Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Yanks are coming! Will you be there?

I know I will, for one of them at least.



The US men are getting ready for a busy stretch this summer, starting next Wednesday with a World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica, then continuing next Saturday night in Chicago with another qualifier vs. Honduras---and I will be in the Windy City for that one. It takes a true SoccerJunkie to get up for an 8am flight out of Philadelphia (it takes a true junkie of any sorts to fly out of there), fly out to Chicago (in my USA jersey, with my USA scarf) for a 7pm game, and fly home in time for work Monday morning. Follow that up with the Confederations Cup just over a week later in South Africa (vs. Italy on the 15th, vs. Brazil on the 18th, and vs. Egypt on the 21st), then the US hosts the Gold Cup in July (with our boys drawn into Group B with Grenada (July 4th in Seattle), Honduras (July 8th in DC), and Haiti (July 11th in Foxborough)). Should we advance, the quarterfinals for the Group B winner and runner-up will be on July 18th in Philadelphia (and SoccerJunkie will be there, as well, despite the red-eye flight from Vegas landing the morning before)...if we get all the way through, the final is set for Giants Stadium (I've got my tickets for that as well).



Anyway, I digress...Bob Bradley has named his 24-man roster that will train ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, and likely includes the majority of the squad that will be headed to South Africa (good to see him going with an A-squad for the Confederations Cup)...so let's take a little more in-depth look at his selections:



Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)



Tim Howard- The clear-cut US #1, but you have to wonder if he'll play every match. He'll be joining the team late (the team convened yesterday in Miami) after playing in Saturday's FA Cup final for Everton, so will be playing on a lot of travel with little break.

Brad Guzan- Has consistently been Bradley's pick as the #2 for the US, and I don't think you can argue too much with it. Lack of playing time behind US legend Brad Friedel at Aston Villa could be a hinderence (of course, training with Friedel everyday can never hurt), but could see some playing time with Timmy's travels.



Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland (Denmark)), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege (Belgium)), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock (Germany)), Jonathan Spector (West Ham), Marvell Wynne (Toronto)



The back-four combination for each of these games is likely to be dicated by the opponent and location of each match. Does Bradley continue the DaMarcus Beasley at left back experiment? What is Bradley's obsession with Heath Pearce (he consistently gets called up, but has underperformed far more often than he has outperformed)?

Gooch and Bocanegra are the starting centerbacks, no questions asked. Califf is there in case either gets hurt or needs a break, and DeMerit can step in easily...but expect big things from Gooch over the course of the next month. His contract with Liege is up and he can (and has said he wants to) move anywhere for free. There are big clubs in England, France, and Spain interested in him, but a solid performance in qualifiers and against Italy and Brazil could equal a HUGE payday with a HUGE club. He excelled in his brief stint with Newcastle (but obviously won't be headed there since they were relegated), and could be set to play himself into an even bigger English club (possibly Villa, Everton, maybe Tottenham) than is interested in him right now (Fulham).

As for the outside backs, expect Spector on the left and Hejduk on the right at Costa Rica. The Saprissa in San Jose is one of the most difficult environments to play in, and you can expect Bradley to come out with a more experienced and defensive-minded team. In front of 40,000 pumped US fans at Soldier Field, on the other hand, look for Bradley to push with speed and offense against Honduras. The DeMarcus Beasley experiment could resume wide left, while Marvell Wynne might get a chance to prove himself on the right.


Midfielders: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco (France)), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers (Scotland)), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany)), Maurice Edu (Rangers (Scotland)), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus (Denmark)), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado), Jose Fransico Torres (Pachuca (Mexico))

If Bradley goes with a more defensive formation in Costa Rica (likely a 4-5-1), that would create an extra opening in the midfield. Michael Bradley is a shoe-in to play in both qualifiers (and likely every game in the Confederations Cup), but not because he's the coach's son. Bradley has become the most consistent and most versatile central midfielder the US has seen in decades---who's the last central midfielder that you can remember that shut down a team one game, then turned around a sliced them apart offensively and popped in a few goals the next? Against Costa Rica, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are options to drop back as wide midfielders, giving the US an extra option going forward without compromising too much defensively. Mastroeni is a likely option to partner with Bradley centrally, as he's a gritty, hardnosed defensive midfielder who will go hard into tackles and deny the Costa Ricans time and space as they push forward. That last spot is completely up in the air, and likely goes to whoever performs best in training---though Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley will both be arriving late after playing in the Scottish FA Cup final on Saturday against Falkirk (another reason to expect Dempsey and Donovan out wide instead of Beasley). Either Torres or Edu is most likely feature---Adu is too much of a risk defensively, while there are still too many questions surrounding Feilhaber (it's been a long fall from the Gold Cup winner against Mexico two years ago).

When the US returns home to face Honduras, again expect Bradley to sit central. Though the shape of the team will likely change (to a 4-4-2), it's hard to imagine too many changes in the midfield. The Beasley experiment in the back could continue, opening the wide positions again for Donovan and Dempsey (which would provide greater opportunities up top). As for Bradley's partner, it wouldn't be much of a shock to see Adu get a chance (either starting or off the bench) in an offensive role (maybe interchanging with Donovan as wide/central playermaker roles), with Bradley assuming the holding responsibilities. There's also likely a place for Kljestan to come in off the bench in the qualifiers, maybe pick up a start or two with all these games in such a short period of time.

One of the more head-scratching moves is the inclusion of Benny Feilhaber. While reports are that he has turned his game and attitude around in recent weeks, he has had a long fall from grace in a short period of time. Two years ago, he was one of the highest-regarded US prospects, and that Gold Cup winner against Mexico could've been his coming out party...but then his attitude and ego started getting the best of him, followed by the injury bug (which only seemed to get worse as reports surfaced that he wasn't working hard enough in recovery). For some reason, Bradley doesn't want to give up on this kid, and it would be great to see him live up to the potential he displayed in the past...but is this really the time?

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Xerez (on loan from Villareal) (Spain)), Brian Ching (Houston), Charlie Davies (Hammarby (Sweden)), Clint Dempsey (Fulham (England)), Landon Donovan (LA)

Brian Ching in a lone forward role against Costa Rica is highly likely (though that doesn't mean he'll be the only "forward" that plays). As already mentioned, Donovan and Dempsey can easily slide into the wide midfield roles (Donovan can play in the advanced midfield role, as well). The home qualifier in Chicago seems like a perfect time to play young Altidore (he does have 5 goals in 6 career qualifiers), though his health and lack of playing time at Xerez are concerns. A likely scenario would be Altidore starting alongside Ching, with Davies (who has been scoring at a prolific pace in Sweden) an option to come off the bench if Jozy just isn't cutting it.

Six points over these two games would get the US a lot closer to clinching qualification for South Africa 2010...and a strong showing against Italy and Brazil would certainly earn US soccer a lot more respect on the international scene. There are plenty of players on this roster with something to prove for various reasons (new contracts, inconsistency, or, as in Feilhaber's case, a complete nosedive). No predictions here, but I'm definitely hoping for a great game at Soldier Field and 40,000+ raucous fans making it a true home field advantage.


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