How Technical are the Girls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes Barca played the same # of games

But Barca let the ball do the work so their runs -
Like the overlapping run to the left that scored the first goal -
were effective.

pDA ‘s runs were chasing around a ball that they couldn’t catch
Then when they did have it and went long , Barca’s backs were on fresh legs

The only unusual thing about this game is that Barca style usually involves wearing down opposition legs
Early and scoring later - here they didn’t need to do that against a team that did not know what defensive shape should be
And could not envision that overlap coming

It's Barca, not envisioning the overlap and possession is the perfect example of American ignorance and arrogance in action. Kicking off deep was all time dumb and arrogant. We are light years behind what is coming in the next generation if that PDA team is an example of the best club team at 05 in the nation.

Considering you have beaten this dead horse into the ground for the past several months now, just curious. Does the one match a few months ago where Watford beat Liverpool mean that Watford is the "better" team? Why not? Is it possible that Liverpool will adjust and play better next time? If not, why not? Could Liverpool even possibly win the next match? If not, why? Doesn't it stand to reason that PDA, clearly being unprepared for the style and tactics played in the dead horse game, might get better in the next match. If not, why not?

Let's remember these are kids teams playing, coaches weren't studying game film of opponents, breaking down styles and looking for weaknesses to exploit, on top of it being ONE match, and stop beating the poor, dead horse. It's had enough.

Are you seriously suggesting that PDA is Liverpool to Barca’s Watford?

That is the problem right there. Why wasn’t PDA better prepared to play Barca? Arrogance? Ignorance?

You said yourself that the Spanish kids weren't as athletic. I'll bet the American kids with better preparation and focus would have beaten them. Prove me wrong.

PDA got dragged. You are already proven wrong. PDA had time to prepare and lost badly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes Barca played the same # of games

But Barca let the ball do the work so their runs -
Like the overlapping run to the left that scored the first goal -
were effective.

pDA ‘s runs were chasing around a ball that they couldn’t catch
Then when they did have it and went long , Barca’s backs were on fresh legs

The only unusual thing about this game is that Barca style usually involves wearing down opposition legs
Early and scoring later - here they didn’t need to do that against a team that did not know what defensive shape should be
And could not envision that overlap coming

It's Barca, not envisioning the overlap and possession is the perfect example of American ignorance and arrogance in action. Kicking off deep was all time dumb and arrogant. We are light years behind what is coming in the next generation if that PDA team is an example of the best club team at 05 in the nation.

Considering you have beaten this dead horse into the ground for the past several months now, just curious. Does the one match a few months ago where Watford beat Liverpool mean that Watford is the "better" team? Why not? Is it possible that Liverpool will adjust and play better next time? If not, why not? Could Liverpool even possibly win the next match? If not, why? Doesn't it stand to reason that PDA, clearly being unprepared for the style and tactics played in the dead horse game, might get better in the next match. If not, why not?

Let's remember these are kids teams playing, coaches weren't studying game film of opponents, breaking down styles and looking for weaknesses to exploit, on top of it being ONE match, and stop beating the poor, dead horse. It's had enough.

Are you seriously suggesting that PDA is Liverpool to Barca’s Watford?

That is the problem right there. Why wasn’t PDA better prepared to play Barca? Arrogance? Ignorance?

You said yourself that the Spanish kids weren't as athletic. I'll bet the American kids with better preparation and focus would have beaten them. Prove me wrong.

PDA got dragged. You are already proven wrong. PDA had time to prepare and lost badly.

So what? One game of 14 year old girls. Get a grip.

[Anonymous]

Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

Why so triggered?

