US Soccer fires Bob Bradley

[SteelBlue]

A very wordy press release here:

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6812931/bob-bradley-dismissed-us-men-soccer-national-team-coach

Edit: They've updated it now so my "very wordy" comment is no longer funny. It was one sentence when I posted the link.

[WashingtonCoug]

Will they finally just go ahead and hire Jurgen Klinsmann!?

[pellegrino]

Will they finally just go ahead and hire Jurgen Klinsmann!?

is he interested? IIRC, the reason we went with bradley is that klinsi wasn't interested.

[BigFatMeanie]

Doesn't matter who they get. The US doesn't have the horses to compete at the top tier of international play.

[WashingtonCoug]

is he interested? IIRC, the reason we went with bradley is that klinsi wasn't interested.

If the money is right he'll come. If the US wants to win bad enough they will find the money to hire him.

[WashingtonCoug]

Doesn't matter who they get. The US doesn't have the horses to compete at the top tier of international play.

They may not have the horses to win the world cup, but they do have enough talent to make a run. They have been underachieving for the last 8 years.

[BoylenOver]

If not Klinsmann, I wouldn't mind seeing Louis Van Gaal.

The structure of US Soccer isn't conducive to the success we're potentially capable of achieving. Talented players should be entering academies at 7 or 8 and training with them exclusively. No travel teams, no high school teams, no college teams.

It also wouldn't surprise me to learn that there's no overriding vision among the U-17's, U-19's, U-21's, and the national team.

[wuapinmon]

Honestly, I welcome this news. Something about his stoic leadership style bugs me. We can be a great team, contenders (though not champions at this point), if we develop some sense of what it means to be an "American" footballer.

[smokymountainrain]

My guess is they feel like they have a good shot at Klinsmann right now, hence the timing of this dismissal.

[pellegrino]

Honestly, I welcome this news. Something about his stoic leadership style bugs me. We can be a great team, contenders (though not champions at this point), if we develop some sense of what it means to be an "American" footballer.

I don't know that we know what that is. We're still a very young soccer culture and we still don't get the best athletes our nation produces playing the beautiful game.

BO is right that the entire structure of USSF is not doing what it takes to make the national team a contender. There seems to be a lack of vision as to how to develop young soccer players to prepare them for the national team. The MLS academies and its development league is a step in the right direction, but that won't help qualify for 2012. I tend to think that problems USSF has aren't so much about who is coaching the national team, but more so how things are being run in Chicago. Ultimately the way that the USSF regulates and governs the game will determine "what it means to be an 'American' footballer."

[MarkGrace]

My guess is they feel like they have a good shot at Klinsmann right now, hence the timing of this dismissal.

Haven't they always had a good shot at Klinsmann? Seems like he's always been ready to come as soon as they want him.

[wuapinmon]

I don't know that we know what that is. We're still a very young soccer culture and we still don't get the best athletes our nation produces playing the beautiful game.

This will always be a problem in our country, I think. I can only hope that with the increase in our Hispanic population, the focus (and dollars) will shift a little away from the Overpaid Four. I already think that baseball, basketball, and hockey are in trouble.

[BoylenOver]

This will always be a problem in our country, I think. I can only hope that with the increase in our Hispanic population, the focus (and dollars) will shift a little away from the Overpaid Four. I already think that baseball, basketball, and hockey are in trouble.

I can't speak towards baseball or basketball (although I know baseball is struggling at the youth level), but I do know hockey is doing just fine. We're still behind Canada and probably Russia, but especially in "non-traditional" markets, more and more ice arenas are being built and more youth are playing.

this is anecdotal evidence, but there was a player born and raised in Orange County who was a top-ten draft pick last year.

[jay santos]

This will always be a problem in our country, I think. I can only hope that with the increase in our Hispanic population, the focus (and dollars) will shift a little away from the Overpaid Four. I already think that baseball, basketball, and hockey are in trouble.

I don't know how it works in other states. In Utah, only rich white kid soccer nerds play soccer. The athletes play football, baseball, and basketball. In soccer, they start in 3rd grade with "elite" teams that practice and play year round and require $800 fees. This effectually weeds out the athletes. And the rich, white kids have the sport to themselves. By the time they hit high school, they are highly skilled soccer players but at the end of the day they are still short, slow, and white.

[Shaka]

I can't speak towards baseball or basketball (although I know baseball is struggling at the youth level), but I do know hockey is doing just fine. We're still behind Canada and probably Russia, but especially in "non-traditional" markets, more and more ice arenas are being built and more youth are playing.

this is anecdotal evidence, but there was a player born and raised in Orange County who was a top-ten draft pick last year.

This is absolutely correct. Pro hockey is starting to find the players who are growing up outside the traditional hockey states. I was playing year round and coaching when they were building the hockey venues and practice facilities for the Olympics. Since they built the arenas the quality of play in Utah has skyrocketed. When I was a kid there were some good players but they were similar to the soccer guys Santos wrote about i.e. rich white kids that could afford to play on travel teams. Now that there are hockey arenas in several communities hockey is accessible to virtually anyone who wants to play. There are bunches of kids that want to play. The leagues are full and doing well. The regular rec leagues found at places like The Peaks are improving every year. There are now players from Utah making it in to Junior Hockey as well as collegiate programs.

Amazingly the price to play has dropped as well. The leagues still cost a pretty penny but it's not much more than football. The equipment costs have dropped too. When I was a kid between the league fees and equipment a parent could easily drop a thousand bucks. Now you can outfit a player for far less. No, the player will not have the latest in Graf skates but he will have a good pair of Bauer or CCM that will not limit his game, will last for a couple of years, and cost about the same as a high-end basketball shoe.