U.S. gets career performances in the back and uses unexpected depth to finish in third

The United States’ accomplishment in Mexico this summer had less to do with the results, as marvelous as they may be, than with how the Americans performed. It was meant to be a learning trip, Bruce Arena acknowledged beforehand, but even he could not have foreseen the answers that awaited him. Playing its best soccer since Arena took command last fall, the team – minus a handful of its most important players – finished a surprising (and deserving) third at the fifth Confederations Cup, the best showing in a FIFA competition for a male U.S. squad since a third-place finish at the 1930 World Cup. (When the Americans finished third at the 1992 Confederations Cup, it was not yet an official FIFA tournament.) In doing so, the Americans shut down Brazil’s attack, dictated terms to Germany, and in difficult conditions held Mexico scoreless at Azteca until the 97th minute. It was a glorious performance, achieved out of sight of all but the heartiest Americans, thanks to forces that conspired to place Cup telecasts solely on pay-per-view in the United States. What U.S. fans missed: ò Remarkable team defense, from the forwards to the goalkeeper – with particular prowess from the boys in the back. It was the root of the splendid performances against the Brazilians, Germans and Mexicans. ò Depth few could have imagined existed, with Arena using each of the 20 players on his roster in at least two games, with a virtual C team – featuring Paul Bravo, C.J. Brown and Matt McKeon – disposing of the Germans. ò Expansion on a familiar American strength – work rate – with the U.S. players supporting each other all over the field in a manner beyond them not so long ago. Everybody defended, everybody got back, everybody supplied options. ò The triumphant return of former captain John Harkes, out of the picture since his inglorious dismissal 16 months earlier. Through sheer will – he missed the altitude training his teammates received in Denver – Harkes took charge of the midfield for the Americans, outworking foes until exhaustion finally took hold in the semifinal. ò The international baptism of Arena, who had taken his team out of the country just once since his appointment – for a friendly in Bolivia – and had never managed in a meaningful A-level match.

‘More of a team concept’

The consensus: The Americans were the revelation of the Confederations Cup, demonstrating to the world that what occurred a year earlier in France was history. “I guess this shows that ’98 was a disappointment, but it’s over,” said goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Offered defender Jeff Agoos: “It’s night and day, if you look back a year ago. You can see the team is really different, with I think more of a team concept, more of an idea of what we want to accomplish.” The idea is to be prepared for next year’s start of 2002 World Cup qualifying; that was the primary objective for Arena heading to Guadalajara, to gauge what the Americans will need when the games really count. “We grade out well in a lot of areas,” Arena noted in the middle of the 12-day tournament for confederation champions. “Tactically, we’re pretty good. Our speed of play is good. Our fitness is a good. “Obviously, we’d like to win the Confederations Cup, but this is a measuring stick for our program and our players, for where we are at this point in time. We’ll walk away having a better feel for every player and where we are as a team.” So, where are the Americans? Pleased with their depth, particularly defensive depth, and still searching for consistent finishing. “The most important thing,” said Cobi Jones, who played up front and on the wing, “is the way Bruce is developing the team, getting a certain way we’re going to play. … Right now, Bruce is mainly focusing on defensive shape and from that moving forward, and how that’s going to help us go from defense to midfield to offense.” Finishing was problematic; the Americans’ best chances came on counters that rarely produced anything. Jones, in particular, struggled up top. He was too unselfish in the box, and what shots he took were usually far off the mark. Brian McBride had two goals, both on headers when defenses left him alone in the box, in an uneven performance. Like Jones, he exhibited great effort defensively; his play with the ball was uneven. Same with Jovan Kirovski, who had a sensational start against New Zealand, then struggled to be involved the rest of the way. “We need to be a little more dangerous going forward,” Arena said after the Americans’ 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the third-place game. “I think we have other players who can help us in our attack, and we can make tactical adjustments that will help us improve.”

‘We can’t rest on this’

The defense, meanwhile, was the best in the Cup. Jeff Agoos, on the left, and Robin Fraser, in three different back-line positions, played superb positional defense, the best showings either has had in a U.S. jersey. Frankie Hejduk’s effort on the right caused havoc; Gregg Berhalter, first at a defensive midfielder, then in the back after Carlos Llamosa went down with a thigh injury against Brazil, was revelatory; Brown and especially Marcelo Balboa were solid against the Germans and in the third-place game; all three defensive midfielders – Harkes, McKeon and Richie Williams – also impressed. The defenders starred in Arena’s system, which fluctuated from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 to, at times, a 4-3-3: The formation, Arena said repeatedly, didn’t matter. It was how the team moved within the formation. The best example came in the 1-0 loss to Brazil, in which the Brazilians managed to test Keller just twice after the Yanks shut down their passing lanes. “I thought we held a perfect line at about 30 yards out,” the goalkeeper said. “They wanted to play those little through balls though, and either we stopped them off at that 30-yard line, or they hit them and I was able to come out and get them, or we pushed them wide.” Aside from the final 15 minutes of the first half, the Germans couldn’t do much against the Yanks; Mexico, despite huge territorial advantages, needed 97 minutes to find a seam in the back. More critical was the discovery that U.S. depth is far deeper than previously believed. “We can’t rest on this, and we know that,” Keller said. “It’s a good accomplishment, and we know we have a difficult qualifying [for the 2002 World Cup] to look forward to. “But we also know we have probably 25 people we can pick at any time now, and that’s a great luxury for Bruce.” Arena gained from the tournament what he’s hoped. “This has been a growing experience for me,” he said. “I’m a rookie at this, and a lot of the other managers have a lot more experience. That was fun, testing wits against some of those people – it’s a learning experience for all of us, and I think at the end of the day, it’s great for soccer in [the U.S.].” by Soccer America Senior Editor Scott French in Guadalajara