Watching the U-23s qualify for the Olympics (barely) has me thinking of Robbie Findley.  Really, he didn't have a very good tournament, the times he did get loose, he failed to convert, missing a lot of 1 vs. 1 chances.  Findley demonstrates one thing that I think plagues American soccer-reliance on athletic ability over technical ability.  Findley is one of the fastest guys on the pitch, but he's a one trick pony.  He's great running under a ball over the top.  Other than that, he really doesn't have a lot of other tricks up his sleeve.  His game is completely based on this style of play.  He isn't the type of forward who can really set up a teammate with a pinpoint pass.  He isn't big enough to be a punishing physical presence and too short to be much of a threat with a header.  Other than getting a ball from the back (about the only way that RSL last year could get the ball through the midfield without losing it) he isn't really very productive otherwise.  If RSL plays through the midfield, like it looks like they are making an effort to do this year, Findley will be hard pressed to do much as a forward, in my opinion. 

Findley exemplifies one of the biggest problems I see with American soccer thought in general.  The United States has the best athletes in the world.  The pool of athletic ability that America can pull from seems almost limitless.  This, in soccer hurts us.  While we may have players who are faster than anyone else's, can jump higher, and are imposing physically, their technique in general is nowhere near the level of a player from South America or Europe.  I see this problem starting with our whole philosophy towards soccer, starting at the youth levels.  Letting everyone play and having thousands of teams is great for a lot of reasons, but since we are only now just starting to get coaches in the youth ranks who have played the game, our technical ability compared to the rest of the world is sorely lacking.  The best professionals, in any sport, are the ones who are the most fundamentally sound.  I don't think that in general American youth programs really address fundamental development.  While there are teams and coaches that do a wonderful job with this, from what I have witnessed reffing youth leagues for 15 years, and now coaching, the majority of coaches still have little experience with the game.  Even on the competitive level, I would estimate that the majority of coaches have not played, do not watch soccer regularly on TV and have never been to a live, professional match.  Without that high level example to watch, kids don't really have an idea of what soccer should look like. 

Even with the US National team I see examples of this.  From the World Cup, the most striking example was DaMarcus Beasley. He could run up and down the sideline faster than anyone else, but couldn't control possession when needed.  Pavel Nedved ate his lunch.  Nedved, who is very technically sound was able to beat the faster Beasley and set up Rosicky for his two goals quite easily.  All the top teams are all very technically sound and that's how they win.

Anyway, I've rambled enough.

        

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion