the goal. Reyna’s work with that space opened by Gioacchini’s running paid off a mere four minutes after scoring his goal. He gave Llanez an excellent pass to run onto and Uly fired a stinger at Mosquera who could only block the shot without holding it. The rebound went straight to Gioacchini who put it in. The shell-shocked Central Americans were still trying to settle themselves when the pressing Yanks earned a corner. The ball was partially cleared and went to Tyler Adams who was farther back behind the penalty area.. Adams hit a penetrating pass to McKennie who crossed it to the right post where Miazga (who had come up for the corner and hadn’t moved) was lurking. Miazga headed it back across the goal where guess who was waiting for it? Gioacchini, again looking for space in front of goal. He headed the ball past Mosquera who, by this time, must of felt like a kewpie doll at a shooting range. Three goals in eight minutes and the Americans were comfortably in front.

The USA midfield celebrates Reyna’s goal

The rest of the first half continued USA domination, possession and attacks although without adding to the scoring total. The second half proved similar, however the energy level of the Yanks dropped noticeably and Gioacchini missed a penalty which would have given him a hat trick. Half way through the second period both coaches began to make substitutions and the added speed and aggressiveness on Panama’s part forced another defensive error by the  American back line with Fijardo again getting between defenders. This time it was directly in front of the USA goal. Suddenly it was 3-2 and the result wasn’t as assured for the USA as it had seemed. But the goal seemed to wake up the Yanks, and energized the players who had just taken the field.

Four minutes after Fajardo’s goal, Sebastian Soto, who had replaced Gioacchini, headed in an excellent cross from Richie Ledezma, who had come in for Reyna, to settle the win for the Americans. This appeared to take the effort out of the Panamanians, but the Americans new to the match were just getting started. Sebastian Lletget had come in to his familiar attacking midfield position and he made an excellent run to the near post to nod in a cross from Cannon and ,amazingly enough, Soto scored again 4 minutes later to end the game on a high note for the USA.

So, what did USA fans gather from these two matches played by our young men? 1) This group is talented and markedly experienced despite their youth 2) Their overall talent will only get better when Pulisic and Sargent and a few MLS players join for meaningful action next spring and summer 3) There appears to be some depth, particularly in midfield 4) The newness of playing together can cause breakdowns, hopefully these will be fewer as the squad learns to play as a team 5) If this group can stay healthy and focused, the USA might have a men’s national team that can get to heights not reached before in our soccer history.  Only time will tell.

USA Men – Potential Is Still Potential

This week the USA men got together for the first time since …so long ago it feels like decades. Actually , it was February of this year, not that long ago, but the match against Costa Rica was 1) played with a team made up of MLS players only – thus was devoid of many of our best people and 2) before the pandemic, therefore back in ancient times, or so it seems.

As pointed out in our last post “The USA Is Quietly Building A Powerhouse”, a number of youthful American players are doing very well in Europe and for some highly regarded teams. USA fans have been waiting anxiously to see these developing stars get together and show us what they can do. The situation is not one of immediate need as the USA doesn’t see any real competitive action until late next spring, but the sooner the better as far as coach Gregg Berhalter is concerned. He wants to see how the players work together, what positions they fit in best with their teammates and, like all of us, he wanted to see what the caliber of this USA team really is, given that perhaps they are the most credible bunch as far as world club credentials are concerned that the United States as ever put together.

So lets take a look at this match with eyes on the US as an up-and-coming world power.

First- the opponent. Now no one is going to confuse Wales with France or Brazil or Belgium, but against mediocre competition they have done very well lately. While England handled them quite easily (3-0), they have beaten Bulgaria (twice), Finland,Hungary, Azerbaijan and drew with highly regarded Croatia during the last 12 months. They aren’t  Argentina but they aren’t the weakest team in the world either. And the side they used against the USA was almost the same side they played in those games. However, there was one major exception. Wales has only one world class player – Gareth Bale. Bale is capable of turning a match around all by himself as he demonstrated against Liverpool in the Champions League final in 2018. Bale didn’t play against the Americans which reduced the offensive threat that Wales possessed by about 100% (not joking about that either). The rest of the Welshmen are a capable bunch, particularly on defense, but without Bale the ability of Wales to provide a meaningful measuring stick for Berhalter was definitely reduced.

Second – the USA. The team that started for the Americans was one of the youngest lineups the USA has ever put on a field. Two 17 yr olds were among the starters and the rest were not that much older than the teenagers. While Wales was missing it’s biggest offensive threat, so was the USA. Christian Pulisic, while only 22 himself, is undoubtedly the guy that the American offense will revolve around. Unfortunately Pulisic ( who plays for English powerhouse Chelsea) pulled his hamstring while warming up before a match one week before the Wales encounter. In addition, Josh Sargent who is a legitimate striker and plays for Wolfsburg in the German league, could not make it to the match either as he was detained by Covid quarantine. This left the US without two of it’s best forwards. Unfortunately, Berhalter’s system and selections did not make up for those losses.

The USA starting lineup as a 4-3-3

As seen above, the Americans used a 4/3/3 formation as their basic system of play. However, once the game started, it was apparent that the actual positions of the players varied a lot from the pictured setup.

First of all, by design Lletget did not play in a traditional Center Forward role. He was the only MLS player on the squad and in the US , playing for the LA Galaxy he plays as an attacking midfielder. So, it would seem that playing him as a “false 9” ( a central forward who comes back to link up with midfielders) could suit him well. And it might have done just that, except that his wings did not cooperate. The false 9 concept works best when the wings become dangerous recipients of the “9”‘s work. In teams such as Barcelona and Liverpool who use this idea regularly, the false 9 has striking partners who have pace and scoring ability. This often leads to the back defenders being forced to spend extra effort on those wings and therefore those defenders leave open space for the 9 to come forward after the initial attack. Against Wales, the system did not work like that at all.

When young players play a certain position and role on a team, it becomes somewhat difficult for them to change their play once game action begins, even if asked to play a different position. The younger the player, the more that individual has a tendency to adopt the role that they have become accustomed to playing. Gio Reyna plays a similar role for Dortmund in Germany that Sebastian Lletget plays for LA Galaxy, that being an attacking midfielder. For the USA he was positioned as a right wing. But he ended up moving inside often into the more familiar spaces that he occupies for Dortmund. This is not a bad strategy when the right back behind him can move up into the space created by the movement and can act as a deliverer of crosses and passes inside to the forwards waiting for them. And Sergino Dest was more than willing to do just that. The problem was that Reyna dropped back when he went inside instead of moving laterally or forward. Thus he wasn’t available to receive any balls played by Dest or to be a threat to the goal. So, with both Lletget and Reyna playing as advanced midfielders there was only one true forward playing for the USA. 

Konrad de la Fuente is a young (another “young” – get the drift?) American player (19yrs old) who is on Barcelona’s roster although he isn’t getting the minutes that Dest is getting for the same squad. But he has shown enough ability to rate a start in this game, And, he was the only forward positioned player on the field for the USA who was playing his normal spot – on the left wing up high. This left him as the sole go-to-goal threat for Berhalter. He got the best chance of the game when he was the recipient of a Welsh turnover that put him close to the goal although on the corner of the right post. He fired the somewhat difficult shot over the top and other than a couple balls from Dest that was it as far as scoring chances for the US. When one looks at the actual positioning of the Americans for most of their offensive game and when one considers Wales defensive ability, it is no surprise that our team came up empty on the scoreboard.

USA positioning during most of the match.

Ok, the score ending 0-0 wasn’t quite the result USA fans were looking for. But, how about the play? It is here, in the work, that we find the quality and the possible future success that we were hoping to see. The youthful Americans displayed a confidence and a possession game seldom seen in our sides. Berhalter wants to play from the back, maintain possession and create spaces for his attacks. His team got ( WARNING – shameless plug coming!) Concepts 1 and 2 from the Soccer Yoda’s successful book “Concept Soccer – A Step by Step Method to Score Goals and Develop Players” right. (Concept Soccer is available from Amazon in print and ebook) They had 61% possession against a decent international opponent. Concept 3 was spotty, although there were some spaces opened by the Americans, they didn’t take much advantage of them. Yunus Musah , 17 yr old player for Valencia in Spain, did a superb job of supporting teammates with the ball, Weston McKennie was very active in looking for openings to play the ball and Tyler Adams helped control the midfield from the defensive point of view. The Yanks won the midfield and shut off virtually all of Wales attacks, but it was their strikes on goal that were missing.

Gio Reyna passes the ball

Perhaps if Pulisic and Sargent had played or Jozy Altidore had come from the US to participate ( he was tied up with  the MLS playoffs) the USA would have had more scoring chances with more attacking threats. As it was, the squad showed it’s ball skill, its confidence with ball possession and it’s energy to play hard even in a friendly in the middle of a hard-to-mange Covid-affected season. They clearly knew that they represent the future of American international men’s soccer and were eager to show what they could do. In the end, their potential was there for all to see even if it is still unrealized. Considering they had only two days preparation and were missing some integral parts, that potential is very real and that is just fine – for now. 