[Anonymous]

Soccer in the U.S. sucks. It is all wrong and nobody has any skills.I don't understand this obsession with junior soccer in the U.S. Americans are an instant gratification population. You will never appreciate the subtlety of the process or working hard to be your own best. I feel sorry for your kids. Million thread on soccer here. For what? Pathetic loser parents who want to see their kids win, win, win. Sing them all out of that soccer, you will all be happier and kid will come see you when they grow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The axe to grind poster is the same guy that always harps about how technical skills are the only thing that matters on numerous threads. Clearly he has an athletic deficiency as probably does his kid, hence the defensiveness. The rest of us know from experience and observation that it all matters. Skill, IQ, and athleticism. Henry, Bale, C. Ronaldo, Drogba, Zidane, Mueller, Robbin, Mbappe, Pogba, Ronaldinho, Etto, etc. Even Messi, Pele, Maradona, Iniesta, while not big super fast guys, had great quickness, balance, and coordination (athleticism doesn’t always mean top level sprinting speed or size).

And to claim that the USWNT players don’t have great technical skill is laughable. Most consistently dominant international soccer team ever and some posters still criticize them. Wonders never cease. Then again the poster is probably English and is simply upset because his country hasn’t won squat in over 50 years. Men’s or Women’s. We’re all thankful for the countryman that invented the sport, but the game passed your country by long ago.

This post is wrong on so many levels. Starting out with your first two players—by claiming that Thierry Henry and Gareth Bale were not super fast shows how little you know overall.

But beyond that, your comment has nothing to do with girls soccer. Those elite male players are both fast and technically gifted. But the discussion here is about girls’/women’s soccer. The fact that a team wins and is “dominant” does not mean they are technically gifted. Have you watched the top US women’s college teams play? It is not a technical game. Instead it is a direct, athletic game. Same holds true for the USWNT. They are excellent athletes and they win. But the gap has been closing, and if technical skills are not emphasized more in the US they will be surpassed by European and South American women who are both athletic and technically gifted. The problem is this dynamic is going to be very difficult to change in the US given the structures and priorities that have been created.

First of all you don’t know how to read. The first list of players ARE all fast and very athletic. Dumb s$&t. That’s my point. You just agreed with me so case proven. Second, at the NT level winning is ALL that matters. But go ahead, look good and lose. That’s fine. Keep talking about “someday” and we’ll keep winning today. Third, I’ve played, watched and forgotten more soccer than you’ll ever know. But given that you missed my first point I guess you didn’t win any IQ awards. I will give you one hackneyed (look it up in the dictionary) point that the gap is closing. Of course it is. Yeah! for women’s rights in other countries. But we will adjust and will still be the best (women’s side). Our men will never win squat and it is due to one simple reason. Our elite, obsessed with excellence athletes don’t play soccer here. They play other sports. Btw. I will take Linsey Horan’s and Rose Lavelle’s skills over any other woman in the world. Period. Marta can dribble all day and waste her teammate’s time while we beat them again and again and again. Same with the little Japanese women, the oversized Norwegians and the arrogant Spanish, French, and English. Case closed. Facts matter and opinions don’t.

Would like to know based on your theory, which American sport would Messi have played if he were born here?

Probably baseball or tennis. Possibly a boxer. My guess is he would have been really good at whatever sport he tried but basketball and football may have been too much to overcome to make it to the pros from a size perspective. Although, Barry Sanders was only 5’8” and Mugsy Bogues was 5’3”. The thing is, whatever he picked he would have obsessed over it, spending hours upon hours, year after year honing his craft and that along with his incredible balance and quickness would have made him exceed.

Let's not call tennis an American sport, can we? There is currently no American player in the men's top 20. And the average height among the top 10 is 6'3, where Messi is 5'7.

You would think among the millions of youth soccer players, it wouldn't be very hard to find a couple with Messi-like balance and quickness and willing to pour in the hours to improve. Are you saying all the kids with such potentials are in football, basketball and baseball and not a single one picked soccer?

Look at the salary and demographic difference between playing US soccer vs other US major sports. If my son is athletic, I would encourage him to play for a major sport.

If your son was exceptional at soccer you should encourage him to play in Europe.

It was a hypothetical question by a person that clearly wanted to have us comment on Messi playing something other than soccer. As far as tennis, it used to be an American sport (Ashe, Connors, Everett, McEnroe, Aggassi, Sampras, Serena, Venus), but of late we’ve fallen off. Not sure why.

