With the return of Chris Klute of the Portland Timbers back to full fitness, he immediately moves into discussion for a roster spot on the United States Men’s National Team at left back because the United States still doesn’t have one. Of course, Brek Shea, Jorge Villafaña, Fabian Johnson, and Kellyn Acosta all come to mind for the two roster spots for left back, but Jürgen Klinsmann has refused to settle on or stick with a viable choice.
Although Johnson is the clear front runner in that group, Johnson has a tendency to not track back enough on defense and run out of stamina during games. If you also consider the fact that Johnson is really a winger, then Klute’s name must be considered a viable possibility for the national team’s left back (Klute also plays right back).
Klute has several qualities that make him an worthy option to be the United States’ left back. He’s lightning fast and truly a two-way outside back, and Klute is technically-sound with both feet and a solid defender. Unlike many of the other left back options, Klute is not only comfortable playing the position, but he’s also very comfortable with both feet. He doesn’t have a tendency to avoiding using one of his feet to control, win, or play the ball.
Speed kills, and probably no one in MLS is as fast as Klute. But, don’t dismiss Klute has a speed merchant without technical ability or defensive skill. Klute is a clean tackler that times his tackles well. Having a left back that can chase down attackers and attack himself down the sideline can only help the U.S. National Team.
One area where Klute needs to improve is his willingness to shoot on goal when he gets himself near the penalty box. Klute can burn defenders and cut inside with ease, but he frequently doesn’t take advantage of the prime position into which he has put himself. Klute needs to channel his inner-Marcelo and let those shots fly. Rather than stopping his attacking forays and looking to drop the ball off to someone behind him, Klute needs to keep surging forward and force the goalkeeper to make a save.
Playing for the United States would expose some areas where Klute must improve, but Klute is quality outside back with an amazing x-factor of world-class speed.
Given the question marks about the ability of the United States Men’s National Team’s outside backs, DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders), Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), and Greg Garza (Tijuana) have become legit outside back options for the United States.
The United States had other outside backs in contention, but they are retired or injured. Steve Cherundolo has retired, and both Eric Lichaj and Timothy Chandler are seriously injured just a few months before the 2014 World Cup.
DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute had outstanding 2013 seasons in MLS, and Greg Garza has been a known talent at left back for several years. Yedlin, Garza, and Klute are two-way outside backs, and Yedlin vastly improved his defending ability, which is an area where Klute was always solid.
Although Garza gained a lot of attention for two recent CONCACAF Champions League games against the LA Galaxy, Garza isn’t a left back who just deserves to be on the USMNT roster because of two games. In the two games against the Galaxy, Garza’s abilities were on display to more Americans than had watched him in the past.
Chris Klute, the Best American Left Back. (Photo: Garrett Ellwood / Colorado Rapids)
Using your best defenders regardless of age or international experience within reason is a customary and logical tactical game plan for competing in a World Cup.
Every national team in the world uses its best defenders either based on club performance, international performance, or skill-level regardless of their youth or lack of youth.
If the best American defenders are young players with plenty of club experience but not a wealth of international experience, then so be it. Soccer is a skill sport, and international experience doesn’t guarantee that defenders won’t make mistakes in a World Cup.
There are no guarantees in soccer; the best thing a national team can do is to play its best players.
Eight defenders is the traditional number of defenders for a national team roster, but seven defenders would suffice if some players double as center backs and as defensive midfielders.
This is precisely the case with Geoff Cameron and Shane O’Neill, the latter of whom really demonstrated throughout an entire season in Major League Soccer plus the U-20 World Cup that he was just as good if not better than Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler.
The United States Men’s National Team likely has defenders who are good enough to hold their own and even excel at the 2014 World Cup.
While Neymar and the like are essentially unplayable, which means incapable of being marked, players below that level can be well-defended and marked by the USMNT with team defense.
Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones or some other defensive midfielder in front of center backs like Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, or Michael Orozco should really be equipped to mostly contain much of the World Cup competition unless elite attackers really turn up the intensity and the style points, which almost no defender can contain anyway.
Whether it’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mario Balotelli, Thomas Müller, or Neymar, players of that level are capable of victimizing and embarrassing any defender, so the best thing the United States can do is field the defenders with the defensive instincts and fundamentals, the athleticism, and the technical ability to perform well on the international level.
Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez have done well as center backs under Jürgen Klinsmann, but Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, and Michael Orozco are likely better.
That would be five center backs on the roster unless one takes the view that Cameron and Orozco are doubling as outside backs. Furthermore, Shane O’Neill is an excellent center back, but he was listed as a defensive midfielder in World Soccer Source’s previous article on midfielders.
At this point, Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley have shown that they can do well enough as outside backs in a pinch, but starting them over natural outside backs or converted outside backs like Cameron is misguided.
Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell proved this season in MLS that they are likely the best outside backs available to the United States in addition to Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Spector, and Steve Cherundolo.
Fabian Johnson is also a capable outside back, but his defending and recovery defense seems outmatched by Farrell, Yedlin, and Klute. Johnson is an excellent player who attacks with speed and two-footed skill, but from a defensive standpoint, Farrell, Yedlin, and Klute are better defenders.
Farrell and Klute looked better than Yedlin from a defensive standpoint for most of the MLS season, but over the last few months of the season, Yedlin has evolved into an effective defender who has improved his ability to tackle and dispossess attackers.
Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell would be new to the United States Men’s National Team set-up, but that’s not a good enough reason to exclude them for players that are not only not as good but that are also being played out of position.
If the United States selects seven defenders with either Cameron or O’Neill listed as midfielders, then Brooks, Cameron, and Orozco add up to three defenders, and Yedlin, Farrell, and Klute make six defenders. The final spot should go to Eric Lichaj who is an experienced, young, and talented outside back that can play as a right or left back, and he has the club and international experience to be considered by and large a proven performer.
Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, Brad Evans, and DaMarcus Beasley didn’t make World Soccer Source’s list of preferred defenders for the World Cup, but Cameron, Brooks, and Orozco are all more complete center backs who aren’t a liability in terms of defending, speed, or technical ability.
Gonzalez isn’t quite as fast or as skilled defensively as any of those three, and Besler falls just slightly below Cameron, Brooks, and Orozco in terms of his overall package as a center back. Besler is certainly an upgrade from Carlos Bocanegra or Clarence Goodson, but anything that Besler can do, Cameron, Brooks, and Orozco can do better.
Shane O’Neill and Andrew Farrell are also better center backs than Gonzalez and Besler because there’s no weak area for O’Neill and Farrell as defenders. Both are tall, strong, fast, quick, and technically-skilled, and both are outstanding defenders who aggressively tackle without fouling.
Youth and international inexperience shouldn’t be qualities that disqualify Farrell, O’Neill, Yedlin, and Klute from the USMNT. All of these players were starters for their club teams for the entire season, and the international experience of Gonzalez, Besler, Beasley, and Evans as defenders was mostly against fairly weak competition.
The argument that many observers use for supporting Evans, Gonzalez, Besler, and Beasley as the starting Back Four is that they played for the United States during a nice winning streak, but the performance of all four of those players went down as the competition went up.
World Soccer Source would rather see USMNT defenders with the physical gifts and the tools to succeed against better competition, then just sticking with the status quo that looked shaky when the quality of the opposition went up.
With Shane O’Neill listed as a midfielder, Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Michael Orozco, Andrew Farrell, Eric Lichaj, DeAndre Yedlin, and Chris Klute are the seven or really eight defenders that World Soccer Source believes have what it takes to perform at the 2014 World Cup.
Additionally, Gale Agbossoumonde is a center back prospect who is too promising to not be evaluated and seriously considered before the World Cup. Hypothetically, Agbossoumonde has everything one could ask for in a center back: excellent defensive instincts and fundamentals, refined technical ability with both feet, calmness, and great athleticism in a tall, strong physique.
As American soccer has continued to improve, it’s quite logical that newer American defenders are better than ones in the past. Major League Soccer has never seen a crop of defenders like O’Neill, Farrell, Yedlin, and Klute, and making them wait years for another World Cup is a waste of good talent that can help the United States to improve.
Starting a Back Four made up of DeAndre Yedlin, Shane O’Neill, Andrew Farrell, and Chris Klute with Geoff Cameron and Michael Bradley as the defensive midfielders is one of the boldest and best options for the United States in the 2014 World Cup, and another viable option would be to start Farrell, Cameron, Brooks, and Klute as the Back Four.
