:::[Official]World Cup South Africa 2010 Thread:::

[fear the ibis]

Ghana didn't just out play the US. They have better players.


I mean just watch the players on the good teams in the WC. The US' players just aren't as talented simply.


At the end of the day, it's not just about team chemistry and heart.....you need talent. the US doesn't have it. And I don't see it coming anytime soon.


Just be happy the US has bball because where it could murk every other country in the world.

 

[gil23]

Noskey changed that Sig with that quickness:......LOL

 

[gil23]

YUKU is the best

 

[AZwildcats]

^^^ The USA will catch up to the rest of the world soon. In the meanwhile I have lost all interest in the World Cup unless my neighbors to the south beat Argentina

 

[acidicality]

Yeah, the coverage was definitely biased toward us, no question about it.

The US doesn't have the best soccer players in the world, we all knew that, and it shows. They made a nice little run and that miracle goal was

.

 

[knightngale]

Originally Posted by HAM CITY

Originally Posted by CoolNClutch

Originally Posted by Noskey

Why do these announcers say the US should be proud of what the accomplished? They didnt do #%@%. They barely made it through the group stage, by literally a miracle goal, just to get eliminated AGAIN by Ghana, after letting though 2 stupid +*!, absolutely dumb @#%%#%! goals that could have been prevented by playing middle school level defense. If Bradley knew how to handle the game and who to play, the US would have fared much better. But no, his dumb +*! wants to play someone who cant hit a shot from 10 feet out, someone who cant play defense when his position calls for it half the time, and someone who's hobbling up and down the field the first half. Not to mention he's gonna play a group of defenders who cant keep their man in front of them.

So what exactly does the US have to be proud about? Making it? +%#% that, making it is the bare expectation now. I fully want to see a new coach by the next Cup, and a team who's actually ready to make a run instead of fizzle out after getting the entire nations hopes up with exciting comebacks.



+%#%

Yes I'm mad. I'm !!%+@%+ furious.

QFT! Nothing to be proud of...

you guys are caught up in the moment and letting your emotions speak for you (which is fine)

you're quick to criticize Bradley's tactical decision making but how quickly you forget that it was his decision making that put us in a position to comeback against Slovenia and make 180 degree turns in terms of performance in the second halves today and against Algeria.

I'm not saying he was perfect. the entire tournament i was angered by his relentless confidence in Findley and i felt Feilhaber or Edu should have held down a starting role from day one of the tournament. by the way i'm really curious as to what you guys would have had him do with our defensive unit.

all that said, if you can't see the positive here then you're incredibly short sighted. the team overcame countless obstacles (some of them self imposed) and conjured some of the most exciting moments of the 2010 World Cup so far. for ten days the nation with arguably the least attachment to the sport and to the tournament was inseparable from it. what happened these last two weeks transcends results. it's bigger than Bob Bradley and 23 man squad that lost this afternoon.

in the United States, the sport as a whole benefited from the UMNT's performance in South Africa.

maybe you guys don't pay attention to the National Team outside of the one month every four years the WC is underway or to the development of youth soccer in America but the way i see it there's a lot of reason for optimism moving forward.

I have been hearing this since '94 when I was a lil kid. I want some selfish 1 on 1 players for a change.

 

[bkmac]

When you give up a goal five minutes into regular time and another goal five minutes into overtime....

 

[dt43]

Ghana clearly outplayed the US without their best player.

it's still kind of shocking that a diverse country of 300 million cannot field a contending soccer team.

 

[platinumfunk]

Originally Posted by Fear The Ibis

Ghana didn't just out play the US. They have better players.


I mean just watch the players on the good teams in the WC. The US' players just aren't as talented simply.


At the end of the day, it's not just about team chemistry and heart.....you need talent. the US doesn't have it. And I don't see it coming anytime soon.


Just be happy the US has bball because where it could murk every other country in the world.

thats really not true... the u.s. played a much better game. 
gyan FINALLY had a shot on target in open play, and it just happened to be against them. ghana created 0 chances, just pounced on the 2 given to them...

usa had decent movement and creativity, they just didn't finish.

