USMNT

Depth Chart: USMNT Center Backs

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The Center Back Depth Chart for the United States Men’s National Team:

 

1.) Geoff Cameron (Stoke City)

Geoff Cameron is a level above Jürgen Klinsmann’s current favorite American center backs: Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, and Clarence Goodson. Cameron’s smooth running and technical ability in a tall frame instill confidence that the United States no longer has to use center backs who are prey for international strikers.

There’s simply no way to watch Besler, Gonzalez, and Goodson in action and come to the conclusion that they have the same athleticism and defensive instincts and fundamentals as those of Geoff Cameron.

How else would Cameron be able to play as an outside back and as a defensive midfielder in the English Premier League?

Cameron is a superior soccer player in terms of his touch, technique, movement, and vision compared to Besler, Gonzalez, and Goodson, and Cameron’s tackling, defensive instincts, and agility make him a far more qualified center back to face off against better attackers. Cameron is more equipped to deal with attackers who come at him with tricks, changes of pace, speed, and movement off the ball than Klinsmann’s preferred center backs are. Cameron brings a defensive package of size, skill, and athleticism, and it’s very possible that his skills are better suited to play as a defensive midfielder.

 

2.) John Anthony Brooks (Hertha Berlin)

John Anthony Brooks starts for Hertha Berlin at 20 years old, and he’s fast, agile, technically-skilled, defensively-sound, comfortable on the ball, and 6’4.”

Looking toward the 2014 World Cup, Brooks possesses the tools needed to give the United States a center back that won’t be totally victimized by the better forwards and midfielders in the 2014 World Cup.

Jürgen Klinsmann played Brooks with Cameron against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and both players were only guilty of being beaten to headers by a few inches against two elite strikers when Cameron and Brooks had never played together before.

 

3.) Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids)

Shane O’Neill proved himself in the 2013 U-20 World Cup when he played against a stacked French national team that was loaded with extremely-skilled winners of the genetic lottery.

O’Neill performed well in a trial by fire, and his play in MLS this season has proven him to be a 20-year-old versatile defender who has all of the requisite tools to excel at the international level as a defender: skill, strong defensive fundamentals, agility, good instincts, smooth technical ability, size, and good athleticism.

O’Neill’s performances in MLS this season speak for themselves; all one has to do is watch his games on MLS Live. O’Neill proved he was ready for international play when he faced off against Yaya Sanogo of France and Arsenal. Any questions about O’Neill’s ability to mark a quick, fast, skilled, and tall freak of nature like Sanogo were answered in the U.S.’ tie against France in the 2013 U-20 World Cup.

 

4.) Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution)

Andrew Farrell brings skill on the ball, blazing speed, excellent tackling, a complete set of fundamentals, and impressive strength. Farrell has a ruthless streak in him where he chases down opponents and dispossesses them with hard but clean tackles where he frequently keeps possession of the ball and gets up to dribble off with it.

Farrell owes a big thank you to the Peruvians with whom he grew up who are probably the reason that rather than just being athletic and physically-imposing that he’s also technically smooth. Kick and run and boot ball are simple illegal in South America. That style of play was surely strongly discouraged in Peru.

Despite being a center back, Farrell has been playing as a right back, but Farrell can give the United States Men’s National Team a needed combination of speed and skill that has been lacking from the center of the American defense. Farrell passes and dribbles well out of the back, and he chases down opponents with no mercy.

Cameron and Brooks did well against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it’s hard to imagine that players like Gonzalez, Goodson, and Besler would have been able to hold their own against players like Edin Dzeko. Farrell, like O’Neill and Brooks, is new, but his skill-set, speed, and controlled defensive aggressiveness are a level above those of Besler, Gonzalez, and Goodson.

 

Conclusion:

The center back rankings listed above do not mesh with the conventional wisdom of the American soccer media, but the center backs listed above have the tools necessary to give the United States more talented and athletic center backs with good defensive instincts and fundamentals. It’s better to be good than to just be experienced in recent CONCACAF games.

 

Needed Changes For the USMNT

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There’s a time to celebrate, and there’s a time to critique.

There’s also a time to do both.

Right now, it’s time for the United States to be glad that it qualified for the World Cup, while also being mindful of soccer’s magicians and masters who will be waiting for them in Brazil.

It’s very possible that the best soccer players in the world can only name a few American soccer players or even recognize them, and the United States can take advantage of that.

Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup was a relief for Jürgen Klinsmann, American soccer fans, and the players on the United States Men’s National Team, but Americans still need to acknowledge the need to use better players playing their natural position and the need to continue to improve the U.S.’ passing, in order to compete with better national teams.

The United States did well to beat Mexico in order to lock up a spot in the 2014 World Cup, but some real changes need to be made to continue to improve.

These changes should be welcomed by American soccer fans, as American soccer fans are eager to show the world that their national team is closing the gap with top national teams.

The reason that it’s fair to critique Jürgen Klinsmann’s coaching decisions is because the teams that the United States was beating in CONCACAF weren’t very good by international standards and when the United States beat Bosnia and Herzegovina it was because Jozy Altidore went on a second-half scoring rampage.

There are still real problems that Jürgen Klinsmann needs to correct, ranging from selecting rosters with an appropriate amount of capable players at each position to choosing starting line-ups that combine strong defense with quality passing and skilled attacking play.

Qualifying for a World Cup calls for celebration, but ignoring the need to make improvements would be perilous for the United States.