These are new Back Fours, but they are made up of better players than the Standard Klinsmann Back Four comprised of Evans, Gonzalez, Besler, and Beasley.
Finally, a Back Four comprised of Lichaj, Orozco, Brooks, and Klute with Cameron and Bradley as a two-man defensive midfield would be another option where basically everyone except Klute was experienced and by and large proven at the international level or at the high level of the Bundesliga in Brooks’ case.
Eight American Defenders Who Can Compete in the World Cup:
CENTER BACKS/DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Geoff CAMERON, Shane O’NEILL
CENTER BACKS: John Anthony BROOKS, Michael OROZCO, Andrew FARRELL.
OUTSIDE BACKS: Eric LICHAJ, DeAndre YEDLIN, Chris KLUTE, (Andrew FARRELL)
Chris Klute (right) might be the best American left back. (Photo: Eamon Queeny / The Columbus Dispatch)
The United States Men’s National Team and Jürgen Klinsmann have plenty of outside back options available to them with the 2014 World Cup coming up next summer.
Due to the fact that Jonathan Spector and Eric Lichaj are proven-performers at the international level and the club level in England, it remains a mystery why Klinsmann has insisted on stubbornly declaring that Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley are his best right back and left back options respectively, especially since both players are less-proven and playing out of position.
There’s a widespread belief that both players have done well against CONCACAF competition and deserve recognition for holding their own at positions that neither player are naturally suited to play, but there is also widespread concern that Klinsmann is leaving the United States’ defense vulnerable out wide.
Any realistic examination of the types of attackers that the United States will face in the 2014 World Cup reveals the real danger of starting two players at outside back who are not really outside backs.
Klinsmann has a wealth of options at outside back, and many of his best options are players who are experienced outside backs with international experience. Additionally, there is the issue of the group of new MLS players who have demonstrated that they have the tools to be international-caliber outside backs.
The real mystery is why Klinsmann feels that using Evans and Beasley out of position is a better option than starting professional outside backs.
The coach of the United States Men’s National Team has been refusing to use outside backs that are paid to play the position at the club level for a living.
Even excluding new MLS outside backs like Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell, who are actually professional outside backs, Klinsmann has decided that both Jonathan Spector and Eric Lichaj don’t deserve any call ups to the national team, despite the fact that both players have a documented history of performing well for the United States and a wealth of experience in the English Premier League.
Klinsmann’s outside back selections have been a topic of discussion and debate for a long time now, and even if Klinsmann wants to start Evans and Beasley, there is no explanation for not putting Spector and Lichaj on the roster to fill the other two outside back roster spots.
Anyway that one chooses to look at this coaching situation, there is no way to counter the argument that Klinsmann has not put four natural outside backs on his rosters.
While Klinsmann can support the argument that Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Andrew Farrell, and Kofi Sarkodie are inexperienced at the international level, he can’t support his stance that Spector and Lichaj are somehow less qualified to start as the outside backs than Evans and Beasley.
Spector in particular has performed well against Spain, Brazil, and a whole list of other top national teams, and Spector is under 30 years old. Lichaj too has performed well for the United States, even if he doesn’t have the same experience against elite national teams.
If Klinsmann views Fabian Johnson as more of a winger now as opposed to an outside back, Timothy Chandler, Fabian Johnson, Eric Lichaj, and Jonathan Spector are still all professional outside backs who have proven that they have the speed and skill along with the defensive skills to be the United States’ outside backs.
The track record of Spector, Johnson, Chandler, and Lichaj along with Klinsmann’s insistence on not making them his four outside backs really calls into question Klinsmann’s decision-making.
Consistently calling up the outside backs listed above was really only the first step that Klinsmann had to make in selecting his outside backs because he also needed to use some of the friendlies over the last few months to get a good look at the new outside backs like Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell.
At this point, there is no real evidence that Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley are more equipped to deal with better attackers than Spector, Lichaj, Chandler, Johnson, Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell because Evans and Beasley have only held their own against fairly weak competition.
Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell may be inexperienced but each of them has the technical and defensive skills along with the athleticism to stand a better chance of performing against the better competition in the World Cup. All three outside backs are skilled on the ball with both feet and extremely fast, and Klute and Farrell in particular have demonstrated very good defensive fundamentals and instincts.
Given the amount of playing time that Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell have seen as well as the quality of their performances for an entire season, all three of these outside backs have earned the chance to prove that they can outplay Evans and Beasley as outside backs.
