Benny Feilhaber

Klinsmann’s USMNT Options For October Qualifiers

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

 

Despite the possibility of Michael Bradley and John Anthony Brooks still being injured, Jürgen Klinsmann still has a lot of new options for the United States Men’s National Team’s October World Cup qualifiers.

A prudent decision for the future success of the USMNT is for Klinsmann to start many of the proven players who he has chosen to snub in the past, but he should fill the rest of the roster with new players that need to be given experience.

The math on this is simple; Klinsmann has 11 starting line-ups spots that he can reserve for some of the more-experienced American players who he has chosen to not use, and he has 12 roster spots for the new talents in American soccer.

The other alternative is to use the same roster outlined above but start the new players.

If Klinsmann wants to start more-proven players, then this is a topic that can be discussed with specificity.

For example, Klinsmann could start Brad Guzan in goal with Jonathan Spector at right back, Shane O’Neill and Michael Orozco at center back, and Eric Lichaj at left back.

In front of them, Klinsmann can start Geoff Cameron as a defensive midfielder with Joe Benny Corona, Benny Feilhaber, and Mix Diskerud as a line of three attacking midfielders.

Up top, Klinsmann could start Juan Agudelo (if he’s healthy) or Terrence Boyd with Aron Jóhannsson.

The line-up proposed above leaves 11 or 12 roster spots open for Klinsmann, depending on the health of Agudelo.

Starting in the defense, the obvious names are DeAndre Yedlin, Chris Klute, and Andrew Farrell.

This leaves eight or nine roster spots (depending on whether or not Agudelo is healthy) for goalkeepers, midfielders, and forwards.

If there are eight roster spots, calling up Nick Rimando and some other goalkeeper like Clint Irwin, Dan Kennedy, Sean Johnson, Luis Robles, or Tally Hall leaves six more roster spots to fill.

For the final six roster spots, Perry Kitchen as a defensive midfielder, Amobi Okugo as a center back and defensive midfielder, Benji Joya as a midfielder who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a box-to-box midfielder, José Villarreal as a forward or attacking midfielder, Joe Gyau as a winger or forward, and Freddy Adu as midfielder or forward (it’s time for Klinsmann to check in with Adu).

The roster proposed above includes three goalkeepers, four outside backs, four center backs, four forwards, five attacking midfielders, three defensive or box-to-box midfielders (plus Shane O’Neill and Geoff Cameron).

To be clear, the USMNT could start the following fairly-experienced XI below:

Guzan; Spector, O’Neill, Orozco, Lichaj; Cameron; Corona, Feilhaber, Diskerud; Agudelo/Boyd, Jóhannsson.

On the bench, the USMNT would have the following players available:

Rimando, Irwin/Kennedy/Robles/S. Johnson/Hall, Yedlin, Klute, Farrell, Kitchen, Okugo, Joya, Villarreal, Gyau, Adu.

Starting Guzan in goal with Spector, O’Neill, Orozco, and Lichaj forming the Back Four should be a strong enough defense to win or at least they should be strong enough to win.

In front of them, Cameron as a defensive midfielder behind a line of three attacking midfielders (Corona, Feilhaber, Diskerud) should be a midfield with a strong defender and good passer patrolling the back with three creative midfielders helping the United States to maintain possession and set up goals.

Up top, Agudelo or Boyd with Jóhannsson is a potent young strike force who at the very least should cause problems for all but the very best of international defenders.

These forwards still have room to improve, but all three of them are real threats on the international level. There is no reason to think that they aren’t capable of easily scoring against CONCACAF opposition unless they simply don’t receive enough service.

Something similar to the roster and starting line-up proposed in this article combines the best of both worlds for the United States Men’s National Team: more-experienced players that Klinsmann hasn’t favored as starters with new talents who can gain experience and help to strengthen the national team.

On the other hand, if Klinsmann wanted to use mainly new and/or younger players, then he could start the following XI:

Guzan; Yedlin, Farrell, O’Neill, Klute; Cameron, Joya; Adu, Feilhaber, Corona; Agudelo/Boyd/Jóhannsson.

What Jürgen Klinsmann really needs to learn is whether or not he’s been using the best players and if the new talents or some of the out of favor talents can improve the ability of the USMNT to better compete or win at the highest level against better national teams.

The coach of the United States enjoys using the metaphor about tossing players into the cold water, and with the 2014 World Cup approaching next summer, it’s time to see who the best American soccer players are and prepare them for the big stage.