Anyhow, back to soccer we have one Pulisic and that’s it, and as good as he is, he’s still not world class elite. We need lots of obsessive, top notch atheletes on the men’s side to compete. We need 10 Pulisics and we need Lamar Jackson playing soccer his whole life. Then we’d compete. We have it on the women’s side but not the men’s. Would a better soccer culture help? Sure, but it is tough to overcoming the pervasiveness football, b-ball and baseball culture and big $$ pro leagues already established. Anyhow, what the heck was this thread about again? Girls technical skills. Yes, they are good here in US at the elite level. Below that ... not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

Why so triggered?

I don’t think dragging 14 year old kids is a great look. They got to the final. Played against a club that pulls players from every corner of spain

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

Why so triggered?

I don’t think dragging 14 year old kids is a great look. They got to the final. Played against a club that pulls players from every corner of spain

PDA hadn’t lost a game in two years up till that point, playing in the top league against the top teams in the top women’s soccer nation in the world.

One game against Barca and they didn’t even look like they were playing the same sport.

Keep making excuses, keep burying your head in the sand, keep thinking the USWNT has an insurmountable lead on the world.

To stay on top you need to be the best in all three phases of the game:
Athletically
Technical
Tactical

We produce athleticism but we are falling behind in the other two phases.

You keep pointing that it is just 14 year olds and that is true, but that PDA is the best example of what a dominate, top youth club team in America looks like. In comparison to Barca, PDA was not prepared tactically and were severely out coached by Barca by a mile. And not just on game day. That Barca team played disciplined and consistent throughout the tournament.

If PDA represents the best example of our formative youth system in comparison to Europe or Spain, who have all only invested in the girl’s youth game in this past decade you must recognize that we need to bone up on our tactical and technical aspects more.

So, to tie this argument back to the point of the main thread, our girls are not as technical as they should be. Soccer requires technical play to truly exploit ones athletic ability, but none of it means squat if you don’t really understand the game and the different ways it can be played and appreciate the different ways the game can be played successfully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

Why so triggered?

I don’t think dragging 14 year old kids is a great look. They got to the final. Played against a club that pulls players from every corner of spain

PDA hadn’t lost a game in two years up till that point, playing in the top league against the top teams in the top women’s soccer nation in the world.

One game against Barca and they didn’t even look like they were playing the same sport.

Keep making excuses, keep burying your head in the sand, keep thinking the USWNT has an insurmountable lead on the world.

To stay on top you need to be the best in all three phases of the game:
Athletically
Technical
Tactical

We produce athleticism but we are falling behind in the other two phases.

You keep pointing that it is just 14 year olds and that is true, but that PDA is the best example of what a dominate, top youth club team in America looks like. In comparison to Barca, PDA was not prepared tactically and were severely out coached by Barca by a mile. And not just on game day. That Barca team played disciplined and consistent throughout the tournament.

If PDA represents the best example of our formative youth system in comparison to Europe or Spain, who have all only invested in the girl’s youth game in this past decade you must recognize that we need to bone up on our tactical and technical aspects more.

So, to tie this argument back to the point of the main thread, our girls are not as technical as they should be. Soccer requires technical play to truly exploit ones athletic ability, but none of it means squat if you don’t really understand the game and the different ways it can be played and appreciate the different ways the game can be played successfully.

It's just one game and conclusions can't really be drawn. That PDA team was also playing teams that didn't use the style of play that Spanish teams use, so they hadn't had much preparation for it. If your argument is that Barca's style of play trumps more athletic styles of play, why is it that they have so much trouble in UCL on the men's side?

You are drawing way too much from a single game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

Why so triggered?

I don’t think dragging 14 year old kids is a great look. They got to the final. Played against a club that pulls players from every corner of spain

PDA hadn’t lost a game in two years up till that point, playing in the top league against the top teams in the top women’s soccer nation in the world.

