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Our Readers Speak American fans are disgusted by U.S. effort, result against Czechs.(Wednesday, June 14, 2006) -- SoccerTimes planned to run readers' comments on the United States men's 3-0 World Cup loss to the Czech Republic in one day. However, because of the overwhelming outpouring of emotion, we will run letters at least once or possibly twice more this week, depending on the continued response. Virtually every response expressed disappointment, and often disgust, at the U.S. performance. Letters will be accepted through Friday at 12 noon to be considerred for inclusion in this section. Please sign your response in one of these manners: 1. First and last name with hometown.
Your reponse might be run in full or possibly be excerpted. A sampling of your comments: Effort was lacking Throwing the result aside, the most bothersome aspect of the United States squad was the perceived lack of effort. We've all played in games where you go down early and it's mentally tough for certain, but the fact is we showed none of the fighting spirit that has been the our saving grace when we haven't been playing well. Leave it all on the field, lads, and we'll be right behind you no matter the score. Matt Arnett
Mother knows best My mother taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say about somebody, you'd better just not say anything at all. In keeping with mom's philosophy, I'm going to keep this short. Plain and simple, the Czechs were (and are) a better team than us. They dominated the midfield and therefore the game. Did (DaMarcus) Beasley even play? Was (Landon) Donovan invisible? Did it seem like (Brian) McBride couldn't win or hold any balls (not that we played all that many to him)? All I can do is pray to God that the Mexicans lose to Angola and Portugal. They'll be insufferable if they go further in the Cup than we do. Mike Boeschen
Plenty of blame to share Sure there is plenty of blame to go around, however, this was only one game! Not the end of the world! While the game was disappointing, I think this could potentially be the best thing that happened to this team. I believe this loss will wake them up and realize that they are no longer playing Guatemala or Latvia or Grenada. This team will show that it is resilient, bounce back against the Italians and truly show its color for these colors do not run! U.S. 2, Italy 1 Julio Hernandez
Not a national disaster The United States lost one game. They didn't play that well. However, it was not a national catastrophe or the end of soccer as we know it. Ken
Where was the hustle? What a horrible display of soccer. I was extremely disappointed with the first touch of our boys and just believe the nerves got to them. There seemed to be very little hustle and pressure on the ball. I knew we were in trouble with the first yellow card to (Oguchi) Onyewu (deserved). It is tough to give ratings to the players when so many of them were not present. Can you give negative numbers? Jeff
U.S. must bounce back The game: Horrible, sad result, due to unimaginative offensive play, poor defensive lapses, and 95 percent hustle and vigilance. The positives: No one got hurt, the U.S. had a decent passing\holding game, something they couldn't do in earlier World Cups. (Eddie) Johnson showed his value. The idiots: Disappointed fans whose self-worth rides on the success of U.S. Soccer and, drowning in shame and bitterness, immediately turn on (the team) and proclaim doom to U.S. Soccer for all eternity. The team: Had better bounce back and play smart, angry soccer! Dan DeVilder
Send in the varsity (The U.S. is) a bunch of gutless intimidated junior varsity players. Is it any wonder that Leverkeusen let Landon Donovan go. He, Beasley, way overrated. (Eddie) Pope should give it up. This is Steve Sampson all over again, taking yesterday's guys to the World Cup. Pope was never that good and is much worse now and our midfield is really pathetic. I cannot believe these are the best 20 players we have in this country. No way. There are better players if you just had the Atlantic Coast Conference to pick from. In a word, embarrassing. Eugene Lindsay Wasn't worth skipping work What a horrible experience. Watching this game in a bar, I was wishing I hadn't skipped out of work (I can't believe I just said that) but that's really how bad it was. Complete and utter crap. It ruined my entire day. After all the hype about Onyewu and the intimidation factor, he was the only one who looked intimidated out there. At least Bobby Convey and Eddie Johnson did something, but where was the rest of the team. I put the most blame on (Claudio) Reyna. Sure, he had one chance that just missed, but isn't he the team captain? Shouldn't he have been marshalling his forces and pushing the attack? That shot was the only thing I saw him do. . . Reyna's record with the men's national team is not good and I think the team plays better without him. There! I said it. Tom
