July 12, 2011 – 7:57 pmUSA v France

Tomorrow, the expectation is that France are likely to enjoy a large share of possession, so USA must attempt to catch them on the counter and, if they are to do that, there are two areas in which USA can excel and punish France.
First of all USA must stop the supply line to Luisa Necib if, as expected, she plays loosely around Delie. The Lyon star is expected to show her class but stop her from receiving and running at defenders and USA can frustrate France.
Necib is intelligent, good technique and movement. Quality in everything a coach would want in a playmaker: passing, link-up play, decisions.
Delie, Necib’s partner up front, is a very disciplined and patient striker with a very good attitude to her role of a target player.
As such, she plays across the width of the 18-yard box, stays central and rarely makes runs into the wide channels.
She is very good at occupying the central defenders, and her strong characteristic is that two-yard burst to lose her marker and take the goal-scoring shot. She disciplined to stay forward and is not tempted to come back and get too involved in midfield. She lets Necib do that and Necib likes to roam.
Another key to stopping France, I believe, will be stopping the attack-minded Laure LePailleur, a midfielder serving as a rampaging right-back, who loves to go upfield and join in quickly on the counter and against England she has proved herself a real threat going forward. But her defending can be suspect. Three times she challenged attackers and conceded free-kicks.
USA need to penetrate better down that flank and create a pressure point. Abby Wambach must make the runs drifting out from center to the left. That way she can exploit the space LePailleur vacates. Similarly LePeibelt must support quickly to give us width on the outside of our wide player on LePailleur’s side of the field.
Speed on the counter will the key – with quick passing, with and without the ball, from the middle third.

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July 10, 2011 – 11:03 pmFour ways the USA v Brazil match will be remembered

USA
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than
unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

In football, mediocre performances are often remedied by wins.
Aided by the last minute heroics and the penalty shootout victory, it will be forgotten that USA did not play particularly well against Brazil while 11v11.
Misplaced passes, poor movement, few opportunities. But the key to this is remembering that when not playing well with passing and movement teams have got to make up for it in other areas – determination and commitment, and USA did that.
USA have a group of players who are honest and hard-working and in Wambach they have an inspirational leader.
Someone once said that a great player is a superb individual talent who uses it at the service of the team and today Wambach did just that. Like a true great, Wambach gave USA something extra when they were down and out.
In the US this win will be remembered as one of the greatest in all of sports.

BRAZIL
In a low scoring game like football a team that gives away cheap goals will not win trophies.
Daiane made 3 errors and USA punished Brazil mercilessly.
When Buehler was given her marching orders and Brazil were handed a penalty kick, Brazil after not playing well at all, were handed a lifeline and an opportunity to win in regulation.
But the old adage about 10 players being harder to beat than 11 came to hunt them.
Yesterday Brazil’s problem was more than just Daiane’s errors and bad defending. There is no idea behind the squad. They don’t play with any unique style. The Brazil of 2007 had a style: they would pass the ball for as long as necessary, very patiently retaining possession until the opportunity arose, when they would ruthlessly exploit it with their attacking talent. Kleiton Lima’s Brazil play as a team of individuals. They don’t pass enough, and they’re always trying to force the chance with individual dribbles or bad angle long shots, because there’s no plan on how to break down the opposition.
In Brazil this loss will be remembered for Daiane’s own goal and a missed penalty.

NEUTRALS
For neutral fans around the world this match will be remembered for curious referee decisions, sloppy play from both teams, Brazilian acting and delays, and Wambach’s last second equalizer.

COACHES
In sports as in war, the power to recognize your chance and take it is more important than anything else. Timidity will do more damage than audacity.
Kleiton Lima’s problem was simple: he appeared to have no idea what to do. The exceptional individual abilities of his players were negated by his reluctance/tactical ineptitude, and his inability to adjust his team as required by the events. When presented with the fortune of playing 11v10 from the 65th minute on, Lima should have known that the US will be a lot more direct in their play and make three adjustments. Lima should have asked his 3 forwards to press high against USA three-player defense, stretch his midfield to create 2v1 against Lloyd when Boxx dropped back to help Rampone, ask his flank players to play tight against O’Reilly/Heath and Rapinoe and deny any service in the box from wide positions.
That never came and the football gods punished Lima in the cruelest manner possible, just as Brazil were on the brink of celebration.
Coaches will remember this match for Lima’s inability to make subtle alterations required.

