US Soccer: A 4 Year Set Back
US soccer took a massive step sideways by announcing that Bob Bradley would be shedding the "interim coach" label and be offically hired as the national team head coach. This is incredibly disheartening for fans of the sport in America and it should be the same for players. This was an opportunity for US Soccer to make a splash and hire someone with a resume that reflected more than coaching in Major League Soccer. This was an opportunity for US Soccer to prove to the nation that mediocrity would no longer be acceptable and that the sport will become a larger part of the sporting landscape. Instead, they hired Bob Bradley.
I firmly believe there were other avenues that could have been pursued. Winning a handful of exhibition games against countries that can only dream of qualifying for the World Cup does not impress anyone. Unless of course you are sitting in the front offices of US Soccer today. This was the easy out. This was a move that signaled US Soccer was not ready to get in a bidding war with other countries or clubs over a big name coach. And it certainly signaled they were not prepared to shell out a large contract to someone that would want to turn the soccer system in America on its head. Essentially, US Soccer wanted to avoid hiring someone that would expect to be given more control than any previous coach.
A radical change of thinking is exactly what the sport needs right now in America. Bradley may tinker with lineups a bit more than his predecessor, Bruce Arena, during this summer's Gold Cup and Copa America. However, when World Cup qualifying begins - and it isn't that far away - I predict the lineup will be almost identical to what Arena used. And there is the problem with this hire. The lineup will be the same because Bradley will be unable to turn diamonds in the rough in MLS or playing abroad in European leagues into bonafide stars. Bradley will be unable to turn current US national team starters into more consistent players, hungrier players or flat out more competitive players.
Instead, the US will probably win the Gold Cup this summer as expected. get eliminated early from Copa America to little fanfare and begin World Cup qualifying with little to be excited about. Don't get me wrong, I want Bradley to succeed. I want the US national team to achieve greatness. But in my heart I know this hiring will not allow that to happen. This hiring has set the program back another 4 years. The fact that there was a great amount of disappointment coming out of the the team's performance in Germany says a great deal about the sport in America. There was excitement coupled with massive expectations and when the result was failure to advance out of the Group Stage, it should have been obvious a major change was needed.
US Soccer had an opportunity to steal some of the thunder from David Beckham's arrival and make news. This hiring will not make the front page of any sports section in America. In fact, it might not even get covered in most of them. There are three 24-hour soccer cable channels operating in the country right now. ESPN, the largest sports network showed all the World Cup matches in Germany, recently purchased the rights to Euro 2008, shows Champions League matches and are rumored to be set to launch their own soccer channel. The sport could see a massive breakthrough in the next few years. American fans follow the Euro leagues religiously. US Soccer failed to cash in on this by making a hire that would excite the hardcore fan and the casual observer.
Having said all this, you would be foolish to bet against the US qualifying for World Cup 2010. You would be even more foolish to bet on them advancing to the knockout round.
I firmly believe there were other avenues that could have been pursued. Winning a handful of exhibition games against countries that can only dream of qualifying for the World Cup does not impress anyone. Unless of course you are sitting in the front offices of US Soccer today. This was the easy out. This was a move that signaled US Soccer was not ready to get in a bidding war with other countries or clubs over a big name coach. And it certainly signaled they were not prepared to shell out a large contract to someone that would want to turn the soccer system in America on its head. Essentially, US Soccer wanted to avoid hiring someone that would expect to be given more control than any previous coach.
A radical change of thinking is exactly what the sport needs right now in America. Bradley may tinker with lineups a bit more than his predecessor, Bruce Arena, during this summer's Gold Cup and Copa America. However, when World Cup qualifying begins - and it isn't that far away - I predict the lineup will be almost identical to what Arena used. And there is the problem with this hire. The lineup will be the same because Bradley will be unable to turn diamonds in the rough in MLS or playing abroad in European leagues into bonafide stars. Bradley will be unable to turn current US national team starters into more consistent players, hungrier players or flat out more competitive players.
Instead, the US will probably win the Gold Cup this summer as expected. get eliminated early from Copa America to little fanfare and begin World Cup qualifying with little to be excited about. Don't get me wrong, I want Bradley to succeed. I want the US national team to achieve greatness. But in my heart I know this hiring will not allow that to happen. This hiring has set the program back another 4 years. The fact that there was a great amount of disappointment coming out of the the team's performance in Germany says a great deal about the sport in America. There was excitement coupled with massive expectations and when the result was failure to advance out of the Group Stage, it should have been obvious a major change was needed.
US Soccer had an opportunity to steal some of the thunder from David Beckham's arrival and make news. This hiring will not make the front page of any sports section in America. In fact, it might not even get covered in most of them. There are three 24-hour soccer cable channels operating in the country right now. ESPN, the largest sports network showed all the World Cup matches in Germany, recently purchased the rights to Euro 2008, shows Champions League matches and are rumored to be set to launch their own soccer channel. The sport could see a massive breakthrough in the next few years. American fans follow the Euro leagues religiously. US Soccer failed to cash in on this by making a hire that would excite the hardcore fan and the casual observer.
Having said all this, you would be foolish to bet against the US qualifying for World Cup 2010. You would be even more foolish to bet on them advancing to the knockout round.
posted by Anonymous at 7:17 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home