KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

Look I love Dempsey, but he's 33 and will be 35 at the next World Cup. It made sense for him to come back after the last World Cup. You could make the argument that he shouldn't even be in play for 2018 at that age and if he wasn't in line to play another World Cup there was no more point in being overseas in terms of development.

Bradley is a bit of a different case. At 30 come the next World Cup, he should still be in the national team picture at that point, so in terms of development he should be overseas. Then again, people have other things to juggle other then their careers, and he might have thought it best to come back to North America for his family. Interesting side note, not only is Geoff Cameron a URI connection to the men's national team, but Bradley is married to former URI tennis player Amanda Barletta.

True, I forgot how old Dempsey is. Either way we need guys who are playing in the top leagues over in Europe which will take time. Academies are getting better but I think it will still be close to 10 years before we start seeing any major changes in US soccer.

Ugly game for the US.....the Messi goal on the free kick was a thing of beauty however...I can appreciate talent....he makes it look effortless and easy....

RhowdyRam02 wrote:Look I love Dempsey, but he's 33 and will be 35 at the next World Cup. It made sense for him to come back after the last World Cup. You could make the argument that he shouldn't even be in play for 2018 at that age and if he wasn't in line to play another World Cup there was no more point in being overseas in terms of development.

Bradley is a bit of a different case. At 30 come the next World Cup, he should still be in the national team picture at that point, so in terms of development he should be overseas. Then again, people have other things to juggle other then their careers, and he might have thought it best to come back to North America for his family. Interesting side note, not only is Geoff Cameron a URI connection to the men's national team, but Bradley is married to former URI tennis player Amanda Barletta.

RR02, I'm not sure what you are saying but if you think at 35, Dempsey can't be an asset to the next World Cup, I'm going to disagree with you. Right now Dempsey is arguably their best player and playmaker. He really had USA's only legitimate shot at any goal last night. I wish we had 10 Dempseys. I never thought I'd say someone play for USA better than Landon Donovan, but Dempsey might be it. Speaking of Donovan, this is the biggest reason I think Dempsey should still be on the WC team in 2018 - leaving Donovan off in 2014 was a horrific mistake and he was only 32 at the time. I know why he was left off. Him and Klinesman weren't getting along and it probably would have been a distraction, but leaving a player of Donovan's level off a world cup team at 32 left a void. The biggest spot were he absolutely would have made a difference was the end of regulation in the round of 16 vs. Belgium. Still tied 0-0 late, US had a chance with two players and the ball and they essentially whiffed. Donovan is in that game he absolutely puts it home, the US wins 1-0, and goes onto the quarterfinals. Instead, they lose 2-1 in extra time and go home. That being said, Howard's 16 saves in that game kept them in it otherwise it would have been over in regulation.

But really, the USA since 1994, has kind of been going it with smoke and mirrors since 1994. Qualify for the WC, make it out of group play more often than not, but other than 2002 when they totally outplayed Germany in a quarterfinal 1-0 loss, they are not a consistent serious threat. The last 2 WCs they made it in as the group runner up with a 1-1-1 record and 4 points. Barely making it out of group play, then losing in the round of 16 to Ghana and Belgium in extra time.

In my opinion there is no reason why the USA should not be a world power in men's soccer, like Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, etc. We've had several generation to put together the youth academies that the great countries have that allow them to generate young phenoms like the Messis and Ronaldos, but this hasn't happened. We won't be able to consistently compete until we invest the resources necessary.

Fortunately, the women are amazing and continue to be a legit world power for the foreseeable future.

I had the pleasure of catching their quarterfinal game against China in Ottawa in last year's Women's World Cup and it was a blast.

All that said, I'm not angry about the game last night. Argentina was head and shoulders the better team. Both faster and quicker and deserved to win. What I'm mad about is the fact that the US should be closer to that level and they can't seem to get there.

I was at Sat's Arg/Ven game in Foxboro Sat night. What an atmosphere! Those that think soccer is boring have never been to a big international match in person.

steviep123 wrote:

RhowdyRam02 wrote:Look I love Dempsey, but he's 33 and will be 35 at the next World Cup. It made sense for him to come back after the last World Cup. You could make the argument that he shouldn't even be in play for 2018 at that age and if he wasn't in line to play another World Cup there was no more point in being overseas in terms of development.

RR02, I'm not sure what you are saying but if you think at 35, Dempsey can't be an asset to the next World Cup, I'm going to disagree with you. Right now Dempsey is arguably their best player and playmaker. He really had USA's only legitimate shot at any goal last night. I wish we had 10 Dempseys. I never thought I'd say someone play for USA better than Landon Donovan, but Dempsey might be it. Speaking of Donovan, this is the biggest reason I think Dempsey should still be on the WC team in 2018 - leaving Donovan off in 2014 was a horrific mistake and he was only 32 at the time. I know why he was left off. Him and Klinesman weren't getting along and it probably would have been a distraction, but leaving a player of Donovan's level off a world cup team at 32 left a void. The biggest spot were he absolutely would have made a difference was the end of regulation in the round of 16 vs. Belgium. Still tied 0-0 late, US had a chance with two players and the ball and they essentially whiffed. Donovan is in that game he absolutely puts it home, the US wins 1-0, and goes onto the quarterfinals. Instead, they lose 2-1 in extra time and go home. That being said, Howard's 16 saves in that game kept them in it otherwise it would have been over in regulation.

In my opinion there is no reason why the USA should not be a world power in men's soccer, like Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, etc. We've had several generation to put together the youth academies that the great countries have that allow them to generate young phenoms like the Messis and Ronaldos, but this hasn't happened. We won't be able to consistently compete until we invest the resources necessary.

When you look at those world powers, very few have a 35 year old as a main piece to their non-goalie roster if they're going to try and make a serious run at the World Cup. It's one thing I guess if you have Dempsey along in 2018 as a specialized sub, so be it. But if you're expecting him to play a big role in 2018, then I think that's a huge black mark on US Soccer and Klinsmann when it comes to their ability to develop talent.

steviep123 wrote:
In my opinion there is no reason why the USA should not be a world power in men's soccer, like Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, etc. We've had several generation to put together the youth academies that the great countries have that allow them to generate young phenoms like the Messis and Ronaldos, but this hasn't happened. We won't be able to consistently compete until we invest the resources necessary.

Our youth academies are finally starting to get better but it still takes time for the changes to actually show. I have a friend who works with the New England Revolution academy programs and he said they focus mainly on the technical skills and the tactical side of the game. It's not about winning or losing, it's about playing the game the right way. Too many coaches look at soccer like basketball and football, which is put the most athletic kids on the field and have them try to win by pure athleticism. That's not how soccer works. Having great technical ability and a high soccer iq will help you more than just being the most athletic kid on the field.

Also right now soccer is more or less a rich kids sport. If you want to play for an academy or a club team you need money. Whether it be for the actual cost of the team or for traveling to tournaments. There's a lot of professional players from outside the US who grew up extremely poor similar to NBA and NFL players here. However in the US soccer is more similar to golf where if you didn't grow up with money it's much more difficult to develop as fast.

Howard is starting tonight

might be Howard's last international game

Tough loss. Played so much better tonight and had plenty of chances to score. Just couldn't put it home. A clunker and a half in this tournament in three games against the two best teams we played, but overall the tournament was a success (fourth place isn't bad!) and I think if we play like we did tonight in CONCACAF WC qualifying we shouldn't have any problems.

Played an awesome second half just couldn't get it in. Great tournament!