USA Is Quietly Building a Powerhouse

It is said that “great minds think alike”. Today (September 25, 2020) represents one of those days that proves that saying. That is, if one considers the Soccer Yoda to be a “great mind”. Included in this “great mind” scenario would be Julio Vega, writing for USA Today. The reason that these “great minds” thought alike today? That would be the emergence of a significant number of youthful American soccer players that are contributing in meaningful ways in Europe over the last few weeks and months. The Soccer Yoda has noticed that these players have been making inroads in places not typically noted for an American presence. Yes, some Americans have played in Europe for some notable teams. Michael Bradley started for Roma over a period of years in Italy, Clint Dempsey toiled for Fulham in the Premier League, Tim Howard was Everton’s number one keeper in that same league, considered by many to be the most competitive league in the world. Overall though, Yankees have been absent from high-level competition in Europe. However,there are now more young American players on European fields than ever before , actually contributing to competitive teams, with even a few playing for some of the most elite clubs on the continent. The Soccer Yoda noticed it and was inspired enough to write this post describing the promising situation brewing in Europe. But Mr Vega beat me to it. He published an article, today- September 25, 2020 postulating a USA national side playing a 4/2/3/1 that would be completely staffed with players presently playing in Europe. He noticed the same situation that I did. And wrote about it just before this post, the one you are reading, was begun.

So how come this situation has not been observed and written about in any major way by the American soccer community? Well, like everything else, Covid-19 has had a major effect on the USA national team situation. There has been no activity by the national team since the January 2020 camp and that was devoid of European players. Meanwhile soccer in Europe has begun a new season. True, it is without fans in stadiums, but it is not without the usual press and tv coverage and fan interest, even if those fans are not present at the matches. Even international soccer has begun in Europe, with the usual international breaks from club games and those national teams playing in their Nations League games. But, here in the USA, its all quiet on the national team front. The team isn’t scheduled to play again until next March with World Cup qualifying beginning next summer. Coach Gregg Burhalter is “hoping” for a couple matches this fall , but Covid concerns are making those plans difficult, if not impossible. So, the inroads being made in Europe by Americans have largely been ignored by the American sporting press and soccer community. Until now, when two perceptive soccer writers (myself and Mr Vega) decided to note the situation at the same time.

So who are these Americans who could represent a new, stronger US national team? Let’s take a look:

Christian Pulisic – Ok, Pulisic isn’t exactly a new name. He played on the unfortunate 2018 team that failed to make it to the World Cup. However, he has continued to progress. He plays for Chelsea, one of the strongest English teams and one, due to a number of additions, that is considered to be a favorite in England AND Europe. He demonstrated his ability against Liverpool earlier this summer by entering the match late in the game and scoring a brilliant goal and assisting on another. He is for real. Pulisic’s biggest challenge at this point is staying healthy as he has been very injury prone.

Pulisic runs through the Liverpool defense

Weston McKennie – McKennie has recently been inserted into the starting lineup at Juventus where he links up with the likes of Renaldo, yes THAT Renaldo. Juve is the Italian powerhouse and is one of the strongest European squads. This is a major advancement for the young American and suggests a strong midfield for the USA along with Reyna.

Gio Reyna – Reyna is only 17 but is starting and scoring for Dortmund in Germany. Dortmund is one of the best German sides, trailing only Bayern Munich in reputation among German teams. He has unlimited potential given his age and the caliber of competition in which he is playing. Matched with McKennie he could command the midfield against most any opponent the USA faces.

Reyna may be the brightest young star on the USA horizon.

Tyler Adams – Adams is 21 and has made inroads in the European game playing for Leipzig in Germany. Leipzig is not traditionally considered a German powerhouse but last year they advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League and Adams scored the winner in the quarterfinal vs Atletico Madrid. He can play many positions, in a 4/3/3 with the USA he would most likely play the defensive midfield role with McKennie and Reyna in front of him.

Serginio Dest – if there is a weak spot in the new American lineup it would be in defense. But it is in the back where Dest comes in and could raise the level in that important area. He is only 19 but his play for Ajax in the Netherlands has put him in an enviable position. Serginio plays an outside defender position and given Ajax is an accepted member of the European elite his play there gives him instant credibility. So much so that Barcelona and Bayern Munich are battling over him. Not bad….two of the strongest clubs in the world fighting to sign an American.

