Reaction: USMNT November 2013 Roster

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Terrence Boyd. (Photo: MexSport)
Terrence Boyd. (Photo: MexSport)

 

Like all United States Men’s National Team rosters under Jürgen Klinsmann, the 2013 November roster for friendlies against Scotland and Austria showcased a roster devoid of balance, devoid of enough new and improved American talent, an inadequate list of defenders, and a lack of a sufficient amount of creative midfielders and natural playmakers.

Calling up talented players like Eric Lichaj, Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Mix Diskerud, Jozy Altidore, Aron Jóhannsson, and Terrence Boyd may be praiseworthy and a great sign from an American perspective, but these players can hardly fire on all cylinders when the best left back on the roster (Fabian Johnson) and the best right back on the roster (Eric Lichaj) are likely not going to start as the right and left backs.

Nevertheless, Klinsmann’s USMNT roster has the potential to field this strong, balanced, and effective Starting XI (even if the chance to introduce and test new American talents was wasted):

Tim Howard; Eric Lichaj, Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Fabian Johnson; Michael Bradley; Brek Shea, Mix Diskerud, Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore, Aron Jóhannsson.

Despite the ability to field a strong Starting XI, these friendlies needed to be used to strengthen weaknesses within the USMNT and bring in new, talented players that the United States will desperately need in the 2014 World Cup.

 

Here are the Positives, the Negatives, and the Neither Positive Nor Negative of the most recent USMNT roster:

The Positives:

Mix DISKERUD

Eric LICHAJ

Clint DEMPSEY

Aron JÓHANNSSON

Terrence BOYD

John Anthony BROOKS

Geoff CAMERON

Jozy ALTIDORE

Tim HOWARD

Diskerud is an excellent true playmaker that has been showing just how effective he is at orchestrating the attack and playing final balls, and he has also been showing just how important a playmaker can be for the USMNT.

Brooks and Cameron give the U.S. another chance to field two complete center backs who not only bring excellent defending and athleticism but also great technical ability.

Whether or not critics want to mock Dempsey for not scoring very many goals during his return to MLS, he remains the best American soccer player and one of the keys to beating top national teams.

Altidore, Jóhannsson, and Boyd are all international-caliber strikers that bring everything to the striker position that one could ask for. Seeing all three of these strikers on the roster is a great sign, but Juan Agudelo received an inexcusable snub from the roster, while a pedestrian striker by international standards like Chris Wondolowski made the roster.

Klinsmann finally called up Eric Lichaj to the USMNT, and he remains one of the only legit American outside backs who can compete against skilled and fast international competition.

 

The Negatives:

Chris WONDOLOWSKI

DaMarcus BEASLEY

Brad EVANS

Bill HAMID

Sean JOHNSON

 

These players are listed as negatives because these are four wasted roster spots that could have gone to Juan Agudelo, Chris Klute, Andrew Farrell, and DeAndre Yedlin. While two of these spots are goalkeepers, two different goalkeepers could have been fit onto the roster in place of two of the players listed below under “Neither Positive Nor Negative.”

While the jury is still out on Bill Hamid and Sean Johnson, certainly Wondolowski, Beasley, and Evans aren’t good enough, athletic enough, or both at the positions where Jürgen Klinsmann uses them to be within a nautical mile of the United States Men’s National Team.

 

Neither Positive Nor Negative:

Fabian JOHNSON

Brek SHEA

Alejandro BEDOYA

Sacha KLJESTAN

Michael OROZCO

Eddie JOHNSON

These players aren’t liabilities or poor players, but one can certainly question their inclusion.

Fabian Johnson plays either as a left back or in Clint Dempsey’s position as a left attacking midfielder, and unless Klinsmann is going to start Fabian Johnson at left back, then his inclusion on the roster for a friendly serves no real purpose.

Nevertheless, Johnson is an excellent player, but these friendlies needed to be used to test out more of the new players rather than test out a Bundesliga starter. No one starts in the Bundesliga who isn’t technically-skilled and athletic.

Brek Shea is a talented winger who disrupts defenses, puts opposing players on their heels, and who generally has a positive effect on games. Shea is skilled, aggressive, fast, strong, and tall, and he is certainly one of the new American talents.

With all of that being said, doesn’t the USMNT need to be giving Joe Corona more caps in order to improve the quality of the U.S.’ passing and give more playing time to players who can orchestrate the attack? Didn’t Klinsmann say that club form mattered?

Alejandro Bedoya is another player who is clearly skilled, but is he as skilled as Benny Feilhaber who facilitates one-to-two touch passing and who creates goals? Probably not.

Feilhaber is a proven-performer and playmaker at the highest level, and a national team roster with only one true playmaker (Mix Diskerud) shows a clear disregard for the importance of players who facilitate quality passing and who play final balls.

Sacha Kljestan is a Champions League player, but other defensive midfielders and other attacking midfielders are either more defensively effective or more technically-skilled than he is. Kljestan plays in Europe, but he isn’t among the eight best American midfielders.

Benji Joya is a 20 year old who hasn’t seen many club minutes, but anyone who saw Benji Joya play against Paul Pogba and who saw him play with the Tab Ramos’ U.S. U-20s knows that Joya is a visibly more skilled and effective player than Kljestan who is a bit of an awkward runner who doesn’t contribute enough on the defensive or attacking end for the United States on the international level.

Klinsmann would have been wiser to get a look at Amobi Okugo, Perry Kitchen, Jared Jeffrey, or Benji Joya because these players are either defensive midfielders or box-to-box midfielders who have all the tools to improve the United States Men’s National Team and do a better job of filling in for Michael Bradley than Kljestan can.

Despite the many critics who view Michael Orozco has some sort of subpar player or USMNT embarrassment, Orozco is nevertheless a quick, technically-skilled, defensively-sound, and aggressive center back who has been playing and starting in the Mexican top flight for years and who excels at the international level. Orozco can also play as a right back or in a three center back system.

 

Jürgen Klinsmann called up this USMNT roster for the November friendlies:

GOALKEEPERS: Tim Howard, Sean Johnson, Bill Hamid

CENTER BACKS: Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Orozco

OUTSIDE BACKS: Eric Lichaj, Brad Evans (not an outside back), DaMarcus Beasley (not an outside back)

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Clint Dempsey, Mix Diskerud, Sacha Kljestan, Fabian Johnson, Alejandro Bedoya, Brek Shea;

STRIKERS: Jozy Altidore, Aron Jóhannsson, Terrence Boyd, Eddie Johnson, Chris Wondolowski.

The Official U.S. Soccer Roster Release:

http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2013/11/131111-roster-rel-scot-aust.aspx

http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/us-men/latest-roster/131111-sco-aut-friendlies.aspx

 

WORLD SOCCER SOURCE believes that Jürgen Klinsmann should have called up this USMNT roster:

GOALKEEPERS: Tim Howard, Clint Irwin, Luis Robles

CENTER BACKS: Geoff Cameron (also a defensive midfielder and outside back), John Anthony Brooks, Shane O’Neill (also a defensive midfielder and outside back)

OUTSIDE BACKS: Andrew Farrell (also a center back; right back and left back), Chris Klute (right and left back), DeAndre Yedlin (right and left back), Kellyn Acosta (right and left back)/Kofi Sarkodie (right and left back) (currently in the MLS Playoffs)

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael Bradley, Amobi Okugo (also a center back), Perry Kitchen (also a center back)

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Clint Dempsey, Benny Feilhaber (in the playoffs), Joe Benny Corona, Mix Diskerud, Benji Joya (also a box-to-box midfielder), Freddy Adu (reported to be in search of a new club at the conclusion of the Brasileirão)

STRIKERS: Jozy Altidore, Aron Jóhannsson, Juan Agudelo, Terrence Boyd.