 

 

Depth Chart: USMNT Attacking Midfielders

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Clint Dempsey (8). (Photo: ISIPhotos.com)
Clint Dempsey (8). (Photo: ISIPhotos.com)

 

All playmakers are attacking midfielders, but not all attacking midfielders are playmakers.

For this reason, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were not listed in World Soccer Source’s article entitled “Depth Chart: USMNT Playmakers.”

Playmakers are rare, and the best two American soccer players, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, are not playmakers. Attacking midfielders can be playmakers, wingers, or players like Neymar who has no clear positional name. Frequently the very best players in the world are hard to classify with a single positional name.

 

USMNT Depth Chart: Attacking Midfielders

 

1.) Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders)

Many journalists and fans consider Landon Donovan to be better than Clint Dempsey and the best American soccer player ever, but World Soccer Source disputes this. Clint Dempsey has shown a level of technical-ability, trickery, killer instinct, physical and mental toughness, and a competitive spirit above those of Landon Donovan.

Some people think Clint Dempsey is better, and some people think Landon Donovan is better. The most important thing is that both players can start together on either side of a playmaker and work together to win.

Clint Dempsey scored goals on a consistent basis in the English Premier League for seven years, and Landon Donovan has played basically his entire career in MLS. Dempsey outplayed Donovan in the 2006 World Cup and in the 2010 World Cup where Donovan scored one goal thanks to a tap in off a rebound, which Dempsey forced, and Donovan scored a penalty kick and one ruthless point blank head shot, which was his one notable goal from the 2006 and the 2010 World Cups.

The Texan is a more technically-skilled player than Donovan, and Dempsey shows a greater ability to disrupt the defensive cohesion of top national teams.

If you were to compile the individual highlights and goals of both players, Dempsey’s would be much more impressive. But more important than the highlights or the trickery, is the combination of fire, skill, toughness, and irreverence that Dempsey brings to all of his games.

Whereas Donovan sometimes puts on a disappearing act in games, Dempsey shows absolutely no respect for his adversaries, and this makes him more of a threat and more of a cold-blooded assassin against elite national teams.

The USMNT needs both Donovan and Dempsey playing together and combining with one another, but this writer views Clint Dempsey as the better player with a better track record against higher-level competition on the club and international level.

Dempsey’s left-footed upper 90 wonder strike scored against Germany in a friendly after losing Lukas Podolski with a Cruyff turn, his chipped golazo against Juventus (without Gigi Buffon playing), and his goal scored against Gigi Buffon in a friendly against Italy in 2012 are just a view examples of the Clint Dempsey Supremacy over Landon Donovan.

 

 

2.) Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)

Landon Donovan is without question the very first American soccer player who was born and raised in the United States who demonstrated an enormous boost in the skill-level of American soccer players.

Donovan excels at using his speed and both feet to beat defenders off the dribble and play one-to-two touch passing. Donovan is the all-time goal-scoring leader and assist leader for the USMNT, but he enjoyed a four year head start on Clint Dempsey who was playing in obscurity, despite being just one year younger.

For this writer, Donovan has never shown the same technical-ability and big-game mentality as Clint Dempsey, but no one can deny Donovan’s achievements or abilities.

It’s a shame that Donovan didn’t elect to make more of an attempt to play his club soccer in Europe, as opposed to playing in MLS. People can say that he helped developed the league, but that wasn’t his responsibility. Playing in Europe for 10 years would have made Donovan an even better player than he is today.

Despite all of this, Donovan and Dempsey aren’t mutually exclusive, and they shouldn’t be competitors on the national team, as the Unites States needs both of them starting.

As the poster child for American soccer, there can be no doubting that Landon Donovan’s four year head start caused Clint Dempsey to be unjustly underrated and underappreciated by American soccer fans who worshipped Landon Donovan for being the first world-class American soccer player.

 

3.) Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City)

Benny Feilhaber was heavily discussed in the article entitled “Depth Chart: USMNT Playmakers,” but nevertheless Feilhaber has been the attacking midfielder other than Dempsey and Donovan who demonstrated the greatest ability to play one-to-two touch soccer against top national teams, and he still is one of the most technically-skilled American soccer players.

Whenever you see highlights of the United States performing its best against the best national teams since 2007, you will see Benny Feilhaber who proved to be a needed midfield piece to Bob Bradley’s midfields which almost always started two defensive midfielders in the middle with Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey out wide.