One game against Barca and they didn’t even look like they were playing the same sport.

Keep making excuses, keep burying your head in the sand, keep thinking the USWNT has an insurmountable lead on the world.

To stay on top you need to be the best in all three phases of the game:
Athletically
Technical
Tactical

We produce athleticism but we are falling behind in the other two phases.

You keep pointing that it is just 14 year olds and that is true, but that PDA is the best example of what a dominate, top youth club team in America looks like. In comparison to Barca, PDA was not prepared tactically and were severely out coached by Barca by a mile. And not just on game day. That Barca team played disciplined and consistent throughout the tournament.

If PDA represents the best example of our formative youth system in comparison to Europe or Spain, who have all only invested in the girl’s youth game in this past decade you must recognize that we need to bone up on our tactical and technical aspects more.

So, to tie this argument back to the point of the main thread, our girls are not as technical as they should be. Soccer requires technical play to truly exploit ones athletic ability, but none of it means squat if you don’t really understand the game and the different ways it can be played and appreciate the different ways the game can be played successfully.

It's just one game and conclusions can't really be drawn. That PDA team was also playing teams that didn't use the style of play that Spanish teams use, so they hadn't had much preparation for it. If your argument is that Barca's style of play trumps more athletic styles of play, why is it that they have so much trouble in UCL on the men's side?

You are drawing way too much from a single game.

They represent the best of youth club soccer, from players to coaching. If they were better developed over the course of years, if they had played against other teams/clubs that put the same emphasis on technical and tactical development as they do on winning to gain rankings PDA would have been better prepared.

The sad thing is they had likely NEVER seen a team that was that disciplined and proficient in a possession style before. THAT is the problem. They played like they had never seen that before and they likely hadn’t. THAT is the problem for the US going forward, not the results of one U15 game.

Collectively we can’t and won’t commit to playing a more sophisticated style. We use World Cup victories as a reason not to evolve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

Why so triggered?

I don’t think dragging 14 year old kids is a great look. They got to the final. Played against a club that pulls players from every corner of spain

PDA hadn’t lost a game in two years up till that point, playing in the top league against the top teams in the top women’s soccer nation in the world.

One game against Barca and they didn’t even look like they were playing the same sport.

Keep making excuses, keep burying your head in the sand, keep thinking the USWNT has an insurmountable lead on the world.

To stay on top you need to be the best in all three phases of the game:
Athletically
Technical
Tactical

We produce athleticism but we are falling behind in the other two phases.

You keep pointing that it is just 14 year olds and that is true, but that PDA is the best example of what a dominate, top youth club team in America looks like. In comparison to Barca, PDA was not prepared tactically and were severely out coached by Barca by a mile. And not just on game day. That Barca team played disciplined and consistent throughout the tournament.

If PDA represents the best example of our formative youth system in comparison to Europe or Spain, who have all only invested in the girl’s youth game in this past decade you must recognize that we need to bone up on our tactical and technical aspects more.

So, to tie this argument back to the point of the main thread, our girls are not as technical as they should be. Soccer requires technical play to truly exploit ones athletic ability, but none of it means squat if you don’t really understand the game and the different ways it can be played and appreciate the different ways the game can be played successfully.

It's just one game and conclusions can't really be drawn. That PDA team was also playing teams that didn't use the style of play that Spanish teams use, so they hadn't had much preparation for it. If your argument is that Barca's style of play trumps more athletic styles of play, why is it that they have so much trouble in UCL on the men's side?

You are drawing way too much from a single game.

They represent the best of youth club soccer, from players to coaching. If they were better developed over the course of years, if they had played against other teams/clubs that put the same emphasis on technical and tactical development as they do on winning to gain rankings PDA would have been better prepared.

The sad thing is they had likely NEVER seen a team that was that disciplined and proficient in a possession style before. THAT is the problem. They played like they had never seen that before and they likely hadn’t. THAT is the problem for the US going forward, not the results of one U15 game.

