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USA vs GHANA: Match Preview

Friday, June 25th, 2010

by Philip Cramer

All eyes will be fixed on LD tomorrow – photo cred: Alex V.

This USA team reminds me of the 2002 squad that made it to the quarterfinals only to lose 1-0 to Germany in a match where the Americans outplayed the opposition. The United States should have had a penalty kick, and Germany should have had a red card for a handball on the goal line.

That team came out with fire in its eyes, believing that its could beat anybody. And the Americans did, blowing away a very fancied Portugal side with three goals in the first half-hour of the opening game.

The 2010 team has that same fire and that same self-confidence that didn’t exist on the 1998 or 2006 squads.

The United States faces a tricky game tomorrow against a Ghana team that stumbled into the Round of 16 thanks to Australia. Ghana’s two biggest problems are the absence of star midfielder Michael Essien for the entire tournament, and an offense that has only scored two goals thus far—both from penalties. Those two problems are related.

The Americans are coming off the incredible high of Landon Donovan’s extra time goal to save their tournament. That will be a huge asset as confidence is essential in the knockout stage. Ghana will have a huge weight on its shoulders as the last team standing from Africa. That can cut both ways.

The U.S. is stronger at the back because of Tim Howard, and he has been excellent throughout this World Cup. It’s often the little things that make the difference in a game, such as his quick and accurate throw that led to Donovan’s game-winning goal against Algeria.

For Ghana, Richard Kingson is solid in net and has likewise been error-free in the tournament.

The U.S. defense has been solid with Jay Demerit and Carlos Bocanegra both having exceptional tournaments. Oguchi Onyewu should be back for this game as well. His height and size will help keep Ghana’s attack at bay.

Ghana have a solid defense that has given away little including holding Germany to one unstoppable goal. John Pantsil, John Mensah, and the newly promoted Jonathan Mensah have all been solid and disciplined and will force the U.S. attack to work hard.

The midfield matches up fairly evenly despite Essien’s absence. For the U.S. Michael Bradley has been stellar with a controlled level of aggression. Donovan can break open a game and Clint Dempsey is showing the wealth of experience he has garnered playing for Fulham.

Ghana’s midfield has surprised. Anthony Annan has become one of the standout holding midfielders in the tournament, and 20-year-old Andre Ayew is excelling. Kevin Prince Boateng is another player who could cause headaches for the Americans.

Up front Jozy Altidore has played well, proving he can play at this level despite not scoring yet. A goal would surely boost his confidence. Ghana needs Asamoah Gyan to come unstuck for them to have any chance at a victory. He was woeful virtually every time he got the ball in a critical situation against Germany, wasting a number of chances.

Despite struggling through the group stage, Ghana has been consistent with few errors. The ball control skills and short passing of the midfield could give Team USA headaches. The U.S. will need an error-free defense to win.

The intangibles favor the United States. The Americans’ team unity, commitment, and aggression can get under Ghana’s skin, and if that happens the United States will prevail quite comfortably. It could be a game of few clear-cut chances and whoever takes advantage of them will win.

This game could end up hinging on a lucky break, and after the group round the United States seems to have used up their allotment of bad breaks.

Soccer at this level can be a fickle mistress. The odds slightly favor the United States which is an accurate reflection of the game’s prospects. Ghana has more skill but the United States has heart, cohesion, and determination, attributes that have not been as evident for Ghana.

The United States should prevail by the odd goal, but expect a well-played, tight game.

read more from Philip at Irritable Liberal Syndrome!

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WORLD CUP ANALYSIS: GROUP C

Monday, June 7th, 2010

by Philip Cramer

Group C: USA, England, Slovenia, Algeria.

Sixty years ago England played the U.S. in the World Cup in Brazil. American soccer at the time barely had a pulse, while England was considered the best in the world, matched only by the host nation. We all know what happened then; the U.S. shocked the world winning 1-0. When news first filtered back to England everyone assumed it was a misprint and that England had won 10-1.

They meet again in the opening game of the group. If the U.S. beat England this time it will still be considered an upset, but nothing compared to the epic of 1950.

Either way, England and the U.S. are clear favorites to advance with the luck of the draw putting two soft opponents, Algeria and Slovenia in their group.

