We are about 1395 days away from the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. This means US Soccer, assuming we qualify, has 1395 days to prepare what you could call a "redemption team". The 2014 United States Men's National will be expected to go deep into the tournament by not just a few but by a whole nation, a nation that has caught soccer fever. Of course this is also going off the assumption that America stays in this soccer frenzy up until the next World , but for now Americans expects their national team to win. Last tuesdays International Friendly against Brazil left a big question mark on whether or not US Soccer could consistently compete with high caliber teams such as Brazil, Germany, Spain, etc. Yes we did beat Spain 2-0 and came close to defeating Brazil losing 3-2 in the Confederations Cup Final last year, but can we do it consistently? Well it sure didn't look like it as we fell 2-0 to a group of Brazilian youngsters who just controlled the game from start to finish. US Soccer has a lot of work to do to meet the expectations of their new and growing audience, and this will start with the decision to keep Bob Bradley as Head Coach.
I personally like Bob Bradley and after our World Cup exit I still supported and believed that it would be a mistake to replace him for one main reason: If you change the system, we are back to step one. Since Bradley took over for Bruce Arena, I believe the National Team has reached a level that has never been reached. For the most part we believe that we can beat anyone, we may not have the best talent but we believe. This confidence grew during the Confederations Cup and arguably is the reason why we came back to "Tie" (we all know we actually won, stupid Koman Coulibaly) Slovenia after being down 2-0 at the Half. However after last Tuesdays friendly I no longer feel that Bob Bradley is the person to take us to the next level. Ultimately this decision is in the hands of Sunil Gulati.
The second decision US Soccer has to make is how to improve the team. I just want to quickly add personally feel that Charlie Davies was the missing link this past World Cup, Jozy would have had the help he needed upfront which would have resulted in a greater scoring threat for the United States. Now that i got that off my chest, how do we improve out team? Major League Soccer has to improve and become a league that will over a higher caliber of competition for young players. Not only does it help youngster gain experience, but it makes kids at home dream of maybe playing in the MLS. US Soccer has done a great job of milking this new soccer frenzy but they achieve victory when US Soccer as a whole is capable not only finding new talent but keeping that talent here at home. We don't need anymore Giussepe Rossi's, we need our best to want to play for the United States and Major League Soccer. Once that is in place then you can send the top player overseas to gain experience in big games, playing with and/or against the best clubs in the world. I believe that is how we become one of the top teams in the world. Sunil Gulati its in your hands!
