Berhalter should Stay?

There's so much garbage on the internet. Even more so on twitter dot com. But maybe the most is within a subset of twitter dot com obsessed with the United States Men's National Team. It's particularly vitriolic and full of the internet argument greatest hits:  ad hominem, whataboutism, confirmation bias.

Why am I saying this? 

Because even within that context it's possible and, frankly, necessary to thoughtfully criticize much (most?) of what's going on within U.S. Soccer and specifically with the MNT. And while I'm just a guy #onhere, I'd like to think I can move those of us who are both fans and advocates for American soccer into a better version of this conversation. 

So, here we go.

Here's my basic Berhalter criticism: for a guy who was supposed to have a clear plan, and a systematic thought process, I'm more confused than ever about where the project is going and how we plan to get there. It's cognitive dissonance. #USMNT

— Donald Norman (@dnld_nrmn) November 7, 2019

Gregg Berhalter was one of the two best realistic options to take over the MNT after Dave Sarachan's caretaker tenure. We can debate Jesse Marsch vs Berhalter, especially given Marsch's early success in Europe but let's not act like because Gregg's brother Jay is a top U.S. Soccer executive, he wasn't qualified then or now. So set the process concerns aside for the moment (Those are for another post).

What clearly isn't working is Gregg's ability to transfer what made him a successful club coach--remember we're talking about the first American to manage a professional team in Europe--to the international level.

What's confusing to me is why can't he do it (yet)?

By the end of his time at Columbus Crew, Berhalter's teams played with--perhaps--the clearest sense of identity in MLS. Highly respected coaches, like Tata Martino, Patrick Vieira, and the aforementioned Jesse Marsch are all on-record complimenting both the style of play, and the execution of those Columbus teams as some of the best they'd encountered. Point being: it's not as if Gregg doesn't know what he's doing. 

So what are some possible explanations? I think there are versions of three possible answers:

1. His preferred methods of playing and coaching need to change. 
2. The players aren't good enough. 
3. It will just take time.

Let's take those one at a time.

1. His preferred methods of playing and coaching need to change. Most international managers make the game as simple as possible (with a few notable exceptions). Berhalter isn't doing that. Given the extremely limited instructional time he has with his players, the often competing roles or expectations they have with their clubs, and the nature of tournament play he's simply asking too much of the "group." He's certainly tried to address this with extended camps, skype video sessions, etc. but players still exhibit role confusion on the field; lack game awareness; and, generally worse playing for the MNT than with their clubs. All of these things are evidence that the approach isn't effective.   

2. The players aren't good enough. Much as we like to blame Berhalter, there is something to this. Brian Sciaretta's excellent article, "The Missing Years: US Soccer's Development Gap" is essential reading on this point. The age cohort (25-30) who should be leading the MNT are MIA. This has placed Berhalter in a no-win situation. Young players and prospects don't win at the Senior International level. They just don't. And yet the u23's are, by far, our best players. He's clearly trying to integrate the young players with veterans in a way that doesn't ruin their long term advancement. One can argue with his methodology, clearly it's not getting great results, but to argue that rolling out a u23 roster for the next 18 months is his best option is a non-starter.    

3. It will just take time. Think of the Dutch or the Spanish national teams. They play with a signature system based on their aesthetic understanding of how the game should be played. (Brazil is in a bit of a different category for me, but I'd be fine if you included them in this group.) This is more-or-less what Berhalter has set out to accomplish. (i) It's is a very exclusive group who've achieved Sr. Team success playing in a very idealistic way. Notice, France, Portugal, Germany, England, et al aren't in this group. (ii) Success for these 'aesthetically idealistic" teams has been inextricably linked to generational talents more so than to the "system." (iii) It's taken decades of coherent, national, effort to create these identities and the structures to identify and train players to live into their country's soccer worldview. (iv) In each of these examples, overall national identity is deeply connected to the sport of soccer. None of this is impossible in the U.S. but even the most ardent supporters have to confess we're nowhere close on any of these things, and it's going to take a lot longer than the Berhalter era to get there.  

Something can be more than one thing, and I think all three of these explain Berhalter's struggles. That's not super satisfying, and I think it builds more of a case than I originally expected for keeping Berhalter regardless of the medium-term struggles: he needs to grow/adapt into the job, our best players simply need time to mature, and US Soccer needs to get its sh*t together. None of that will be accelerated by firing Gregg. 

I'll admit, I'd like there to be a fast-track through this era of U.S. Soccer that doesn't include the frustration of an incompetent federation and coach who needs to grow on the job, but I don't see a realistic path forward that avoids these realities.  

 

Landon Donavan, El Tri, and US Soccer's never ending issues

In the absence of actual World Cup games featuring the United States Men's National Team,  #USMNT twitter went off the rails today when Well's Fargo launched a social media ad campaign featuring Landon Donovan utilizing #MyOtherTeamisMexico.

Donavan, predictably, was on the receiving end of immediate backlash from fans and former national team players alike -- most notably Carlos Bocanegera and Herculez Gomez.

This is an incredibly terrible take. Questioning ones loyalties to culture and/or heritage because HE questioned YOU for taking marketing dollars to “root” for your SPORTING RIVAL?

You can hate El Tri- this doesn’t mean you have anything against Mexicans. ✊🏼 🇲🇽 🇺🇸 https://t.co/xF9JCI1qBC

— herculez gomez (@herculezg) June 16, 2018

Behind the social media fiasco--which takes on additional meaning given our socio-political moment--is something worth talking about, though.

There's a real tension and, frankly, ignorance around the multicultural identity of the men's national team. Wells Fargo's ad is based in the assumption that there's significant overlap between soccer fans living in the United States, but of Mexican citizenship or descent.

