General Soccer Thread

[Fat Strat]

By his intelligence and sheer force of will, he continues to find a way to be one of the best players on the field, no matter who else is on the field, at a time in his career when he's supposed to be irrelevant. He's just a special player who will never get the credit he deserves outside of the US soccer community, but because of what he's done, it will be that much easier for players like Christian Pulisic and the kids who come after him to reach the pinnacle of the game.

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[thrill]

Mike Bradley won player of the tournament despite missing half the games, and actually deserving it is a great example of why Jurg...i'll stop there. I need to let it go.

The funny thing is, the only other player close to deserving that award was his TFC teammate, Jozy. Jozy was phenomenal. Two players miscast and derided under Jurg...DAMMMIT. I've got to stop.

When the trainers and support staff are involved in a USS celebration, it means something good happened lmao.

[Fat Strat]

Good performance last night by the USMNT stalwarts. Dempsey, Altidore, Bradley, Nagbe. Very solid from Zusi, Gonzales, and Besler. The younger B squad players haven't done much to impress me this tourney. Ariola finds space well and can run but his passing wasn't good. Morris can finish and can fly but, well, he just needs more experience really. Acosta ... I'm struggling to see what Arena sees in him. Did Villafana complete a cross in the last two games?

I guess with Bradley and Nagbe roaming around the midfield and holding possession 60-80% of the time, these other guys should have had a lot more chances than they did. It took Dempsey coming in for the game to open up and there's suddenly space and crisp passing and crosses... yes Dempsey is fantastic and he can completely change a game and a defense, but the kids just couldn't string together anything all that interesting without Dempsey around him, even with some world-class players around them. Lots of passes to nowhere. Crosses that never happened. And lots of Nagbe running around with no outlets.

Good opportunity for those kids to gain some experience, but it really underscores, imo, how important Pulisic and probably Wood are to this club. As well as Fabian Johnson and Yedlin. Service from the fullbacks and creativity in the middle... that's what we lacked in the last two matches (despite winning rather easily).

[thrill]

There's some smoke gathering around our beloved son being the final domino in a Neymar to PSG mega move.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/ ... t-10894778

Could be click bait, but makes plenty of sense based on context. That better not be all Liverpool does with the $ though.

I'd actually be all for this move. I don't think he's such a delicate thing that he needs to stay put. Even if the new manager at Dortmund suits him on paper, I think Klopp obviously suits his best interests and I think he'd play a lot, if not be an automatic starter. Liverpool and Dortmund are essentially on the same level and I think Klopp offers some stability for Christian.

Btw, in the EPL to MLB correlation, the best comp for the St. Louis Cardinals happens to be Liverpool. Second most titles, from a great city that had it's heyday when shipping and manufacturing were the industries to be in, sea of red, BFIF (best fans in football), legendary managers & players throughout their history. They have "You'll Never Walk Alone" and we have "Colby Rasmus Fire Burning In the Oufield." We had the most exciting World Series ever in 2011, they had the most exciting champions legaue final ever in 2005.

So if you've always wanted an in to the EPL and you're a fan of Christian Pulisic, this would be a great place to dive in, if the move actually does happen.

[lukethedrifter]

http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/820026

Vote your conscience. And by that I mean vote for my nephew.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Early returns for replay in MLS are pretty good. I was doubtful (I believe the umpires are still reviewing that Hetward play at home from 2015, the end of NBA games is now excruciating, and MLS refs (though getting better) really suck, and the NFL is so unwatchable I won't even reference it).

But they move fast. It's honestly not much longer (if at all) than the typical celebration and/or argument. There's a little problem with when it's done. The Timbers had a guy taken out in the box, and the ref declined to review (could have been up two goals and a man). But the Timbers benefited from a very efficient review that caught a handball in their opponents go ahead goal.

Not bad or especially disruptive (even in the stadium, where I was worried about what it would do to the energy) so far.

[thrill]

Now that Pulisic has left the nest and is soaring proudly over the global soccer skies, get to know our next hype beast.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2725 ... aiting-for

[Gashouse]

Think Russia can pull some strings to pay us back and help the MNT make it through qualifying?

[Fat Strat]

Must win today against Honduras for the USMNT. Tough match against Costa Rica over the weekend. It should be noted that we haven't won a match on the road yet in the Hex, but if we can't consistently beat teams like Honduras, then we probably don't belong in the WC anyway.

[TimeForGuinness]

MLS in STL isn't dead yet, which is good to hear.