Josh Sargent – Sargent is an up front forward. His job is to create and score goals although at times he has shown an ability to combine with others to create an effective buildup. He plays for Werder Bremen in Germany.  Now Werder is not Chelsea or Juventus or even Leipzig, but Sargent has made an impact with the team and is seeing regular action when healthy. This certainly qualifies him for a starting position with the USA, perhaps teaming up with Pulisic as an effective striking team in front of that midfield described above.

Tim Weah – Tim Weah is one of the USA’s best potential stars to play forward. Weah was signed by French and European power Paris St Germain 3 years ago as a 17 yr old. After some encouraging play there he was loaned to Celtic of Scotland in 2019. He did well there for the second half of the 2019 season. PSG then loaned Tim to Lille of the French first division where he was expected to start and contribute but he sustained season-long injuries. If he can regain the quality of play he displayed before last season’s lost time, Weah could provide depth and perhaps a starting role with the USA.

Reggie Cannon – Cannon is another of the defense hopes for the future of the USA squad. He plays right back in Portugal for Boavista of the Portuguese First Division. Although only 22, Cannon has had a several years as a starter for F.C. Dallas of the MLS and this season has gone to Portugal to improve his game against the tougher competition there.

Reggie Cannon celebrates a goal with Boavista.

Zack Steffen – Steffen is the probable goalkeeper for the Americans and he is gaining valuable experience in Europe. After doing extremely well in the MLS the 25 yr. old moved to vaunted Manchester City in 2019 who promptly loaned him to Fortuna Dusseldorf. This season he is back at City as the backup to Ederson but started just last week in a cup victory.

Konrad de la Fuenta; Chris Richards; These two youngsters are with a couple of huge clubs: Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But playing time is an issue with these two. If they gain knowledge and skills training with two of the world’s best teams then perhaps they can make their marks onto our national team.

While continental Europe is considered the highest quality place to play the game, there are other continents where young Americans are succeeding and these players could break into the national squad. Tyler Boyd (25 yrs) is scoring goals for Besiktas in Turkey and Johnny (19 yrs) is contributing at defensive midfield for Internacional in Brazil (thus the one name name following Brazilian tradition). And of course, one cannot rule out the MLS. …I think. The quality of play in our home league is a large question mark, especially in the preparation of national team players to compete against world-class opposition. Berhalter will have to compare the ability of each player and make a judgement, hopefully he will ignore any pressure from his bosses to use home-playing talent strictly on the basis of where they play.

At this point, it appears that the USA is building a regional powerhouse. There should be no repetition of the woeful result of 2018 when qualifying for the 2022 World Cup commences next June. How ready this young crew will be for competition once in the Cup is another matter. However, if these players stay healthy, and they continue to develop and gain experience, there is a longer term objective in mind. In 2026 the World Cup will be played right here on our home continent. Hopefully, the team that is building now will be at its peak at that time and perhaps the USA can put on a display that will finally earn it’s place as a world soccer power.

Here comes a shameless plug: If you like this post you might like the Soccer Yoda’s book on understanding and teaching modern soccer tactics. It’s Concept Soccer – A Step By Step Method to Develop Players and Score Goals. The book has been well received by all who have it and it is available from Amazon in both print and ebook format.

USS Federation and Its Freakish Failure For Females

For decades women in this country have fought for equal pay when they perform equal work compared to men. They have met with varying degrees of success, but it is well known that there are many businesses and industries in which women still do not garner the same compensation as their male counterparts. Overall soccer is one of those industries in which inequality still exists in many of it’s areas.

One of the most visible examples of that bias is the pay given to the US Women’s National Team in comparison to the men by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). One example is World Cup compensation. When the USA women won the cup last year (which they have done 4 times including the last two competitions) they earned $200,000 each, not bad, but the men got $179,375 each just for playing in the regional qualifying tournament in 2018. They would have earned a mountain much more if they had won the whole championship. Of course, qualifying for the tournament is a necessary step in that direction, something the men failed to do.

After trying futilely to convince the USSF that they deserve equal pay, the US Women’s National Team (WNT) finally sued the national organization for their overdue compensation, claiming gender discrimination. They want $67 million in damages. And last week the lawyers for each group filed their initial documents, with the hearing scheduled in May. To put it in soccer terms, at this point the USSF is definitely not on the front foot. As a matter of fact, one of their top people has been red carded already.

The USSF hired a firm to defend the suit and then apparently paid no attention to the arguments those lawyers decided to use. The USSF attorneys knew they couldn’t argue that gender discrimination was ok, so they decided to push the idea that the women don’t work equally hard and therefore are not due equal pay. But their arguments have more holes than goal nets.

