No worries, mate. The games will be on ESPN, which is on every damn cable system in the country, and some on ABC. Schedule.
He plays in Greece at the moment. After MLS he went to Benfica then Monaco then Aris. He’s had a ton of different coaches. He had some limited success as a substitute at Benfica and is getting decent playing time at Aris right now. Pretty much all of his coaches have the same criticisms of him. He’s tactically naive; he’ll hold the ball instead of playing the right pass, doesn’t disrupt passing on the defensive end, doesn’t get open well enough, isn’t athletically gifted. They all also say that he’s phenomenally talented. I think he’s the most technically talented American there is. His offensive brilliance doesn’t make up for his shortcomings though.
He’s still 20 for another week, he has lots of time.
I agree with what was written above by Snarky Kong. Let me ask: what players do you recognize? If you don’t recognize Landon Donovan, then it really doesn’t matter anyway, because I’d guess players you do know of are Pele, Diego Maradona, David Beckham, and their ilk. Cobi Jones, Alexi Lalas, and Tab Ramos are retired. If you do recognize LD, then the question’s legit.
I don’t follow the USMNT very much, mostly the WCQs against Mexico, Costa Rica, and friendlies against highly ranked South American and European national teams, but I do watch English footie religiously (I’m an American). There really aren’t any other guys that you could add to this team that would both benefit the chances of even winning the group, let alone going deep in the tournament, and be recognizable to the casual viewer. There’s very little room for argument that this isn’t the best team the US has available. The only squabbles are likely to be about the guys ranked 20-26, give or take.
I watched the WC in '98, and really got into it in '02. From then on is when I’ve really followed the game. I’d imagine that each WC, there will be a pretty large following of casual fans, 75% (wild ass guess) won’t bother again for 4 years, and the remaining 25% will start to really get into the sport on the whole. Four years later, that 25% will recognize most of those who make the roster.
But in fairness, some of the American players play abroad because the pay is better, not because the soccer is better. For example, Goodson’s team, IK Start – are they better than an MLS club? Probably not. But I bet they pay a lot more.
Friedel retired from international competition a few years ago.
If he were still available, i have little doubt that he would be on the squad, probably as first-choice goalkeeper. He had some incredibly good performances during the recent Premier League season.
On the brazilian team, out of 23 players only 3 currently play in Brazil. One of the great frustrations of watching football here is that all the best players just stay here for an year or two after they really get going and then are bought by foreign teams.
Thoughts on a couple of points mentioned above -
-
Jozy is still a member of Villarreal. He was at Hull on loan. They had the option to purchase his contract after the season; but with the relegation, that seems very unlikely. Expect another loan next season somewhere else.
-
Freddy Adu has simply never gotten any better. There is a contingent of the conspiracy theory wing of soccer who would also like to point out that he hasn’t gotten any bigger in the last few years either. It seems at least possible that he isn’t as young as he thinks he is. He was, after all, born in Ghana, and would not be the first athlete to have been older than we were led to believe (Danny Almonte, I’m looking at you).
-
If I were making out the lineup, it would be…
--------------------Howard------------------------
Spector----DeMerit----Gooch----Bocanegra
--------Holden----Bradley-----Edu--------------
-------------Dempsey----Donovan---------------
--------------------Altidore-------------------------
Not really a 4-3-2-1, but more like a 4-4-2, with Clint and Landon taking turns as the second forward as circumstances dictate.
- Bocanegra moving to CB if Gooch can’t go and Cherundolo taking his place.
** Clark first choice sub as a defensive mid, Torres first choice as an attacking mid.
*** Herculez as first choice sub up top, Findley as the go-to if we need a guy to chase after a team that’s holding possession against us with a late lead.
Still not concerned about our defense? DeMerit and Spector were burned all day playing against the kind of world-class forwards we are going to see in SA.
Findley was surprisingly effective, and Jose Torres was ourstanding. What a tale of two halves today.
After watching today’s game, the U.S. team that played in the first half would be lucky to get two points in Group C. The team that played in the second half could win the group. I wonder which team will show up.
Spector was bad, but Bradley saw this and put in a direct replacement for him in Cherundolo. No problem here.
Demerit gave too much space on several occasions when he needed to step up and challenge a shot or pass. However he was hung out to dry in the first half by the midfield. Once Torres came in, and he and Bradley worked it out, Demerit was fine.
I’m not too concerned.
If Spector is first choice for right back, I will be concerned.
I’m not quite sure what to take from that game. On the one hand, I want to say, “Don’t worry about Spector, it’s just one game.” On the other hand, I want to take out a full page ad in the Johannesburg Star newspaper begging Bradley to start Jose Torres, and that’s after just a half.
I still feel like Edu should start, but Torres has to have a place on the field. Second-half sub? And what about Findley? I hope we get some answers from the Australia game, but I’m afraid it’ll only create more questions.
At any rate, the team that showed up in the second half against Turkey could do some serious damage. Let us please see some more of that.
I fully agree with the others that Jose Torres has to start for the US.
I am definitely unimpressed with England’s recent play. Their game against Mexico was horrible for them despite the final score, they played almost as badly as the USA did in their first halves, and their second half did not show tremendous improvement. Their performance against Japan was also very uninspiring. What happened to them? If they continue playing like this, and the USA plays like they did in the second half of the Turkey game, we could have an upset on our hands.
Big ifs, sure. But my optimism is cautiously rising.
I wish it was just one game. But his form hs been pretty poor at West Ham.
Unless he really steps up in practice, plays well against Australia, and Cherundolo doesn’t play well, I don’t think he will. I think they’ll both get a half at right back again. I could see Spector getting a half at left back too.
I’ll be interested to see what the midfield in on Saturday. Bradley and Edu or Torres? I think Clark played himself out of a starting role.
Did Findley earn a start? Maybe Buddle sees the field. Gomez as a second half sub? We haven’t seen enough of these guys for a good prediction up top. IMO.