Okay dude, I can respect your knowledge and everything, but let me say something: It seems like you're upset at the media/overall fanbase of US Soccer. I totally understand what you're saying, I hate people that come up to me, knowing I like soccer, and say stuff like, "Wow, that Freddy Adu is pretty good, isn't he?" I hate the commentators they put on ESPN, and I hate when people like Eric Wynalda and Marcelo Balboa say that the US are "contenders" for the '06 World Cup like they did before the draw. I hate that the only European soccer teams non-soccer fans can name are Real Madrid and Manchester United, because those usually are the only CL games they show on ESPN/ESPN2 (even though they've recently gotten better about showing other games). I hate the pressure that people like Donovan are under to stay with MLS instead of going overseas to get better with a higher level of soccer.

All I'm saying is that I can look past that media bullshit and notice that we're actually developing a decent squad, alot of whom are becoming really successful in really good European leagues.

Quote :

"teams better than the USA: argentina, brazil, mexico, england, france, spain, portugal, germany, holland, sweden, czechs, italy, maybe some african teams like senegal nigieria and camaroon. so yeah........"

No way we're worse than Mexico and Sweden, none of those African teams even made it to the World Cup... but the other ones I can agree with.

Quote :

"I remember back when the US (then an overrated #17 in the world) played Iran in WC98 and how it was being billed as the second coming of Christ on TV and by all the sports analysts..... "

I thought this had something to do with politics, but I'm not sure.

3/23/2006 10:33:21 PM

ok im going to go out on a limb and say that mexico would wipe the floor with us, they are becoming an international powerhouse, but im pretty pleased with where US is, and world cup 98 and 94 were both awsome as far as what we accomplished with the talent we had

3/23/2006 10:59:07 PM

we have been on streak beating mexico in last decade but recently theyve been close to us

3/23/2006 11:40:43 PM

hey jadn you ever play in pickup games at the im fields?

3/23/2006 11:43:02 PM

Quote :

"I hate the pressure that people like Donovan are under to stay with MLS instead of going overseas to get better with a higher level of soccer."

To be fair, when Donovan went back to Leverkusen, it was universally regarded as one of the biggest flops ever. I do think he'd benefit from going to a club like Wolves or Southampton, though.

3/24/2006 1:24:44 AM

Stopped over in Germany for a few days on my way home from Belarus. Caught the game last night at an irish pub in heidelberg and despite the disappointing result, it was a blast. I was glad to see the number of knowledgable american fans out supporting the team.

3/24/2006 2:23:00 AM

i hear belarus is one depressing place

3/24/2006 2:43:55 AM

i hear belarusTWW is one depressing place

3/24/2006 3:11:31 AM

JayMCnasty, I go out there every now and then, but I used to play more on the field behind Derr before they tore it up.

3/24/2006 7:18:10 AM

Quote :

"No way we're worse than Mexico and Sweden, none of those African teams even made it to the World Cup"

mexico would beat us 7-10 times on a neurtal site. sweden is better that us. and if we played in africa we wouldnt make the world cup either. remember, we're in MIGHTY CONCACAF!!!!!!11

3/24/2006 8:04:20 AM

^^^^ Yeah, Belarus was def the weirdest country that I have ever been to, and Ive been to many questionable places. It was surprisingly better off than one here would believe but the people there are fed some serious brainwashing propaganda.

3/24/2006 8:25:57 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/03/24/belarus.protest/index.html

i just had to take the opportunity to post a story on belarus

[Edited on March 24, 2006 at 8:28 AM. Reason : ]

3/24/2006 8:27:40 AM

^^ You think we're not fed brainwashing propaganda?

[Edited on March 24, 2006 at 8:43 AM. Reason : .]

3/24/2006 8:43:21 AM

no man, you dont understand

[Edited on March 24, 2006 at 8:45 AM. Reason : dont even try to compare us to that]

3/24/2006 8:45:29 AM

^^ Im not saying that at all (although i guess i did not make that clear). The absurdity of the information and the lack of alternative forms of media to the public there is insane. I cannot tell you how many times people were amazed that I was an american. Outside of russians, they almost never have any contact with foreigners. they have also been led to believe that their leader is extremely famous around the world and that they have a standard of living that surpasses our own. it was an interesting experience to say the least. And dodging the KGB for the entire time became a bit tiresome.

3/24/2006 10:45:44 AM

somebody must've put a penny on the tracks, cause this thread train DERAILED

3/24/2006 10:54:06 AM

yeah no shit

fuck belarus

3/24/2006 12:54:37 PM

Quote :

"mexico would beat us 7-10 times on a neurtal site. sweden is better that us. and if we played in africa we wouldnt make the world cup either. remember, we're in MIGHTY CONCACAF!!!!!!11"

nice logic. were you watching the world cup in '02? I'm pretty sure we beat them on a neutral site with pretty high stakes. I never said we were better than them, but it's hard to say that we're worse than them based on recent results.

3/24/2006 1:02:10 PM

mexico is alot more of a soccer nation than us so its not that hard to believe that they're better than us, but i just realized that i dont know off the top of my head any mexicans in a major league

3/24/2006 1:31:45 PM

does borghetti still play for bolton?

3/24/2006 1:47:19 PM

^ Yes.

Rafa Marquez is a starter for Barcelona.

3/24/2006 2:05:34 PM

if you guys can't admit that mexico is better than us, even slightly better than us, then maybe kiljadn is right.

[Edited on March 24, 2006 at 2:38 PM. Reason : r]

3/24/2006 2:38:35 PM

i think we should all just play soccer

3/24/2006 2:40:42 PM

^^ what has given us any reason to think that they are? and I'm not talking about the last 30 years or anything... I'm talking about current teams now.

