Where does U.S. Soccer go from here?

Carl Hammond is the Active World Cup statistical guru and has watched every moment of the World Cup. We sat down with him to get his thoughts on the performance of the U.S. Soccer team and what the future may hold.

Okay. First question. What the heck happened with the US Team?

They scored a goal. I was worried before the tournament started that that might not even happen.

Here’s the thing. I just was really glad the US didn’t beat Germany in 2002 because it would have raised everyone’s expectations even higher than they were. But people who watch soccer on a consistent basis know that when it comes to putting quality players at every position we just aren’t there yet.

So what does the future hold for U.S. Soccer?

It will probably take another three or four years before the U.S. can produce another team that can compete effectively. The cupboard is bare. When you look at the bench there aren’t a lot of young players chopping at the bit. The good news is that there are a lot of really good players in the under- 20 ranks that have played extremely well in world tourneys.

The other thing that was tough was that they were very unlucky in that draw. Had they been in four of the other groups they would have qualified? It saddens me when people complain about the refs. It shows a lack of mental toughness. The good news is that level of mental toughness is in American athletes. We just need it to reach our soccer players.

Is it possible that our players need to play in Europe more—rather than MLS-- to prepare for the World Cup?

We have enough players playing in Europe. Without MLS we wouldn’t have had success in Japan and Korea. MLS is absolutely critical to the success of the national team. MLS has now found the financial stability to provide the incubator for younger players to develop their game. Unfortunately it’s not going to happen overnight and we’ve been saying for the last 20 years.

Do you think Coach Bruce Arena will be coaching the team in four years?

He’s got the easiest job in the world. The amount of press scrutiny is minimal. He refuses to talk to the press--they put up with it. He’s a hard person to read. I just get the feeling that he’s looking to do something else. I wouldn’t be surprised if he left and came back.

Would U.S. Soccer ever think of removing him?

U.S. Soccer is a political organization so it’s very hard to predict what they’re going to do. If I had to make a prediction I would say the next coach of the US team would be German coach and soccer star Jurgen Klinsmann. That’s not a new idea. He loves America—and he can make a lot of money doing it.

Was playing Damarcus Beasley out of position a mistake?

I think playing Beasley on the right side against the Czech Republic was a tactical error for two reasons. 1) Beasley is a left- footed player. His creating foot is his left foot. I blame the coaching staff for moving him over there. 2) He had not shown in games leading up that he was mentally and physically prepared to play in the World Cup. It was not going to solve the problem by putting him there on right side. It should be noted that he has made amazing plays on the right side. But in those games he started on the left side and drifted over.

Is Ghana really that good?

Well….I fell in love with African soccer in 1990 when Cameroon beat Argentina in the opening game 1-0. They had two players red carded off the field and they were attacking with four or five players. Argentina had no idea what to do. The beauty of African soccer in the past--and the tragedy of it as well—was that they were athletic and very unpredictable but not always tactically sound.

Twenty years later you find the African soccer teams are becoming more tactically sophisticated. Look at the Ghana/U.S. match. When we got that first goal Ghana pulled back into a very defensive mindset. That’s a very sophisticated way of playing and they pulled it off. I think Ghana is a really good team. I wish they didn’t have to play Brazil next.

June 22, 2006 : Ghana 2 - 1 USA

Ghana

vs.

United States

USA could not overcome a first-half injury-time penalty and lost 2-1 to a determined Ghana team who now advances to play Brazil in the Round of 16. DVR rating 2 diamonds. First half has all the action. Full game summary rep Read More >
		Clint Dempsey #8 United States
			15
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Ghana  2  Kingston      14  Dramani      11    Shilla      6  Amoah      6  Mohamed      4    Mensah      4  Pantsil      3    Essien      2    Appiah      2  Boateng      0  Pimpong      -6	1  United States   15      Dempsey   12      Mc Bride   10      Cherundolo   10      Bocanegra   9      Beasley   9      Onyewu   9      Conrad   8      Lewis    4      Keller   3      Reyna   2      Donovan
GHA Totals      51	94    USA Totals

June 17, 2006 : Italy 1 - 1 USA

Italy

vs.

United States

A nine-man USA survived against a ten-man Italy for a 1-1 draw. Full game summary report to follow. Read More >
		Andrea Pirlo #21 Italy
			18
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Italy  1  Pirlo      18  Gilardino      15    Zambrotta      9  Cannavaro      8  Zaccardo      8  Nesta      7    Toni      4  Perrotta      4    De Rossi      4  Buffon      4  Totti      -1	1 United States   17      Bocanegra   14      Reyna   10      Dempsey   10      Cherundolo   6      Convey   5      Mastroeni    4      Mc Bride   3      Onyewu   2      Keller   -2      Pope      -2      Donovan
ITA Totals      101	74    USA Totals