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July 8, 2011 – 3:10 pmLima’s Brazil

Brazil’s coach Kleiton Lima knows he has gifted players and he wants to attack. So far in three victories he used a 3-4-3 system.
Unlike the UNC 3-4-3 which relies on a high pressure, high tempo that requires excellent levels of fitness, Brazil sit back (to limit the space behind) and wait for their opponents to overstretch themselves and then break out. Typically, Brazil’s quick strikers are sufficiently superior to their opponents to capitalize on only a handful of chances as they did in group play.
Against USA, which is expected to use 4-4-2, Brazil will have one more defender than the opposing strikers, two to mark, one to cover and 2 shielding defensive midfielders in front. Any defense is only as good as the two central midfielders ahead of them. In Ester and especially in Formiga, Brazil have experienced, technical players capable of reading the game and able to control tempo.
In Cheney, Brazil will face its biggest problem. Her role and movement are unconventional and how Lima chooses to cope with the challenge will impact the outcome of this match.

Going forward, Brazil’s key to success is to have the constant creation of two v ones down the flanks, with wide midfielders linking up with the two wingers who are free to change places.
When the team is solid individual talent tips the balance and in Marta, Kleiton Lima has that talent capable of doing just that. Building around his number 10, Lima may have found the collective formation that leaves the team sufficiently protected and gives his attacking talent a platform to shine.

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July 6, 2011 – 7:09 pmUSA 1:2 Sweden

This result was not unexpected.
Casual fans tend to overlook poor performances, such as v Colombia and Korea, as long as goals scored were spectacular.
Few noticed that all three goals v COL were results of naïve mistakes by COL not of creativity or sustained possession and patient build up of the US team.
The immediacy of Twitter in particular delivers purely emotional responses from fans and very little of realistic analysis. The quality of ESPN coverage, the sound bites, the highlights, cover-up the deficiencies in the team’s play.
The play of Sweden’s midfield won the day. They were solid, deep and narrow across their defensive area, they continually encouraged the US to move the ball wide. But there was no width on either side with Cheney high and inside and Rapinoe wanting to cut in at every opportunity.
Without a clever dribbler to hit the byline the US were reduced to hitting ineffective long balls that were comfortably dealt with by Sweden defenders. Sundhage refused to change her teams’ shape and in the end Sweden were little troubled tactically.
Sweden demonstrated two things today; an important principle of tactics of keeping one’s midfield compact and concentrated, and that sometimes running and energy can be less important than imagination and incision.
Abby Wambach requires quick, quality wide players who can deliver good crosses in the box for Wambach to attack or quick central midfielders capable of going forward and combining with Wambach around the box. Yesterday, none were present.
Which brings me to another point.
At a properly functioning club or national team, the coach must be the most powerful individual. No single player, no matter how famous or accomplished, can be allowed to undermine the authority of the coach.
The fact that Wambach, reportedly injured and carrying yellow card, played 90 minutes yesterday is an indication that at least in the case of Abby Wambach, she decides not Sundhage.

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June 28, 2011 – 9:57 pmThree points is what matters

USA beat DPR Korea 2-0 but it was a performance that lacked imagination and fluidity. Good goals by Cheney, who was very effective in her attacking responsibilities but remiss defensively, and Buehler, were enough for USA to secure the all important 3 points.

DPR Korea were short of top quality and lacked experience and tactical acumen to take advantage of USA shape.
Sundhage opted to play 4-4-2, playing Cheney on the left side and asked her to move into central attacking positions as frequently as possible. Korea required two things; a faster tempo and for either Yun Mi or Myong to move into Korea’s right channel whenever Cheney pushed forward.
By taking up right channel positions and by racing upfield, Yun Mi or Myong would have created 2v1 in space between Cheney and LePeibelt.
Korea needed to overload their right side and consistently hit the byline and to attack LePeibelt on the outside from different angles on a day when the American left back was exposed without cover throughout. By doing so Korea could have forced Cheney to defend deep or risk leaving LePeibelt exposed. That tactical adjustment never came and ultimately Korea were punished for their lack of experience.

Boxx and Lloyd struggled at times and Pia must be impress on them that the ball has to be cherished, that there is no need to play too quickly. Unlike in WPS, possession is more important than tempo at the highest international level.