Despite the loss of Rio Ferdinand, England is the class of this group despite some weaknesses. David James, the first string goalie is nicknamed ‘Calamity James’ for good reason. Ashley Cole and John Terry will hold the defense together. Beyond them, Glen Johnson and Ledley King are more than adequate but could find problems in later rounds. In midfield only Gareth Barry has strong defensive credentials but it is moving forward that they are strongest with Lampard, Gerrard and Joe Cole capable of dominating any team. In reserve they have Aaron Lennon and James Milner who can more than hold their own. Up front, Rooney has matured into one of the best in the world. He works hard, is happy to fall back to help and can create goals out of nothing. Jermain Defoe will, in all likelihood partner him up front but I am still mystified as to why Capello excluded Theo Walcott who has incredible speed and is a gamechanger as we saw when he brought Arsenal back from the brink against Barcelona in the Champion’s League. I’ve always considered Peter Crouch to be out of his depth against the best in the world and Darren Bent might have been a better choice than the old warhorse Emile Heskey,

Capello has brought about renewed confidence, and while England will sail through the group they will do their usual swoon in the later rounds. The cooler weather will suit their frenetic style of play.

The U.S. should advance no matter what happens in the England game. They have an excellent goalkeeping squad who all play in the Premier League and as a group are better than the English trio. Their backline is a little sketchy with Onyewu the only standout at this level. Jonathan Spector is suspect while DeMerit, Cherundolo and the others will have their work cut out in keeping Rooney quiet. At midfield Landon Donovan is world class while Clint Dempsey has considerable experience in the Premier League. Michael Bradley has shown maturity beyond his years and his strength and tenacity will prove useful in helping out the defense. Francisco Torres will contribute for years to come and DaMarcus Beasly has the experience if not the recent form.

Up front Altidore has immense talent but will be tested at this level. Edson Buddle has been stellar for the Galaxy this year and scored twice against Australia over the weekend. He too, will be called on to play at a higher level than ever before.

As a team, fitness, strength and discipline are assets and coach Bob Bradley has proved he is more than capable. They will need to be at their best and might need a bit of luck but beating or drawing with England will not be much of a surprise.

Algeria has a tough road ahead of them. One of their best defenders, Nadir Belhadj is suspended for the opening game. The goalkeeper who led them to victory over Egypt, Faouzi Chaouchi is suspended for the first two games. Mourad Meghni, a gifted midfielder, nicknamed Le Petit Zidane is out of the WC with a knee injury and Majid Bougherra, a defender who plays for Scottish champion, Glasgow Rangers, is struggling to get fit in time. Many of their players play in Europe but for lesser teams, and while that experience might help them they will be lucky to get a point out of their encounters with either England or the U.S.

Spare a thought for Algeria who were cheated out of advancing in 1982. They opened with a shock 2-1 win against West Germany and beat Chile 3-2 in the third game in the group. The last game matched West Germany and Austria and the only scenario that would keep Algeria from advancing was a 1-0 German win by one or two goals. West Germany attacked and 10 minutes into the game scored and that was the end of the contest as the two German speaking teams passed the ball around with no attempts to score for the next 80 minutes. Angry Algerian fans waved banknotes and even the German fans booed. The game resulted in FIFA changing the format so that the final group games are played simultaneously to prevent any possibility of collusion. Algeria has never made it past the first round.

Slovenia, the country with the smallest population of any of the finalists finished second in their group thanks to a stingy defense that gave up just four goals in ten games. The surprising failure of the far higher ranked Czech team allowed them to finish second to meet Russia in a two leg playoff. Russia took a 2-0 lead at home as expected but Slovenia pulled one back in the last minute. In the return leg, Slovenia held on for a 1-0 win and qualified on the away goals rule while accusations that the Russian team partied too much dogged their collapse, despite having Guus Huddink as coach.

Arguably the best known is Cologne striker Milivoje Novakovic, who scored five times during qualifying and, at 30, is approaching the peak of his powers. The Ljubljana-born striker describes himself as making up one third of Slovenia’s “backbone”, with goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and captain Robert Koren, a talented attacking midfielder are the standouts. Their dogged determination should keep them in contention but they too, will be lucky to get a point against England and the U.S.

Fearless forecast:

1 England
2 United States

Read more from ONELOVE Ambassador Philip Cramer at Irritable Liberal Syndrome.

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USA vs TURKEY: There is Hope Yet

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

by Craig Hutcheson

The US National Team needed a good performance from their last game on home soil before flying out to South Africa for World Cup 2010.

It’s important from a confidence perspective to gain some belief in yourself as a player and just as importantly, your teammates. Today’s game against Turkey was never going to be easy, but a tough competitor is just what times like these demand to really prove where you are as a team.

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Things didn’t look good at the beginning. Turkey took control of the game and made the US look very sloppy in the opening minutes. This was somewhat understandable because this starting XI has not played together in months.

Questions can be raised about Bob Bradley’s continual inclusion of Benny Feilhaber in his best XI. Benny never seems tough enough to handle central midfield duties but today he started out on the left side of midfield. Would Stuart Holden have been a better choice?

