Friday, May 18, 2007
More Gold Cup and Copa America
At halftime of the MLS game last night, Bob Bradley indicated a "handful" of players would be playing both the Copa America and the Gold Cup.
Keeping the structure and rules of my earlier post intact, permit me to make a slight alteration to my predicted Copa America team (I'm sticking with my Gold Cup guess):
Kasey Keller, Free (GK), Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA (DEF), Chris Albright, Los Angeles Galaxy (DEF), Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards (DEF), Bobby Boswell, DC United (DEF), Ricardo Clark, Houston Dynamo (MID), Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado Rapids (MID) Kyle Beckerman, Colorado Rapids (MID), Justin Mapp, Chicago Fire (MID), Bryan Ching, Houston Dynamo (FWD), Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution (FWD).
Reserves:Matt Reis, New England Revolution (GK), Brad Guzan, Chivas USA (GK), Wade Barrett, Houston Dynamo (DEF), Todd Dunivant, New York Red Bull (DEF), Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution (DEF), Marvell Wynne, Toronto FC (DEF), Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo (MID), Brian Carroll, DC United (MID), Ben Olsen, DC United (MID), Nate Jaqua, Los Angeles Galaxy (FWD), Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas (FWD), Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire (FWD).
The handful of players on both rosters include Kasey Keller, Pablo Mastroeni, Justin Mapp, and Matt Reis. If I had to bet, I'd probably strike Hill and Jemal Johnson from the Gold Cup roster and include Ching and Twellman on both, but I'm not officially making the change because I want to see both of the Europe-based forwards play.
Keeping the structure and rules of my earlier post intact, permit me to make a slight alteration to my predicted Copa America team (I'm sticking with my Gold Cup guess):
Kasey Keller, Free (GK), Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA (DEF), Chris Albright, Los Angeles Galaxy (DEF), Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards (DEF), Bobby Boswell, DC United (DEF), Ricardo Clark, Houston Dynamo (MID), Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado Rapids (MID) Kyle Beckerman, Colorado Rapids (MID), Justin Mapp, Chicago Fire (MID), Bryan Ching, Houston Dynamo (FWD), Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution (FWD).
Reserves:Matt Reis, New England Revolution (GK), Brad Guzan, Chivas USA (GK), Wade Barrett, Houston Dynamo (DEF), Todd Dunivant, New York Red Bull (DEF), Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution (DEF), Marvell Wynne, Toronto FC (DEF), Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo (MID), Brian Carroll, DC United (MID), Ben Olsen, DC United (MID), Nate Jaqua, Los Angeles Galaxy (FWD), Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas (FWD), Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire (FWD).
The handful of players on both rosters include Kasey Keller, Pablo Mastroeni, Justin Mapp, and Matt Reis. If I had to bet, I'd probably strike Hill and Jemal Johnson from the Gold Cup roster and include Ching and Twellman on both, but I'm not officially making the change because I want to see both of the Europe-based forwards play.
Chicago - FC Dallas Wrap
Last night's "Brimstone Cup" game was probably the most entertaining Thursday night MLS game so far - Chicago looked dominating throughout but Dallas scored on two counterattacks to win 2-1. The first Dallas goal came on a PK awarded after what appeared to be a Kenny Cooper dive - but in Cooper's defense, it appeared that Chicago's GK intended to foul him but did not have the chance because Cooper was already on the way down.
Despite the loss, Chicago had to be happy with the play of Justin Mapp, who (at least for the first 70 minutes) carved holes in the Dallas defense. Watching him play again (for the first time since this year's national team games), I was substantially impressed. Perhaps his most beguiling trait is his appearance - he looks too heavy to be so good with his feet and quick with the ball. Also, his receding hairline combined with his moptop hairdo makes him look a lot like a young shop teacher, not a midfield artist.
Other players of note included Chicago striker Calen Carr, who had about 7 chances in front of goal and finally converted the last one. He was on the receiving end of several outstanding Mapp crosses. His lack of finishing was mitigated by his bad luck and I thought he was one of the better Chicago players. Also, Chicago's Chad Barrett came on in the end to tremendous effect, looking incredibly dangerous in the last fifteen minutes (as did Thiago).
For Dallas, Cooper's speed was impressive and he drilled a shot off the woodwork from about 30 yards out. It's a common rap on him, but I didn't see him head the ball once. If he gets an aerial game, I honestly think he's the U.S. striker of the future. Oh, Alex Yi also played well which surprised me because I saw him torched repeatedly in a game earlier this year. Dallas's defense as a whole was very good which they had to be because they were under pressure the entire game.
