Quote Originally Posted by techman05 View Post
As I have said, I don’t watch much soccer, so my take may be expressing excitement for something you guys see all the time. I really was impressed when we advanced the ball with multiple touch passes instead of individual dribbling to move it. Several times we got good shots on goal and it seemed it was all very fluid and not forced. Kind of like a fast break in basketball when the ball never touches the floor. Almost seemed like they have started to understand how each man plays and what their tendencies are.
Good observation. There are similarities between soccer and basketball in advancing the ball. Short, crisp passes are critical, but no offense is going to generate a "chance" i.e. a good shot on goal, without MOVEMENT WITHOUT THE BALL. And that touches on your other observation about players learning how to play together as a cohesive unit. It is knowing each other's tendencies and it's "seeing the whole field," that is, all the attacking players have to see the same opportunities and those without the ball have to make the correct runs.

But, it is also true that players need to be able to "break down" a defense with dribble penetration, which draws an extra defender away from his zone and opens up lanes for attackers to make runs. The true GREATS, the ELITES, the WORLD CLASS strikers and attacking midfielders can do this. These are the Messi, and Ronaldo, and our own, now retired, Landon Donovan types who wreak havoc on defenses. Soccer defense is very much a "match up zone," a defender has to closely mark an attacking player when in his zone, but lets them go when they leave his zone and guards another entering his zone. This switching provides that split second opportunity to thread a pass to that offensive player during that transition. If the next defender is slow to react, or is caught out of position, or is just now returning to his zone because he had to react to a dribble penetration then an attacking player is unmarked, but only for a second or two and the pass has to be there then, not seconds later because the defense has slammed the door by then. The pass also has to have the right "weight" to allow the attacker to make the next move. If the pass is too hard, it gets by the attacker, too soft and the attacker has to chop his steps and wait on it, and it has to be in the exact right place, like to his left foot or his right foot depending on the situation.

And then sometimes the offense does everything right and a defender or the goal keeper makes a great defensive play, because after all, at this level, they are world class athletes and very, very good players too.

This is why I love the "beautiful game." It's all those subtle actions, offense and defense, those split-second reactions and incredible athletic displays all molded together. I played soccer all the way through to semi-pro and understand and appreciate the sport. It's never about ONE PLAY that bothers me when I criticize my favorites, the US national teams. It's the big picture that irks me, and that many posters on this forum also see and understand.

Beat El Tri!