315 days since Doha: a fresh attempt at an old question
It's been 315 days since the US fell to the Dutch in Qatar. In a few hours they play Germany in Connecticut, where they'll attempt to answer an old question
Back in Doha, in a crowded room of the media center- the one with an inexplicable giant spider decorating the main hallway, and 32 international press pools whittling down as the knockout rounds arrived- the Netherland’s acclaimed and charismatic manager, Louis van Gaal, told a gaggle of global scribes that American soccer had progressed quickly. He called that quick progress “typically American”.
Oh, the flattery!
Many, perhaps, or at least at first, seemed to let that praise wash over them unquestioned:
“I think they have developed well, and so typically American, I think that development is going fast. They also have a lot of players in the top European clubs, so it is logical that they will achieve this result.”1
The following day, van Gaal’s team pulled the US apart in a 3-1 drubbing that was never closely contested.
The US looked tired. They looked unlucky. The parade of “what ifs” unfurled their debatable cause.
The US also looked like a team that had been studied closely by an astute manager, a foreign friend that knew us well. Van Gaal knew where this “typically American” team could be limited, and with clear preparation, cut them to bits.
In the aftermath, van Gaal struck a different tone from his pre-match praise. Tactically, he said, the US failed to adjust to the Dutch and how they played them.
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