U.S. National Team: Recapping the 2011 Year

After a 2010 year where they finished in the round of 16 in the World Cup and started a new youth movement, the United States national team had a rather disappointing 2011.

The youth movement continued. But, due in large part to how long many established starters were holding their positions, we saw a year where the squad saw change hurt the squad more than it should have.

This resulted in a second-place finish in the Gold Cup, a new manager in Jurgen Klinsmann and many younger players starting to put together a bigger influence at the end of the season.

Before we go into 2012, here is my recap of what happened in 2011 to the U.S. national team.

Delayed Friendly with Egypt

One of the biggest problems facing the Americans over the past several years has been a lack of African opposition in friendlies.

Late in 2010, the United States announced they were going to play a friendly against Egypt in Cairo, for what would have been a fantastic matchup for the national team. This matchup would have given the team a highly-competitive match against one of Africa's best sides.

Unfortunately, due to the Arab Spring and protests to remove Hosni Mubarak from power, the Egyptian FA cancelled the friendly.

The Americans did not play a friendly during the February 9 international date.

Strong Results with South American Opposition

USA 1 Chile 1 - January 22

USA 1 Argentina 1 - March 26

USA 0 Paraguay 1 - March 29

A big priority for the national team going into the 2014 World Cup is to start to play against South American opposition more often.

In 2011, the national team played three times against Argentina and have another friendly coming up on Jan. 21 against Venezuela.

In their first friendly, the U.S. were able to use a Teal Bunbury penalty to secure a 1-1 draw with Chile, using mainly MLS players.

Against Argentina, the Americans were able to shut out Lionel Messi due in large part to a fantastic match by Tim Howard. A goal from teenage phenom Juan Agudelo in the second half was enough for the Yanks to pull out an impressive draw.

Their match against Paraguay was not convincing. The Americans didn't bring the offensive flair that they showed against Argentina in the second half, which resulted in a 1-0 loss.

Blown Apart by Spain

USA 0 Spain 4 - June 4

After defeating Spain 2-0 in the 2009 Confederations Cup semifinal, the United States national team took a massive step toward becoming a true world contender.

Almost two years to the day after the stunning upset, Spain traveled to the United States to take on the Yanks in Foxboro for a friendly.

This time around, Spain showed why they were the best side in the world with a 4-0 win that included a brace from Santi Cazorla and goals from Álvaro Negredo and Fernando Torres.

This was the final match for the United States before their Gold Cup, and a very disappointing loss due to the final score.

Group C of the Gold Cup

USA 2 Canada 0 - June 7

USA 1 Panama 2 - June 11

Guadeloupe 0 USA 1 - June 14

It was a group stage the Americans were expected to breeze through, yet this turned into a very difficult group for the USA to master.

After breezing past Canada, a poor performance against Panama found the Americans in a funk that it seemed they would be unable to get out of.

The Americans were able to ride an early Jozy Altidore goal to advance onto the quarterfinals over Guadeloupe. However, the damage was done and the loss to Panama put even more pressure on a side that was expected to win the tournament.

Advancing to the Gold Cup Final

Jamaica 0 USA 2  - June 19

USA 1 Panama 0 - June 22

It wasn't going to be easy, but the Yanks were able to reach another Gold Cup final after strong results against Jamaica and Panama.

The match against Jamaica appeared that it was going to be a difficult one for the Americans to win, considering how well Jamaica was in the group stage.

But, after a strong first half, an own goal from Jermaine Taylor off a Jermaine Jones shot and a Clint Dempsey goal highlighted the Yanks offensive dominance in the 2-0 win, despite going without Landon Donovan for the first half.

Against Panama, the Americans had a much slower game but were able to have another strong second half performance. This was highlighted by a great performance off the bench from Freddy Adu, who helped Clint Dempsey score the winner to get the Yanks into the Gold Cup final.

Disappointing Loss in Gold Cup Final to Mexico

USA 2 Mexico 4 - June 25

It was the Gold Cup final, and with rival Mexico as their opponent.

This was the biggest game for the Yanks since the World Cup round of 16 match that they lost 364 days prior to the date of this match.

The Yanks took an early 2-0 lead on a headed goal from Michael Bradley and a Landon Donovan goal.

However, Mexico fought back. After tying the match at two apiece at the half, they ran away in the second half to win the final 4-2, thus clinching a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup.

This loss was one of the most devastating losses in American soccer history and it would also mark the end of an era.

Bob Bradley Gets Fired

After five years with the Yanks, Bob Bradley was dismissed from his spot as manager of the U.S. national team on July 28. 

Bradley was ultimately sacked due to his loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final and lack of a new direction that the national team was prepared to take.

Jurgen Klinsmann Becomes Manager

That new direction included the hiring of German legend Jurgen Klinsmann as the new manager of the national team.

Klinsmann had previously managed Germany to a third place finish in the 2006 World Cup, and he had also managed at Bayern Munich.

Klinsmann's appointment meant that the team was going to hire its first foreign manager since Bora Milutinović was in charge of the Yanks from 1991 through 1995.

Low Goal-Scoring Numbers in Friendlies After Klinsmann Appointment

USA 1 Mexico 1 - August 10

USA 0 Costa Rica 1 - September 2

Belgium 1 USA 0 - September 6

USA 1 Honduras 0 - October 8

USA 0 Ecuador 1 - October 11

France 1 USA 0 - November 11

These results were by no means the best results for the Yanks. During the first six matches of the Klinsmann era, the Americans scored a paltry two goals.

A lack of strong finishing, new players constantly breaking into the side and some problems with learning Klinsmann's system caused this to happen.

However, the Yanks were ready to respond in a big way in their final friendly of the year.

Big Win over Slovenia Ends Year

Slovenia 2 USA 3 - November 15

It was a longtime coming, but the U.S. were bound to finally win a match with a large scoreline.

Within the first half, Edson Buddle, Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore all scored to give the Americans a comfy 3-1 lead at the Stozice Stadium.

Even though Slovenia cut the lead to one during the second half, the Americans were able to preserve the win and close out their year on a high note.

What to Look Forward to in 2012

This season proved to be a bit of a disappointment, but a strong end to the year allows U.S. Soccer to have a bigger and better 2012.

It looks like more young players will start to make an impact on a transitioning American squad. The question remains whether we will see a starting XI that can actually works.

World Cup qualifying will also begin in June, and it will be the first time in a year that the Yanks will play in a meaningful match.

Landon Donovan will probably start to see his role continue to diminish with the national team due to his continual advance in age. 

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