USMNT vs Italy Preview

With Jurgen Klinsmann's side still searching for the right tactical system, USMNT prepare to face a tough challenge against Italy, another European opponents after Belgium and France, which both beat Americans 1-0. USMNT is without forward Landon Donovan and with defender Timmy Chandler and midfielders Jose Torres and Jermaine Jones who all suffered minor injuries. With also defender Oguchi Onewu and midfielder Stuart Holden still out with long-term injuries, Sacha Kljestan and Brek Shea were shuttled in. The biggest challenge for Klinsmann will be to continue trying to build a possession-minded, attacking style soccer considering Klinsmann's weakened bunch of midfielders. The Klinsmann's idea to keep the ball and control the tempo playing with a high defensive line is interesting, but hard to play without athletic central defenders. Bob Bradley used to get killed for being more defensive-minded. Klinsmann works in the opposite direction. Also, the question about what Klinsmann does at left back remains in place. Timothy Chandler's absence leaves Klinsmann without a potential starter. Fabian Johnson, who has been at left back for Hoffenheim, is the best option for the Yanks. Jonathan Spector is another one.

New regime

"I don't necessarily care where they play as long as they play, that's what's important," Jurgen Klinsman pointed out. Klinsmann has proved a lot of  MLS players during  his six months gig. Right now, we can argue that  FC Dallas winger Brek Shea and Real Salt Lake holding midfielder Kyle Beckerman are regular starters for Klinsmann. All others will fight for the places on the starting XI. Some fight to gain attention, such as Sporting Kansas City midfielder/forward Graham Zusi and C.J. Sapong, Seattle Sounders defender Jeff Parke, D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid, and Los Angeles Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarz. Some others will fight to regain their place in the Klinsmann'thoughts: Eintracht Frankfurt holding midfielder Ricardo Clark, New England Revolution attacking midfielder Benny Feilhaber and Schalke 04 central midfielder Jermain Jones are in this list. The voids are above all on the back line, with Steve Cherundolo and Carlos Bocanegra getting older. Newcomers Tim Chandler, Tim Ream and Michael Orozco-Fiscal have to convince. It's normal for a new head coach to try to find the right men for the right pattern. Klinsmann also is dobious about the ideal formation, switching from a 4-4-1-1 to a 4-4-2. The transition will be rocky as reflected the team's record under Klinsmann. The German will have to decide if to continue to emphasize a possession game or to come back to a classic counter-attack style of play. Sure is the new Klinsmann's philosophy: he showed more attention than usual on the fitness preparation of his players; he ran a new diet regime for his team; the fitness sessions was higher than in previous camps.

Who after Cho

The dismissal of head coach Cho Kwang-Rae testified the bad situation of the South Korean football. Korean Football Association showed to be amateurish after technical committee head Hwangbo Kwan said the organization is starting from a blank hole in its search for the new coach due to the fact that the announcement of Cho Kwang-Rae's replacement will go out at the end of January. Cho paid for his mistakes, and for the shocking loss in Lebanon but also for a football system unable to produce rising stars in the local tournament and for the successful state of the rival Japan. Now, who next? There are good inside options to sub Cho? Jeonbuk Motors' 52-year-old coach Choi Kang-Hee is the most obvious name. After clinching the K-League Championship and leading the team to the Asian Champions League final he's a good name to take a look to. Former 2002 South Korean World Cup captain Hong Myung-Bo leaded the Under-20 team to 2009 Fifa U-20 World Cup quarter-finals and is another viable option.

Cho fired!

It was under fire already after his Korean national team, ranked 31st in the FIFA world rankings, lost to Lebanon (146th), 2-1 in their fifth Group B game of Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Both Korean fans and media experts was disappointed. Apparently, the KFA's board of direction too. Since he took over the job, in July 2010 Cho Kwang-rae has stressed a playing style based on short passes and fast movement to create spaces but it simply didn't work. As a result, the players seemed confused. And din't work the Cho's way to switch frequently the players' positions in the national team. After the Lebanon match, supporters was demanding that the coach be replaced. It happened. By the way, despite his mistakes, not all is Cho's fault. The Korean football system failed to provide proven backup players from K-league able to become good alternatives to the high-profile players playing overseas. In recent months, South Korea was unable to find players to replace the time after time missing Ki Sung-yeung (Celtic FC), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton), and Park Chu-young (Arsenal). Park Ji-Sung and Lee Young-Pyo's intention to retire from international football also didn't help. Now, who next? Shimizu S-Pulse of Japan's Afshin Ghotbi, Jeonbuk Motors' Choi Kang-Hee and Korea under-23 coach Hong Myung-Bo are strong candidates to sub Cho Kwang-Rae. But what about Park Kyung-Hoon? And a foreign solution isn't out of question.

Reloads

Two teams, two busy offseasons. While the MLS is all around the David Beckham's situation and the rumors about his move to Paris St. Germain, an expansion team and 'classic' one started their offseason. The Montreal Impact will start their MLS adventure with plenty of talent in veteran midfielder Davy Arnaud, defender Nelson Rivas and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. The goal is to put on the field a competitive team. The same goal of the Sporting Kansas City which added midfielder Paulo Nagamura and defender Seth Sinovic, lost and reacquired in the trade with Montreal.With Milos Stojcev, Craig Rocastle, Arnaud (after 10 seasons with Kansas City), and Ryan Smith out, the roster was shaked. We will see if the midfield with Nagamura, Julio Cesar, Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi will work.

Next

The UAE are out of the race to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and their latest two games will be utilized by the head coach Abdullah Al Misfer and by the UAE FA to look forward. UAE have to forget about the qualifying disaster, where they lost all four games so far, and focus on building for the future. Things are gone so wrong for a lot of reasons: players' skills, poor management, no players playing in high-level leagues, etc...the Srecko Katanec's experiment failed but it don't means that UAE have no need of a coach from outside to lead the national team. UAE showed to be a good, not great, team needing of a coach knowing the Asian soccer. They need of a coach able to rise up the motivation of the players. Nobody in the locker room liked Katanec. The next coach needs to build a strong relationship with the players.

Firing lane

Al Ahli's announcement they had sacked their coach Ivan Hasek and appointed former Atletico Madrid manager Quique Sanchez Flores means that there has now been 5 coaching changes in the Pro League. Hasek's departure followed those of Sharjah's Carlos Azenho, Dubai's Nestor Clausen and Umberto Berberis, and Bani Yas' Jorvan Vieira. All the teams had played three league games or less. Al Ahli fans hope their team perform above expectations with Sanchez Flores in charge. Will he have the time? UAE's owners are not patient. They bring on good coaches but don't give them time to fix things. Flores has a strong CV but it was the same for Hasek, a former Czech National Team coach signed on a two-year deal this summer, or for David O'Leary, former Leeds United manager, sacked after just nine months of a three-year contract with Al Ahli. Coaches cannot turn things around in one day. The season is not ended yet...Hasek was latest coach sacked due to a firing-the-coach politics. But others could follow.