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USA Coaching Tactics: Bradley Going for the Win
U.S. head coach Bob Bradley has some tactical decisions to make before Saturday's match against Honduras in World Cup qualifying.
Oct 9, 2009 11:00:36 PM
By Noah Davis
SAN PEDRO SULA -- Win Saturday's 2010 World Cup qualifying match in Honduras and the United States Men's National Team punches their ticket to the world's biggest sporting event. Bob Bradley, the team's coach, knows exactly what a victory would mean.
"You look at all the different scenarios and the idea is to go for three points, to be aggressive and leave it all on the field," he said during a Friday afternoon press conference for American journalists held at the team's hotel in San Pedro Sula.
While earlier in the qualification process the U.S. might have played for a tie in the difficult surroundings of Estadio Olimpico Metropolitan, Bradley's comments suggest that the Stars and Stripes will play a more aggressive style Saturday night in pursuit of the win. That said, since the Americans only need to match the number of points Costa Rica earns in its match against Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. may adjust tactics based on the result in San Jose.
"We'll stay on top of the score from Costa Rica because at some point it could be that for instance that game's tied, and we'll want to make sure that we're aware of that so that whatever decisions we make late in the game fit," Bradley said.
Another issue the manager must take into consideration is that eight of his players -- Jozy Altidore, Carlos Bocanegra, Conor Casey, Steve Cherundolo, Ricardo Clark, Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, and Frankie Hedjuk -- carry yellow cards into the match. If any of them earn another in San Pedro Sula, they won't be eligible for the team's final qualifying fixture against the Ticos on Wednesday in Washington D.C. Therefore, the value added by a certain player against the Catrachos must be weighed against the potential that he will miss what could be a must-tie match five days from now.
"Benny and Ricardo both have yellow cards, so the thought of starting both of those guys now has to include that both have yellow cards," Bradley said. "If you lose both of those guys for the game in D.C., you may feel like you have fewer options. You look around the field in that regard and think about it mainly in terms of the positional side of things."
Translation: Stuart Holden will start on the right side of midfield in place of the injured Clint Dempsey. Clark will pair with Michael Bradley in the center of the pitch, although Feilhaber could get the nod if the American coaching staff opts to field their best attacking Starting XI.
Tactics, however, can only take a squad so far. It falls on the U.S. team to absorb what promises to be an inspired start by the home side.
"We'll certainly be ready for the fact that, with their crowd behind them, we expect them to come out flying," Bradley explained. "We need to be able to match the intensity early on -- to have the right kind of energy -- but to do it in a smart way. You can't be so anxious to establish your side of things that you leave gaps and spaces. There's an element of managing the game early on, but we've learned the necessity for positive energy so that now we have a good start."
After Saturday's match, the focus turns toward a city 3,000 miles and two times zones away. There are too many possible scenarios to start discussing tactics for the game against Costa Rica, but one situation that can be addressed is the health of Dempsey. According to the coach, his shoulder has improved but it will continue to be evaluated.
"At this time he is still clearly an option for us to bring into D.C. and have him there Wednesday," Bradley said.
Whether to fly him across the ocean -- the Fulham midfielder remains in London -- is another matter entirely.
Decisions, decisions.
Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.
Visit the U.S. national team page on Goal.com for more
SAN PEDRO SULA -- Win Saturday's 2010 World Cup qualifying match in Honduras and the United States Men's National Team punches their ticket to the world's biggest sporting event. Bob Bradley, the team's coach, knows exactly what a victory would mean.
"You look at all the different scenarios and the idea is to go for three points, to be aggressive and leave it all on the field," he said during a Friday afternoon press conference for American journalists held at the team's hotel in San Pedro Sula.
While earlier in the qualification process the U.S. might have played for a tie in the difficult surroundings of Estadio Olimpico Metropolitan, Bradley's comments suggest that the Stars and Stripes will play a more aggressive style Saturday night in pursuit of the win. That said, since the Americans only need to match the number of points Costa Rica earns in its match against Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. may adjust tactics based on the result in San Jose.
"We'll stay on top of the score from Costa Rica because at some point it could be that for instance that game's tied, and we'll want to make sure that we're aware of that so that whatever decisions we make late in the game fit," Bradley said.
Another issue the manager must take into consideration is that eight of his players -- Jozy Altidore, Carlos Bocanegra, Conor Casey, Steve Cherundolo, Ricardo Clark, Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, and Frankie Hedjuk -- carry yellow cards into the match. If any of them earn another in San Pedro Sula, they won't be eligible for the team's final qualifying fixture against the Ticos on Wednesday in Washington D.C. Therefore, the value added by a certain player against the Catrachos must be weighed against the potential that he will miss what could be a must-tie match five days from now.
"Benny and Ricardo both have yellow cards, so the thought of starting both of those guys now has to include that both have yellow cards," Bradley said. "If you lose both of those guys for the game in D.C., you may feel like you have fewer options. You look around the field in that regard and think about it mainly in terms of the positional side of things."
Translation: Stuart Holden will start on the right side of midfield in place of the injured Clint Dempsey. Clark will pair with Michael Bradley in the center of the pitch, although Feilhaber could get the nod if the American coaching staff opts to field their best attacking Starting XI.
Tactics, however, can only take a squad so far. It falls on the U.S. team to absorb what promises to be an inspired start by the home side.
"We'll certainly be ready for the fact that, with their crowd behind them, we expect them to come out flying," Bradley explained. "We need to be able to match the intensity early on -- to have the right kind of energy -- but to do it in a smart way. You can't be so anxious to establish your side of things that you leave gaps and spaces. There's an element of managing the game early on, but we've learned the necessity for positive energy so that now we have a good start."
After Saturday's match, the focus turns toward a city 3,000 miles and two times zones away. There are too many possible scenarios to start discussing tactics for the game against Costa Rica, but one situation that can be addressed is the health of Dempsey. According to the coach, his shoulder has improved but it will continue to be evaluated.
"At this time he is still clearly an option for us to bring into D.C. and have him there Wednesday," Bradley said.
Whether to fly him across the ocean -- the Fulham midfielder remains in London -- is another matter entirely.
Decisions, decisions.
Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.
Visit the U.S. national team page on Goal.com for more
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