As a brand, Wells Fargo clearly preferred to build an ad campaign around an American team in the World Cup but weren't willing to be sidelined during the month long tournament once the USMNT failed to qualify.

The strategy was basically to put the core elements of their ideal campaign into a blender. What came out was the most iconic player in American history pimping a corporate sponsorship by endorsing America's biggest soccer rival. (Of course it's even more layered than that given Donavan's exit from the national team.)

As dumb as all this sounds, it's basically the same approach major stake holders--including U.S. Soccer--have taken over the last two-plus decades in an attempt to "grow the game" in America, and the results have been similar.

Paying lip-service to the "emerging Latino market" has landed America's soccer gatekeepers in trouble before.

Perhaps the most obvious example is the Chivas U.S.A debacle, but there are others more specific to the national team. Just look to the youth development foibles of the late. (I wrote about the Jonathan Gonzales situation on this blog.) Or at the tension around Klinsmann preferencing German-American players.

These are the direct result of cultural incompetency -- a misunderstanding of how complex the mixture of sport, culture and identity are.

My point tonight isn't to write in-depth about each and every instance of cultural incompetency, nor is it even to delve into solutions. It's simply to say: these aren't just gaffes to paper over.  This is difficult stuff that should occupy both America's soccer intelligentsia and it's executives. 

U.S. Soccer Youth Development -- Part 2

In Part 1, I highlighted two issues that are critical to solve for successful youth development: 

1. Difficulty finding quality coaching; and the cost(s) associated with accessing quality coaching 
2. As a result of the first point, youth development is still built largely around upper-middle class white families.

So in Part 2, it seems important to spend some extended time on why diversity matters both in terms of the on-field results and in terms of creating a healthy, well functioning, national soccer federation. 

In terms of fielding globally competitive teams at each age group; including the senior team, developing players of diverse backgrounds is a non-negotiable. 

As I've previously eluded to, culture influences style(s) of play in very direct ways and sets the foundational or platonic ideal of what it means to be a great player. 

Mexicans and Germans, for example, have different--if not competing--epistemological concepts of greatness on the pitch. 

If you're unread in this subject area, I suggest starting with Johnathan Wilson's classic, "Inverting the Pyramid" as well as Franklin Foer's, "How Soccer Explains the World".

Given, then, that players from diverse backgrounds carry with them different basic understandings, based on core cultural values, of how to solve on-field problems integrating America's diverse soccer playing population into a coherent soccer "worldview" becomes a mission-critical objective. 

And, to be fair, under the direction of Tab Ramos there has been noticeable improvement integrating Latino players and styles into the American playing paradigm. 

However, the fact remains Latino players in particular are not well integrated, understood or valued in on-field terms within U.S. Soccer (to say nothing of lifestyle or cultural obstacles) -- particularly at the senior team level. Don't take my word on it. Read this excellent interview in SoccerAmerica. 

Brad Rothenberg, who's as qualified as anyone to speak on this subject, details the dynamic in very plain terms. In the most telling except (for me), Rothenberg says,

I’ve grown tired of watching our federation neglect this community. We didn’t do enough, not nearly enough, to keep him. And the worst part is that it will continue if wholesale changes aren’t made in the approach to finding talent in this community.The paucity of coaches employed by U.S. Soccer with an interest in Latino style of play is a problem. Tab Ramos isn’t enough. Bring back Hugo Perez. Jonathan wasn’t the first and will not be the last player lost to the national team until major shifts take place at the federation.

Not only does this ring true based on my personal experience as a youth coach in an exclusively Latino context, it lays bare the basic reality that U.S. Soccer is not trying to put the best possible combination of players on the field.

To put it another way, by not actively cultivating, training and financially investing in Latino players and coaches U.S. Soccer is acting in direct opposition to it's core mission.

(This seems to be a good stopping point, so I'll write Part 3 about the organizational aspects of diversity another night.)

More to come...

Jonathan Gonzalez and USMNT Youth Development -- Part 1

Jonathan Gonzalez shook-up what was going to be an otherwise nondescript January camp by letting it be known he's going to play for El Tri at the senior national team level; meaning he will be "cap-tied" to Mexico going forward. 

As this relates to Gonzalez, it's a big deal because he's an elite-level young player. The U.S. Men's National Team certainly would benefit from his skillset as a shut down d-mid as the current positional core group phases out prior to the 2022 cycle.

If you want to read more about the Gonzalez situation specifically, I suggest Steve Davis' piece in FourFourTwo and Matt Doyle's "Arm Chair Analyst" column on the subject. 

What I'm most interested--and have tweeted about extensively--is the underlying issue(s) US Soccer has within its player development paradigm relative to Latino players. Specifically, Mexican-American players. 

Two basic but critical structural issues to highlight:

• High-level coaching is extremely difficult to find and it's incredibly expensive to utilize. This is exact opposite of an effective strategy to develop the widest array of potential USMNT players as is possible; which one would assume should be the goal of US Soccer. 
• Youth player development is (still) built around white upper-middle class families. The stereotypes of soccer mom's exist for a reason. With the switch to a quasi-academy model in 2007 players need access to one of 197 affiliate clubs. These clubs need to fund their coaches, trainers, equipment, etc. to do that, they need enough players who can pay their full fees to offset the scholarship players. It's pretty simple, really.

There's more to each point, clearly, but the net-effect is that because of these issues there are entire communities disconnected from US Soccer's youth development project. It gets even worse when you realize that the communities which are being left aside are the talent producing ones. To put it another way, the "system" isn't designed for Mexican-American youth to be identified and/or developed by-and-large.

As a result, when a dual-eligible player like Gonzalez is available and chooses to play for Mexico, it's a huge blow because there aren't hundreds prospects lineup to take his place; which is a shame because there should be.   

More to come...