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DEL.ICIO.USArena football’s time is up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Off the Ball was in a very snarky mood, and was going to blog to that effect, when more blistering criticism of Bruce Arena hit the fan today. And hard.
It jolted all the snark in Off the Ball’s being, in fact, which was saying something for this day. MLS commissioner Don Garber, who’s normally a pretty mild-mannered guy, at least in his public pronouncements, didn’t hesitate to pull any punches, did he?
Memo to U.S. Soccer Federation head Sunil Gulati: If this episode doesn’t signal the end of the Arena era, I don’t what else would. Off the Ball can see no way that he can continue to coach the national team, even if he wants to. Not with these latest remarks, and the response to them.
“If I were him I’d take a deep breath and think about what I say before I criticize anyone in American soccer,” Garber said, sounding almost as blunt as Eric Wynalda, who in his ABC/ESPN studio stint has torn into Arena more than he ever did while playing under the ill-fated Sampson regime. Waldo is the Snark Boy on this subject, and he does it so well.
This is getting ugly, folks, but it was bound to happen if the U.S. flopped at the World Cup. Arena nearly lost his job a couple years back for pointed remarks about the MLS and American soccer development that alienated far too many important people in the sport in this country.
The Bruce won a reprieve, but in that time those folks have been busy sharpening their knives. Now they are out, and they are ready to use them. Arena is not wrong in saying that top American players will get the best competition in Europe — hello, Landon Donovan? — but it’s all in the delivery.
And in this World Cup, it didn’t seem to matter where the U.S. players were playing club soccer. Donovan was a no-show, but Claudio Reyna, who’s never played in MLS, made a crucial defensive mistake against Ghana. DaMarcus Beasley’s European experience has done him no good, while MLS up-and-comer Clint Dempsey was the most inspirational player Arena had.
In pointing out the obvious — that MLS is a good foundation for players who ought to get their butts overseas if they’re good enough — Arena once again got under the skin of the top American domestic league that spends an enormous amount of energy defending its limitations.
No doubt MLS has more than a little angst about losing Freddy Adu to Europe after the season, since he’s a year away from being eligible to play professionally there. Get a few months’ work in with the junior and reserve team, make a good impression, and get thrown out there when you’re 18. Will it face the prospect of a humbled Donovan trying to latch on in Europe a third time? It’s gotta be heavily on their minds.
These topics continue to be very hot ones on XM Radio’s generally solid World Cup coverage, especially the nightly call-in show with Dave Ungrady and Garth Lagerway. These guys are sharp, without Wynalda’s snark, but they hit away on many of the same points.
If there is a coaching change, Off the Ball nominates Wynalda. In some ways he’s even more direct and piercing than Arena, and still is the all-time U.S. goals leader. If Jürgen Klinsmann can shake up Germany the way he has, with little or no coaching experience, why not Waldo and the Yanks?
As for today’s final second round games, how fabulous is it to see Zinedine Zidane enjoy some farewell glory in a terrific comeback win over Spain?
And Ronaldo may finally have silenced his critics, and not just in becoming the all-time World Cup goals leader. Not bad for an out-of-shape fatso. When you’ve got that skill, no slim, trim Yank lad can ever measure up. Maybe we can learn from that before the century is out.
Thanks to Ghana for sparing the U.S. an almost certain humiliation.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Mike
June 27, 2006 9:15 PM | Link to this
American football(soccer) is a lot like american cars, more time is spent trying to convince me that they aren’t total and complete crap then is spent actually making the product better. I am a huge soccer fan yet I have never watched an MLS game. Why? Becuse the games are uninspiring, the stands are empty and the product/players are second rate. We don’t need Wynalda as the coach. What we need is a European coach because they know how the game is played. Until we face the cold hard facts our team will continue to be a joke. Those 3 game we disgracefull.
By Chris
June 27, 2006 10:25 PM | Link to this
The story really isn’t if Bruce Arena will be replaced the story is who will replace him. Our country is beginning to produce an every increasing pedigree of soccer talent and someone needs to be put in place that recognizes (World class) talent and can foster it. The US players in Europe are better than they have ever been. Our domestic league is better that it has ever been.
And the stories about Landon Donovan and if he should go back to Europe are ill conceived. No team in Europe wants anything to do with him for the next few years. Hey supporters for (insert European Club Team name here) we just decided to bring over Landon Donovan from the states. He wore the captains armband for half the US vs Ghana game. You might not have noticed him on the field other than when Claudio Reyna handed him the armband but Bruce Arena thinks he will be good one day and he was at third on the depth chart on a pretty good German team two years ago. Hurry up and get those season ticket renewals in. As far as Freddy Adu is concerned. Let me see isn’t he the player that said he should be on the field all the time and he is probably better than everyone on his team. I am curious who else on DC United is being looked at to get a transfer to a big club in Europe. Looks like he was right.
By chris
June 27, 2006 10:40 PM | Link to this
For those looking for some domestic soccer action live. Go checkout the Silverbacks at their new home this weekend or on the 4th with some post game fireworks. They have been in rather good form of late. Against the flow of play they got a late goal against Charleston to break their hearts last weekend. I have the Silverbacks good young striker McLaughlin pegged to make a move up after this season. He is strong, fast and cool and collected with his finishing. Came from U of Dayton didn’t get the press but he is doing well for himself in the USL.
http://www.atlantasilverbacks.com/news/displaynews.php?id=189&cat=1
By Ethan
June 28, 2006 8:29 AM | Link to this
Mike, how can you know MLS is second-rate if you have never watched a game? Your just as bad as all the anti-soccer clods out there. Your not helping at all.
