Filed by Gentry Estes
If you turned on ESPN about 12:20 p.m. today, the headlining topic screamed from the bottom of the screen: “Bruce Arena’s future with the U.S.”
That could have told you all you needed to know about this nation’s bid for the 2006 World Cup. Call it underachieving, disappointing, lackluster or even an outright failure, and you’d be right.
The United States takes little from Today’s 2-1 elimination loss to Ghana other than the knowledge that despite unprecedented hype leading into this tournament, this nation still isn’t close to the world’s elite. Shame on those players for making us care, for winning their qualifying group last year, for being ranked fifth in the world and for appearing on a television commercial boasting, “The world no longer looks forward to playing you, so play beautiful.”
For whatever reason, there was no beauty found in Germany from the red, white and blue. It’s quite obvious that plenty of nations still look forward to playing the U.S., which finishes the Cup ranked right there with bottom-feeders such as Iran, Angola and Trinidad & Tobago.
Most American sports fans wouldn’t understand how a tiny nation such as Ghana would stand a chance against the U.S. in any sport. Truth is, Ghana has long been a powerhouse in youth tournaments and finally proved good enough to lead Africa in a World Cup. It managed to qualify ahead of the U.S. and a major European power in the Czech Republic, an incredible accomplishment that deserves a great deal of credit and respect.
But it’s still Ghana.
And it looks bad for anyone associated with the U.S. camp, particularly Arena. Outspoken ESPN commentator Eric Wynalda, a U.S. standout back when there weren’t any, didn’t mince words.
“Bruce Arena screwed up the World Cup for this U.S. team,” he said soon after the final whistle.
For those in agreement, there is plenty of fodder. Did the coach who took this nation’s squad to new heights in 2002 overstay his welcome into 2006?
Aside from obvious blunders such as an overly defensive strategy and the placing of left-footed DeMarcus Beasley on the right side against the Czechs, Arena made several other decisions before and during this tournament that just didn’t make much sense.
—; Claudio Reyna, claming fatigue after a long season in the English Premiership, was permitted to skip most of the 2005 qualifying campaign and then return to the team as captain in 2006. Reyna is clearly past his prime, and he represents the old guard that played for draws because they weren’t good enough to win. That’s not the case anymore, and Reyna wasn’t accustomed to playing alongside many of the younger stars who’ve come on lately and were on a different wavelength. Reyna was ineffective at best and hazardous at worst, becoming the first U.S. player to be carted off the field with hurt pride.
—; Eddie Johnson has been touted as the newest star for American soccer, good enough to earn a million-dollar offer already from Portuguese giant Benfica. So where was he? The most dangerous striker on a squad hurting for goals didn’t start any of the three games. There was no explanation for why Arena swallowed the final substitution against Italy, rather than turning the fleet-footed Johnson loose on a field with only 19 men.
—; After an exhibition loss to Morocco in May, and again after the Czech Republic debacle, U.S. players pinned poor efforts on “tired legs,” due to a supposedly harsh training camp in North Carolina. The Americans never found fresh legs, playing lazy and uninspired nearly the entire tournament. Was the camp too tough or not tough enough?
—; Arena named only four forwards to the squad in early May and basically played one the entire time. Other than a few garbage minutes in the first game from Josh Wolff, neither he nor relative unknown Brian Ching was a factor in this World Cup. Back home, Taylor Twellman, the leading goal scorer in the MLS last season, could only bang his head against the wall.
These were costly mistakes for Arena, who likely won’t be the coach to try to take U.S. soccer to the next level. After the Ghana loss, Arena made a vague reference to other coaching opportunities.
He should take one of them before it’s too late. His once skyrocketing stock is slipping by the day.
The United States has a bright future in the sport, however. Qualification for South Africa 2010 should again be a cinch, given the Americans’ easy region, and another opportunity to prove our merit will be there for the taking.
Trouble is, we’ve all got to wait another four years to see it.