Even to this day, many Americans still don’t understand how Ghana beat the United States in the 2010 World Cup, even after seeing Kevin-Prince Boateng (who’s really German) playing in Serie A and in the Champions League after the World Cup; Boateng’s left-footed goal against the U.S. looked like it teleported across ice, but Americans still wondered how the U.S. could lose to a small country.

World-class soccer players can come from anywhere.

There are a lot of ways to make improvements to the United States Men’s National Team, but a good first step would be to at least recognize the need to include capable natural right backs on the roster and to recognize how a player like Mix Diskerud added a missing passing and creative element that improved how the United States played.

Without tossing all of the new American talents into the deep end at once, simple changes to the starting line-up like using Eric Lichaj at right back with a playmaker like Mix Diskerud or Joe Benny Corona playing in between Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are easy changes to make that aren’t risky.

American soccer fans fear change, and other soccer fans demand changes to meet their higher standards.

There’s no reason that Jürgen Klinsmann can’t at least start the following line-up in the next World Cup qualifier:

Brad Guzan; Jonathan Spector, Michael Orozco, John Anthony Brooks, Fabian Johnson; Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley; Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore.

This allows the United States to shore up certain areas of the American starting line-up without totally disrupting the chemistry of the national team all at once. The new and younger players can be included on the roster and used as substitutes.

Starting Eric Lichaj or Jonathan Spector at right back and Benny Feilhaber, Joe Benny Corona, or Mix Diskerud as a central attacking midfielder in between Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey aren’t irrational or reckless changes, but rather they are thoughtful and logical attempts to shore up the USMNT at right back and in the midfield.

The U.S. national team had to play Fabian Johnson as a right back against Mexico, and the United States didn’t score from the run of play against Mexico until Mix Diskerud was substituted into the game.

There’s a real need to have a better right back, and there’s a real need to link the defensive midfielders to the attack and include a creative playmaker to allow Dempsey, Donovan, and Altidore to play their game.

In the next World Cup qualifiers, using a Back Four of Jonathan Spector or Eric Lichaj, Michael Orozco, John Anthony Brooks, and Fabian Johnson makes sense, as the U.S. has already qualified for the World Cup.

The United States needs to see two natural outside backs playing with quick and technically-skilled center backs because of the reality that the likes of Neymar and Mario Balotelli are already in the World Cup.

Using Michael Bradley with Geoff Cameron as the two defensive midfielders makes sense because both Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones get in each other’s way, and Jones should be the back up for Bradley in a two-man defensive midfield or the lone defensive midfielder.

It also makes sense to start Landon Donovan, Benny Felhaber, and Clint Dempsey in front of Bradley and Cameron with Jozy Altidore playing as the tip of the spear.

Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones cannot play well together, and Benny Feilhaber continues to prove in MLS that his creativity and technical-ability are way above that of most Americans.

Jürgen Klinsmann must learn to fit all of the pieces together to form a competitive national team that can really play well against truly good national teams, even if he isn’t ready to introduce the new players just yet.

With the likes of Italy and Brazil already waiting, let these next World Cup qualifying games be a stepping stone for the United States, in order to continue to improve and grow with the goal of fielding a cohesive unit of technically-skilled players all over the field.

Jürgen Klinsmann is right to celebrate, but more so than the fans and the media, he is mindful of the difference between beating the minnows in CONCACAF and swimming with the sharks in the World Cup in Brazil.

Some of Klinsmann’s favorite players hold players like Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Fabian Johnson, and Jozy Altidore back.

That’s just a reality that Americans will have to accept.

The United States had some trouble scoring from the run of play in CONCACAF.

Clint Dempsey personally delivered many of the victories in World Cup qualifying, and Eddie Johnson victimized other teams with athleticism that was out of their league.

The World Cup will be harder.

It’s time to take a hard look at the technical-ability of many of Jürgen Klinsmann’s favorite players compared to the competition in the American player pool and in the World Cup.

All the player changes don’t need to come at once, but they do need to come, even if they come gradually.

Many of the changes will be made for non-starters, and only players like Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Aron Jóhannsson, and Jozy Altidore are really safe.

In addition to many of the players discussed in the this article in more detail, the USMNT also needs more players like Juan Agudelo, Benji Joya, Chris Klute, Andrew Farrell, DeAndre Yedlin, and Shane O’Neill.

 

The USMNT Youth Movement

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A strong argument can be made that the best Starting XI for the United States Men’s National Team would look nothing like the ones that Jürgen Klinsmann has been using with the exception of Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore.

Those players along with Brad Guzan leave Jürgen Klinsmann and the USMNT 15 open roster spots to improve the U.S. national team.

There has been a fantastic youth movement over the last two years in the United States, and Juan Agudelo burst onto the scene a little before that time when he was only 17 years old.

The influx of new and better American players into Major League Soccer and other leagues is what the American soccer community has been waiting for. Making these new players wait to play for the national team is a poor long-term strategy and a poor strategy for the performance of the United States Men’s National Team now.

After the United States plays Mexico on Tuesday, Jürgen Klinsmann either needs to call in Jonathan Spector, Eric Lichaj, and Benny Feilhaber to play in the next World Cup qualifiers to give the United States experienced and proven players or he needs to start filling the roster with the better younger players. To be fair, Feilhaber, Spector, and Lichaj aren’t old players themselves.

The United States needs to shore up its national team all over the field, and the players to do this are currently in the American player pool. Players like Benji Joya, Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Andrew Farrell, John Anthony Brooks, and Shane O’Neill are the most pressing.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Juan Agudelo, Joe Benny Corona, and Mix Diskerud are young players who have been included on some of the rosters, but they haven’t played as big of a role as they deserved.