By Henry
June 28, 2006 8:46 AM | Link to this
I agree with most of the above. I pesonally agree with Arena in the development of our young players in the US. The truth always hurts. Even Brasil is using the original coaching and youth league system as I was part in developping it here in the 60th. They, when I lived and played in Brasil, had only sandlot type soccer. Players showed-up and if one had no shoes, we all played in bare feet. Many times our ball was the shirts rolled into a ball (sort off)of everyone of the players that had to play shirtless.. The local professional and amateure coaches cased those games for tallent. You learn fast how to play the game. The commercial on TV during the World Cup is exatly how the players were developed, minus the star-studdedness of course. Talking about nostaligia! Sadly developping the youth game here in the US was taken over by people that had no interst in the game, rather the glory and power that came with it, and they abused it. NASL, WUSA our national team, etc… come to mind. What we need is someone like Klinsmann that will be guaranteed that all decisions for the National Team are unquestionable for at least 4 years. If he is successfull that coach will be gone after the next Word Cup anyway. Germany can afford to pay Klinsmann anything he wants. Also this new coach, or even Arena, must participate and reinstate the original intend to get our youth programm back on it’s feet and get rid of thoses that have only personal and money making interst in mind. There are tons of experienced people around that will volenteer to do this task. Just ask. All development coaches must attend junior soccer game and find the tallent that is overlooked. It is sad that we promote players to play in colleges where coaches are not qualified to develop our youngsters. I know education is important, I worked, went to college and played at the same time at a high level in Brasil. I never signed a professional contract and jet I was lucky in being indispencsible to the professional club. Or was I that good? If I had stayed in Germany, I would have had a good chance to qualify for the National Team. Education to my parents came first. By the way they hated the game of soccer. Here is how we get around that problem. We have something like scholarships, not available at my time in Brasil. Let the USSF, US Soccer, MLS, A-League (or what ever it is called now) get together with the colleges and develop a program that allows our young tallent to develop. Colleges give to many scholarships to foraign countries, we must, espesially in soccer, develop a system that will follow FIFA rules, even so I think FIFA blew it in this Word Cup, that has the beauty of the game in mind. Now they all fight for their own turf without reguards to the game. I know, far to many Americans cannot stand it, when some international rules have to be followed, we always arogantly think we are better that anyone else. Good in politics but not good in an international competition like Soccer and the Olympic Games. Lets be part of it and become influential rather than hated.
By Henry
June 28, 2006 8:47 AM | Link to this
Oh I forgot, lets start the soccer withdrawal simptons.
By ben
June 28, 2006 10:14 AM | Link to this
The biggest difference I see in MLS and the major European leagues is the lack of high stakes matches. In addition to the league schedule, Premier League, Serie A and La Liga players are in a variety of cup competitions from August to May every year, and the top players compete in major tournaments every other summer. And players competing in the Champions League are certainly used to the pressure of a major knockout competition like the World Cup. Here the stakes only get high every four years.
By Henry
June 28, 2006 10:19 AM | Link to this
Ben, I agree and have mentioned it and suggested correction tto this in a previous Blog comment.
By Horn Guy Dos
June 28, 2006 10:52 AM | Link to this
Here’s an example of how MLS teams really don’t put too much importance on matches:
The CONCACAF Champions Cup is an after-thought. This tournament, which gives the winner a berth into the FIFA Club Championship, hasn’t been won by an MLS team in years and usually isn’t played at the MLS team’s home field. Look at DC United. They play those games at a soccer complex in Maryland.
MLS teams don’t see this as a way to get into a tournament that will let them play the best teams in Europe, South America, etc.
And don’t get me started on the US Open Cup.
However, give the MLS participation in the Copa Sudamericana a few more years to develop. Hopefully teams will try and go for it. Also, if the rumors are true, we’ll see an MLS team or two in the Copa Libertadores pretty soon as well.
By Chris
June 28, 2006 11:43 AM | Link to this
Henry, I liked most of your MLS ideas but playing soccer up north in places like Boston,Chicago and Columbus with a European schedule might be tough. Unless you go to a dome the crowds might be a little thin January-March.
By Rutuger
June 28, 2006 3:15 PM | Link to this
That was fantastic to see Zizou get his due in the final minutes of France’s domination of the Spanyards yesterday—well-spent time missed from work!
Les Bleus really showed heart battling back from the PK and basically handing it to Spain for the rest of the game. They appeared flat and uninspired in group play, but I feel that after what they showed yesterday, Brazil fans must be sweating a little bit.
Brazil must step up to win (and I believe they will), but France scored 3 goals yesterday without Henry even touching the ball (or ever being onside, for that matter). I think this one is up for grabs, and if France can knock off the Brazilians then this cup will have gotten even more sensational than it has already been (minus the disgraceful showing by team USA).
And England is in big trouble.
By Henry
June 28, 2006 4:29 PM | Link to this
Chris, I don’t think so. They don’t play during January and part of February. There are domes in all of the city where te MLS plays. The only reason I think they should play the European season is that they then are readdy to play in International Touranments. and the games will be played all year.