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Managerial Thread - 24/25 Season - Lolves/Lolthampton
- Thread starter bluesfan94
- Start date
Poch is definitely the USA's best-ever hire.
The problem with the USA is that there are too many options for sports and recreational activities. The only nations where football is popular on this side of the globe are within the Latino community, and baseball is huge in the USA amongst Mexican-Americans and other South American-Americans. Europe doesn't have this problem. You either have football everywhere, football with rugby in mainland Europe, or football with rugby and cricket on European islands.
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
All of that is a moot point, people don't sign up to be national team managers for 20 years. The U.S. hosts a World Cup in less than 2 years and clearly that's what the hire is about. We all know pretty much now what the U.S. player pool is that Poch will work with and so does he. The federation would probably like to make the QF in that tournament, and I assume that's the ask. Maybe he stays past that tournament for a few more years, but yeah the U.S. isn't suddenly going to be a powerhouse in 2028 either.
Live in the Now
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This is where I post that there's nothing wrong with having ambition. And I will point this discussion in the direction of Portugal, who had a grand total of literally one good team between having Eusebio and Figo. You could say something similar about Colombia and Uruguay, or about Chile, If you're looking at things from the perspective of 'can you develop a country into having a great football team' the answer is absolutely yes. Can you develop them into a World Cup winner, I dunno I would say probably not but there's nothing wrong with trying. It's not completely impossible. All it takes is for a couple of our academies to turn out better talent. Those four countries I just mentioned, most of their talent only comes from two or three academies. One thing that's potentially advantageous about the US, is that we have a lot of dual nationals who also come through European academies. A lot of other countries don't, mostly South American ones don't. And we have a lot of money to make sure those players play for us.
The national team manager generally has nothing to do with how football countries develop. That's up to the clubs. We don't bring in all of our dual nationals so there's definitely some improvement to be done there. I'd also say that our players should exercise better judgment when picking which teams in Europe they move to. I'd also say that by NT standards our players pool is also extremely young.
As for Poch I bet he feels like he's been screwed over multiple times (whether he's been screwed or not is another debate) and this is a good two year job where that's not going to happen to him.
The national team manager generally has nothing to do with how football countries develop. That's up to the clubs. We don't bring in all of our dual nationals so there's definitely some improvement to be done there. I'd also say that our players should exercise better judgment when picking which teams in Europe they move to. I'd also say that by NT standards our players pool is also extremely young.
As for Poch I bet he feels like he's been screwed over multiple times (whether he's been screwed or not is another debate) and this is a good two year job where that's not going to happen to him.
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
Do the US really have a lot of dual nationals who grow up in Europe? I feel like demographics/common sense dictates otherwise (i.e. Americans don't immigrate)
The only one I can think of is Amir Richardson and the only reason I know this is because he picked my team over the US lol
Why focus on bi-nationals?
As been said, the US need to spend the dollars, sign some highly touted educators from Brazil, France, Portugal, Spain and Germany and focus in developing 20 high quality centers with full country scouting as early as 10-11 years old.
They have to have structure in every state. From age 10 to 14 especially. Boarding schools with football every day with the best educators. Elite of each age category together.
As been said, the US need to spend the dollars, sign some highly touted educators from Brazil, France, Portugal, Spain and Germany and focus in developing 20 high quality centers with full country scouting as early as 10-11 years old.
They have to have structure in every state. From age 10 to 14 especially. Boarding schools with football every day with the best educators. Elite of each age category together.
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
This is a 'Why not both?' moment? Neither cancels the other out and why ignore talent no matter where it hails from? Even teams like Spain and Italy haven't hesitated to stretch it extremely thin with guys like Le Normand, Diego Costa or Jorginho.
You can invest heavily in local development while also scouting potential talent early that you can bring into the fold. These names also help the reputation/prestige of the program. Sides would be crazy to ignore them.
Live in the Now
Registered User
On the current team, Antonee Robinson, Musah, Tillman, Balogun, Weah. Decent amount.
Certain teams already have really good academies. Dallas especially. The big regions that you would expect to develop players have developed some good players. Most player development happens in LA, Dallas, Philly, NY/NJ. Miami is supposed to have a great academy but it's new.
The big priority for the US right now would be to pick a good lineup. A lot of the steps this country needed to do to make good talent has already been put in place and it will take a while for benefits to come from it. We needed a coach who isn't a f***ing moron.
