Post-mortem on the US Women's soccer team, if you can bear it:
Marc Connelly tells what went wrong against Germany: predictable direct attacks, repetitive passing plays, inexperienced defense, and a too-defensive mindset in the second half.
Jere Longman says that we have come to the end of the Hamm-Chastain-Foudy era. But, sad as it will be to see these women go, US soccer does need to move into the future.
"[W]omen's soccer has grown more sophisticated, and the world has caught up. On Sunday, the United States lost to a German team better skilled with the ball at its feet, more deft and creative with its passes, more technically sound on defense and equally strong in the air. Willpower and intimidation, which once worked like a cudgel for the Americans, proved insufficient weapons against the newly self-assured Germans."
The loss, and the lack of buzz about this year's World Cup, have certainly hurt the chances of a WUSA comeback, says Steven Goff.
"The players will try to rally enough corporate interest to resuscitate the WUSA, or a streamlined version of it. But the cause has been damaged by their failure to repeat as champions and the inability to stir up the same widespread euphoria that helped launch the league after the 1999 World Cup. Without a league, the players will go into a residency program before the Olympics."
Marc Connelly tells what went wrong against Germany: predictable direct attacks, repetitive passing plays, inexperienced defense, and a too-defensive mindset in the second half.
Jere Longman says that we have come to the end of the Hamm-Chastain-Foudy era. But, sad as it will be to see these women go, US soccer does need to move into the future.
"[W]omen's soccer has grown more sophisticated, and the world has caught up. On Sunday, the United States lost to a German team better skilled with the ball at its feet, more deft and creative with its passes, more technically sound on defense and equally strong in the air. Willpower and intimidation, which once worked like a cudgel for the Americans, proved insufficient weapons against the newly self-assured Germans."
The loss, and the lack of buzz about this year's World Cup, have certainly hurt the chances of a WUSA comeback, says Steven Goff.
"The players will try to rally enough corporate interest to resuscitate the WUSA, or a streamlined version of it. But the cause has been damaged by their failure to repeat as champions and the inability to stir up the same widespread euphoria that helped launch the league after the 1999 World Cup. Without a league, the players will go into a residency program before the Olympics."
posted by Ted at 7:00 AM