Despite the fact that Chandler has cast doubts on how interested he is in really playing for the United States, certainly Spector, Lichaj, and Johnson should have all been a fixture on the U.S. rosters over the last two years.
Without a lot of games before next summer’s World Cup, there is a real possibility that Klinsmann will simply insist on freezing Spector, Lichaj, Klute, Yedlin, Farrell, and Sarkodie out of the United States Men’s National Team.
If this is the case, then the United States may very well not even put proven-players like Spector and Lichaj on the World Cup roster as outside back options, which essentially means that Klinsmann will be banking on using make-shift substitutes should his already make-shift outside backs be injured or suspended.
Klinsmann’s roster selections at outside back have been a problem, and from an American perspective, player selection at outside back is a major cause for concern going into the 2014 World Cup.
Coming into October of 2013, and since the United States has already qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, here is the Best Starting XI that Jürgen Klinsmann can start for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in October.
Michael Bradley and John Anthony Brooks are currently injured with an ankle injury and elbow injury, respectively, but here is the best Starting XI that the United States could use, if both players are healthy in time.
This starting line-up combines proven-players with players who have shown a real ability to offer the United States Men’s National Team upgrades in certain areas, most notably in the defense and at the playmaker role.
The national team must keep starting its very best players like Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore, but it should fill the rest of the starting line-up with new players with the tools to compete at the next level.
Here is World Soccer Source’s Best Starting XI for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers:
GOALKEEPER: Brad GUZAN
Chosing Brad Guzan over Tim Howard is a tough decision because Tim Howard excels at making game-saving stops that register high on the difficulty scale. There is some concern that Howard doesn’t always come off his line to collect balls played in the air fairly close to his own six-yard box, but goalkeepers are often judged too harshly. Nevertheless, it’s time to see if Guzan comes off his line better than Howard, and if Guzan is better at saving shots from distance than Howard is. Either way, this choice between two excellent keepers is a toss up, and until Guzan plays more, it will be hard to determine which keeper should start. Starting Guzan isn’t risky, nor is it a drop off in skill.
RIGHT BACK: DeAndre YEDLIN / Andrew FARRELL
The time for Jürgen Klinsmann to let DeAndre Yedlin or Andrew Farrell play right back is now. The United States has qualified for the 2014 World Cup, and both Farrell and Yedlin are better than Brad Evans. Both players are more technically-skilled than Evans, and both can stay with faster and more-skillful attackers better than Evans. Although Geoff Cameron can play right back quite well, Cameron has shown how he excels as a midfield destroyer with his tackling, passing, and running, so it’s better to let a natural and explosive outside back like Yedlin or Farrell play right back. Both Yedlin and Farrell are extremely fast and technically-skilled, but Farrell’s tackling is likely better than Yedlin’s (but Yedlin’s defense and tackling are quite good). Time will tell if Yedlin or Farrell is better or if they are just different, and time will tell if Farrell proves to be better suited to be a starting USMNT center back.
CENTER BACK: Shane O’NEILL
Just like DeAndre Yedlin and Andrew Farrell are legitimate options for the United States and likely upgrades at right back, Shane O’Neill is an upgrade at center back to both Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler. O’Neill is a better defender and a better soccer player in general, and O’Neill possesses a complete skill-set that allows him to play better defense and pass and dribble out of trouble better than Gonzalez and Besler. Both Gonzalez and Besler have become familiar to American soccer fans, and the recent winning streak makes people afraid to accept the possibility that there is another level above that at which Besler and Gonzalez play.
CENTER BACK: John Anthony BROOKS
Assuming he’s healthy, John Anthony Brooks should start at left center back for the USMNT. Brooks is a starting center back for Hertha Berlin at 20 years old, and he was named to the Bundesliga Team of the Week twice already this season. These facts combined with his agility, size, skill on the ball, and athleticism are just too much to ignore, and Brooks showed that he was ready to play international soccer against top competition when he started against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
LEFT BACK: Chris KLUTE
Chris Klute is the best American left back in the American player pool. Klute offers better defending and more speed than Fabian Johnson or DaMarcus Beasley, and Klute is a constant attacking threat who creates a lot of goals. Klute’s defending and attacking skills combined with his athleticism (most notably his world-class speed) make him too good to not incorporate into the national team now. Skeptics will argue that Klute is inexperienced, but since any defender has the potential to make a mistake or be beaten in any game, the possibility that a new defender may be beaten a few times is just an irrational excuse to ignore a talented player at a position where the United States is weak.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER: Geoff CAMERON
Geoff Cameron’s passing, tackling, skill on the ball, and tireless and smooth running make for an excellent midfield destroyer to patrol the back of the midfield, while Michael Bradley has more freedom to attack and drop back as he sees fit. Jermaine Jones also likes to participate in the attack when he plays for the United States, and starting Cameron over Jones prevents a hole from being left in front of the American defense.
