Comments on: Do We Ask Too Much Of Our International Sides?

By: Lyle

Lyle — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:41:42 +0000

Yes, we do. Especially the England fans and media. Oh my god are their expectations profane.

England fan and media problems:

1.) Their past was never that great
2.) England is a small country (Brazil and Germany are more populated than England and love football just as much)
3.) Foreign players aren’t the problem, English players are
4.) Foreign players aren’t responsible for English players being English players
5.) Denmark and Greece, when they won the European Championship didn’t have all their players playing in their domestic leagues, some weren’t even starters… so domestic quotas won’t do you no good.
6.) Everyone in the world plays football now and any given country only needs 14 or so decent players to be a succesful football side at any given tournament.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:27:31 +0000

I would disagree, arguably the best run we have made was in 2002. So that wouldn’t be the 90’s at all.

I think this most recent win against Spain has finally put the pressure that the number 5 ranking put on the team before the 2006 WC. It’s also huge to get a win of this magnitude, as for many of the current players, this was the biggest win for the national team. Just showing that we can not only compete, but beat the best is huge.

The addition of Jermain Jones is going to make execptations evne higher for the US. I know he’s not an international star, but he’ll walk in and instantly be one of the top 3-4 field players for us.

By: Kartik Krishnaiyer

Kartik Krishnaiyer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:51:30 +0000

Great piece Ethan. The Dutch in particular tell us alot about this- they have arguably produced more footballing talent than any nation in the last 35 years yet have just Euro 88 to show for it.

The last two games not withstanding, the USA has actually tended to regress as the individual talent of the players has improved. Now maybe the Egypt and Spain game bucks that trend or simply could be flukes, but as Phil Schoen and Adrian Healey both leading media pundits here in the US pointed out last week, the sum of the most individually talented US side ever is not equal to the sum of all parts of US sides from the 1990s.

By: Ethan Armstrong

Ethan Armstrong — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:30:04 +0000

I enjoyed the contest as well. As a neutral pulling for South Africa I might describe it as a satisfying loss. Holding off Brazil for 88 min was significant and the players deserve to be applauded. That one save by Julio Cesar was phenomenal. As much a defining moment as Alves’s freekick.

I was really hoping S. Africa could pull it off. It would have made a great addendum to this article. Also, another USA v Brazil contest will probably give me an ulcer.

I like Carl’s and Thomas’s points about familiarity. I hadn’t pondered that in depth but it is an important consideration in regard to the problem of limited practice/game time for international sides.

Thanks for your thoughts.

By: Floridascouse

Floridascouse — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:52:15 +0000

I think Thomas hit the nail on the head with his final comment, ’second tier’ nations, at 85 mins would anybody have given Brazil the points on performance.
Obviously Brazil have the superior individual footballing skills but the game is a team game and the individual stamina, athleticism, strength as well as talent on the day can overcome the superior skill set with sheer determination and guts. Unfortunately for them SA came up short on the major skill required. Nevertheless it made for a very interesting contest and a worthwhile game to watch, as did the US on Wednesday, let’s hope the US can duplicate their performance on Sunday, we’ll all be cheering them on!