U.S. Mens' Soccer: 40 Years of Doing Slightly Less Well than Expected

What an uninspiring concept:  international mens' soccer in the U.S.   And lest some one think the dismantling by Messi and Argentina in the Copa Americano quarter final is unusual, I ask you to remember this:  even at its best, our team has always performed marginally worse than one hoped for.

In that regard, last night was normal, and there was no drama about it after a silly goal three minutes into the game.   Did you notice how Messi kept looking at the ground and biting his lip to avoid giggling?  I respect him for that.   Yep, these are our guys.

The United States did not outperform Argentina in a single part of the game.   Some of the more typical falling-short-of-best-outcome highlights:

• Defense--any one who's watched football since the Germans dominated in the 70's knows what the field looks like--even on breakaways, somehow there are always at least 10 defenders between the ball and the opposing goal.  But not when the US men are on the field!   I counted 11 breakaways--situations where equal offensive and defensive players were between the ball and the goal.   One example of course was the third goal by Argentina.   
• Coaching--is Jurgen sleeping?  Or maybe high? The US did not control a single lose ball in midfield for the first 28 minutes of the game.   Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey are to blame.   Both can be fun, but both are notorious for also disappearing on the field in certain games.   Last night was one of those games.   Klinsmann knows this and should have subbed at 30 minutes.   You'll never get a shot on goal if you never control the midfield.   Did he miss the fact that we, in fact, never DID get a shot on goal (ok, maybe one, after he finally took Dempsey out with 10 minutes left).   Please, let's move beyond Bradley--we'll never be in the top 20 again as long as he's on the field.
• Basic skills--I did not see a single lose ball in the second half that was won and then controlled by the US.  Every emergency upfield kick by US defenders went out of bounds, while in the rare cases where Argentine defenders were challenged...you guessed it...the pressured returns upfield always landed within 5 meters of Messi.  
• Slowing the tempo.  The US never settled down.  No wonder,  They haven't mastered back-passing in their half of the field.   Argentina strategically pressed moderately in our backfield, and this destroyed the last hint of composure.  And don't kick back to the goalie--the US men haven't mastered that trick yet either.   It's terrifying to watch them try--I kept putting my hands over my eyes.  Meanwhile, Argentina passed back to goalie 41 times in the match, only one of which was pressured, taking a good eight minutes off the clock.
• Goalie.   Brad Guzan should have been red carded.  Last time I looked clotheslining an opponent after play is fully stopped (besides, the ball was already in the net!) was an aggressive foul in soccer.  What a jerk!
• Etc.