There’s nothing to suggest that Benny Feilhaber’s abilities and athleticism have dropped over the last few years under Klinsmann’s tenure as head coach of the national team.

 

4.) Freddy Adu (E.C. Bahia)

Freddy Adu remains one of the only American attacking midfielders who can truly put even top players on their heels, and Adu possesses a combination of 1v1 abilities and quickness that Donovan and Dempsey do not have. Additionally, Adu’s passing and vision are well above those of Dempsey and Donovan.

There’s a reason that teams continue to sign Freddy Adu. Say what you want about Freddy Adu and his club playing time, but he was signed by Benfica, where he actually played and scored goals, and he was signed by the famous Brazilian club, Bahia, where he has done his best to continue to fight for a spot in the game-day rosters and in the starting line-ups.

No one gets to even sit on the bench for Bahia or Benfica, if they aren’t good, and claiming that American soccer and the USMNT doesn’t need a player like that is perhaps rating the United States Men’s National Team too highly.

 

Conclusion:

Selecting four attacking midfielders among Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, Freddy Adu, Joe Benny Corona, Mix Diskerud, and several others is a tough decision, and Jürgen Klinsmann doesn’t seem to particularly rate several of these players (most notably Benny Feilhaber and Freddy Adu).

Selecting a 23-man roster for the World Cup will require factoring in which players can play more than one position, but for this writer, Alejandro Bedoya, José Torres, Brad Davis, and Graham Zusi have never demonstrated the same still-level as players like Benny Feilhaber, Freddy Adu, Mix Diskerud, and Joe Benny Corona.

There aren’t any real wingers among the four players highlighted in this article, except for Landon Donovan, and the reason for this is because the width in the attack can come from the outside backs.

 

Depth Chart: USMNT Playmakers

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Benny Feilhaber. (Photo: Reuters)
Benny Feilhaber. (Photo: Reuters)

 

Jürgen Klinsmann hasn’t been using playmakers in his United States Men’s National Team starting line-ups for the most part, but he did start Mix Diskerud as a playmaker against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Rather than using true playmakers who have the unique skill-set and abilities to see openings in the defense and play killer final balls, Klinsmann has preferred to use Clint Dempsey or Landon Donovan as second strikers who are tasked with the responsibility of setting up goals for strikers like Jozy Altidore.

The United States has the option of starting a playmaker in between Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan who should be allowed the freedom to roam around in the attack where they see fit, and starting a playmaker would force the opposition to contend with marking Dempsey, Donovan, and Altidore who would all be making final runs.

Recently, Mix Diskerud and Joe Benny Corona have shown how the way that they play the game and the way that they see the game is more along the lines of a playmaker than Dempsey and Donovan, who are really attacking midfielders or second strikers.

American soccer fans and the American soccer media should be mindful that despite the good winning streak under Jürgen Klinsmann, only Benny Feilhaber and to a less extent Freddy Adu have ever really proven that they can excel as playmakers against quality international competition.

Until there is a real contest between Corona, Diskerud, Feilhaber, and Adu, no one will know which American playmaker truly performs the best against international competition.

 

1.) Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City)

Of all the playmakers, Benny Feilhaber has been the one who has a track record of success on the international level.

There are many journalists and fans who want Feilhaber to play more like a box-to-box midfielder, but this over-emphasis on playing more defense makes little sense especially in a system with one or two defensive midfielders playing in front of four defenders.

Feilhaber should certainly apply defensive pressure on the opposition to make mistakes when they have the ball, but expecting Feilhaber to bring the same amount of defense and tackling that defensive midfielders bring is unnecessary and unreasonable.

Feilhaber’s role is to constantly make himself available as a passing option for his teammates and to facilitate the quick movement of the ball around the field, and he should be focused on doing this and looking to unlock the defense with incisive passes or final balls whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Being a playmaker requires hitting effective and quality passes as soon as the playmaker sees the opening to play the pass, and Feilhaber has been the American playmaker who has the best track record of being able to do that in World Cup games and in other big games.

 

2.) Freddy Adu (E.C. Bahia)

No one ever questions Freddy Adu’s talent, but he has been on the receiving end of lots of criticism for the amount of club teams that he’s played for and the lack of consistent playing time at the club level.

From the United States Men’s National Team’s perpective, Adu has always shown the ability to not only play up to the level of top competition but also to distinguish himself.

