Spyke
postmateDumbass
lemmy.world

After growing up with the team of the 90s thru 2010s its tough.

These current guys have the skills and the resumes.

But those teams had the will and cohesion that came from what the predecessors experienced.

The team culture and identity did 180 in many ways. And while individual players have had international success ... the USMNT not so much.

I hope they show up matured from the team of youngsters (they were young after all) we usually saw. Growing pains and all that.

I hope they play good soccer and get a few rounds in. But i have no idea what seperates them from any other struggling mid level national program.

(Picture in your mind an image with pulisic face swapped into almost famous)

But this team will not be the style my heart still associates with the team.

Hopefully they find their own way that can start a new phase.

2
CombatWombatreply
feddit.online

those teams had the will and cohesion that came from what the predecessors experienced.

I think this is a lot of what frustrates me about replacing GGG with Poch. Gregg is intimately acquainted with soccer culture in the US, and what's been successful for us in the past. The core concept of giving him two cycles was to build this kind of cohesion -- international teams have so little time to play together that if you build a cohesive unit, you can punch above your weight, like when the Nats played as a team in MLS. But Poch doesn't understand any of that, and spends all his time whining we don't have superstars like Europe, and isn't building the kind of team and culture that works for the US.

i have no idea what seperates them from any other struggling mid level national program.

Neither do I, and that's why I think it's important for Americans to follow the MNT. The WNT wins everything all the time, which feeds into American exceptionalism. I think it's healthy for Americans to spend time thinking of ourselves as the 15th-20th best in something. It treats exceptionalism without descending into the nihilism of "we're the very worst."

1
CombatWombat
feddit.online

GGG was a better coach than Poch in every respect:

Last week Poch told Jeff Reuter of the Guardian that, “The difference within other countries – for me, I know Argentina – the way that I developed my emotional relationship with football is before I started to walk because I started to kick the ball. That is the problem. The relationship is with basketball or American football. They take the ball with their hands, first thing. [Elsewhere] you kick the ball with your feet.” He said that about a country where soccer is the most popular team sport for kids to play.

Just. Man. OK. C***** de e@.

I’m tired.

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Mauricio Pochettino has it wrong - American soccer fans have plenty of emotions | Spyke