Neil W. Blackmon
The past eighteen months haven’t been easy for US Soccer.
Since winning the Gold Cup in the summer of 2017, the US Men’s National Team has descended into the depths of despair, famously failing to qualify for the World Cup in October of 2017 and spending a year mostly middling around under interim manager Dave Sarachan with no real sense of direction or agenda.
While Dave Sarachan should be lauded for utilizing his caretaker role to introduce a host of new faces to international soccer, Gregg Berhalter’s first full camp as US manager this month was supposed to mark the beginning of the rebuilding process in full for the men’s program.
It’s hard to imagine a better start than what we all saw Sunday night in Phoenix.
Yes, hardly anyone paid to see it and the awkward optics of a mostly empty football stadium playing host to an international soccer match conjured up memories of US Soccer’s dark ages, when the Americans played qualifiers in empty stadiums with football lines. But if you’re going to play a January friendly of B/C teams in an empty American football cathedral, you may as well dominate, and dominate the US did.
The US decisively defeated Panama 3-0 in a match with plenty of promising performances, even if it had many of the sloppy execution and rusty markings of a typical January friendly between teams whose players aren’t currently in season form.
Most vitally, the US looked prepare and aggressive, a far cry from the tepid, stolid, bunkered soccer they played throughout the final half of 2018. It almost makes you wonder why the US waited a year to get started…
Here are three thoughts on the US victory.
- There was a plan!!
Gregg Berhalter had a clear system and plan at Columbus in MLS, and when interviewed about how he would approach the job, he noted that he would evaluate players based on his and his staff’s evaluation of a prospective player’s fit into that system.
This isn’t groundbreaking stuff, to be clear, but it is sadly a departure from the often opponent-dictated pragmatism of Bruce Arena and the loosely defined “get out there and express yourselves” tactical approach of Jurgen Klinsmann.
The US went at a Panama team playing very directly and sitting deep, utilizing short, predominantly forward passes at the areas of most space to attack. Again, hardly groundbreaking, but positive, especially as the rate of execution was high for game one, even allowing for the usual amount of rust of any January camp involving players in the middle of their offseason. The US also emphasized width, playing with “two number tens” (Djordje Mihailovic and a brilliant Cristian Roldan), as Berhalter put it, and demanding a player (often Ebobsisse) sit on the sideline at the flank.
When the US did pass backwards, it typically was to Michael Bradley, who showed for the ball consistently and made himself available to less-experienced teammates. Bradley, finally again playing a defined role as an efficient ball-mover instead of a playmaker, was excellent (as the below map of his passes demonstrates) and connected on all but three passes in the match, rewarding his young teammate’s trust.
Those things seem “system,” based, i.e., the way Berhalter would like the US to play on a given day, regardless of opponent.
There were also opponent-specific wrinkles (or at least wrinkles I believe were more opponent specific than out and out tactical choices).
The obvious one was the decision to play Nick Lima in a hybrid RB/CDM role. When the US didn’t have the ball, Lima dropped wide and deep and the US played what was functionally a 4-4-2; when the US was in possession, which was most the game, Lima advanced and tucked more central next to Michael Bradley, occupying another Panamanian defender and freeing up space for the “two number tens” to operate. To me, this was a tactic clearly designed to exploit and draw out a direct team sitting deep, rather than a system-based assignment for any future Berhalter RB. Nevertheless, Lima played it to perfection.
Lima, who Berhalter named the “Coach’s Man of the Match”, was masterful on both sides of the ball, playing a role in each of the first two American goals. His play on the second goal was the most impressive, as it was his crunching tackle that won the ball and moments later, after a quick run down the flank, he delivered a precision pass to Walker Zimmerman for the score.
2) The Americans executed it!!
Much of this is covered above, but it’s worth noting the performances of two other newcomers last night in this space, both of whom executed their tasks in Berhalter’s gameplan quite well.
Djordje Mihailovic shined in a free attacking role as one of the US number tens, making consistently smart late secondary runs into space, one of which resulted in the first American goal. Mihailovic’s calmness and comfort with the ball conjures up the handles of Sacha Kljestan; the fact he’s faster may make him more useful internationally even if he lacks Kljestan’s dynamism as a passer and finisher. More encouraging, Mihailovic has had a terrific camp, suggesting he’s coachable and showing consistency, rather than just flashing promise in a one-off “B/C” team friendly.
Christian Ramirez scored five minutes after entering, an upgrade over the frustrating evening of Gyasi Zardes, who found himself in good positions frequently but squandered multiple opportunities to score, including two chances in space where he failed to even put a ball on frame. US fans often laud the ability of players to find good positions, which is understandable, but the reality is the US has struggled to score for multiple years and forwards that can’t finish need to be relegated to the bottom of the depth chart.
Ramirez, a physical player who has scored goals at three levels of American soccer (USL, NASL, MLS), didn’t waste his opportunities, which is an argument he should get more.
Finally, wingers Corey Baird and Jonathan Lewis both added assists for the US, giving the US hope at a position where depth will be necessary due to the demands of Berhalter’s system. It’s a big year at the club level for both players, but especially Baird, the 2018 MLS Rookie of the Year who at 22 should be looking to parlay one more strong season at the club level to a trip to Europe.
3) The Battle for hearts and minds isn’t well-served by playing in empty stadiums
I mentioned the empty football stadium above but it’s worth addressing in a paragraph or two here as well.
Only 9,040 made the trip to State Farm Stadium to see the Yanks last night, an embarrassing number in a sterling venue that has hosted Super Bowls and BCS National Championship games. Not only, as Daryl Grove and The Athletic’s George Quraishi suggested on the Total Soccer Show, does this explain the very focused camera angles on the ESPN broadcast Sunday night; it is an instructive hint at another huge challenge in front of Berhalter.
As I wrote in the TYAC preview and as Taylor Twellman referenced on the broadcast, Berhalter begins his tenure as head coach at a time when the US National Team fan base is broken, divided and bitterly cynical, with some justice.
It’s progress that people woke up this morning happy or, at a minimum, not feeling like they hate soccer and America’s continued pursuit of it at the national team level is futile and empty.
But there’s a long way to go and the goal of generating enthusiasm and healing the lingering wounds from the failed World Cup qualification cycle aren’t well-served by empty stadiums.
Further, as George Quraishi noted, the national team isn’t just losing the chance to play in front of young people who may fall in love with the sport watching the national team with their Dad. They are competing with the NBA for hearts and minds and the national team itself is competing with club soccer for affections and allegiance.
It’s telling that at a time the domestic game is growing rapidly in the United States- and not just in soccer-crazed markets like Atlanta- US Men’s National Team attendance is conjuring up memories of soccer in America in the 1980s.
There’s an enthusiasm gap and US Soccer, apparently in the name of short-term revenue, appears content to price out customers who might be tempted to come back. That’s not just an odd business plan; it’s a lousy development one.