A Work in Progress: The State of U.S. Soccer

All coaching changes at every level of sport require a certain level of transition that must be undergone in order to give the new coach a chance to succeed. There is no straying away from the rule in the current change from Bob Bradley to Jurgen Klinsmann with the United States Men's Soccer National team. While failing to record a win in 3 chances is certainly frustrating, there is no need to panic just yet. Klinsmann has yet to have a chance to play with the full roster and it takes more than 3 friendlies in order for him to implement the vast changes in strategy from those of Bradley. The new manager desperately wants the Red, White and Blue to become a squad that dominates possession and is always on the attack. My only gripe with that strategy is the fact that the team still needs to shoot in order to score, no matter how much control of the game they may seemingly have. In the first half of today's match, the U.S. seemed especially passive and lacked flow on offense which become the story of the day. The 2nd half was much of the same, but Belgium finally broke through with a goal against Tim Howard who has to be begging for support by now and the U.S. attack which showed promise just a few short days ago against Costa Rica, pulled a vanishing act.

I may be going a bit harsh on Klinsmann, but he needs to instill in his team the mindset that they still need to shoot in order to have a chance to win the game. Players cannot show off for the crowd with every trick in the book. Last time I checked, there are no extra points awarded for moves that may draws oohs and aahs, but also bring you into a world of trouble with the defense. Granted, the absence of Landon Donovan hurt the attack today but there still needs to be support provided for Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. Young players such as Brek Shea, Maurice Edu and Jose Torres showed flashes today, but need to show that on a consistent basis. If each member of the attack plays up to their capabilities over the course of each match, this team has an outside chance to make some noise in 2014.

Before we get ahead of ourselves and think about what could happen 3 years down the road, let's go back to the current state of the team. Klinsmann is saying all the right things and he's also correct that this  team is going through a transitional period but losses to Costa Rica and Belgium simply won't be acceptable in just a short while. Qualifying begins in June and the transition process needs to end before then in order for the U.S. to have a shot to make the World Cup, let alone playing well in the actual tournament. Face it, the last 2 losses are to squads that are not exactly ranked at the top of the world in International football. What would today's effort net the Stars and Stripes for a result against a team such as Spain or Brazil, maybe even rival Mexico? The answer to that question is known by many, but it also makes many of those same fans sick to their stomachs.

Don't get me wrong, a 1-0 loss to Belgium with an undermanned squad is still just passable at best for the time being. As I mentioned before, this was only Klinsmann's 3rd game with his new team and the flaws are still quite apparently being worked out. It is also for the better to get these lackluster performances out of their system before the real thing begins in June, the time when results start to matter and the slightest mistake can cost you a shot at the World Cup. For the sake of all the fans, let's hope Klinsmann works the same magic that he once did with Germany and the results will start to come.