 

[ham city]

Originally Posted by Noskey

Originally Posted by HAM CITY

Originally Posted by CoolNClutch

Originally Posted by Noskey

Why do these announcers say the US should be proud of what the accomplished? They didnt do #%@%. They barely made it through the group stage, by literally a miracle goal, just to get eliminated AGAIN by Ghana, after letting though 2 stupid +*!, absolutely dumb @#%%#%! goals that could have been prevented by playing middle school level defense. If Bradley knew how to handle the game and who to play, the US would have fared much better. But no, his dumb +*! wants to play someone who cant hit a shot from 10 feet out, someone who cant play defense when his position calls for it half the time, and someone who's hobbling up and down the field the first half. Not to mention he's gonna play a group of defenders who cant keep their man in front of them.

So what exactly does the US have to be proud about? Making it? +%#% that, making it is the bare expectation now. I fully want to see a new coach by the next Cup, and a team who's actually ready to make a run instead of fizzle out after getting the entire nations hopes up with exciting comebacks.



+%#%

Yes I'm mad. I'm !!%+@%+ furious.

QFT! Nothing to be proud of...

you guys are caught up in the moment and letting your emotions speak for you (which is fine)



you're quick to criticize Bradley's tactical decision making but how quickly you forget that it was his decision making that put us in a position to comeback against Slovenia and make 180 degree turns in terms of performance in the second halves today and against Algeria.



I'm not saying he was perfect. the entire tournament i was angered by his relentless confidence in Findley and i felt Feilhaber or Edu should have held down a starting role from day one of the tournament. by the way i'm really curious as to what you guys would have had him do with our defensive unit.



all that said, if you can't see the positive here then you're incredibly short sighted. the team overcame countless obstacles (some of them self imposed) and conjured some of the most exciting moments of the 2010 World Cup so far. for ten days the nation with arguably the least attachment to the sport and to the tournament was inseparable from it. what happened these last two weeks transcends results. it's bigger than Bob Bradley and 23 man squad that lost this afternoon.



in the United States, the sport as a whole benefited from the UMNT's performance in South Africa.



maybe you guys don't pay attention to the National Team outside of the one month every four years the WC is underway or to the development of youth soccer in America but the way i see it there's a lot of reason for optimism moving forward.

And yes, I AM ecstatic about how this tourney garnered more interesting in the sport than ever before, but I can already feel the United States being disillusioned by the choke today, and feeling jaded that with how much ESPN and other sources hyped us up, and that the interest level will be back to nil within the next year. Now hopefully the people who were caught up in this years Cup will be back next time, but I wouldnt hold it against them if they chose to ignore it. But I will agree with you, there is a lot of optimism for the future as long as we keep building on what he have now an develop a true contending team.

And I do follow the team outside of the World Cup

Back to the Dutch avy.

this is what scares me. this is where the administrators and officials of US soccer have to step up and continue to do their part and exceed what they've done in the past. USMNT, MLS, USYS, these organizations have got to capitalize and if they do so they'll benefit.

 

[persiafly]

Anyone seeing Bill Simmons make an +*% of himself on Twitter?

Dude says, "an American striker hasn't scored a WC goal since 92."

Well, there was no WC in 92, and Brian McBride scored in 2002.

And before the WC on his podcast he referred to Argentina's coach as "Maradonia" and when he was corrected, he kept saying, "but some people call him Maradonia right?"

No, no one does. I really wish dude would stick to basketball and football, cuz I like his opinions. Whenever he opens his mouth about soccer it's "unintentional comedy" as he would say.

 

[Retroballer]

Originally Posted by DT43

Ghana clearly outplayed the US without their best player.

it's still kind of shocking that a diverse country of 300 million cannot field a contending soccer team.

Basketball
Baseball
Football
Hockey
they have something to do with it

 

[knightngale]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Anyone seeing Bill Simmons make an +*% of himself on Twitter?