There are also players like José Villarreal who are definitely national team material, but they aren’t as needed with both Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan on the national team.

Gyasi Zardes should be ready for national team play in several months, but he too isn’t as needed with strikers like Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Aron Jóhannsson, and Eddie Johnson on the roster. Zardes’ time will come, and the more refined his attacking skills become, the harder it will be to keep him off the national team

Nevertheless, there is a growing list of players who look more than capable of playing international soccer, and some of them are more ready than others.

Of all the players discussed, several fill urgent needs.

Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell are very talented and athletic outside backs, and the United States needs outside backs with the tools to play international soccer.

Farrell is naturally a center back, and athletic and skilled center backs like Farrell who have strong tackling instincts and skills would be beneficial to the national team.

Despite the growing popularity of Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler among the American fan base, there are two younger center backs who are better in almost every area: John Anthony Brooks and Shane O’Neill.

O’Neill can play as a defensive midfielder, as an outside back, and as a center back, and nothing about Gonzalez’s and Besler’s physical gifts or skill-sets suggests that either player is anywhere close to Shane O’Neill in terms of defensive ability, overall skill on the ball, and athleticism.

Not only is O’Neill a superior 1v1 defender and ball-winner, O’Neill does Cruyffs in his own defensive third and can dribble out of the back and play passes on the ground through crowds of people, and Gonzalez and Besler simply can’t do that.

It’s not clear where many people in the American soccer media insist that a 20-year-old Bundesliga center back is somehow less qualified than Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler who have both never played abroad nor have they put in strong performances against elite attackers, but Gonzalez and Besler are certainly skilled defenders who are far better than defenders like Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson, or Oguchi Onyewu ever were.

Brooks is only 20 years old, but selection to the national team should be based on merit. Brooks is better than both Gonzalez and Besler who will both likely never play club soccer outside of the United States.

While MLS is producing very good players who are international-caliber players, there is no way to argue that Gonzalez’s and Besler’s experience in MLS make them anywhere close to as good as a 20-year-old center back like Brooks who starts for Hertha Berlin.

Brooks proved his abilities against Bosnia and Herzegovina where he was only guilty of losing sight of the ball on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s third goal when Geoff Cameron jumped up to try to get high enough to clear the cross, but the jump obstructed Brooks’ view of the ball.

Therefore, Brooks is a 20-year-old and skilled Bundesliga center back and Shane O’Neill is a 20 year old MLS center back who is more athletic and more skilled than both Gonzalez and Besler. Additionally, both Brooks and O’Neill are tall enough to not be liabilities on crosses or balls played in the air.

World Soccer Source has covered Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Andrew Farrell, and Benji Joya extensively, and all four of those players fulfill pressing needs for the United States Men’s National Team.

Joya is a technically-skilled central midfielder who can play out wide, and he offers outstanding technical-ability and passing vision with better defense than Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan provide. Joya offers the complete package of technical-ability, defensive skill, athleticism, and a big-game mentality.

While not a true playmaker, Joya brings skills that are different but compatible with Michael Bradley’s, Clint Dempsey’s, and Landon Donovan’s.

Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell are quite simply modern outside backs (and also center backs in Farrell’s case), and they represent an improvement in skill, athleticism, and international-caliber play. Klute and Yedlin pose an attacking threat up the sidelines that the USMNT has never seen before, and Klute has an equally strong defensive-skill set, which is above Yedlin’s steadily improving defensive skills.

When comparing Farrell to Yedlin at right back, Farrell is definitely the better defender without a drop-off in speed or athleticism compared to Yedlin. Farrell’s technical-ability is close to Yedlin’s.

Of all three outside backs, Klute appears to be the fastest, but the important thing is that all three players give the United States more speed and skill at the outside back positions; all three players can play as right backs or as left backs, which is another reason that they should be on the national team.

With the arrival of the three outside backs discussed above, Kofi Sarkodie has been flying under the radar, but Sarkodie continues to be more of an attacking threat, and he too is a legitimate option for the national team; Sarkodie deserves to be included in the national team set-up more, and he should be evaluated closely and monitored.

There are numerous other young American players who are international-caliber players such as strikers like Mario Rodriguez and Alonso Hernandez, and there are defensive midfielders such as Perry Kitchen, Jared Jeffrey, and Will Trapp who are players to monitor closely.

The key to improving the United States Men’s National Team is continuing to use better players, as opposed to using makeshift line-ups that can’t do real damage to better national teams.

It’s time to start incorporating and seasoning Agudelo, Corona, Diskerud, Joya, Klute, O’Neill, Brooks, Yedlin, Farrell, Villarreal, Sarkodie, Rodriguez, Hernandez, Kitchen, Trapp, Jeffrey, and Zardes.

 

Who Should the USMNT Start vs. Mexico?

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Joe Benny Corona (Photo: Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports)
Joe Benny Corona (Photo: Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports)

Jürgen Klinsmann finds himself in a difficult situation as Michael Bradley is injured for the United States Men’s National Team’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Mexico, especially since Klinsmann has relied on a combination of Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey to fulfill playmaking responsibilities for the United States Men’s National Team, as opposed to using a true playmaker.

For all of Klinsmann’s talk about this not being the time to experiment, the defensive back four that Klinsmann used against Costa Rica was a makeshift back four including Michael Orozco, who was blamed for the loss, besides not being responsible for a single Costa Rican goal.

The game was lost in the midfield, and Costa Rica was one goal away from victimizing the United States with a goleada.

