Guess, to borrow a relevant word, the 2011 Gold Cup got a lot more "buzzy".
Or did it?
Or (apologies for a bad joke) was U.S. coach Bob Bradley the only person on planet Earth who actually got raptured away over the weekend.
Freddy Adu on the U.S. roster for the Gold Cup.
This is not a joke, though it might trigger an LOL or two from some people or at least have some mainstream American sports fan raise an eyebrow while reading an ESPN crawl ... that guy is still around?
Banished to the Turkish second division, Adu all 21 years old of him, finally found regular playing time on his fourth -- yes fourth -- loan spell away from his parent club Benfica. Since leaving MLS and going to Portugal in 2007, Adu has played all of 43 games in Europe. On the plus side 11 of those have come in 2011 at Rizespor, where he's scored four goals albeit in the Bank Aysa 1. League.
And as American soccer fans we're clearly all experts on the Bank Aysa 1. League, yes?
Naturally this is the biggest talking point. Adu is a name most people, even non-soccer fans have heard about. I'm not even going to speculate if the kid has finally figured it all out. If he's up to the rigors of playing against grown men. If his individual skill will actually work inside of Bradley's set up.
Adu is on the roster, for better or worse. At the very least it's worth a flier since it's not like there's a player Adu blocked from the roster. If Stuart Holden is healthy, it's doubtful with Benny Feilhaber included, too, Adu would be necessary. Chances are, Adu probably doesn't even suit up for meaningful games. And what is anyone going to glean from Adu playing against teams like Panama or Guadeloupe?
He will once and forever remain the ultimate U.S. soccer enigma. The boy who would be king.
Maybe Bradley is throwing the fans a bone after years of grumbling about at least trying to use Adu, though that doesn't seem to be the Edler's M.O. Let's rule that out. At least Bradley is willing to take a chance on Adu and see if there's something -- anything(*) -- to build on toward 2014.
(*) In a way, the hype around Adu is unfair. Should he have played in MLS at 15? Probably not. Were Adu's handlers and marketers a little unscrupulous? Yes. It's also not Adu's fault the U.S., as a nation of 300 million, fails to produce more than one or two intriguing teenage soccer playing prospects a decade.
More importantly, Adu's inclusion doesn't address the biggest area of concern for the U.S. as currently constructed -- width.
Is there a natural winger on this roster? Or even a player who can send in a solid cross? Yes, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey play outside in the midfield, that's been the U.S. marching orders since the 2009 Confederations Cup. Guess might as well keep running them out there until there legs fall off, since Dempsey is probably fresh as a daisy after a long, physically grueling season with Fulham, right.
In reserve behind the two U.S. attacking fulcrums, Bradley is stuck picking a guy like Robbie Rogers, who's never done much of anything at the senior international level. Exciting.
The U.S. roster is stacked with so many central drifting players you'd think Bradley was cribbing his strategy from Alf Ramsey's "Wingless Wonders" playbook, granted that team did win the 1966 World Cup. Case in point, is Bradley favorite Sacha Kljestan who seems redundant on this team, or illustrates how dire the U.S. wide situation is.
But whatever, Adu is in the mix, so let's just talk about that.
Quick Thoughts:
* One player with potential to do something on the wing, Timmy Chandler was left out by Bradley citing the player's fatigue after a long professional season in Germany. Ok, then.
* Admittedly, haven't watched enough MLS this season to say picking Chris Wondolowski over Teal Bunbury was a good move or not. Surprised, though, Edson Buddle wasn't in the mix. He seems like a guy who can dominate, okay score goals, in CONCACAF. No Bunbury means a lot less fun watching Gold Cup games on Univision, that's for sure.
* Looks like Bradley has lost faith in Alejandro Bedoya, who isn't exactly as much of a prospect anymore at age 24.
* Let's just put it this way, Maurice Edu just won the Scottish Premier League title with Rangers as automatic starter for Walter Smith. Michael Bradley played about 30 competitive minutes at Aston Villa since January. Is there any doubt Bradley the Elder doesn't start his son alongside Jermaine Jones for the important Gold Cup games. Dissect, how you see fit.
* Tim Ream vs. Oguchi Onyewu for a starting central defensive spot. Pretty sure I can guess how the majority of U.S. fans want this one to play out. Chicharito vs. Onyewu is a penalty kick waiting to happen.
