Soccer America’s Best of American Soccer 2010 has a terrific profile of FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman, whose breakout year in 2010 is just a small part of his compelling story.
His background is one reason why I’ve found the stereotypes of U.S. soccer in this otherwise interesting BigSoccer thread, which popped up in response to my ESPN piece on Claudio Reyna’s quest to overhaul U.S. youth development, so frustrating. The stereotypes say U.S. coaches are all about finding athletic players and aren’t interested in having decent touch on the ball or other soccer skills. If players have creative flair, it’s coached out of them.
Sure, you could find plenty of examples in which that’s true. But you can also find plenty of counterexamples.
In the 1990s, before and just after MLS launched, the most influential coaches in the USA were college coaches. And if you look at that group, you see so many exceptions that you start to wonder about the rule.
Start with Hyndman (SMU 1984-2008), who came to this country from China via Macau. He is a martial arts master who applies that discipline and focus (but not its kicks and punches) to the possession style he learned on a long sojourn to Brazil.
Then you have Argentina-bred George Tarantini (N.C. State 1985-2010), who recruited playmakers such as Tab Ramos but surrounded him with bruisers who were masters at off-the-ball, away-from-ref’s-eyes physicality. (Tarantini also coached a Cuban refugee named Albertin Montoya, who is also featured in the Soccer America year in review after coaching FC Gold Pride to fleeting glory.)
U.S. coach Bob Bradley (Princeton 1984-95) works far harder at building ties within his team than he does at winning over fans with bravado on the field or in press conferences. That gives him a reputation of being a prototypical overcontrolling U.S. coach. Yet he’s sensitive to overcoaching — check this funny anecdote from Time magazine (HT: Stan Collins) in which Bradley suggests to his daughter’s coach that he tone down the yelling, and the coach smacks him down because he’s just a “parent.”
We haven’t even mentioned yet that two of the most successful MLS coaches are Bruce Arena (Virginia 1978-95) and Sigi Schmid (UCLA 1980-99), neither of whom fits the mold. And their thoughts on soccer aren’t similar to those of Steve Sampson (Santa Clara 1986-93), who unleashed the 3-6-1 on the World Cup in 1998 for better or for worse.
Not all of these coaches are popular among the hard-core fans who want to see the USA play like Spain. Some of them have used negative tactics from time to time. But they’re hardly a group that can be painted with one brush.
Neither are the players they’ve developed. For all the talk of U.S. coaches focusing on big galoots, the prototype for ball-winning defensive midfielders was Richie Williams, who is roughly 10 inches tall.
Perry Kitchen was a highly sought-after prospect from Akron, where Caleb Porter is the latest “it” guy in the college ranks whose team plays the “right” way, and yet he walked straight from the MLS draft podium to a grilling from Paul Gardner over how often he fouls. Which mold does he fit?
The U.S. player who drew the most attention over the past 10 years has been Freddy Adu. He’s not big. He’s not even fast, though Cobi Jones memorably suggested that he try to use his speed rather than tricks.
Some people claim Adu was never that good, though everyone from Ray Hudson to European clubs to the U-17 defenses he shredded may differ. Some say Peter Nowak, not exactly a “U.S. coach” at that point in his career, coached his improvisational flair out of him and undermined his confidence.
Not I’m surprised to see BigSoccer conventional wisdom contradict itself. Despite evidence to the contrary, BigSoccer posters are convinced U.S. coaches prefer the big brutes. Another BigSoccer meme suggests the U.S. would be much better if it could convince its athletes to choose soccer over football and basketball. Most of those “athletes” are considerably bigger than the typical soccer team.
The overriding point is this: The USA is a large, diverse country. Its coaches and players come from different backgrounds and offer different talents.
That explains Arena’s skepticism in the most pointed quote in my ESPN story. He says this country is simply too big and too diverse to develop one particular style that fits all.
And so it surely must be folly to suggest that the USA already has one particular mindset without even trying to impose one. Right?
