The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

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Talgrath said:
Well I'll be damned. Thanks Costa Rica!
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With our Luck Brazil will Draw Peru and Ecuador will beat Haiti 10-0. Just need Brazil to TCOB. Hopefully they beat Peru and Haiti draws Ecuador. Or Peru/Brazil draw like 1-1 and Ecuador only wins 1-0. Though it's more likely Brazil comfortably beats Peru and Ecuador comfortably beats Haiti. But lets hope for Peru!
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
With our Luck Brazil will Draw Peru and Ecuador will beat Haiti 10-0. Just need Brazil to TCOB.
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This is what JK says about playing Brazil:

"If it's Brazil they are the big-time favorites, five-time World Champions, blah blah blah. We love them. Why not going at them? Why not being courageous? Why not putting pressure on them and give them a game. This is what we're going to prepare."

I have to agree w/ JK there & I will chant 'Go USA FTW'
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
With our Luck Brazil will Draw Peru and Ecuador will beat Haiti 10-0. Just need Brazil to TCOB. Hopefully they beat Peru and Haiti draws Ecuador. Or Peru/Brazil draw like 1-1 and Ecuador only wins 1-0. Though it's more likely Brazil comfortably beats Peru and Ecuador comfortably beats Haiti. But lets hope for Peru!
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The US NAtional team is 5-0-0 in Seattle in competitive matches. Bring on Brazil!!!! This of course has nothing to do with the fact I will be there...well maybe a little.
 
I don't even know how happy I'd be if we made the Semi-Finals. Looking at the path, we likely get Argentina in the Semis if we get through. Of course that means Argentina winning their group, and beating the loser of Mexico/Venezuela. But I can't see Argentina losing out. I think they win the WHole thing.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
I don't even know how happy I'd be if we made the Semi-Finals. Looking at the path, we likely get Argentina in the Semis if we get through. Of course that means Argentina winning their group, and beating the loser of Mexico/Venezuela. But I can't see Argentina losing out. I think they win the WHole thing.
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This should help you change your vibe:
[ame=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh_VbaAyn-4]I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN[/ame]
 
ALso putting out odds, assuming he keeps being a freaking wall. What are the odds Brooks moves up? Assuming he stays in Bunderliga and with Hummels is on the move to Bayern, do you think Dortmund take a hard look at him?

I can't imagine this is doing anything but a ton of good for his value.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
ALso putting out odds, assuming he keeps being a freaking wall. What are the odds Brooks moves up? Assuming he stays in Bunderliga and with Hummels is on the move to Bayern, do you think Dortmund take a hard look at him?

I can't imagine this is doing anything but a ton of good for his value.
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don't forget Brooks is only 23 years old. I just read that Herta finally negotiated his extension, but he wanted to wait until the Copa America Centenario completed first. Herta signed him until 2019. BTW that was fup way to go home for Brazil. No way Dunga will be able to keep his job after this fiasco. Oh Well, Go Team USA!!!!
 
I think it's karma for Dunga for ****ting on OCSC.

Brooks's extension was wanted by Hertha more than him to drive up his transfer price. Of course Brooks is getting paid more which is great.
 
I now retract my praise of Costa Rica, they screwed us! We could have had Peru! Such a terrible showing by Brazil, sure they're missing people but this was an easy group they should have gotten out of without a problem. If Dunga doesn't resign he is so very fired.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
I think it's karma for Dunga for ****ting on OCSC.

Brooks's extension was wanted by Hertha more than him to drive up his transfer price. Of course Brooks is getting paid more which is great.
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I'd kinda like to see Don Garber (head of MLS) say something to the effect of "Hey Dunga, at least our teams have players that can beat Peru!" but...I doubt he would for obvious reasons. Kind of a nice cherry on top of the schadenfreude sunday though.
 
Who replaces Yedlin? That's the milliondollar question. Jurgen has some options.

Cleanest is Orozco replaces Yedlin, but do you trust Orozco to be able to cover Jefferson Montero? I don't. But Jurgen may not have another option without having to screw with Chemistry

Second is Besler or Castillo at LB and Johnson at RB. Maybe the better option. But do you trust either of them to be able to handle ANtonio Valencia?