 

CONCLUSION:

The roster spots for Chris Wondolowski, Brad Evans, DaMarcus Beasley, Bill Hamid, Sean Johnson, Sacha Kljestan, Alejandro Bedoya, Fabian Johnson, Eddie Johnson, Michael Orozco, and Brek Shea should have gone to Juan Agudelo, Andrew Farrell, DeAndre Yedlin, Chris Klute, Chris Irwin, Luis Robles, Joe Corona, Shane O’Neill, Benny Feilhaber, Freddy Adu, and Benji Joya.

All in all, this Klinsmann roster is a roster full of good players, but there are too many omissions to consider this to be any progress in the United States’ and Jürgen Klinsmann’s quest to close the gap with top national teams.

Without adequate outside backs and without enough creative midfielders with playmaking abilities, the United States will remain a national team with too many weaknesses to play top national teams straight up in a contest of talent and athleticism.

For a coach who claims to want one-to-two touch soccer and players that can compete at the highest level, too many of these players are players who are good but not good enough to compete when the talent of the competition goes up.

 

The Freddy Adu Greek Tragedy

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Freddy Adu's time with Bahia may be coming to a close. (Photo: E.C. Bahia)
Freddy Adu’s time with Bahia may be coming to a close. (Photo: E.C. Bahia)

 

Two things are clear about Freddy Adu: 1.) his technical skill-set, passing, and 1v1 abilities are very rare for an American (even if he is from Ghana); and 2.) Adu has been sold or loaned from club to club where he often saw lots of coaching changes.

Adu isn’t free of some flaws in his game, and these will be discussed later in this article.

In the recent takedown piece from LANCE!NET, the writer of the article, Igor Sigueira, (writing from Rio de Janeiro) wrote that the reason that Adu was not going to have his contract renewed was “technical deficiency,” but no coach was quoted as saying that.

The article itself was entitled “Bahia is going to release Freddy Adu who adds another failure to his career,” which implies that the purpose of the article was to trash Adu.

http://www.lancenet.com.br/minuto/Bahia-dispensar-Freddy-Adu-carreira_0_1025297465.html

In fact, the quote from the technical director stated that they felt that other players were better than Adu, and this is different than saying that someone doesn’t have the requisite technical ability to play in Brazil. Nevertheless, many articles emerged in the United States saying that Bahia would not be renewing Adu’s contract because of a lack of technical ability, which is simply not what any member of Bahia was quoted as saying in the article.

This was the belief of the writer of the article, Igor Siqueira. While Siqueira is entitled to draw the conclusion that the comments about Adu implied that the technical director or “director of soccer”, Anderson Barros, felt Adu didn’t have the required skill-level, no one at Bahia was quoted in the LANCE!NET article as saying that Adu’s problem was a lack of the needed technical ability.

In fact the exact quote was this:

“Ele não joga porque entendemos que outros são superiores e aí ele não teve tantas oportunidades assim. Vai acabar o contrato e o Adu vai seguir a vida dele. Vai ficar livre para procurar outro clube.” This quote means: “He doesn’t play because we know (literally, understand) that others are superior and so he didn’t have many opportunities due to that. His contract is going to end and he’s going to continue on with his life. He’ll be free to look for another club.”

Turning to Adu’s reputation in the United States, the reason why Freddy Adu has so many critics is that he displays a prolific skill-set for an American soccer player, which rightly makes people have very high expectations of him. Expecting a lot from a player of his technical quality and quickness is fair, but there is a double-standard applied to Adu that other American players aren’t subjected to.

In many ways, Clint Dempsey is also the subject of a lot of criticism and cheap shots from American soccer writers, pundits, and fans. Dempsey is frequently openly disrespected by the American media, despite his outstanding club and international resume for an American soccer player, and it should be said that playing for seven seasons in the English Premier League and scoring as many goals as he did as a midfielder is a great achievement for any player.

Dempsey and Adu are similar in their willingness to try tricks or low percentage passes or flicks that most American soccer players aren’t willing to try, so when these flashes of imagination fail, the critics pounce.

Unlike Adu, Dempsey has a very consistent and impressive club resume in terms of goals, performances, and playing time, but Adu deserves a certain level of respect for playing for Benfica and Bahia.

Whatever you think of Freddy Adu, not many Americans or soccer players of any nationality would have been signed by Benfica or a Brazilian club in the Brasileirão, and that’s a testament to his skill-level.

While Clint Dempsey disproved the belief that soccer players born and raised in the United States couldn’t play creative, skillful, and world-class soccer, Freddy Adu’s early childhood spent in Ghana playing pickup soccer or whatever you wish to call it has to be given much of the credit for his playing style and ability.

Nevertheless, Freddy Adu lived in the United States as long or longer than he lived in Ghana, and he was able to further cultivate his touch, tricks, vision, passing ability, and shooting in the United States.

Adu’s quick and inventive passing combined with his trickery and scoring ability make him a rare commodity among American soccer players, but he does have a few areas of his game that need to be improved.

As Adu looks to play one-to-two touch soccer based on passing and moving with creative play, he frequently appeared to get frustrated with his former teammates in MLS’ inability to quickly receive and release passes, in addition to their failure to make runs into the pockets of space where he played passes for them.

Given this problem of playing with many players in the United States who were unable to play up to his level, the thing Freddy Adu needs to do if he comes back to MLS is to continue to make runs, show for the ball, and display lots of movement off the ball, even when his teammates aren’t playing the more advanced style of soccer that he plays.

Adu must continue to make runs and demand the ball whether or not his teammates are passing and moving in order to facilitate a superior brand of play.

One thing that was apparent with the Philadelphia Union was that Adu would frequently play first time passes into space for his teammates after they passed to him, and they just didn’t continue their runs or even see the space available to them.

The frequency with which scenarios such as the one described above occurred caused Adu to be frustrated, and they caused him to frequently begin to start running less or become less active off the ball after his teammates were struggling to play a more advanced school of soccer.

Recently with Bahia, Adu saw many coaching changes, and the current coach, Cristóvão Borges, either didn’t rate Adu or he saw Adu as a less important bench player than players of other positions. In short, Cristóvão made a point of frequently using most of his bench spots for players who weren’t attacking midfielders.

Ivan Dias Marques of CORREIO described Cristóvão (as he’s known in Brazil) as a defensive-minded coach, and many of the professional reporters and journalists in Salvador such as Ivan Dias Marques, Pedro Sento Sé, Miro Palma, and Felipe Santana took to Twitter on several occasions to voice their belief that Adu deserved more playing time based on their evaluations of him in person at practices.

With Bahia’s games basically only available in the United States via streaming with poor video quality, it’s difficult to really draw any strong conclusions about Adu’s play in Brazil since he rarely played, and his coach didn’t rate him. Coaches frequently have their favorites, and maybe Cristóvão had a justifiable reason for not playing Adu.

Even Adu’s critics and detractors are quick to concede that Adu has the talent and the quickness to play at a high level and for the United States, but many critics don’t value Adu’s creativity and technical-ability very much because they view him as a player that doesn’t play enough defense or that doesn’t show enough running and movement off the ball.

World Soccer Source views Adu as a special talent that has the ability to excel even against elite competition, but World Soccer Source also concedes that fair or not, Adu might need to display some more movement off the ball and a greater urgency to stamp his imprint on games when his teammates aren’t passing and moving in a fashion that he feels is the correct way to play soccer.

The United States Men’s National Team has other playmakers such as Benny Feilhaber, Joe Corona, and Mix Diskerud, but Adu is too talented to close the book on.

Either Freddy Adu himself or his next coach should make a point of encouraging Adu to show more movement and urgency in games with disorganized passing and lots of long balls. Additionally, Adu like all players has areas of his game that could use some improvement.

For the most part, Adu knows when to dribble, when to pass, and when to look to shoot, but certainly any player could benefit from a thorough evaluation of their play, in order to correct any weaknesses in their play.

Based on Freddy Adu’s play with Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore, in addition to Joe Corona, Juan Agudelo, and Mix Diskerud, it would appear that Adu is certainly a player who performs well and thrives with players of their technical ability and playing style, but some coach or trainer would be wise to maximize Adu’s abilities by improving any areas of his game that are causing him to not see enough playing time or to garner so much criticism, even if he receives equally as much praise from supporters.