This is a story I worked on through much of the MLS season, but the timing to run it was never quite right. I just updated a couple of figures and posted it here instead.
Early in the MLS season, a couple of league coaches were tired of hearing that their teams were playing a bit rough.
“If you want to avoid contact, I would suggest badminton or curling or chess maybe,” Philadelphia coach Peter Nowak told the Delaware County Daily Times.
“If you want me to bring a lot of ballerinas I will,” then-Toronto coach Preki told TSN.
But players and coaches can’t agree on whether MLS is a “physical” league. One reason for the lack of consensus: They’re not really sure what “physical” means or how “physical” play affects the game.
– D.C. United, mired in a horrible losing streak, got the week off. Seattle got two rough road games in four days, and Sigi Schmid’s roster rotation scheme didn’t really pay off, even if they deserved a win in Dallas. Endeavoring to find out why the schedule-makers did that.
My player of the week pick: Toronto's Dwayne De Rosario. Smile, man!
– Toronto got terrific performances from O’Brian White and Dwayne De Rosario, but the Reds are still playing an ugly “physical” style.
– The highlights this week are terrific, particularly for NE-COL, CHI-HOU, CHV-SJ.
– Also recommended: MLSSoccer.com’s “Kick Off” feature, highlighting some game coverage from here and there.
– The “Please don’t forget your Wake Forest education” award goes to Columbus keeper William Hesmer for this comment: “They’re walking around as a champion, saying they’re a champion,” Hesmer says of Real Salt Lake, the MLS champion. His beef, of course, is that Columbus was sooooo much better than Real in the regular season, finishing a whole nine points ahead before Jason Kreis’ club won all those playoff games. Better for Hesmer: He saved the Crew early with a fantastic recovery after being beaten and made a few good saves later.
– On-field lowlight of the week: Kei Kamara may have a hard time living this one down — with the ball bouncing along the goal line, the Wizards striker slid to knock it in. He whiffed with his feet. He got it with his arm. Ref saw it. No goal. Yikes. The mitigating factor: The weather was iffy.
– And the bad weather affected crowds all over. Even Toronto had trouble filling seats before kickoff.
The roundup with a new feature: Each team’s lineup, highlighting changes from the last game.
Dallas 2, Seattle 2 (highlights)
– The Thursday ESPN2 game, decided on a dive.
– FCD: (4-1-4-1): Dario Sala; Zach Loyd RB, George John CB, Ugo Ihemelu CB, Jair Benitez LB; Daniel Hernandez DM; Atiba Harris RM, David Ferreira CM, Dax McCarty CM, Heath Pearce LM; Jeff Cunningham F
– Dallas changes: I had Pearce at the back and Benitez in midfield last week; ESPN listed them the other way around this time. But the same 11 players started.
– SEA: (4-4-2): Kasey Keller; James Riley RB, Tyrone Marshall CB, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado CB, Leonardo Gonzalez LB; Osvaldo Alonso DM, David Estrada RM, Brad Evans CM, Steve Zakuani LM; Fredy Montero F, Roger Levesque F
– Seattle changes: Evans for Peter Vagenas, Levesque for Pat Noonan, Estrada for Freddie Ljungberg. The latter was resting an injury with two games in four days.
New York 2, Philadelphia 1 (highlights)
– NY(4-4-2): Bouna Coundoul; Jeremy Hall RB, Mike Petke CB, Tim Ream CB, Roy Miller LB; Dane Richards RM, Seth Stammler CM, Joel Lindpere CM, Mac Kandji LM; Juan Pablo Angel F, Salou Ibrahim F
– Red Bull changes: Danish midfielder Brian Nielsen made his debut after a single practice.
– PHI (4-4-2): Chris Seitz; Cristian Arrieta, Michael Orozco, Jordan Harvey, Danny Califf; Stefani Miglioranzi, Andrew Jacobson, Roger Torres, Fred; Alejandro Moreno, Sebastien Le Toux
– Philly changes: Danny Califf was out thanks to last week’s red card.
– Challenge to NY fans: Never let us see the Red Bull logo in the seats. Seriously.
