Anonymous wrote:All-MLS squad, and he doesn’t even call up Hamid? That’s just pathetic c’mon man...

It's always a domestic based squad for the January training camp, because the European leagues are still playing.

Hamid's not good with his feet, so may not meet the game model for Berhalter, if that includes playing out of the back.

All-MLS squad, and he doesn’t even call up Hamid? That’s just pathetic c’mon man...

Looks like Don Garber is getting his money's worth out of his golden boy. Can't wait to see whether Berhalter's "attacking" style can teach Captain Backpass to do something other than feed the ball back to the goalkeeper.

http://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states/story/3732770/michael-bradley-zack-steffen-included-in-gregg-berhalter-first-us-squad

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s the best you’ve got? Xenophobic??

Their results are generally worse than the US and they have much higher populations. We’ll see how Berhalter does, he’s gotten a lot out of relatively crappy rosters in MLS and put your beloved Tata to shame at least once.

MLS has crappy rosters because they choose to have them and don't do anything to make them better. Because MLS is all about the money, not the game. All they want is good enough, not just good. And as long as MLS is allowed to control the USSF, the USMNT will be the same way.

In the last decade, MLS has improved more than any league in the world.
Sure, they had a really low starting point, but the whole 'MLS sucks" rhetoric just sounds stupider and stupider every year.

I don't know where you're getting that, but it simply isn't true. Try looking at pro leagues in Japan and China, for starters.

MLS does suck. And no matter how much it improves it will still suck, until it gets rid of its closed, cartel-like system that's designed to maximize profits at the expense of the game. It's the structure of MLS that sucks, a structure that's totally out of place in the global game and which holds American players back from having the edge they need to compete in an open world system. And MLS control over USSF casts the same dark shadow over the USMNT. It isn't about the quality of play. It's about a system that works against the goal of identifying and developing good US players and providing them with a competitive environment in which they can become dominant. What holds our players back is a closed, dead system that sucks all the competitiveness and creativity out of the game.

Even if you look just south of the border, you realize that MLS has not improved that much. With all the disarray and problems in Mexican soccer, Mexican clubs won every single CONCACAF champions league title, going 10 for 10.

The last (and only) time an MLS team won a CONCACAF championship was 20 years ago in 1998 when DC United did it. Bruce Arena was the coach.

This indicates that MLS was more competitive within the CONCACAF 20 years ago. Other leagues improved more than MLS did in the last 20 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s the best you’ve got? Xenophobic??

Their results are generally worse than the US and they have much higher populations. We’ll see how Berhalter does, he’s gotten a lot out of relatively crappy rosters in MLS and put your beloved Tata to shame at least once.

MLS has crappy rosters because they choose to have them and don't do anything to make them better. Because MLS is all about the money, not the game. All they want is good enough, not just good. And as long as MLS is allowed to control the USSF, the USMNT will be the same way.

In the last decade, MLS has improved more than any league in the world.
Sure, they had a really low starting point, but the whole 'MLS sucks" rhetoric just sounds stupider and stupider every year.

I don't know where you're getting that, but it simply isn't true. Try looking at pro leagues in Japan and China, for starters.

MLS does suck. And no matter how much it improves it will still suck, until it gets rid of its closed, cartel-like system that's designed to maximize profits at the expense of the game. It's the structure of MLS that sucks, a structure that's totally out of place in the global game and which holds American players back from having the edge they need to compete in an open world system. And MLS control over USSF casts the same dark shadow over the USMNT. It isn't about the quality of play. It's about a system that works against the goal of identifying and developing good US players and providing them with a competitive environment in which they can become dominant. What holds our players back is a closed, dead system that sucks all the competitiveness and creativity out of the game.

Even if you look just south of the border, you realize that MLS has not improved that much. With all the disarray and problems in Mexican soccer, Mexican clubs won every single CONCACAF champions league title, going 10 for 10.

The last (and only) time an MLS team won a CONCACAF championship was 20 years ago in 1998 when DC United did it. Bruce Arena was the coach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great thread that mimics lots of the conversation here in general:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/is-today-a-good-day-to-discuss-greg-berhalter-vs-tata-martino.2077026/

Reuben, are you on this forum as well? Sure seems that way.

"If its such a proven system, why aren't there DC United scouts/coaches are every pick up game in the DC area?"

Good question.

The better question raised in that thread is why the national teams of the central and south americas aren't scouting those areas with this supposed amazing talent that is all over the American youth pick-up scene.

The answer is that it just isn't there, outside of a few outliers that make it. It's a myth, like the tooth fairy and Santa.

No, it's not a myth. But I'm pretty sure that NTs recruiting players outside their respective countries is...


The MLS/USSF monstrosity has gotten fat and lazy living off the fruits of "pay to play" for so long they seem to have forgotten how to scout players. They just wait for Mom and Dad to bring them to the tryout, or draft them out of college. BTW, South American teams do scout. They scout all over the place, because finding and developing good players is a huge source of revenue for them when they sell their contracts to Real or Barcelona. And then those players come back to the NT and kick ass.