The answers came soon enough as Feilhaber consistently gave the ball away without much pressure and never provided the width needed from the position. He was a big part of why it took the US 22 minutes just to find their footing in this game after repelling wave after wave of Turkish attacks.

Turkey seemingly could do no wrong, playing a short passing game through and around US players like they were standing still. Quite frankly, the US looked simply overmatched. This had the appearances of being a very long afternoon for the Stars and Stripes.

But around the 22nd minute the Americans began to gel and the team was getting more possession of the ball. Early on, the defenders were just whacking it downfield when playing through the midfield would have been a better option.

Turkey would just collect the ball and build another attack, time and time again. But as time wore on you could see the US starting to gain some belief a get a foothold in the game. Jonathan Spector won a ball in defense and instead of just booting it, he made nice run, dribbling about 40 yards upfield before the ball was tackled away by Turkey.

After Turkey won the ball, you could see if they could find Arda Turan wide open on the left, the US would be in trouble. After Spector made his run he showed little urgency in getting back to defend his position and with no one covering for him, Turan had nothing but green grass in front of him.

A good ball out of defense did find Turan, and away he went towards the US goal with Spector trudging up from behind trying to catch him. Jay DeMerit also tried to close down the run from his position in the middle of the field. Neither US player could get there in time and as US goalkeeper Tim Howard came out, Turan slotted it home calmly underneath him. 1-0 Turkey.

Both sides created chances before the end of the first half but it was obvious the Americans needed to make player changes in order to get a look at new players before the World Cup and to try to turn this game around.

Coach Bob Bradley responded, ringing in four substitutes after the halftime break. Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Jose’ Torres and Robbie Findley replaced Clarence Goodson, Spector, Ricardo Clark and Feilhaber respectively.

We’ve been hard on Robbie Findley here in the Supporters Group, but this time he would be playing out wide on the left side of midfield as opposed to his customary position as forward. The US took control of the second half early and you could see the additions of Torres and Findley in particular were paying off.

Whereas the team had been mostly dominated in midfield in the first half, Torres’ skill and confidence were paying dividends by winning possession, getting into open spaces and playing a controlled passing game.

Pace is Findley’s game (with not much else, some might say) and he immediately started to trouble the Turks down the left flank, opening up things in the middle of the pitch. The width that seemed so foreign to the team in first half was now there in abundance.

In the 59th minute, Findley worked his way over to the middle of the field and played a good first touch as he saw Landon Donovan make a run just to his left. Robbie’s deft pass chipped the Turkish defender for Donovan to run onto, where Landon’s excellent first touch took him around the onrushing goalkeeper.

Landon then squared the ball across for a wide-open Jozy Altidore to finish. With nothing but net gaping in front of him, Jozy calmly side-footed the ball in for a 1-1 score. The US’s dominance in the first 15 minutes of the second half had paid off with a well earned goal.

The game continued to go the US’s way and they continually put pressure on Turkey, with Torres and Findley playing the roles of shining stars.

In the 75th minute, that pressure would pay off once again. After a US throw in, Donovan would once again turn provider. He found Clint Dempsey, who had been quiet for much of the game, to his left and clipped a ball over which Clint controlled with his right hip, bringing it down and through the first Turkish defender.

As the Turk’s ‘keeper came out to close down the angle, Dempsey deflected the shot off of him before following through and sending it underneath the ‘keeper and into the back of the night. It was a true fighter’s goal, with Dempsey battling his way through to make sure he would score, no matter what.

Clint set off the celebrations and the already raucous Philadelphia crowd of over 55,000 exploded. Dempsey even added a cool little dance move at the end, seemingly a tribute to injured teammate Charlie Davies.

Dempsey and Torres, the team’s Texas two-steppers, came close to adding a third goal, which would have put an exclamation point on this well earned American victory.

The USA got what they came in looking for out of this game: the appearances and evaluations of several players, the building of a cohesive unit as the team heads towards its June 12 opening game against England, and a victory.

A standing ovation should go to the crowd in Philadelphia. Time after time you could hear great songs and chants coming through the TV speakers, something not often experienced at American soccer games with such volume.

The team will fly out to South Africa tomorrow and play it’s last warm up game against Australia next Saturday morning in Roodepoort at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

About the Author: Craig Hutcheson is a lifelong player who lives and coaches out of Sparta, NJ. He also runs a growing community for USMNT supporters – click here to become a fan!