Dude says, "an American striker hasn't scored a WC goal since 92."

Well, there was no WC in 92, and Brian McBride scored in 2002.

And before the WC on his podcast he referred to Argentina's coach as "Maradonia" and when he was corrected, he kept saying, "but some people call him Maradonia right?"

No, no one does. I really wish dude would stick to basketball and football, cuz I like his opinions. Whenever he opens his mouth about soccer it's "unintentional comedy" as he would say.

Simmons is terrible with his bball opinions as well unless you are a fan of the celtics, kobe/laker hater, lebron fan, or the 91 bulls (aka the 2010 cavaliers)

Leading into the 2010 World Cup he has been often criticized for hislack of defensive understanding in international play. In the 2010World Cup, Clark lost his defensive assignment, Steven Gerrard, whoscored England's first goal only 4 minutes into their opening game andthen again playing against Ghana in the Round of 16, in the 5th minutelost the ball this time to Kevin Prince Boateng leading to Ghana'sopening goal, he was substituted for Maurice Edu in the 31st minute.

 

[babam11218719]

Too many people in here don't know what they are talking about. Seriously, a lot of new names in the here right now. Ghana outplayed us in the first half and had a good goal in the first ot period. That's it. We had our chances in the 2nd and didin't convert. Too many people trying to sit here and broadly analyze why US will never do this or never do that. The next world cup is 4 years from now and most of this team probably won't even be playing in it. Come back in 4 years time because we all know most of the people will not be paying attention again until then anyway. I know I will and I always have so it will never stop for me.

 

[marionthebarberian]

lol at the people overreacting in here.

this is the same team your gonna see next world cup but better.

 

[noskey]

Originally Posted by marionthebarberian

this is the same team your gonna see next world cup but better.

That's all I'm asking for.

 

[knightngale]

Originally Posted by marionthebarberian

lol at the people overreacting in here.

this is the same team your gonna see next world cup but better.

There has to be some changes though. Some of those dudes do not belong on the team. You have to give other young ones a chance.

 

[marionthebarberian]

and at people saying we need a new coach.

have you ever seen any other coach get as much respect and have his players working their %#! off for the team than him?

the only mistake he made this world cup was starting Clark, which he quickly admitted.

 

[marionthebarberian]

Originally Posted by knightngale

Originally Posted by marionthebarberian

lol at the people overreacting in here.



this is the same team your gonna see next world cup but better.

There has to be some changes though. Some of those dudes do not belong on the team. You have to give other young ones a chance.

of course the young ones are gonna get a shot, thats what the olympics are for.

its not like we have an old team.

'Dolo, Bocanegra, and maybe Tim are the only players that arent gonna be around for the next cycle.

Bradley Jr. 22yrs, Edu 23 yrs, Torres 22yrs, Benny 25 yrs, Jozy 20, Charlie 22 yrs.

all those players are gonna be in their prime next cycle.

Theres no other coach in US history that has evaluated as many players as Bob.

 

[ezln1]

I thought it was more than a just result for Ghana. A lot is made about the mental fortitude the US has shown during its campaign with regards to coming back, but it's a double edge sword because it highlights their lack of concentration during early stretches of the game. It's as if they wait for their opponent to push and control the game, concede a goal, to then respond and wake up. You see teams like this in all of sports, and it usually burns them at the end.
You really saw the end result of always having to climb back into games from the start of extra time. Ghana caught their second wind, while the US looked flat out tired for the 30 minutes. The US team that ALWAYS looked stronger than their opponents at the end of games could not give anymore today.

