The Soccer Thread (Version 13) — Winter World Cup Edition

Props to Gregg for not canceling.

 

Should make for a memorable episode, if there are any Welcome to Wrexham fans here.

 

Sheffield Wednesday over Newcastle. Magic of the FA Cup and all that.

 

Do we have any idea yet why Berhalter told Reyna before the tournament that his role would be limited? Was the friction between the families already there at that point? Even before all this came out, it seemed weird for a coach to tell a player that rather than tell him they’ll take it match by match to try and keep him mentally sharp in case they needed him to play more because of injuries or other ineffective players. If Berhalter thought that little of Reyna, maybe leave him off the team altogether like Steffen?

 

I don’t think we have answers to any of those questions or what he meant by a limited role. It could mean that he wasn’t going to start or that he shouldn’t expect to play. Given the fact that he got time in 2 of the 4 matches, it wasn’t the latter.

I would assume that most good managers would tell their players who is expected to start in the first match and practice with that squad. Especially where there was barely time to practice before the first match.

While everyone loves the young player with a high ceiling, it’s not like Gio played that often in qualifying and he wasn’t particularly match fit for Dortmund. Pre-tournament, my expectation was that he would be an offensive minded sub. And he certainly didn’t deserve PT ahead of Aaronson. And just because he didn’t get much or any time, doesn’t mean that he should be a bad teammate and sulk.

 

نحن لا ندفع ثمن كأس الاتحاد الانجليزي.

"We're not paying for the FA Cup."

 

Some fine goals in that Wrexham match.

Fifth-tier Wrexham STUN second-tier Coventry City in 7-goal thriller that you must see to believe

 

So US soccer tried to get Zidane as men's national team coach? Well, I guess thinking big is no crime. Might as well try again since France resigned Deschamps through the next World Cup. That appears to be the job Zidane really wants.

 

I don’t think that we are hiring a coach who isn’t fluent in English. To me, this is one of those soccer rumor stories where some middleman reaches out to his agent and says that if Zizou is interested, they could put him in touch with the powers that be. Then the “story” is leaked.

My money is on Mourinho — he’s getting older, he is fantastic with the media and he would be instantly respected.

 

As a Spurs fan, let me say this about Mourinho. No, thanks. Might've been a good move in 2013, not now.

 

Hiring Mou would be an epic trainwreck. So I can’t rule out them making that bad of a decision.

 

I think that the next coach has to be outside of the current US Soccer structure, have a track record of success and be good with the US media because he will the face of the 2026 team. You aren’t getting a top club coach in their prime like Pep or Klopp and I really think that it would intrigue Mou.