Despite the loss, Chicago had to be happy with the play of Justin Mapp, who (at least for the first 70 minutes) carved holes in the Dallas defense. Watching him play again (for the first time since this year's national team games), I was substantially impressed. Perhaps his most beguiling trait is his appearance - he looks too heavy to be so good with his feet and quick with the ball. Also, his receding hairline combined with his moptop hairdo makes him look a lot like a young shop teacher, not a midfield artist.
Other players of note included Chicago striker Calen Carr, who had about 7 chances in front of goal and finally converted the last one. He was on the receiving end of several outstanding Mapp crosses. His lack of finishing was mitigated by his bad luck and I thought he was one of the better Chicago players. Also, Chicago's Chad Barrett came on in the end to tremendous effect, looking incredibly dangerous in the last fifteen minutes (as did Thiago).
For Dallas, Cooper's speed was impressive and he drilled a shot off the woodwork from about 30 yards out. It's a common rap on him, but I didn't see him head the ball once. If he gets an aerial game, I honestly think he's the U.S. striker of the future. Oh, Alex Yi also played well which surprised me because I saw him torched repeatedly in a game earlier this year. Dallas's defense as a whole was very good which they had to be because they were under pressure the entire game.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Projected Copa America and Gold Cup 23-man Line Ups
According to media reports, the U.S. will be featuring a stronger line-up for the Gold Cup than Copa America, much to the consternation of most soccer fans. Apparently, European clubs are not required to release U.S. players for the Copa America (not our Confederation championship) but are required to do so for the Gold Cup (our qualifying tournament for the 2009 Confederations Cup to be held in So. Africa).
OK - rationales aside - let's assume that all European players will be in the Gold Cup and that the Copa America will be more MLS-heavy.
Other rules:
- I'm trying not to overlap as much as possible - so some players may get frozen out in favor of players in both tournaments. However, I'm trying to project as close to possible with 46 players except for Goalkeepers - I figure Howard starts the Gold Cup and Keller starts the Copa America but is the number 2 in the Gold Cup.
- Marcus Hahnemann is out for both tournaments with an injury he picked up in Reading's last game.
- Bobby Convey and Cory Gibbs are still presumed out.
- US Men's U-20 players are out for both tournaments due to the U-20 World Cup which is running concurrently. The list of those players is here. Altidore and Adu are probably the two biggest losses to the U-20 team.
- Michael Bradley has been promoted to the senior Men's national team.
- Jimmy Conrad will be in Copa America both because he's MLS-based and because he'll likely miss the Gold Cup with a broken jaw.
Other than that, I'm proposing the following 23 man line-up for each.
Gold Cup Lineup:
Tim Howard, Everton (GK), Carlos Bocanegra, Fulham (DEF), Oguchi Onyewu, Standard Liege (DEF), Jay DeMerit, Watford (DEF), Steve Cherundolo, Hanover 96 (DEF), Benny Feilhaber, Hamburg(MID), DaMarcus Beasley, PSV Eindhoven (MID), Michael Bradley, Hereneveen (MID), Clint Dempsey, Fulham (MID), Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy (FWD), Eddie Johnson, Kansas City (FWD).
Reserves:
Kasey Keller, Free (GK), Matt Reis, New England Revolution, (GK), Heath Pearce, FC Nordsjaelland (DEF), Frank Simek, Sheffield Wednesday (DEF), Jonathan Spector, West Ham (DEF), Danny Califf, Aalborg BK (DEF), Justin Mapp, Chicago Fire (MID), Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado Rapids (MID), Eddie Lewis, Leeds United (MID), Josh Wolff, 1860 Munich (FWD), Kamani Hill, Wolfsburg (FWD), Jemal Johnson, Leeds United (FWD).
Copa America Lineup:
Kasey Keller, Free (GK), Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA (DEF), Chris Albright, Los Angeles Galaxy (DEF), Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards (DEF), Wade Barrett, Houston Dynamo (DEF), Ricardo Clark, Houston Dynamo (MID), Kyle Beckerman, Colorado Rapids (MID), Steve Ralston, New England Revolution (MID), Brian Mullan, Houston Dynamo (MID), Bryan Ching, Houston Dynamo (FWD), Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution (FWD).
