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12 August 2009 Dear Coach Bradley, Heading into today's foray into the teeth of Estadio Azteca, I could not have imagined feeling embarrassment and anger coming away with a 2-1 defeat. You exceeded my expectation, however. At the wrongly-lauded Confederations Cup, your squad managed only a single win in three group play matches. By fluke, you eeked out a trip to the semi-final against Spain. The 2-0 scoreline hid a 44%/56% possession deficit, and only by chance did your bunker strategy withstand the Spanish barrage. The same approach against Brazil fell flat, 3-2 against, but more tellingly, 41%/59% against. Against the Gold Cup minnows, your plucky B-teamers made a valiant run to the final, only to run into the Mexican 5-0 buzz-saw, and ... surprise, yet another possession disaster, this one another 44%/56% debacle. Today, with the presumed best US squad ever to grace Mexico City, and with the hopes of your fans sky high, you squandered an early one-goal advantage in yet another miserable demonstration of what other nations play with style and panache. Although not official, an early assessment had you losing the possession battle 42%/58%. I wouldn't have been surprised to find you in the 30s. Now, I have only my E coaching license. Other than adult league ball, my highest level of play was in high school, and then only as a scrappy substitute GK/striker. I've written about the game for soccer365.com, but mostly as an amateur. So what do I know? I'll tell you what I think, though. If you want to play the game at the international level, it might behoove you to counsel your charges to, oh, I don't know, possess the blasted ball for a spell! I counted 7 touches one time (including the throw-in!), maybe not your best, but close. And it was the exception rather than the rule. You've got a world class goalkeeper in Tim Howard. You've got a solid D headed by Gooch and former English beer-leaguer Jay Demerit. And you have at your disposal such skilled midfielders as Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley (does his name ring a bell?), Clint Dempsey, and Benny Fielhaber--to name just a few--to feed promising strikers Charlie Davies, and Jozy Altidore, and even Brian Ching. With all due respect, in all of the games I've outlined above, I must ask: why do you not even *try* to play a possession game? I'm not looking for 55%/45%. How about 50%/50%? Or even 47%/53%? You've simply got to do more to ease the pressure on your D. Instead, you apparently counseled whomever won the ball to skip the midfield entirely and go for the long, diagonal, and low percentage ball to Davies near the sideline. How'd that end up working out? I have no visions of your being replaced this cycle. You'll either take this team to South Africa or lose your job trying. But if you take *this* team with *this* style to next summer's big dance (sorry, NCAA hoops), you're going to make France in '98 (a nod to Barcelona DC's great tune "Kasey Keller") look like happy days. I urge you to play some Jogo Bonito. The lads are talented enough. Get the ball to the midfield and let them use their speed and athleticism to play the beautiful game. Or die trying. But you'll thrill us either way. And that'll be a breath of fresh air that will surpass even your escape from the smog of the Mexican capital. Sincerely, Jeff Dieffenbach Wayland Wahoo men's 40+ Coach, Wayland Tasmanian Devils boys U14 Fan, USMNT |