- Lalas advised players to prioritize positive public perception
- Characterized their responses as immature and counterproductive
- Suggested on-field performance remains the ultimate solution
U.S. soccer icon Alexi Lalas addressed the growing tension between current USMNT players and former وطني team stars following public comments from Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah. The two forwards recently expressed their issues with the criticism they’ve received from critics, including Lalas. But the former defender suggested the current generation needs to prioritize winning over public feuds, especially when they have a fan base concerned and disappointed about performances.
“For a team that has produced so much angst and, you know, relative worry and concern and even at times anger and disappointment for what they have done, the decisions that they’ve made, what has happened on and off the field. You should be doing anything and everything to look good, to get into the good graces of an American public that is dying to love you, is dying to like you, and is dying to support you going on,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast.
Lalas believes that on-field performance remains their most effective response to critics while questioning why they’re sensitive to feedback that pales in comparison to other countries.
“So each and everything that you do that possibly puts you in a negative light and makes you look like the babies or the weaklings that you are accusing others of, of labeling you as, that’s a problem,” Lalas added. “You can correct it ultimately on the field. And that’s where the rubber meets the road.
“That’s where your legacy, whatever it ends up being, it should be so lucky that it is even close to a Landon Donovan. That’s where it’s going to happen less than a year from now, next summer. But criticism, come on, man. It’s not even close to what other players or other countries, or other teams get. And whether it’s me or anybody else out there, I think we would all stand by the criticisms that we have made either of the individual players or of this team.”
Pulisic and Weah recently opened up about the comments that Lalas, Tim Howard, and Landon Donovan made over the summer, with both players expressing their frustration in the newest episode of PULISIC.
“I think those guys are chasing checks,” Weah said. “And for me, I just feel like they’re really equal, honestly, because they’ve been players and they know it’s like when you’re getting bashed and those are the same guys, that’ll turn around and shake your hand and try to be friendly with you at the end of the day.”
The USMNT returns to competitive action in September’s international fixtures against كوريا الجنوبية و Japan, providing immediate opportunity for players to redirect attention toward performance.
