RE: Klinsy's call for the US team to be nastier
There's been some talk of coach Jurgen Klinsmann's call for the US team to be "nastier" or play with a littler more bite somtimes. Here's my take . . . .
Remember Jeremies tackle on Reyna right out the gate in WC 1998 (in what I believe must have been one of Klinsmann's only matches vs. the US). I recall it being over the top, but it completely neutralized Reyna, our best and key player, for the rest of the match. With the skill gap, I'm not sure that GER needed to rough us up back then, but it was probably standard practice-- at least in any major competition-- to get into the opponnents' heads. As Cap of that squad JK carries all of that knowledge and experience. Not much changed in our following, 2002 WC. Although we had an incredible tournament and should have beat Germany, we still weren't physical, even in response to physicality-- e.g. Marquez's blatant elbow to C. Jones' head. Someone should have (cleanly) put a crunching tackle in on Marquez-- or any of the other 9 MEX outfield players-- after that, a la J. Jones. In addition to an overall, higher US skill-level compared to the '98 squad, it was ironically, the swagger-- i.e. the "mental" lack of respect (awe or over-respect, that is) for our opponents-- displayed by the likes of the 21'ish LD and DMB that helped take us so deep in '02. However, physicality is a different facet of respect. I think LD's "US DNA" comment is actually pretty fair- i.e. fairness and toughness (but on the receiving end-- e.g. no diving/acting) are somewhat US-cultural. But physicality (on the giving end) is an aspect of the game we need take on/develop. It's no different than any other contact sport-- you've got to be able to "bring it" at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner.
There's been some talk of coach Jurgen Klinsmann's call for the US team to be "nastier" or play with a littler more bite somtimes. Here's my take . . . .
Remember Jeremies tackle on Reyna right out the gate in WC 1998 (in what I believe must have been one of Klinsmann's only matches vs. the US). I recall it being over the top, but it completely neutralized Reyna, our best and key player, for the rest of the match. With the skill gap, I'm not sure that GER needed to rough us up back then, but it was probably standard practice-- at least in any major competition-- to get into the opponnents' heads. As Cap of that squad JK carries all of that knowledge and experience. Not much changed in our following, 2002 WC. Although we had an incredible tournament and should have beat Germany, we still weren't physical, even in response to physicality-- e.g. Marquez's blatant elbow to C. Jones' head. Someone should have (cleanly) put a crunching tackle in on Marquez-- or any of the other 9 MEX outfield players-- after that, a la J. Jones. In addition to an overall, higher US skill-level compared to the '98 squad, it was ironically, the swagger-- i.e. the "mental" lack of respect (awe or over-respect, that is) for our opponents-- displayed by the likes of the 21'ish LD and DMB that helped take us so deep in '02. However, physicality is a different facet of respect. I think LD's "US DNA" comment is actually pretty fair- i.e. fairness and toughness (but on the receiving end-- e.g. no diving/acting) are somewhat US-cultural. But physicality (on the giving end) is an aspect of the game we need take on/develop. It's no different than any other contact sport-- you've got to be able to "bring it" at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner.