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USA 23 Man Roster

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

By Daniel Kelley

(ONELOVE U.S. Correspondent)

The time has finally come! The 23-man roster for team USA has been announced.  Bob Bradley has picked the best of the best to show their worth on the world’s stage this summer.  Still though Bob Bradley made a few roster decisions that will leave a lot of people scratching their heads.

The obvious picks were made in terms of goalkeepers and defenders, Bornstein is only there because sadly he is the closest thing we have to a left back, but there were definitely some surprises in the midfield and forward selections.  Most of the players I thought would not make the trip didn’t, however I was quite surprised to see Beasley make the team.  All credit to him, he successfully played his way back on the team.  Sorry not to see Bedoya make it, but Beasley earned his place. Is the old Beasley back in time to make a difference in 2010?

The forward dilemma has been the big story all year long.  I’m sure no one ever would have guessed that both Edson Buddle and Herculez “Goal: The Dream Begins” Gomez would be on the team, but sure enough here they are.  The most surprising thing to me is that Robbie Findley made the team.  He must have some incriminating pictures of Bob Bradley because it seemed like there was no way he would make the final roster, especially since he didn’t even play in the friendly on Tuesday.  Tough break for Brian Ching, he looked good against the Czech’s.  Elated to see Eddie Johnson will not be making the trip to Africa.  The guy just can’t compete at the international level, then again neither can Findley.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (All-Time World Cup Roster Appearances)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (2010), Marcus Hahnemann (2006, 2010), Tim Howard (2006, 2010)

DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (2006, 2010), Jonathan Bornstein (2010), Steve Cherundolo (2002, 2006, 2010), Jay DeMerit (2010), Clarence Goodson (2010), Oguchi Onyewu (2006, 2010), Jonathan Spector (2010)

MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (2002, 2006, 2010), Michael Bradley (2010), Ricardo Clark (2010), Clint Dempsey (2006, 2010), Landon Donovan (2002, 2006, 2010), Maurice Edu (2010), Benny Feilhaber (2010), Stuart Holden (2010), José Torres (2010)

FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (2010), Edson Buddle (2010), Robbie Findley (2010), Herculez Gomez (2010

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USA vs. CZECH REPUBLIC: Thoughts and Player Ratings

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

By Daniel Kelley

(ONELOVE U.S. Correspondent)

Bob Bradley decided to make a bold move and field a team for tonight’s friendly composed of fringe players on the outside looking in.  While the starters were resting in a luxury box, ESPN hilariously kept showing Carlos Bocanegra annihilating buffalo wings, many of those players vying for a spot on the 23 man team played their way onto to the team, and some played their way off.

In the first half we saw Oguchi Onyewu play his first game of competitive action since October and it was far from impressive. He was clearly at fault on the first Czech goal, and looked sort of afraid to push himself and win those all-important aerial battles.  After Gooch’s performance I’m not so sure he is fit enough to even make the squad. Fortunately for him he probably will make the team, at the expense of Chad Marshall of course.

Gooch’s defensive partner Clarence Goodson had a fantastic game and was involved in both of the USA goals.  His passing needs some work, but he had a real good presence in the air and played with a lot of confidence.

Speaking of confidence, or lack there of I should say, the play of both Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce left me not feeling good about our left back situation.  Bornstein had the pace to keep up with the Czech’s but his passing was embarrassing. Failed cross after failed cross in the 45 minutes that he played.  The only good thing going for Bornstein is that Pearce managed to play even worse than he did.  Pearce got burned pretty badly on a few occasions and pretty much played his way off the team tonight.

In the midfield battle Jose Francisco Torres, Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu, and even DaMarcus Beasley had a good first half.  Torres played with finesse and passed the ball around pretty well.  He needs to add some physical play to his game to compliment his great touch and passing skills.  The Rangers duo of Edu and Beasley had good games on the night.  Edu scored one of the sloppier goals I’ve had the pleasure of seeing and Beasley looked lively in his 45 minutes, almost reminded me of 2002 world cup Beasley.  The midfield in the first half essentially booked their tickets to South Africa tonight.

Tonight we finally got to see how the forward situation would play out.  In the first half Edson Buddle and Eddie Johnson got the start.  Buddle huffed and puffed for 45 minutes and did all he could.  He played hard, held the ball up well and even got himself involved in the first goal.  Eddie Johnson did he what EJ does best, he held the ball up too long and never looked like he was going to score the whole game.  Johnson played his way off the team tonight with his dismal performance.  For Buddle his performance was just not enough because both second half strikers just played better.

