So heres my question after rewatching the Brazil/Germany game: Does the result give any credence to Klinsmanns comments about the US mentality and approach in games? Brazil went down 2 early goals and all of a sudden, players like Fred and and Fernendinho just looked like theyd given up or had little interest in defending. More than that, the entire Brazilian team looked awe struck by the Germans. One can argue the talent levels of both rosters but even without Neymar and Thiago Silva, both teams that took the pitch were, relatively speaking, level in terms of talent. The Germans didnt respect the Brazilian team. They didnt get starry eyed by the spectacle. They took the field with the intent to take the game to the Brazilians and, at 2-0 down, the Brazilians looks like they were just going to LET GERMANY DICTATE EVERYTHING. In the space of 18 minutes, the Germans hung 5 goals the Brazilians and ended their tournament with a little more than an hour to play. It was the body language that got me thinking about everything Klinsmann has said. Yes, matches are 90 (sometimes, 120) long and cant be judged based on small spells but just taking the end of the Belgium game - where the US were down 2-0 - we out shot and downright out attacked a Belgian team that was FAR superior in attack all game. We pulled a goal back and from then on, it almost looked as if the US would find that equalizer before the match was over. They didnt, obviously, but it paints an interesting picture. Even at the end of regulation, despite Wondos immortal shank, we managed to move forward and earn a chance to win at the death. So what is stopping the US from going out and attacking any team? Team defense is solid. We can pile men behind the ball or ask our defense to bail us out and they can do it for nearly an entire match. We certainly have an improved talent pool that is closing the gap with the rest of the world (probably less of a gap now than there ever has been). And we have shown that we are fully capable of going out and punching giants in the mouth, attacking, and generating a dangerous attack in short spurts. It is important to note that this was all done largely without Jozy Altidore, our target forward through whom our attack flows. Yes, we had no direct replacement for him and yes, it threw off a lot of how our team worked but we are still a dangerous team. Its my hope that the next cycle, we stop respecting teams and playing to counter what they want to do. Germany imposed themselves on Brazil and Brazil completely gave up. That style of imposition is what I think Klinsmanns ultimate goal is, only carried out on a grander stage than within the confines of CONCACAF. Oh... and also that we get at least one more Target Forward in our player pool who will see regular minutes. Anybody wanna call Terrence Boyd?
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 07:36:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015