2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Preview – Part 2

Team USA – That Was Then

This is the 2nd article in a series of three to preview the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany, which begins on June 26 when host and 2-time defending World Cup champion Germany kicks off against CONCACAF Champion Canada in Berlin. Writer Jerrod Roh will provide coverage, analysis, and opinion for the 2011 Women’s World Cup for IMSoccer News. He has attended the last 3 men’s World Cups in South Korea, Germany, and South Africa as well as the 2003 Women’s World Cup in the U.S. He is a self-described fan, student, and teacher of the game.

Read Part 1
Read Part 3

Disclaimer

As a coach and educator, I have complete respect for the work and efforts of our U.S. National Team coaches and players. Their jobs are not easy. The stakes are high and the pressure is massive. However, my guess is that they enjoy their jobs and the game itself as much or more than the rest of us in the U.S. soccer community. So, despite all the pressure, it must still be a lot of fun. I also understand as well as the next coach that only those who are working daily for the same goals within the confines of an organization really have all the information necessary to be completely accurate or fair with criticism.

With that stated, it is part of my job here to give my point of view. I was once taught that we all see the game differently. I agree with that statement. In my journey as a soccer fan, student, and coach of the game, I see the game a certain way and I believe in certain principles that have led to success on the field. Is my way the only correct or effective way? Heck no! I am a coach who believes in “stealing” ideas from others who have had success and applying them to my own craft. But I also enjoy using my knowledge gained to create new ways to solve problems – whether that be a way to teach a certain skill or tactic, or developing a system of play that suits female players as opposed to male players, etc.

At the end of the day, while we can all be critical of those in the spotlight, we need to remember that we are all one U.S. soccer community and cheer our teams regardless of our opinion. So after reading this, know that I will be cheering our women’s team in Germany with vigor. It would give me great pleasure to see our U.S. players raise the trophy on July 17^th.

“It’s A Little Known Fact”

Yes – call me Cliff Clavin (look it up young people). But it’s a little known fact that the coaches with the worst W-L record and one of the best W-L records in U.S. Women’s National Team history share the same last name. That’s right! The coach of the first four games of the team’s existence back in 1985 was Mike Ryan. His record?  Zero wins, three losses, and one tie.

The first match for the U.S. Women took place on August 18, 1985 against Italy in a small beach town by the name of Jesolo located just north of Venice along the northeastern Italian coast. Like most towns in Italy, they have a professional men’s team. AC Jesolo currently plays in the Prima Categoria which is the 8^th level in the Italian football league system, just in case you were wondering. In the town of about 25,000 people, Team USA took it on the chin, and fell 1-0 to the Italians. I doubt anyone involved then could have projected the future success and fame of future U.S. Women’s teams.

The other Ryan is of course Greg Ryan (no relation to Mike) who was head coach from 2005 to 2007 and has the 2^nd best winning percentage among those who have led Team USA.  This Coach Ryan won 90% of his games in charge. At the top of the table is current head coach Pia Sundhage. She has Greg by just a nose at this point, winning 90.3%. More on these two later.

Glory Days

Our national team’s record over the years has been very good. This is largely because our team is very good. The other reason is that the majority of our opponents have been vastly inferior for some time. So, while all of our coaches with the exception of Mike Ryan have had great winning records, it is easy to argue that a lot of people could have gotten similar results given the disparity in talent and resources between the U.S. and many of its opponents. However, make no mistake, managing a lot of talent takes talent, and the job all of our national team coaches have done has been excellent from what I can tell from here in the cheap seats.

Anson………..I have never heard of anyone else with this name – such a unique name for a unique leader who will go down as THE pioneer of women’s soccer. Anson Dorrance took over the head coaching position from Mike Ryan in 1986 while also maintaining his position as head coach at the University of North Carolina.  With Anson at the helm, the U.S. employed an aggressive high-press system with three forwards. The team was built on athleticism and attacking flair. The attack was very direct and the defense was very disruptive to the other team, forcing turnovers and therefore creating opportunities to attack from dangerous positions once the ball was turned over. The U.S. won the only world championship event it entered with Dorrance as coach – the 1991 World Cup. Anson is widely considered one of the greatest tacticians and teachers the game has seen. He is still a popular presenter, speaker, and author. His engagements take him around the globe to teach others what he has learned in his journey as a women’s soccer coach.

