ASN’s Brian Sciaretta chimes in with his thoughts on news in American Soccer on Tuesday night including opening up his MLS notebook and giving some thoughts on the USMNT coaching search. 


BY

Brian Sciaretta



Posted

July 16, 2024

9:05 PM

THIS WEEK IS A TRANSITIONAL time in American soccer. The Copa America is in the review mirror, the U.S. U-20 and Olympic teams are preparing for major tournaments, the transfer window moves on, and MLS prepares for yet another midweek slate of games.

Here are some thoughts on it all.

 

Southgate and Pochettino

 

Diario Ole is reporting that Mauricio Pochettino is a candidate to replace Gregg Berhalter as the USMNT manager. The Argentine manager is coming off two brief and unsuccessful runs with PSG and Chelsea. While he lasted just one season at Chelsea, he had managed to right the ship by the end to help the Blues to a sixth-place finish.  His five-year run with Tottenham from 2014-2019 was his best tenure as a head coach. But prior to Tottenham, he managed Southampton – which is a connection to Matthew Crocker.

Pochettino utilizes a possession-based attacking system and would have just short of years to work with the U.S. team.

On Monday, I went on TalkSport and discussed the USMNT vacancy. I was asked about Gareth Southgate, who left the England job after a 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro finals. He also has a connection to Crocker and it’s also another candidate who wouldn’t surprise me if he got the job.

Either way, I think we will hear more firm news sooner than later as Crocker wants to move quickly. Given Crocker’s connection to England, it would only make sense that the leading candidates also have a connection with the game in England.

I’ve said it before, but what the U.S. team needs the most is a coach who can be a strong presence and can challenge the players. Under Berhalter, the first cycle was acceptable. When he returned in 2023, things appeared stale. It was essentially the same lineup of players, regardless of how they performed with their clubs. When looking at the performance in the Copa America, it seemed like a team that would lose to the 2022 World Cup team – despite being the same players. That’s a scary concept.

 

The next manager needs to challenge players to take the next steps in their game. In the end, it will be up to the players. Weston McKennie is capable of so much more than what he showed at the Copa, and he is in club limbo. Tyler Adams is often injured. Gio Reyna hasn’t played regularly at the club level in years.

I thought the firing of Berhalter was justified because it’s a results-oriented business. But I also never felt as if he was what was separating this team from greatness either. The biggest problem right now is not only club situations with too many players, but also their mentality. Too many times over the past few years, whenever the team hits a difficult moment in a game (a red card, conceding a bad goal, a blown opportunity), they don’t respond well.

A coach can control tactics and can help create a positive culture, but ultimately, mental toughness is going to come down to the players. This group of players will have to do soul searching regardless of who the manager is.

 

MLS Notebook

 

The big story of the weekend in MLS is that the Columbus Crew went to California and came away with a 5-1 win over LAFC. It was billed as a rematch of the 2023 MLS Cup, but this one was not close.

This result says more about Columbus than LAFC. There is a debate about the best team in the league right now.  Miami? Cincy? LAFC? Thos are all good choices. But Columbus is the champ and continues to be at the top of the league. The 5-1 romp was a huge statement for Columbus.

This comes after the club sold Aidan Morris to Middlesbrough. Even with his loss, Columbus continues to roll. In this five-game winning streak, Columbus has outscored opponents 20-2. From an American perspective, U.S.-born players continue to play a big role, despite the loss of Aidan Morris. Steve Zawadzki, Darlington Nagbe, and Max Arfsten have been huge over the past month. Arfsten has been a breakout player this season as wingback. Certainly a group of players to watch.

As for LAFC, they deserve free pass after their 10-game unbeaten run.

 

On Wednesday, LAFC hosts Real Salt Lake who is coming off a similarly ugly 3-0 loss to Portland. Both LAFC and RSL have good squads and are entering this game on the heels of let downs. But they’re both on 43 points – even with the top of the West.

There were a lot of surprising stories around MLS. Cincinnati dropping a 3-1 decision at home to Charlotte, with a Miles Robinson red card (sending him to France sooner than expected with the Olympic team). Cincinnati needs to add defenders in the upcoming window, ASAP.

As for Charlotte, they’ve been inconsistent but they’re improved.

Orlando won its third in a row with a 3-1 away win over the New England Revolution. The June talk about the Revs “being back” is over. They’ve now lost three of four and are playing poorly again.

The Revolution are not in last place and neither are Chicago or Toronto. The basement of the East goes to the Philadelphia Union – which is something no one saw coming. Yes, a -4 goal differential should not equal a last-place team. But the Union are weak right now. They’re losing close games and gifting late goals. Such was the case in a 2-1 loss to Toronto. Philly actually had a 1-0 lead heading into the 74th minute.

The Union need two central defenders right now (the once-great Glesnes and Elliot tandem is in a nosedive), another attacker, and a lot of toughness.

The big news for Philadelphia is the potential debut for Cavan Sullivan against New England on Wednesday night. I try not to hype up players this young too often, but this will be exciting for Union fans. 

 

I predicted a strong season from Atalanta, and I was far off. The team has sold a bunch of players, they have an interim coach, and need a lot of upgrades at the window.

Also, we’ve learned that Inter Miami will be without Lionel Messi for another few weeks – into Leagues Cup – due to the ankle injury he suffered the Copa America final. But Inter Miami has generally done well without Messi over the past six weeks, the 6-1 debacle against Cincinnati notwithstanding.

Meanwhile, RSL’s likely MVP candidate Chicho Arango has been suspended by the league. It’s tough to comment on such matters without knowing the facts.




 

The Copa Mess

 

The Copa America is over with Argentina defeating Colombia 1-0 in the final. The tournament, however, will be remembered for a bunch of ugly incidents. In the semifinals, Uruguayan players went into the stands and began fighting with Colombian supporters. They claimed their family members had been harassed.

Then in the final, the game was delayed as Colombian fans rushed the gate and it turned into a frightening scene.

 

Earlier in the tournament, players and coaches complained about the temporary sod surfaces used in NFL stadiums. In terms of organization, the 2016 Copa America Centenario was better run. .

This was poor planning on both American venue security as well as Conmebol who were not prepared for a different environment in the United States. It serves as a wake-up call for local American organizers who will be put under a further tests when the World Cup will be hosted in the USA. There is optimism that with FIFA supervision, it should be better prepared.

But the tournament will not be one to be remembered fondly by many in the United States.

Cowell keeps scoring

 

The number of Americans in Liga MX continues to increase with Frankie Amaya now in the top tier of Mexico. This continues the trending in recent years of Americans (almost entirely dual citizens with Mexico) heading south of the border.

Of the numerous Americans there, Cade Cowell is off to the strongest start. The former San Jose Earthquake winger scored again on Tuesday night for Chivas in a 2-0 win over Queretaro. For Cowell, he now has two goals in three games to start the season.

This comes at a time when Cowell was recently left off the U.S. Olympic team in favor of wingers Griffin Yow, Taylor Booth, Kevin Paredes, and Paxten Aaronson.



RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here