The United States is experiencing the deepest player pool in its history, but Freddy Adu is still a special talent who can be very useful to Jürgen Klinsmann, the USMNT, and MLS if those people and entities learn how to take his talents and improve them. After all, the job of a coach is to teach and improve players, as well as offering constructive criticism and observations.

Real change comes from the player himself, but much of the criticism of Freddy Adu is excessive especially when clearly inferior players such as Brad Davis, Kyle Beckerman, Graham Zusi, Sacha Kljestan, and José Torres are playing for or being call up to the USMNT with some frequency.

All of those players are respectable professional players who have done well in their careers, but as long as players such as Freddy Adu, Benny Feilhaber, Joe Corona, and Mix Diskerud are all not seeing significant minutes with the full-strength USMNT on a consistent basis, there is a systemic problem with Klinsmann’s USMNT that goes deeper than freezing out Adu: an undervaluing of creative midfielders who are natural playmakers.

 

The Arrival of Andrew Farrell

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Throughout this Major League Soccer season, Andrew Farrell earned praise for his two-way effectiveness as a right back for the New England Revolution.

The New England Revolution were knocked out of the MLS Playoffs last night, but Farrell has raised his game to a new level.

Amidst all of the just praise for DeAndre Yedlin, Andrew Farrell has truly cemented his status as an outstanding American talent who lived up to his hype and exceeded it.

Farrell is technically a center back, but Farrell not only embraced the right back role, but he also developed into an international-caliber outside back.

He used his skill on the ball and his blazing speed to burst through the opposition with forays downfield and also to hunt down attackers on the defensive end.

Even more so than in all of his quality and impressive performances throughout the regular reason, Farrell raised his game to a new level in the MLS Playoffs where he showed how well he could shut down attackers and how much he could impose his will on the game in the attack and in the defense.

While American defenders like Geoff Cameron, Chris Klute, Shane O’Neill, and DeAndre Yedlin have also shown this quality, Farrell showed a real ability to dribble and pass out of trouble deep in the heart of his own defense, as opposed to just sending clearances 50 yards downfield.

Farrell certainly knows when to just send a ball way out of the defense or play a ball out of bounds, but the combination of being able to dribble and pass out of the back combined with the instinct to know when to send a ball out of the danger area is something Jürgen Klinsmann and the United States Men’s National Team can use.

World Soccer Source covered Chris Klute extensively this season in addition to highlighting the excellent qualities in DeAndre Yedlin’s game as a right back, but Andrew Farrell is equally as worthy of praise as Klute and Yedlin.

Yedlin and Klute will both be upgrades at the outside back positions for the United States, but Andrew Farrell is a monster who combines an intimidating combination of strength, size, and speed with a cultivated technical skill-set that makes him too good to leave off the the USMNT anymore.

When Klinsmann was watching Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, Benny Feilhaber, and Juan Agudelo last night, there’s no way that he didn’t notice the impressive play of Andrew Farrell who is certainly someone who was being monitored and scouted anyway.

At the conclusion of Andrew Farrell’s rookie season in MLS, it’s safe to say that Farrell is for real and that he can certainly excel at the international level and outside of MLS.

Andrew Farrell is a freak of nature and his rookie season was a tour de force that displayed great attacking and skill on the ball along with strong defending and tackling without recklessness

 

The USMNT Has Plenty of Good Defenders

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Gale Agbossoumonde. (Source: Toronto F.C.)
Gale Agbossoumonde. (Source: Toronto F.C.)

 

With the caveat that the United States Men’s National Team is clearly not as good as Germany, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Nigeria, and the like, the United States does actually have too many good players than it can fit on its national team.

While everyone knows the United States has plenty of excellent goalkeepers, the United States actually has more qualified defenders than it has roster spots. At center back, the United States has Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Shane O’Neill, Michael Orozco, George John, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, Maurice Edu, Gale Agbossoumonde, Andrew Farrell, Amobi Okugo, and Caleb Stanko, and that’s more than four talented center backs.

This writer considers Cameron, O’Neill, and Brooks to be better than Gonzalez and Besler, but Gonzalez and Besler are much better than many of the center backs who played for the United States in the past, with the exception of Eddie Pope and Jay DeMerit. Besler is somewhat one-footed, but he can certainly use his weaker right foot; Besler is also deceptively fast.

Gonzalez has been criticized for making some mistakes, but that’s the nature of the beast when you are the last line of defense. Gonzalez has shown his technical ability, his aerial ability, his ability to time his tackles well, and a good baseline of athleticism. Gonzalez might not have as much lateral quickness as Cameron, but Gonzalez isn’t a lumbering mastodon.

Gonzalez and Besler are good center backs, but they very likely aren’t the best.

Brooks’ club resume and his outing against Bosnia and Herzegovina showed that he was likely a level above both Gonzalez and Besler, and Brooks does wish to play for the United States, even though Germany might strongly consider him an option for the near future.

Klinsmann didn’t cap-tie Brooks in a recent World Cup qualifier when he had the chance, and that was likely a big mistake.

As for the other center backs, Orozco has shown a level of defensive timing and positional sense along with speed and technical ability that was clearly international-caliber, and Edu put in a performance against Mexico in Estadio Azteca with Cameron that showed that Edu was also capable of marking forwards like Chicharito while also possessing the requisite technical ability to play at the international-level.

Edu occasionally plays some hospital balls, but his fundamentals are still respectable by international standards, plus his athleticism is a huge asset against the better attackers of the world.

Agbossoumonde is inexperienced at the international-level, but he has shown that he has the tools needed to be an international-caliber center back. Agbossoumonde’s technical ability, defending, physical gifts, and athleticism have also received enough praise from a variety of respected coaches in American soccer to consider him to be a legitimate option for the USMNT.

Finally, Amobi Okugo and Caleb Stanko have impressed enough people and displayed enough talent at the club and international level to be considered potential options for the United States either as defensive midfielders or as center backs.

The outside back positions have correctly been identified as a weakness by this writer and basically everyone writing about American soccer, not to mention all of the fans and neutral observers, but the United States does have outside backs.

Timothy Chandler and Fabian Johnson, both German-Americans, are obviously legitimate outside backs at the international level, and Jonathan Spector and Eric Lichaj have shown that they too have all the qualities needed to play well at the club and international level.

Support for some of the new MLS outside backs like Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrel has picked up steam over the course of this MLS season, and each of them is arguably better than the other outside back options because not only are they technically-skilled two-way outside backs, but their athleticism eclipses that of all the other options mentioned above.

Furthermore, Kofi Sarkodie, Zach Loyd, Edgar Castillo, Kellyn Acosta, and several other outside backs from the youth ranks or in MLS have shown enough defensive skill and technical ability to make them at least worthy of being seriously considered, and Castillo has recently shown an improved ability to tackle, mark, and use both feet.

Therefore, the United States doesn’t have too many defenders, but there are a lot of defenders mentioned in this article that deserve to been put in a situation where they can been evaluated by the USMNT’s coaching staff when they are in the same training camp, so that the coaching staff can see how they compare to one another.

Shane O’Neill, John Anthony Brooks, Michael Orozco, and Gale Agbossoumonde deserve the chance to try and beat out Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez, and Andrew Farrell, Chris Klute, and DeAndre Yedlin deserve the chance to try and beat out Brad Evans, DaMarcus Beasley, Edgar Castillo, and Fabian Johnson.

Jürgen Klinsmann owes it to the fans and to the United States Soccer Federation to prove that his defenders are better than the newer defenders who have clearly shown that they just might be better than Klinsmann’s normal picks.

If there is a real contest, then Cameron, Brooks, O’Neill, Agbossoumonde, Farrell, Klute, Acosta, and Yedlin will likely at least beat out Besler, Gonzalez, Goodson, Evans, and Beasley.

