Mar 06 2008

Roll Your Own Group of Death

Published by Dave at 12:30 pm under Association Football

I touched on this earlier at FanHouse, but it’s worth mentioning again, because little strategic things like this always intrigue me.

Doesn’t it look like Bob Bradley is trying to simulate a really bitchin’ World Cup group stage for the U.S. men’s national team this summer?

Seriously, take a look at this schedule:

  • England v. USA, May 28, Wembley Stadium
  • Spain v. USA, June 4, Bernabeu Stadium
  • USA v. Argentina, June 8, Giants Stadium

So in the span 12 days, Bradley’s side is going to play national teams FIFA ranks as #11, #4 and #1, and his defense will have to stop the likes of Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez, among others. Compare that to the 2006 World Cup, where the USA faced the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana in a span of 11 days — without having to travel to a different country for each tie.

This is the same sort of strategy college basketball coaches have used for years. The NCAA Tournament requires you to win two games in three days, so coaches set their schedules to simulate that two or three times a season, usually by scheduling a Saturday afternoon game to follow a Thursday night game.

Now Bradley is doing the same thing to gauge the level at which his team is playing — and he’ll get another opportunity to gauge his side when they play in the Confederations Cup in South Africa in 2009. That, folks, is quality managing of a national team, and after a disastrous World Cup in 2006, that’s exactly what this U.S. team needs. Well played, Mr. Bradley.

5 Responses to “Roll Your Own Group of Death”

  1. # B.A.on 06 Mar 2008 at 6:13 pm

    *knocks on wood, as the England and Argentina matches aren’t finalized yet*

    Perfect year for this type of scheduling too. Halfway to 2010, and the National Pool will know — more or less — where they need to improve to advance in the group stage.

    I do hope Argentina plays 11 of their top 18 for the Giants Stadium match though; a friendly a few days beforehand AND two World Cup Qualifiers soon after (one against Brazil) leads to a really heavy summer schedule for them.

  2. # Marcon 06 Mar 2008 at 10:56 pm

    Wow I didn’t realize the Argentina match may be in Giants stadium. I’m feeling a road trip.

  3. # Daveon 07 Mar 2008 at 12:48 pm

    Marc: We’re on the same wavelength. Let’s talk about that at the Railhawks v. Red Bulls game.

  4. # Deanon 10 Mar 2008 at 7:52 pm

    England v. USA, May 28, Wembley Stadium

    The above should have read:

    England v. Australia May 28, Wembley Stadium

    But the word is that the England FA are scared that there will be a repeat of the 3-1 thrashing in 2003.

  5. # Football shirtson 31 Mar 2008 at 6:52 am

    Nice post. Thanks for it, Dave

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