BOX-TO-BOX MIDFIELDER: Michael BRADLEY
Michael Bradley is a defensive midfielder who was always skilled as a passer and as a defender, and his trademark was his ability to run for the full 90 minutes participating all over the field. Bradley’s passing and technical ability have progressively improved, and Bradley’s forays into the attack and his combination play with Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan make him the ideal player to provide Cameron passing and defensive support deeper in the midfield, in addition to providing the link from Cameron to the attacking midfielders and strikers.
RIGHT MIDFIELDER: Landon DONOVAN
Landon Donovan’s skill-level and experience are a vital component of the USMNT, and using Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan together as attacking midfielders gives the United States good passing and excellent attacking in the midfield. Donovan’s speed and his ability to score and set up goals are well-documented. Starting Dempsey and Donovan together should be a priority for Jürgen Klinsmann.
PLAYMAKER: Benny FEILHABER
Benny Feilhaber brings playmaking qualities that Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan don’t have. Whereas Donovan and Dempsey are skilled-attackers who can score or help to create goals, Feilhaber is an actual playmaker who makes sure players like Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey receive service when they make their runs in the final third. Feilhaber is a proven-performer, and he allows Dempsey and Donovan to focus on scoring goals and combining with Altidore, rather than being tasked with providing all of the playmaking responsibilities.
LEFT MIDFIELDER: Clint DEMPSEY
Whether Clint Dempsey is playing as an attacking midfielder out on the left or playing as a second striker, his role is a fluid role built around passing and moving throughout the attack in an effort to score or set up goals. As the best American soccer player ever and the most skilled American player now, Clint Dempsey is an obvious inclusion in any USMNT Starting XI that is looking to have the United States playing its best soccer.
STRIKER: Jozy ALTIDORE
Jozy Altidore has shown that he has blossomed into a more-refined striker with improved technical-skill and better movement off the ball; Altidore has also become a more aggressive striker and a more ruthless finisher who can score with both feet and his head. Altidore’s scoring drought with Sunderland is a product of no longer playing for a team like AZ Alkmaar that places a premium on quality passing and good technical play. Sunderland’s poor form doesn’t change the fact that Altidore has become a complete striker who brings skill, athleticism, and size to the front of the American attack.
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:
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:
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.
Left Back was an enormous problem for the United States Men’s National Team before Jürgen Klinsmann took over as head coach because normally a right-footed right back had been used as a left back, and under Klinsmann, Fabian Johnson was the preferred left back until recently.
Now, DaMarcus Beasley has been the preferred left back even though he is a left winger, and Fabian Johnson has been deployed as a left winger recently, which seems to suit his playing style better.
Despite starting as a left back for Hoffenheim, Fabian Johnson seems to lack the natural tendency to aggressively mark and tackle as a left back. Johnson’s excellent overall technical ability and athleticism mask the fact that his tackling and overall defensive fundamentals not might be not as good as the United States needs to get to the next level.
Certainly, Fabian Johnson knows how to force attackers out wide, chase attackers down, and dribble and pass out of the back, but it always seems like a more aggressive defender is needed to play left back.
Fabian Johnson would be an excellent choice to use as a left wing back if the United States were to use three center backs, but Chris Klute is looking like the only known player in the entire pool who can bring the needed combination of strong and clean defending, excellent athleticism, and attacking ability from the left back position.
With all of that being said, here is World Soccer Source’s depth chart of American left backs:
1.) Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids)
Chris Klute is a two-way left back and an excellent tackler and 1v1 marker with exceptional athleticism in a tall lean frame.
Klute is remarkably fast (even by international soccer standards), and Klute runs a 4.3 40-yard dash time. Just for comparison, Bo Jackson ran a 4.12, and Deion Sanders ran a 4.2.
