Bradley Must Bolster Arena's Model for Success
As usual, the U.S. played its home game against Mexico in front of a stadium packed with Mexican supporters. And, also as usual, the U.S. came away with a win.
Sunday's 21 triumph in a pulsating Gold Cup final in Chicago was the Americans' ninth win alongside two losses and a tie against Mexico since 2000; nine of those games have been played in America, where the record is a remarkable 801.
While the stats are overwhelming, the extent of U.S. dominance on the field has always seemed much more precarious never more so than on Sunday, when the Mexicans, looking by far the better team, took a 10 first-half lead.
The second half of this enthralling game belonged to the Americans. Coach Bob Bradley made one substitution, replacing midfielder Pablo Mastroeni with Ricardo Clark. This was hardly a masterstroke, as Mastroeni was struggling physically. But Clark made the difference with an almost faultless display of attacking soccer.
Clark's game has always been fueled by an aggressive thirst for action that in the past has too frequently landed him in trouble with referees for dangerous, not to mention stupid, fouling. But we saw a much more mature Clark here, with the physical part of his play more controlled and his passing more measured.
The Mexicans were slow to respond to his threat and it cost them dearly, as their first-half superiority quickly disappeared. The Americans' comeback got a timely boost from Guatemalan referee Carlos Batres, who gave them a penalty kick 17 minutes into the second half. Brian Ching went down, but it was far from clear that defender Jose Magallon had fouled him. Landon Donovan tied the game from the penalty spot, and the winning goal came 11 minutes later, as good a goal as one could wish for.
Benny Feilhaber, lurking just outside the Mexican penalty area, latched on to a poor clearance following a corner kick and volleyed a perfect, searing strike into the top corner of the Mexican goal.
In the end, the Americans deserved their win, but more for their relentless attacking spirit than for the quality of their soccer.
Since taking over the team from Bruce Arena last December, Bradley is unbeaten, with a 1001 record. Those stats are nowhere near as impressive as they seem, for all of the games have been played in America and most of them against demonstrably inferior opponents. Just two of those games have meaning: the two wins over Mexico. With those victories, Bradley is continuing the trend started by Arena.
Indeed, Bradley's team owes a great deal to Arena, which is not too surprising given that Bradley is an Arena protιgι, and that he has inherited many of the same players.
Arena's teams were never exactly an unalloyed joy to watch, playing, as they did, a straightforward brand of possession soccer with a heavy emphasis on fitness, stamina, and tactical discipline. It was effective, certainly, but by the time Arena was fired, after eight years in the job, it had pretty well run its course, and was clearly not capable of developing into the more varied game needed for the top level of international soccer.
As yet, Bradley has shown few signs that he wishes to alter that approach. His team is very much a clone of Arena's. Admittedly, the needed change is easier to advocate than to achieve. For it to happen, the skill level of the average American player needs to improve, for a start. The defenders used by Bradley in the Gold Cup are a worryingly subpar group. In particular, Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu offer little but dangerously robust physicality.
Up front, there is always the lively Landon Donovan, who was for years the brightest spark on Arena's teams, and continues to shine for Bradley.
But it is in midfield that the heart of the matter is exposed. Did Arena ever want, or trust, a creative midfield? Does Bradley? The evidence suggests strongly that both prefer something more prosaic in the form of hard tacklers, hard workers, and competent passers of the ball.
In Bradley's team, midfield is far too frequently bypassed with the use of the long ball forward particularly from the goalkeepers, whether Kasey Keller or Tim Howard makes no difference, both are equally guilty.
Arena had Claudio Reyna as his midfield brain. Reyna, always an excellent passer of the ball, also had his share of creativity. But Reyna's retirement from national team play has left a gaping hole in the American midfield. It seems that Bradley's candidate to remedy that comes in the person of his son, Michael. A solid, no-frills player, but sadly lacking in the ability to do anything unusual or creative. When Bradley Jr. was red-carded at the end of the semifinal against Canada (unfairly redcarded, I thought), it meant he had to sit out the final against Mexico.
A blow to the U.S. hopes? Not at all. A player of his limited abilities is never irreplaceable. Feilhaber was brought in a much more imaginative player than Bradley Jr. But Feilhaber's talents were diminished by the cautious midfield role he played. His magnificent goal was a resounding reminder of his value as an attacking force.
It was not until Clark came on in the second half, that the American midfield showed signs of soccer life. Not exactly with an increase of creativity, but with a heightened determination to take risks, to venture incisive passes, to run at opponents qualities rarely found amid the lateral- and backpasses that characterize a midfield intent on retaining possession.
Bradley can justify his methods. There is a shortage of creative American midfielders. There always has been possibly because coaches don't want them. But it matters not which is the chicken, which the egg here. Such players are essential to the future of the American game.
Donovan certainly could fill the role, but his versatility has meant that his role as a goal-scoring forward is more appreciated. It is Feilhaber who looks to be the most likely candidate. He is part of the squad that Bradley is taking to Venezuela, to begin Copa America play against Argentina on Thursday. In that young team, Feilhaber will be one of the more experienced midfielders. It would be encouraging to see him given a much more adventurous role than the one he played in the Gold Cup.