– Paul Gardner asks why Peter Nowak keeps taking out Roger Torres, whose incisive passes give the Union the attacking spark they need. Good question.
Columbus 1, Salt Lake 0 (highlights)
– CLB (4-4-1-1): Will Hesmer; Frankie Hejduk RB, Andy Iro CB, Eric Brunner CB, Gino Padula LB; Brian Carroll DM, Eddie Gaven RM, Robbie Rogers LM, Adam Moffat AM; Guillermo Barros Schelotto WF, Steven Lenhart F
– Crew changes: Padula for Danny O’Rourke, Brunner for Chad Marshall (hamstring).
– RSL (4-4-2): Nick Rimando; Robbie Russell RB, Jamison Olave CB, Nat Borchers CB, Tony Beltran LB; Kyle Beckerman DM, Will Johnson RM, Andy Williams CM, Collen Warner LM; Alvaro Saborio F, Fabian Espindola F
– Real changes: Warner gets first MLS start for Nelson Gonzalez
– Schelotto’s penalty kick was the Crew’s only shot on goal. RSL not lucky early this season. I’m not the least bit convinced the late equalizer was offside, either — when the ball was played, a Crew defender had gone back deep in the box.
New England 1, Colorado 2 (highlights)
– NE (4-4-2): Preston Burpo; Kevin Alston RB, Cory Gibbs CB, Darrius Barnes CB, Seth Sinovic LB; Pat Phelan DM, Joseph Niouky DM, Sainey Nyassi RM, Marko Perovic LM’ Kheli Dube F, Zach Schilawski F
– Revs changes: Formation goes to 4-4-2, so Dube comes in for midfielder Chris Tierney.
– COL (4-4-2): Matt Pickens; Kosuke Kimura RB, Marvell Wynne CB, Drew Moor CB, Danny Earls LB; Mehdi Ballouchy RM, Pablo Mastroeni CM, Jeff Larentowicz CM, Wells Thompson LM; Omar Cummings F, Conor Casey F
– Rapids changes: Ballouchy and Thompson on the wings instead of Jamie Smith and Colin Clark. Thompson was traded from NE in the offseason.
– Steve Nicol apparently wants to change the way refs look at the advantage principle.
– Spectacular highlights in this one. All three goals from outside the box, and watch for a clever chip Cummings tries when he’s triple-teamed at the top of the box.
Chicago 2, Houston 0 (highlights)
– CHI (4-2-3-1): Andrew Dykstra; Tim Ward RB, C.J. Brown CB, Wilman Conde CB, Krzysztof Krol LB; Peter Lowry DM, Baggio Husidic DM, Patrick Nyarko RM, Marco Pappa AM, Justin Mapp LM; Collins John F
– Fire changes: Chicago is starting to like the one-striker formation, though it means choosing between John and McBride. John got the call last time; McBride this time. Also Tim Ward for Dasan Robinson. (Note that both “defensive” midfielders scored the goals.)
– HOU(4-4-2): Pat Onstad; Andrew Hainault RB; Bobby Boswell CB, Eddie Robinson CB, Mike Chabala LB; Corey Ashe RM, Lovel Palmer CM, Geoff Cameron CM, Brad Davis LM; Brian Mullan F, Dominic Oduro F
– Dynamo changes: None.
– Fun to watch what the wind does with Onstad’s hair.
– LOVE the shot from Tim Ward to set up Baggio Husidic’s opening goal.
– Great game from Andrew Dykstra, denying Brad Davis a couple of assists.
– Dumb “physical” stuff near the end with red cards for Krol and Houston sub Danny Cruz.
– Fire unis going green. It’s not easy.
Kansas City 0, Los Angeles 0 (highlights)
– KC (4-3-3): Jimmy Nielsen; Michael Harrington RB, Pablo Escobar CB, Matt Besler CB, Roger Espinoza LB, Jack Jewsbury DM, Davy Arnaud DM, Stephane Auvray CM; Josh Wolff RM, Ryan Smith LF, Kei Kamara CF
– Wizards changes: Besler replaced Jimmy Conrad, who rested a calf strain. The broadcast called it a 4-3-3 rather than last week’s 4-5-1, but that really depends on how far forward Wolff and Smith are playing. The three-man central midfield also seems rather fluid.