Regardless of Adu’s club history, he remains a special talent blessed with excellent vision, trickery, 1v1 abilities, passing skill, goal-scoring abilities, and great quickness.

The United States is not at the level yet where players of Adu’s individual ability who can win games with one pass, one trick, or one shot can be left off the roster.

Like it or not, the United States will have a hard time beating top national teams in the World Cup without Adu or one of the other playmakers in this article on the national team.

Freddy Adu is a controversial enigma, but if he’s physically fit to play, then his skills are needed by the USMNT.

 

3.) Joe Benny Corona (Tijuana)

While Benny Feilhaber and Freddy Adu were given the opportunities to show what they could do for the USMNT under Bob Bradley, Joe Benny Corona hasn’t been given the same amount of chances to show Jürgen Klinsmann how he can improve the play of Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore.

Corona has proven himself in the Copa Liberatores against teams like Corinthians, but Corona has only been given limited opportunities to play as a playmaker under Klinsmann.

Based on Corona’s playing-style, his ability to use both feet, his touch, and his ability to score and set up goals when deployed as a number 10, the United States would benefit from seeing what Corona can really do.

With the World Cup one year away, Klinsmann will need players like Corona if he hopes to unlock elite defenses in the World Cup, and if Klinsmann is going to totally freeze out Benny Feilhaber and Freddy Adu.

 

3.) Mix Diskerud (tied with Joe Benny Corona) (Rosenborg)

Mix Diskerud may be equal to, better than, or worse than Joe Benny Corona, but until Klinsmann really lets both players play more, it’s hard to decide which playmaker is better.

Certainly, Diskerud has shown that his passing, vision, and playmaking abilities are rare in the American player pool, but the way to evaluate playmakers is to play them with the best attacking players on the team and see what happens.

Both Corona and Diskerud haven’t really been started with or seen significant minutes with Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan, and Altidore, and giving them these minutes will help to answer questions about who the best American playmakers are and which ones the USMNT needs.

 

Conclusion:

Benny Feilhaber is the most proven playmaker of all American playmakers, and his play in MLS this season has demonstrated that there is nothing to suggest that he’s experienced any drop in skill or fitness that would somehow make him not play as well now with Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan, and Altidore as he did in the past.

The most bizarre aspect of Klinsmann’s line-ups and formations is why he has refused to use a true playmaker when he is using two defensive midfielders, four defenders, and a goalkeeper. The use of a playmaker to link the defensive midfielders with the attackers and to set up goals is internationally-recognized as a key aspect of soccer tactics.

It’s unclear why a former striker of Klinsmann’s level would not place more of a premium on using true playmakers to set up the U.S.’ strikers and attacking midfielders.

If Jürgen Klinsmann doesn’t want to use Feilhaber and Adu, then he would be wise to put Corona and Diskerud on the roster and actually start one or the other on a consistent basis.

 

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.

 

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.

 

USMNT Roster Options for Klinsmann

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Chris Klute (arms raised). (Photo: USA Today SPORTS)
Chris Klute (arms raised). (Photo: USA Today SPORTS)

 

Making an improved 23-man USMNT roster is much easier than choosing the best Starting XI.

The primary difficulty now is not finding quality American players but rather cutting the pool down to 23 players and deciding how many new players should receive roster spots.

Any national team roster normally contains three goalkeepers, four outside backs, four center backs, 4 defensive midfielders, four attacking midfielders, and four forwards, but frequently players can play more than one position so the amount of players at each position can vary.

At goalkeeper, Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are clearly the best two American goalkeepers (excluding Brad Friedel), and the only decision for Jürgen Klinsmann to make is who the the third goalkeeper should be. Maybe it should be Nick Rimando or some other goalkeeper like Clint Irwin, Dan Kennedy, Tally Hall, Sean Johnson, or Luis Robles, but perhaps Cody Cropper or some other young goalkeeper should receive the third goalkeeper spot.

When selecting center backs, a wise decision would be to have four center backs. The primary center backs to choose from for the USMNT are Geoff Cameron, George John, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Orozco, Michael Parkhurst, Tim Ream, and Matt Besler. These center backs are some of the more experienced center backs that aren’t too slow for or not skilled-enough for international play.

Additionally, there are younger center backs like Shane O’Neill, Andrew Farrell, Amobi Okugo, Gale Agbossoumonde, and Caleb Stanko who are worthy of a look. Assuming John Anthony Brooks plays for the United States, which isn’t definite, he also has to be strongly considered as a front-runner for one of the four spots.

