Alexander the Gr8
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Doesn’t get any attention in the media in France. It’s all eyes on Mbappé and Giroud for setting the record of most goals by a French player on the national squad.
OT: Discusión del Fútbol (EPL, FIFA, LIGA, USMNT, USWNT, MLS, etc) - Parte Cinco
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Doesn’t get any attention in the media in France. It’s all eyes on Mbappé and Giroud for setting the record of most goals by a French player on the national squad.
ChaosLord
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Honestly, 3 in a row: WC 2018, Euro 2020, and now WC 2022. Harry Kane's legacy unfortunately.
CapitalsCupReality
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Witnesses Recount Heartbreaking Last Moments Of Soccer Journalist Grant Wahl — HuffPost
"Godspeed, my friend," tweeted reporter Guillem Balague. "It I get asked what journalism is, I'll say your name."
apple.news
Not a soccer fan but this is truly sad.
Witnesses Recount Heartbreaking Last Moments Of Soccer Journalist Grant Wahl — HuffPost
"Godspeed, my friend," tweeted reporter Guillem Balague. "It I get asked what journalism is, I'll say your name."
CapitalsCupReality
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Gregg Berhalter says he almost sent USMNT player — reportedly Gio Reyna — home during World Cup — Yahoo Sports
Berhalter was considering drastic action during the U.S. men's team's World Cup run.
apple.news
Berhalter said both he and the team’s leadership group — a half-dozen experienced players including captain Tyler Adams — were “prepared to” send the player home. But instead, the player eventually apologized to the group. “And from that day on,” Berhalter said at the summit, “there were no issues with this player.”
Shortly after Berhalter’s comments spread in U.S. soccer circles, The Athletic reported that Reyna, who’d shown an alarming lack of effort and intensity in training during the team’s first week in Qatar, apologized to teammates before a video session in between games.
Makes more sense…and wtf Reyna….
g00n
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Gregg Berhalter says he almost sent USMNT player — reportedly Gio Reyna — home during World Cup — Yahoo Sports
Berhalter was considering drastic action during the U.S. men's team's World Cup run.
Berhalter said both he and the team’s leadership group — a half-dozen experienced players including captain Tyler Adams — were “prepared to” send the player home. But instead, the player eventually apologized to the group. “And from that day on,” Berhalter said at the summit, “there were no issues with this player.”
Shortly after Berhalter’s comments spread in U.S. soccer circles, The Athletic reported that Reyna, who’d shown an alarming lack of effort and intensity in training during the team’s first week in Qatar, apologized to teammates before a video session in between games.
Makes more sense…and wtf Reyna….
This is exactly why I don't join in on the dogpiling when a coach isn't playing someone.
Too much goes on behind the scenes.
Not great but I’m fine with it. Gio wants to play, he deserved to play, and he’s immature and didn’t handle himself correctly when he didn’t play. He has the potential to be the best US men’s player ever so he’s going to be a bit of a diva like most of the best men’s soccer players are. Clint Dempsey once punched through a glass window and was cut so bad his tendons were showing when he was told he wasn’t starting a Europa League game. I don’t want a team full of Morris’s and Arriolas and Longs — I want the Pulisics, Mckinnies, and Reynas who all have had attitude issues and have been called immature for expressing disappointment when things don’t go their way. This isn’t club ball. Bring in a coach who can manage the egos and turn them into something productive on the field instead of whining about them in a podcast after.
What’s more concerning is the dipshit coach and the federation leaking this story to make Gregg look better for not playing him. Those guys are supposed to be the adults in the room and they ran over a kid to make themselves look better. The losers at the top of US Soccer continue to suck.
What’s more concerning is the dipshit coach and the federation leaking this story to make Gregg look better for not playing him. Those guys are supposed to be the adults in the room and they ran over a kid to make themselves look better. The losers at the top of US Soccer continue to suck.
This seems normal. Just a couple of journalists who had spoken out against the state randomly dropping dead. The f*** is going on in Qatar?
Maybe I’m reading this all differently than you but my reading of it was Renya’s extremely poor performance and effort in training before the tournament actually began was a key reason he didn’t play much.
If so I 100% understand Berhalter’s decision. I mean I guess we could do the old Allen Iverson practice thing but while Renya absolutely could become a great player, he is far from that level now, IMO, and has no business disrespecting his teammates and coaches by half-assing it to such a degree in the immediate buildup to the tournament.
If you are looking to do something in the World Cup as the US, looking the other way while one of your more talented players mails it in during practice isn’t the way to do it, again IMO. There is a level of professionalism that has to be absolutely expected from everyone when you are a 3rd tier team in this kind of tournament.
So IMO this is 100% on Renya, based on what I have read so far.
From what I’m reading and hearing he was told he wasn’t starting the Wales game right off the bat. The team was essentially told the starting lineup in the opening days of camp. Reyna’s attitude was a result and it dipped even worse after he didn’t feature against Wales.
