FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa

[jaflash]

Agreed with Bradley waiting to long to make the subs.

Then this is what really irked me.

He was getting ready to put in Bornstein and Kljestan right before Brasil tied the game.

Why the hell didn't he call back Bornstein after Brasil got the equalizer?

Thought that was as dumb as putting in Casey AGAIN.

 

[otis dont play that]

Originally Posted by JRose5

Originally Posted by Otis Dont Play That

JRose honestly stop trolling this thread. You have absolutely NO soccer knowledge. USMNT garbage soccer? They same team that's defending Gold Cup champs? The team that has OWNED Mexico for years? The team that just beat the worlds #1? Honestly you come in here to try and prove you're a real fan by making these outlandish statements. How about you **** and stop making a fool of yourself.

Excuse me, you fairweather fan? I've got more knowledge than you. You actually think USMNT is great soccer?

Just stop, you're making a joke out of yourself. You know NOTHING about soccer at all. Well, no freaking %*++, the USMNT always easily wins the CONCACAF region. So you think that's great soccer? Come on now, give me a break. Fan? I'm a fan of the game, not a fan of the USMNT and crap soccer like your bandwagon !%* is.

I guess the "Gold Cup" champions ain't going to be champions this year because the US brought in a great roster.

USMNT will continue to be a joke.

And

at you jumping on the FC Barcelona bandwagon after they upsetted Manchester United in the Champions League final. What a freaking joke, freaking fairweather fan, always picking the team that just wins. Stick to your sport basketball, your screen name suggests it. The Timberwolves might be good next year.

JR5

Yea because I didn't join after the Champions League or anything. Just because I argued that the USA isn't a garbage soccer club makes mebelieve they're GREAT? I never said they were amazing, I said they played with heart and aren't as bad as people say they are. I'm only 19 andI'm 100% positive I've watched more soccer games than you, been to more soccer games than you, and since I've joined this month I bet I'vePOSTED IN MORE SOCCER THREADS THAN YOU. How am I on the "Team Barcelona" bandwagon if I was first to have the sig? What you need to do is wait a couple more years and watch a couple more soccer games and THEN come bash the USMNT. "Michael Bradley is only on the team becuase of his dad" well Iguess you haven't watched any BUNDELSLIGA games. You are a lame excuse for a soccer supporter, JROSE just quit man.

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Long as we don't get put in the group of death in 2010, I like our chances to advance.. i think we hold can scrape out 4-6 points against almost any reasonable group they throw at us, so long as it isn't a super top heavy group.

I don't think we could actually win a group.. but that's okay with me for now.

i think that's a good point. we were probably in the worst or second to worst group in 06. i think the group with argentina, holland, andivory coast was just as tough if not tougher.

but that's the luck of the draw in tournaments. but yea. i hope we don't get a group like that again in 2010.

 

[DeadsetAce]

yeah that 06 group was pretty tough. didn't help that we really didn't play all too well either. the only game we showed up for was against italy, andunfortunately we played most of it a man down.

 

[zizou]

yea it's hard to really guage how well we really played against italy. it was just a bizarre match. i had to pinch myself to see if that was reallyhappening.

we need to do much better in the first games. no more 3-0 like against the czechs. winning that first game against portugal made things so much easier for usin 02.

and we need to cut it out with these red cards. whether or not their bad calls or if we don't get any benefit of the doubt from the refs, they need tostop.

 

[jjgrt5]

I think we got to see 2 awesome games yesterday. Xabi's stock rose

I missed the whole 2nd half of the USA game.... I really wanted them to completetheir amazing run.

 

[zizou]

xabi's stock has been high for awhile now.

real really dropped the ball when they didn't sign him years ago.

 

[jrose5]

Originally Posted by Otis Dont Play That

Originally Posted by JRose5

Originally Posted by Otis Dont Play That

JRose honestly stop trolling this thread. You have absolutely NO soccer knowledge. USMNT garbage soccer? They same team that's defending Gold Cup champs? The team that has OWNED Mexico for years? The team that just beat the worlds #1? Honestly you come in here to try and prove you're a real fan by making these outlandish statements. How about you **** and stop making a fool of yourself.

Excuse me, you fairweather fan? I've got more knowledge than you. You actually think USMNT is great soccer?

Just stop, you're making a joke out of yourself. You know NOTHING about soccer at all. Well, no freaking %*++, the USMNT always easily wins the CONCACAF region. So you think that's great soccer? Come on now, give me a break. Fan? I'm a fan of the game, not a fan of the USMNT and crap soccer like your bandwagon !%* is.