3/24/2006 4:15:31 PM

...because im tired of hearing HERBS GONE WE LOSE or HERBS GONE WE WAIT A WHILE THEN WE WIN

USA! USA! USA!

4/2/2006 4:07:40 PM

should i drive up from wilmington and try to get a scalped ticket outsidet the SAS stadium for the jamaica game? (i didn't get to ticketmaster soon enough)

4/2/2006 6:22:21 PM

If Bruce is telling the truth about playing a mostly MLS squad, I'm not sure you'll be missing enough to warrant driving from Wilmington...and that's coming from someone who drove to Wilmington to watch the Hammerheads play half the Sunderland first team.

4/2/2006 6:44:47 PM

i am a little upset that it will be mostly mls players, but ive never seen the US play in person, so im happy i got a ticket...but i wouldnt drive up and try to get one, prob not worth it

4/2/2006 6:48:37 PM

haha don't know if this has been posted or not but Clint Dempsey has a rap video out now and I didn't know where else to put it so

http://youtube.com/watch?v=K6Di8QT98Zk

Don't tread on this.

4/12/2006 7:49:02 PM

does anybody know where to find the schedule for US soccer? are there any more games before the cup?

4/12/2006 7:51:26 PM

http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_280807.html

4/12/2006 7:56:37 PM

bttt

for this

http://youtube.com/watch?v=K6Di8QT98Zk

4/14/2006 10:11:22 PM

go team

7/26/2023 10:44:56 PM

Tough match. Had difficulty connecting passes and a lot of skirmishes that we just didn’t win. Advance with a tie or win against portugal.

7/27/2023 10:39:19 AM

The US advances but barely, Portugal saw a stoppage time winner hit the post.

The US finish second and barring something crazy will face Sweden Sunday in knockout round. No Rose Lavelle either as she picked up a soft yellow in 1st half her second of the tournament.

This team has a lot of problems, probably the biggest is missing Mal Swanson. This also the period where the young players aren't quite ready to step up and the older players are just a step slow. The finishing has been atrocious.

8/1/2023 7:31:19 AM

8/1/2023 7:43:51 AM

they deserved to lose

Portugal totally outplayed them

8/1/2023 11:23:00 AM

Despite the post hit, Port didn't have a single shot on goal, US still had a quite a bit higher xG.

Data
Portugal W
United States W
Possession
56%
44%
Shots
6 (0)
18 (6)
Cards
3
3
Corners
1
6
Fouls
12
14
Offsides
0
0
xG
0.62
2.04


[Edited on August 1, 2023 at 11:36 AM. Reason : Sorry for formatting, US on bottom]

8/1/2023 11:35:57 AM

those numbers don’t show how pathetic we were

Portugal were better organized, more crisp, and way more disciplined

not sure if non-subscribers can read this in full, but this nails it:

https://defector.com/the-uswnt-stayed-in-the-world-cup-by-an-inch

Quote :

" Soccer is a fickle and difficult sport, and even the greatest teams can sometimes find themselves frustrated by the vagaries of a game that can only be tamed by equal measures of relentlessness and precision. Sometimes you do everything right, and the ball still doesn't go into the net, and at the end of 90-plus minutes you've got nothing to show for your efforts. That does not describe what happened to the USWNT in this game. This was not a case of a superior team being victimized by shooting variance, a few unlucky bounces, or an overly defensive opponent. The Americans were simply outplayed, and deserved a loss more than the result they escaped with."

Quote :

" Portugal may have finished this game without a shot on goal (hitting the post does not technically count as "on target") but they should not have left the field feeling like the team that escaped with a draw. The Portuguese were better than the Americans in more phases of the game than not. Where the Americans were tactically aimless, the Portuguese were well-organized and resolute. Where the Americans were slow in building up attacks, the Portuguese were decisive, playing quick passes in combination, breaking defensive lines, and moving fluidly with and without the ball. Portugal played like a team that had actual ideas behind its movements and patterns of play, whereas the U.S. seemed to believe that a goal or two would just materialize through effort alone."

[Edited on August 1, 2023 at 12:32 PM. Reason : .]

8/1/2023 12:30:42 PM

USA #1!!1

8/2/2023 2:18:54 AM

I dont think we are getting by the big blondes

8/2/2023 8:56:07 AM

I don't think Vlatko Andonovski will be the coach anymore if they crash out against Sweden.

They seemed more upset about a TV analyst's opinion then actually trying to win matches. Tactics and sub uses have all been lacking.

8/2/2023 10:09:31 AM

that TV analysts opinion was total trash, though

8/2/2023 11:34:31 AM

^that may be but doesn't change the fact that they have looked bang average this tournament.

Maybe those comments are enough to fire them up and prove her wrong and they come out and play like the dominant force they are, or they get beat by the Swedes who have beaten them before.

8/2/2023 11:47:50 AM

I hope it fires them up. Their passing game is trash and they better do something about it.

Also I hope Columbia gets knocked out. They've been playing kinda dirty this whole tournament.

8/3/2023 9:17:53 AM

they are professionals who won’t be fired up by what a crank said on tv

8/3/2023 1:24:14 PM

That "crank" helped us to what, two other World Cup wins.

8/3/2023 2:45:53 PM

one’s legacy on the field has no bearing on being a crank or not

plenty easy to be thankful for her accomplishments on the field and find her opinions wrong

8/3/2023 3:38:34 PM

i think they need a ladybug on the team.

8/4/2023 8:45:37 AM

at least we aren't Germany

8/4/2023 10:38:31 AM