Turkish coach Fatih Terim sees a change happening with the US national team. Although he wasn't around when Turkey lost to the USA in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup, he says it's brought about by manager Jurgen Klinsmann.
"The coach is different and the philosophy of the game, the mentality is different," Terim said through a translator in his post-game press conference following a 2-1 defeat to the USA. "Now we see the team is playing with a different style."
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What's that new US style? It's attack-minded, according to Terim, resulting in a wide-open match which saw the visiting Turks outshoot the USA and its diamond midfield formation 23 to 8.
"You have seen today we missed a lot of chances, but that was not because they were individual mistakes of US defenders," he said. "We were able to break in the defense, but of course if you like to play attacking football which United States tried to, then it’s obvious you will take risks in your defense."
Terim chalks up his team's inability to score on the US to a long training camp which saw Turkey travel to beat the Republic of Ireland on the road and then defeat Honduras at RFK Stadium earlier this week – "physically and mentally we reached our maximum ... were were a little bit tired," he said.
Terim highlighted the performances of US forward Jozy Altidore ("he's a very powerful striker"), attacking midfielder Michael Bradley ("he has an influence on the game"), "and the right back" in a clear reference to US goal scorer Fabian Johnson.
So what does the coach, who has managed big clubs like Galatasaray and Fiorentina, think about the USA's chances in Brazil?
"I believe that they can do very good job because they’re a solid team with talented players and I’m confident in Jurgen Klinsmann, too," said Terim.
"First of all he was a very important player and then he became head coach of one of the most important teams in the world," continued Terim. "For me it‘s kind of an educated guess of what I expect from that."