 

The USMNT Best XI (November 2013)

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Joe Corona. (Photo: AP Photo)
Joe Corona. (Photo: AP Photo)

 

USMNT Best XI (November 2013)

World Soccer Source’s USMNT Best XI for November of 2013 is a 4-1-3-2 formation featuring Brad Guzan, DeAndre Yedlin or Andrew Farrell, Shane O’Neill, Geoff Cameron, Chris Klute, Michael Bradley, Joe Corona, Mix Diskerud, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, and Aron Jóhannsson.

 

GOALKEEPER: Brad GUZAN

Tim Howard excels at making point blank miracle saves, but he also stands on his goal-line even when the ball is floating in the air only six yards off his goal line. One should be cautious when criticizing goalkeepers because goalkeepers don’t have the luxury of having anyone behind them to make up for their mistakes. Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are probably equals, but Guzan just might be a version of Howard who has better instincts about when he needs to come off his goal line.

 

RIGHT BACK: DeAndre YEDLIN / Andrew FARRELL

For all of the deserved praise that DeAndre Yedlin has received, Andrew Farrell is a terrifying defender for any level of soccer. Not many American soccer players can be described as terrifying, but Farrell is a monster of an athlete who possesses a great technical skill-set and the willingness to storm forward with reckless abandon. Farrell is a better defender than Yedlin who himself has evolved into a strong tackler and a good marker. Yedlin and Farrell are both known for speed and technical ability, but Farrell is the right back who tackles like a freight train without the reckless and criminal butchery of Jermaine Jones. Farrell is really a center back, and playing him at center back some is something that the United States Men’s National Team needs to do. If the USMNT has Yedlin and Farrell, then Farrell’s speed, defending, size, and technical ability are greatly needed in the center of the defense, especially when Geoff Cameron is being used as a midfield destroyer partner for Michael Bradley’s box-to-box defensive midfielder role.

 

CENTER BACK: Shane O’NEILL

Shane O’Neill is better than Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, and Clarence Goodson. That’s not a widely held belief among American soccer fans and the American soccer media, but it is nevertheless the truth. The other three center backs have nothing close to the defensive fundamentals and athleticism as Shane O’Neill, and O’Neill is a tall player. To top it off, O’Neill is a better soccer player than Besler, Gonzalez, and Goodson, and O’Neill is a player of Cameron’s technical ability and agility.

 

CENTER BACK: Geoff CAMERON

All center backs are heavily criticized for any mistake, but Geoff Cameron along with Shane O’Neill is the best American center back. Cameron brings the ability to mark slippery attackers with his agility and speed, and Cameron is a towering defender whose control of the ball is normally seen in much shorter players. Too good not to start as a center back or a defensive midfielder, especially for the United States. With Jürgen Klinsmann’s inexplicable decision to not cap-tie John Anthony Brooks when he had the chance, Cameron and O’Neill are the best American center backs for now.

 

LEFT BACK: Chris KLUTE

Chris Klute is the only American left back of any consequence, but he is an excellent left back despite the dearth of competitors. Fabian Johnson has never shown the same ability to track back on defense, mark, or tackle like Klute. Klute has world-class speed, and his crossing and passing ability is much more refined than merely sending crosses in the general vicinity of his teammates in the penalty box. Klute crosses with soft chips with both feet, and he also plays harder crosses directly to the head or feet of his teammates. Klute has shown a strong ability to execute clean tackles from a sprint, but he has also proven an ability to mark and defend opponents who try to take him off the dribble from a standstill either through tricks, changes of pace, or by trying to lose him by twisting and turning around him.

 

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER: Michael BRADLEY

One defensive midfielder in the Starting XI is probably enough for the United States to succeed because it means that the USMNT Starting XI has five defensive field players and five attacking field players. By playing deep, Bradley can break up the passing of the opposition, collect the ball from the Back Four, and help to orchestrate the passing of the United States from the back of the midfield. With players like Yedlin or Farrell and Klute making overlapping runs and participating in the attack, Bradley covers for both outside backs and plugs the gap between the two center backs. There’s no law that says a national team has to use two defensive midfielder, and Cameron, O’Neill, and Bradley defending down the middle is an acceptable and sound tactical game plan. Bradley is a defensive midfielder, but he is also a technically-skilled and complete midfielder who is a key component of the United States’ passing and attacking play. Labels are often meaningless, but Bradley is a defensive midfielder who defends when needed and attacks when needed.

 

RIGHT ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Joe CORONA

Joe Corona is likely a more creative attacking midfielder than Landon Donovan, and he is more equipped than Landon Donovan is to combine with Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, and Mix Diskerud to play final balls for Jozy Altidore and Aron Jóhannsson.

In short, the USMNT doesn’t need Donovan in the Starting XI to score goals if Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, and Aron Jóhannsson are all starting.

Corona’s game is more based on one-to-two touch passing than Donovan’s, whose game is based on speed. Donovan is an excellent player, but Corona is a better passer and playmaker; Corona can also score.

 

CENTRAL ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Mix DISKERUD

Jürgen Klinsmann used to not use true playmakers until very recently, but Diskerud has shown time and time again that he brings a level of effortless passing, technical grace, vision, and a surprising level of quickness: all of which the United States needs to get the most out of Michael Bradley, Joe Corona, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, and Aron Jóhannsson. Diskerud also knows how to score. It’s yet to be determined who the best American playmaker is, but Diskerud has certainly shown recently just how much the USMNT was missing a skilled playmaker. Tall, smooth, and creative, Diskerud is a player who connects Michael Bradley to the U.S.’ other attacking midfielders and forwards.

 

LEFT ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Clint DEMPSEY

The best soccer player ever produced by the United States has been on the receiving end of the usual baseless criticism about trying to force too much and being selfish. Dempsey is still the most technically-skilled American soccer player who matches his skill with his intensity, toughness, and his desire to win. Dempsey is an automatic starter. Deuce Dempsey is the most elite and the most effective of all American soccer players.

 

STRIKER: Jozy ALTIDORE

Jozy Altidore has recently developed into a complete striker who has earned his starting spot. Having several skilled and athletic strikers is a good problem for the USMNT, but Altidore’s tremendous development over the past two seasons makes him a starter for the USMNT. Marking someone of Altidore’s skill, size, strength, and speed will be a problem for any defense. Furthermore, starting him alongside his ex-teammate, Aron Jóhannsson of AZ Alkmaar seems like a great idea for a national team that struggled to score goals for years. Nevertheless, Juan Agudelo is coming.

 

STRIKER: Aron JÓHANNSSON

Aron Jóhannsson, Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, and Terrence Boyd are all way too good for the United States to only start one center forward. Jóhannsson’s play with AZ Alkmaar in Holland along with his play for the United States Men’s National Team whenever he has been used make him simply too good to not make room for in the Starting XI. In addition to a laundry list of goal highlights for AZ Alkmaar, Jóhannsson scored a ridiculously difficult golazo to beat Panama in the last game of World Cup qualifying, and he did it like it was nothing.

 

Selecting a Seleção

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Maicon has returned to form with Roma. Photo: (Tony Gentile/REUTERS)
Maicon has returned to form with Roma. (Photo: Tony Gentile / Reuters)

 

Voicing one’s opinion about who should be on the Seleção roster is one of the quickest ways to be called an ignoramus by Brazilians and non-Brazilians alike. The root of the problem is the sheer amount of not just world-class but truly elite players in the Brazilian player pool. Any list of 23 players for the Brazilian national team always leaves out players who are truly elite players who can put even many of the world’s best players to shame.

Unlike Spain who has been on top of world football in recent years due to a core group of world-class players from basically one generation of players, Brazil has been producing a steady stream of world-class talents who exceed the amount of roster spots available on the Seleção.