It's no coincidence that Christian Pulisic developed completely outside the MLS straitjacket. I would love nothing better than to see some European club come to the US and open an academy, recruiting players into their system and developing them either to play or to sell/loan out to another club. If that ever happened, just watch how fast MLS decides to start scouting.

It's absolutely a myth. The other thread has more discussion on it.

It's not a myth. You're confusing two different things:

1. The myth that started with Pele about the poor kid discovered juggling a ball made out of old tires in a favela who becomes a superstar. That really is a myth -- Pele's father was a former pro player, and he was discovered playing semipro ball.

2. The thousands of kids shut out from the development system by the "pay-to-play" culture, which is the most inefficient, laziest way to uncover and develop talent ever invented. MLS has gotten used to getting their players developed for free in that culture. DC United doesn't even bother to scout the travel players in the "pay-to-play" clubs in the DMV. As long as they get what they need, they don't care about the rest.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s the best you’ve got? Xenophobic??

Their results are generally worse than the US and they have much higher populations. We’ll see how Berhalter does, he’s gotten a lot out of relatively crappy rosters in MLS and put your beloved Tata to shame at least once.

MLS has crappy rosters because they choose to have them and don't do anything to make them better. Because MLS is all about the money, not the game. All they want is good enough, not just good. And as long as MLS is allowed to control the USSF, the USMNT will be the same way.

In the last decade, MLS has improved more than any league in the world.
Sure, they had a really low starting point, but the whole 'MLS sucks" rhetoric just sounds stupider and stupider every year.

I don't know where you're getting that, but it simply isn't true. Try looking at pro leagues in Japan and China, for starters.

MLS does suck. And no matter how much it improves it will still suck, until it gets rid of its closed, cartel-like system that's designed to maximize profits at the expense of the game. It's the structure of MLS that sucks, a structure that's totally out of place in the global game and which holds American players back from having the edge they need to compete in an open world system. And MLS control over USSF casts the same dark shadow over the USMNT. It isn't about the quality of play. It's about a system that works against the goal of identifying and developing good US players and providing them with a competitive environment in which they can become dominant. What holds our players back is a closed, dead system that sucks all the competitiveness and creativity out of the game.

Even if you look just south of the border, you realize that MLS has not improved that much. With all the disarray and problems in Mexican soccer, Mexican clubs won every single CONCACAF champions league title, going 10 for 10.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great thread that mimics lots of the conversation here in general:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/is-today-a-good-day-to-discuss-greg-berhalter-vs-tata-martino.2077026/

Reuben, are you on this forum as well? Sure seems that way.

"If its such a proven system, why aren't there DC United scouts/coaches are every pick up game in the DC area?"

Good question.

The better question raised in that thread is why the national teams of the central and south americas aren't scouting those areas with this supposed amazing talent that is all over the American youth pick-up scene.

The answer is that it just isn't there, outside of a few outliers that make it. It's a myth, like the tooth fairy and Santa.

No, it's not a myth. But I'm pretty sure that NTs recruiting players outside their respective countries is...


The MLS/USSF monstrosity has gotten fat and lazy living off the fruits of "pay to play" for so long they seem to have forgotten how to scout players. They just wait for Mom and Dad to bring them to the tryout, or draft them out of college. BTW, South American teams do scout. They scout all over the place, because finding and developing good players is a huge source of revenue for them when they sell their contracts to Real or Barcelona. And then those players come back to the NT and kick ass.

It's no coincidence that Christian Pulisic developed completely outside the MLS straitjacket. I would love nothing better than to see some European club come to the US and open an academy, recruiting players into their system and developing them either to play or to sell/loan out to another club. If that ever happened, just watch how fast MLS decides to start scouting.

It's absolutely a myth. The other thread has more discussion on it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great thread that mimics lots of the conversation here in general:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/is-today-a-good-day-to-discuss-greg-berhalter-vs-tata-martino.2077026/

Reuben, are you on this forum as well? Sure seems that way.

"If its such a proven system, why aren't there DC United scouts/coaches are every pick up game in the DC area?"

Good question.

The better question raised in that thread is why the national teams of the central and south americas aren't scouting those areas with this supposed amazing talent that is all over the American youth pick-up scene.

The answer is that it just isn't there, outside of a few outliers that make it. It's a myth, like the tooth fairy and Santa.

No, it's not a myth. But I'm pretty sure that NTs recruiting players outside their respective countries is...


The MLS/USSF monstrosity has gotten fat and lazy living off the fruits of "pay to play" for so long they seem to have forgotten how to scout players. They just wait for Mom and Dad to bring them to the tryout, or draft them out of college. BTW, South American teams do scout. They scout all over the place, because finding and developing good players is a huge source of revenue for them when they sell their contracts to Real or Barcelona. And then those players come back to the NT and kick ass.

