Turn Out The Lights...

Someone Should Send This Picture To U.S. Soccer

Famous lyrics to a Willie Nelson song, and for you fans of "Monday Night Football" in the 70's and early 80's, that's the song Don Meredith would sing when it was obvious who was going to win the game.

Well, less than 12 hours after hearing that Bob Bradley will stay on as the Coach of the U.S. National Team for another 4 years, I'm still reeling from the news. Turn out the lights, folks, because the party is definitely over.

I'm not alone.

"Are you f*cking kidding me?" was Walsh's text to me. (FYI, that's the closest he'll get to writing for the blog this week...)

"I hate soccer!" was another text from a pro coach who preferred to remain anonymous.

I posted my disapproval on my facebook page, and a majority of folks agreed with me.

My good friend and fellow soccer fanatic Andy Gustafson noted on his facebook page that "I have yet to see a positive post about Bob Bradley."

So, U.S. Soccer will hold a dog and pony show press conference today at noon to discuss their decision and hail Bradley as deserving of another 4 years. I doubt they will answer any serious questions from the media if they interviewed other candidates, or what is it they think Bradley will do over the course of the next 4 year cycle to take the U.S. to the next level. Heck, after weeks of proclaiming that Bradley would probably not be retained, Soccer America's newsletter this morning had the headline "Bob Bradley's Return Isn't Unexpected."

Way to take a stance, S.A.

Excuse me while I throw up a little bit in my mouth.

We aren't going anywhere, folks. We'll qualify for Brazil, and, depending on the draw, go out meekly in the 1st round, or squeak into the round of 16 and then come home. But our heads will still be held high because "they put up such a fight."

That was okay for our 1994 team. That was amazing for our 2002 team. That was even borderline great for our 2010 squad simply because of the drama involved with the way the team kept fans on the edge of their seats.

But that's not good enough anymore. Why does U.S. Soccer summarily dismiss Greg Ryan for a 3rd place U.S. finish at the 2007 Women's World Cup, but U.S. U-17 coach Wilmer Cabrera keep his job after the Yanks are eliminated in the round of 16 at last year's World Cup? Sure, Ryan made some stupid coaching decisions, but does U.S. Soccer have a double standard in terms of success for its men's and women's programs?

Maybe not. The U.S. under-20 Women's World Cup team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Nigeria, but Jill Ellis is still in charge. A disappointing result but no qualms about the decision to keep her.

Our Olympic team under Peter Novak in 2008? High hopes but, again, a 1st round dismissal. No coach has been named for 2010, but based on history, it won't be someone who will excite U.S. fans.

I could go on and on and bore you to death (perhaps I've already done that), but the bottom line is this:
As long as U.S. Soccer continues to accept mediocre results from its soccer teams, and there is little to no accountability from the coaching staff OR U.S. Soccer itself (I'm looking at you, Sunil and Dan), we will continue to fail on the world stage.

The 1st step in moving forward would be to get someone from outside the current incestuous structure that is U.S. Soccer. It's a good ol' boys club. And when I say "outside," I don't necessarily mean a foreign coach. Sure, I would have loved to see what Klinsmann could have done. I also would be interested in seeing what a Sigi Schmidt would bring to the table, or, as Walsh said a few months back, bring Dominic Kinnear in for a chat.

But U.S. Soccer has made its bed for the next 4 years. 4 more years of players like Robbie Findley and Ricardo Clark. If I were Jose Torres or Edgar Castillo, I might tell my friends who have dual Mexican/American heritage to take a harder look at the Mexican program. They've got some genuine young talent whom I think are going to dominate the region for the next several years.

What are we going to bring to the table? For the first time in more than a decade, I have not-so-warm-and-fuzzy feelings about U.S. Soccer. Not just for the Men's team, but for the program in its entirety.