If a match falls in the woods does it make a sound?
Not to use an old opening line, but that's probably what I'll wrote the last three years before these annual January USMNT friendly matches against Scandinavian 'B' teams. Yes, it'll be nice to see the U.S. home whites in action, too bad most of the bodies inhabiting them likely won't be seen again until January 2010.
Saturday at the Home Depot Center in sunny SoCal it'll be Sweden (8, FSC), sans the likes of Zlatan Ibrohimovic, Kim Källström, Johann Ellmander, etc. Instead it'll be Pontus Wernbloom (great name) Rade Prica and Mattias Bjärsmyr.
Sweden, it would seem, probably fall into the same tier of International teams as the U.S. The Swedes are able to qualify for most major tournaments making four of the last five World Cups and Euros. The best they've done in that time was a third-place finish at USA 1994 -- Thomas Ravelli anyone?
On top of that, Sweden appearing caught in the same crunch as the U.S. when it comes to roster management. Coach Lars Lagerbäck -- who may or may not have more personality than Bob Bradley -- plays a similar, static 4-4-2 formation. He also has to deal with the off-calendar off the Swedish Allsvenskan (currently the 23rd best in the UEFA ratings), which runs March to October along with 'star' players spread across the European continent.
It'd be curious to find out how people in Sweden perceive the Blågult. Are they happy the team simply makes the tournaments so they can show up with their silly viking costumes and drink some cheap continental lager? Are their enough fans tired that the Swedes, as jolly as they might seem, are nothing more than the World Cup equivalent of seat fillers?
Is there growing distaste for the dull, efficient management of Lagerback? More importantly are is the Swedish public going to roust itself in the middle of the night (approx. 3 a.m.) to watch it's second-tier players play the U.S.'s, perhaps, third-rate players? (Let's hope the Swedish players included make an account, and not simply hack and drag all over the field.)
At least we're not alone in our identity crisis.
Talking points
Slim pickings here, but this is what I could boil down:
1. Cooper Trooper -- Kenny Cooper: viable international option or tease? The 6-foot-3 FC Dallas forward is coming off a strong MLS campaign and has the size and skill to be an asset for the U.S. The question, can he bring enough defensively (yes, ironic) to supplant Brian Ching in Bradley's rotation? Two things to consider, Cooper scored his first international goal way back in 2007 in a similar January friendly with Denmark. Second, he scored his only other U.S. goal in the team's last outing against Guatemala in November.
2. Please Hammarby don't hurt 'em -- Charlie Davies, this is your chance. The Boston College product is one of the few Americans in Europe that actually had a productive season, scoring 14 times in 27 league matches for Sweden's Hammarby. The U.S. isn't exactly overflowing with in-form strikers, so Davies is certain to get heavy looks in the coming months. Wouldn't Saturday, against players he's likely familiar with, be a perfect place to start a nice 2009?
3. Wither MLS? -- Is the league viable for players to move into international competitions? More specifically, do American players feel they have a shot to make an impact on the National Team if they're toiling away in MLS rather than some backwater European locale? The problem here likely boils down to this -- plucking a guy in the midst of an MLS season and plopping him down against a CONCACAF team probably works, yet doesn't when throwing him into the deep end of the pool aginat teams like Italy or Brasil.
4. You're No. 3!!! -- Nothing like the seemingly 400-man battle for the No. 3 goalie position (it does come with a nice bonus should the U.S. make the World Cup). Tim Howard is the No. 1 with Brad Guzan assumingly the No. 2. That actually makes Saturday's match pretty important for Jon Busch, Will Hesmer, Dan Kennedy and Matt Pickins (who confuses me with Troy Perkins a la Scott/Steve in 'Lost' season one). These guys won't have too many other chances to strut their stuff, not that it should matter, though the U.S. goal keeping position isn't as deep as it used to be and shutter if Howard somehow gets hurt during an Everton match.
5. Everybody Wang Chung tonight -- As usual, this game doesn't mean too much, so Bradley might be best advised to pull off the reigns ever so slightly and let the team play an open game. Yes, the roster has thinned out with injuries and other things, but why not put on a good show and turn the attitude in the right direction for the busy 2009 year?
Lineup guess
Stress guess, as all six subs will be used. I'll assume Sacha Kljestan won't feature unless as a sub.
GK -- Busch/Hesmer split the game. Both had strong MLS seasons, so it's a good flip.
Def (from right) -- Wynne, Califf, Parkhurst, Parkhurst
Mid -- Gaven, Clark (by default), Holden, Rogers
For -- Cooper, Davies (we all know who and what Brian Ching is, so please Bob, refrain your instinct and let the big Hawaiian come on as a sub. Let these two kids play, what's the point of this game otherwise?)
As usual, I'll post a recap shortly after the match concludes.
Not to use an old opening line, but that's probably what I'll wrote the last three years before these annual January USMNT friendly matches against Scandinavian 'B' teams. Yes, it'll be nice to see the U.S. home whites in action, too bad most of the bodies inhabiting them likely won't be seen again until January 2010.
Saturday at the Home Depot Center in sunny SoCal it'll be Sweden (8, FSC), sans the likes of Zlatan Ibrohimovic, Kim Källström, Johann Ellmander, etc. Instead it'll be Pontus Wernbloom (great name) Rade Prica and Mattias Bjärsmyr.