With Michael Bradley injured and Geoff Cameron, Matt Besler, and Jozy Altidore suspended, Klinsmann replaced those four players with Joe Benny Corona, Clarence Goodson, José Torres, and Brad Davis.

There’s no way for an objective observer to look at the replacements called in and not be concerned. While Joe Benny Corona has proved his skill and worth against top competition in the Copa Libertadores and against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brad Davis, Clarence Goodson, and José Torres never really have.

The United States needed a right back, a defensive midfielder, a talented first striker, and a playmaker to face Mexico, and Klinsmann was incapable of making the selections that were necessary with the exception of Joe Benny Corona.

Once again, Klinsmann will be using a makeshift Starting XI where the outside backs will likely be scrambling, and the center backs likely won’t be agile enough to keep up with Chicharito, Oribe Peralta, and Giovanni Dos Santos, among others.

As Klinsmann called up Clarence Goodson, it’s very possible that he will start with Omar Gonzalez at center back, but maybe, just maybe, Klinsmann elects to start Orozco at center back to keep up with Mexico’s speed and skill on the ball.

Looking objectively, Goodson and Gonzalez do not really have the agility, skill, or overall speed to keep up with Mexico’s attackers.

If Chicharito, Peralta, Dos Santos, and Reyna or Aquino all start for Mexico, then the American defense is in trouble, if Klinsmann uses Orozco, Gonzalez, Goodson, and Beasley as his back four.

Circumstances dictated that Jürgen Klinsmann should have called in a dynamic defensive midfielder to play in place of Michael Bradley, and Kyle Beckerman definitely does not have the physical gifts to keep up with Mexico’s attackers without fouling them.

If Jermaine Jones elects to constantly push up, then Beckerman will be forced to hold off superior Mexican players who can beat him with speed, quickness, skill, or all three.

Nevertheless, Klinsmann’s likely strategy is to start Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman in front of a back four of Michael Orozco, Omar Gonzalez, Clarence Goodson, and Fabian Johnson.

Klinsmann could go with something else, but his past history, his recent roster replacements, and his comments to the press seem to make a deviation from the formation described above unlikely.

There is an argument to be made that since Clarence Goodson wasn’t on the original roster (presumably because Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, and Michael Orozco were), then Orozco is more likely to feature at center back with Omar Gonzalez.

Either way, divining Klinsmann’s Starting XIs is total guesswork.

In front of the players prognosticated above, the USMNT is sure to use Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and either Eddie Johnson or Aron Jóhannsson.

With Joe Benny Corona and Mix Diskerud on the roster, Klinsmann could start Diskerud alongside Jermaine Jones, or he could start him in between Donovan and Dempsey as a central attacking midfielder, which would then mean that Fabian Johnson would be started at left back.

Another option is for Klinsmann to use the following Front Six: Jones, Diskerud; Donovan, Corona, Dempsey; Jóhannsson or Eddie Johnson. This option would relegate Beckerman to the bench and Fabian Johnson to left back.

There is really no way to predict whether Klinsmann will start Diskerud or Corona or both in some capacity, nor is there any way to accurately predict his Starting XI, given all of the problems against Costa Rica, the roster additions, and the need to neutralize a talented and motivated Mexican national team.

Nevertheless, looking at the roster, it appears that Klinsmann plans on starting the following Starting XI:

Tim HOWARD; Michael PARKHURST or Michael OROZCO, Omar GONZALEZ, Clarence GOODSON or Michael OROZCO, Fabian JOHNSON; Jermaine JONES, Kyle BECKERMAN; Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA or Mix DISKERUD, Clint DEMPSEY; Aron JÓHANNSSON or Eddie JOHNSON.

World Soccer Source believes that Mexico poses a major threat to the United States and that major changes are needed to beat Mexico.

Possession was a problem against Costa Rica, and the United States needs to use a faster and more skilled defensive back four to face Mexico.

Starting Fabian Johnson at right back and Edgar Castillo at left back may be the best the United States can do with this roster.

Using Michael Parkhurst and Michael Orozco at center back gives the United States defenders with the skill, positional sense, and quickness to do a better job of containing Mexico’s attackers.

Both Mix Diskerud and Joe Benny Corona need to be started to allow Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to have teammates who can maintain possession and play on their level.

The 4-6-0 formation used against Costa Rica was a bad idea, and the USMNT would be smart to start a talented and in-form European goal-scorer like Aron Jóhannsson.

Jóhannsson should create plenty of scoring opportunities for himself, and he should put himself in good positions in order to receive final balls from Jones, Diskerud, Donovan, Corona, and Dempsey.

World Soccer Source would like to see the Starting XI below:

Tim HOWARD; Fabian JOHNSON, Michael PARKHURST, Michael OROZCO, Edgar CASTILLO; Jermaine JONES, Mix DISKERUD; Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA, Clint DEMPSEY; Aron JÓHANNSSON.

 

Why the USMNT lost to Costa Rica

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From an American perspective, the loss to Costa Rica was largely blamed on the pre-game injury to Michael Bradley, which crippled the United States Men’s National Team’s ability to maintain possession and win the battle for control of the midfield, but the absence of natural outside backs and a playmaker were equally to blame.

Even without Bradley, the duo of Geoff Cameron and Jermaine Jones was missing a playmaker to link them to attacking midfielders like Graham Zusi, Landon Donovan, and Fabian Johnson, and Clint Dempsey was stranded up top out of position as the lone striker.