It's no coincidence that Christian Pulisic developed completely outside the MLS straitjacket. I would love nothing better than to see some European club come to the US and open an academy, recruiting players into their system and developing them either to play or to sell/loan out to another club. If that ever happened, just watch how fast MLS decides to start scouting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s the best you’ve got? Xenophobic??

Their results are generally worse than the US and they have much higher populations. We’ll see how Berhalter does, he’s gotten a lot out of relatively crappy rosters in MLS and put your beloved Tata to shame at least once.

MLS has crappy rosters because they choose to have them and don't do anything to make them better. Because MLS is all about the money, not the game. All they want is good enough, not just good. And as long as MLS is allowed to control the USSF, the USMNT will be the same way.

In the last decade, MLS has improved more than any league in the world.
Sure, they had a really low starting point, but the whole 'MLS sucks" rhetoric just sounds stupider and stupider every year.

I don't know where you're getting that, but it simply isn't true. Try looking at pro leagues in Japan and China, for starters.

MLS does suck. And no matter how much it improves it will still suck, until it gets rid of its closed, cartel-like system that's designed to maximize profits at the expense of the game. It's the structure of MLS that sucks, a structure that's totally out of place in the global game and which holds American players back from having the edge they need to compete in an open world system. And MLS control over USSF casts the same dark shadow over the USMNT. It isn't about the quality of play. It's about a system that works against the goal of identifying and developing good US players and providing them with a competitive environment in which they can become dominant. What holds our players back is a closed, dead system that sucks all the competitiveness and creativity out of the game.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great thread that mimics lots of the conversation here in general:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/is-today-a-good-day-to-discuss-greg-berhalter-vs-tata-martino.2077026/

Reuben, are you on this forum as well? Sure seems that way.

"If its such a proven system, why aren't there DC United scouts/coaches are every pick up game in the DC area?"

Good question.

The better question raised in that thread is why the national teams of the central and south americas aren't scouting those areas with this supposed amazing talent that is all over the American youth pick-up scene.

The answer is that it just isn't there, outside of a few outliers that make it. It's a myth, like the tooth fairy and Santa.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s the best you’ve got? Xenophobic??

Their results are generally worse than the US and they have much higher populations. We’ll see how Berhalter does, he’s gotten a lot out of relatively crappy rosters in MLS and put your beloved Tata to shame at least once.

MLS has crappy rosters because they choose to have them and don't do anything to make them better. Because MLS is all about the money, not the game. All they want is good enough, not just good. And as long as MLS is allowed to control the USSF, the USMNT will be the same way.

In the last decade, MLS has improved more than any league in the world.
Sure, they had a really low starting point, but the whole 'MLS sucks" rhetoric just sounds stupider and stupider every year.

Anonymous wrote:Great thread that mimics lots of the conversation here in general:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/is-today-a-good-day-to-discuss-greg-berhalter-vs-tata-martino.2077026/

Reuben, are you on this forum as well? Sure seems that way.

"If its such a proven system, why aren't there DC United scouts/coaches are every pick up game in the DC area?"

Good question.

Anonymous wrote:That’s the best you’ve got? Xenophobic??

Their results are generally worse than the US and they have much higher populations. We’ll see how Berhalter does, he’s gotten a lot out of relatively crappy rosters in MLS and put your beloved Tata to shame at least once.

MLS has crappy rosters because they choose to have them and don't do anything to make them better. Because MLS is all about the money, not the game. All they want is good enough, not just good. And as long as MLS is allowed to control the USSF, the USMNT will be the same way.

Anonymous wrote:That’s the best you’ve got? Xenophobic??

Their results are generally worse than the US and they have much higher populations. We’ll see how Berhalter does, he’s gotten a lot out of relatively crappy rosters in MLS and put your beloved Tata to shame at least once.

Actually, JCO was my choice. I love what he did with Mexico. He got them punching above their weight.

The Chinese and Japanese leagues have club teams that are legit powerhouses in Asia: Guanghzou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League won the ACL cup in 2013 and 2015. Kashima Antleers from Japan took Real Madrid to the wire in the Club World Cup final two years ago. We don't have MLS teams like that. That's because the Chinese and Japanese invest intelligently in good foreign coaching and foreign players who are there to make a difference and not just retire. MLS doesn't do that. Give them time -- their NTs will start showing the results.

Nobody doubts Berhalter is a good coach who gets good results at his (relatively low) level. What people are upset about is the blatant dishonesty of USSF and the Berhalter fanboys, who are treating him as if he's some kind of hidden genius. If they had been honest about their true intentions and admitted they wanted to take a chance on him because he's a True, Blue All-American MLS coach who's going to bring a uniquely American style to the game, instead of blowing smoke in our faces about how he's such a genius even though he's never been tested at this level, people might be less upset.