Therefore, at center back, the coaching staff of the USMNT has at least 12 players to look at without doing more extensive scouting of all of the other options.

When choosing four center backs, the final decision comes down to deciding which center backs have the defensive instincts and fundamentals combined with the technical ability and athleticism to realistically be able to compete at the international level.

Outside back is an area of some concern for the United States. Without any exploration of new players, the obvious starting point is to choose from Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Spector, Timothy Chandler, and Fabian Johnson, but then one has to strongly consider new players like Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell. Furthermore, Steve Cherundolo when healthy is still likely the best American outside back.

The United States has several quality defensive midfielders, and Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Geoff Cameron, and Maurice Edu are the first names that come to mind. There are additionally some MLS defensive midfielders like Perry Kitchen, Jared Jeffrey, and Jeremy Hall who need to be looked at.

Without even including Shane O’Neill and Caleb Stanko, who were listed above in the center back section, Jürgen Klinsmann has seven defensive midfielders to choose from for four spots.

Just looking at this list of defensive midfielders, Bradley, Jones, Cameron, and one other player are the obvious choices.

At the very least, Bradley, Jones, Cameron, and Edu are a good starting point unless Klinsmann is willing to pick one of the newer defensive midfielders instead of Edu.

Benji Joya falls in between the realm of the defensive midfielders and the attacking midfielders. Joya is somewhat more of an attacking midfielder than he is a defensive midfielder, even though he has stated that he is a holding midfielder. Joya has also stated that he can play a variety of positions. A young, complete midfielder like Joya is another name that deserves serious consideration for the USMNT because he can bring defensive coverage and excellent passing and attacking skills to the American midfield.

The decisions now are attacking decisions.

For a country that has a reputation for not having very technically-skilled players, the United States has more quality attacking midfielders than it has roster spots. Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan should be obvious choices, and then the team realistically needs to select two playmakers. The obvious group of playmakers to choose from includes Benny Feilhaber, Joe Benny Corona, Mix Diskerud, and Freddy Adu.

While contending that Corona and Diskerud should be the playmakers on the roster is a logical and good decision, both Feilhaber and Adu have demonstrated their ability to perform well against strong opponents in international play.

Choosing Feilhaber should be a much easier choice than it appears to be for Klinsmann because Feilhaber has an excellent track record at the international level, and his comfort on the ball, passing ability, set piece taking, and his excellent shooting skills are quite evident.

Nevertheless, Corona and Diskerud have recently shown their ability to bring strong playmaking qualities to the United States, but of all of the playmakers, Feilhaber has the most international experience and the most proven-ability on the international level.

Additionally, the USMNT has wingers like Brek Shea and Joe Gyau in the player pool who can bring speed and skill as well attacking strength out wide.

At striker, the United States actually has more than four capable and effective strikers. The player pool includes Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Terrence Boyd, Eddie Johnson, Herculez Gomez (injured), and the pool has newer strikers like Mario Rodriguez, José Villarreal, Alonso Hernandez, Gyasi Zardes, Teal Bunbury, Aron Jóhannsson, and Tony Taylor.  With the exception of Villarreal, those are all first strikers including Tony Taylor, but a roster normally has four forwards who are not always just first strikers.

The goal is to close the gap with the world’s best national teams, and Jürgen Klinsmann’s roster selections always contain way too many players that are solid at the club level but lacking that next level of skill and athleticism needed to do battle with elites and magicians.

The next step for Jürgen Klinsmann should be to at least call up all of his players with the most proven-ability at the international level, and he also needs to play them together. The starting line-up of proven-players would be something like this formation below:

Tim Howard; Jonathan Spector, Michael Orozco, Maurice Edu, Fabian Johnson; Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley; Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore.

On the other hand, if the USMNT was willing to use more inexperienced players in the defense to try and improve the level of play of the United States, then perhaps this line-up below would be a good place to start:

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

 

Who’s on the USMNT Roster vs. Bosnia?

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Guessing who Jürgen Klinsmann will select for the USMNT roster to face Bosnia-Herzegovina is impossible because there are too many factors that come into play, including his personal opinion of players and what his goals are. World Soccer Source’s guess at a possible Klinsmann USMNT roster can be found at the bottom of the page.

On the other hand, World Soccer Source would like to see a combination of the players from the Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying, in addition to some new players to strengthen the United States Men’s National Team at various positions.

