U.S. Soccer Coaching Better or Worse?

Once every four years, teams from all nations fight for the top spot in FIFA's Women's World Cup. We know magnificent Marta and Brazil, along with Germany, are staying for the Women's World Cup Final. And we also know that the U.S. will be playing Norway in the 3^rd place game. What is uncertain, besides the outcomes, is the fate of U.S. coach Greg Ryan. It is justifiable that the media has ripped Ryan for his controversial call for benching Hope Solo and replacing her with Briana Scurry in net. Mentally, the deplorable decision was excruciating to Solo and left the team divided in the most crucial of times. Yet, I don't think goaltending was to blame for the loss. Although, Scurry could have done better on the second and fourth goals, especially touching the ball on both shots, the Brazilians outclassed the U.S. all over the field. Kristine Lilly and Lori Chalupny expended tremendous energy to combat the feisty Brazilians, the uselessness of Abby Wambach, and the poor U.S. defensive play.

From the start, the game was a nightmare. A yellow card was initially given to Shannon Boxx just fourteen minutes into the game followed by an own goal six minutes later. Marta then added a second goal seven minutes later. But most demoralizing was seeing midfielder Shannon Boxx ejected; and here lies my biggest concern for American soccer. Have we learned anything from watching the men who were playing an important World Cup match against Italy? Rewind to the US vs. Italy game in the 2006 Cup, when we had a man advantage, Bruce Arena should have pulled Eddie Pope and not risked a second yellow card. Although, Eddie must know the situation and control himself, Bruce could have negated the situation and inserted a fresh, un-carded player. Coaching blunders like these are unforgiveable. Instead, Eddie played and was red carded and we lost the upper hand. The scenario is similar here…Boxx is carded early and in this situation Coach Ryan has the opportunity to pull her out and try something different, especially being down two goals. Unfortunately, Ryan takes a major risk by leaving her on the field for the rest of the half and she picks up her second card, putting the U.S. in a very compromising position. Chalupny could have been subbed off based on the same criteria. The U.S. was forced to chase the rest of the game against a savvy Brazil. How many times are we going to put ourselves in these positions? A good solution would be for the U.S.S.F. or the N.S.C.A.A. to incorporate risk management or conflict resolution courses for our national team coaches to determine the costs and benefits in these crucial game situations. Ryan made a major mistake by refusing to adjust and make any strategic substitution to tactically try and compensate after being down two goals. We were obviously down and needed to attack to get goals back to have a chance. Subbing in fresh legs would have been a viable alternative.

The bottom line is that soccer is a sport that requires playing offense and defense – two things the American women lacked in this game. Watching the Brazilian buildups, artistry and creativity prevail were heartbreaking and exhilarating at the same. You can't take anything away from Brazil as they continued to electrify, play after play, by continually attacking offensively and defensively. So who is going to leave on top, Germany or Brazil? It will be exciting to see. Brazil was spectacular in their match against the U.S. and Germany is coming off some amazing wins. Both teams are strong defensively and have the unique ability to control the ball and create scoring opportunities. Also, both teams have superstar players all over the pitch. It should make for a great story line. Another great article about the game can be found here.