Sweden, it would seem, probably fall into the same tier of International teams as the U.S. The Swedes are able to qualify for most major tournaments making four of the last five World Cups and Euros. The best they've done in that time was a third-place finish at USA 1994 -- Thomas Ravelli anyone?
On top of that, Sweden appearing caught in the same crunch as the U.S. when it comes to roster management. Coach Lars Lagerbäck -- who may or may not have more personality than Bob Bradley -- plays a similar, static 4-4-2 formation. He also has to deal with the off-calendar off the Swedish Allsvenskan (currently the 23rd best in the UEFA ratings), which runs March to October along with 'star' players spread across the European continent.
It'd be curious to find out how people in Sweden perceive the Blågult. Are they happy the team simply makes the tournaments so they can show up with their silly viking costumes and drink some cheap continental lager? Are their enough fans tired that the Swedes, as jolly as they might seem, are nothing more than the World Cup equivalent of seat fillers?
Is there growing distaste for the dull, efficient management of Lagerback? More importantly are is the Swedish public going to roust itself in the middle of the night (approx. 3 a.m.) to watch it's second-tier players play the U.S.'s, perhaps, third-rate players? (Let's hope the Swedish players included make an account, and not simply hack and drag all over the field.)
At least we're not alone in our identity crisis.
Talking points
Slim pickings here, but this is what I could boil down:
1. Cooper Trooper -- Kenny Cooper: viable international option or tease? The 6-foot-3 FC Dallas forward is coming off a strong MLS campaign and has the size and skill to be an asset for the U.S. The question, can he bring enough defensively (yes, ironic) to supplant Brian Ching in Bradley's rotation? Two things to consider, Cooper scored his first international goal way back in 2007 in a similar January friendly with Denmark. Second, he scored his only other U.S. goal in the team's last outing against Guatemala in November.
2. Please Hammarby don't hurt 'em -- Charlie Davies, this is your chance. The Boston College product is one of the few Americans in Europe that actually had a productive season, scoring 14 times in 27 league matches for Sweden's Hammarby. The U.S. isn't exactly overflowing with in-form strikers, so Davies is certain to get heavy looks in the coming months. Wouldn't Saturday, against players he's likely familiar with, be a perfect place to start a nice 2009?
3. Wither MLS? -- Is the league viable for players to move into international competitions? More specifically, do American players feel they have a shot to make an impact on the National Team if they're toiling away in MLS rather than some backwater European locale? The problem here likely boils down to this -- plucking a guy in the midst of an MLS season and plopping him down against a CONCACAF team probably works, yet doesn't when throwing him into the deep end of the pool aginat teams like Italy or Brasil.
4. You're No. 3!!! -- Nothing like the seemingly 400-man battle for the No. 3 goalie position (it does come with a nice bonus should the U.S. make the World Cup). Tim Howard is the No. 1 with Brad Guzan assumingly the No. 2. That actually makes Saturday's match pretty important for Jon Busch, Will Hesmer, Dan Kennedy and Matt Pickins (who confuses me with Troy Perkins a la Scott/Steve in 'Lost' season one). These guys won't have too many other chances to strut their stuff, not that it should matter, though the U.S. goal keeping position isn't as deep as it used to be and shutter if Howard somehow gets hurt during an Everton match.
5. Everybody Wang Chung tonight -- As usual, this game doesn't mean too much, so Bradley might be best advised to pull off the reigns ever so slightly and let the team play an open game. Yes, the roster has thinned out with injuries and other things, but why not put on a good show and turn the attitude in the right direction for the busy 2009 year?
Lineup guess
Stress guess, as all six subs will be used. I'll assume Sacha Kljestan won't feature unless as a sub.
GK -- Busch/Hesmer split the game. Both had strong MLS seasons, so it's a good flip.
Def (from right) -- Wynne, Califf, Parkhurst, Parkhurst
Mid -- Gaven, Clark (by default), Holden, Rogers
For -- Cooper, Davies (we all know who and what Brian Ching is, so please Bob, refrain your instinct and let the big Hawaiian come on as a sub. Let these two kids play, what's the point of this game otherwise?)
As usual, I'll post a recap shortly after the match concludes.
Labels: bob bradley, Friendlies, Soccer, USMNT
I'm not sure that Davies is talented enough to be a regular starter for the national team but he has impressed me when he's been given the chance. He should definitely be a guy on the bench though because of his speed. Throw him on when down a goal in the second half and just let him run. He also seems to have the attitude to handle this level.
Now is about the time that Wynne needs to start showing that he can live up to the promise that he showed a few years ago. I remember watching him in the 2005 World Youth Cup and thinking that he could be the US version of Ashley Cole (remember this was 2005 and Cole was at his best then) with Wynne's pace and ability to attack. Unfortunately, he seems to have gone backwards since then as have most of that team.
Speaking of that 2005 World Youth Cup squad that beat the Argies 1-0, I think they prove that MLS is not up to producing international quality players. If you look at the US squad for that match only Kljestan, Adu and Spector have improved while most of that squad are in MLS. If you look at the Argie squad, Messi, Zabaleta, Ustari, Biglia, Gago, Garay and Aguero have all gone on to productive Euro careers. Garay and Aguero didn't even play in that match. Clearly, the US is doing something wrong either through the national team setup or at the club level. I'm not saying that all of that squad should be at the level of the Argies but it's depressing to look back on that.