Is Pulisic a one-off or is US soccer on the rise?

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Because too many coaches are looking to win matches, not develop soccer players. Add in that the vast majority of coaches don't have understand what it means to have a style of soccer, teach it and be faithful to it and focus too much on tactics and formation. They change as soon as things go badly because "Win" > "Development"

Case 1: Big fast kid who can finish joins team. What's the first thing most coaches do? Put him at the 9 and tell everyone else to get the ball to him. How? Long balls over the top and through balls splitting defenders, and every one a chase relying on speed.

That is one part of the game, but it is single dimensional and lacks creativity. It also won't work if the opponent uses a low block defense or the CB's are just as fast. How do you address it? Teach the kids to be patient and keep the ball on the deck, playing to feet, using width as much as depth to work the ball until you can get in the attacking third and create chances not based on pure speed. That big #9 needs to develop the tools to solve problems without relying on just speed.

Case 2: Opponent sets up a high press all match. What does coach do? Tell GK and backs to forget building out in the defensive third and just bang it long. Why? Too much pressure. Instead of letting players solve it for themselves, by playing long then short or by using width and overloads, keeping more players in the defensive and mid third. Of course it's risky, but the whole point is to keep the ball and if you can't keep it under pressure, what's the point?

Worst thing is coaches who practice one thing and then completely forget what they practiced as soon as it's game time. Anyway, I've seen it at every level of youth soccer that I've been involved with and we're the base of the pyramid. If we can't get it right and build the correct foundation, those further up don't stand a chance.

Yes this is a running theme. Coaches who preach one thing but fold like chairs the moment they may lose a game. All that "philosophy" gets tossed out the window.

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Yes this is a running theme. Coaches who preach one thing but fold like chairs the moment they may lose a game. All that "philosophy" gets tossed out the window.

Because results, even at ulittle, are all the matter to parents and they foot the bill.
I coached against Abbey Villa for years and they would stick to their guns with nice football when struggling, but they would lose players every year.
Any decent coach can teach the right way, but only the high profile winners get the accolades (JD, CB, NB, etc…) right or wrong.

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Sadly coaches can only keep their jobs when they have winning records. Why? Because clubs know that keeps a constant flow of new paying customers coming in the door. No one has the patience to develop players over a span of multiple years. Everyone wants results NOW. Other nations that have improved their game did it over many, many years, with a well thought out road map of how to get there. That also required leadership and buy in. We dont' have leadership here and will never have buy in either when there's money to be made

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Sadly coaches can only keep their jobs when they have winning records. Why? Because clubs know that keeps a constant flow of new paying customers coming in the door. No one has the patience to develop players over a span of multiple years. Everyone wants results NOW. Other nations that have improved their game did it over many, many years, with a well thought out road map of how to get there. That also required leadership and buy in. We dont' have leadership here and will never have buy in either when there's money to be made

I think all these posts miss 3 very important points:

1) Childhood in the US has changed over the last 50 years. Years ago kids normally got together and experimented with different sports spontaneously, often the popular ones they saw on TV but played from a child’s perspective without regard to all the rules and formalities. Only after maybe years of informal play did a kid get signed up for a formal team with uniforms and coaches. Then they would learn the finer points of the game, but they would have the free play, creativity, and love of the game as their foundation. These days kids have no free play time. They are immediately introduced to the game on a formal team where all these concepts that work at the pro level don’t translate to young kids. They are judged on their performance and told constantly when they are doing this or that wrong. All the fun is taken out of the game. Is it any wonder so many quit sports? Soccer is a game, that’s all it is. Overseas, even in developed European countries, they let kids be kids and they don’t put them on a formal team with a coach and concepts that are beyond them as their first introduction to the game. That’s a BIG reason that we aren’t as good in soccer.

2) We think of soccer as a foreigner’s game and that has held us back. While soccer started in Europe, it was widely played in the US over 100 years ago. There was even a pro league called the American Soccer League back in the 1920’s that was popular. For a whole bunch of reasons, soccer fell out of favor and the sport became vilified as a foreign sport. The US lost about 50 years of development that a lot of the world didn’t. Then just as the US was getting back into the game in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the pro game in Europe started to change with big money/TV rights and that’s accelerated since then. The US is playing major catch-up at all levels. It’s crazy to think you can miss half a century of soccer history and development and compete with 100 year old European clubs with billions of $. That’s why our promising players HAVE to go overseas right now.

3) Our soccer culture is youth-centered instead of adult-centered. In most countries, there is a pro or semi-pro senior (U-20 and up) team at club level and everything flows from that. The youth teams only serve to feed that senior team. In the US, our clubs pinnacle is around U-16/17 with the goal being college. Sorry, but college is just a developmental dead-end. You’ll see players who want to really improve going pro and skipping college more and more. Until clubs become more adult-centric, the US will always be behind.