Brian Ching came in and made a huge difference. He passed well and held up the ball, he looked dangerous.  Herculez! Herculez! Where do I begin with this guy?  No one ever would have guessed he would even be in the running for World Cup and yet here he is. He came off the bench and did what surely no one thought he would do.  He scored a goal!  I can no longer hide my bias for this guy, his story is truly inspirational and barring some sort of freak error in judgment from Bradley he will make the 23 man roster.  Herculez Gomez, USA super sub!

The second half midfield left little to be desired.  Sacha Kljestan was pretty much anonymous, and Alejandro Bedoya did more defending and backtracking then he really needed to being do.  Robbie Rogers had a pretty decent game and made the most of his chance tonight.  He held the ball a little too long at times when he probably should have passed, but he had some nice crosses and one nice shot from way out on Peter Cech.

This game was experiment to give the fringe players their chance at showing their worth.  I would say it was good exercise and should give Bradley an idea of who should really make this team.  Next up we get to see the starters in full action against Turkey.  Hopefully the starters didn’t eat as many buffalo wings as Bocanegra did.

Player Ratings:

Based on a scale of 1-10

(G) Brad Guzan-5- Not really at fault for any of the goals, but having 4 goals scored against you is never good. Would have liked to have seen Hahnemann play instead

(D) Steve Cherundolo-7- One of the few bright spots for the back four tonight.  Passed well, attacked well, and defended pretty well too

(D) Oguchi Onyewu-3.5- Gooch did not look like Gooch tonight.  He looked like he was afraid to jump and made some silly fouls.  Someone needs to remind him that he needs to actually jump to win an aerial battle.  Was 100% to blame on the first Czech goal.

(D) Jonathan Bornstein-3- Looked shaky and unsure of himself. Luckily for him Heath Pearce managed to play even worse than he did.

(D) Clarence Goodson-6.5- A pleasantly surprising performance from Goodson.  Was good in the air and had a hand in both goals, his header to keep the ball in play for Gomez’s goal was sublime.

(M) DaMarcus Beasley-7- Beasley is making his horrid performances in the last summers Confederations Cup easier to forget with his recent play for the national team.  He looked good tonight.

(M) Jose Francisco Torres-7.5- Looked really good tonight, distributed the ball well and had some killer touches.  Needs to be better physically.

(M) Stuart Holden-8- Whatever rust he had from his injury is gone.  Looked really good on the wing tonight.

(M) Maurice Edu-6- Had a typical Edu sloppy goal, much like the ones he scores for Rangers in Scotland. His passing left little to be desired, and he looked awful as a centerback in the second half.

(F) Edson Buddle-5- worked hard and did his best, but probably not enough to get to South Africa

(F) Eddie Johnson-3- EJ was ineffective and had his back to the goal for the whole time he played. Never looked dangerous and never looked like he want to score.

Substitutes

(F) Herculez Gomez-6.5- Wow. Did Gomez really just do what I think he did? Yup. Came off the bench and scored a goal, see you in South Africa buddy.

(F) Brian Ching-6- Nice performance from the flying Hawaiian, looked really confident tonight.  Played smart and held up the ball really well, sealed his spot on the roster tonight.

(M) Sacha Kljestan-4.5- Disappeared in the midfield tonight. Was supposed to be an attacking/creative catalyst in the midfield but decided to run around aimlessly instead. Probably on a plane back to Chivas USA tomorrow.

(M) Robbie Rogers-5.5- Had a pretty good performance tonight, probably going to make the team at the expense of Bedoya.

(M) Alejandro Bedoya-5- Didn’t get much of a look tonight which was very unfortunate for him.  Bedoya is a player with a lot of potential, but wasn’t able to do much with the limited time he had on the pitch.  Not going to make the final 23.

(D) Heath Pearce-2.5- Has had a revival in form playing for FC Dallas, unfortunately for him his strong play in MLS did not carry over onto the international level.  Looked out of place tonight and played terribly, played his way off the team.

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TEAM USA: 30-Man Roster and Analysis

Monday, May 24th, 2010

By Daniel Kelley

(ONELOVE U.S. Correspondent)

Coach Bob Bradley presented his 30 man roster to public last week and there were very few shocks and surprises to be had.  While many are in uproar about Charlie Davies not making the cut, Bradley has put together the best that the US has to offer.  The squad is primarily made up of the players plying their trade in Europe, and also includes the usual suspects from MLS and the Mexican league

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton)

Goalkeepers have always been our finest US import for the soccer world.  All three keepers play at the highest level in England, and will without a doubt be on the plane to South Africa.  Tim “Timmy” Howard is the undisputed starter.

The real question is who will be the back up.  Bradley loves Guzan but he has played sporadically at best for Villa this year.  Marcus Hahnemann on the other hand has been sensational this season for Wolves.  He should be back up for Howard, but Guzan is a Bradley favorite from his days back at Chivas USA and he’ll probably get the number two spot.

DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan

Spector (West Ham United)

The biggest concerns for the defense is who will play in the middle and who is the best person to play left back.  Oguchi “Gooch” Onyewu has finally recovered from his serious knee injury, but hasn’t played a competitive match since October.  Ideally he would be a starter but it remains to be seen how match fit he is.

Jay DeMerit is a total beast.  The guy is fearless and really plays with his heart on sleeve whenever he puts on that USA jersey.  There is no header he won’t go for and that’s the kind of player we need playing in the heart of defense.  What he lacks in creativity and vision on the field he makes up for with his hard play and fearlessness.

Captain Carlos Bocanegra often plays in the middle for the national team but plays left back for his Ligue One club Rennes.  The concern with him as a left back though is his speed.  While he is one of the best defenders on the team he does not have the speed to keep up with the likes of Shaun Wright Phillips and Aaron Lennon of England.

Jonathon Bornstein and Heath Pearce do have that speed on the left, but both are so prone to making big mistakes in big games that Bradley may opt to have Bocanegra play out on the left.  Cherundolo and Spector will duke it out for the right back spot.  Both have come off rocky seasons in Germany and England where both of their teams were nearly relegated.  Cherundolo will most likely be the starting right back, but with a strong camp and good performances in the upcoming friendlies Spector might give him a run for his money.

My guess is that all of these guys will be on the plane to South Africa except for MLS’ers  Chad Marshall and Heath Pearce.  Look for a backline with Cherundlo at right back, Gooch and Demiret in the middle, and Bocanegra playing on the left.  Don’t be surprised if Bradley’s favorite left back, Jonathon Bornstein, ends up playing on the left.  If that’s the case I may have to watch all these games with my eyes closed.

MIDFIELDERS (12): DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), José Torres (Pachuca)

The US midfield has become one our deeper positions over the past few years.  This world cup will be a changing of the guard of sorts.  With players like Claudio Reyna retired and old favorites like DaMarcus Beasley having their best years behind them a new generation of players will lead the midfield.

Michael Bradley has shrugged off any claims of nepotism and has proven his worth as a solid defensive midfielder who can get the job done and even score every now and then.  Next time with him in the middle will either be Ricardo Clark, a Bradley favorite, or Maurice Edu.  Clark has found games hard to come by in Germany so I think Edu should get the starting spot.  He had a great season with Rangers and even scored against Celtic in the Glasgow derby, a goal that sealed his spot as a Rangers legend.  On the wings will be golden boy Landon “landy cakes” Donovan and Stuart Holden.  Both players went across the pond to play in England this year and have done well.

Donovan became a fan favorite at Everton and really showed his critics that he can play at the top level and is heralded as the best US player for a reason.  Holden was just starting to come into the team at Bolton till his leg break in a friendly against the Dutch.  He is healthy again now and will use his speed and crossing ability on the wings in South Africa.

Newcomer Alejandro Bedoya will be great off the bench and will probably push DaMarcus Beasley off the roster.  Jose Torres and Benny Feilhaber will make the team but only as substitutes.  DaMarcus Beasley, Sacha Kljestan, and Robbie Rogers won’t make the final cut and be sent home.  I have most definitely not forgot about the team’s creative catalyst, Clint Dempsey. He will not be playing midfield though, because due to the huge void left by the absence of Charlie Davies he will be playing up top in the tournament.

FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)

With limited striking options, due to the injury of Davies, Bradley has invited national team recluses Herculez Gomez and Edson Buddle.  The two strikers are in scintillating form at the moment and Bradley is hoping that their rich vein of form will carry over into the World Cup.  Gomez last played for USA in the forgettable 2007 Copa America and hasn’t been called up since.  He went from being an MLS phenom to an MLS reject over the past few years. Somehow though he managed to get picked up by Mexican team Puebla and became the top scorer in the league.  His story is reminiscent of a Disney themed sports drama. He has gone from zero to hero in a big way.

Edson Buddle is Bradley’s other hope of being able to fill the void that Davies has left.  Buddle last played for USA in a 2003 friendly against Venezuela and has not been called up since.  After having a lot of mediocre seasons at various teams in MLS he landed in Los Angeles and found his form again.  He’s started the 2010 season with 9 goals in 9 games.  He is a forward that seems to always pop at the right time when he scores goals, and in this case he has managed to find his form at the right time to make his way onto the preliminary squad.