June 12, 2006 - USA 0 - 3 Czech Republic

Tomas Rosicky #10 Czech Republic 18 Game Honors Full Report > Player Power Ratings   Full Player Report United States      Onyewu 14   Reyna 10   Cherundolo 9   Convey 8   Lewis 8   Beasley 5   Pope 3   Donovan 1   Mc Bride 1   Keller -1   Mastroeni -2   Johnson 10   O Brien 4   Wolff 3   3  Czech Republic 18 Rosicky  16 Ujfalusi  13 Koller  9 Rozehnal  7 Jankulovski  6 Plasil  6 Cech  5 Grygera  5 Nedved  3 Galasek  1 Poborsky  1 Polak  0 Stajner  -1 Lokvenc  0 Team  USA Totals 74 89 CZE Totals The Czech Republic sliced and diced the USA and came away with a comfortable 3-0 win. Jan Koller easily headed a goal after only four minutes and it looked like a long day for Oguchi Onyewu the USA defender charged with keeping Koller quiet. Onyewu brushed aside this early disappointment won the ball 8 times which made him the Play Maker of the Game. He was also the highest ranked Power Player for the USA, which explains a lot when a defender is your highest rated player as a Play Maker in a 3-0 loss. The Czech Republic ran wild through the USA midfield that simply couldn’t cope with Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky’s laser from 35 yards doubled the Czech lead. Then his second sealed the deal and made him Power Player of the Game with 18 Power Points .

PowerStats featured on ActiveRadio

PowerStats creator Carl Hammond was the featured guest on Active Radio's The Sports You Do Show with Mike Reilly.  He took questions about PowerStats and how it can provide a reference and a history of soccer matches and players for diehard and casual fans alike. 

Click here to listen to an .mp3 archive of the show.

Germany 4 - 1 USA : March 22, 2006

Michael Ballack #13 Germany 30 Game Honors Full Report > Player Power Ratings   Full Player Report Germany  4    Ballack 30   Klose 25   Schneider 14   Lahm 10   Kahn 10   Mertesacker 9   Friedrich 8   Podolski 4   Metzelder 3   Asamoah 0   Kehl -2   Neuville 12   Schweinsteiger 11   Owomoyela 1   Borowski 1   Ernst 1   Team 6   1  United States 19 Convey  16 Johnson  15 Cherundolo  10 Keller  9 Conrad  5 Ching  5 Gibbs  3 Berhalter  3 Wolff  3 Mastroeni  2 Zavagin  1 Olsen  1 Twellman  0 Pierce  -3 Klein  -1 Team  GER Totals 143 88 USA Totals Germany’s fast start was comfortably contained by USA. Then the game degenerated and the teams were justifiably booed off at half-time. Within the first minute of the second half, Germany was gifted a goal when Schweinsteiger’s (GER) free kick bounced untouched into the goal. It was a sign of things to come. Kahn’s (GER) stretch save denied Johnson’s (USA) bullet header before Germany brought in Neuville. The veteran striker ran wild with Klose (GER) to create three goals in six minutes. And Gemany nearly doubled USA's team Power Rating 143 to 88. With five minutes remaining, Cherundolo’s (USA) 75-yard clearance came down at the top of the penalty box, eluded a violent collision between Khan and Johnson, and hopped into the goal.

PowerStats Explained

(A fascinating interview with Carl Hammond--the creator of Powerstats. This ground-breaking statistical approach to soccer can be found all the way up to the Cup right here at the Active World Cup Special Section.)

What exactly are Powerstats?

Powerstats is a statistical system that calculates a power ratings within a given soccer game. It also produces a power chart that shows the momentum of each team in the game and when goals are scored.

How are Powerstats different from other statistical approaches to soccer?

The primary difference is that it is simple, easy to understand, and is reflective of a player’s and team’s performance. The true merit of the system is the power chart. There are other systems that calculate player ratings but none of them are as transparent as Powerstats. Our system is quite easy to calculate in your head as the game evolves.

What inspired you to come up with Powerstats?

I developed an emotional interest in teams and players but couldn’t get any continuing information on what was going onif I had missed the game. You may have a result of 1-0 but you don’t necessarily know what happened. And that’s what motivated me.

The real value of power stats is if you aren’t able to see the game and you want to see how an individual player or team fared. The reason for this is that in soccer there aren’t many meaningful stats—simply because the game doesn’t demand them. Soccer has a continuous flow and has no large stoppages in time. Powerstats can help bridge the gap.

What were some of the challenges facing you in your quest for the perfect Powerstats model?

Coming up with a set of stats that had relevance and meaning. When I started out I kept track of every kick on the field during a game. It took such a long time to compile and didn’t provide very relevant data. We refined it and it now has an underlying logic that makes the stats meaningful.

Did you use any other stat models from other sports as reference?

Strictly trial and error. It’s been in the works for about 15 years.

According to your Powerstats ranking which is the best team in the world cup field?

There’s no question it’s Brazil--and that’s fairly unanimous. The only thing Brazil has to overcome is that they’ve never won when they’re the favorites. And they’ve won it five times so it’ll be very interesting.

How does the US rank?

The US is in a fascinating group. They could win the group or they could come in dead last. It’s going to be an exiting group to watch. All four teams can beat the other four teams. With the US and Ghana—the games will be pretty wide open and a lot of free flowing soccer.

What has been the reaction from the soccer world to power stats?

It’s been very positive. What we want to do is use the world cup to determine if there’s a world wide interest for this kind of statistical analysis of soccer. This system has been published in the San Diego Union Tribune for two years running and we’d love to expand it to the larger world of soccer enthusiasts.

PowerStats for USA vs. Jamaica

Final Results April 11, 2006

United States 1 – 1 Jamaica

Ben Olsen (27) Teadore Bennett (6)

Chris Albright #4 | USA Defender Player Stats Summary {PDF} Game Stats Summary {PDF}