Reserves:
Matt Reis, New England Revolution (GK), Brad Guzan, Chivas USA (GK), Bobby Boswell, DC United (DEF), Todd Dunivant, New York Red Bull (DEF), Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution (DEF), Marvell Wynne, Toronto FC (DEF), Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo (MID), Brian Carroll, DC United (MID), Ben Olsen, DC United (MID), Nate Jaqua, Los Angeles Galaxy (FWD), Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas (FWD), Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire (FWD).
OK - rationales aside - let's assume that all European players will be in the Gold Cup and that the Copa America will be more MLS-heavy.
Other rules:
- I'm trying not to overlap as much as possible - so some players may get frozen out in favor of players in both tournaments. However, I'm trying to project as close to possible with 46 players except for Goalkeepers - I figure Howard starts the Gold Cup and Keller starts the Copa America but is the number 2 in the Gold Cup.
- Marcus Hahnemann is out for both tournaments with an injury he picked up in Reading's last game.
- Bobby Convey and Cory Gibbs are still presumed out.
- US Men's U-20 players are out for both tournaments due to the U-20 World Cup which is running concurrently. The list of those players is here. Altidore and Adu are probably the two biggest losses to the U-20 team.
- Michael Bradley has been promoted to the senior Men's national team.
- Jimmy Conrad will be in Copa America both because he's MLS-based and because he'll likely miss the Gold Cup with a broken jaw.
Other than that, I'm proposing the following 23 man line-up for each.
Gold Cup Lineup:
Tim Howard, Everton (GK), Carlos Bocanegra, Fulham (DEF), Oguchi Onyewu, Standard Liege (DEF), Jay DeMerit, Watford (DEF), Steve Cherundolo, Hanover 96 (DEF), Benny Feilhaber, Hamburg(MID), DaMarcus Beasley, PSV Eindhoven (MID), Michael Bradley, Hereneveen (MID), Clint Dempsey, Fulham (MID), Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy (FWD), Eddie Johnson, Kansas City (FWD).
Reserves:
Kasey Keller, Free (GK), Matt Reis, New England Revolution, (GK), Heath Pearce, FC Nordsjaelland (DEF), Frank Simek, Sheffield Wednesday (DEF), Jonathan Spector, West Ham (DEF), Danny Califf, Aalborg BK (DEF), Justin Mapp, Chicago Fire (MID), Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado Rapids (MID), Eddie Lewis, Leeds United (MID), Josh Wolff, 1860 Munich (FWD), Kamani Hill, Wolfsburg (FWD), Jemal Johnson, Leeds United (FWD).
Copa America Lineup:
Kasey Keller, Free (GK), Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA (DEF), Chris Albright, Los Angeles Galaxy (DEF), Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards (DEF), Wade Barrett, Houston Dynamo (DEF), Ricardo Clark, Houston Dynamo (MID), Kyle Beckerman, Colorado Rapids (MID), Steve Ralston, New England Revolution (MID), Brian Mullan, Houston Dynamo (MID), Bryan Ching, Houston Dynamo (FWD), Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution (FWD).
Reserves:
Matt Reis, New England Revolution (GK), Brad Guzan, Chivas USA (GK), Bobby Boswell, DC United (DEF), Todd Dunivant, New York Red Bull (DEF), Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution (DEF), Marvell Wynne, Toronto FC (DEF), Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo (MID), Brian Carroll, DC United (MID), Ben Olsen, DC United (MID), Nate Jaqua, Los Angeles Galaxy (FWD), Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas (FWD), Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire (FWD).
Labels: Copa America, Gold Cup
Bradley's Interim Tag Removed
Bob Bradley has been officially named the U.S. Coach, according to the L.A. Times. Interesting quote from Landon Donovan:
"He's done a good job with us," Donovan said. "It was hard when he first came in because I'd had eight years with Bruce and things changed a little bit. Bob kind of tightened the strings, made things a little stricter."But every time I've been out there I've been motivated to play. So from my standpoint, he deserves it."
Donovan's play has been excellent lately (particularly the hat-trick against Ecuador) but are his past national team disappearances, most notably in the World Cup, the result of a lack of motivation? I'm trying to figure out what else he was trying to say.
"He's done a good job with us," Donovan said. "It was hard when he first came in because I'd had eight years with Bruce and things changed a little bit. Bob kind of tightened the strings, made things a little stricter."But every time I've been out there I've been motivated to play. So from my standpoint, he deserves it."
Donovan's play has been excellent lately (particularly the hat-trick against Ecuador) but are his past national team disappearances, most notably in the World Cup, the result of a lack of motivation? I'm trying to figure out what else he was trying to say.
Labels: Bob Bradley, Coach, Landon Donovan
