NFR- Attitude towards US team on the telly

[terryr]

There is a growing sense of horror that the US team looks set to advance.
Constant references to the foreign birth of many players seems at odds with the fact that France, Italy and Spain have numerous African born players and it is never mentioned.
remember we were hoping a certain Belgian youngster would declare for England?

The sour grapes leave a poor taste in the mouth.
I'm not a yank but I will cheer them on against Germany and hope they shock the world.
US progress in Football has been steady and impressive.
Should they win the world cup one day there will be many who will react badly.
Its coming one day and football will be the better for it.
Imagine.....no diving?
Hard athletic football?
Athletes playing for the love of the game rather than adopting the sentiment of entitlement and demanding untold millions to put on a shirt?
Perish the thought.

[God The Mechanic]

Didn't the Swiss team have 10 players born either outside Switzerland or to first generation immigrant sin one of their games?

Countries are quickly becoming very multi-national, especially the more developed ones.  People need to get over it.

[terryr]

so far 12 references to foreign born players and 4 references to players born in the US but to foreign parents.
That's at 29 minutes
more than once every two minutes.
Bizarre
Frankly embarassing

[MrProphet]

I really think that you are reading far far to much in to this. The USA have correctly got alot of praise from the BBC/ITV

I think the comments spring from something friedel said in the last games half time that Americans have had trouble taking to the "german" contingent especially Chandler who they feel there is a much better us based option.

Maybe someone can shed some light on whether this is true?

[RidgeRider]

it seems there is a contingent here in the US, who believe there are players here who could fill the shoes of the players who are on the team who were born and raised in Germany, to US Military fathers and German mothers. Some seem are miffed that our German coach is favoring players with German experience.

As has been said, it seems there are many examples of this practice throughout the footballing world and I'm not certain where the line should be placed but if a player has dual citizenship and in his, or her, heart, wants to play for one of those two countries, they should be accepted as legit.

[Slaphead in Qatar]

There is a growing sense of horror that the US team looks set to advance.
Constant references to the foreign birth of many players seems at odds with the fact that France, Italy and Spain have numerous African born players and it is never mentioned.
remember we were hoping a certain Belgian youngster would declare for England?

The sour grapes leave a poor taste in the mouth.
I'm not a yank but I will cheer them on against Germany and hope they shock the world.
US progress in Football has been steady and impressive.
Should they win the world cup one day there will be many who will react badly.
Its coming one day and football will be the better for it.
Imagine.....no diving?
Hard athletic football?
Athletes playing for the love of the game rather than adopting the sentiment of entitlement and demanding untold millions to put on a shirt?
Perish the thought.

watching them vs germany I would say they are one of the dirtiest teams in the tournament. Constant shirt pulling and cynical fouling.

[WhiteJC]

it seems there is a contingent here in the US, who believe there are players here who could fill the shoes of the players who are on the team who were born and raised in Germany, to US Military fathers and German mothers. Some seem are miffed that our German coach is favoring players with German experience.

As has been said, it seems there are many examples of this practice throughout the footballing world and I'm not certain where the line should be placed but if a player has dual citizenship and in his, or her, heart, wants to play for one of those two countries, they should be accepted as legit.

Felix Magath, wasn't his Dad an american soldier?

[RidgeRider]

it seems there is a contingent here in the US, who believe there are players here who could fill the shoes of the players who are on the team who were born and raised in Germany, to US Military fathers and German mothers. Some seem are miffed that our German coach is favoring players with German experience.

As has been said, it seems there are many examples of this practice throughout the footballing world and I'm not certain where the line should be placed but if a player has dual citizenship and in his, or her, heart, wants to play for one of those two countries, they should be accepted as legit.

Felix Magath, wasn't his Dad an american soldier?

Yes, I guess his Dad was Puerto Rican and served in Germany for the US Army. Apparently his Dad left Felix and his mother and went back to Puerto Rico. Poor guy didn't have much of a birth Dad it seems. Tough thing to grow up with I would think.