– LA (4-4-2): Donovan Ricketts; A.J. DeLaGarza RB, Gregg Berhalter CB, Omar Gonzalez CB, Todd Dunivant LB; Charlie Birchall DM, Michael Stephens RM, Juninho AM, Mike Magee LM; Landon Donovan F, Edson Buddle F
– Galaxy changes: Sean Franklin was out with an injured ankle, so DeLaGarza moved from center to right and Berhalter played for the first time this season.
– Most of the game was a goalkeeping duel between Ricketts and Nielsen at Kansas City’s cozy Community American Ballpark.
Chivas USA 3, San Jose 2 (highlights)
– CHV (4-4-2): Zach Thornton; Mariano Trujillo RB, Dario Delgado CB, Michael Umana CB, Jonathan Bornstein LB; Michael Lahoud RM, Blair Gavin CM, Ben Zemanski CM, Jesus Padilla LM; Sacha Kljestan F, Justin Braun F
– Chivas changes: With Lahoud in, Padilla scoots to right, Gavin goes central and Jorge Flores sits. Then Kljestan goes to forward, which is curious, and he and Braun put Maicon Santos and Chukwudi Chijindu on the bench.
– SJ (4-4-2): Joe Cannon; Steve Beitashour RB, Ike Opara CB, Jason Hernandez CB, Ramiro Corrales LB; Joey Gjertsen RM, Brandon McDonald CM, Ramon Sanchez CM, Bobby Convey LM; Ryan Johnson F, Chris Wondolowski F
– Quakes changes: Sanchez for Andre Luiz, who had swelling in his left knee.
Toronto 2, Seattle 0 (highlights)
– TFC: Stefan Frei; Maksim Usanov RB, Raivis Hscanovics CB, Adrian Cann CB, Nana Attakora LB; Dwayne De Rosario RM, Julian de Guzman CM, Martin Saric CM, Nick LaBrocca LM; O’Brian White F, Chad Barrett F
– Reds changes: Hscanovics in center, pushing Attakora to left, with Ty Harden out. De Ro is listed at the unusual spot of right mid, opening a forward slot for White and pushing Sam Cronin to the bench.
– SEA: (4-4-2): Kasey Keller; James Riley RB, Patrick Ianni CB, Tyrone Marshall CB, Tyson Wahl LB; Osvaldo Alonso DM, Sanna Nyassi RM, Peter Vagenas CM, Nathan Sturgis LM; Freddie Ljungberg F, Brad Evans F
– Sounders changes: Sigi Schmid rotated his lineup through the two games in four days, with Ianni for Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Wahl for Leo Gonzalez, Nyassi for David Estrada, Vagenas for Brad Evans, Sturgis for Steve Zakuani, and Ljungberg up front for Fredy Montero. Also, Vagenas is in midfield for Evans, who plays up front for Roger Levesque. Keller was banged up Thursday and had to be replaced, but he returned for this one.
– Another stadium with a visible logo in the stands, though this was technically a sellout. Lots of weird weather this week.
– We don’t want to encourage Preki to persist with this “physical” play (Ljungberg should’ve asked to borrow some Maple Leafs gear at halftime, and Gareth Wheeler provides the latest in a string of excellent analyses of TFC’s “style”), but attacking players White and De Ro created very well. De Ro gets my vote for Player of the Week ahead of LA’s Donovan Ricketts.
For posterity, here’s D.C. United’s most recent lineup (4-4-2): Troy Perkins; Carey Talley RB, Devon McTavish CB, Julius James CB, Rodney Wallace LB; Kurt Morsink DM, Santino Quaranta RM, Jaime Moreno AM, Andy Najar LM; Chris Pontius F, Danny Allsopp F
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