Anson’s longtime assistant, colleague, and friend, Tony DiCicco, took over in 1994. DiCicco maintained the level of success by leading the team to a 3^rd place finish in the 1995 World Cup, the 1996 Olympic gold medal, and the 1999 World Cup title. Tony shared Anson’s belief in a 3-forward system that disrupted the opponent’s ability to stage an attack by applying high pressure all over the field. This of course was not the norm in the men’s or women’s game, but both Anson and Tony proved that at least at that time in the women’s game that this tactic, with the right personnel, was in fact the best way to play.

Tony is widely considered one of the best game and player managers in the women’s game. He stepped down in 1999 to pursue a leadership position in the new women’s pro league at the time – the WUSA.  He currently coaches the Boston Breakers in the WPS – the 6-team top division of women’s pro soccer in the U.S.  He has made it quite clear that he wants to return to the U.S. National Team as its head coach for a 2^nd stint. Since he is the last U.S. coach to lead the team to a World Cup title, his desire to return should probably be taken seriously.

From 1991 to 1999, the U.S. women won 3 of the 4 major events – the 1991 World Cup, the 1996 Olympics, and the 1999 World Cup.  A 3^rd Place finish at the 1995 World Cup was the only blemish. It was a dominating time as the U.S. typically crushed teams in the western hemisphere and had only a handful of challengers worldwide who could even hope to keep pace with them.

Brandi Goes Down – Ouch

The federation selected April Heinrichs as Tony’s successor after the 1999 World Cup. April was a great player – legendary in fact. She played for Anson at North Carolina and for Team USA from 1985 to 1991. She was one of the leaders on the 1991 World Cup Champion team. Anson gives April credit for being one of the greatest competitors he has ever coached and that she helped mold the competitive culture at UNC, which has been crowned the national champion of NCAA women’s soccer 20 times since it became an NCAA championship sport in 1982. That is arguably the greatest dynasty in competitive sports history.

April had been the assistant to Tony from 1995-2000 and had been involved with coaching the U.S. youth teams for years prior to her appointment to lead the full team. She had also coached at the University of Maryland from 1991 to 1995, posting a record of 56-40-7, and the University of Virginia from 1996 to 2000 with a record of 52-27-7.  More concerning though is that her record in the super tough ACC was 25-32-3 over a 10-year span. This might raise some questions as to how or why she was selected to lead the youth national teams let alone the full team. One certainly can’t question her pedigree as a player. Additionally, she had access to a wealth of knowledge through her close relationships with Anson, Tony, and many others. In fact, she chose long-time North Carolina assistant coach Bill Palladino to be her assistant for the U.S. team for the lead-up and eventual 2003 World Cup. Make no mistake, April is a high quality coach, but I am still unsure if she is at her best with pulling the strings from the top spot.

As we all know, the U.S. fell to Germany in the semifinal in 2003 by a 3-0 final score. The team had struggled to dominate consistently in the matches leading up to the World Cup. There are several reasons for this. One is that other countries had been putting more effort and resources towards their women’s programs, and the pay off was finally starting to show. Those who were once far below the level of the U.S. were now closing the gap.

Another reason was that April was convinced that our full team needed to start working toward playing a more indirect style – one that theoretically would allow our team to break opponents down in multiple ways as opposed to the direct “in your face” way that Anson and Tony had employed. Understand, Anson and Tony did adjust that style on occasion to deal with a dangerous opponent or a game situation. But the mentality of attacking relentlessly and defend by destruction was prevalent no matter the opponent or the occasion. Many would argue that this fits our mentality as Americans. The players certainly embraced it and enjoyed playing that way.

April tried to educate a group of wily veterans who had already experienced so much success playing the way Anson and Tony had taught them. Perhaps April knew that she was risking short term results. Perhaps she just wanted our full team to start modeling a way of playing that would teach young players all across America how to play a more thoughtful game – possess, probe, and then go forward. On defense, her teams conserved more energy and did not high press nearly as much. The team played multiple systems, and often a 2-forward formation was chosen. Was she plotting the team’s system and style around top personnel? Perhaps, but most see her desire to change as her thinking we needed to change for the long-term success of our U.S. program.

And this leads to the other reason we no longer dominated and eventually disappointed in the 2003 World Cup – personnel. In 1999, we had superior athletes who were fast and could run forever at every position with the exception of one of our central defenders and our defensive midfielder. These two players might be the smartest defensive players to have ever put on a U.S. uniform – Carla Overbeck and Michelle Akers. Akers had Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly racing all over the place, pressuring, destroying, and sweeping up the mess created by the high pressure of the 3 forwards. Akers directed them and cleaned things up in front of the center backs while triggering and connecting the attack. Overbeck could read the game and vocally control those around her better than anyone. Once engaged, she was fearless and tough, but also smart where she could get a head start on the faster opponent. The rest of the back line was smart, fearless, and fast – Joy Fawcett, Kate Sobrero (now Markgraf), and Brandi Chastain.