I guess the "Gold Cup" champions ain't going to be champions this year because the US brought in a great roster.

USMNT will continue to be a joke.

And

at you jumping on the FC Barcelona bandwagon after they upsetted Manchester United in the Champions League final. What a freaking joke, freaking fairweather fan, always picking the team that just wins. Stick to your sport basketball, your screen name suggests it. The Timberwolves might be good next year.

JR5

Yea because I didn't join after the Champions League or anything. Just because I argued that the USA isn't a garbage soccer club makes me believe they're GREAT? I never said they were amazing, I said they played with heart and aren't as bad as people say they are. [color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]I'm only 19 and I'm 100% positive I've watched more soccer games than you, been to more soccer games than you, and since I've joined this month I bet I've POSTED IN MORE SOCCER THREADS THAN YOU.[/color] How am I on the "Team Barcelona" bandwagon if I was first to have the sig? What you need to do is wait a couple more years and watch a couple more soccer games and THEN come bash the USMNT. "Michael Bradley is only on the team becuase of his dad" well I guess you haven't watched any BUNDELSLIGA games. You are a lame excuse for a soccer supporter, JROSE just quit man.

Oh wow. You're only 19 and you've been to more soccer matches than me? You've got to be kidding me. I've been to more matchesthan you've ever been in your whole lifetime, so that makes your 100% wrong, ole Otis. And I know the only matches you've gone to are the last placeMinnesota Thunder A league team you got there and a couple of high school games. Soccer in Minnesota and your region ain't *+++ compared to other regions.

And for the millionth time, like I said before, I am hardly in the sports forum much less NikeTalk anymore. So you posted more than me and you think you knowsoccer in general? Please, believe me, my whole family, friends, and others would kick your %%% and whoever you know in soccer. Because you're 19, makesyou more wiser or something? Just quit dude. You have nothing on me on soccer, especially in the United States? I've stopped coaching soccer because ofthe politics involved. Sooner or later I'll be getting my "B" license, but of course money is tight. You actually play soccer? What thehighest level you've been on your club team, if you even played at all? Don't tell me you won State Cup, because now I know you're lying. Believeme, I've turned down Division II and low Division I scholarship offers for academics instead.

Wait a couple years and then bash the US team? Please, I've been waiting more than 10-12-15 years for the USMNT to do something. I've been bashingthose scrubs for years now, ever since your were in diapers.

at this "kid"thinking I'm starting to blast on USA soccer, this week. You have no idea what you're talking about.

You're a lame excuse for soccer in general.

On another subject......

As for you and your multiple personalities, "younggunna828" aka "deepinajeep". I love how on one screen name you praise me all gung-ho and*+++ and you even PMed me praising me and on your "deepinajeep" you consistently blast me on all your threads. Looks like your multiple personashave backfired. I love how after you asked for your banishment and that you "reached" out to Method Man claiming ignorance after you dared me. Please.




JR5

 

[zizou]

^ouch.

 

[marionthebarberian]

Originally Posted by PrurientSole

They played an abysmal second half for the second straight match and got what they deserved.

!!$ are you talking about?...you do know that was the gameplan against spain, let them have the wing and stack the middle.

 

[jjgrt5]

Originally Posted by zizou

xabi's stock has been high for awhile now.

real really dropped the ball when they didn't sign him years ago.

I meant to say his stock rose eve more for some of the clubs trying to chip him off Liverpool.

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by JJGRT5

Originally Posted by zizou

xabi's stock has been high for awhile now.

real really dropped the ball when they didn't sign him years ago.

I meant to say his stock rose eve more for some of the clubs trying to chip him off Liverpool.

gotcha.

i hate liverpool, but i love xabi. the guy so smooth. i love him watching him play when he's spraying passes from the midfield. his passing game is so funto watch. and every once in awhile, he'll try a shot from the halfway line

<--- will definitely get a xabi alonso 14 spain shirt one of these days. i think my raul spain shirt is ready to be retired.

 

[elevenairs]

Originally Posted by JaFlash

Agreed with Bradley waiting to long to make the subs.

Then this is what really irked me.

He was getting ready to put in Bornstein and Kljestan right before Brasil tied the game.

Why the hell didn't he call back Bornstein after Brasil got the equalizer?