While Klute is known for his speed, he excels at tracking down attackers and tackling them without fouling them. He uses his great vertical leap to clear out crosses and passes played over the top of the defense, and he is good at clearing balls out of the danger zone, if there isn’t the time or space to dribble or pass the ball out of the back.
Klute uses his dribbling and speed as a weapon to disrupt defenses when he makes his frequent marauding runs down the left sideline, and he can cross with either foot or cut inside toward the middle of the field to play passes or shoot with either foot.
In short, Klute is the most complete American left back on the radar screen, but he is inexperienced at the international level. The best thing Jürgen Klinsmann can do is to let him start games to start gaining experience and go through the process of learning from mistakes before the 2014 World Cup.
2.) Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
Fabian Johnson was discussed above in the introductory section. Johnson is a Bundesliga left back who is a more gifted soccer player and attacker than he is a gifted defender. Johnson has likely been made a left back because of his left foot.
For a national team that lacks left backs, Johnson is a fairly safe choice to be entrusted with the left back position because he possesses the skill-level and athleticism to not be victimized or easily dispossessed by top national teams. Nevertheless, Johnson is not a particular aggressive or noteworthy tackler or 1v1 defender.
3.) Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City) & Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest)
These two players are essentially a tie, and so together they are ranked as third, due to the lack of left backs in the American player pool.
Jonathan Spector and Eric Lichaj are lumped together because they are two right backs who can play as left backs, and both players are more experienced international and club defenders that DeAndre Yedlin and Andrew Farrell listed below.
Yedlin and Farrell might be better, but Spector and Lichaj are outside backs who are experienced in the English Premier League and at the international level; Spector is the more experienced and proven of the two.
When selecting four outside backs, the United States will likely have to pick two or three outside backs who are right backs but who can play as left backs.
4.) DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders) & Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution)
Like Lichaj and Spector, both Yedlin and Farrell are listed together, but they are given the unscientific collective ranking of fourth.
World Soccer Source ranked two players at third and two players at fourth, in order to form two groups of more-experienced and less-experienced players.When using right backs as left backs, it’s difficult to distinguish two similar players who have a somewhat equal level of skill and experience.
Along with Klute, they are a new crop of American outside backs who seem to have more of the tools to be legitimate international-caliber outside backs who can perform against top national teams. All three players lack international experience, and it will be interesting to see how they compare to one another on the international-level.
It’s hard to imagine that all three wouldn’t be incorporated into the United States Men’s National Team now that the U.S. has qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
On a side note, it would be interesting to see who the fastest of the three young outside backs is, but Klute looks to be the fastest.
*Another Outside Back to Watch: Kellyn Acosta
Conclusion:
The United States Men’s National Team has the option of calling up Chris Klute and Fabian Johnson to play as left backs, and the likely best option for four outside backs in total on a roster is to call up Klute, Johnson, Yedlin, and Spector, with Farrell being listed as a center back.
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.
Chris Klute (right) is likely the best American left back along with Fabian Johnson. (Photo: Garrett Ellwood / Colorado Rapids)
Chris Klute’s attacking abilities as a left back are the usual focus for any discussion of him, but Klute’s defensive qualities are equally as good.
While his attacking runs down the sideline and the visual effect of his speed and crossing ability are what observers normally notice about Klute, his actual defensive qualities are underrated.
Specifically, Klute is hard to take off the dribble in 1v1 situations because he knows how to strip players of the ball, and he has the instincts and technique to block passes and shots.
Furthermore, the timing of Klute’s tackles is particularly good.
He waits until the moment when he can get the ball before the player, and then he goes in hard to win the ball with a slidetackle without making dangerous contact with the attacker.
Klute is hard to beat with 1v1 dribbling skills from a standstill, and he is hard to get past using speed because, if a player gets past him, he simply chases the player down and cleanly dispossesses them with a slidetackle or by taking the ball off their feet or out of the air.
Any American left back who is as fast and defensively-sound as Klute, and who has the skill and technique to dribble and pass out of the back with both feet has to be seriously considered for the USMNT.
If Klute is in a situation where there isn’t the time or the space to dribble or pass out of trouble, he knows when to simply clear balls out of bounds or downfield.