Below is the roster that World Soccer Source would like to see called up to face Bosnia-Herzegovina, and it contains more than 23 players:

WSS USMNT ROSTER PROPOSAL VS. BOSNIA

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Luis ROBLES.

DEFENDERS (8): Shane O’NEILL, Michael OROZCO, Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Andrew FARRELL; DeAndre YEDLIN, Chris KLUTE, Kofi SARKODIE, Eric LICHAJ.

MIDFIELDERS (9): Michael BRADLEY, Geoff CAMERON, Jermaine JONES; Benji JOYA, Mix DISKERUD, Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA, Benny FEILHABER.

FORWARDS (5): Jozy ALTIDORE, Terrence BOYD, Mario RODRIGUEZ, José VILLARREAL, Gyasi ZARDES.

*Injured- Juan AGUDELO

 

Based on World Cup qualifying and the 2013 Gold Cup, World Soccer Source believes this 23-man roster below is close to Jürgen Klinsmann’s first-choice team, with the exception of DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute who World Soccer Source believes Jürgen Klinsmann is close to calling up due to a need for outside backs:

 

Jürgen Klinsmann’s Likely USMNT Roster vs. Bosnia

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Nick RIMANDO.

DEFENDERS (8): Matt BESLER, Omar GONZALEZ, Michael OROZCO, Clarence GOODSON, Timothy CHANDLER, DeAndre YEDLIN, Fabian JOHNSON, Chris KLUTE.

*It’s unclear whether John Anthony Brooks will be representing the United States.

MIDFIELDERS (8): Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Geoff CAMERON, Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Mix DISKERUD, Joe Benny CORONA, Graham ZUSI.

FORWARDS (4): Jozy ALTIDORE, Terrence BOYD, Eddie JOHNSON, Aron JÓHANNSSON.

 

Best U.S. Soccer Players (August 2013)

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

 

WORLD SOCCER SOURCE’S NEWEST LIST OF THE BEST AMERICAN SOCCER PLAYERS RIGHT NOW:

 

THE BEST AMERICAN SOCCER PLAYERS (AUGUST 2013)

 

1.) Clint DEMPSEY

2.) Michael BRADLEY

3.) Jozy ALTIDORE

4.) Landon DONOVAN

5.) Geoff CAMERON

 

6.) Tim HOWARD

7.) Jermaine JONES

8.) Joe Benny CORONA

9.) Benny FEILHABER

10.) Freddy ADU 

 

11.) Benji JOYA

12.) Mix DISKERUD

13.) Stuart HOLDEN

14.)  Juan AGUDELO 

15.) Terrence BOYD

 

16.) Eddie JOHNSON

17.) Chris KLUTE

18.) DeAndre YEDLIN

19.) Brek SHEA

20.) Andrew FARRELL

 

21.) Shane O’NEILL

22.) Jonathan SPECTOR

23.) Perry KITCHEN

24.) Joe GYAU

25.) Tony TAYLOR

 

26.) Mario RODRIGUEZ

27.) José VILLARREAL

28.) Alonso HERNANDEZ

29.) Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE

30.) Maurice EDU

 

31.) Brad GUZAN

32.) Michael OROZCO FISCAL

33.) Kofi SARKODIE

34.) Eric LICHAJ

35.) Paul ARRIOLA 

 

36.) Teal BUNBURY

37.) Lamar NEAGLE

38.) Quincy AMARIKWA

39.) George JOHN

40.) Amobi OKUGO

 

USMNT: Risk, Failure, and Success

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Benji Joya (8). (Photo: MexSport)
Benji Joya (8). (Photo: MexSport)

 

The best athlete in the history of American sports said over and over again that failure was the key to his success. That athlete was Michael Jordan.

American soccer has more potential for success right now than at any time in the entire history of soccer in the United States. The key to success is actually fielding unproven players at the international level who have demonstrated the potential ability and the athleticism to be competitive with elite soccer nations.

A vast majority of the coaches in the United States including Jürgen Klinsmann are afraid to risk losing by playing starting line-ups made up of several internationally unproven players in meaningful games, but there is a way to accomplish this without jeopardizing qualification for the 2014 World Cup.

The solution is quite simple: use a Starting XI made up of proven players and fill the remaining roster spots with new but talented players in addition to players who are too good to exclude.

 

After the Gold Cup, the USMNT could start the follow starting line-up without taking any more risks than usual:

Tim Howard; Jonathan Spector, Maurice Edu, Geoff Cameron, Eric Lichaj; Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones; Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore.

