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Canales Daily: The U.S. Must Remember To Play Together
What has historically led the U.S. to its greatest moments has been the effort of the whole versus the individual glory or action of a few.
Jun 14, 2009 6:50:43 PM
By Andrea Canales
As the U.S. prepares to kickoff against Italy, the defending World Champions in the Confederations Cup tournament, questions abound about whether or not the quality of the American game is truly improving.
After making a splash by reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2002, the United States failed to advance out of group play in the 2006 edition in Germany. There was, however, a hard-fought draw that the Americans earned versus Italy in their group which gave some fans hope that a scrappy and improved team would emerge as a 2010 contender.
It doesn't inspire confidence, however, that the U.S. hasn't been able to yet win an away match in the hexagonal round of CONCACAF qualifying. In fact, the Americans don't even lead the current standings in the final round of qualifying games for the World Cup. Costa Rica, which spanked the U.S. soundly in a 3-1 win not long ago, claims that honor.
Two members of the only U.S. squad to ever claim a point from Mexico in the famed Azteca stadium spoke exclusively to Goal.com's Andrea Canales about the current state of the team and what the U.S. still lacks to make the jump to the next level of soccer achievement.
"We need regular players in the world's top teams," said Thomas Dooley, who captained the U.S. in the 1998 World Cup. "[Our players should try] To be in the starting lineup of a world class team in Germany, like Shalke 04, Bayern Munich, all those teams. If we could get more players who are starters for those kinds of teams, that would be great for us, especially leading up to a World Cup."
The U.S. does in fact have players who have gone abroad in search of the objective Dooley mentioned, but a spot on a top European team is easier said than done. A number of U.S. prospects have languished with their development negatively affected due to lack of playing time. Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and DaMarcus Beasley are only a trio of a larger group of U.S. players who are not game sharp because they do not see enough game minutes.
However, there is also another concern besides the progression of individual players. The U.S. team, at its best, has been more than the sum of individual parts. The Americans have been characterized by hard work, hustle, and a willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team.
Yet in recent CONCACAF matches, the U.S. has watched other teams display more of that energetic, scrappy play to good effect. The Americans have conceded early goals to El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras, which resulted in a rally for a U.S. draw, a flat loss, and a comeback win.
Eric Wynalda, the standout striker for the U.S. back in the 1990's, didn't have much hope for the the current U.S. team to pull out even a tie versus Mexico in Azteca. He predicted they would suffer a two-goal loss and fail to score any of their own.
"Why are we going to lose 2-0?" asked Wynalda, before answering the question himself. "Because we're not in good form and it's impossible to play there."
Wynalda was referring to the difficult conditions in Mexico City, especially the merciless toll the altitude takes on players, along with the lung-stinging effect of the smoggy city.
However, the 1997 U.S. squad that eked out a draw in the Azteca dealt not only with all of that, but also with an early red card that had them playing most of the match a man down.
That impressive ability to work together, though, disappeared a year later at the World Cup.
Dooley claimed that the squad's cooperation fell apart.
"We weren't a team," Dooley recalled. "We had 24 individuals. Everybody was looking out for themselves. No one was listening to anybody. They didn't listen to the coach, didn't listen to me, didn't listen to anybody."
Dooley stated that the current U.S. squad could learn something from the past. Not only is a result in Azteca possible, but it is also as important to remember what not to do for the squad to find success.
"After that tournament [World Cup 1998], I said, 'Maybe it was great that we had a tournament like that, because everybody learned from it, the federation, players, coaches.' Everybody learned how not to let that happen again. And if that happened - that everybody learned what not to let happen again, then it was worth it."
How much the current U.S. team has learned, and how far it still has to go, will likely be evident against Italy.
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America
If you follow the U.S. Men's National Team, you'll love their dedicated page on Goal.com!
As the U.S. prepares to kickoff against Italy, the defending World Champions in the Confederations Cup tournament, questions abound about whether or not the quality of the American game is truly improving.
After making a splash by reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2002, the United States failed to advance out of group play in the 2006 edition in Germany. There was, however, a hard-fought draw that the Americans earned versus Italy in their group which gave some fans hope that a scrappy and improved team would emerge as a 2010 contender.
It doesn't inspire confidence, however, that the U.S. hasn't been able to yet win an away match in the hexagonal round of CONCACAF qualifying. In fact, the Americans don't even lead the current standings in the final round of qualifying games for the World Cup. Costa Rica, which spanked the U.S. soundly in a 3-1 win not long ago, claims that honor.
Two members of the only U.S. squad to ever claim a point from Mexico in the famed Azteca stadium spoke exclusively to Goal.com's Andrea Canales about the current state of the team and what the U.S. still lacks to make the jump to the next level of soccer achievement.
"We need regular players in the world's top teams," said Thomas Dooley, who captained the U.S. in the 1998 World Cup. "[Our players should try] To be in the starting lineup of a world class team in Germany, like Shalke 04, Bayern Munich, all those teams. If we could get more players who are starters for those kinds of teams, that would be great for us, especially leading up to a World Cup."
The U.S. does in fact have players who have gone abroad in search of the objective Dooley mentioned, but a spot on a top European team is easier said than done. A number of U.S. prospects have languished with their development negatively affected due to lack of playing time. Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and DaMarcus Beasley are only a trio of a larger group of U.S. players who are not game sharp because they do not see enough game minutes.
However, there is also another concern besides the progression of individual players. The U.S. team, at its best, has been more than the sum of individual parts. The Americans have been characterized by hard work, hustle, and a willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team.
Yet in recent CONCACAF matches, the U.S. has watched other teams display more of that energetic, scrappy play to good effect. The Americans have conceded early goals to El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras, which resulted in a rally for a U.S. draw, a flat loss, and a comeback win.
Eric Wynalda, the standout striker for the U.S. back in the 1990's, didn't have much hope for the the current U.S. team to pull out even a tie versus Mexico in Azteca. He predicted they would suffer a two-goal loss and fail to score any of their own.
"Why are we going to lose 2-0?" asked Wynalda, before answering the question himself. "Because we're not in good form and it's impossible to play there."
Wynalda was referring to the difficult conditions in Mexico City, especially the merciless toll the altitude takes on players, along with the lung-stinging effect of the smoggy city.
However, the 1997 U.S. squad that eked out a draw in the Azteca dealt not only with all of that, but also with an early red card that had them playing most of the match a man down.
That impressive ability to work together, though, disappeared a year later at the World Cup.
Dooley claimed that the squad's cooperation fell apart.
"We weren't a team," Dooley recalled. "We had 24 individuals. Everybody was looking out for themselves. No one was listening to anybody. They didn't listen to the coach, didn't listen to me, didn't listen to anybody."
Dooley stated that the current U.S. squad could learn something from the past. Not only is a result in Azteca possible, but it is also as important to remember what not to do for the squad to find success.
"After that tournament [World Cup 1998], I said, 'Maybe it was great that we had a tournament like that, because everybody learned from it, the federation, players, coaches.' Everybody learned how not to let that happen again. And if that happened - that everybody learned what not to let happen again, then it was worth it."
How much the current U.S. team has learned, and how far it still has to go, will likely be evident against Italy.
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America
If you follow the U.S. Men's National Team, you'll love their dedicated page on Goal.com!
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