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June 23, 2011 – 3:31 pmOn Atlanta

AllWhiteKit.com reported that “Atlanta Beat head coach James Galanis conceded his team had no chance of making the playoffs and made some candid comments about the Beat’s original intentions going into the season.”

Some questionable statement to make for Mr. Galanis but as long as Fitz Johnson is calling the shots there’ll always be something dysfunctional about Atlanta. Strong clubs have strong leaders and people take their direction and initiative from the people at the top.
From the very beginning, the Beat lacked ownership, managerial and coaching experience. Fantastic venue aside, from day one there was not a lot of depth in the club as a whole.
It will continue until the bitter end because errors continue to be compounded and we all understand that a typical owner’s first instinct will always be to control costs. That not always is the correct strategy. Sometime you have to take risks and spend in order to make. But spend based on a long term plan, a clearly defined strategy and pre-established milestones.
Atlanta’s player acquisition policy has raised many eyebrows. Experienced coaches acquire players to fill a need to reach a goal, not try to change half a team in order to come up short anyway… that’s what poorly run clubs do. You trade young talent to try to increase your “already good chances” of winning. You do not trade good young players to try to give yourself a chance of winning.
The loss of Solo, Bachmann, Rasmussen, Aluko and Miyama after last season confirmed a lack of coherent acquisition strategy and a budgetary pattern for the future and it is clear that costs are being trimmed.
Large scale personnel changes bring upheavals. Each change brings new relationships at the training ground, and quite often an altered tactical approach, all of which the players must learn. Senior players such as Lori Chalupny has been resilient in the face of these repeated player changes but must be reaching the point where her powers of adaptation and patience are stretched. Frequent changes bring instability. This instability is now built into the system in Atlanta.
Can Atlanta turn things around? I don’t know but having clear vision for play, clear idea of squad, clear season long strategy, match tactics, training methodology and depth of squad could help.

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June 10, 2011 – 11:42 pmPre-World Cup thoughts

USA’s 1:0 win over Mexico demonstrated that the spine of the team is on its last legs and not likely to participate in another World Cup.
Rampone 36, Boxx 34, Lloyd 29, Wambach 31 are at an age when recovery takes longer and reaction time slows down.
There are physiological changes, which take place as we age, and regardless of diet and exercise regiment older players are unable to compete against younger players on equal footing.
Ronaldo knows that, so does Zidane.

With USA’s game historically based on athleticism and power these four players specifically will be tested by younger, more agile, fitter players and it will not be easy.
Rampone still is a defensive leader and organizer but at this World Cup she will be severely tested. Boxx is no longer the box-to-box midfielder and she has struggled in the last 12 months. Lloyd never was and never will be the quick, creative playmaker the US so desperately needs and lacks. Asking her to frequently get into opposing teams’ penalty box can lead to gaps and quick counters. While shooting from distance is her strong characteristic that alone can’t be criteria for selection.
Heather Mitt’s inclusion in the squad can only be attributed to sentimental reasons, as she no longer appears to be first choice even for her club team. Its been reported that Mitts was told on the field that she was going to Germany. Surely Pia made that decision before Mitts’ very average appearance against Mexico, which included 2 moments when she was badly exposed.
Inexperienced Mexicans did not punish USA but Germans will be a lot less forgiving.

Wambach in her prime struck fear in opposing defenders. She had the “box presence,” the ability to get on the end of all balls served into penalty box or making defenders hesitant. It is no longer the case today. Her style of play and injuries took their toll on her body. Her ferocious and well-timed runs into the box are no longer ferocious and as of late they’re not even happening much more. And when she gets opportunities as she did against Mexico, she missed a sitter from 6 yards out. Pia’s insistence on playing Wambach may have more to do with lack of options than her form of the last 12 months.
Wambach’s contemporary, Birgit Prinz of Germany, is two years older but German coaching staff continuously developed her style, and her role with German WNT has changed. More in Wambach’s mold in her younger years, Prinz’ game has evolved and she drops off to become a linkup player, more of a playmaker than a striker. Technically very good, Prinz is capable of making accurate long and short passes and involve her teammates.

Post Germany 2011 USA has O’Hara, Heath, Cheney, Morgan and 3-5 other youngsters with much potential. Their tactical and technical development in the next 2-3 will be key to their and USA’s future.
Players such as Rodriguez and Masar could replace Wambach but both require refining of their game.
Masar’s development has benefited from WPS in year one and two but not so sure about this season. Rodriguez work on timing and precision of her runs as well as improving her general technique.