 

The Starting XI listed above isn’t really a risky line-up by any means, as all of those players have ample experience playing international soccer at a respectable level.

If the whole world considers the United States Men’s National Team to be a team with just a few technically-skilled players, then why not use friendlies to field new players who have demonstrated the ability to offer an improvement over many of the players Jürgen Klinsmann has been using?

The sort of undertaking described above is considered risky by many, but couldn’t it also be considered risky not to attempt to strengthen areas where the USMNT is weak?

Beginning to improve the caliber of players fielded by the United States isn’t a question of teaching experienced players to play differently, but it is a question of actually starting promising players who could do very poorly in their first game or games.

On the other hand, maybe they’d do well.

The first step in this process is easy because the first step is deciding which players among the players that Klinsmann has been starting in World Cup qualifying absolutely have to start, and this list of names is short.

Tim Howard or Brad Guzan have to start. Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey have to start, but who else absolutely has to start? Maybe Landon Donovan has to start too.

Looking at that list, that list includes five names for four starting spots leaving seven Starting XI spots up for grabs. Starting line-up space for seven open spots leaves the door open for a lot of possibilities.

Looking at right back, DeAndre Yedlin of the Seattle Sounders seems like a risk worth taking, given his performances in MLS and in the U-20 World Cup, not to mention the two-way threat he poses. Yedlin has speed that’s close to Chris Klute’s speed, and using them as the outside backs would certainly improve the U.S.’ ability to attack and defend out wide.

Moving to center back, Geoff Cameron has demonstrated that he has a level of athleticism and skill, not to mention size, that has never really been given a chance to partner with a center back of similar qualities.

Why can’t Gale Agbossoumonde, Andrew Farrell, or Shane O’Neill be given a shot to start with Cameron? What’s the real argument against that?

Is there any proof that Omar Gonzalez or Matt Besler can outplay Agbossoumonde, Farrell, or O’Neill in an international game when they are partnered with Cameron? Those are all good MLS players, so trying them out should be something that the USMNT’s coaching staff and American soccer writers are interested in seeing.

None of those three players have been given the chance to show how they can perform compared to Besler and Gonzalez, but Besler was started against Mexico in Estadio Azteca in a World Cup qualifier with essentially no significant international experience. Besler and Gonzalez have done well, but have they really proven that they are the best?

At left back, Chris Klute hasn’t been given the chance to show how he can do compared to DaMarcus Beasley and Fabian Johnson. Beasley and Johnson aren’t even really left backs. Klute actually is a two-way left back, and he’s a very fast and skilled two-way left back who uses both feet.

If Americans really want to see better soccer, where’s the backing for at least using a friendly to field a backline of Yedlin, Agbossoumonde, Cameron, and Klute with Howard as the goalkeeper? Certainly, the United States has never fielded a back four with that degree of speed and technical ability.

There doesn’t appear to be any real risk, particularly in a friendly. The U.S. might lose, but the U.S. might lose anyway. Klinsmann’s World Cup qualifying rosters and line-ups have been completely make-shift and experimental anyway.

All of the players listed above are players who are garnering attention from the American soccer media and American soccer fans. None of those players are soccer players taken off the street; those are all well-known professional players.

One of the arguments that Klinsmann’s methods have been working is the USMNT’s victory over Italy.

The U.S. played Italy in a friendly, only to have Mario Balotelli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, and Daniele De Rossi not start. The USMNT can’t really say that it beat Italy convincingly, if Balotelli wasn’t playing. Cesare Prandelli and Italy clearly felt like they didn’t need to use their best players against the U.S. because, if Italy lost, everyone would know Italy didn’t use its best players.

Certainly, Clint Dempsey played well against Italy, but Americans already knew that Dempsey could perform well against elite opponents.

Rather than not taking any risks in friendlies, the USMNT would be better served to see how much potential it could show if a bunch of young, athletic, and skilled defenders were allowed to play with a slightly older Geoff Cameron who too hasn’t really been given a fair chance to play with an adequate center back partner.

Assuming Michael Bradley is playing as a defensive midfielder and Landon Donovan is out on the right wing, why not start Freddy Adu or Joe Corona as a central attacking midfielder with Clint Dempsey out left? This group of players has been used before with success, at least with Adu playing with Dempsey and Donovan. Whereas, Corona hasn’t really been given the chance to play with Dempsey yet.