Thought that was as dumb as putting in Casey AGAIN.

yeah thats what gets me sometimes, it seems like hes not reading the game at all...hes has in his mind how and when to make substitutions withoutregard to the situation at hand...for three straight games he took out Davies, put in Feilhaber and moved Dempsey up front...then he took off Altidore to bringin Casey...it doesnt make sense..when Brasil tied it up, why does he not bring in someone to help possess the ball? Klejstan came in and contributed nothing, ilike Sacha but he has hardly played well lately...just leave Benny in there...and Connor Casey is not going to change anything ever, especially not at thatpoint

it seems Bob likes to give players a chance to play through bad form and not forget them altogether, which i somewhat admire...but there is a time and placeand the final of a fifa tournament is hardly it...everytime Torres has stopped on, he has done well to pick out the right pass, keep hold of the ball inmidfield...why not let him out there instead of a struggling Klejstan

 

[jrose5]

^^^

You don't know how bad I hate Bradley and his substitution patterns. Like you said, he seems he's having a hard time reading the game in certainsituations.




JR5

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by zizou

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Long as we don't get put in the group of death in 2010, I like our chances to advance.. i think we hold can scrape out 4-6 points against almost any reasonable group they throw at us, so long as it isn't a super top heavy group.

I don't think we could actually win a group.. but that's okay with me for now.

i think that's a good point. we were probably in the worst or second to worst group in 06. i think the group with argentina, holland, and ivory coast was just as tough if not tougher.

but that's the luck of the draw in tournaments. but yea. i hope we don't get a group like that again in 2010.

I dont think the U.S.'s group in 2006 was that hard. The U.S. just played like crap during the tourny. Italy were great, the Czechs wereembarrassed by both Ghana and Italy and Ghana had a great midfield and decent backline but horrible finishing. It was a group the U.S. could've finished2nd in but they played terribly.

The US will have to play so much better in the start of the 2010 WC than they did in this tourny. The chances of any team advancing with only 3 pts and anegative goal differential are extremely slim in any tournament. I cant remember the last time its ever happened.

It's funny how this tournament worked out...the U.S. won 2 games and lost 3 however it was considered to be a great success based off of one huge win. Iknow that the U.S. had to play very cautiously in this tournament due to the quality of their opponents, however I think that they'll need to attack moreand show more offensive flair if they hope to have any type of success in the 2010 World Cup.

The current top 8(top 8 seeds get put into seperate groups in the WC) in the FIFA rankings are Spain, Holland, Germany, Italy, Brazil, England, Argentina andCroatia.

South Africa will be one of the top 8 seeded teams in the 2010 WC due to them being a host. It's also safe to say that Spain, Holland, Germany, Italy andBrazil will be top seeds. The way England have been playing, I think its safe to assume they'll be a top seed. As of right now, I can see Argentinadropping out of the top 8 so the last seeded spot will be up for grabs.

Everyone's going to be salivating over the prospects of landing in South Africa's group

Host countries usually have extremely easy group (got da.mn corrupt FIFA).

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by elevenairs

Originally Posted by JaFlash

Agreed with Bradley waiting to long to make the subs.

Then this is what really irked me.

He was getting ready to put in Bornstein and Kljestan right before Brasil tied the game.

Why the hell didn't he call back Bornstein after Brasil got the equalizer?

Thought that was as dumb as putting in Casey AGAIN.

yeah thats what gets me sometimes, it seems like hes not reading the game at all...hes has in his mind how and when to make substitutions without regard to the situation at hand...for three straight games he took out Davies, put in Feilhaber and moved Dempsey up front...then he took off Altidore to bring in Casey...it doesnt make sense..when Brasil tied it up, why does he not bring in someone to help possess the ball? Klejstan came in and contributed nothing, i like Sacha but he has hardly played well lately...just leave Benny in there...and Connor Casey is not going to change anything ever, especially not at that point

it seems Bob likes to give players a chance to play through bad form and not forget them altogether, which i somewhat admire...but there is a time and place and the final of a fifa tournament is hardly it...everytime Torres has stopped on, he has done well to pick out the right pass, keep hold of the ball in midfield...why not let him out there instead of a struggling Klejstan

true, but moving dempsey up front paid dividends as he scored in the two games.

but i see what you mean - his substitutions are always the same regardless of the situation.

i agree with your post, though.

sacha has been pretty bad lately, but benny looked exhausted when he came out. thing is, it's a shame he didn't play torres, who's good with theball. then that just goes to the other criticism: what's the point in taking torres and adu if they weren't even gonna play?

 

[jjgrt5]

Originally Posted by zizou

Originally Posted by JJGRT5

Originally Posted by zizou

xabi's stock has been high for awhile now.

real really dropped the ball when they didn't sign him years ago.

I meant to say his stock rose eve more for some of the clubs trying to chip him off Liverpool.

gotcha.

i hate liverpool, but i love xabi. the guy so smooth. i love him watching him play when he's spraying passes from the midfield. his passing game is so fun to watch. and every once in awhile, he'll try a shot from the halfway line

<--- will definitely get a xabi alonso 14 spain shirt one of these days. i think my raul spain shirt is ready to be retired.