[MasterHaynes]

There is a growing sense of horror that the US team looks set to advance.
Constant references to the foreign birth of many players seems at odds with the fact that France, Italy and Spain have numerous African born players and it is never mentioned.
remember we were hoping a certain Belgian youngster would declare for England?

The sour grapes leave a poor taste in the mouth.
I'm not a yank but I will cheer them on against Germany and hope they shock the world.
US progress in Football has been steady and impressive.
Should they win the world cup one day there will be many who will react badly.
Its coming one day and football will be the better for it.
Imagine.....no diving?
Hard athletic football?
Athletes playing for the love of the game rather than adopting the sentiment of entitlement and demanding untold millions to put on a shirt?
Perish the thought.

watching them vs germany I would say they are one of the dirtiest teams in the tournament. Constant shirt pulling and cynical fouling.

And this is any different from any other team? Now if you want the dirtiest team Honduras has to be at the top of the list, just my luck I drew them in the work world cup pool

[jmh]

I've only watched the US coverage; they make reference to players' foreign backgrounds on those too but not really in any kind of derogatory sense.  I mean, it's not really anything new for US Soccer.  The 2002 team that made it to the quarterfinals had players born in Argentina (Pablo Mastroeni), Martinique (David Regis), the Netherlands (Earnie Stewart), Colombia (Carlos Llamosa); the 1998 team was captained by Thomas Dooley (Germany) and also featured Roy Wegerle (South Africa), Preki (Yugoslavia) and Tab Ramos (Uruguay).  It's a diverse country and this has always been the case for US Soccer; heck, the guy who scored the goal against England in 1950 was from Haiti.  (Too soon?)  The only differences are that A) we've now advanced out of our group in three of the last four World Cups so it's worthy of noting, and B) all the foreign-born players, save for Mix Diskerud (Norway), all the foreign-born players are from the same background (children of American servicemen and German mothers), so I think it gives rise to a "how many guys like that do they have" reaction that you don't have with diverse foreign-born players.

Anyway, as someone noted upthread, there are plenty of teams with lots of foreign connections.

[YankeeJim]

There is a growing sense of horror that the US team looks set to advance.
Constant references to the foreign birth of many players seems at odds with the fact that France, Italy and Spain have numerous African born players and it is never mentioned.
remember we were hoping a certain Belgian youngster would declare for England?

The sour grapes leave a poor taste in the mouth.
I'm not a yank but I will cheer them on against Germany and hope they shock the world.
US progress in Football has been steady and impressive.
Should they win the world cup one day there will be many who will react badly.
Its coming one day and football will be the better for it.
Imagine.....no diving?
Hard athletic football?
Athletes playing for the love of the game rather than adopting the sentiment of entitlement and demanding untold millions to put on a shirt?
Perish the thought.

watching them vs germany I would say they are one of the dirtiest teams in the tournament. Constant shirt pulling and cynical fouling.

Neymar deliberately throwing an elbow, the Italians with the flopping & elbowing, Suarez, Honduras in general, Ghana with all the body checks...guess we see what we want to see.  

[YankeeJim]

Players often have several options. I suppose many would complain if somehow Bale had been eligible for and  chosen England which is the only way he will ever see the WC. My grandfather was a German living in Ukraine as part of Russia when he immigrated in 1914. How many teams would my uncles been eligible for under current rules? If Hangeland had opted to play for the US what nationality would he have been when he signed for Fulham?

Football is a business and businessman will always look for the best possibility. Part of the problem, in the US at least, is that ESPN has broadcast the matches and they seem to have an unwritten rule that any silence from the broadcasters deserves the death penalty.  They have to fill every moment with yakking which leads to constant repetition and non-sense statements.

[jarv]

It is a fact of life now in international football.

I have just returned from a local pub here near Boston.  Football has finally taken off here.....all pubs are packed, packed street scenes from fans all over USA. Lots of noise. Good to see. So pleased they made it through beating Ghana and Portugal to the finish line. I doubt England could do that.

