Everything Soccer

[aubeirish]

Liverpool vs Dortmund! It's on b1tches. Can't wait for this.

 

[Emcee77]

Liverpool vs Dortmund! It's on b1tches. Can't wait for this.

What a draw. I can't wait. Let's hope we at least put up a fight. That'll be better than Tottenham did.

 

[nsisk157]

What a draw. I can't wait. Let's hope we at least put up a fight. That'll be better than Tottenham did.

Liverpool will field a strong side because they need this tourney for CL qualification. Spurs weighed the league vs Europa and Poch decided that the league is more important; hence, the 1st leg line-up.

I hope for a viewing aspect, you are correct.

 

[Emcee77]

Liverpool will field a strong side because they need this tourney for CL qualification. Spurs weighed the league vs Europa and Poch decided that the league is more important; hence, the 1st leg line-up.

I hope for a viewing aspect, you are correct.

Exactly, Spurs don't need this competition as much as Liverpool. But Dortmund didn't need it any more than Spurs did, and they still fielded a strong side. If I'm not mistaken, Dortmund was the exact same 5 points back of the league leader that Tottenham was. I certainly hope Dortmund see fit to adopt Tottenham's league-first strategy in the next round.

 

[Rocket89]

Exactly, Spurs don't need this competition as much as Liverpool. But Dortmund didn't need it any more than Spurs did, and they still fielded a strong side. If I'm not mistaken, Dortmund was the exact same 5 points back of the league leader that Tottenham was. I certainly hope Dortmund see fit to adopt Tottenham's league-first strategy in the next round.

Dortmund being 16 points ahead of the 3rd place Bundesliga team was the key difference. They can hope to chase down Bayern at the top, but really they're in a postion to rest players in their league and it'll be completely fine.

 

[ACamp1900]

I'm happy for Klopp, just when he was starting to forget what managing a real, legitimate club was like, he now gets to see Thomas Tuchel do it first hand.

 

[aubeirish]

I'm happy for Klopp, just when he was starting to forget what managing a real, legitimate club was like, he now gets to see Thomas Tuchel do it first hand.

We'll see my man. We'll see. Either way the scene of everyone singing YNWA at either Westfalenstadion or Anfield will be spectacular.

 

[ACamp1900]

We'll see my man. We'll see. Either way the scene of everyone singing YNWA at either Westfalenstadion or Anfield will be spectacular.

Speaking of: did everyone see this??

Video: Dortmund crowd sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in tribute to fan who died during game - Independent.ie

SIAP, I forget where I originally saw that... may have been here somewhere. Obviously doesn't stand up to Celtic or those other guys as it's not their native language but still pretty cool...

 

[ACamp1900]

The amount of texts and general trash talk I've been hit with this morning (I know a lot of hipster ass Reds fans) is pretty unmatched by other sports in recent memory... and I've dished out a little bit myself in fairness...

It's also rare a team of mine has a big match up like this and I feel confident they're gonna win (I mean, usually it's Notre Dame v 'insert football factory cheaters here' and I'm never confident about those games)...

pretty pumped... def gonna have to take the 7th off...

 

[nsisk157]

Dortmund being 16 points ahead of the 3rd place Bundesliga team was the key difference. They can hope to chase down Bayern at the top, but really they're in a postion to rest players in their league and it'll be completely fine.

Bingo. And maybe in the back of Spurs mind... haven't won the league since '61 while Dortmund won back to back in 10-11 and 11-12, i believe.

But dont get me wrong, Reus and Aubameyang are world class while we fielded no one near them, at least to start.

 

[Emcee77]

Bingo. And maybe in the back of Spurs mind... haven't won the league since '61 while Dortmund won back to back in 10-11 and 11-12, i believe.

But dont get me wrong, Reus and Aubameyang are world class while we fielded no one near them, at least to start.