This tactical set-up left the United States without any outlet for Cameron and Jones who could feed the attack. In many ways, there was an abyss between Cameron and Jones and players like Donovan, Johnson, Zusi, and Dempsey.

With the injury to Michael Bradley before kickoff, Jürgen Klinsmann would have been wise to use an out and out striker like Eddie Johnson or Aron Jóhannsson with Mix Diskerud linking Cameron and Jones to Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and whichever striker Klinsmann selected.

Klinsmann received all of the praise for the United States’ 12-game winning streak, so it’s fair to question his line-up decision, which showed an inability to recognize the necessity of a playmaker like Diskerud to link up the defensive midfielders with the attackers.

A wise decision would have been to start a Front Six of Geoff Cameron, Jermaine Jones, Landon Donovan, Mix Diskerud, Clint Dempsey, and Aron Jóhannsson as soon as the injury to Michael Bradley happened.

While Michael Bradley is a defensive midfielder and a strong tackler who covers a lot of territory with tireless running, he has always been a skilled passer and smooth on the ball, and over time, his technical ability has improved to the point that he himself can link the more defensive midfielders to the attacking midfielders.

In many ways, this ability to link up the defense and the deeper midfielders to players like Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan made many people including Klinsmann think that the United States didn’t need a playmaker, but Bradley could still greatly benefit from a playmaker to give him a link between himself and Dempsey and Donovan downfield.

Jürgen Klinsmann chose to not call up Joe Benny Corona, and he chose to not use Mix Diskerud who he did call up. Both of these players could have helped to maintain more possession in the midfield, and the use of Clint Dempsey as a first striker was a truly poor decision. Only Spain plays without a striker at times, but Spain also uses three playmakers at the same time: Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Cesc Fàbregas.

With Jóhannsson playing well for AZ Alkmaar and given the fact that he proved his international abilities against Bosnia and Herzegovina, not starting him at first striker with Jozy Altidore still returning to 100% fitness was very misguided.

These problems outlined above are more of the reasons that the United States lost to Costa Rica 3-1 than the play of Michael Orozco at right back, as Orozco was frequently left with no support from Graham Zusi who allowed midfielders to simply run past him and feed passes into space behind Orozco.

Orozco wasn’t even responsible for a single Costa Rican goal. Costa Rica roamed free in the midfield and bossed the game, and this allowed them to put the United States on their heels for the entire game.

One way to look at this game is that when the United States faced the CONCACAF team that was the closest to them in the World Cup qualifying standings, Klinsmann’s makeshift defensive back fours and players like Graham Zusi simply didn’t cut it.

The loss of Michael Bradley before the game was a big loss, but having Cameron, Jones, Donovan, Diskerud, Dempsey, and Jóhannsson as a Front Six could have been enough to still play well even without the Roma defensive midfielder.

Cameron filled in for one of the defensive midfield roles, but Klinsman did nothing to address the problem, which was obvious before the game started: Who is going to connect my defensive midfielders to my attacking players?

The beginning of Jürgen Klinsmann’s tenure as coach of the United States was a time when Klinsmann emphasized how every player in a Starting XI had a unique role to play and that each of his first-choice players needed a quality second-choice option to not only give them competition but also to cover for them if injuries occurred.

An injury to Bradley occurred, and Klinsmann lacked the good sense to either use Dempsey and Donovan to connect the defensive midfielders to a striker like Jóhannsson or Eddie Johnson or to use Diskerud to provide the link to the U.S.’ best attackers.

It was just one loss, but Jürgen Klinmann’s Jericho Walls and his false sense of security have come tumbling down. Klinsmann needs to rethink his tactics, his player selections, and his opinion of playmakers, especially when Michael Bradley goes down injured.

Klinsmann and the United States can still defeat Mexico on Tuesday if Klinsmann selects a more balanced and a better line-up to face Mexico than the one he selected to face Costa Rica, and someone with Klinsmann’s playing resume has to already know that he needs someone to help the American midfield enjoy more possession than it did against Costa Rica.

 

USMNT: 23 For Brazil (September 2013)

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World Soccer Source’s 23-Man USMNT Roster Proposal:

*This is a roster proposal as opposed to a 23-man roster prediction.

GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Nick RIMANDO

CENTER BACKS: John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL (also a DM), Michael OROZCO, Andrew FARRELL

OUTSIDE BACKS: Fabian JOHNSON, Chris KLUTE, DeAndre YEDLIN,  Kofi SARKODIE

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY, Geoff CAMERON, Benji JOYA, (Shane O’NEILL)

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA, Benny FEILHABER, Freddy ADU

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

ALTERNATES: Mix DISKERUD, Jermaine JONES, Eddie JOHNSON, Eric LICHAJ, Jonathan SPECTOR, José VILLARREAL, Brek SHEA, Matt BESLER, Omar GONZALEZ, Edgar CASTILLO, Mario RODRIGUEZ, Joe GYAU, Kellyn ACOSTA, Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Gyasi ZARDES, Alonso HERNANDEZ, Perry KITCHEN, Will TRAPP, Caleb STANKO, Cody CROPPER, Clint IRWIN, Dan KENNEDY, Luis ROBLES, Tall HALL, Luis GIL, Daniel CUEVAS. Tony TAYLOR, Sean JOHNSON.

 

RATIONALE:

– This World Cup roster proposal as of September of 2013 has many new players, but the goal of the United States Soccer Federation has been to develop better players who have the physical gifts and technical ability to compete with top national teams. The team that qualifies for the World Cup (if the U.S qualifies) isn’t necessarily the team that offers the United States the best chance to beat top teams in the World Cup.

