I got to thinking about the state of US Soccer over the weekend. In short, good things seem to be happening. More people than ever are taking an interest in the USMNT - interest which inevitably boils down to two things: how well the team’s doing, and how good they look doing it. The quality of the squad seems to be increasing, incrementally, and tactically they’re in the experienced (if not fully sensible) hands of Juergen Klinsmann. The team is playing a hybrid style - some possession when they can, some counter-attack when they can’t - and the truly “American” qualities that give them an advantage in international competition (hustle, self-belief, the inability to be intimidated) are serving them as well as ever. (Don’t get me wrong; I’d love to add “stellar first touch” and “finesse in the final third” to that list, but you work with what you have.)
So, heading into World Cup qualification, the squad is playing fairly good-looking soccer and getting fairly good results. But we’re just starting the 2014 cycle, and the next matches are little more than scribbles on a distant calendar. We’re in that one two-week window during the year when there isn’t really any on-field soccer news to be had. There’s simply not much to discuss right now. It’s the right time, to me, to ask that somewhat superficial, but essential question: how are the US jerseys looking? And what makes a USA kit, anyway?
That’s how I’m going to spend this week.