Yea his passing game is amazing, can wait to see him play more often now that im starting to follow the EPL... but he is still the bootleg XaVi

Are you a Spain fan?

 

[prurientsole]

Originally Posted by marionthebarberian

Originally Posted by PrurientSole

They played an abysmal second half for the second straight match and got what they deserved.

!!$ are you talking about?...you do know that was the gameplan against spain, let them have the wing and stack the middle.

If the "game plan" was to give two of the top teams in the world countless free crosses into the box and allow 35 shots (17 on goal)because you'd rather create a human wall/screen inside your own 18 than step to the ++$$%#! ball, then Bradley should not only be fired, but barred fromcoaching soccer ever again. A simple glance at the shot charts from both the Brazil and Spain matches will show that their "stacking the middle"didn't even prove all that effective, as the vast majority of their opponents' shots came within the 18, the very area that they were trying toprotect.

They threw Howard into a shooting gallery and got lucky against Spain. They didn't happen to be so lucky against Brazil.

Additionally, if you're not going to pressure the ball, your defenders can't just mark an area; don't give some of the most talented players in theworld time and space to pick an unmarked target, especially when they're in your fifth of the pitch. Eitherpressure the ball and take away passing angles, or lay off the ball and stick a man. One or the other, but not neither.

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by JJGRT5

Originally Posted by zizou

Originally Posted by JJGRT5

Originally Posted by zizou

xabi's stock has been high for awhile now.

real really dropped the ball when they didn't sign him years ago.

I meant to say his stock rose eve more for some of the clubs trying to chip him off Liverpool.

gotcha.

i hate liverpool, but i love xabi. the guy so smooth. i love him watching him play when he's spraying passes from the midfield. his passing game is so fun to watch. and every once in awhile, he'll try a shot from the halfway line

<--- will definitely get a xabi alonso 14 spain shirt one of these days. i think my raul spain shirt is ready to be retired.

Yea his passing game is amazing, can wait to see him play more often now that im starting to follow the EPL... but he is still the bootleg XaVi

Are you a Spain fan?

i wouldn't call him a bootleg xavi since they're different types of players.

xabi alonso is more of a deep lying playmaker (though he does act as a defensive mid too). xavi doesn't play as deep as alonso. he'll track box to boxmore, however.

but both players are sublime passers.

spain mids are just sick. they didn't even have iniesta.

i'm not really a spain fan. i like their players but never "supported" them. i've always like raul, though.

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by deepinthajeep

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

It's rather frustrating, too... given that we DID actually start looking more organized on offense the last two games early on in the games.. to the point where it seemed we could've stayed somewhat aggressive (or at least not 100 percent defensive) and still won both games.

Yup....I almost want to say that if Brasil would have scored they're 1st goal in the 1st half, we would've been a lot better off, instead of stuffing the back, and relying solely on counters in the 2nd half, we would've been more agressive.

What do you guys think of our back-line. In my opinion, Spector----Demerit----Gooch----Carlos...........should be our starting back 4 (baring no injuries) in 2010.

Bradley, Clint, and LD, should be in the midfield, and Jozy up front. Ricardo should have to battle w/ hopefully Jermaine Jones and Mo Edu for that defending mid position, and even though Charlie played a pretty good tourney...do you think his spot is still safe?

I really liked Charlie in there with Jozy up front.. I'd like to see that continue. I'm not a big fan of Ching, personally. Daviesprovided a nice spark for us, he's quick and seems to have some good finishing abilities - i think the more he gets to play this summer, the better.

It will be nice to have Edu back - but I want to see more of Torres and Adu in the mid field this summer too before I make up my mind on the completion of it -I think Dempsey and Donovan should be the only sure things at this point in the middle.

And I didn't HATE our backline - but I can't say I feel entirely confident with Demerit, and Spector and Gooch still make me nervous sometimes... Still- when they were all on the same page, they looked solid as a foursome.

It'll be nice having some options to play with - I hope Bradley uses the gold cup to really get some different looks out there - is that gold cup roster onwikipedia right now official/set? If so, it's almost a sure thing he'll have to let us see some different players. That's a good thing in mymind, I really don't care what happens in the GC so long as we play hard and get to sort some players out in the process.

 

[krispacinla]

Originally Posted by JRose5

^^^

You don't know how bad I hate Bradley and his substitution patterns. Like you said, he seems he's having a hard time reading the game in certain situations.