* Hard to see this lineup being anything other than a 4-2-2-2. Hope Bradley can watch some tapes of Liverpool's play in April and May.
* Always happy to see Marcus Hahnemann's name on a U.S. roster. Always good to see an American playing soccer with a smile on his face. Same for Steve Cherundolo. Not sure how much he has left in the tank, but another quality veteran.
* Onyewu and Clarence Goodson are both 6-foot-4. Overall 15 players on the 23-man roster are 6-foot or taller. With even mediocre delivery, the U.S. should score a decent amount simply from headers on set pieces.
* Can't say there are any glaring omissions overall. Omar Gonzalez maybe, though he's not displacing Ream. Gale Agbossoumonde seems a little too young, plus he's playing Sweden, which I believe in the midst of its league during the summer.
* Interestingly, U.S. officially lists Clint Dempsey as a forward. Otherwise the U.S. is counting on Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo and Wondolowski. Good luck.
* Overall, this roster is what you'd expect from Bradley. It's not all that different from the core of the last two years, except with a certain teenage Sierra Mist pitchman in the mix.
GOALKEEPERS: Tim Howard (Everton, England), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolves, England).
DEFENDERS: Oguchi Onyewu (Twente, Netherlands), Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne, France), Steve Cherundolo (Hanover, Germany), Eric Lichaj (Leeds, England), Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Denmark), Jonathan Bornstein (Tigres, Mexico), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls).
MIDFIELDERS: Michael Bradley (Aston Villa, England), Maurice Edu (Rangers, Scotland), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Freddy Adu (Rizespor, Turkey), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn, England), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, Belgium).
FORWARDS: Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor, Turkey), Chris Woldolowski (San Jose Earthquakes).
Labels: bob bradley, Freddy Adu, Gold Cup, Soccer, USMNT
I disagree about glaring omissions, Bedoya based on all reports I've read is tearing it up in Sweden. If tearing up the Turkish second division gets Adu in then Bedoya belongs over Rogers (who should never wear a US shirt again unless he's wearing it as a fan after buying a ticket).
There are rumors starting to swirl that Germany is back in for Chandler. His excuse of it being a long season is weak. Every season is long.
Bradley definitely starts and definitely makes at least 3 passes either directly to the opposing team and another 3 that put a teammate in a bad position. He will then score a goal in one game and all of his defenders will claim he's the best US player ever.
I would have liked to see Chandler, but I guess fatigue is a good excuse, although wouldn't that rule regular club starters Dempsey and Cherundolo out?
Bedoya is an odd man out, but I don't think he is necessarily underperforming:
http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=7834
Biggest ommissions: Diskerud, Bunburry, Torres, Gomez, Bedoya, Whitbread, Charlie Davies
Biggest WTF: Bornstein, Adu (not doubting him, just don't think he has earned a full call-up), Rogers, Wondolowski
Agreed that the "season is long" excuse is rather weak for Chandler. If Clint Rolex or Lando said the "season is long", then yeah, I hear it -- After all, y'all did start WC last summer.
Now that we've got Jermaine Jones, I don't see why you need Bradley in the lineup. (And I LIKE Baby Bradley).
Don't get why Hercules didn't get a taste. If CD-9 didn't have the hammy, I think he would've gotten the call. 6 goals in 9 games is pretty good, no?
I'm actually excited for this summer's most intriguing franchise reboot - "Breakin 2: Electric Ado-aloo"
Why isn't Omar Salgado getting a look? Still too young? 6'4" kid with speed doesn't fit?
With Holden injured, a complete lack of faith in whatever incarnation of Jozy Altidore (himself included) Bob puts out at forward; the only thing I was looking forward to this Gold Cup was how they were going to use Chandler. Whoops.
Chandler represented actual roster flexibility for the first time since the 06 WC. The USMNT writers were talking about the strongest possible line-up possibly being Chandler on the right and Cherundalo trying the left. They hinted that Chandler could play right mid and let Donavon or Dempsey play a withdrawn forward or in Dempsey's case striker. Maybe trot out the youth outside backs of Chandler and Lichaj?
Grant Wahl had this from the teleconference....
Bradley: physical and mental toll of European season led to decision to leave Chandler off Gold Cup roster.