There is definitely truth in what some of you are saying....the US side lacks the sheer technique that you need in these tournaments, the type of skill that can break open a game from a half  chance  that others wouldn't capitalize on.....the winning ghana goal wasnt a result of beautiful lead up play that broke down the defense, it was a long cross (almost looked like dude was just trying to clear the ball) into the open....cyan ran it down, split 2 defenders, and chested it perfectly to his left with a 

 finish....the opener was a midfield giveaway where prince took it up the middle, and with 2 US players on him, ran it to the left and placed it right on the corner....2 quick plays and you're playing behind

Uruguay sweated out a win that they should have won comfortably. Horrible defensive play all around by the South Koreans leads to the first result, followed by a couple more minutes of Uruguayan dominance, and then NOTHING. They looked horrendous for a good 40 minutes of that game, and literally could not control the ball for more than 6-8 seconds. I'm almost certain the Koreans would have found the winner had it not been again, to an individual play of skill by Suarez.

That's what you need in games like these.

 

[carlos tevez]

Ghana are going to be around for years to come. Many of the players on their team right now won the U20 WC last year. The majority of their team is under-25 and this team is noticeably better compared to 2006. They dont need inconsistent players like Muntari and Appiah anymore, they have plenty of midfield depth, they defend well, and they have some up-and-coming strikers who play for big European clubs. Unlike the other West African nations, they play like a team and can defend...once Essien recovers and they get a striker to pair up with Gyan then they will win the African Nations Cup and be a legit threat in the 2014 WC.

This is a great experience for the youngsters on the team but I think this is just the beginning for them. I think this experience will end for them next week against a superior Uruguay. I hope that Ghana can somehow manage the upset though, it'd be great to see an African semi-finalist for the first time in WC history

 

[kidoopz]

Man Carlos Nigeria let me down big time. All I can say is Yakubu was a big disappointment.. The team just was not cohesive at all.. Looking at how the U-20 Nigeria performs and the Main squad, seems as if the wrong squad has been getting sent out.

Ivory Coast And Ghana are still on Par though.. Only thing is I give a slight edge to Ghana b/c of their Defense. I did predict either Ghana or Ivory Coast to make it to the semifinals preferably leaning towards Ghana b/c Portugal just had to make it lol.. But, I can see the creativity coming slowly for Ghana. Ayew is already poised as can be on that wing, and Kevin Prince boateng makes some good runs down the middle for opportunities as well. Given that this is his first ever showing with Ghana, he has proven he is a solidified starter by FAR on this team.
I'm really impressed with Ayew though. And Gyan is having a much better showing than his 2006 burst on the scene. This team is young and will only continue to improve..But, I don't know about the African Cup of Nations. There are some up and coming African teams such as Benin, Gabon, Mali, Zambia.. And who knows, Egypt could just win again lol..

I'm really stumped about the Uruguay vs Ghana matchup. Just hoping for a good game all around and for a Ghana victory. Hard to say who will win though.

 

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by JOE CAMEL SMOOTH

oh and yeah the announcers were definitely quite biased......but they're mostly americans, what do you expect?

i know here in america we watch national sports leagues so we expect unbiased commentary during a celtics vs. lakers final, but any national broadcast of the world cup is gonna be just as biased wherever you go.

We have the official FIFA world-feed commentary (thank goodness), which is generally very fair and unbiased, so I don't know what the US commentators said, but I'm guessing he was ripping on the Black Stars for slowing play down and running down the clock after the Gyan scored?  If so, then thats pretty unprofessional.  I completely understand 'home' commentators wanting to support their teams, but you need to be fair and objective as well... and not sound like a hypocrite.  You can bet that if it was the other way around, he'd be complimenting the players on how well they maintained possession and held on to the lead.  
The thing is, for the people watching who don't fully understand football, will they get the impression that Ghana were not playing 'sportingly' because of  what the commentators said?

 @ Maradonia... sounds like his new country.

 

[keepie uppie]

Originally Posted by kidoopz

Nigeria let me down big time.

except for your keeper...
he was

...one of the best i've seen so far in the group stages...

what club is he playing for?

  

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Originally Posted by Keepie Uppie

kidoopz wrote:

---

Nigeria let me down big time.

except for your keeper...
he was

...one of the best i've seen so far in the group stages...

what club is he playing for?

  


You must've only watched the game against Argentina then.