JR5

QFT. I dont get what Bradley tries to do in his subs. Sacha??? Borstein??? Did he really think Connor can run at people and get a goal, penalty or what with 5 minutes to go against Brazil??????? I was never on this Fire Bradley campaign until these last 5 or 6 games. He needs to really see what is going on outhereor he needs to go.

 

[DeadsetAce]

Originally Posted by KRISPACINLA

Originally Posted by JRose5

^^^

You don't know how bad I hate Bradley and his substitution patterns. Like you said, he seems he's having a hard time reading the game in certain situations.




JR5

QFT. I dont get what Bradley tries to do in his subs. Sacha??? Borstein??? Did he really think Connor can run at people and get a goal, penalty or what with 5 minutes to go against Brazil??????? I was never on this Fire Bradley campaign until these last 5 or 6 games. He needs to really see what is going on outhere or he needs to go.

im not a bradley fan either, but do you think it's too late to fire him, being that we're less than a year away from the WC? im not reallysure what id do.

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Originally Posted by deepinthajeep

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

It's rather frustrating, too... given that we DID actually start looking more organized on offense the last two games early on in the games.. to the point where it seemed we could've stayed somewhat aggressive (or at least not 100 percent defensive) and still won both games.

Yup....I almost want to say that if Brasil would have scored they're 1st goal in the 1st half, we would've been a lot better off, instead of stuffing the back, and relying solely on counters in the 2nd half, we would've been more agressive.

What do you guys think of our back-line. In my opinion, Spector----Demerit----Gooch----Carlos...........should be our starting back 4 (baring no injuries) in 2010.

Bradley, Clint, and LD, should be in the midfield, and Jozy up front. Ricardo should have to battle w/ hopefully Jermaine Jones and Mo Edu for that defending mid position, and even though Charlie played a pretty good tourney...do you think his spot is still safe?

I really liked Charlie in there with Jozy up front.. I'd like to see that continue. I'm not a big fan of Ching, personally. Davies provided a nice spark for us, he's quick and seems to have some good finishing abilities - i think the more he gets to play this summer, the better.

It will be nice to have Edu back - but I want to see more of Torres and Adu in the mid field this summer too before I make up my mind on the completion of it - I think Dempsey and Donovan should be the only sure things at this point in the middle.

And I didn't HATE our backline - but I can't say I feel entirely confident with Demerit, and Spector and Gooch still make me nervous sometimes... Still - when they were all on the same page, they looked solid as a foursome.

It'll be nice having some options to play with - I hope Bradley uses the gold cup to really get some different looks out there - is that gold cup roster on wikipedia right now official/set? If so, it's almost a sure thing he'll have to let us see some different players. That's a good thing in my mind, I really don't care what happens in the GC so long as we play hard and get to sort some players out in the process.

i'm still a little iffy with boca as the LB. i know he plays there for rennes, but he doesn't offer a lot going forward and is slow. but ireally liked what i saw from demerit. spector, at times, looked like the inexperienced player he is on the national stage, but at other times, he looked verycomposed and confident...especially going forward. some of his crosses were very nice. but gooch looked really good. he's improved so much since 07. histiming, positioning, playing the ball, even dribbling it upfield and initiating attacks. he's not just headers and strength anymore. i really hope he moveson to a club on a bigger stage.

 

[socluis90]

niketalk gold cup thread

just started the gold cup thread for you guys who support concacaf teams....

 

[xsalvioutlawx]

Originally Posted by knightngale

Originally Posted by xsalvioutlawx

USA Didn't blow it, they were exhausted. Brazil is just too much offense and you can see from the start of the second half USA was using all their energy on the defensive side.

USA Clearly beat Spain with some of their best defense yet, and lost by one today to the best team in the world.

They've clearly gotten better and you can tell Brazil was feeling desperate when they were down 2-0.

Great game, USA just didn't have enough in the tank to hold their lead. Better offense for Brazil than USA's Defense which I can accept.

Their soccer players get paid millions, ours don't. I don't see how people fail to realize that as well.

Brazil is better for a reason, but USA can hang with the best of them.

don't get carried away
they showed that for 2 games in the last 7 years

acting like cavalier fans

Last time I checked I was a Laker fan, but hell, what do I know.

Dude's always hating on USA because they can't beat the best team in the world.

All national teams from good countries, all of their players are way more developed and have more money invested into them.

That's the reason why the USA isn't better than the rest of the world. With haters like most of the people in this thread, it's the reason why USsoccer will never be big enough in the states to get enough attention and get enough time and moeny invested into our national team compared to teams likeBrazil etc.