Third option is Besler to CB and Cameron to RB. Probably the most sound 4 man back line Cameron doesn't have the elite pace, but he should be able to handle Montero way better than Orozco. But it ruins our CB pairing, would that finally open us up for a striker to score on us? Enner Valencia is a talented striker.

Last option I can think of is nuke the lineup. Go with a 3 man back line. I'm thinking 3-5-2

GK - Guzan
RCB - Cameron
CB - Brooks
LCB - Besler
RM - Zusi
CM - Bradley
CM - Jones
LM - Johnson
CAM - Bedoya
ST - Dempsey
ST - Wood

What I like about this lineup is it dedicates 3 CBs. Basically you can have each one kind of man mark one of Ecuador's forwards. Brooks on Enner, Besler on Antonio, and Cameron on Montero. Midfield supplies support. The risk is that we don't have as much back line teamwork. Of course Zusi and Johnson will be tracking back heavily. As will Bradley and Jones. If we get a late lead. We bring on Orozco for Zusi and park the bus right on them.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
Who replaces Yedlin? That's the milliondollar question. Jurgen has some options.

Cleanest is Orozco replaces Yedlin, but do you trust Orozco to be able to cover Jefferson Montero? I don't. But Jurgen may not have another option without having to screw with Chemistry

Second is Besler or Castillo at LB and Johnson at RB. Maybe the better option. But do you trust either of them to be able to handle ANtonio Valencia?

Third option is Besler to CB and Cameron to RB. Probably the most sound 4 man back line Cameron doesn't have the elite pace, but he should be able to handle Montero way better than Orozco. But it ruins our CB pairing, would that finally open us up for a striker to score on us? Enner Valencia is a talented striker.

Last option I can think of is nuke the lineup. Go with a 3 man back line. I'm thinking 3-5-2

GK - Guzan
RCB - Cameron
CB - Brooks
LCB - Besler
RM - Zusi
CM - Bradley
CM - Jones
LM - Johnson
CAM - Bedoya
ST - Dempsey
ST - Wood

What I like about this lineup is it dedicates 3 CBs. Basically you can have each one kind of man mark one of Ecuador's forwards. Brooks on Enner, Besler on Antonio, and Cameron on Montero. Midfield supplies support. The risk is that we don't have as much back line teamwork. Of course Zusi and Johnson will be tracking back heavily. As will Bradley and Jones. If we get a late lead. We bring on Orozco for Zusi and park the bus right on them.
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I am more for the Castillo on LB & Johnson on RB option - don't mess w/ the CB pairing - it works
 
Personally I'd just toss in Orozco and let it be, he didn't do horrifically against Paraguay after all. Maybe have Bedoya or Jones stick closer to the right side on defense. Personally, I'm not that scared of Jefferson Montero, he's not exactly lighting up the EPL.
 
Well, tomorrow is the British derby (Wales vs England) at the Euro 2016. I don't think they've faced each other in an international competition ever.
 
Talgrath said:
Personally I'd just toss in Orozco and let it be, he didn't do horrifically against Paraguay after all. Maybe have Bedoya or Jones stick closer to the right side on defense. Personally, I'm not that scared of Jefferson Montero, he's not exactly lighting up the EPL.
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Jefferson Montero was good for Swans when he started. He did suck off the bench though.

I think if you go with Orozco you don't really have to worry about coverage from the midfielders, but your guys on the right side will likely have to do more attacking as if I'm Jurgen I'd tell Orozco he can press forward to keep Montero honest but never let Montero get behind him.
 
Some interesting Open Cup results. The US version of the FA Cup, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, began in earnest this week; technically it's been going on for months, but MLS teams don't come in until the 4th round. the 4th round is typically where MLS teams put in 2nd or even 3rd string players against lower tier teams from the USL or PDL. There were some interesting upsets and results worth mentioning though:

NY Cosmos Beat NYCFC...AGAIN!
Another dose of evidence that things just aren't going well for NYCFC, they lost to the NASL (2nd tier) team the NY Cosmos. Last year the Cosmos were the only team to get through to the 6th round thanks to beating on NYCFC too. What makes this look really bad is the fact that the Cosmos then got smoked by the NYRB. We'll see if history repeats, the NY Cosmos face the New England Revolution next.

