Tony Stemberger, Milwaukee
What went wrong?
No hustle.
No attack in the box.
No creativity on set plays.
No movement.
No support.
No defense.
No coaching.
No win.
Tim Lenahan, Men's Coach, Northwestern University
In 1998, I watched, in person, the most embarrassing moment in U.S. soccer history when the US lost to Iran in Lyons. When I called home after the game, my mother who had been watching the game and knew absolutely nothing about soccer, asked me why the Iranians sang their national anthem at the top of their lungs while the U.S. players stood their stoically or in some cases (Eric Wynalda) were blowing kisses to the camera.
On Saturday, I watched the English team, with David Beckham singing the loudest, sing God Save the Queen like their lives depended on it. Yesterday, I watched Gooch, Eddie Lewis, Donovan, Beasley stand their bored, while Keller, Reyna, mumbled it like they were embarrassed by singing. I knew we were in trouble then.
As a team, you are representing your country. If you are not proud of that and can't sing the anthem you shouldn't be on the field. We looked like we were a bunch of spoiled club players and not a team. I would send Beasley home after his performance and his comments. Is in any wonder he hasn't been playing for PSV? He is not the same person he was a year ago or four years ago.
Keith Watkins, Atlanta
Sadly, the U.S. soccer culture proved to be not ready for prime time for the Czech game at the 2006
World Cup. After the loss to the Czech Republic, Bruce Arena scapegoated Kesey Keller, Landon Donovan and
DaMarcus Beasley for their poor play. Why didn't Arena mention his fair-haired favorite, Brian McBride? What
did Arena expect from Beasley? He suffered thesSophmore Jinx with PSV and was benched much of the year. Then, there is the American left back who lost the Czech player in the left corner with the resulting, precise cross to the head of Jan Koller for the first Czech goal. I'am talking about Eddie Lewis, who had never played left back before. Bruce Arena
moved Lewis to left back. Why not Todd Dunivant or Heath Pearce?
Then, there was the disappointing commentary of Marcelo Balboa. His assertion that the U.S. team was flat was ridiculous. The U.S. team was simply beaten by a superior team. Max Bretos of Fox Soccer Channel was
outragious in his criticism of Oguchi Onyewu. Onyewu headed a Czech cross into the American box fully
30 yards down field only to see Rosicky hit a 30-yard wonder. Onyewu cannot be criticized for such a quality clearance. Then, there is the charge that Onyewu was responsible for the third Czech goal. The U..S was playing catch up in order
to get back in the game. The US was taking risks and got burned. Overall, US Soccer did not shine during and after the Czech game.
Chad Fleetwood, Richmond, Va.
Soccer America should pin the blame for the Czech loss where it belongs. Bruce Arena had the entire nation to choose players from, including many players who make a good living playing for the finest clubs in Europe. It is his responsiblity to select and organize the players to achieve results.
The results show that the US team is no better now than it was 10 years ago. They can still lose to any third-rate team on any day of the week. They still play like a high school club. Every pass and shot is hurried, they display no patience in building to scoring a goal, and they routinely make critical defensive errors. Players are evaluated by changing the entire squad rather than evaluating a single player's effect on a core of veterans.
If Arena's tactics can't be blamed, it is because he has none.
Intelligent American soccer fans have long been aware that we need another coach to take us to the next level. If Beasley feels comfortable speaking out, it must be because he and the rest of the team are ready for a change, too. They are professionals and most likely prefer a professional to manage them in a professional manner.
U.S. soccer is painful for us to watch just as U.S. soccer commentators have been painful to listen to. We can turn the sound off for one, but we have to turn the TV off for the other.
Soccer America should stay ahead of the curve and call Arena out and demand his removal for consistently poor results and for blaming the talent and effort levels of players that he selected.
Zak Jarrell, Naperville, Ill.
I am sitting in Berlin a day after we got our butts whipped by the Czechs, and I ask where are the Americans? Just because we had a bad day, let's still wear our colors with pride … it is as if we are in hiding. I see plenty of other nations colors but mysteriously the old Glory is left in the backpack.
Another problem I have, some idiot gave me trouble right when I arrived in Frankfurt. He was a fellow American and he said I can't wear a Chicago Fire jersey when I am supporting the nation. I think that is crap, especially when the Fire feeds the national team on a yearly basis. Some of the Sam's Army fans need to get off their high horses.
Go USA!
Greg Fernandes, Cleveland
What is there to say about the USA's performance that hasn't been said yet?
Well, I was optimistic as always heading into this match, but ''atrocious'' can't even begin to describe how poorly they played.