I guess it makes sense. Bundesliga is not as deep a league as EPL. Still, with as hapless a team as Aston Villa next up for Spurs, I'd have liked to see them take a chance against Dortmund.

Anyway, I didn't mean to criticize Spurs. My point was just that Dortmund is a class team in great form and I expect they are big favorites over LFC, with Klopp still in his first season and LFC's form having been spotty (although we are currently on a good run), so I'll be fairly pleased just to see LFC stay in the tie all the way up to the end. Which is not to say we can't win, if we play at the top of our game consistently over 180 minutes. We have a lot of quality, but we are still a work in progress.

 

[aubeirish]

I guess it makes sense. Bundesliga is not as deep a league as EPL. Still, with as hapless a team as Aston Villa next up for Spurs, I'd have liked to see them take a chance against Dortmund.

Anyway, I didn't mean to criticize Spurs. My point was just that Dortmund is a class team in great form and I expect they are big favorites over LFC, with Klopp still in his first season and LFC's form having been spotty (although we are currently on a good run), so I'll be fairly pleased just to see LFC stay in the tie all the way up to the end. Which is not to say we can't win, if we play at the top of our game consistently over 180 minutes. We have a lot of quality, but we are still a work in progress.

It has, but most of the bad performances came against lesser teams on paper. Against top competition(big names), Liverpool have been splendid under Klopp. The level of energy with which the team plays since he arrived is really a breath of fresh air.

 

[NDohio]

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; WCQ Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (4): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa; 9/0), Tim Howard (Everton FC; 30/0), William Yarbrough (Club Leon; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Ventura Alvarado (Club America; 0/0), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 8/0), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United; 0/0), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin; 0/0), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City; 15/1), Edgar Castillo (Monterrey; 4/0), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca; 8/0), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana; 4/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland; 0/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake; 6/0), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes FC; 3/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC; 26/5), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC; 3/0), Ethan Finlay (Columbus Crew SC; 0/0), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach; 11/1), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers FC; 2/0), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution; 0/0)

FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC; 28/12), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC; 34/13), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Bobby Wood (Union Berlin; 2/1), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy; 2/1)


WHY, WHY, WHYYYYYYYY...

 

[notredomer23]

Should have called in Will Bruin instead of Wondo if he is going with MLS strikers.

I feel we are going to see a very different roster for the Hex. I can't see Beckerman, Wondo, Castillo, or Orozco getting many more call ups after Copa America.

 

[NDohio]

I think it's really obvious after last night that the USMNT do not like playing for JK. They looked completely disinterested in playing soccer last night. That was pathetic.

 

[Emcee77]

Everything Soccer

Yeah USMNT is in serious trouble. Tuesday is now a must-win, or we miss the World Cup. That's just unthinkable.

Klinsmann needs to add somebody to his staff who can give him good tactical advice. What he is doing is just not working.

 

[fightingirish26]

Stop playing everyone out of position, and cut out all of the awful fucking long balls

 

[NorthDakota]

Yeah USMNT is in serious trouble. Tuesday is now a must-win, or we miss the World Cup. That's just unthinkable.

Klinsmann needs to add somebody to his staff who can give him good tactical advice. What he is doing is just not working.

Jogi is too busy running the Germany team so no... He can't get a good advisor

 

[NDohio]

Stop playing everyone out of position, and cut out all of the awful fucking long balls

I hate the style of soccer he is trying to get us to play. And yeah, trying to force players to play positions that they just aren't made for is driving me crazy. At this point I am more aggravated with JK than I ever was with Bradley.

 

[GoldenDomer]

Fun game today in Germany. Hell of a comeback by England.

 

[ACamp1900]

Juergen is the worst USNT coach since I've paid attention... ~15 years... He was supposed to be such a vast upgrade on Bradley and Bruce... I'd take either in a heartbeat right now.

.

 

[notredomer23]

We'll get 7 points in our next 3 to qualify, bounce out of Copa early, and hopefully have Jurgen fired before the Hex. Officially off the Jurgen bandwagon.