[love4ffc]

Now a days it's not just the US that are a melting pot but the world.  Look at Germany, Hitler is rolling over in his grave right now due to players like Jérome Boateng being on their national team.

I also know lots of international marriages where the children are dual citizens.  I kid with the children all the time asking them who will you play for when you grow up?  Most of them just smile and say whoever will take them.  

Point is it's the way of most of the world now a days.  Would not be surprised if FIFA go back and revamp the rules on duel citizenship after this world cup.  

[jmh]

Hitler is rolling over in his grave right now due to players like Jérome Boateng being on their national team.

This sentence made me smile.   :005:

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

watching them vs germany I would say they are one of the dirtiest teams in the tournament. Constant shirt pulling and cynical fouling.
[/quote]

That is just bollix, pure unadulterated bollix

Contra to what Terry R says  I think most people,  both in the media and generally, are delighted at the progression of the Yanks, Greeks, Costa Rica  and  of course Algeria

[The Doctor]

it seems there is a contingent here in the US, who believe there are players here who could fill the shoes of the players who are on the team who were born and raised in Germany, to US Military fathers and German mothers. Some seem are miffed that our German coach is favoring players with German experience.

As has been said, it seems there are many examples of this practice throughout the footballing world and I'm not certain where the line should be placed but if a player has dual citizenship and in his, or her, heart, wants to play for one of those two countries, they should be accepted as legit.

A bit of a minefield in sport, and we're not immune to it here in the UK.  There are quite a few recent examples within cricket where England have selected players who might be considered South African or Australian by birth or parentage.  This is occasionally thrown in the face of the English cricket authority as a sign of weakness.  But as you say, it's surely a personal choice.

To bring it back round to football, there have been many examples recently of players of Brazilian heritage taking up citizenship and playing for other nations (Croatia, Spain and Japan spring to mind).  I wonder if they get any stick in their adopted nations?

[love4ffc]

There is a growing sense of horror that the US team looks set to advance.
Constant references to the foreign birth of many players seems at odds with the fact that France, Italy and Spain have numerous African born players and it is never mentioned.
remember we were hoping a certain Belgian youngster would declare for England?

The sour grapes leave a poor taste in the mouth.
I'm not a yank but I will cheer them on against Germany and hope they shock the world.
US progress in Football has been steady and impressive.
Should they win the world cup one day there will be many who will react badly.
Its coming one day and football will be the better for it.
Imagine.....no diving?
Hard athletic football?
Athletes playing for the love of the game rather than adopting the sentiment of entitlement and demanding untold millions to put on a shirt?
Perish the thought.

watching them vs germany I would say they are one of the dirtiest teams in the tournament. Constant shirt pulling and cynical fouling.

A little confused here as I see nothing wrong with what TerryR is saying but rather with what Slaphead in Qatar is saying. 

"One of the dirtest teams in the tournament".  Really?  What games have you been watching?  That is a really harsh statement that is over the top and undeserved. 

[Logicalman]

Some people will never accept that the USMNT are an up-and-coming team, with fresh players who are hungry for success. Those are both inside and outside the US.

I cringed at those US posters who cried foul about Donovan being excluded from the squad and then went on to ostracize Klinsmann for bringing in those 'foreign' players, even today in the office there was one spouting off how much better were under Bradley! In the not too distant future the USMNT will be made up mostly of those players from the MLS, but they are just not ready yet, and as for the Klinsmann knockers, well, go back and watch previous WCF games and gage how better the team is playing this WCF, even against tougher teams.

[BarryP]

Some people will never accept that the USMNT are an up-and-coming team, with fresh players who are hungry for success. Those are both inside and outside the US.

I cringed at those US posters who cried foul about Donovan being excluded from the squad and then went on to ostracize Klinsmann for bringing in those 'foreign' players, even today in the office there was one spouting off how much better were under Bradley! In the not too distant future the USMNT will be made up mostly of those players from the MLS, but they are just not ready yet, and as for the Klinsmann knockers, well, go back and watch previous WCF games and gage how better the team is playing this WCF, even against tougher teams.

Hear, hear sir. Hear, hear.