At this point I can't take a lie from Bob. Even if he thinks it's for the benefit of the player to hide an injury/ze Germans are calling ... he doesn't have any goodwill stored up with the fan base.
If he's not covering anything and he just didn't pick Chandler, at least I can say that an almost eternally boring coach did something to shock me.
@HBO2003 Re: Chandler -- Is it possible that Bradley doesn't ask Chandler cause he knows that he'll get turned down? Not that it matters, I guess, but I don't get it. I'd rather have 50% Chandler than 100% Bornstein.
At this point it appears that Bradley opted not to have Chandler because of the strain of the "European season." But I'm leaning towards your end that Bob is lyin' to us.
Not sure I'd call Bradley a liar.
You need proof for that, I'll take him at his word about Chandler, but it's a flimsy excuse.
Not sure how exactly great Chandler is, the shame is we'll never know.
What is most upsetting is that the Gold Cup, which is a couple weeks, would be the best time between now and ... who knows? to integrate Chandler with the rest of the team.
Something was up, maybe a simple club vs. country dispute. We shall see.
I'm not a fan of Coach Sweats at all but calling him a liar is a bit strong. I think what it came down to was that he contacted Chandler and Nurnberg. They gave him that weak excuse and you know how Sweats like guys that are willing to go out there and be dedicated to the team. He probably decided that Chandler wasn't committed enough so we can forget about seeing him called up. He'll just bring in "Jonny" Bornstein (yeah, he said that in his teleconference, made it sound like he and "Jonny" hang out all the time).
Wow, so much paranoia and mistrust. When did the Elder become a chambermaid assaulted by the head of IMF?
I am disappointed that Chandler isn't playing. JerJones might be useful, but he is LIKE other players we already had. Maybe he is a better version, but nothing ground-breaking. Chandler, however, plus maybe Ream (?) are players unlike others on the US roster. Chandler provides genuine danger up the wings and Ream distributes as if he never played AYSO. That other-ness would be a usefull tool for Elder to use - but why am I acting like he would ever try something new?
Perhaps the best thing Adu does this summer is have his name take some small fraction of the attention off of young Agudelo. If Adu garners more attention and less goes to JA, then maybe that is the best Freddy can do in 2011 - diving on the hype grenade to save the younger version of himself.
Adu is like Favre or Michael Jordan - all stories within the sport must have some way of connecting with that big name or they are somehow invalid. I wonder how this makes guys that legitimately could be considered the centerpieces of the US game (Lando, Deuce, Timmay) feel.
I agree that Edu has shown himself to deserve a starting spot over Younger. Is that possible?
USMNT will definitely miss Holden. Bolton kind of collapsed after Stu's injury and their tumble from the FA Cup. Several UK based podcasts mention Deuce as a 'team of the year' selection or honorable mention - all without ever referencing his surprising American-ness.
Living in LA, this Beckham to Old Trafford for Gary Neville's blow job game is seriously annoying. How would Brit writers address Clint leaving Fulham games to play some tribute game at his old college? Maybe Becksy was there to counsel Giggsy Wiggsy on proper fame management? That mid-season AWOL week is yet another reminder of What Beckham REALLY thinks of the game here in the US, and this is after his on-field intensity has picked way up the last season and a half. Sigh.
The Gold Cup will be a tough ask for the US. We've enjoyed all the recent chaos and disorganization in the Mexican team - allowing the USMNT to establish themselves despite being (possibly?) less talented than El Tri. Bye Sven and Hello to Chicharito! Mexico sure doesn't look any less talented than they have the last couple years, and if they get their sh*t together ...
Losing Chandler hurts, but, it is what it is. I am personally hoping that Agudelo has a rough go of things this pass through the US team. Force him to go off and keep getting better unlike what has happened to guys like Jozy who strike it rich to quick.
Check out the roster Spain is bringing here next week. Think they have Confederation Cup revenge in mind on US soil? It could turn into a major spanking, a few days before the game against Canada to open up the Gold Cup. Not sure whose brilliant idea it was to schedule Spain in Foxborough three days before a game in Detroit against Canada. You really going to run Deuce, Jr. and Dempsey 90 minutes against Spain in order to keep it close? Or do we sacrifice guys like Ream and Lichaj?