I tend to agree. I don’t have a lot of use for Gulati.
If you look at the clubs that have been very good in Europe in recent years like Barcelona and Bayern Munich, the style they play is to pressure the ball high, force turnovers and dominate possession. And they are damn good.
Unfortunately, a midfield of Jones, Zusi, Cameron or Beckerman, Bedoya and Bradley is not capable of playing that style, no matter how hard they work. That is the next step the national program has to take in order to advance past the round of 16.
This World Cup was good. But for perhaps the first time, we can say that it was not good enough, due to factors as yet beyond the control of the national program. I have every confidence that Klinsmann will be the guy to take that next step if he chooses to stay.
He’s signed through 2018.
I think this tournament signalled the end of the Tiki Taka era. Now it’s fast break all the time.
For the first time, the quality of play in the World Cup actually approaches the highest levels of club play.