Colin Reese

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Seleção: 23 For the 2014 World Cup (April 2014)

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By: COLIN REESE

 

Proposing a 23-man roster for the Brazilian national team is all about deciding which world-class players should be eliminated in order to ensure that there are enough players of each position on the roster.

 

The talent pool of elite Brazilian footballers is so deep that many of the players one chooses to snub or omit are players that are more than worthy of a roster spot.

 

World Soccer Source selected three goalkeepers, four center backs, four outside backs, two defensive midfielders, two box-to-box midfielders, four wingers, two Number 10s, and two Number 9s or first strikers.

 

Selecting only 23 players for the Seleção is a difficult task, and this edition of a 23-man Brazilian roster proposal is not a prediction of the players that Felipão will select, although many of the players are likely roster locks for Felipão.

 

Below is World Soccer Source’s 23-man Seleção World Cup roster (The April 2014 Edition):

 

GOALKEEPERS: Júlio CÉSAR (Toronto FC), JEFFERSON (Botafogo), VICTOR (Atlético Mineiro).

 

CENTER BACKS: Thiago SILVA (Paris Saint-Germain), David LUIZ (Chelsea), DANTE (Bayern Munich), DEDÉ (Cruzeiro).

 

OUTSIDE BACKS: Daniel ALVES (Barcelona), MAICON (Roma), MARCELO (Real Madrid), ADRIANO (Barcelona).

 

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Luiz GUSTAVO (Wolfsburg), FERNANDINHO (Manchester City).

 

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS: PAULINHO (Tottenham), RAMIRES (Chelsea).

 

WINGS: NEYMAR (Barcelona), WILLIAN (Chelsea), ROBINHO (Milan), LUCAS (Paris Saint-Germain).

 

PLAYMAKERS: OSCAR (Chelsea), RONALDINHO (Atlético Mineiro).

 

STRIKERS: FRED (Fluminense), Leandro DAMIÃO (Santos).

 

 

World Soccer Source’s Seleção XI (4-2-3-1):

Júlio CESAR; MAICON, Thiago SILVA, David LUIZ, MARCELO; Luiz GUSTAVO, PAULINHO; WILLIAN, OSCAR, NEYMAR; FRED.

 

9 USMNT Midfielders For the World Cup

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By: COLIN REESE

 

The United States Men’s National Team will need the right amount of defensive midfielders and attacking midfielders in the 2014 World Cup, plus there are midfielders who are hard to classify with just one label.

 

The USMNT will need attacking midfielders that can play out wide and those that can play centrally, plus there are those that can play wide and centrally.

 

Given Jürgen Klinsmann’s 4-2-3-1 formation preference and Landon Donovan’s and Clint Dempsey’s ability to play as second strikers, the United States has the roster space for nine midfielders on its 2014 World Cup roster.

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Who Should Start in a USMNT 4-1-3-2?

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By: COLIN REESE

 

The poor technical play of most of the American players for MLS sides (minus Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber) in the CONCACAF Champions League as well as the quality play of several Americans playing for Tijuana taught us a lot of lessons about which players had the capacity to play against technical and quick opponents in high-level games.

 

From a United States Men’s National Team perspective, Joe Corona (Tijuana), Greg Garza (Tijuana), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), and Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) came out as clear winners as far as international-caliber skill goes.

 

On the other hand, Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Matt Besler (Sporting KC), and Graham Zusi (Sporting KC) were exposed as pedestrian in comparison to the skill and quickness of Mexican club sides.

 

If you can’t demonstrate quality play against top Liga MX clubs (that are much better than Americans give them credit for), then demonstrating international-caliber skill against Ghana, Portugal, and Germany is unlikely.

 

World Soccer Source recently looked at the benefits of the United States Men’s National Team switching from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-3-2, and the possession and attacking benefits of this formation changed caused this writer to come to the conclusion that Geoff Cameron is needed more as a center back than as a defensive midfielder because the United States needs more agile and more skilled center backs than Gonzalez and Besler.

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USA Player Outlook: Julian Green

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By: COLIN REESE

 

By all accounts, Julian Green is a fast and two-footed attacker that brings strong 1v1 skills, goal-scoring abilities, creativity, and trickery.

 

World Soccer Source mentioned Julian Green as an Editor’s Note in the last two Best American Footballers rankings because Green is an 18-year-old player who hasn’t played enough in televised games to gauge how he stacks up compared to guys like Clint Dempey or Landon Donovan and players like Joe Corona or Juan Agudelo.