There is more to defending than knowing when to clear balls out and when to pass or dribble out of the back; there is also the skill of tackling attackers without fouling them or without being cautioned.
The United States doesn’t have another left back option who brings all of these qualities to the national team, and the exclusion of Chris Klute from the roster again by Jürgen Klinsmann, even to be used as a substitute, shows Klinsmann’s unwillingness to consider using new talent in vital games, even when it is necessary.
While Klinsmann does call up Fabian Johnson, Klinsmann has stated that he views Fabian Johnson as a left winger.
Calling up Johnson and Klute would have made sense because it would have provided Klinsmann with a more experienced option and a new and talented option.
Improvement for the USMNT will require risk and change, but Klinsmann’s changes are mostly biased toward the selection of dual-citizens over talented American players who grew up in the United States.
Furthermore, many of the players who are selected by Klinsmann are played out of position and clearly less-talented than other options at Klinsmann’s disposal, and using Brad Evans and Michael Parkhurst at right back over Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Spector, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell is the obvious example of this tendency.
The friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina would have been the perfect time for Klinsmann to evaluate Chris Klute with the national team, but Klinsmann chose to waste more time before evaluating the player who is likely the best American left back.
Now, Jürgen Klinsmann has selected a USMNT roster where his best left back, Fabian Johnson, is going to be deployed as a wing, but the starting left back is going to be DaMarcus Beasley who has been played at left back instead of using any of the natural outside backs at Klinsmann’s disposal.
The point of using Chris Klute against Bosnia and Herzegovina would have been to get him ready to play left back against Costa Rica and Mexico, but now Klinsmann is going to be using a makeshift defensive back four again.
Chris Klute (right) might be the best American left back. (Photo: Eamon Queeny / The Columbus Dispatch)
With Steve Cherundolo out indefinitely and Fabian Johnson performing better as a left winger, as opposed to as a left back, Jürgen Klinsmann needs DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute at right back and left back, respectively, now.
Both Klute and Yedlin are two-footed and technically-skilled players with a good first touch, and they can both pass and dribble out of the back.
Yedlin has been enjoying more publicity, but Klute is perhaps an even better outside back. Nevertheless, Yedlin is a right back and Klute is a left back, and both players are sorely needed by the USMNT.
Klute has been amassing a laundry list of starts and 90 minute performances where he showcases his excellent defending, his dangerous attacking and passing ability, and his blazing speed.
On the other hand, Yedlin too has been amassing excellent performances, including a very strong showing in the U-20 World Cup and a strong showing against Roma.
Yedlin faced strong competition both in the U-20 World Cup and against Roma, so there is some real evidence that his game translates to the international level.
Despite not having the same opportunities as Yedlin, Klute’s skill both as a defender and as a participant in the attack is undeniable.
On one occasion this season, Klute passed the ball to himself by playing the ball past the defender and then sprinting out of bounds to the left of the defender only to come back in bounds to collect the ball again.
In addition to dribbling displays like this, Klute has also produced seven assists off crosses plus a highlight reel of dispossessing opposing players either by perfectly timed slidetackles or simply taking the ball of the opposition’s feet.
Using Yedlin’s and Klute’s skill and speed at the outside back positions gives the USMNT a new and needed element to its play: excellent attacking and defending out wide.
By using natural outside backs who bring skill and speed, the United States can not only defend faster and craftier attackers out wide, but the U.S. can also disrupt the opposition by attacking them with blazing speed out wide, which causes opposing defenders to have to frequently use more than one defender to try and stop the marauding runs of Klute and Yedlin.
Using Andrew Farrell might also be an option at right back or even center back, but using Jonathan Spector or Eric Lichaj would make more sense than using Brad Evans or Michael Parkhurst at right back, even if they have held their own.
There is certainly a greater number of talented young American players than there used to be, but it is important that Jürgen Klinsmann and the USMNT actually use or at least incorporate the new players like Yedlin and Klute who have distinguished themselves and displayed the ability to improve the United States Men’s National Team.
Any defender can be wrong-footed, caught out of position, or beaten, but DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute simply look too skilled and too fast not to use, even if they are young and inexperienced at the international level.
The USMNT really doesn’t have the luxury of not using players of this caliber, especially if Klinsmann wants to really challenge the top teams.
Mistakes may come, but it’s vital to use the players with the tools to compete and excel against top national teams.