I think he could have handled it better for sure but I get it. He worked his ass off to get back to fitness after a year of injuries at Dortmund and he wanted to play. He deserved to play. He earned the right to play with his club and country performances. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t act similarly once or twice in my younger days and players I’ve coached have done the same. Ultra competitive athletes want to be on the field all the time and they want to win and if they’re not they don’t always handle it well. It’s on the player to correct himself and it’s also on the coach to have the emotional intelligence to work through it.
Look at the guys who defended Gregg and have been outspoken about bringing him back: Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman, Deandre Yedlin, Jordan Morris, Kellen Acosta. Look at the guys Gregg has clashed with: Gio, John Brooks, Mark McKenzie, Matt Miazga, Pepi, Jordan Pefok, Zach Steffen. Gregg has a preference for plugs who are rah-rah guys who are just happy to be there and are fine with kissing the ring. He has a problem working with players who won’t buy what he’s selling hook, line, and sinker. It’s probably not a coincidence that guys who are in Europe and know what a real manager looks like don’t buy his act.
All of this is to say that Gregg shouldn’t be back. It’s time to move on.
zappa4ever
Music is the Best!
100%
If you're gonna dog it after finding out you're not starting, might as well go home
The correct response is the "I'll show you" response -- play so hard in training that they have No Choice but to start you
Entitlement is an ugly look, similar to how Ronaldo walked off pouting before the rest of the team after Morocco
CapitalsCupReality
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My theory is that someone leaked this info to ensure Gregg didn’t come back and I’m not unhappy about it, even if it does paint Gio as a spoiled kid.
CapitalsCupReality
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hb13xchamps
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Insane that you’d tell one of your three best players that he’s not starting and won’t be contributing much before the tournament actually starts. Not surprising he reacted the way he did, even if it wasn’t the right response.
zappa4ever
Music is the Best!
Now do you take 20 y.o. Gio's statement as accurate, non-exaggerated fact?
This statement I tend to doubt is 100% accurate:
"Just before the World Cup, Coach Berhalter told me that my role at the tournament would be very limited"
If I had to guess, Berhalter simply said he wasn't starting v. Wales;
"very limited" sounds very dubious,
and the "Just before the World Cup" statement almost implies this was said before even arriving in Qatar
This statement I tend to doubt is 100% accurate:
"Just before the World Cup, Coach Berhalter told me that my role at the tournament would be very limited"
If I had to guess, Berhalter simply said he wasn't starting v. Wales;
"very limited" sounds very dubious,
and the "Just before the World Cup" statement almost implies this was said before even arriving in Qatar
hb13xchamps
Registered User
I’m sure it’s slightly exaggerated, but I could easily see the staff telling Gio he’s coming off the bench and won’t get a ton of minutes.
Before the World Cup as in probably the week or so lead up to it, where each time could have a small camp to get everyone adjusted to Qatar and playing together again.
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More detail in this on how GGG saw things:
defector.com
Gregg Berhalter's Off-The-Record Oopsie Puts Heat On Gio Reyna | Defector
Gio Reyna’s lack of playing time at the 2022 World Cup was one of the tournament’s more puzzling developments. If you had to rank the members of the USMNT by pure talent, Reyna would be at or near the top of the list, and those are usually the types of players you want on the […]
defector.com
I don’t have an issue with telling Renya he’s not starting the first game in any way.
Dortmund has played 23 competitive games so far this season and he has started 6. Do you really feel confident he’s going to go 90 minutes? Plus he’s not a striker so who’s spot is he taking? So yeah those things combined I have no issue with him not starting game 1.
Ease him into the tournament and build up his fitness like the Dutch did Depay and go from there. If you show well you reasonably have a chance to get more time the next game and so on.
Or you can pout and act like a shithead, mail it in in practice, and make the coaches’ decisions on who plays a lot easier.
There are 26 guys on that team and only 11 get to start. We aren’t talking about the other 14 right now because they put the team before themselves, which shouldn’t be that hard to do in a World Cup.
John Price
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Inside the Ukraine national soccer team's heroic fight to carry on
With their lives under siege by Russia, the Ukrainian national soccer team found the strength to keep fighting.
hb13xchamps
Registered User
I’m absolutely fine with him coming on a substitute if his fitness level wasn’t up to par with some of the other guys on the squad. I also would have been fine with starting Gio and letting him come off around the 60 or 70th minute mark like they did with Weston McKennie. Especially in the knock out game when they decided to start Ferreira instead, which was a major head scratcher.
I wasn’t okay with Berhalter bringing on Jordan Morris over Reyna in the Wales match. But it clearly was in retaliation to his poor choices in training and around the team. Other guys have had issues during their younger years. Gio needs to learn from this and come back better than ever for the next cycle.
CapitalsCupReality
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