DC United Loses to Fort Lauderdale Strikers
More of a surprise upset, but not that crazy. Sputtering DC United lost to NASL's Fort Lauderdale Strikers on penalties after a 0-0 draw. For DC United it's another disappointing result that adds fuel to the fire under Ben Olsen's seat. The Strikers face off next against Orlando, who will probably smash the upstart 2nd tier club.

The Galaxy Needed a Sneaky, Dirty Goal to Get Through
Look, this is just straight up a bad look for the Galaxy, have a watch:
LA Galaxy Terrible Goal
Most of the other team is literally checking on your injured and still down on the field player and you sneak one by in extra time. The worst part is that the Galaxy weren't even playing a 3rd or 4th tier team, La Maquina is a pure amateur team; part of the UPSL that covers the southwest, they play games at a High School. The Galaxy should be ashamed of themselves for playing like this and winning like this.

The next round of the Open Cup plays on June 29th, with some intriguing rivalry matches including Houston vs SKC and Chicago Fire vs Columbus Crew.
 
It wasn't always pretty, but that's a hell of a nice win for team USA. As a note: team USA is 6-0-0 in Seattle, WA; they need to come up here more!

Dempsey Silences the Haters
Anyone that thought Dempsey's time was up well, Dempsey showed why it isn't. A goal and an assist in which he did a lot of the hard work for Zardes on the second goal. Zardes also had an excellent game, which may help silence those that dislike him. Nonetheless Zardes, Dempsey and Wood were the offensive engines of this team this game.

The Modified Back Line Worked
Yes, the USMNT gave up a goal for the first time in 3 games, but overall the modified back line with Besler at leftback and Johnson at right back worked; Johnson mostly shut down Jefferson Montero and Besler had pretty much everyone's number in his area all night. John Brooks and Geoff Cameron continue to be monstrously good; they should be the starting centerbacks for the foreseeable future.

We're Probably Screwed
It's great we got through, but the next game is probably the end of the road. Aside from the fact that unless Venezuela pulls off a miracle upset we're facing Argentina with Messi, Jones, Bedoya and Wood will all miss the next game. There's no obvious replacement for Jones, Beckerman is too slow and Nagbe is more offensive. Zusi probably comes in for Bedoya, but he's not nearly as good. Wood and Dempsey have looked good this tourney, maybe Pulisic but it may be Wondolowski time. Either way, I don't see team USA beating Argentina.
 
Friend of mine has a point. Odds of the US beating Argentina are slim to none even if all players were available. See it for what it is, give the younger kids rotation for the experience, and leave the stronger players for the battle for 3rd place. Or just go for it anyway, that's fine too. Either way, I'll enjoy watching it.
 
I'm hoping Klinsmann throws caution to the wind and puts out a lineup to go at Argentina. We've got nothing to lose and if rather see us go out trying to play they back into a final to be honest.
 
Deuce FTW!!!!
ClH7yMwVYAA0I6s.jpg
 
My takeaways from the game.

1. Zero tolerance rules are the worst. Jones did not deserve a red card. He was in a shoving match with a player and his hand grazed the other guys face. No red deserved. But because of a zero tolerance rule, he gets a red card. Rule was enforced to stop players from punching/slapping off the ball. It shouldn't apply to shoving because both players are at fault. If Arroyo didn't have his arms out trying to parry (for lack of a better term) Jones's arms I don't see Jones connecting with his face.

2. US shook but didn't fall apart. Defensively things got scary at the end of the game. Ecuador found out about a few spot in between BRooks and Besler and exploited it twice.

3. US Stillhaven't conceded a goal in the run of play. Which is pretty fantastic. It's required some highly heroic Guzan saves and some luck, but it's a run of defensive performances we haven't seen in some time. I also think that corner goal yesterday was circumstances. US not having the one extra man hurt their game plan.

Now the challenging part. Playing Argentina (presumably) without 2/3 of the midfield and a striker.

Personally I hope we go with a 4-4-2 still. Go back to the original back line.

GK - Guzan
RB - Yedlin
CB - Cameron
CB - Brooks
LB - Johnson
RM - Zusi
CM - Bradley
CM - Nagbe
LM - Pulisic
ST - Dempsey
ST - Zardes

I can't see Jurgen going a few ways though. I think that's the most sound option personally. He could also go with Beckerman back there and Nagbe out wide instead of Pulisic. He could keep Besler at LB and move Fabian to the midfield. Heck he could go with a 4 man CB backline and move Fabian and Yedlin forward (least likely option IMO)

This is an impossibly hard task. I think Jurgen makes his most like for like subs though. Zardes for Wood, Pulisic for Zardes, Zusi for Bedoya, and Nagbe for Jones. There's no sub for Jones of course. But Nagbe is probably the closest.
 
