Bruce Arena, now and then.
Talking about Fulham's Clint Dempsey during today's broadcast.
"I think his inactivity has hurt him. He hasn’t played with the same confidence he had when he was playing regularly with the Revolution and scoring in the World Cup."
Talking last year after the U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup.
"We need to get more of our younger, talented players in Europe. We need them in a year-round soccer environment."
I actually agree with Bruce Arena here. I've always thought that Europe is a great option for U.S. players - provided they actually get games there. When they don't, I think they're better off in the U.S., playing and improving.
I think it is way too early to talk about impact of playing in Europe on Dempsey's game.
ReplyDeleteFor one, I don't think he has played as bad as many fans claim he has. I think he was actually quite decent in moving the ball in the middle and in defending. May be not spectacular, but certainly not terrible.
Sure, he missed a golden scoring opportunity. It looked to me like he slipped. But those of us who actually play, even on Sundays with other wannabees:), know that it can happen to anyone. Those couch potatoes claiming that they could have scored from that position have no idea what they are talking about.
I also think that you cannot take one game and one player and deduce that MLS is better than European football in helping our players develop their game. It obviously depends on the player and the situation he is in. Let's see how Dempsey does over the summer's international tournaments before we start making these assessments.
For that matter, let's see how Donovan does in that same time span. He had a great game today, which shows that he is capable of being a great player. I'd like to see if he can replicate that performance in the international games over the summer.
I also still think it is a shame the guy did not try to get back to Europe. May Bayern was not the right situation for him. But if you have his talent, I'd think you want to be competing in the word's best clubs.
I think it is way too early to talk about impact of playing in Europe on Dempsey's game.
ReplyDeleteFor one, I don't think he has played as bad as many fans claim he has. I think he was actually quite decent in moving the ball in the middle and in defending. May be not spectacular, but certainly not terrible.
Sure, he missed a golden scoring opportunity. It looked to me like he slipped. But those of us who actually play, even on Sundays with other wannabees:), know that it can happen to anyone. Those couch potatoes claiming that they could have scored from that position have no idea what they are talking about.
I also think that you cannot take one game and one player and deduce that MLS is better than European football in helping our players develop their game. It obviously depends on the player and the situation he is in. Let's see how Dempsey does over the summer's international tournaments before we start making these assessments.
For that matter, let's see how Donovan does in that same time span. He had a great game today, which shows that he is capable of being a great player. I'd like to see if he can replicate that performance in the international games over the summer.
I also still think it is a shame the guy did not try to get back to Europe. May Bayern was not the right situation for him. But if you have his talent, I'd think you want to be competing in the word's best clubs.
I hope that neither Arena nor anyone else is insinuating that playing in Europe is not a better training ground than here in the States. I was always taught that if you want to progress and get better than you need to play with and against those better than yourself. The best play in Europe and until the MLS reaches that level of play then that is where we should want the Americans getting their education.
ReplyDeleteI also think it would be great for the national team to start scheduling AWAY friendlies against European competition. Playing Ecuador was a great, but it would be good to play more games like these outside the states. It helps everyone (coaches, players, federation leaders, etc.) see exactly how far they need to go to really be competitive on the world stage. Sustained success will be reached when the US begins to play "up" on a regular basis. The Gold Cup will be fun and has a nice reward for winning, but the Copa America will go much further in preparing us for South Africa.
He wasn't with Bayern, he was at Leverkusen. Donovan has also said he'd like to play in England or Spain at some point, but that his life in California at present is important to him, especially since his wife is an actress based in LA. She can't work on her TV series from Spain.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Bayer Leverkusen.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying that he has to go to Europe despite his personal circumstances. It is his right to play where he wants.
What troubles me (and, I suspect, most people) is the lack of ambition to succeed against tougher competition. For a guy with his talent, you'd think that he WANTS to play in Europe. It does not quite come across that he actually wants it.