The German team of 2003 showed us that great athletes who were fast and could run forever at EVERY position was an effective way to play. As in the men’s game at the highest level, the days of sacrificing mobility in the defensive center for players who can win physical confrontations with brute strength are over. At the highest levels, you need a player who can win the physical confrontations as well as cover the ground like a missile. Simply being smart, tall, strong, and athletic is no longer good enough. Players must be FAST.  Fast is more important than big and strong. This does not mean that players who are not fast should stop playing and cannot achieve at a very high level. Technical and tactical speed can overcome a lack in physical speed. Overbeck and Akers were super fast tactically and they were special leaders who were able to get the most out of those around them. Those two may also be the toughest, nastiest women to put on the uniform. All these qualities allowed them to overcome a lack of physical speed.

In 2003, Shannon Boxx came onto the scene to replace the retired Michelle Akers. Boxx was a force and with speed around her, I thought she was a great choice to continue to hold down the middle for the U.S. Her pace was average at best, but again her tactical speed combined with the pace and work ethic of those around her seemed to work. Was she a Michelle Akers? Not at that time. She was inserted into the line-up at the last minute and there is no way her vocal leadership abilities were harnessed in the same way they were later in her U.S. career.

The choice along the back line to replace Overbeck was to slide Chastain to the middle. Her leadership, smarts, speed, and toughness made for a strong player in the middle of the back. Problem was that Brandi went down with injury during the first match in the World Cup against Sweden. At the time, no one really thought of this as a devastating loss. Everyone thought that the mighty Americans could still pull it out. The team and coaches downplayed it to try to instill confidence in the reserve players. They made no excuses after the fact either. But did they know then that this could be the huge loss that this soccer nut thinks it was?

Cat Reddick (now Whitehill) was selected to step in on the back line. This was not a good choice. Reddick was protected throughout her career at North Carolina and Team USA with speed around her. Rarely was she required to defend 1v1 in space in a critical game against world class competition. She was young, and was not expected to fill the void of Chastain or Overbeck’s leadership. Her ability to quickly read the game and direct those around her was good, but not on the level of Chastain or Overbeck. This combined with her lack of physical speed proved to be too much for those around her to carry.

When I refer to physical speed, I am thinking of not just what a player’s top speed is when she is fresh, but also what a player’s speed is like in the 35^th minute of each half. Cat’s long balls are still considered the best in the women’s game due to distance and accuracy. This weapon led to several goals for Team USA and UNC over the years. But this should not have been a large factor in her selection and it clearly was. Does a player with a huge throw who cannot cut it on the field in the run of play deserve to be out there? Faster, more veteran defenders were on the bench against Germany – Christie Pearce (now Rampone), and Danielle Slaton. Later in her career, Pearce was moved to center back because they needed a fast defender in there after Sobrero (Markgraf) and Fawcett’s retirement. Why was Pearce not moved then? Chastain’s injury against Sweden in the opening match of the tournament forced April to play Reddick. Was she ready? Perhaps a better answer would have been Fawcett and Sobrero as center backs with Pearce and Kylie Bivens or Slaton as wide backs. I do feel strongly that Chastain’s injury and the subsequent attempted solution proved to be the team’s downfall.

One in-game substitution that was perplexing in that semi-final was when right winger Cindy Parlow was pulled in the 52^nd minute. In the first half, she dominated the right flank and produced many of the Americans’ best chances. But I am sure April had her reasons. It was just difficult to see what those reasons could have been to those who were not on the bench or in the locker room.

It seems that the 2003 team was conflicted. They wanted to play the way they had been playing for years, and April was pulling back on the reins. It was like holding your horse back on the final turn of a race. We had a speed horse in 2003 that just wanted to run and attack and destroy, but they were not allowed to do that. I guess my experience is you let that horse go on the final turn and enjoy the ride – that’s the fun part of the race! Sorry – couldn’t resist pulling out a reference from my days in Kentucky. My players here at the U are forced to watch “Seabiscuit” about once per year on the team bus. They usually don’t mind too much.

While respected Assistant Coach Palladino never publicly criticized April and her decisions, he did resign immediately following that World Cup. It is more than possible that he disagreed and questioned some of these decisions also. But only Dino knows that for sure.  One thing is for sure. I was not the only one who questioned some of the decisions being made and felt it was a matter of time before we would get stung – ouch.