Communication was a problem from the first minute of the match. That's how the Czech right back was able to slip down the sideline unmarked: Eddie Lewis pushed forward and didn't tell Bobby Convey to drop back. Thus, the ball gets played out wide, Grygera serves it in, and the monster Koller nods it home. Communication was nonexistant on the offensive side of the ball; the few times the US held the ball in the Czechs' defensive third, there was no one communicating as to which runs to make.
There's another problem: the U.S. looked completely flat from the opening whistle. No one made runs off the ball for the U.S., a problem which plagued Paraguay, Serbia & Montenegro, Ivory Coast and Australia (in the first half of their game agaunst Japan). The US, when they managed to carve out some good plays (Reyna's shot off the post and Convey's cross that barely missed an outstretched Eddie Johnson are the only ones that come to mind), did not have players moving into space. Thus, the Czechs were able to compact the field, making it seem like the US was playing in 10 yards of space instead of 30-50.
Wide play, which looked strong in the Sendoff Series, was also not present. Cherundolo had two crosses in the first half, one onto the roof of the net and one to a Czech defender. Lewis had some good chances, but all his crosses were off. But I was most disappointed with the outside midfielders. In a 4-5-1, the key is wide play, especially from the wide midfielders. Convey lacked the incisive dribbling and crossing that he showed vs. Venezuela and Morocco. DaMarcus Beasley put in his poorest offensive performance since the 2002 World Cup. He was afraid to take players on, and he and Convey both passed back to the defenders and central midfielders. The inability to get wide again collapsed the field, making the Czechs appear even stronger defensively and preventing lone striker Brian McBride from getting a shot on goal.
Defensively, the U.S. was extremely poor. Oguchi Onyewu was horrific; he had more fouls than tackles. About the only postive he brought was a few headers he won. Eddie Pope was the best defender, as usual, and stopped Pavel Nedved from breaking away in the first half. Cherundolo and Lewis were just bad; I think Arena made a huge mistake in starting both of them.
That leads us to another problem: Coach Bruce Arena. In eight years in charge, I can remember only a couple of games where Arena wasn't really at his coaching best, but never a game where he was outcoached. Simply put, this was the first: Karel Brueckner was phenomenal. He obviously scouted every U.S. player, and he prepared his team excellently. Arena relied too much on his team's self-confidence, and when that collapsed, there wasn't a lot he could do.
Another disappointing element of the game for me was the team's refusal to be physical. Minus Onyewu's fouling, the team did not make the physical commitment to the game. Although I appreciate beautiful soccer, I think physical play is just as important. In this match, the U.S. had neither, and I think it would have been much easier for the players to make some hard tackles than to suddenly become Brazilians.
The single thing about this game that hurts me the most was the lack of leadership. This US team has so many veterans, from Pope to Reyna to Keller to even Donovan and Beasley. None of these players looked like leaders in today's game. In the second half, it was especially apparent. With the US reeling from the amazing first strike by Rosicky, the team needed one of these players to step up, to get the team back together and say ''Hey, we're 2-0 down, but we can pull a result out of this. We just need to work one step at a time. We need to get one goal back, and then we're right back in this game.'' Instead, the team looked leaderless, playing disorganized soccer. No one even ventured to lead by example: no players tried to take the game into their own hands.
Jon Burton
While the play of the US team against the Czechs left much to be desired, objectively, we are what we are — a powerhouse in region made up of mostly third world countries; competitive with, if not ahead of, second-tier South American and European countries; and not-yet-ready-for-prime-time on the world stage against the Big Boys.
Kevin Jameson
I think the first goal definitely put us back, but if you look back at the preparation games, the U.S. didn't play well in those games either. They seem overconfident and stale. Maybe Arena pushed them too hard in the pre-World Cup camp. They also looked scared. No one was willing to take a risk.
Ricardo Barzotti
I was born in Peru, a country were soccer is a religion, but they do not win games because of bad atitude, or lack of it.
First, the coach is a leader, tactical and emotional. I played many sports at all levels and you need a leader to excel to the next level.
Bruce Arena with the passive, I-do-not-care attitude would never motivate me for any sport.
All the players were either not motivated or intimidated, to say the least. USA needs new blood like Johnson, Convey and other players that Arena did not pick due to his inability at the highest level.
If he was a coach of the NBA or MLB, he would be let go in a hurry.
It's a shame that a country with 250 million people, we cannot find 20 good players and still bring Claudio Reyna (too old and too hurt to play 150 percent).
