Oguchi Onyewu leads roster questions
Next Tuesday's match against Brazil is a friendly, but just as the Yanks are about to announce their roster for the match, it's turning out to be serious business. For several reasons, the match at the Meadowlands comes amid tension few could have foreseen when the game was announced in May.
<OFFER>Much of it comes from the Brazilian side. The U.S. plays a team that let down a nation of 192 million and got its coach, Dunga, fired after a disappointing quarterfinal ouster. New coach Mano Menezes will have something to prove in his debut; although this isn't Brazil's A Team, it's still a formidable group of young talents, and a bad result won't sit well with a country that already is nervous about playing host to the World Cup in 2014.
At the same time, the Brazilian stars passed over for the World Cup trip, including A.C. Milan striker Alexandre Pato and Santos midfield star and Chelsea target Neymar, have plenty of motivation to show well; defending them as they try to demonstrate how wronged they were by Dunga won't be much fun.
But the U.S. has issues, as well.
The game is billed as a chance for American fans to welcome home the group that thrilled them in four World Cup matches in Africa, in a brand new stadium, against one of the best teams in the world. There's money at stake, too, with more than 20,000 seats still available. So a roster full of recognizable World Cup vets is important.
But as we mentioned last week, several European-based Yanks are in transition right now, and some may need to stay with their clubs. On the back line alone, Oguchi Onyewu is fighting for playing time after being out most of the year with a knee injury at AC Milan; Carlos Bocanegra just switched French league teams, from Rennes to St. Etienne; and Jay DeMerit is currently unsigned after his contract lapsed at Watford.
Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore, who resumed training with the Spanish club on Monday, likely needs to find a permanent home after his loan to Hull City expired. Midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Benny Feilhaber are right now in the same contract limbo as DeMerit, while Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark, who moved in January to England's Bolton and Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively, are still working to establish themselves with their employers.
Then there's Clint Dempsey, who is working with his fourth coach at Fulham after Mark Hughes replaced Roy Hodgson. He, too, may need to forgo a quick-turnaround overseas flight to ensure his club minutes; the Cottagers' English Premier League opener is less than four days after the Brazil tilt.
Point is, there are plenty of difficult roster decisions to make, especially for a game against a team with Brazil's talent, and more especially with just one practice session to prepare. The Yanks can't just throw in a bunch of untested MLS players and hope it works out. Because against Brazil, it won't.
Last but not least, the Yanks' coaching situation is still up in the air. Though Bob Bradley has been rumored for jobs in Europe, he hasn't moved, and the number of high-profile jobs out there is dwindling with seasons about to begin. And while U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said he planned to name a coach ahead of the Brazil match, and U.S. Soccer has been in discussions with Bradley about his contract, which ends in December, nothing has happened.
If that's still the case on Tuesday night, this strange, tense friendly becomes just a little bit more weird.
Notes
• Landon Donovan won't rule out a return to Europe, but Everton manager David Moyes admits that his club can't afford to bring the Galaxy star back to Goodison Park.
• Onyewu didn't play in either of AC Milan's preseason Emirates Cup games in London over the weekend, but the big man had a good excuse: Gooch was back on American soil to attend his older brother's wedding. Washington Post scribe Steve Goff caught up to the big defender for a lengthy Q&A.
• With Gooch's status for the Brazil game uncertain (at best) and left back Jonathan Bornstein out with an ankle injury, could Edgar Castillo earn a recall to the Americans' depleted defense? Unlikely, perhaps, since he wasn't in serious consideration for the World Cup roster and didn't make the 30-man preliminary list. But Castillo, who played for Mexico's national team before switching allegiances to his birth nation last year, did get on the score sheet over the weekend, netting San Luis' lone goal (about 6:30 into the video) in a 2-1 loss to Puebla.
• Former U.S. and current Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride shares his thoughts on the Americans' run in South Africa.
Next Tuesday's match against Brazil is a friendly, but just as the Yanks are about to announce their roster for the match, it's turning out to be serious business. For several reasons, the match at the Meadowlands comes amid tension few could have foreseen when the game was announced in May.
<OFFER>Much of it comes from the Brazilian side. The U.S. plays a team that let down a nation of 192 million and got its coach, Dunga, fired after a disappointing quarterfinal ouster. New coach Mano Menezes will have something to prove in his debut; although this isn't Brazil's A Team, it's still a formidable group of young talents, and a bad result won't sit well with a country that already is nervous about playing host to the World Cup in 2014.
At the same time, the Brazilian stars passed over for the World Cup trip, including A.C. Milan striker Alexandre Pato and Santos midfield star and Chelsea target Neymar, have plenty of motivation to show well; defending them as they try to demonstrate how wronged they were by Dunga won't be much fun.
But the U.S. has issues, as well.
The game is billed as a chance for American fans to welcome home the group that thrilled them in four World Cup matches in Africa, in a brand new stadium, against one of the best teams in the world. There's money at stake, too, with more than 20,000 seats still available. So a roster full of recognizable World Cup vets is important.
But as we mentioned last week, several European-based Yanks are in transition right now, and some may need to stay with their clubs. On the back line alone, Oguchi Onyewu is fighting for playing time after being out most of the year with a knee injury at AC Milan; Carlos Bocanegra just switched French league teams, from Rennes to St. Etienne; and Jay DeMerit is currently unsigned after his contract lapsed at Watford.
Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore, who resumed training with the Spanish club on Monday, likely needs to find a permanent home after his loan to Hull City expired. Midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Benny Feilhaber are right now in the same contract limbo as DeMerit, while Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark, who moved in January to England's Bolton and Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively, are still working to establish themselves with their employers.
Then there's Clint Dempsey, who is working with his fourth coach at Fulham after Mark Hughes replaced Roy Hodgson. He, too, may need to forgo a quick-turnaround overseas flight to ensure his club minutes; the Cottagers' English Premier League opener is less than four days after the Brazil tilt.
Point is, there are plenty of difficult roster decisions to make, especially for a game against a team with Brazil's talent, and more especially with just one practice session to prepare. The Yanks can't just throw in a bunch of untested MLS players and hope it works out. Because against Brazil, it won't.
Last but not least, the Yanks' coaching situation is still up in the air. Though Bob Bradley has been rumored for jobs in Europe, he hasn't moved, and the number of high-profile jobs out there is dwindling with seasons about to begin. And while U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said he planned to name a coach ahead of the Brazil match, and U.S. Soccer has been in discussions with Bradley about his contract, which ends in December, nothing has happened.
If that's still the case on Tuesday night, this strange, tense friendly becomes just a little bit more weird.
Notes
• Landon Donovan won't rule out a return to Europe, but Everton manager David Moyes admits that his club can't afford to bring the Galaxy star back to Goodison Park.
• Onyewu didn't play in either of AC Milan's preseason Emirates Cup games in London over the weekend, but the big man had a good excuse: Gooch was back on American soil to attend his older brother's wedding. Washington Post scribe Steve Goff caught up to the big defender for a lengthy Q&A.
• With Gooch's status for the Brazil game uncertain (at best) and left back Jonathan Bornstein out with an ankle injury, could Edgar Castillo earn a recall to the Americans' depleted defense? Unlikely, perhaps, since he wasn't in serious consideration for the World Cup roster and didn't make the 30-man preliminary list. But Castillo, who played for Mexico's national team before switching allegiances to his birth nation last year, did get on the score sheet over the weekend, netting San Luis' lone goal (about 6:30 into the video) in a 2-1 loss to Puebla.
• Former U.S. and current Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride shares his thoughts on the Americans' run in South Africa.