– There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the new crop of MLS players and young American players are much better than the majority of the people who played for the United States in the past, with the exception of players like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan. Michael Bradley, Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore, and now Geoff Cameron.

– Almost all of the defenders are players who Jürgen Klinsmann has been unwilling to use so far, but World Soccer Source believes that these players represent an improvement to the skill, athleticism, and positional sense to many of the makeshift defenders that Klinsmann has used.

– The USMNT has had a problem with outside backs, and Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Kofi Sarkodie, and Andrew Farrell have the tools to improve the U.S. national team at the outside back positions.

– Farrell is listed as a center back (even though he has been playing as a right back in MLS), and a player with his tackling, speed, and technical ability would be a valuable asset and an upgrade to players like Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler.

– Shane O’Neill is included over Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler because O’Neill has demonstrated that not only is he a more fundamentally-sound defender, but he is also a more skilled and athletic soccer player than Gonzalez and Besler.

– Michael Orozco is also included as a center back because one of the problems that the U.S. will face in the World Cup is very clever and quick strikers, and Orozco has the agility and technically-skill to keep up with the higher-level strikers and attacking midfielders that the USMNT will face in the World Cup. Additionally, Orozco can also play as a right back and as a defensive midfielder.

– Chris Klute and DeAndre Yedlin are the future USMNT outside backs. Excluding Steve Cherundolo who was a skilled international-caliber right back and Bundesliga veteran, Yedlin and Klute represent the arrival of American outside backs who pose a real attacking threat out wide and who also have the speed and defensive skill to keep up with more dangerous attackers.

– The argument can be made that Eric Lichaj or Jonathan Spector are better outside backs than Kofi Sarkodie, but Sarkodie continues to improve and show the threat he poses out wide. Sarkodie is a fast and talented right back, and he is another young American player who looks to have more of the tools to perform against better and faster players on the international level.

– Geoff Cameron is listed as a defensive midfielder, but Cameron is also a center back and outside back. Cameron is most effective as a defensive midfielder or as a center back. Cameron is listed as a defensive midfielder because this opens up a spot for Andrew Farrell who doubles as an outside back and as a center back.

-Benji Joya is listed as a defensive midfielder, but he is really more of a box-to-box midfielder who is a very creative and technically-skilled player who also offers more defensive strength than players like Dempsey and Donovan. A teenager with that skill-set who performed well against Paul Pogba and who skipped college soccer to play professionally in Mexico is a great player to have on the roster to play with Bradley, Dempsey, and Donovan.

– Both Benny Feilhaber and Freddy Adu are included in World Soccer Source’s roster proposal because of the creativity, technical ability, and big-game mentality that they possess. Even Landon Donovan publicly stated during the 2011 Gold Cup that Freddy Adu has no problems playing in big games with lots of pressure. Both Adu and Feilhaber have never shown any problems competing against elite players when playing for the USMNT, and playmakers like those two players are useful players to have on a World Cup roster to create goals and improve the American attack.

-This roster includes four first strikers along with several players who are either second strikers or attacking midfielders. Four out-and-out strikers with players like Dempsey, Donovan, Corona, and Adu offer the USMNT players who can put the ball in the back of the net against strong competition.

– José Villarreal, Gyasi Zardes, Eddie Johnson, Mario Rodriguez, and Alonso Hernandez were all excluded from this roster, but any of them could make their way onto World Soccer Source’s roster proposal in the coming months. The USMNT has reached a point where lots of deserving players will be unfairly snubbed.

-Several players on the roster offer the United States a lot of flexibility.  For example, Shane O’Neill, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Farrell, and Michael Orozco can play as center backs, as defensive midfielders, and as outside backs.

 

The WSS USMNT STARTING XI:

HOWARD; YEDLIN/FARRELL, O’NEILL, BROOKS, KLUTE; CAMERON, BRADLEY; DONOVAN, FEILHABER, DEMPSEY; ALTIDORE/AGUDELO.

 

American Soccer Still Undervalues Playmakers

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Clint Dempsey (right) has always seemed to appreciate Freddy Adu (left) and Benny Feilhaber (not pictured) even if many American soccer fans didn't. (Photo: MexSport)
Clint Dempsey (right) has always seemed to appreciate Freddy Adu (left) and Benny Feilhaber (not pictured) even if many American soccer fans didn’t. (Photo: MexSport)

 

There’s no zealot like a convert.

The negative opinion that many Americans have toward playmakers in soccer is likely rooted in the fact that a fair amount of American soccer fans and coaches didn’t play soccer as children or watch the best players play enough, even in highlights.

The Americans who show no real appreciation for playmakers, creativity, and individual brilliance with the ball were baptized in the church of the English Premier League as adults where they came to know soccer through the biased lens of the English media and English football fans who glorify overly-physical play over skill soccer.

There’s a reason that England never wins anything.

No other American soccer players provoke the polarizing reaction that Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber provoke, and this is likely due to the fact that both of these playmakers’ greatest strength seems to be a quality that is greatly undervalued in American soccer circles: creativity.

While Americans certainly value players who show excellent skill on the ball and advanced technical ability, there has never been a strong belief in the United States that at least one member of a starting line-up should be a creative playmaker whose defensive tendencies are heavily outweighed by a focus on quick passing, playmaking, creative play, and unlocking defenses.

Playmakers should be expected to put pressure on the opposition when the opposition has the ball in order to attempt to force the opposition to give up possession, but expecting playmakers to bring the same gifts and qualities that defensive or box-to-box midfielders bring is unrealistic and unnecessary.

