Coach's Corner: Mike Russo

If you've been reading this blog regularly, you know that I can talk all day about the beautiful game. But wouldn't you rather hear a professional perspective on the world of soccer? I would too. That's why I've added a feature called "Coach's Corner," in which I'll bring you a college or professional coach's view on all things soccer.

Williams College Head Coach Mike Russo was kind enough to be the first in the Inswingers Coach's Corner. In his 27 years in Williamstown, Russo has compiled a record of 328-80-40 and been named National Coach of the Year four times (he's the first coach in any division to win the award in consecutive years). Russo led his team to the 1995 Division III National Championship and has also coached the Ephs to a second-place and third-place national finish. I asked Russo, who was in Germany this past month, what he thought of this World Cup.

"The Germans did a great job as the atmosphere was electric with so much passion exhibited by the fans from around the world. For the most part the games were exciting although low-scoring. As a soccer coach, I was completely captured by every game but I must admit there needs to be more scoring opportunities. I am in favor of bigger goals, and changing the offside law to read that a player is only offside when the ref. assistant sees a space between the attacker and last defender. This would definitely give the advantage to the attacking player as it should be but rarely happens."

As for the United States' performance, Russo said:

"Like many, I was most disappointed with the U.S. I honestly believe the federation, coaches, and players thought they were better than they really were. There is a reason why our supposed best player could not start for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Also, the ridiculous F.I.F.A rankings that had us 5th in the world gave everyone a false sense of where we were. There is criticism of MLS but I thought the MLS players performed reasonably well but we were let down by foreign based players. I think Bruce Arena has done a very good job at making us more respectable but we still have a long way to go before we are considered an elite soccer nation."

Let me know what you have to say about Coach Russo's thoughts. (Should there be more scoring? How did the MLSers stack up in the Cup? Why did the U.S. struggle?) And stay tuned for more from the Coach's Corner.