Even a player like Diego have seen somewhat limited international appearances with the Brazilian national team, despite being widely-considered one of the best playmakers in the world and one of the very best players in the Bundesliga for many years. Recently, Diego enjoyed two outstanding seasons with Atlético Madrid including a Europa League trophy where he was the playmaker for Falcao, but even all of this didn’t make Diego a Seleção regular.

Any roster proposal for the Brazilian national team brings with it the inevitability of criminal snubs of truly elite players of every position.

World Soccer Source proposes the following 23-man roster for the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil with the obvious potential for changes in opinion as the World Cup approaches.

Explanations for the roster will be provided after World Soccer Source’s Seleção roster proposal.

Here is this writer’s preferred Seleção roster:

GOALKEEPERS: Julio CESAR, RAFAEL, JEFFERSON

CENTER BACKS: Thiago SILVA, David LUIZ, DANTE, DEDÉ

OUTSIDE BACKS: MAICON, Daniel ALVES, MARCELO, MAXWELL

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Luiz GUSTAVO, CASEMIRO

BOX-TO-BOX MIDFIELDERS: PAULINHO, RAMIRES

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: RONALDINHO, KAKÁ, OSCAR, ROBINHO

FORWARDS: NEYMAR, PATO, Leandro DAMIÃO, Lucas MOURA

SNUBS: FERNANDINHO, FRED, JÔ, MARQUINHOS, DIEGO, Leandro CASTÁN, HULK, RALF, CÁSSIO.

Since the time of Lúcio, Brazil has boasted better center backs than Italy, and Brazil now has center backs in the same league as Lilian Thuram.

Thiago Silva is widely considered the best center back in the world, and David Luiz is also widely considered to be on anyone’s shortlist of best center backs.

Salvador’s own Dante put in a master class with Bayern Munich last year where many observers considered him the most important player for Bayern and the most valuable player in the Bundesliga.

Now, Brazil has three center backs who are widely considered above basically all other center backs, and domestic-based Dedé is himself a monster of a center back who is sought after by all of the world’s top clubs.

Dedé doesn’t have the same fame as the other three, but Dedé is a complete center back whose size and physique are matched by his technical ability, his defending, and his athleticism. Dedé is not just a towering and intimidating center back; Dedé is a skillful and agile center back who can shadow mark anyone.

The other center backs of note are Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain and formerly of Roma and Leandro Castán of Roma. The coming months will be a duel between Dedé, Marquinhos, and Leandro Castán to wear the yellow jersey of Brazil in Brazil for the World Cup.

Luiz Gustavo and Casemiro give the Brazil roster two players at something close to the midfield destroyer position known as the cabeça de área role in Brazilian Portuguese. The English term midfield destroyer is a bit of a misnomer for this role with the Seleção as anyone playing for the Seleção is an extremely technically-skilled player with an outstanding overall skill-set in terms of touch, passing, movement off the ball, and vision.

Paulinho and Ramires give the Brazilian national team two box-to-box midfielders who are complete two-way midfielders who offer as much of an attacking and scoring threat as they offer defensive coverage, running, and tackling.

Paulinho and Ramires are referred to as volantes (steering wheels) in Brazilian Portuguese, which is the general term for defensive midfielders, but thinking of Paulinho and Ramires as players who mainly bring defensive coverage to the Brazilian midfielder would be off base. A volante as opposed to a cabeça de área is a box-to-box midfielder

Brazilians refer to attacking midfielders as meias, which is also the general term for midfielders, but more and more meias are listed as atacantes, which is the term for forwards or attackers.

Although there is a host of second strikers and outside forwards in the Brazilian player pool, currently there is somewhat of an absence of elite first strikers in the Brazilian player pool with the exception of Pato.

Of all the Brazilian first strikers currently on the scene, only Pato possesses the ability to simply dribble straight through elite defenders or easily finish passes with first time shots against elite competition. Pato suffered from chronic hamstring and gluteal muscle pulls with AC Milan either due to the sheer explosiveness of his acceleration from a dead stop to a full sprint or due to incompetence on the part of Milan’s medical staff, and even Kaká has made comments about the Brazilian national team having better doctors and physical therapists than AC Milan.

In addition to Pato, Leandro Damião, who lives to do rainbows, is the most ruthless and skilled of the Brazilian first strikers. The other contenders are Jô and Fred, but none of these strikers except Pato have shown anything close to being in the same solar system with Ronaldo. Ronaldo had everything: two-footed finishing, blazing speed, magic feet, a full arsenal of tricks that could leave any defender for dead, and an ability to just score at a prolific rate against anyone, anywhere, anytime.

This writer included both Ronaldinho and Kaká over Willian and Jô or Fred (even though they don’t play the same positions), and opinions on Ronaldinho and Kaká vary from person to person.

This season Ronaldinho has shown that he still has the will power, the fitness, and clearly the skill to play against anyone, but many people view Ronaldinho as past his prime.

Likewise, Kaká is somewhat out of favor, but anyone who saw his speed, endurance, technical ability, passing, and shooting in recent games saw a Kaká who looked more than equipped to excel and produce at the highest level. Kaká even netted a true golaço against Lazio.

The World Soccer Source Brazil Starting XI:

Julio CESAR; MAICON, Thiago SILVA, David LUIZ, MARCELO; RAMIRES, PAULINHO; OSCAR, KAKÁ, NEYMAR; PATO.

A more standard Seleção Starting XI might be something more like this:

Julio CESAR; MAICON, Thiago SILVA, David LUIZ, MARCELO; Luiz GUSTAVO; PAULINHO; LUCAS, OSCAR, NEYMAR; FRED

 

A Balanced USMNT World Cup Roster

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Joe Benny Corona. (Photo: MexSport)
Joe Benny Corona. (Photo: MexSport)

 

The United States Men’s National Team roster discussed in this article differs from the roster proposed in the recent article, “USMNT: 23 For Brazil (November 2013),” but the new roster proposed in this article is a product of this writer’s realization that World Soccer Source criticized Jürgen Klinsmann for not selecting balanced rosters.

World Soccer Source criticized Klinsmann for not selecting enough playmakers, attacking midfielders, outside backs, and center backs, but World Soccer Source was advocating for a midfield roster with too many playmakers, which eliminated enough room for the right amount of quality players of every position.

The new roster below contains three goalkeepers, four center backs, four outside backs, three defensive midfielders, a box-to-box midfidler (Joya), four attacking midfielders (including two playmakers), and four first strikers.

The United States Men’s National Team is at a point where there are more quality American soccer players with international-caliber abilities than ever before, and there isn’t room for all of them on the roster.

This realization makes any hypothetical discussion of who deserves to represent the United States in the 2014 World Cup or who the United States needs in the 2014 World Cup controversial and full of hard decisions.

Normally, any World Cup roster would consist of three goalkeepers, four center backs, four outside backs, four defensive midfielders (two of both varieties), four attacking midfielders, and four forwards.

In addition to this pro forma distribution of types of players, the issue of players who play more than one position arises, and the question of whether certain players should be classified as forwards or midfielders.

On top of this, a coach has to decide whether the forward spots should all be occupied by first strikers or whether some of the four forward spots should go to second strikers.

For any national team with more worthy players than roster spots, players that deserve to be on the roster are often undeservedly left off, and choosing one player over another almost feels like a coin toss.

Although Jürgen Klinsmann hasn’t used many of the players that World Soccer Source believes are some of the most talented American soccer players at their various positions, there are still a lot of indicators that many of the players that Klinsmann snubs are exactly the types of players that the United States will need in the World Cup.

Normally, World Soccer Source would make space for Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber because this writer believes that these two players bring special playmaking, technical, and passing qualities that Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore need to perform their best.

With the arrival of Joe Benny Corona and Mix Diskerud, the United States Men’s National Team has too very talented playmakers that bring similar passing qualities, that can also both score, and that have a degree of speed and quickness to allow them to keep up with fast-paced international soccer.

If Corona and Diskerud are on the roster, then one of the priorities changes from including legitimate playmakers to making sure the USMNT is deep enough at every position. If Feilhaber, Adu, Corona, Diskerud, and Feilhaber are all included, then there isn’t enough roster spots for the other types of players that are needed.