 

The talent is definitely there, which is evidenced by how highly Green is regarded by Bayern Munich and its players and coaches.

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The Advantages of the USMNT using a 4-1-3-2 formation

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By: COLIN REESE 

 

Not enough possession and not enough technical ability have always been the primary weaknesses of the United States Men’s National Team, and certainly a lack of consistent goal-scoring and some shaky and porous Defensive Back Fours have also been weaknesses for Team USA in international soccer.

 

While starting two defensive midfielders has been the standard practice of the United States due to the logic that the center backs need a lot of defensive coverage and support in front of them, perhaps using quicker and more agile center backs with only one defensive midfielder should be one of the formation changes that Jürgen Klinsmann makes.

 

An inability to string enough passes together without conceding possession and an inability to creative enough scoring chances have both plagued the United States at the international level, particularly against first and second tier national teams.

 

The use of only one defensive midfielder as advocated above allows the United States to stuff the midfield with players who are comfortable and effective with the ball at their feet when facing quality competition; it also allows line-up space for an additional attacking midfielder so that Clint Dempsey can be moved closer to goal as a second striker to partner with Jozy Altidore in order to give him a player with whom he can combine and off whom he can play.

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World Cup: The USMNT Has Viable Modern Outside Backs

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By: COLIN REESE

 

Given the question marks about the ability of the United States Men’s National Team’s outside backs, DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders), Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), and Greg Garza (Tijuana) have become legit outside back options for the United States.

 

The United States had other outside backs in contention, but they are retired or injured. Steve Cherundolo has retired, and both Eric Lichaj and Timothy Chandler are seriously injured just a few months before the 2014 World Cup.

 

DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute had outstanding 2013 seasons in MLS, and Greg Garza has been a known talent at left back for several years. Yedlin, Garza, and Klute are two-way outside backs, and Yedlin vastly improved his defending ability, which is an area where Klute was always solid.

 

Although Garza gained a lot of attention for two recent CONCACAF Champions League games against the LA Galaxy, Garza isn’t a left back who just deserves to be on the USMNT roster because of two games. In the two games against the Galaxy, Garza’s abilities were on display to more Americans than had watched him in the past.

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The Best USA XI (March 2014)

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By: COLIN REESE

 

The basic truth about the United States Men’s National Team is that Tim Howard, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey are the best players.

 

If Geoff Cameron is started alongside Michael Bradley as the second defensive midfielder and Benny Feilhaber is started as the central attacking midfielder in between Donovan and Dempsey, then the United States has five midfielders that are all skilled on the ball and that allow the United States to win back possession, pass the ball well, and create scoring chances.

 

Jozy Altidore has proven that he can score when he is provided with enough service, so starting Altidore as the lone striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation is the strongest option at this point.

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American Soccer: Technical Progress Made, Easy Improvements At Hand

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By: COLIN REESE

 

The goal of American soccer has always been to close the gap with soccer’s giants by having more technically-skilled American players on the club and international level.

 

Americans have seen drastic improvement in Major League Soccer since it started, but MLS still displays not enough quality collective play from teams, which stems from a lack of a critical mass of technical and athletic players on each team that can allow MLS teams to really keep possession, display excellent skill on the ball, showcase quality passing, create enough scoring chances, and score.

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Joe Corona Is a Vital USMNT World Cup Piece

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BY: COLIN REESE

 

The United States Men’s National Team needs Joe Benny Corona in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil because Corona gives Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore a creative, two-footed, and one-to-two touch attacking midfielder to play with to give them a critical mass of American players who are skilled on the ball.

 

As Corona plays either on the left or right wing in addition to playing centrally as a playmaker, Corona is a versatile attacker that can either be a substitute for Donovan or Dempsey or be a playmaker to start in between them or a player to start over Donovan or Dempsey if the circumstances call for it.

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MLS: All-American Best XI

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 By: COLIN REESE

 

With much of the United States Men’s National Team coming from MLS due to  the return of many USMNT regulars to MLS from European soccer and due to the improvement of the league overall, World Soccer Source surveys the American player pool in MLS and selects an All-American Best XI in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

 

Oddly enough, this Best XI is almost identical to the USMNT Best XI that World Soccer Source would select with the exception of players such as Joe Benny Corona, Juan Agudelo, and Tim Howard.

 

Below is World Soccer Source’s MLS All-American Best XI:

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