Every type of player brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the table, and the American soccer community (including ex-players and member of the media) needs to learn the difference between skilled attacking players and playmakers because they aren’t the same thing.

This failure by many people to recognize this difference between skilled attacking play and playmaking abilities creates a strong belief that players like Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan who are skilled attacking midfielders can bring the unique combination of playmaking abilities that Dempsey and Donovan themselves need to thrive.

Now, Michael Bradley’s improved technical ability and passing skills have some American soccer fans classifying him not as a defensive midfielder but as some sort of attacking midfielder or some sort of box-to-box midfielder who plays like Arturo Vital, Paulinho, Paul Pogba, Kevin-Prince Boateng, or Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Any examination of the play of the United States Men’s National Team since the 2006 World Cup will reveal that Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore were all able to perform at their best and play the way they wanted to play when they had a playmaker to fulfill a role that they themselves couldn’t play.

Many American critics of Benny Feilhaber and Freddy Adu have a variety of reactions to either player’s name, and those reactions range from laughter to anger.

The real root of this phenomenon appears to be a strong belief that true playmakers either don’t play enough defense or that many of their passes don’t find their target or result in conceding possession.

The role of the playmaker is to have the vision, the willingness, and the ability to make the passes that unlock the defense or create scoring chances.

Additionally, a playmaker is supposed to constantly be available to receive a pass and quickly release a pass to a teammate in order to establish a good passing rhythm and maintain possession.

With playmakers, people remember the passes that don’t quite squeak through the defense or the chipped pass that is played a yard too long or the ambitious pass that is blocked or intercepted.

People remember mistakes more than they remember successes, and this is the reason behind the criticism of Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber.

While Benny Feilhaber has 40 caps for the USMNT, Freddy Adu pops up out of nowhere on the international level like the Pink Panther and performs really well only to then disappear from the USMNT for months or years.

Years later American soccer fans remember a few good passes, but they forget the way that the playmaker changed the momentum of the game or the way the playmaker improved the passing of the United States.

Years later these performances are dismissed as some examples of playmakers providing a few nice passes and a few memorable highlights, but the position and the player is dismissed as a wasted starting line-up spot that could have been occupied by someone who offered more grit, more running, or more toughness.

The problem with this dismissal is that the unique skill-set of the playmakers and the ability to perform against very skilled and famous opponents was in fact the reason for the memorable win or tie.

The United States wouldn’t have played as well in the 2009 Confederations Cup and in the 2010 World Cup without Benny Feilhaber, and the United States might have not made the 2011 Gold Cup Final without Freddy Adu filling in for Benny Feilhaber.

These are realities, and even years later, new playmakers like Joe Benny Corona or Mix Diskerud aren’t being considered as vital players who allow Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore to play their natural positions and do what they do best.

Closing the gap with Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Argentina, and the like will require that Americans and whoever is coaching the United States Men’s National Team truly acknowledge that elite national teams can’t be beaten without players who can unlocked balanced and organized national teams who have world-class players at every position.

Running a lot and pretending that skilled attacking midfielders are all playmakers will not give the United States the tools to unlock defenses where the center backs have the skill-sets of elite midfielders.

Whether the United States uses Joe Benny Corona, Mix Diskerud, Benny Feilhaber, or Freddy Adu, there must be a player who links the running and smooth passing of Michael Bradley with the goal-scoring and attacking threat of Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore, and Juan Agudelo.

Without a playmaker to provide service for the goal-scorers, the United States won’t ever pose a real threat to the best national teams in the world playing at full-strength.

There’s a reason that the amount of defensive players and attacking players in a Starting XI is roughly equal, and the reason is because the delegation of responsibilities is supposed to make sure that there is a strong enough defense to partner with a dangerous enough attack.

Not using a playmaker is a good way to try and contain elite national teams, but it’s not a good way to try to actual beat them in a World Cup.

There’s no American Zidane yet, and there’s no American Ronaldinho Gaúcho (who was a goal-scoring playmaker).

But, a healthy appreciation of the importance of American soccer players with playmaking qualities would be an important sign of progress for American soccer.

Playmakers in other countries are treated like kings and treasured, but many Americans view true playmakers as surplus to requirements.

 

Who Should the USMNT Start vs. Costa Rica?

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The Starting XI that Jürgen Klinsmann would use and the Starting XI that the USMNT should use are two different things.

Just because Klinsmann was an outstanding player doesn’t mean that all of his coaching preferences and decisions are correct. Much of the improvement of the overall play of the United States is due to the continuing improvement of players like Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore.

Nevertheless, it is possible to make an educated guess about the Starting XI that Klinsmann will use. Tim Howard is the first-choice American goalkeeper, and Klinsmann has essentially stated that he will be using DaMarcus Beasley as a left back.

Predicting the other three members of the Back Four is harder to do because Klinsmann used Geoff Cameron and John Anthony Brooks as center backs against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but before he was starting Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler.

Klinsmann’s first-choice right back has been Brad Evans, but Evans was replaced by Michael Parkhurst due to injury. Even though Parkhurst was given Evans’ roster spot, Klinsmann could start Geoff Cameron or Michael Orozco at right back.

As the United States is looking to cap-tie John Anthony Brooks to the United States, Brooks could either start at center back or be used as a substitute. Either way, it’s hard to guess which two center backs will start.

Assuming Klinsmann continues to use the 4-2-3-1 formation, Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley will be used as the defensive midfield tandem, and the assumption has to be that Klinsmann starts Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Fabian Johnson as a line of three attacking midfielders behind Jozy Altidore (unless he is still injured).