We Own the Olympics

Keep in mind that the Summer Olympics for women’s soccer is just as competitive of an event as the World Cup. Countries field their full teams for women’s soccer, whereas they field their U23s for the men’s Olympic tournament. The men’s tournament is not utilized or recognized as an event for the full teams because there are already several international tournaments for men’s full teams that have a longer history and carry more weight. Men’s professional soccer has to limit how much they are releasing players for national team duty, and when the Olympics added the event, the pros said no. In the summer time in Europe, there is a 4-year cycle of Euro qualifying, the Euro, World Cup qualifying, and the World Cup. It would be difficult to fit the Olympics in for those men’s full teams. The women do not have as many obstacles and therefore countries are able to field their full teams for the Olympic Games.

Our record in the Olympics recently is better than the World Cup for our women. In fact, that record is close to spotless. We won gold in 1996, 2004, and 2008. We took silver in 2000. So, our women and our coaches have proven that they can get the job done on the big stage on foreign soil at a time when criticism over World Cup disappointments has been rabid. Understand, back in the “Glory Days,” Tony’s teams’ big victories came on our home soil in the ’96 Olympics and the ’99 World Cup. Anson led the group to the trophy on foreign soil in ’91 in China.  So, April’s group’s victory in 2004 in Athens, Greece and the team led by Pia in 2008 that claimed gold in Beijing should not be taken lightly. Those were great achievements for both teams and coaching staffs.

OOPS We Did It Again

So, after winning gold in 2004, April stepped away and Greg Ryan was brought in to take the reins.  Greg had been April’s assistant after Dino (Bill Palladino) stepped down. He was also a longtime youth national team coach and was a proven scout for the full team for years. Additionally, Greg had led three major college programs to NCAA tournament success – Wisconsin, Colorado College, and SMU.

Clearly, there were some player management issues at the 2007 World Cup in China. At this level, players should not have to be managed for their off-field conduct, especially at an event of such magnitude. They should be about the team, not themselves and they should fall in line with the coaching and team policies.  That is the only chance for success at any level. Of course, superior talent can trump a lot of things. But superior talent will fail with a lack of discipline when the talent gap is small.

Exhibit A – the French men in South Africa in 2010. The players managed to make a mess of things. Their coach had their back by sticking with the old veterans when it was player selection time. Then those same players threw their coach under the bus when adversity hit. France was embarrassed, and players were eventually disciplined. Just sad to see at that level and on that stage. The 1998 U.S. men were another example of disgruntled players making a mess of things at the World Cup.  Coach Steve Sampson was the fall guy for a group of veteran players who should have been able to handle adversity better……..embarrassing.

Number one goalkeeper Hope Solo was not benched because Greg thought that veteran Bri Scurry would fare better against Brazil in the semifinal. Yes – that is what Greg said publicly and he may have even convinced himself of it. Greg and Hope clearly clashed, and my guess is that it was not exclusive to their time in Beijing in 2007.  But Hope was out late, not obeying team policy regarding down time. Veteran players tried and could not control her. Greg was put in a tough spot. The World Cup is not a great time to prove a point to a player. But it is also not a great time to prove a point about individual freedom, Miss Solo. Hope conducted herself very unprofessionally throughout the entire soap opera. While we can all question Greg’s decision to bench her for Minnesota native Scurry, no one can question his professionalism. He refrained from publicly bashing his player – a player who did not show him the same courtesy. Greg was let go shortly after the 2007 World Cup. In 2008, he landed at the University of Michigan as the head coach. Solo continued to try to make a spectacle out of their fall out when she went out of her way to do an autograph signing at a Michigan game played at Arizona State in 2008. She may never let it go. Oh well.

The Brazilians beat us in 2007 because they were better – period.  We would have lost whether Hope was in goal or not. Again Whitehill (formerly Reddick) was selected to be a starting center back in the qualification and earlier rounds. Let’s just say that other teams had exposed her at times and the Brazilians finally put it to bed with a 4-0 thumping in that 2007 semifinal.  The Brazilians were collectively more athletic and better soccer players. Don’t get me wrong. I think Lilly is on another level as a player in the women’s game, but as a general and obvious assessment, Brazil was better. Maybe this is what April saw happening, and years earlier wanted our best athletes to start playing a different way so we could solve the game in multiple ways like the Brazilians. Great! But speed still kills, and if you don’t have it even in one spot along your back line, then opposing teams are now good enough to expose it at that level.