Looking at the midfield, the United States can use certain center backs like Geoff Cameron, Shane O’Neill, or Amobi Okugo as back ups for defensive midfielders like Michael Bradley or Jermaine Jones (if he’s not too much of a card liability), but a real roster shouldn’t depend on arguably the first choice center backs as back ups for Bradley.

Therefore, an eight-man midfield roster still requires three to four defensive midfielders, which makes it impossible to fit in all of the attacking midfielders that World Soccer Source rates highly.

Nevertheless, it’s more important that Corona and Diskerud take Graham Zusi’s and Brad Davis’ roster spots than it is that Corona, Diskerud, Feilhaber, and Adu are all on the roster; this takes priority.

The wise decision is to select four defensive midfielders and four attacking midfielders, and a new midfielder like Benji Joya has shown that he can play as a box-to-box midfielder, a playmaker, or an outside midfielder with the freedom to roam and cut inside.

Despite Joya’s youth and lack of significant minutes for Santos Laguna, Tab Ramos’ comments about him, in addition to how well he played against Paul Pogba, should carry a lot of weight.

If Bradley, Joya, Dempsey, Donovan, Corona, and Diskerud are on the World Cup roster, then the final two positions need to go to defensive midfielders, and the likely suspects are Amobi Okugo, Perry Kitchen, and Jared Jeffrey who are all more equipped to keep up with the pace of the international game than Kyle Beckerman.

Frankly, Kyle Beckerman should not be anywhere near the World Cup roster because he can’t track and mark fast and skilled international attackers and midfielders, and this should automatically rule him out of a World Cup roster spot.

While soccer is a game where technical ability is more important than athleticism, a baseline of athleticism is needed to even compete at the upper levels of international soccer, and Beckerman doesn’t have it.

So, who should Jürgen Klinsmann select to be the defensive midfielders besides Michael Bradley?

Jermaine Jones is a logical choice because of his playing resume, his technical ability, his defending, and his athleticism and physique, but Jones really is a card machine. Jones is a dirty tackler, and he also refuses to cooperate with Bradley in a two-man defensive midfield where one player covers for the other when the latter storms forward with the attack.

While Jones and Bradley could simply agree to not go forward at the same time, Geoff Cameron showed that he was much more willing to sit back deeper to cover for Bradley. Therefore, any system based on using Jones and Bradley at the same time is destined to leave a big hole right in from of the U.S.’ Back Four, which first and second tier national teams will exploit.

The United States can simply not tolerate leaving the center backs to have to back pedal with no defensive coverage from defensive midfielders in front of them as opponents attack them with combination play, through balls, and individual dribbling runs.

If Jones is unable to partner with Bradley, then perhaps Jones still deserves a roster spot as a substitute for Bradley, but the cards are still a major problem for Jones. The United States can’t be in the situation where Bradley is injured or suspended and Jones receives a red card or becomes suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Klinsmann should consider other defensive midfielders such as Jared Jeffrey, Perry Kitchen, and Amobi Okugo to be on the roster with Bradley.

Which one or two of these defensive midfielders can play better with players like Bradley, Dempsey, and Donovan?

Who knows?

The friendlies and January camp before the 2014 World Cup need to answer that question.

Whichever defensive midfielders Klinsmann selects besides Bradley (if Klinsmann is even willing to accept that Beckerman is simply too slow), the roster needs three defensive midfielders, Benji Joya, and four attacking midfielders.

Selecting Diskerud, Corona, Joya, and two new defensive midfielders is something that the USMNT needs to do.

Turning to Klinsmann’s selections in the defense, there has been a tendency to not select eight defenders, and there has been a disturbing tendency to basically never select at least three to four natural outside backs.

Klinsmann has been selecting Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley as outside backs, and while Evans has proven that he has the technical ability and the athleticism to play at the international level as a central midfielder, using him as a right back can’t be the U.S.’ best option.

Therefore, Klinsmann needs four center backs and four outside backs who are naturally suited to play those positions and who have the requisite tools and physical gifts to play those position against strong international competition.

World Soccer Source has always contended that Klinsmann’s selections in the defense are not as good as they could be, and any real improvement to the Back Four will require using a better Back Four than Brad Evans, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, and DaMarcus Beasley.

Using DeAndre Yedlin, Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, and Chris Klute would be a better defensive back four in terms of defending, technical ability, and athleticism. With those four defenders as starters, the roster still needs two more outside backs and two more center backs.

This writer contends that Shane O’Neill and Gale Agbossoumonde are better center backs than Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler, and this writer also contends that Andrew Farrell and Kofi Sarkodie are better outside backs than Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley.

As far as playing World Cup competition goes, Evans, Gonzalez, Besler, and Beasley can hardly be described as experienced defenders against that level of competition. Using that Back Four is itself a gamble against top national teams, and it’s a bigger gamble than letting the inexperienced but better new defenders start.

As for the forwards, Jozy Altidore, Aron Jóhannsson, Juan Agudelo, and Terrence Boyd are the best four according to this writer, and all four of those strikers can score against even the best national teams.

The qualities that all four of those strikers possess make it a priority to include them all on the World Cup roster, and they deserve to have midfielders who can provide them with the quality service that they need to not be stranded up top without seeing many touches on the ball.

Below is a 23-man USMNT World Cup roster proposal, which has the correct amount of players of every position:

GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Clint IRWIN

CENTER BACKS: Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE

OUTSIDE BACKS: Chris KLUTE, DeAndre YEDLIN, Andrew FARRELL, Kofi SARKODIE

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY, Amobi OKUGO, Jared JEFFREY

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA, Mix DISKERUD, Benji JOYA

STRIKERS: Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON, Juan AGUDELO, Terrence BOYD

*SNUBS: Benny FEILHABER, Freddy ADU, Fabian JOHNSON, Jermaine JONES, Matt BESLER, Eddie JOHNSON, Omar GONZALEZ, Michael OROZCO, Jonathan SPECTOR, Eric LICHAJ, Timothy CHANDLER, Herculez GOMEZ, Maurice EDU.

 

World Soccer Source’s Preferred USMNT Starting XI:

Guzan; Yedlin, O’Neill, Cameron, Klute; Bradley, Joya; Donovan, Corona/Diskerud, Dempsey; Altidore.

 

Selected Highlights of Various Players on World Soccer Source’s Roster:

 

 

How to Make the USMNT Truly Competitive

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Clint Dempsey. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Clint Dempsey. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

 

It’s no secret that players such as Neymar, Lionel Messi, Mario Balotelli, Andres Iniesta, Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Philipp Lahm, David Luiz, Paulinho, Thomas Müller, Ramires, and Arturo Vidal are going to be the types of players that the United States Men’s National Team will have to compete against in the 2014 World Cup.

With this in mind, Jürgen Klinsmann needs to only select players for the United States’ World Cup roster who have the tools needed to be competitive against players of that level.

For the most part, Klinsmann has been using many of the players who can play at the necessary level at the 2014 World Cup, but he hasn’t been starting them together. For example, Klinsmann has recently been using Mix Diskerud more and more as a playmaker, which was a needed shakeup to his line-ups, but due to some recent injuries, he hasn’t started Diskerud with Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore yet.

Since Klinsmann is finally beginning to trust a playmaker like Diskerud more, the following Front Six would be the first step in closing the gap with top national teams: 

Jones, Bradley; Donovan, Diskerud, Dempsey; Altidore.

While Klinsmann has plenty of time to also use Joe Corona in the central attacking midfielder role, starting the Front Six listed above offers the USMNT two defensive midfielders who have the skill, athleticism, and pedigree to break up the possession of the opposition and play a major role in facility quality passing and ball movement from the back of the midfield.

Furthermore, using Donovan and Dempsey out wide where they have the freedom to roam around where they see fit allows a playmaker like Diskerud quality attacking players with whom he can combine and to whom he can look to play final balls.