Daniel Kopti, Los Angeles
Yes, the U.S. defense was porous. But the U.S. offense was the true culprit. The players were sluggish at best. The U.S. side needs to create opportunities, not wait (in vain) for them to appear.
Horst Herrmann, Castle Creek, N.Y.
I think Bruce Arena should substitute the whole men's team with our women's national team against Italy. Wambach and Co would do a better job and not be such a big disappointment. I have no problem with a team losing the game if they go down fighting, like Croatia against Brazil.
Billy Viger, Roswell, Ga.
What went wrong? The entire side played afraid and with absolutely no conviction!
Who is to blame? 50% players for their unexcusable play; 50% Arena for his tactical alignment.
Mark Cox, Orlando, Fla.
Bruce Arena did a Steve Sampson going with a lone striker in the opening game. DaMarcus Beasley should have been on the left side with Dempsey on the right and Donovan up front with McBride. They all showed no sense of urgency. This only changed with Johnson in the second half.
David Putrich, Bloomington, Minn.
Bruce Arena claims to be a team builder, but I saw no cooperation, no teamwork. He apparently ignored the psychological side of preparations as well as the technical. Perhaps they should hire a good sports psychologist, and if they have one, replace him. This group is nowhere as good as FIFA had them ranked, and unfortunately they must have believed it. They played very weak opponents in the run-up friendlies and learned nothing. They lacked emotion, except for fear, which on this stage is inexcusable. I’ve seen most of the teams so far, and this was far and away the most timid, lazy, uninspired side. I just don’t get how they could be so flat. Australia went down 1-0 and kept fighting, and darn, their hard work got them a win. The US, on the other hand, went down 1-0 in five minutes and packed it in. No guts, no emotion, no glory.
How to fix it: let’s find some players who are willing to work, who are excited by a challenge, and who will give their all. This group is unwilling and/or unable. We’ve been told for four years that the success in the 2002 Cup was the foundation for bigger and better things. Well, that foundation is made of sand. Croatia didn’t back down from Brazil, Australia didn’t back down, only the USA. Maybe we blow up USSF and start over, giving it a rightful name U.S. Football Association. Then hire people who have been successful. Then sign Klinsmann to a long term contract as TD. He has Germany playing to win. Then let’s throw some development money in areas with high percentages of immigrants. They know how to work. These privileged guys from the suburbs don’t get it.
I am 64 and have been hoping to see the USA get to the semis. I can’t imagine I’ll live long enough to see that.
Luis Orellana, Alameda, Calif.
I would like to express my concerns about what is wrong with the USA team. I feel that some of the players did not play up to their potential. Some players seemed a bit nervous and had a tough time keeping possession of the
ball. Beasley and Lewis should be out of the lineup. Beasley needs more space to be more productive and he's not going to get it in the World Cup. Eddie Lewis is playing too far back. Landon needs to be more involved in the attack. Overall, players need to pick up their game. One important factor has to be that Bruce Arena showed no emotion on the sidelines. He just sat there the whole game. Most coaches get out of their bench and instruct their players on the field or motivate them. He seemed to give up after the second goal. That emotion is contagious and it showed on the players towards the end of the game.
Tom Buttner, Hanover, Pa.
Sure, Beasley was horrible and Donovan a non-factor. But why were two of the U.S.'s most important players in positions that don't maximize their strengths? Arena has to shoulder some of the blame for the team's allignment going into the game.
Duke Dunnigan, Tampa, Fla.
Wrong lineup — can't please everyone. Put the best team on the field.
No energy/ drive — flat — over training? Too much preparation. The best defense is a great offense!
Mentally — the players seemed to be depressed with minds elsewhere. No effort! That's what disappointed me!
Probably my biggest disappointment was the lack of possession caused by so many passing turnovers. Never seemed to muster passing combinations or the speed of thought to make good passes.
I love American soccer — let's put this behind us and get back to putting on a show for our world. The guys have to live up to their ''don't tread on me'' slogan.
Kristy Arnold, Houston
Initially, the blame should go to the Czech team — it's mostly their fault.
All of the U.S. players need to be more focused on playing defense all over the field — pressuring the ball quicker.
Landon needs to be playing in the midfield with Reyna, Beasley (sub Dempsey in if he is still playing dead) and O'Brien. Eddie Johnson up top with McBride. Pope needs to be a leader. Gooch needs to focus. Keller needs his confidence.