[Unregistered]

I think all these posts miss 3 very important points:

1) Childhood in the US has changed over the last 50 years. Years ago kids normally got together and experimented with different sports spontaneously, often the popular ones they saw on TV but played from a child’s perspective without regard to all the rules and formalities. Only after maybe years of informal play did a kid get signed up for a formal team with uniforms and coaches. Then they would learn the finer points of the game, but they would have the free play, creativity, and love of the game as their foundation. These days kids have no free play time. They are immediately introduced to the game on a formal team where all these concepts that work at the pro level don’t translate to young kids. They are judged on their performance and told constantly when they are doing this or that wrong. All the fun is taken out of the game. Is it any wonder so many quit sports? Soccer is a game, that’s all it is. Overseas, even in developed European countries, they let kids be kids and they don’t put them on a formal team with a coach and concepts that are beyond them as their first introduction to the game. That’s a BIG reason that we aren’t as good in soccer.

2) We think of soccer as a foreigner’s game and that has held us back. While soccer started in Europe, it was widely played in the US over 100 years ago. There was even a pro league called the American Soccer League back in the 1920’s that was popular. For a whole bunch of reasons, soccer fell out of favor and the sport became vilified as a foreign sport. The US lost about 50 years of development that a lot of the world didn’t. Then just as the US was getting back into the game in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the pro game in Europe started to change with big money/TV rights and that’s accelerated since then. The US is playing major catch-up at all levels. It’s crazy to think you can miss half a century of soccer history and development and compete with 100 year old European clubs with billions of $. That’s why our promising players HAVE to go overseas right now.

3) Our soccer culture is youth-centered instead of adult-centered. In most countries, there is a pro or semi-pro senior (U-20 and up) team at club level and everything flows from that. The youth teams only serve to feed that senior team. In the US, our clubs pinnacle is around U-16/17 with the goal being college. Sorry, but college is just a developmental dead-end. You’ll see players who want to really improve going pro and skipping college more and more. Until clubs become more adult-centric, the US will always be behind.

Without question the most insightful post I have seen on TS in a long, long time. Well said

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USMNT vs Mexico

1-1 at the half. Mexico dominating possession and finding a lot of chances.

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1-1 at the half. Mexico dominating possession and finding a lot of chances.

F—— that! Second half USMNT came out swinging. Pulisic scores the deciding pk and Horvath comes off the bench to save a bunch including a pk. They looked like they wanted to go up into the Mexican stands and pick a fight. 130 minutes of fight! USA 3 Mexico 2. Concacaf Final winners, baby!

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F—— that! Second half USMNT came out swinging. Pulisic scores the deciding pk and Horvath comes off the bench to save a bunch including a pk. They looked like they wanted to go up into the Mexican stands and pick a fight. 130 minutes of fight! USA 3 Mexico 2. Concacaf Final winners, baby!

Disgusting behaviour by the fans and the players and coaches too. Homophobic chants, hitting players in the head with objects, abusing the referees, fans running onto the pitch....did I miss anything?

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Disgusting behaviour by the fans and the players and coaches too. Homophobic chants, hitting players in the head with objects, abusing the referees, fans running onto the pitch....did I miss anything?

Apparently you’ve never been to a Mexican game. It was held in Colorado, but could have been Tijuana.

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Apparently you’ve never been to a Mexican game. It was held in Colorado, but could have been Tijuana.

Or an Eastern European Saturday afternoon match

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Apparently you’ve never been to a Mexican game. It was held in Colorado, but could have been Tijuana.

From a mile high to a mile low!

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Well, the border has been pretty loose of late so nobody should be surprised.

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Apparently you’ve never been to a Mexican game. It was held in Colorado, but could have been Tijuana.

Why not more American supporters?
They will play matches where they can sell tickets.
That’s why S. Dakota won’t get any games (if anybody is still living there after covid)

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Why not more American supporters?
They will play matches where they can sell tickets.
That’s why S. Dakota won’t get any games (if anybody is still living there after covid)

You are right. USSF and the venue operators don’t care if the domestic team sells more tickets than the foreign team, just so long as the tickets get sold and they make $. A few years back, Bruce Arena made a comment when he was the USMNT head coach that playing in a heavily Latino NYC area didn’t help when the team faced Costa Rica. But if you are trying to sell tickets, much easier to do in NYC than South Dakota.

My take is that this is all good for soccer in the US. Latinos have a love for the game. The more that come, the more soccer grows. Within 2-3 generations, the loyalty to their ancestor country wanes and they will support the American side. Countless nationalities have done it. It’s what makes this country great.

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The Atlanta MLS franchise has done a nice job building support in the local community, which is heavily African American. Hispanics are obviously huge supporters of the sport and most cities have a strong presence of that fan base. Not surprising Mexico had a big turn out - CO has a large # of Hispanics - and it was a big match. Building a fan base for the sport overall will take time. Fans only have so much time and $ to allocate and unseating the top 3 sports won't happen overnight. Some international wins would help but without qualifying that's not happening any time soon