Collectively we can’t and won’t commit to playing a more sophisticated style. We use World Cup victories as a reason not to evolve.

One game!

SMH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tragic

Those kids will go to better colleges than your kid.

Why so triggered?

I don’t think dragging 14 year old kids is a great look. They got to the final. Played against a club that pulls players from every corner of spain

PDA hadn’t lost a game in two years up till that point, playing in the top league against the top teams in the top women’s soccer nation in the world.

One game against Barca and they didn’t even look like they were playing the same sport.

Keep making excuses, keep burying your head in the sand, keep thinking the USWNT has an insurmountable lead on the world.

To stay on top you need to be the best in all three phases of the game:
Athletically
Technical
Tactical

We produce athleticism but we are falling behind in the other two phases.

You keep pointing that it is just 14 year olds and that is true, but that PDA is the best example of what a dominate, top youth club team in America looks like. In comparison to Barca, PDA was not prepared tactically and were severely out coached by Barca by a mile. And not just on game day. That Barca team played disciplined and consistent throughout the tournament.

If PDA represents the best example of our formative youth system in comparison to Europe or Spain, who have all only invested in the girl’s youth game in this past decade you must recognize that we need to bone up on our tactical and technical aspects more.

So, to tie this argument back to the point of the main thread, our girls are not as technical as they should be. Soccer requires technical play to truly exploit ones athletic ability, but none of it means squat if you don’t really understand the game and the different ways it can be played and appreciate the different ways the game can be played successfully.

It's just one game and conclusions can't really be drawn. That PDA team was also playing teams that didn't use the style of play that Spanish teams use, so they hadn't had much preparation for it. If your argument is that Barca's style of play trumps more athletic styles of play, why is it that they have so much trouble in UCL on the men's side?

You are drawing way too much from a single game.

They represent the best of youth club soccer, from players to coaching. If they were better developed over the course of years, if they had played against other teams/clubs that put the same emphasis on technical and tactical development as they do on winning to gain rankings PDA would have been better prepared.

The sad thing is they had likely NEVER seen a team that was that disciplined and proficient in a possession style before. THAT is the problem. They played like they had never seen that before and they likely hadn’t. THAT is the problem for the US going forward, not the results of one U15 game.

Collectively we can’t and won’t commit to playing a more sophisticated style. We use World Cup victories as a reason not to evolve.

One game!

SMH

Evolve.

Why so stubborn?

[Anonymous]

I can understand the mindset of not wanting to put too much on a single game, but there are technical and ‘lack of understanding’ errors that really jump out. On the build up to the first goal, about 5 PDA players close hard on the ball and end up taking themselves out of the play. The ingrained immediate reaction is to aggressively close on the ball. In most of the instances, they’re too late to close, they are leaving a better defensive position, and they are providing a gap in the defense for Barca to expose. There is also a general lack of anticipation as to what the next pass or sequence of passes may be. If the issues PDA experienced in that game were just breakdowns of a couple of players losing their mark or what have you, I’d give PDA a pass, but I see a team that has great athletes, with some good foot skills and very little idea of how to play the game.

[Anonymous]

This game reminded me of Super Bowl XLII between the 16-0 Patriots against the 10-6 Giants. In case anyone forgot, the Giants won.

Was the a Giants the best team during the game? Yes, they won.

Was the Patriots the best NFL team during this season?

If you had your pick, which team would you want your DS or DD to be on assuming this was a U14 soccer team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This game reminded me of Super Bowl XLII between the 16-0 Patriots against the 10-6 Giants. In case anyone forgot, the Giants won.

Was the a Giants the best team during the game? Yes, they won.

Was the Patriots the best NFL team during this season?

If you had your pick, which team would you want your DS or DD to be on assuming this was a U14 soccer team?

You clearly didn’t watch Barca play if you are comparing them to the Giants. It is also a bit arrogant to compare the PDA team to the Patriots.

In fact, it is a dumb comparison completely and the fact that you think of American football is part of the exact reason we need to evolve soccer wise.