Klinsmann’s line of three attacking midfielders is set-up to use second strikers and free-roaming attacking midfielders as playmakers, as opposed to starting a playmaker like Mix Diskerud in between Donovan and Dempsey.

There is an additional possibility to consider, which is that Klinsmann could possibly not start Donovan as a right attacking midfielder because he wants to use Graham Zusi who was playing in that position when Donovan was away from the national team.

All of these guesses and assumptions paint the picture of a Starting XI made up of Tim Howard, Michael Parkhurst, Geoff Cameron or Omar Gonzalez, John Anthony Brooks or Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Fabian Johnson, and Jozy Altidore or Aron Jóhannsson or Eddie Johnson.

Keeping in mind that Klinsmann could decide to use Cameron or Orozco at right back and that Klinsmann could use a different center back combination, the players above are a safe bet to line-up in a 4-2-3-1 against Costa Rica.

Klinsmann Likely Starting XI is the one below:

Tim HOWARD; Michael PARKHURST, Geoff CAMERON or Omar GONZALEZ, John Anthony BROOKS or Matt BESLER, DaMarcus BEASLEY; Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES; Landon DONOVAN, Clint DEMPSEY, Fabian JOHNSON; Jozy ALTIDORE / Aron JÓHANNSSON.

On the other hand, it’s worth exploring whether or not Klinsmann’s likely XI is really the best one for the USMNT to use.

Firstly, Klinsmann’s likely line-up relies on Dempsey and Donovan, who are free-roaming attacking midfielders or second strikers, to be playmakers, which is not really their strength.

Both players can deliver final balls and set-up goals, but Donovan and Dempsey are best used when played off a playmaker where they are free to look to make runs to get into scoring positions.

In short, both players excel more at getting into position to be on the receiving end of final balls than on actually delivering the final balls.

The problem with the Jones and Bradley pairing is that when one player goes forward, the other player won’t immediately drop back to allow the other player to go forward by himself.

The best policy would be for both players to pick their openings to go forward and as soon as the other one saw that his counterpart was going forward to then drop back to protect the area in front of the defensive back four.

When Geoff Cameron and Michael Bradley were the defensive midfield duo, Cameron simply told Bradley that he would play the deeper and more defensive role so that Bradley could be more involved in the attack.

Cameron seemed to flourish in this set-up because it allowed him to be more involved in the passing play of the United States, and it allowed him to use his athleticism to cover a lot of ground in the midfield.

Cameron was more involved in the game as a midfield destroyer than he was a center back where he was often left with both Bradley and Jones too far up field to provide him with any protection from the opposition’s attackers.

A very strong argument can be made that using Geoff Cameron and Michael Bradley together as the defensive midfielders allows for a more balanced USMNT that also keeps possession better than when both Bradley and Jones are fighting to be more involved in the attack.

Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler have given many people a false sense of security about the strength of the center of the American defense, when in fact neither center back has really proved themselves against higher-level competition.

Much of the praise of both center backs comes from the United States’ tie with Mexico, but many people seem to forget that both Michael Bradley and Maurice Edu were playing very deep to protect Besler and Gonzalez. It almost looked like the United States was using four center backs against Mexico.

The problems with Klinsmann’s Starting XIs don’t stop with the center backs or the defensive midfielders, there are also a lot of question marks about the preferred outside backs and the preferred line of three attacking midfielders.

Whereas Klinsmann will probably start Donovan, Dempsey, and Fabian Johnson as a line of three attacking midfielders, the USMNT might be better off to start Diskerud as a playmaker to provide the link between the defensive midfielders and players like Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore who are focused on scoring or getting into the penalty box to disrupt the defense.

Despite the United States’ winning streak, Klinsmann might be wise to make some adjustments to his preferred Starting XI, and these adjustments are all things that Klinsmann has already used with success. Klinsmann has used Cameron and Bradley together with success. Klinsmann has used Fabian Johnson over DaMarcus Beasley as a left back with success, and Klinsmann has seen the missing creative element that Diskerud brings to the national team.

The coach of the United States has made it clear that Beasley is his first-choice left back and that Fabian Johnson is his first-choice left winger, but a left back is just as much a left winger as he is a defender covering the left flank.

Starting Fabian Johnson at left back allows him to provide better defense that Beasley can provide, and it also allows him to provide better attacking play out wide than Beasley can provide. It is the job of the defensive midfielders to cover for outside backs when they make marauding runs into the attack.

The United States can enjoy Fabian Johnson’s attacking skills even when he is used as a left back, and this is in fact the way that the best teams in the world implement width into their attacks.

World Soccer Source views the right back situation as problematic because both Michael Orozco and Geoff Cameron are likely more useful in positions other than the right back position, but both players are faster and more technically-skilled than Parkhurst. Both players are also better defenders.

Furthermore, Cameron’s best position is the midfield destroyer role, as opposed to the center back role because he can use his technical ability and athleticism more in the midfield than he can having to back pedal as a center back where he is at the mercy of through balls and chips being played past him with little to no defensive support.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, World Soccer Source would like to see the USMNT use the following Starting XI below:

Tim HOWARD; Michael PARKHURST, Michael OROZCO, John Anthony BROOKS, Fabian JOHNSON; Geoff CAMERON, Michael BRADLEY; Landon DONOVAN, Mix DISKERUD, Clint DEMPSEY; Jozy ALTIDORE (STILL SLIGHTLY INJURED?) / Aron JÓHANNSSON.