3/31/2023 0 Comments Pablo mastroeni![]() Goalkeeper William Yarbrough needs more seasoning. Sacha Kljestan looked pretty good, perhaps doing enough to get a start in the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Mexico. So there you go it’s not a platform stable enough to draw multiple hard conclusions. And Jurgen Klinsmann, who had seen his team work well lately in a 4-4-2, spun the wheel once again on a loosely organized 4-3-3 (that mostly hasn’t worked). New Zealand.Ī few starters were included, but not many. Good example: Tuesday’s abovementioned U.S. That is especially true when it comes to friendlies where experimentation and trial, in both personnel and tactical arrangement, happens in abundance. The golden rule on assessing friendlies is always thus: Little conclusions can surely be drawn, but temptation to draw bit ones should be resisted. Stomping out bad narrative on USMNT attendance Tuesday had something of a “tribute match” feel for RFK that’s certainly a sign post that significant soccer history in this country is building steadily.Ģ. It’s what you want in a sports “palace” – just don’t get nailed by any falling rocks, and try to avoid face-to-face critter confrontations. ![]() midfielder Michael Bradley calls it a facility with “a mystique and an aura about it, and a stadium that I think a lot of us enjoy playing in.” When the old lady gets crowded, the building really rocks. United matches (and will continue housing the Black and Red until those new gates swing open).įurthermore, it’s a great place for soccer. Obviously, it has hosted 21 years of D.C. They played there in the old North American Soccer League, which means multiple appearances by guys like Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff. Open Cup finals and Women’s World Cup matches. It hosted World Cup 1994 matches, two of the first five MLS Cup finals and one more in 2007. national team matches than any venue in the world. RFK Stadium, built in 1961 and named in honor of Robert F. No place for RFK in Gold Cups, Olympic qualifiers, etc. From there, well, how long before some developer looks to gets his mitts on this dis-used parcel of pricey in-town land? Even if they save RFK – for what, I’m not sure – it seems unlikely that U.S. That means RFK is losing its primary tenant. United is moving steadily toward its new ground in Southwest D.C. What happened Tuesday in the nation’s capital reminded us again of our nation’s fast-developing soccer history. If we’re not already there in domestic soccer, we’re getting there fast. Real history, happy and sad and sometimes maybe even bizarre, was created in those torn-down theaters of sport. Similarly, American football fans may get nostalgic as they recall the old Texas Stadium, Giants Stadium, Mile High Stadium, etc. ![]() See, those are physical, hard-structure proof of baseball history. One day, perhaps, people will drop to their knees in tears as Fenway Park or Wrigley Field are targets of the wrecking ball. Or they might miss the old Yankee Stadium. The final one of many.įollow with me here: Baseball fans of another day lamented the loss of Ebbets Field, once the place to be in Brooklyn. It’s a moment to stop and consider because it may well be the national team’s final match there. ![]() The United States national team did its thing inside historic RFK Stadium on Tuesday, a friendly against New Zealand. But it’s just not true – and we’re now getting important (and perhaps poignant) reminders. Still, for a lot of folks, soccer in the United States still feels fresh, with lesser volumes of history. For you, the United States went to a World Cup quarterfinal when you were in diapers, and men you know as MLS coaches – Jason Kreis, Jesse Marsch, Oscar Pareja and others – were on the field back in the day.) It can still feel like we’re new at this thing. Say it out loud: “There is actual, genuine, stirring soccer history in our country.” Maybe tap your buddy on the shoulder and say it to him. There is real soccer history in our country. On RFK Stadium and “real” soccer history in the States ![]()
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