Result was not surprising Having attended the farewell match (a 1-0 victory over Latvia May 28) in Hartford (Conn.) a couple of weeks ago. I'm not really surprised by the result (against the Czech Republilc). The team seemed tired and flat against Latvia and this carried over to the opener. Like many have stated, it wasn't the loss that hurt so much as the lack of hustle and heart displayed. On the tactical front, the back-line looked slow and unsure. With the ball at their feet, it seemed as though there was no purpose in their play other than to clear the ball out of the defensive third. Let's hope we can improve in time for an Italian team that looked pretty focused. Bill Wilson
U.S. must use two strikers We need to stop the one striker thing. We play our best games with two forwards. Whether it's Mexico or a European team, we simply play better with two up front. And how about the two goals from (Tomas) Rosicky? Put the blame where it belongs - on (Kasey) Keller. . . Keller should take responsibility for that. Joe Bailey
No spirit, no guts This game was horrible -- no spirit, no guts. We have more talent than ever before, but no heart. That is what made me love our national teams of the past -- heart and guts. I blame (manager Bruce) Arena. He has favorites and he does not create a sense of fear. Look at Donovan -- how many times does he not show up for games? He may be our best talent, but no consistency. What does he care how bad he plays? He is always guaranteed a spot along with his friends. I would rather have a less talented player that had the heart than a talented one who does not. Scott Young
U.S. arrogance fooled observers I am not surprised by the result. The team had a false arrogance about it. Which quality sides have they beaten? Against quality soccer powers, they wilt against the superior skilled athletes. It is a shame that too many people are fooled by the talk of confidence by some overrated players. Donovan disappeared. He left Europe because he couldn't handle the competition. He needs to talk less and allow performances to speak for him. The only players that did not look overmatched were the experienced guys like Reyna. I am a soccer fan. Results are not won on past accomplishments or hoping for them. The blue-collar American team did not show up. The USA wins because of a common desire, hard work and an attitude of we deserve respect because of our determination. We will earn your respect. Some hard-working guys were left off the team. Heart makes up for lack of skill. The lack of heart and toughness were evident. This team will not score two goals at the World Cup. It is a reality of the current situation. How many of the teams would the USA beat if they played everyone? I think the number would be quite small. I feel badly for Reyna, Keller and McBride. They deserved a lot more at their last World Cup. Take off the rose-colored glasses and take a good look at the teams. The USA is not No. 5, maybe No. 25. Championships are not won on paper. Dennis
U.S. hurt by lack of size While Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasely had very poor games, they still remain skilled players. What struck me most about them in this game more than previously is their slight stature. Despite their best intentions, they aren't capable of physically staying with the larger, stronger players they encounter at this level. Donovan doesn't seem to shy away from contact, but stands to lose every such encounter because he's too small for his position. They both can get away with this in CONCACEF and Major League Soccer where the players appear to be less physically imposing, but much less so in the World Cup or European leagues. Bill Supplitt
Expectations were inflated I've been stunned by the inflated expectations placed on this U.S. team. At this stage of talent evolution in U.S. soccer, it would be a major achievement for the U.S. to progress from any World Cup qualifying group, let alone a group as tough as this one. Simply put, the U.S. team is not on par with the best sides in the world from a talent perspective. You can measure this in many ways, but my favorite way is the "capitalist" method. Add up the market value (salary or transfer price, whichever you prefer) of all of the players on each of the teams in the tournament and you'll arrive at a pretty fair world ranking of the respective teams. The prices are set by the best judges of talent in the world (the top clubs: Juventus, Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, etc). The U.S. will place far down this list and not because of salary cap in the MLS. The market doesn't lie. What's wrong with being realistic regarding the U.S.'s chances? Let's face it, from a talent perspective the U.S. is in the same class as the other emerging nations: Japan, South Korea, Australia, the African nations, etc. If the FIFA ratings were legit, we'd be ranked somewhere in the 20s. Now let's see if we can pull off an upset and beat Italy. Alex Abbey |