 

[NDinMich]

So the question is, who is a likely candidate to replace if the do in fact fire JK? Gulati worked real hard to get JK years ago, giving up control where they didnt want to previously (youth set up if i recall correctly). Would Tab Ramos be a candidate? Guus Hiddink? I have no idea...

 

[notredomer23]

So the question is, who is a likely candidate to replace if the do in fact fire JK? Gulati worked real hard to get JK years ago, giving up control where they didnt want to previously (youth set up if i recall correctly). Would Tab Ramos be a candidate? Guus Hiddink? I have no idea...

Tab would be a very mediocre hire. I'd like Greg Berhalter or Caleb Porter if we're going to stay with Americans. If we're going to go after an international big name, Mourinho will be mentioned. Honestly no clue though.

 

[CTIDANDREW]

Really frustrating what is going on with the USMNT right now.
Jurgen has given us some great moments. Wins in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, as well as moments from the 2014 world cup that will live on forever. John Brooks goal for example. He made some great substitutions in that tournament that really changed the course of games....but in Soccer more then any other sports managers/coaches really just outstay their welcome and players tend to tune them out quicker then other athletes.

It is painfully obvious that there is a disconnect between the players and Jurgen, and his stubbornness to continue to play players in positions that they don't play on weekly basis for their club teams is infuriating.

Lastly, his comments about american fans not being the most educated soccer fans really rubbed me the wrong way this past summer and I've been hoping for his dismissal since then.

Hopefully the next manager can continue to harness the great growth in interest we have seen in the sport since the 2010 World Cup, because it seems over the past year and a half we have really taken a step backwards when I thought we were making great progress.

 

[notredomer23]

We're really seeing a huge rise in soccer in the US and I really fear what no qualifying would do to that. I'll still be shocked if we don't qualify-- two home games against Guatemala and Trinidad and then an away game vs st Vincent-- but I don't see a guarantee we'd make it through the hex at the moment. On the the other hand, every team gets ruts in form. I'd rather it be now and barely make it to the hex than actually during the hex. Hopefully it's not both. Because this poor form has been continuing for a while.

 

[notredomer23]

Also-- Dempsey will not be in the squad come 2018 (assuming we qualify). We have a plethora of CBs and midfielders, strong keepers, and a pretty solid RB situation. But striker and LB will be potentially dreadful unless a strong LB emerges, and then Altidore gets it together as well as Bobby Wood fulfilling his potential.

Wood is an interesting case. He has 9 goals in his last 8 games and is being linked to Liverpool, Leverkusen, and Hamburg. I'd prefer Hamburg of the 3 because he'll definitely start there.

 

[mgriff]

I bought into all the Jurgen hype. I was hoping he'd get our system in order and let us farm up some great younger players for the future while we were competitive during his tenure. Now it just seems like he's lost the plot. His youth moves could still pay dividends, but the USMNT has been terrible. I was really proud of the guys at the WC, but since then, they've been pretty atrocious. That's quite a long run of poor form. I think something has to change, and it appears to be Klinsman.

 

[NDohio]

Seven managers who could replace Jurgen Klinsmann - Stars and Stripes FC

Jurgen Klinsmann is on the hot seat. Maybe not according to the people who make the decisions, but to the rest of us sane folks he's on his last legs as the United States Men's National Team manager. If we the people are set to get rid of the manager, it only makes sense for us to come up with a list of suitable replacements before we pull the proverbial trigger and make the final decision to make a change.

There are many factors to consider when thinking about a replacement for Klinsmann. What doesn't he offer us that we want? That list is probably too long to make, but in the end, we all just want results, right? Well, here are seven guys that we think would make perfect sense as the new USMNT manager.

Jesse Marsch

One of the biggest complaints about Klinsmann is his lack of consistency and tactical acumen. The current New York Red Bulls manager would be the complete polar opposite of the German. Marsch is disciplined in his desired approach and has one true playing style that he is married to.

