This U.S. team pales in comparison to those of the past
Listen, for a moment, to a neutral observer from Britain, one with no ax to grind, writing about the 3-0 defeat suffered by the United States against Brazil in the Confederations Cup in South Africa on Thursday.
“On this evidence, the usually effective Americans will not be troubling the main contenders [at the World Cup] next summer. . . . Brazil pulled them apart with ease.”
In Pretoria to cover the game for the Telegraph, the writer described the U.S. players variously as “insipid,” “intimidated,” “ineffectual” and “inept.”
Indeed.
Today, the U.S. plays Egypt (11:15 a.m., ESPN2 and TeleFutura) in Rustenberg, and Brazil plays Italy in Pretoria (11, ESPN and Univision). To stay alive in the tournament, the U.S. has to win and win big. It doesn’t stand a chance.
Why?
Because the Americans taking the field these days under Coach Bob Bradley are a pale shadow of the teams that once represented the U.S. internationally. They lack fight, they lack spirit, they lack cohesion, they lack leadership and they lack discipline.
Never mind that their two opponents in the Confederations Cup to date have been current and former world champions Italy and Brazil. There is precedence for putting on a decent show, even against a vastly superior opponent.
In 1994, the U.S., with the likes of Marcelo Balboa, Alexi Lalas, Tab Ramos, Cobi Jones and Earnie Stewart in the lineup at Palo Alto, was able to hold eventual champion Brazil to a 1-0 win at the World Cup.
In 1998, the U.S. was able to defeat Brazil, 1-0, at the Coliseum in the Gold Cup because the team featured players with self-belief, a goalkeeper, Kasey Keller, playing out of his mind, and a midfielder, Preki, with enough skill and soccer savvy to score the historic goal.
In 1990, the U.S., with such players as Tony Meola, John Harkes, Paul Caligiuri and Peter Vermes on the field, was able to hold World Cup host Italy to a 1-0 win in front of its own inflamed fans in Rome.
Similarly, in 2006, the U.S. was able to tie Italy, 1-1, at the World Cup in Germany despite having two players red-carded, because the team had veteran players such as Keller, Claudio Reyna, Eddie Pope and Brian McBride who refused to accept defeat.
So it can be done. It has been done.
But Bradley’s bunch of meek and mild misfits shows no sign of ever rising to those heights, and certainly not in the year that remains before the 2010 World Cup that some deluded U.S. Soccer figures once crowed the Americans could win.
Changes are needed. Changes must be made.
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Too intellectual
Bradley, the former Princeton man, appears to be too intellectual a coach to inspire his players. He tends to explain rather than exhort, to diagram rather than demand.
That, at least, is the public image.
On the sideline, he cuts the figure of someone analyzing and weighing options when he might, perhaps, be better served by ranting and raving. He watches intently, with fingers stroking chin, all cool and calm when he should be angry and upset.
It is all very well to show no emotion, but not when that same lack of fire carries over onto the players on the field.
Bradley will get the U.S. to the World Cup, no problem. Playing in the feeble CONCACAF region is basically a free ticket every four years to the big show.
But once there, unless December’s draw in Capetown is especially kind to the U.S., the Americans are again staring embarrassment in the face.
Changes are needed. Changes must be made.
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Show them the door
Somewhere along the way this year, the U.S. discarded the notion that to play for your country you have to be playing well for your club.
As a result, Bradley has been giving significant playing time to Jozy Altidore, who rides the bench with Xerez in Spain.
He has relied on an obviously burned-out DaMarcus Beasley, who rides the bench for Rangers in Scotland. He plays Sacha Kljestan, who has been out of form all season with Chivas USA.
He has played Clint Dempsey all over the field even though the Fulham player has been out of sorts for some time and appears mentally exhausted after a tough English Premier League season.
He took Freddy Adu to South Africa despite the 20-year-old having amassed a mere 169 minutes of playing time with AS Monaco in France this season.
He took Conor Casey of the Colorado Rapids to South Africa because Brian Ching was injured. Casey showed Thursday that he is not Ching, not even close.
It is time to discard all six, for as long as it takes. The time will come for Altidore, 19, and Kljestan 23, but it isn’t now. Beasley’s time might be up altogether. Casey’s should be. Dempsey needs a break. Adu needs to be playing at club level before he gets another look.
Changes are needed. Changes must be made.
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The semifinalists
Not needing any changes at all is Spain, far and away the world’s best team at the moment. It underlined that status on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Confederations Cup host South Africa in Bloemfontein.
Built largely around players from Barcelona, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Valencia and Villarreal, Coach Vicente del Bosque’s team set a world record with its 15th consecutive victory.
Even more impressive, it tied Brazil’s world mark of going 35 games without a loss.
Despite its defeat, South Africa joined Spain in the tournament semifinals because Iraq managed only a 0-0 tie with New Zealand in Johannesburg.
Midfielder Xabi Alonso listed the qualities that have taken Spain to the top. “Talent, intelligence, humility, and the ability to move forward with tranquillity,” Alonso said. “And we keep our feet on the ground.”
Let’s hope the U.S. is taking notes.
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Next in line?
There is a rising clamor from fans across the land for Bob Bradley to be replaced as coach of the U.S. national team. It’s not going to happen -- at least not until after the 2010 World Cup -- but here are a dozen names to consider when the job does become vacant:
Bora Milutinovic: Been there, done that; too old now, sadly.
Dominic Kinnear: The most likely of the MLS coaches to one day inherit the job.
Preki: Would build an exciting team to watch, but not necessarily a winning one.
Sigi Schmid: Has hit the jackpot in Seattle. No reason to leave.
Bruce Arena: Hit his peak at Korea/Japan 2002. It has been pretty much downhill since then.
Jurgen Klinsmann: Burned his reputation by taking and then losing the Bayern Munich job.
Luiz Felipe Scolari: Coaching the U.S. surely has to be better than coaching Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan. Perfect fit for Brazil 2014.
Carlos Queiroz: Failed with the MetroStars. Failing with Portugal.
Steve Nicol: Eminently qualified but unlikely to be interested.
Ruud Gullit: Just kidding.
Wilmer Cabrera: The U.S. under-17 national team coach has World Cup experience with Colombia.
Jose Pekerman: Argentina’s 2006 World Cup coach didn’t want the U.S. job last time around.
MOST INTRIGUING SCENARIO
Scolari as head coach with Kinnear, Preki and Cabrera as top assistants.
-- Grahame L. Jones