Its been 12 years since USA won the World Cup. In that time most countries, from Australia to Russia, have invested in infrastructure and development of the game.
The state of women’s facilities in this country is beyond critical. W-League and WPSL, the long-term hope for post college development, have around 90 teams between them. Less than 10% have access to quality soccer facilities for training and matches. Year-round access to conditioning and medical facilities is nonexistent.
Comparing access to modern training/conditioning and medical facilities in Germany, Sweden and many European countries to those in USA will make one weep.
Year round training, competition, access to modern facilities and compensation is what increases professionalism, standard of individual and team play. Today even WPS can’t deliver that.
We are loosing a large percentage of good, post college players who are willing to continue their playing careers outside of WPS. Recognizing that in USA players are limited to 3-month playing seasons and no access to quality facilities, they lose interest and move on.
The Federation and Soccer United Marketing must demonstrate leadership and become proactive. In partnership with Nike, state and local governments, state adult associations and adult clubs it must invest in small facilities, which can be utilized by adult teams in each state. (Another option is to have MLS teams field professional women’s teams and allow those teams the use of their facilities.)
If ever there was a country that needs a long-term strategy when it comes to women’s football, it is USA. The last decade, the USSF has been in stagnation, refusing to modernize and to invest long term, living on its 1999 success. With the reality that in the last 12 years we’ve witnessed a huge women’s football opportunity destroyed for some years – if not for good, the perpetrators who mismanaged our women’s programs have pretty much run out of excuses. These people, if they ran banks, mutual funds, if they were doctors, they would be accused of malfeasance, of malpractice and of mismanagement.

We can continue to pretend that everything is well with the women’s game in this country and without serious long term strategy and investment we are facing a long, downward trend in performances and results on international stage.

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June 4, 2011 – 11:53 pmPre-WWC interview with All White Kit

AWK: Group A is considered the most difficult group in the tournament. Which team do you expect to advance: France or Canada?
SB: France but both Canada and now that Thomas Obliers is involved with Nigeria, they will be a lot more tactically organized and thus more dangerous. Obliers is an excellent motivator, straight talker and gets his teams organized. With him working with Nigeria their chances of advancing improved.
AWK: The England squad has a terrific mix of youth and experience. Could this be the best England side ever?
SB: England’s results will depend on Smith, her health and form.
AWK: How do you see Group C shaking out? Is North Korea still the rising power they once were?
SB: USA and Sweden should progress but North Korea could spring a surprise. You just never know because of lack of ability to get info on Korea. You can be sure that they will be fit, organized and disciplined.
AWK: Why is Norway’s prominence on the wane, and do you foresee them having difficulty advancing from Group D?
SB: With its small population Norway has always punched above its weight. With the growth of the game internationally Norway is simply slowly drifting to its natural position in global hierarchy. Very natural process.
AWK: Which young player – or players – do you expect will have a breakout tournament this summer?
SB: I don’t know. Could be Samantha Kerr, Beatriz Zaneratto, or it could be someone unexpected.
AWK: Germany are considered the preeminent favorites to win their third consecutive Women’s World Cup. Do you see any chance of an upset?
SB: There is always a chance but it will be difficult.
AWK: How do you rate the United States’ chances in the tournament? Was the team’s struggle to qualify the beginning of a downward trend for the team?
SB: Our difficulties stem from the fact that very little has been done to develop the game in USA since 1999 and other countries commitment to the game since that year. I can’t think of any worthwhile initiatives, programs, structures implemented in USA since the 90s. The growth taking place here is at a much slower pace than in other countries, consequently each year it is and will be more difficult for USA to achieve results at all levels. We could be wandering in the wilderness for many years to come.
AWK: Which up and coming country in this World Cup do you expect will become a global powerhouse?
SB: I think that France are that team. Good mixture of youth and experience, good technically and are benefiting from structured and long term investment in the game. They could really surprise.
AWK: The 4-2-3-1 formation was a major theme in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Do you expect a similar tactical trend to occur in this World Cup?
SB: Most international women’s coaches take their cues from tactical developments in the men’s game and follow tactical patterns of their mens team’s colleagues. So we may see the favorites Germany play with Simone Laudehr and Kim Kulig as holding midfielders, Bajramaj and Kerstin Garefrekes in wide areas. Birgit Prinz is not as fast anymore, but knows how to create a lot of spaces for the other players so expect her to drop off and create more. And Grings is a finishing machine.
They still will have Bresonik who can play anywhere, Alexandra Popp or Dzsenifer Marozsan. With 30 days before kick-off, I don’t see too many capable of beating Germany.
AWK: What do you think this tournament will do for the development and popularity of women’s soccer around the world?
SB: It will be spectacular!!! The quality of play will be magnificent. It will convince more sponsors to take more active approach to women’s soccer. It will deliver the biggest TV audiences to date. We will see stadium atmosphere like you see at men’s pro matches. It will demonstrate the latent potential women’s soccer has.
AWK: What kind of style can we expect to see Colombia play with?
A: Very open, adventurous and a bit naïve.
AWK: Colombia had a terrific turn in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. What is the secret to their success?
SB: I don’t know what Colombia is doing.
AWK: Is Colombia a rising power in the CONMEBOL region, and do you ever see them challenging Brazil’s dominance?
A: I would not expect it in the short run.
AWK: Equatorial Guinea has been a force in African soccer in the past two years, but have no recognizable youth structure. How did the team arrive to where it is today?
SB: Passport giveaways.
AWK: African nations have had spotty records in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Will Equatorial Guinea continue or break that trend?
SB: EG will be out of their depth in Germany.
What should opposing teams most fear about Equatorial Guinea?
A: A men’s level athleticism.