David Clark, New York
We're all disappointed by the U.S. performance, but it seems to me that the press coverage (and I mean the text in the articles, not just the headlines) dramatically overemphasizes the ''thrashing''. The score was, in my opinion, not representative of the difference between the teams. I haven't seen a single article give that impression, save a single article in the British press. Compare this game to the 1990 Czech humiliation. That game had the US in pure defensive mode, and the Czech's shooting fish in a barrel. This year's version was a ''normal'' international game. The U.S. had chances, held the ball pretty well, put one off the post. Granted, they were not very creative, and our defensive lapses were cruelly exploited by a superior team. But the game could just have easily ended up as a 2-1 or 2-0 loss, and we'd all be sad, but talking about the next game as if the U.S. was a good team. Instead we're all acting like we're back to square one, and that the U.S. is barely better than Guatemala. We'll all look for a better performance against Italy, but I think the U.S. press needs to get a bit of perspective.
Jerry Murphy, St. Charles, Ill.
The U.S. was beaten by a superior team, one of the best so far in the opening round. Not winning anything in the air, I questioned continued reliance on playing long ball.
Pat Sharp, Edinboro, Pa.
What can I say? It looked like our guys were a tiny bit overconfident, and possibly were too impressed by their world ranking. They should have known after Germany beat them a couple of months ago, fairly soundly. It was very disappointing for the fans who supported them, both the ones who made the trip and the ones at home watching on TV.
I know this isn't so, but it looked like they had been partying all night or something.
The frustrating thing is that I believe they are capable of much more than that. It must be easy to get overwhelmed by all the pomp and celebrations, but someone on the staff should be able to use psycology to prepare them mentally for such a big game.
Why couldn't we have opened against Togo or someone like that?
Robert Solis, Phoenix, Ariz.
First of all, I think Bruce Arena should have psyched up his players. The players came out with too much respect for the Czechs. Beasley was not on the attack like he usually is, and Donovan should have been in the midfield. Onyewu was a big disappointment. How could you let a 6-foot-7 forward out of your sight? We need the same mentality we had in 2002. Put Dempsey on the right and Eddie Lewis on the left. Reyna as the holding midfielder, and Donovan as attacking midfielder. Bocanegra in the back with Pope, Onyewu, and Cherudolo. Up top, I would put McBride and Wolff.
Roberto M. Garcia, Irvine, Calif.
The U.S. team didn't prepare to play the Czechs.
Preparation games were designed mostly to select the starting lineup of the team. Overconfidence was rampant. Bruce Arena was even called a ''genius'' yet a very distant coach. Never saw him giving direction or encouragement to the team. I was appalled to see how the USA team insisted on attacking on the air when it was obvious that the probability of winning the ball was a ridiculous 5%.
Snake Carroll
The USA must olidify the back four by dropping Claduio Reyna and Pablo Mastroeni deep, just in front of the back four. Drop DaMarcus Beasley from the lineup and bring Clint Dempsey on wide right. Move Landon Donovan back to a fifth midfielder and play a 4-5-1 with only Brian McBride up top. If Convey hasn't done anything, then bring Beasley in as a sub on his ''preferred'' left. If McBride hasn't done anything, take him off and play Eddie Johnson up front. I would also consider putting in Jimmy Conrad for Eddie Pope.
Ted Hudock, Vestal, N.Y.
The game biggest loss for the U.S. in a long time was much like our loss in Mexico City during qualifying. the common thread is a set of very questionable at best coaching moves, and the teams coming out very flat as a
result. Both times the U.S. abandoned its normal attacking 4-4-2 and moved to a lone front runner with a withdrawn second attacker who failed to get touches. Arena seems to be enamored with certain players and disenchanted with others, and over time this is haunting the U.S. team.
We need to embrace the fact Eddie Johnson is our one true speed and strength-style striker. If we are going to play a lone man up top, it's got to be him. He has he size to hold and win balls, but he alone possesses the speed to challenge a top level team solo. McBride is a great compliment to him, but he lacks the pace to challenge a team alone. I'm also sick of Josh Wolff getting chance after chance to finish (and fail at it) with Taylor Twellman sitting at home after finding his goal scoring touch internationally.
DaMarcus Beasley on the right was a joke. He came out and said he was having trouble focusing with his status in the air — that alone should have earned him a role on the bench.
Andy Wentzky, Sioux Falls, S.D.
The overall lack of enthusiasm was appalling. For a team so inherently dynamic and fit, the entire group looked as though advancement was automatic. From Donovan’s unwillingness to fight for balls five yards away, to Lewis’ uncharacteristically short passes, and to Beasley’s big-mouthed dissent before and after, the U.S. team was absolutely outclassed.