Ching is the target man.  The flying Hawaiian is a big player who can hold the ball up well, and will most likely make the team but not be a starter.  Eddie Johnson was once touted as superstar forward but he has had a tough time living up to his hype and so called potential.  With disastrous seasons in England with Fulham and Cardiff he has found a new lease on life in Greece with Aris, and much to everyone’s surprise has actually scored some goals this season.  Bradley loves him, for whatever reason, and he’ll make the team.

Starting up top will be Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey.  Jozy had a decent campaign with Hull this season, even though he only scored two goals all season, and after reportedly telling David Beckham England will lose 3-0 to the US at a Laker game he has a lot of work to do.  Clint Dempsey has had a career year with Europa cup finalist Fulham, and with the absence of Charlie Davies will start up top next to Jozy Altidore.  Just watch his ridiculous goal in Fulham’s game against Juventus on youtube and you can see for yourself why it’s a no-brainer that he’ll be more useful to the national up top. Robbie Findley has no chance of making this team and should have never even been invited to the camp in my opinion. Findley will stay stateside and either Herculez Gomez or Edson Buddle will be left behind as well.

While I would like to see Eddie Johnson stay at home and Bradley give a chance to both Gomez and Buddle I know that he’s only going to take one of them.  My guess is that Gomez will win the battle for the last spot and do the unthinkable and go to the world cup next month.

Look for Gomez and Ching to make a big impact coming off the bench in games, and look for Eddie Johnson to come off the bench and probably miss an open goal from five yards out.

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ELBAZ ON USA vs ENGLAND

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

How will the USA prepare to face England on June 12th? It’s not an elimination match by any means, but it will set the tone for what’s to come. ONELOVE’s own Jonathan Elbaz took on the task of outlining some strategies for how LD and company can make an impact on day 1. Do you agree with Jon?

Elbaz on USA vs England:

1. Pressure the English midfield immensely when they get the ball. Gerrard, Lampard, Walcott, Lennon, etc are too dangerous when they have time and space.

2. Take advantage of their overlapping full-backs, in order to start a counter-attack. Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole are acclaimed attack-minded defenders who have the caliber to dish out assists and even score from defense.

3. Physically man up to them. The Premier League is known for its physicality across the world. Going in for some tackles and winning challenges could surprise them and take them off their game.

4. Don’t let England score first. They’re too good at holding possession and have such talented players, who can create opportunities almost at will. The USA must constantly keep their heads in the game for the entire 90+ minutes.

5. Play hard. Everyone expects England to win, and the element of surprise may benefit the USA. The USA has shown its capability to compete at a high level, beating Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup.

My very own American Starting XI: Tim Howard (goalie), Steve Cherundolo (right back), Carlos Bocanegra (center back), Oguchi Onyewu (center back), Jonathan Bornstein (left back), Michael Bradley (center defensive midfield), Stuart Holden (outside right midfield), Clint Dempsey (outside left midfield), Landon Donovan (center attacking midfield), Jozy Altidore (striker)

And let’s not forget about 1950…

Group Information:

Algeria do not look to have a star-studded team. However, they play well as a team and are very physical. They are one of the best teams from the African continent and deserve respect.

Slovenia also doesn’t have the big names, but they don’t give up. They’re not intimidated of anybody and will play hard no matter what. Let’s not forget, they prevented an impressive Russian side from competing at the World Cup.

England have a battered squad, with so many players suffering injuries and many others dipping in form during the European season. Capello is a great manager and led the English to a stellar World Cup qualifying campaign, so expect a lot from this British side.

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WORLD CUP PRELIM ROSTER: TEAM USA!

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Bob Bradley had to make the tough decision of excluding Charlie Davies. How does everyone feel about the breakdown? Will Eddie Johnson, Edson Buddle, Maurice Edu, Beasley, and Torres make the final cut?

GOALKEEPERS:

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)
Tim Howard (Everton)
Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton)

DEFENDERS:

Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes)
Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA)
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover)
Jay DeMerit (Watford)
Clarence Goodson (IK Start)
Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew)
Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan)
Heath Pearce (FC Dallas)
Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS:

DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers)
Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro)
Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Maurice Edu (Rangers)
Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus)
Stuart Holden (Bolton)
Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA)
Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
José Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS:

Jozy Altidore (Villarreal)
Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
Herculez Gomez (Puebla)
Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)

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OGUCHI WHERE ART THOU?

Monday, April 26th, 2010

by Yoni Ginsburg

What was a big summer transfer to a well respected European club for American Oguchi Onyewu might have been a big mistake. The 6′4 center half was signed by AC Milan this past summer and they had high hopes for him but a gruesome knee injury sustained in a US World Cup Qualifier in October against Costa Rica forced him to miss all of Milan’s club season in the Serie A.

