Taylor Twellman spoke to FanSided about the USMNT’s new manager, Tyler Adams’ move to Europe and the MLS Cup final.
This has been a busy week for U.S. Soccer. On Sunday, Gregg Berhalter was officially announced, after a protracted 14-month hiring process, as USMNT manager, the same day USMNT standout Tyler Adams secured a move to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. This weekend, attention will turn to the MLS Cup final between Atlanta United and the Portland Timbers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
On Tuesday, FanSided spoke to former USMNT and New England Revolution forward, and ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman, who is one of four U.S. Soccer legends teaming up with Allstate as part of the first ever Allstate All-America program. “We believe that they’re going to be future game changers of the sport,” Twellman said of the 250 high school juniors selected as All-Americans, 80 of which will play in the Allstate All-America Cup over MLS All-Star weekend in Orlando next year.
The Allstate announcement came on the same day as Berhalter’s introductory press conference. The former Columbus Crew coach spoke about his desire to play an attractive, attacking style of soccer — presumably similar to the one he employed in MLS — but Twellman was quick to highlight the unique challenges he will face in charge of the national team.
“You’re talking about a coach that works day in day out, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, working with certain players, the same players,” he said. “And you’re talking about a coach that has to coach maybe, at the most, 80 days … it’s an apples and oranges task.
“So I don’t think any of us can guess what that tactical game setup is, because the other aspect is, in order to win in CONCACAF, you’ve got to be very, very difficult to play against defensively. And that’s not one of the strong suits of Gregg’s teams … so maybe Gregg changes his setup a little bit in order to win and get results in CONCACAF and then in the major tournaments, when they get there, maybe it’s different. I think Gregg’s going to evolve a little bit on that, but to think it’s going to be the exact same setup as Columbus, I just don’t think that’s possible when you only have at most 80 days with a group of players.”
Despite the challenges, Twellman is optimistic about the hire, even if the process by which Berhalter was selected left much to be desired.
“I think it’s a very smart hire,” he said. “I think there’s going to be two different talking points. Obviously you’re going to talk about the hiring process, which I think could be heavily criticized and why it took 14 months, but the hiring of Gregg Berhalter in itself … Gregg is very meticulous, he’s young, but he’s done a very good job early in his career of being able to execute a game plan, and I think that’s what’s going to stand out.
“But for it to take 14 months long, that’s something that for the rest of my life I won’t understand. I don’t understand that.”
However Berhalter sets up the team, one player who will have a crucial role to play is 19-year-old midfielder Adams, who secured a not-entirely-unexpected move to RB Leipzig on Sunday.
“How Gregg Berhalter uses Tyler Adams could be a huge part of how much success they have,” Twellman said. “Tyler Adams is the real deal. He can play multiple positions, he can play in multiple ways. If Red Bull Leipzig supports him, I wouldn’t be shocked if Tyler Adams is moved over the next two to three years if he plays consistently, shows his natural ability to high press to get after teams … the kid’s got an engine that I’ve never seen before. He’s young, he’s exciting and the one thing for the United States is his energy’s contagious. He’s going to be a huge leader for the United States men’s national team.”
As for the MLS Cup final, Twellman considers Atlanta significant favorites.
“Atlanta’s the favorite, but I don’t think it bothers Portland at all,” he said. “Portland’s been underdogs the entire postseason. They’ve had to go on the road to Dallas in the knockout round, they had to go on the road to Seattle and ultimately to Sporting. I don’t think it bothers them, but I do think when you look at these sides, the type of matchup this is, you could make an argument it’s the biggest upset in MLS Cup history if Portland goes to Atlanta and wins. And that’s the kind of game it’s going to be.”
With those expectations come pressure, however, and while Atlanta have had an extraordinary couple of seasons for an expansion side, their city’s sports history means they’re under a lot of pressure to win the trophy.
“If they don’t win, I’m not sure there is a legacy,” said Twellman. You’ve got to remember that Atlanta sports fans … think of the heartbreak they’ve had in finals. … There’s a lot of pressure on Atlanta to win.
“But if they win, you’re talking about one heck of a way of coming into a league and saying we’re going to do it this way and win everything.”