E-mail Gentry Estes at gestes@timesfreepress.com
If you turned on ESPN about 12:20 p.m. today, the headlining topic screamed from the bottom of the screen: “Bruce Arena’s future with the U.S.”
That could have told you all you needed to know about this nation’s bid for the 2006 World Cup. Call it underachieving, disappointing, lackluster or even an outright failure, and you’d be right.
The United States takes little from Today’s 2-1 elimination loss to Ghana other than the knowledge that despite unprecedented hype leading into this tournament, this nation still isn’t close to the world’s elite. Shame on those players for making us care, for winning their qualifying group last year, for being ranked fifth in the world and for appearing on a television commercial boasting, “The world no longer looks forward to playing you, so play beautiful.”
For whatever reason, there was no beauty found in Germany from the red, white and blue. It’s quite obvious that plenty of nations still look forward to playing the U.S., which finishes the Cup ranked right there with bottom-feeders such as Iran, Angola and Trinidad & Tobago.
Most American sports fans wouldn’t understand how a tiny nation such as Ghana would stand a chance against the U.S. in any sport. Truth is, Ghana has long been a powerhouse in youth tournaments and finally proved good enough to lead Africa in a World Cup. It managed to qualify ahead of the U.S. and a major European power in the Czech Republic, an incredible accomplishment that deserves a great deal of credit and respect.
But it’s still Ghana.
And it looks bad for anyone associated with the U.S. camp, particularly Arena. Outspoken ESPN commentator Eric Wynalda, a U.S. standout back when there weren’t any, didn’t mince words.
“Bruce Arena screwed up the World Cup for this U.S. team,” he said soon after the final whistle.
For those in agreement, there is plenty of fodder. Did the coach who took this nation’s squad to new heights in 2002 overstay his welcome into 2006?
Aside from obvious blunders such as an overly defensive strategy and the placing of left-footed DeMarcus Beasley on the right side against the Czechs, Arena made several other decisions before and during this tournament that just didn’t make much sense.
—; Claudio Reyna, claming fatigue after a long season in the English Premiership, was permitted to skip most of the 2005 qualifying campaign and then return to the team as captain in 2006. Reyna is clearly past his prime, and he represents the old guard that played for draws because they weren’t good enough to win. That’s not the case anymore, and Reyna wasn’t accustomed to playing alongside many of the younger stars who’ve come on lately and were on a different wavelength. Reyna was ineffective at best and hazardous at worst, becoming the first U.S. player to be carted off the field with hurt pride.
—; Eddie Johnson has been touted as the newest star for American soccer, good enough to earn a million-dollar offer already from Portuguese giant Benfica. So where was he? The most dangerous striker on a squad hurting for goals didn’t start any of the three games. There was no explanation for why Arena swallowed the final substitution against Italy, rather than turning the fleet-footed Johnson loose on a field with only 19 men.
—; After an exhibition loss to Morocco in May, and again after the Czech Republic debacle, U.S. players pinned poor efforts on “tired legs,” due to a supposedly harsh training camp in North Carolina. The Americans never found fresh legs, playing lazy and uninspired nearly the entire tournament. Was the camp too tough or not tough enough?
—; Arena named only four forwards to the squad in early May and basically played one the entire time. Other than a few garbage minutes in the first game from Josh Wolff, neither he nor relative unknown Brian Ching was a factor in this World Cup. Back home, Taylor Twellman, the leading goal scorer in the MLS last season, could only bang his head against the wall.
These were costly mistakes for Arena, who likely won’t be the coach to try to take U.S. soccer to the next level. After the Ghana loss, Arena made a vague reference to other coaching opportunities.
He should take one of them before it’s too late. His once skyrocketing stock is slipping by the day.
The United States has a bright future in the sport, however. Qualification for South Africa 2010 should again be a cinch, given the Americans’ easy region, and another opportunity to prove our merit will be there for the taking.
Trouble is, we’ve all got to wait another four years to see it.
E-mail Gentry Estes at gestes@timesfreepress.com