With the players mentioned above, there are only a few line-up choices left to make for the purpose of this experiment.

Does the U.S. use another defensive midfielder or perhaps a box-to-box midfielder with Bradley, or should the U.S. start two forwards? If the USMNT plays another midfielder with Bradley, is there any reason not to let Benji Joya start with Bradley?

Furthermore, who should the U.S. start at striker?

Jozy Altidore has improved greatly over the past two seasons in Holland, and the players listed above provide him with the service he needs to score goals.

On the other hand, if Altidore has already proven himself by scoring so many goals in Holland as well as showing that he can score for the U.S. when provided with service, shouldn’t the USMNT see how Juan Agudelo or Terrence Boyd can play with the players listed above?

Lots of questions. Few answers.

It’s time to start answering some of those questions, and the way to answer those questions is to start the following Starting XI:

Howard; Yedlin, Agbossoumonde/Farrell/O’Neill, Cameron, Klute; Bradley, Joya/Holden; Donovan, Adu/Corona/Feilhaber, Dempsey; Agudelo/Boyd.

 

USMNT Reverse Moneyball

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M'Baye Niang (left) and Mario Balotelli (right). (Photo: Icon Sport)
M’Baye Niang (left) and Mario Balotelli (right). (Photo: Icon Sport)

 

Throw the stats out the window because the United States Men’s National Team needs to start fielding the most talented and athletic players as soon as possible in order to close the gap with better soccer nations.

American soccer writers and fans need to adopt a Reverse Moneyball mentality, where statistics take a back seat to an examination of technical ability and athleticism.

Statistics, whether they are traditional statistics or newer and more revolutionary statistics, aren’t as important in soccer as they are in baseball.

In soccer, statistics don’t really show the following things very well: touch, ball control, vision, two-footed skill, quickness, speed, tackling ability, heading, recovery defense, crossing ability, mental toughness, coolness in front of the goal, and overall technical ability.

There are ways to calculate some of the criteria listed above, but this term, “Reverse Moneyball,” is a convenient way to describe placing a higher premium on the visual scouting of players’ technical ability and athleticism over statistics like club minutes and assists.

Reverse Moneyball is therefore the visual evaluation of the technical and athletic ability of players compared to the very best players in the world, and Reverse Moneyball is a somewhat incomplete simplification of what actual Moneyball or sabermetrics is.

If an American soccer player doesn’t display a soft first-touch, dexterity with both feet, good vision, competitive athleticism, and good overall technical ability, then that player shouldn’t be used by the USMNT because they won’t stand a chance against players such as Mario Balotelli, Neymar, Arturo Vidal, Marcelo, Thomas Müller, Paul Pogba, Thiago Silva, and Raphaël Varane.

Many of the best American soccer players play a brand of soccer that is above that which is present in MLS.

Most of the best American soccer players in MLS aren’t meshing well with teammates who want to play an inferior brand of soccer based on playing the ball wide and hitting crosses into the box, and this conflict affects the better players’ ability to succeed and play one-to-two touch soccer.

This MLS season, the ever-controversial Benny Feilhaber has once again been written off as an inconsistent player with poor statistics and even several games without playing time this season in MLS, which isn’t an elite league, thus making Feilhaber look even worse to his critics.

Nevertheless, Feilhaber’s MLS passing stats are quite good, which can be verified by looking at the Chalkboard feature on MLS’ official site.

This label of being inconsistent due to a lack of a certain number of assists and a low number of goals overlooks Feilhaber’s most important qualities: his ability to foster a rhythm of good passing amongst his teammates and his ability to unlock defenses with final balls.

When Feilhaber plays, he sets a tempo of one-to-two touch soccer, which causes his teammates to follow suit, and this quality has been on display in the 2007 Gold Cup, the 2007 Copa America, the 2009 Confederations Cup, and the 2010 World Cup.

A higher premium also needs to be placed on MLS players such as Juan Agudelo whose creativity, skill level, and athleticism is more along the lines of players like Clint Dempsey.

No statistic will even show a player’s ability to receive a ball in such a way as to turn away from the oncoming defender without being dispossessed, nor will any statistic ever show a player’s ability to calmly play the correct pass in fast-paced international games where the time that a player has on the ball is very limited.

Tossing the statistics out the window and really examining how American players’ technical ability and athleticism compares to the best players in the world is the first step to finding the best American players and throwing them into the international deep end, so the USMNT can start playing to win.