His high pressing 'Gegenpressing' style catapulted a team of role players to the 2015 MLS Supporters' Shield. The USMNT lack a true star player or any sort of identity. Having a true style to adapt to would give the team some consistency and a general blueprint for success, instead of the hectic nature of having no idea what's going on like they do under the current coaching staff.

Oscar Pareja

U.S. Soccer has invested heavily in their youth development over the last 10 years. Having a manager like Pareja who is a genius at developing young talent would be a huge asset to the USMNT. A manager who isn't afraid to bring along the youth players at an accelerated pace, but also knows the X's and O's of the game. Pareja has turned FC Dallas into a consistent threat in MLS by molding the minds of young players and having tremendous on-field success. This is why he's near or at the top of most people's wishlists to replace Klinsmann.

Caleb Porter

Let's try to put the 2012 Olympic debacle behind us. Porter has had success at every level he's coached at (save for that 2012 nightmare). He guided the Portland Timbers to their first ever MLS Cup last season. Many credit his tactical decision of moving Darlington Nagbe to the center of the field in changing the Timbers' fortunes. He's another manager that has a consistent playing style and one that wouldn't be afraid to shake up the current player pool to find the right players for his system. Something the USMNT is dying for.

Gregg Berhalter

The man who lost out to those Timbers in MLS Cup 2015 last year was the Columbus Crew's Gregg Berhalter. The 42-year-old would be an interesting choice as the next USMNT manager considering his brother, Jay Berhalter, is U.S. Soccer's chief commercial director. That name may sound familiar as he's the man who is reportedly at odds with Jurgen Klinsmann in a supposed power struggle within the federation. Berhalter is a USMNT veteran and a very methodical manager. Some liken his style to former USMNT boss, Bob Bradley.

Peter Vermes

The current Sporting KC manager is a popular choice to replace Klinsmann due to his success in MLS. I, personally, am not a fan of this idea. Vermes is a fine MLS manager, but his overall tone as a leader is very rah-rah cheerleader and less tactical and intelligent. Not to mention his personnel decisions to give a player like Graham Zusi a Designated Player contract are questionable to say the least.

Dominic Kinnear

Another USMNT veteran, Kinnear is only 48-years-old but has been coaching in some capacity in MLS since 2001. The San Jose Earthquakes coach is a very blue collar manager, but his track record of holding his younger talent back is very worrisome. His on-field results cannot be argued with, but as a national team manager, you have to be willing to give any and all players a chance regardless of experience or age.

Steve Cherundolo

The wild card of the bunch is one of the best and most underrated players the USMNT has ever had. 'Dolo retired from international soccer in 2014 and has since taken up coaching with his beloved Hannover in the Bundesliga. He is currently their assistant manager but has managed a few of their youth sides. Sure, his inexperience as a manager at the top level doesn't give him the best résumé for the job. But at 37-years-old, he's played with most of the players in the USMNT player pool. Who else can identify with the modern game and the modern player like we would be able to? It's a shot in the dark, but it's a candidate that would be a welcome sight for USMNT supporters.

Out of this list of possible replacements(not that I think it'll happen unfortunately), I would prefer Marsch or Berhalter.

I love the style of play that Marsch prefers. He is attack all the time. It may not always be effective, but it sure is fun to watch.

Berhalter performed a miracle with Columbus last season. Going into the season I wasn't optimistic in their chances of success. Berhalter quickly changed that and had them playing as a true team by the end of the season.

I don't believe that any changes will be made. I am on the fire JK bandwagon though.

 

[ACamp1900]

Caleb Porter is very interesting... never even thought of him but I guess I should have... I would get excited for a hire like that...

Also, I'm getting ready to NOT qualify for the WC this time around... I know it's early but let's not forget, they BARELY qualified last time around (third round, not Hex) and they've been playing so dreadful for so long I'm just preparing myself for it...