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April 26, 2011 – 6:30 pmMr. Whisler is right to say that he has “the best team between the coasts”

The Women’s Premier League is only in the pre-season stage but realistically there are only three teams who have a chance to win league title. All three are professional teams with comparatively large budgets and not winning would make this season a disappointment for all three.
So, who are the favorites to win and can anyone stop them?
Bay Area Breeze
With professional performance against Cal (2-1 win) the Breeze appear ready to claim the WPSL title. The squad assembled by Terry Foley consists of veteran pros Brittany Klein, Katrin Omarsdottir, Chioma Igwe, Tiffany Millbrett just to name few. Those names alone should establish the Breeze as clear favorites. The Breeze roster demonstrates just how much quality and experience Foley has at his disposal. There would be no coach in WPSL that wouldn’t trade his squad with that of Foley.
Chicago Red Stars
“We will have familiar Red Stars players and other WPS players from last season to field the best women’s soccer team between the coasts,” said Red Stars Co-Owner Arnim Whisler. And Mr. Whisler is right that he will have “the best team between the coasts”. The roster strength that Chicago has is unbelievable. The Red Stars roster will include former Atlanta Beat and St. Louis Athletica forward Amanda Cinalli, 2010 Red Stars midfielder Jackie Santacaterina, 2010 Red Stars defender Elise Weber, 2010 Red Stars forward Michele Weissenhofer, to list just a few. Not winning WPSL title on the first try is unthinkable.
Orange County Waves
All I know is that the Waves will sign experienced pros to their roster. And if the grapevine is anything to go by, they do appear to have the players to beat the Breeze and I expect that if Abner Rogers will be able to get the Waves past their Bay Area foe they could win it all.

Could the winner come from outside this trio? Possibly but unlikely. There are other contenders but having pro players with WPS experience on top of the financial muscle, it will be difficult for outsiders to challenge the pros.

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March 29, 2011 – 3:59 pmOn Dan Borislow and his MagicJack

Dan Borislow with his team MagicJack is getting a lot of criticism in women’s football circles about his unorthodox way of getting things done. I admit, the way he is going about things is unusual.
Borislow is unorthodox in his women’s football business, but effectively saved the league and extended the sport, earning the right to do it his way.
When Washington Freedom was about to disappear forever, Borislow did what nobody else was willing to do and that was put his own money on the line.
His MagicJack team is not subsidized by anyone. Not by US Soccer, not by the government, not by Title IX. Its his money and he can do it his way.

In life there are those who do and those who don’t…those who are idle.
Those who do, are busy doing and have no time to criticize. Those who are idle, who don’t do, make themselves feel better by criticizing and belittling the doers. Don’t worry about the critics, they don’t matter. Their contribution to getting things done is minimal. By trying to suck initiative, energy and creativity out of the doers, they are the parasites of life.

Critics are like eunuchs. They have seen how it’s done, they know how it’s done, they just can’t do it.

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