Gooch on USMNT duty

Onyewu, the son of Nigerian immigrants and a product of the highly regarded IMG Soccer Academy, transferred from Belgian side Standard Liège where he led the club to two consecutive Belgian league championships.
What will Bob Bradley do with his star center back? Everyone knows that he is skilled enough to play for the USMNT but is he fit enough is the question. Possible replacements could be the extremely talented and young Omar Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Galaxy or Jay Demerit who is with Watford in the Championship.

What do you think?

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THE AMERICAN GAME: Systems of Play

Friday, April 9th, 2010

By Kim Smith

There are teams that play soccer within an established formation, a system that teaches generations of players and brings great successes, and then there are teams whose system of play is formulated by the existing players’ talent. Whether at the national, collegiate or youth level, the chosen system of play, its consistency and education directly affects a team’s path to goal.

For the University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer team, the attacking 3-4-3 system runs at a finely tuned frequency that Head Coach Anson Dorrance has utilized and taught for the past 31 years. And why not? He’s won 20 National Championships. One of the benefits of coaching at the top level is the advantage of being able to select not only the best athletes, but the most skilled and experienced at specific positions.

The US Men’s National Team has also had consistency of formation, allowing for greater understanding of positions and movement of the surrounding players in the 4-4-2, the most commonly preferred formation in US Soccer. Though change often comes when defeat fills the locker room. While playing Brazil, the US 4-4-2 formation shifted into a 4-2-2-2 and because a brief taste of success shone through, Head Coach Bob Bradley decided to further explore this system.

Division I Idaho State Women’s Soccer Team requires a greater flexibility from Head Coach Allison Gibson when she’s deciding what system to play because her team sits in the middle of the NCAA standings. “I recruit the best possible athlete, players with speed, a hard work ethic and we teach them the system.”

Idaho State Coach Allison Gibson

Though if players are in a role that doesn’t compliment their abilities and exposes their weaknesses, frustration will simply trump success at the Division I level. For Gibson, who has, in her 3 seasons at Idaho State won a Big Sky Conference title and earned a bid for the NCAA College Cup, she initially struggled in a 4-3-3 system in her 2009 season. Within this system, speed and a natural propensity to attack the spaces in the middle and attacking third are required by the outside backs. Gibson’s breakdown came with her frontrunners not being able to beat the 1st line of defense and they weren’t able to possess the ball long enough for the defenders to get forward. In addition, the defenders weren’t too keen on getting involved in the attack. “It was counterproductive. By the time the defenders would join the attack, our forwards lost possession. Now they’re having to track back and balls are being played behind and we are exposed in the space between the forwards and the backs.”

Once Gibson decided to switch mid season to a 4-4-2, she encountered a 5-game winning streak. “My system has to fit my players.” Her team was comprised of 13 freshman and sophomores and at any given time she had 6 freshman starting. She discovered her players were more comfortable playing a 4-4-2. With a 3 front forward line, players were getting in each other’s way. “Just making the adjustment and giving them what they’re more comfortable with, it eliminated the work load of our outside backs and the forwards were able to focus on their role instead of their positioning.”

Within Coach Gibson’s chosen system, education is paramount. She teaches her players its intricacies and function, often times through the use of a white board. At Idaho State and as the Head Coach of the U-17 ODP Region IV team she breaks down the attacking and defensive tendencies and individual positions for her players. “A lot of girls are visual learners. It’s important to paint the picture for them so that they can transfer it onto the field.” Subsequently, when the players understand their roles and the positions of their teammates, collectively, they are able to solve any breakdowns on the field.

As the former Director of Coaching of the Youth Girls for the Colorado Rush Soccer Club in Denver, Allison Gibson emphasizes the importance of being flexible, sticking to one system and fully educating the kids within that system. “At the ODP level it’s interesting to see kids who are familiar with the entire system, not just their position. They know the center back’s role, the left back and as a result they are flexible in playing multiple positions.”

Not only is a great understanding of the system important, but the consistency of play within a chosen formation is key, especially with girls. All too often, coaches change the formation before a match in response to the opponent, which psychologically takes players outside of their comfort zone. With constant change, players start to wonder why they are always adjusting to the opponent. Committing to a single system builds confidence and muscle memory. “Instead of changing your 4-4-2 system when playing against a 4-3-3, educate your players on how to adjust. Know what your 2 central midfielders are going to do to deal with 3 midfielders, how to defend and attack. Communicate with your players on how to deal with different systems.”

Fortunately there is a system of play for any desired style of play. Though, no matter what system is chosen, the education and consistency are essential. When these two are in place, the team can begin to progress towards their desired goal.

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