Also short of a Venezuelan upset, the best case scenario for USMNT is to have the game be wide open and stretch Argentina. They'll be going on a short 2 days rest so a stretched game that tires them out would be nice.
 
Talgrath said:
It may be a long shot, but US Soccer is appealing the cards given to Jones and Wood, for different reasons.

US Soccer Appeal
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Can't see them overturning the Jones one. Wood one is unlikely as well. Honestly I don't think Jones made contact with the face so it's not a red card, but they're making it a rule emphasis so I really can't see them overturning the jones one. Wood will be interesting, I don't remember the details because of fact I was still trying to wrap my head around Jones as I thought he wasn't deserving at elast a bit.
 
Great night tonight watching Mexico get murdered. I just don't see the love for that team and the talking heads thinking they'd win the Copa. Decent players but a huge step down in class from the CONMEBOL sides.
 
The Copa America and Euros might still be rolling, but MLS resumed after a two week break. A few interesting things to note:

Philadelphia Already Miss Vincent Noguiera
Vincent Noguiera was one of the quiet engines in the Philly midfield, not a lot of flash or sizzle but his defensive work was excellent and his seemingly endless pool of energy meant he kept moving when other players might have slowed down. Unfortunately, the Union and Noguiera parted company, apparently due to some sort of personal illness issue, not much is known but Noguiera is returing to France and said on social media that it isn't life threatening. The Union's loss of their best midfielder was very much on display in the 3-2 loss to NYCFC though, the Union will need to find someone to fill that hole int he roster soon.

Orlando Halts the Game at the 49th Minute
Orlando halted their game against San Jose on Saturday in the 49th minute to honor the victims of the Orlando gunman, a classy move all around and a rare showing in soccer. The rest of the game had lots of drama as two very late goals first gave Orlando the lead, then tied the game.

Referee Misses an Obvious Own Goal
More bad times for the referees, as an obvious own goal was missed by the lineman that would have given FC Dallas the lead. Both teams were upset with the poor officiating by the end of the game, as the referees would proceed to miss or bungle multiple calls. SKC would win the game 2-0, with one of the goals coming from a questionable penalty earned by Dom Dwyer. Sometimes things just don't bounce your way, but Dallas has reason to feel particularly upset as they outplayed SKC for long stretches and two of the no-calls would likely have resulted in goals for them.
 
http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/sto...wood-suspensions-both-out-vs-argentina-061916

So we're back to square one.

Question is what do we do to replace those 3? Looking at options including starters

Jones - Few options, basically Nagbe, Cameron, Beckerman and Kitchen. Latter 3 are CDMs, which has been the role Bradley has played. We could go with a highly regressive Midfield, where Beckerman sits infront of the back 2 and Bradley slightly in front of them and rely entirely on width. Or you put Bradley in a CAM option, which is where he hasn't been playing for club or country lately. Nagbe is IMO the only real sub option.

Bedoya - Options are a bit erratic but they have options. Nagbe, Pulisic, Zusi, or Fabian Johnson can play there. I like Pulisic, but I think Zusi is most likely. Knowing Jurgen it could be Fabian, but I think he wants the best possible back line which is Fabian at LB. But maybe he wants the best possible team, which liekly doesn't involve someone like Pulisic.

Wood - A few options here. Zardes, Pulisic, or Wondo. Pulisic isn't likely as he's more of a replacement to Dempsey's skillset. So it comes to Zardes or Wondo. I hope for Zardes. I think skillwise he's closer to Wood. Wondo is a poacher who won't be able to put in 90 minutes of work like Wood or Zardes.

So I see 2 lineups that are likely.

GK - Guzan
RB - Yedlin
CB - Cameron
CB - Brooks
LB - Besler
RM - Zusi
CM - Bradley
CM - Nagbe
LM - Johnson
ST - Zardes
ST - Dempsey

The other is the same but with Besler out and Pulisic in.
 

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