OT: The Football ( real football :P ) Thread

[Pens1566]

Women's team destroyed Germany yesterday.

Yes they did. And I was not expecting it. That was the best they have looked in quite some time.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Yes they did. And I was not expecting it. That was the best they have looked in quite some time.

What do you chalk that up to? Emma finally getting her fingerprints on this team?

I think she's a good tactician and has fed this group some humble pie. They got pushed by Germany early on and stumbled a bit, but came back hungry

 

[cookthebooks]

germany looked better for the first 5 or 10 minutes, but the front 3 trident was so far beyond what germany could offer in attack. emma has really got the team countering when its there, possessing the ball when its not, and making better decisions resulting in better attacking patterns. the talent has never been in question, it was just the utilization and overall frantic nature of how vlatko had them playing. that davidson injury is a huge deal since the dropoff from her is so steep. girma being the best defender in the world glosses over some of that, but sonnett is soooo shaky.

 

[Pens1566]

What do you chalk that up to? Emma finally getting her fingerprints on this team?

I think she's a good tactician and has fed this group some humble pie. They got pushed by Germany early on and stumbled a bit, but came back hungry

The biggest thing? Probably the forward play. Haven't really seen them all together consistently since Swanson's injury, and they kept trying to force Morgan in there when it was obvious she wasn't effective.

 

[cookthebooks]

The biggest thing? Probably the forward play. Haven't really seen them all together consistently since Swanson's injury, and they kept trying to force Morgan in there when it was obvious she wasn't effective.

swanson being in form and having this kind of chemistry with sophia smith is a cheat code. not to mention how trinity maintains such width and creates such a different look than that pair. i really dont think there is anyone that can truly defend those three. issue reallly is that the midfield with horan, lavelle, and coffey cant win the ball at all, which is a huge warning sign when it comes time to play a spain or japan

 

[Pens1566]

swanson being in form and having this kind of chemistry with sophia smith is a cheat code. not to mention how trinity maintains such width and creates such a different look than that pair. i really dont think there is anyone that can truly defend those three. issue reallly is that the midfield with horan, lavelle, and coffey cant win the ball at all, which is a huge warning sign when it comes time to play a spain or japan

Yep, midfield is their issue. Not sure how to fix it either. Horan looks slow and just not herself. Not sure Lavelle is 100% either.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

swanson being in form and having this kind of chemistry with sophia smith is a cheat code. not to mention how trinity maintains such width and creates such a different look than that pair. i really dont think there is anyone that can truly defend those three. issue reallly is that the midfield with horan, lavelle, and coffey cant win the ball at all, which is a huge warning sign when it comes time to play a spain or japan

Trinity Rodman to me has been the sparkplug. Couple years ago she was "just fast" and could only do straight line stuff. Now she's changing up and not only going wide with the ball, but threatening the middle.

She's also changed her pace with the ball and not always going 100 mph. That is 1 thing I pointed out with my daughter who was trying to learn point guard in basketball. My daughter was always a fast player/dribbler, but she was losing the ball as defenders identified her speed and could anticipate/cut her off. I told her: fast doesn't get you to where you want to be. Altering your speed back and forth makes you harder to defend.

 

[cookthebooks]

said previously girma was the best defender in the world, but i think that needs upgraded to best player in the world. she was dropping dimes all game while routinely controlling and clearing crosses with complete composure. she is an utter machine. if she werent that coffey/horan/lavelle midfield would be getting the absolute roasting it deserves. worst horan has ever played tbh and a complete liability defending.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

said previously girma was the best defender in the world, but i think that needs upgraded to best player in the world. she was dropping dimes all game while routinely controlling and clearing crosses with complete composure. she is an utter machine. if she werent that coffey/horan/lavelle midfield would be getting the absolute roasting it deserves. worst horan has ever played tbh and a complete liability defending.

Yea talk about "The Piece", she is it on the backend.
She's been flawless back there. The Nick Lidstrom of Women's Soccer

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

I'm liking this coach already

Hayes: Men's soccer not ready for women coaches

United States women's head coach Emma Hayes said there is much work to be done before women managers are given a chance in men's football.

www.espn.com

 

[LOGiK]

Columbia - Argentina is my new favorite national matchup/rivalry...
Good stuff!