New coaches

So, this week two national teams I follow replaced their head coaches. I have very different opinions on the potential outcomes of these country's results sure to follow.

First, Argentina fired Batista and brought in Sabella. Batista didn't do a great job. He made some of the same mistakes Maradona did with trying to rely on offense too much. Leaving key players out of the mid-field and back line. A balanced team is going to do better than one with a lot of firepower up top. If you can't keep the ball out of your back 1/3 how is your offense going to get anything done?

I don't know Sabella very well, but he'll get a chance to make his mark. If he builds a balanced squad instead of trying to put a bunch of big names on the field then they'll do well. If he falls into the same trap Maradona and Batista fell into, Argentina will fail to impress again.

The second coaching change was in the US. Bradely was let go and Klinsmann was named his successor. Many people felt Bradley didn't do a good job, but I saw some good coaching in the games we played. He put viable teams on the pitch and made adjustments when needed. That's all you can do as a coach. If you have a Freddy Adu on your team, no amount of coaching during the game is going to turn him into a Lionel Messi. The Messi has to exist before the coach gets there.

This is a change I'm not so sure about. Having coached (albeit at a much lower level) I can tell you that the level of players you have generally have more to do with the outcome of games than the level of coaching. Coaching can only foster and develop what's already begun. Players are developed over time, not overnight. What needs to happen in the US is at the youth level, not the adult, national team level. Those players have already been developed, we need to concentrate on the next generation if we want to see real success. Maybe Klinsmann will help exact change at all levels across the US. We'll just have to wait and see. However, my money is on Sabella fairing better in the near future.