Wee Baby Seamus
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TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
The U.S. can absolutely become a leading football nation within 30-40 years. The same was of course said in 1994 i.e. 30 years ago now. But anyone with eyes and half a brain knows the U.S. is much further along now than it was in 1994, so clearly progress is possible even if it is slower than was once anticipated.
I don't know if the comparison with Portugal is apt though. I mean Portugal has produced multiple all-time greats over the course of several decades while the U.S. is still working on the first one (and honestly if you have one in the works, he's not playing senior football yet). Portugal's problem used to be their inefficient way of playing not lack of skilled players. Even their crappy 70s teams had a guy like Nene, who albeit mostly forgotten, was an ace scoring 250+ goals for Benfica. I mean that's just it, Portugal even then was a football-obsessed country with massive clubs like Porto, Benfica and to a lesser extent Sporting. The game permeated the country's popular culture in ways it simply doesn't in the U.S. I think the same is true in those South American countries like Chile, Ecuador or Colombia. Their problem was turning their enthusiasm for the game into an effective national sporting infrastructure and so forth. The U.S. is - thanks to its economic muscle - way ahead on that count. It's the enthusiasm that needs to be kindled.
I don't know if the comparison with Portugal is apt though. I mean Portugal has produced multiple all-time greats over the course of several decades while the U.S. is still working on the first one (and honestly if you have one in the works, he's not playing senior football yet). Portugal's problem used to be their inefficient way of playing not lack of skilled players. Even their crappy 70s teams had a guy like Nene, who albeit mostly forgotten, was an ace scoring 250+ goals for Benfica. I mean that's just it, Portugal even then was a football-obsessed country with massive clubs like Porto, Benfica and to a lesser extent Sporting. The game permeated the country's popular culture in ways it simply doesn't in the U.S. I think the same is true in those South American countries like Chile, Ecuador or Colombia. Their problem was turning their enthusiasm for the game into an effective national sporting infrastructure and so forth. The U.S. is - thanks to its economic muscle - way ahead on that count. It's the enthusiasm that needs to be kindled.
Jussi
Registered User
Yah, he definitely is the one who potentially could improve them the most. How much however, that is still unknown.
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Jussi
Registered User
At least United have won something in my lifetime and while being a fan of them since '92 (all their Premier League and UCL wins for example).Not that it's not true, but this is a great take coming from a Man U fan
Football is a sport for the minority population in the USA, and you ain't stealing those kids away from throwball or basketball. Football gets sort of the rejected secondary kids, which is why the NHL hypes Auston Matthews so much. He was a kid with the trajectory of becoming a star MLB player, but he went off the beaten path and went to hockey instead. Football hasn't had that level of success, and the prime athletes are still joining other sports instead. It makes sense that someone like Mark McKenzie found himself on the US National team because he failed to be a basketball, baseball, or throwball player and stuck with something he was good at: football.
They should get out of the group stage with him, but he isn't a miracle maker. They will lose in the first two knockout stages as of now.
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Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
Oh, that's more than I thought. I hadn't realized. Good for the States then. Hopefully they hit on a superstar soon enough.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Bringer of Jollity
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Most US fans I read want to make it about USMNT results (especially 2026), but I think it's all on MLS at this point. 1994 helped make the MLS a viable creation (though it was iffy for a bit), but I think that's about as far as the USMNT team can take the major growth of the sport. This next phase you mention is going to take enormous investment that will take years, even decades to start paying off, and nobody is going to foot that bill on good vibes after a quarterfinals run--they want to see the $$$ they'll make some day. MLS academies continuing to grow and showing there's serious money to be made in talent identification and development in the US is going to be the tipping point.
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cgf
FireBednarsSuccessor
I think I just won HF…
Your opinion matters as much mine or anyone else on here.
That poster's opinion certainly matters as much yours but I dunno about "anyone else on here", some of us are more equal than others...
spintheblackcircle
incoming!!!
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PeteWorrell
[...]
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Conte already ranting is not a good sign. He will butt heads with De Laurentiis sooner rather than later.
I feel like I've seen this movie before.
JeffreyLFC
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PeteWorrell
[...]
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José Mourinho would probably have something to say about that. But they are indeed big egos and it will be interesting to watch while it lasts.