Given Jozy Altidore’s improved technical ability, scoring ability, and overall movement off the ball over time, the United States has a real weapon at the first striker position that can not only score but also draw defenders away from Donovan and Dempsey. With Diskerud deployed as a playmaker, the United States has a more potent attack that has four players who can cause problems for even elite national teams.

The United States still isn’t as good as Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the like, but a Front Six made up of Jones, Bradley, Donovan, Diskerud, Dempsey, and Altidore is a balanced and talented Front Six that no national team would dismiss lightly.

For the time being, that Front Six is at the very least a legitimate group of players who are all capable of playing one-to-two touch soccer against first and second tier national teams. The next thing to consider is the American Back Four.

While Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler have done well in World Cup qualifying, one has to be realistic and concede that center backs like Geoff Cameron and John Anthony Brooks are more equipped to deal with better attackers. Cameron and Brooks give the USMNT a center back pairing where both center backs are not only quick, tall, and strong but both are also technical players who have the defensive instincts and fundamentals to fair better against World Cup attackers.

Brooks is a 20 year old starting Bundesliga center back who has been named to the Bundesliga Team of the Week multiple times, and Cameron is a smooth and graceful player with the technical ability of a midfielder who also brings aggressive and elegant defending.

Besler and Gonzalez are certainly talented center backs, but Cameron and Brooks are not only good defenders but they are soccer players who are quite frankly much closer to Bradley, Jones, Donovan, Diskerud, Dempsey, and Altidore in terms of skill-level.

If the goal is to field 10 field players who are all comfortable with the ball at their feet, then Cameron and Brooks bring this along with their defensive skills to the center of the USMNT’s defense.

The final step to fielding a strong Starting XI is to swap out Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley with DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute. After almost an entire Major League Soccer season, it’s quite clear that the skill, speed, and defending that Yedlin and Klute are displaying as right and left backs are the types of qualities that the United States will need in the World Cup.

Yedlin used to be thought of as more of an attacking threat than as a quality defender, but over time the quality of his defending has begun to match the quality of his passing and dribbling out of the back. Recently, his defending against the LA Galaxy showed how much he had improved his ability to tackle, dispossess, and mark fast, quick, and skilled attackers.

Klinsmann needs to accept the need for Yedlin or Farrell at right back with Klute as a left back as a change that needs to be made to field a Starting XI where all 10 field players not only excel at their natural positions but where all 10 aren’t weak links from a technical standpoint.

Beating top teams and going deep in the 2014 World Cup will require fielding a Starting XI where all of the players are capable of passing the ball well and not turning over possession too often.

Brazil and company will be better than the United States, but starting Howard, Yedlin or Farrell, Cameron, Brooks, Klute, Jones, Bradley, Donovan, Diskerud, Dempsey, and Altidore is an upgrade in skill and athletic ability to the line-ups that Klinsmann has been fielding, and none of these players are players who haven’t seen heavy minutes at the club level and proven that they have the tools and gifts needed to perform at the international level.

In addition to the starters just listed, the United States will also need 12 substitutes who are able to compete against top competition as well, and this will require selecting several skilled players who didn’t play a major role or any role in World Cup qualifying such as Benny Feilhaber, Joe Corona, Shane O’Neill, Andrew Farrell, Benji Joya, Juan Agudelo, Aron Jóhannsson, and Terrence Boyd.

The need for all of these players is just a reality that American soccer fans and the American soccer media will have to accept, but more importantly, Jürgen Klinsmann will have to accept it and learn to listen to Tab Ramos’ recommendations more.

 

8 USMNT Midfielders For the World Cup

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Clint Dempsey (right) and Freddy Adu (left). (Photo: MexSport)
Clint Dempsey (right) and Freddy Adu (left). (Photo: MexSport)

 

When the 2014 World Cup rolls around, Jürgen Klinsmann and the United States Men’s National Team will need to select more talented midfielders like Mix Diskerud, Joe Corona, Benny Feilhaber, Benji Joya, and Freddy Adu over lower-level players like Graham Zusi, Sacha Kljestan, Brad Davis, and Kyle Beckerman.

An attacking midfielder such as Alejandro Bedoya plays at a level well-above that of Zusi, Kljestan, Davis, and Beckerman, but Bedoya still falls short of Feilhaber, Diskerud, Joya, Adu, and Corona because Bedoya’s game is restricted to receiving the ball out wide and immediately looking to cut inside.

On the other hand, Corona, Diskerud, Joya, and Adu are less one-dimensional players that constantly look to pass and move wherever the game takes them instead of just always looking to cut inside with their heads down.

Combining Seasoned Veterans with Newer Talent

Assuming Klinsmann selects Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, and Jermaine Jones, there is room for four or five of the players listed above as more talented midfielders than other American options.

Narrowing down the list of midfielders to eight or nine will be a difficult task, especially if the United States selects four first strikers and eight defenders.

Part of the solution would be to list Geoff Cameron as a defender, which would mean that even if Cameron was listed as a defender, then the United States Men’s National Team would still have three defensive midfielders: Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, and Geoff Cameron.

If Shane O’Neill were to be included on the World Cup roster as a defender, then the United States would really have four defensive midfielders available on the roster.

Skill and Proven-Ability Over Club Form

The United States doesn’t enjoy the luxury of calling up a revolving door of international-caliber midfielders based on current club form, so the United States needs to place a premium on selecting its most talented midfielders at all costs, regardless of fluctuations in playing time at the club level.

Klinsmann would be wise to make sure to include gifted attacking midfielders and playmakers such as Corona, Diskerud, and Feilhaber on the roster to be available to play with Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley, and Jones. Despite their skill-level, Joya and Adu would be less likely to make the roster because Klinsmann has shown less interest in them than he has shown in Diskerud, Corona, and to a lesser extent, Feilhaber.

A Baseline of Excellent Talent

From a practical standpoint, selecting Bradley, Jones, Joya, Dempsey, Donovan, Feilhaber, Diskerud, and Corona would at the very least ensure that every midfielder on the roster had the technical ability, playing style, and physical gifts to keep up with the faster speed of play at the World Cup.

Certainly, starting a Front Six made up of Bradley, Jones, Donovan, Feilhaber, Dempsey, and Altidore would leave little doubt that the United States had players that were equipped and proven at the international level against quality national teams, and starting Feilhaber might prevent both Jones and Bradley from making attacking forays at the same time. In short, having Feilhaber as a passing outlet discourages Jones from feeling the need to constantly storm downfield with dribbling forays or runs off the ball.

These five midfielders plus Altidore as a striker guarantee that the United States is at least using players who can play one-to-two touch soccer against top national teams, and this is a superior strategy than using somewhat pedestrian players like Zusi against real competition, even if Zusi is a two-footed and fundamentally-sound player who excels at crossing the ball.

A close examination of the skill-level, playing style, and athletic ability of players like Feilhaber, Diskerud, and Corona quite clearly shows a far superior ability to play at the level and style of Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, and Donovan compared to Zusi, Bedoya, Kljestan, and Davis.

The Freddy Adu Dilemma

For all of the criticism and mockery that Freddy Adu has received from most of the American soccer media and the American fan base, no one has ever disproven the fact that Adu can compete against any level of competition and bring a level of playmaking and 1v1 abilities that exceed almost every player in the American pool.

Despite his carousel of clubs and coaches at almost all of his clubs, Adu has generally displayed a superior ability to excel against elite players compared to many of the ex-U.S. internationals who mock him. Many of the ex-U.S. internationals can laugh at Adu, but the skill-level that he has displayed against Brazil, Spain, Argentina, and Mexico in particular far exceeds what all of the ex-player critics were able to show; players with poor technical-ability don’t sign with Benfica.

Critics like to scoff at Adu, but the playmaker has always shown that that he can break down elite competition and disrupt the defensive shape of strong national teams more so than almost every American soccer player.