The USSF attorneys claim that men work harder because they are “bigger,stronger, faster”. Of course, forgetting for a minute that ALL men are not necessarily “bigger,stronger, faster” than ALL women, somehow the USSF wants to link physical attributes to work rate. Aside from the general weakness in that argument, there is also the issue of amount of work relating to frequency of work. The men play for club teams and only “work” for the USSF during designated international weeks and tournaments. Without a doubt, playing for the national team for men is secondary to club appearances. The women, however, while they do play for clubs, have many more national team matches, and more appearances in general than the men. How come?

It’s a combination of factors that result in the large number of Women’s National Team (WNT) appearances. The club games  definitely draw fewer fans than men’s games do. However, in the USA the WNT typically draws as well as the Men’s National Team (MNT) and often they pull in crowds that would make the men enviable. A major part of the USSF argument seems to be incredulously based on the failure of the men to produce wins. For example, they claim  that the men work harder because they face so much hostility during home games. But, that depends upon venue and recent results. The USSF has purposely played in locations where it knew that the number of attendees would contain a heavy number of fans rooting for the away team. Why? Because those fans pay to get into the stadium. The USSF earns more money for all that “hard work”; that ” hostile environment”. Why not play in more friendly stadiums? Because the men don’t draw as well with home fans when they aren’t winning. Attendance at the men’s matches has dropped drastically since the team failed to make the 2018 World Cup and since the squad changed in its composition. The women have more matches, more home fan support, more TV exposure because they deliver results. Somehow, the USSF figures that, therefore , they work less hard than the men. Of course, all that exposure increases player recognition. While many US soccer fans and even American sports fans in general know about Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz due to their World Cup play, how many are familiar with Gyasi Zardes, Wes McKennie or even the most well known of the men – Christian Pulisic? Winning and World Cups makes the Federation money. And yet, the USSF argues that the men work harder and should be paid more, because they haven’t produced on the field.

US WNT celebrate their “not working as hard as the MNT” World Cup Championship

Admittedly the world soccer organization FIFA earns far more from the men than the women. And pays more to member nations for their men’s teams participation in events. However, FIFA is earning more from the women every year and that has come from the increased interest and commitment around the world for the women’s game. And that can largely be attributed to the American women. Even FIFA President Gianni Infantino referred to the greater incomes coming from the women when he mentioned that FIFA would look at expanding the Women’s World Cup and increasing the associated financial rewards: “We don’t need all this money in Swiss banks.”

It should have come as no surprise to the USSF that the arguments presented by their attorneys did not exactly draw praise once the papers were filed. Actually, it appears that the federation was indeed pretty surprised, just as the rest of us were, by the sheer bias and convoluted logic that passed for their position. As a matter of fact, a number of USSF sponsors quickly announced that they did not agree with their associated federation on these points. Deloitte told one news company that they were “deeply offended by the views expressed by the USSF”. Other, larger sponsors such as Budweiser and Visa demanded meetings with the groups lawyers. They are not happy with the USSF at all. And Coke blasted the organization,” The Coca-Cola Company is firm in its commitment to gender equality, fairness and women’s empowerment in the United States and around the world and we expect the same from our partners.”

In response to all the criticism, USSF President Carlos Cordeiro issued this statement,” On behalf of U.S. Soccer, I sincerely apologize for the offense and pain caused by the language in this week’s court filing, which did not reflect the values of our Federation or our tremendous admiration of our Women’s national team.” The organization hired a different law firm to continue it’s defense of it’s position. But It is notable that, at this time, the USSF has not changed that position, just retooled the way its going to defend the suit.

For Cordeiro, his apology came too late. Without a doubt, he came under pressure to do more than merely apologize and the day after issuing the apology he resigned. How do we know that he was under the gun to give up his position? Well, remember that the USSF was now faced with trying to convince the American public that it isn’t totally anti-female. And the higher-ups in the federation knew that, should the President resign, the Vice President would take over the office of President. So he did and the new President is Cindy Parlow Cone, not only a women, but a member of the most revered bunch of female soccer players in the history of the game – the “99ers” – the group of women who astounded the sporting world by selling out the largest stadiums while winning World Cups and Olympic championships and inspiring a new generation of American soccer players of all types and genders.

Cindy Parlow Cone scores for the USA

Will Cone be able to repair the image of the USSF? She has a mountain of work to do, and not just in reputation. U.S. Soccer is a mess right now in numerous areas. But having a women at the top at this moment is a step in the right direction, it will be very interesting to see what she can do.