Let’s hope someone wakes these guys up and helps them understand the severity of the consequences tied to their performance, or American soccer will rust, Arena’s coaching opportunities will dry and Beasley’s glamorous appointments will disappear.
Jim Griffin, Coach, Boone High School, Orlando, Fla.
Where do I begin …
First of all Claudio Reyna is overrated. Besides being injury prone, where was the leadership and control of the midfield we were promised from this guy who has the most World Cup appearances? With the exception of one shot, he was a ghost for most of the game. There appeared to be little running off the ball, near support, or the creative play that we have seen. Landon Donovan has been the leader of this team through qualifying and he should be in command. Olsen and Albright might not be super stars but they will go 100 percent and represent the kind of aggressive play we needed.
Those of us who follow the team know that the game was about the poorest we have played in the past year. The question is how much better can the Czechs play and how much better can we play? If we play to our strengths Saturday, and as Donovan puts it, have guys on the field who believe they can win, then I feel we can compete.
Kalman Csapo, Reading, Pa.
What went wrong? Nothing went wrong. We the USA just had one of those days that everyone was flat. We expected so much from them. I'm sure they, the players, felt an enormous amount of pressure to perform, just like when they played in Mexico City and lost. They will rebound and we'll do fine!
Who's to blame? Why do we have to blame anybody. Bruce Arena have prepared this team well. He and his staff got to us to this point, so let us back him to the tilt and believe in that American ingenuity, and the want to be a winner.
Andy Grudich, Laura, Ohio
The U.S. team played completely uninspired! They acted like they had 100 other places they would have rather been.
You are playing in the World Cup! Play with some heart, passion, grit, spirit!
Talk about laying a big fat egg — the U.S. team did it against the Czechs.
Joshua Collins, Athens, Ohio
I am very not pleased with our ''performance.'' We were not only beaten; we were humiliated. The three Czech goals were beautiful. The first — textbook. The second — beautiful. The third — textbook and beautiful. We're in big trouble.
Kent M. James, Washington, Pa.
I watched the game after I knew the score and expected to see the U.S. manhandled and made to look like boys among men. I was surprised when we had the majority of the possession. I thought Koller was going to dominate
Onyewu, and was surprised when Onyewu won almost every battle against him. So while I was certainly disheartened by the score (especially with our inability to win on European soil), I don't think our play was as bad as everyone has said. Reyna's shot goes an inch to the right, Johnson hits his shots a yard or so to the right and suddenly our play would have looked a lot better. I think the major factors in the game were Rosicky's finishing (almost perfect), their ability to capitalize on our mistakes, and the Czech defense (which hasn't gotten the credit it deserved). McBride was constantly going against two or three guys, and even if he won the ball (which, to his credit he did more often than not) the only thing he could do was play it back to someone because the Czech defense seemed to be everywhere. That being said, weakest part of our game was our tactics; how many times did we possess the ball, get it wide, then knock a hopeful cross into the penalty area where either Cech easily collected it (way to frequently) or their defenders had McBride surrounded? We should have realized early on that we weren't getting much out of that. Convey was able to beat people down the flanks a couple of times (but not enough) and whip in low crosses behind the defense, which were much more dangerous, but we needed to attack more using our speed and quickness (Donovan and Beasley in particular) to break through their defense instead of playing to their strength (balls in the air in the box). I think also, given the way things have gone in other games (and Rosicky's shot), we should have taken more shots from 20-30 yards out to draw out their defense (which would allow us more space for the quick exchanges, especially once Wolff was in the game), or possibly get a goal outright (given the quality of the shots that this new ball seems to encourage).
Richard Stevenson, Charlottesville, Va.
The U.S. team essentially watched while they were schooled by a superior team. The Czech team was magnificent and a pleasure to watch … such technical quality at every position was evident with every deft touch. I am afraid that the U.S. appeared out of its depth .., a hard reminder of just how far we still have to come to match the elite teams of the world.
John E. Truman, Manhattan, Kan.
The U.S. squad came out without a pulse, without any passion. Though from time to time, you saw energy in the movement, it was not focused, coordinated nor intelligent. Blame could be leveled on all the players out on the pitch. Since all could share in the blame, responsibility for such a poor showing falls squarely upon the shoulders of Coach
Arena. Soccer is about passion. Passion does not show itself by just putting on a jersey, it comes from true effort, heart, determination. Coach Arena must come prepared. The U.S. squad must come to play.
Gerry Khermouch, New York
Pathetic outing vs. Czech Republic, but Bruce Arena surely isn't panicking and we shouldn't be either. Perhaps he should make a few switches to bring in less predictable pl