Making room for Adu on a 23-man World Cup roster isn’t a bad idea, even if it is an unpopular one. Even Jozy Altidore once told Jimmy Conrad in an interview for KICK TV that Adu was the most talented player with whom he had ever played.

Benji Joya’s Unique Skill-Set and Playing Style

Turning to Joya, Stuart Holden has always been highly-regarded for his ability to bring excellent technical and passing ability to the American midfield combined with defensive coverage and tackling, but with Holden suffering injury after injury, Benji Joya is the player that brings the same package of skills.

Formation Versatility

The midfielders discussed in this article give the United States Men’s National Team and Jürgen Klinsmann lots of starting line-up and formation options. All of the playmakers listed can start on either side of the field in addition to starting as central attacking midfielders, so this gives the United States the ability to use different combinations of these players with Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley, Cameron, and Jones.

Whether the United States starts one defensive midfielder or two, players like Corona, Diskerud, and Feilhaber can be deployed out wide if Dempsey or Donovan are started as second strikers, and all of these players are versatile and dynamic enough to not allow themselves to be isolated and shut out of games by being pinned to the sideline.

The Possibility of Injuries to Key Midfielders

One real possibility that needs to be taking seriously is that there could be a time when both Donovan and Dempsey were either suspended or injured, and having Feilhaber, Diskerud, and Corona on the roster gives Bradley and Jones players who can play quick passing soccer on their level.

Furthermore, Bradley, Donovan, and Dempsey could all be unable to play at some point in the World Cup, and having Cameron, Jones, Joya, Corona, Diskerud, and Feilhaber on the roster gives the United States viable replacements that won’t be overrun by World Cup competition.

Looking ahead toward the 2014 World Cup, this writer would select the following group of eight midfielders to represent the United States (and find a way to fit Freddy Adu onto the roster):

Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Benji JOYA, Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Benny FEILHABER, Joe Benny CORONA, Mix DISKERUD

*Geoff CAMERON and Shane O’NEILL, listed as defenders, also excel at the defensive midfielder position, so this list of midfielders doesn’t overlook the need for more than two defensive midfielders on a roster.

 

USMNT: 23 For Brazil (November 2013)

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Clint Dempsey (left) and Jozy Altidore (right). (Photo: AP)
Clint Dempsey (left) and Jozy Altidore (right). (Photo: AP)

 

As with other United States Men’s National Team roster proposals for the World Cup that this writer has made, this month’s addition of “USMNT: 23 For Brazil” is based on using newer and more talented American players as opposed to many of Jürgen Klinsmann’s preferences.

The United States qualified for the 2014 World Cup in first place in CONCACAF under Klinsmann’s watch, but many of the American players used to qualify out of CONCACAF have shown difficulty in keeping up with the speed of play against better national teams from outside of CONCACAF, whereas players like Benji Joya and Shane O’Neill have faced off against Paul Pogba in the U-20 World Cup and done very well.

This writer considers the play of those two players against France and others as proof of an ability to excel against higher-caliber international competition. The USMNT and Klinsmann received a lot of praise for the performance of the United States in World Cup qualifying, but the quality of play on display still falls well below the general quality of play that will be present during the World Cup, which will showcase teams who play quick-passing soccer characterized by advanced technical-ability and excellent athleticism.

Therefore, World Soccer Source disagrees with the general consensus of the American soccer media that Klinsmann is using his best players and fielding the players who can play high-quality soccer that’s good enough to defeat first and second tier national teams in the 2014 World Cup.

Many of the players on World Soccer Source’s list are considered inexperienced and unproven by many American soccer writers, pundits, and fans, but the United States will need the players with the tools to compete against World Cup competition, even if many of these players are inexperienced.

Below is World Soccer Source’s USMNT World Cup roster proposal as of November 2013:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim HOWARD (Everton), Brad GUZAN (Aston Villa), Nick RIMANDO (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (7): John Anthony BROOKS (Hertha Berlin), Shane O’NEILL (Colorado Rapids), Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE (Toronto FC), Andrew FARRELL (New England Revolution), Chris KLUTE (Colorado Rapids), DeAndre YEDLIN (Seattle Sounders), Kellyn ACOSTA (FC Dallas)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Michael BRADLEY (Roma), Geoff CAMERON (Stoke City)*, Jermaine JONES (Schalke), Benji JOYA (Santos Laguna), Clint DEMPSEY (Seattle Sounders), Benny FEILHABER (Sporting Kansas City), Joe CORONA (Tijuana), Mix DISKERUD (Rosenborg), Freddy ADU (E.C. Bahia)

STRIKERS (4): Jozy ALTIDORE (Sunderland), Aron JÓHANNSSON (AZ Alkmaar), Juan AGUDELO (New England Revolution/Stoke City), Terrence BOYD (Rapid Wien)

Roster Rationale and Notes:

-Despite the abundance of young and internationally-inexperienced players that give the impression of an experimental and unproven roster, this roster contains the core group of American players who are the backbone of the United States Men’s National Team plus new proven players: Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, and Aron Jóhannsson.

-This roster also contains Benny Feilhaber, an under 30 and proven World Cup and Confederations Cup playmaker.

-With this group of players, Jürgen Klinsmann could start Howard, Cameron, Brooks, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, Feilhaber, Altidore, and Jóhannsson, which leaves only the outside back spots as positions with internationally inexperienced starters.

-Given Klinsmann’s reliance on Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley as his outside backs, using two new, talented, and athletic outside backs is a necessary risk, if one wishes to call it that. Evans and Beasley have done well in World Cup qualifying, but this writer questions the prudence of banking on Evans and Beasley to either have the speed in Evans’ case or the defensive tools to mark the types of attackers who will be playing in the World Cup.

-Shane O’Neill, Geoff Cameron, and Andrew Farrell can all play as center backs, outside backs, or as defensive midfielders, so while this roster only has seven players listed as defenders, Geoff Cameron is a center back or defensive midfielder who is listed as a midfielder on this roster.

-Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Kellyn Acosta, and Andrew Farrell can play both right back and left back, which gives the United States Men’s National Team four outside backs who can play on either side of the defense.

-Benji Joya gives the United States a complete midfielder who offers excellent creativity, passing ability, and technical play with better defense than Clint Dempsey, Benny Feilhaber, Mix Diskerud, Joe Corona, and Freddy Adu can provide. Michael Bradley is often called a box-to-box midfielder, but Joya brings a stronger attacking element than Bradley provides, which allows Bradley to play his natural position deeper in the midfield.

-Benny Feilhaber, Joe Corona, Mix Diskerud, and Freddy Adu give the roster attacking midfielders who are also true playmakers, and all four players can play in the center, out right, or out left as attacking midfielders.

-Gale Agbossoumonde has seen less playing time in MLS this season than Shane O’Neill, but Agbossoumonde is another center back who brings quality tackling and 1v1 marking, size, strength, speed, agility, good positional sense, calmness on the ball, and smooth technical ability to the center of the defense. Agbossoumonde is inexperienced at the international level, but the United States needs him on the roster for the World Cup. Is it risky? Maybe, but so is using Omar Gonzalez, Clarence Goodson, and Matt Besler against elite attackers.

-This writer made including Freddy Adu on the roster a priority due to Adu’s ability to break down opposing defenses and put opposing players on their heels. Adu is a very skilled playmaker that the United States would be wise to include on its roster if only for the sole purpose of having a game-changer if a must-win game was looking like defeat was inevitable. One pass or one play could be the difference between being knocked out of the World Cup or living to fight another day.

-The roster contains an appropriate balance of all of the types of players needed on a World Cup roster, and several of them play more than one position. A close examination of the roster will show that every position is several players deep.

–With this group of players, Klinsmann could start the following Starting XI in the first game of the 2014 World Cup:

Howard; Yedlin/Farrell, Cameron/O’Neill, Brooks, Klute; Jones/O’Neill/Cameron, Bradley; Corona, Feilhaber, Dempsey; Altidore/Jóhannsson.