In that match, I questioned Whitehill’s tactical speed in addition to her physical speed. Guess what? When the most dangerous attacking player in the world (aka Marta) is engaged with the wide back on your side, you better slide over quickly to cover. Otherwise, it’s supper time for Marta. It was as if she was asking the crowd how they wanted their American defenders cooked – medium or well-done?! Just like anyone, she is much less effective in a 1v2. A 1v1 for Marta is fun for her and the fans, but not when you’re cheering for those cooked American defenders. Whitehill was slow to shift and therefore Marta and other dangerous Brazilians were enjoying a good meal.  When Whitehill herself was in a 1v1 – forget about it.

I feel that Pia has confirmed my thoughts on Whitehill by de-selecting her over time from the team. Pia had served in the Swedish national program for years and clearly would have access to scouting information from them. She was on staff for China when she was hired by our federation as head coach.  She knew what the scouting report on our team was and did what had to be done upon arrival. Kudos to her for letting Cat go in a gradual, most likely gentle, and friendly way. But why did our U.S. coaches before her not see the weakness and do something about it? Why did they not know the scouting report on their own team? Or maybe they did, and just felt they could get away with it. They had seemingly gotten away with it for a few years, as the U.S. had not lost a match under Ryan until the dismantling by Brazil.

Cat Whitehill is a great player, strong leader, and a wonderful person. I can say the latter because back in the day when I was working UNC Soccer Camps, I knew Cat to be this way when she was still in college in Chapel Hill. She is a great model for players of all levels, ages, genders, and backgrounds. But sorry, I call it like I see it and she just should not have been playing center back for the U.S. National Team for 6 years.

In no way, shape, or form am I putting the disappointments of 2003 and 2007 squarely on her shoulders. We lost to Germany and Brazil by a combined score of 7-0. We had lots of veteran, fast, proven players on the field for those matches. We had excellent coaches on the bench. I’ll remind that the loss to Brazil was Greg’s only loss as national team head coach. While the 2003 team seemed conflicted, the 2007 team seemed to be a team without an identity and then eventually got distracted. I am sure they were given clear instruction and good coaching. But somehow, our team did not attack like the teams of old and our group was no longer feared like the high pressing, relentless attacking teams of Anson and Tony.

Was it the change in tactics that has led to the evening of the playing field? Maybe we would be worse off if we had not changed? It sure would be fun to see our fast, young forwards in a 3-front making havoc for the opposition. But would we pay the price elsewhere against now more highly sophisticated teams than those that existed in the 90s? Not sure, but last time I checked, the Chinese teams of the 90s were about as sophisticated as they come and taking the attacking build and rhythm out of them seemed to work pretty well.

A Wise Man Once Said

When referring to lopsided outcomes of games, a great coach by the name of Dr. Tom Osborne once said that the team who won probably is not as good as everyone thinks they are now, and the team that lost is probably not as bad as everyone thinks they are now. They are probably more like what you thought they were before the lopsided result. Sometimes when two great teams clash on a big stage, one can have a rough day and get steamrolled. Over the years, Dr. Tom’s Nebraska football teams were on both sides of those lopsided games. But usually the team that got plowed came back stronger in the near future.

We got it handed to us on the grand stage of the World Cup the last couple times, but we responded with great performances the following year in the Olympics each time. What an awesome characteristic to have as a team!  Coach Mikki [Denney-Wright] here with the Gophers calls it “bounce back ability.” Our college teams have to be able to handle a tough result on a Friday and come out ready to fight on a Sunday when they are physically tired. When you think about it, all successful teams regardless of sport over time have to have that quality.

I am sure we all want to avoid being humbled in the 2011 World Cup and have to show our bounce back ability in the 2012 Olympics. I am sure we would rather see our team raise the trophy on July 17^th. We’ll see what happens. Regardless, our U.S. teams of the past were great teams as proven by their track record in the World Cup and Olympics. We have much to be proud of. Thanks to all of our past players and coaches for giving us a great ride the last 26 years.

Jerrod Roh has served as an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Women’s Soccer Team since 2007. He’s also served as a Goalkeeping Staff coach for the US Soccer Region 2 ODP since 2005. Prior to coming to Minnesota, Roh spent three seasons at the University of Kentucky, serving as the top assistant while coaching the goalkeepers and serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator. Roh attended Kansas State University and graduated in 1995. He was a three-year starter for the Wildcats. He holds a masters in business administration from Western Carolina. Currently he is coaching the U15 girls team for Eden Prairie Soccer Club