Sunday, January 04, 2009
Feliz Anniversaire 2009
Via du nord, I found this write-up from Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America on the National Team player options for 2010 and what each player needs to do in the coming year to cement his place in the team.
Bottom line, here was the team that Mahoney predicted for 2010:
GK: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan
DEF: Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Steve Cherundolo, Jimmy Conrad, Frankie Hejduk, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne
MID: Pablo Mastroeni, Michael Bradley, DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Freddy Adu, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan
FWD: Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Landon Donovan, Kenny Cooper, Eddie Johnson
He notes that one will probably drop in favor of the third keeper - I think probably one of the right backs. Who the third keeper will be is unclear.
Not much to challenge on this list, either in terms of who Bob Bradley is likely to select or in terms of who should be selected, but I have a few quibbles.
First, I think that Hejduk will be the back that drops out. With Wynne's development and upside, Hejduk's role as back-up is less justified. Second, Jimmy Conrad hasn't made an appearance in a national side in forever. Danny Califf appears to be the preferred central defensive back-up. Finally, I think by 2010 Pablo Mastroeni will have moved comfortably over the hill; his red card propensity is already deadly enough. I would prefer to have a younger midfielder in the squad - any of the back-ups Mahoney lists would be intriguing.
That said, the list Mahoney offers gives all of us something to watch this year. The current transfer window looks particularly important for DaMarcus Beasley (who has not even been in the squad for Rangers recently). The last half of this season is important for Edu, who has played I think 67 minutes since his move to Rangers, Eddie Johnson, whose stint at Cardiff City has been derided by the Welsh fans, and Freddy Adu, who has remained glued to Monaco's bench.
More promising in the coming months is the continued development of Altidore, which will hopefully include a place in Villareal's spring Champions League squad, the move of Donovan to Bayern Munich, the intriguing possibility that Davies will develop into an internationally capable striker, and the potential transfer moves of Wynne and Kljestan into European leagues.
Happy 2009. We're about a year and a half from World Cup 2010.
Bottom line, here was the team that Mahoney predicted for 2010:
GK: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan
DEF: Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Steve Cherundolo, Jimmy Conrad, Frankie Hejduk, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne
MID: Pablo Mastroeni, Michael Bradley, DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Freddy Adu, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan
FWD: Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Landon Donovan, Kenny Cooper, Eddie Johnson
He notes that one will probably drop in favor of the third keeper - I think probably one of the right backs. Who the third keeper will be is unclear.
Not much to challenge on this list, either in terms of who Bob Bradley is likely to select or in terms of who should be selected, but I have a few quibbles.
First, I think that Hejduk will be the back that drops out. With Wynne's development and upside, Hejduk's role as back-up is less justified. Second, Jimmy Conrad hasn't made an appearance in a national side in forever. Danny Califf appears to be the preferred central defensive back-up. Finally, I think by 2010 Pablo Mastroeni will have moved comfortably over the hill; his red card propensity is already deadly enough. I would prefer to have a younger midfielder in the squad - any of the back-ups Mahoney lists would be intriguing.
That said, the list Mahoney offers gives all of us something to watch this year. The current transfer window looks particularly important for DaMarcus Beasley (who has not even been in the squad for Rangers recently). The last half of this season is important for Edu, who has played I think 67 minutes since his move to Rangers, Eddie Johnson, whose stint at Cardiff City has been derided by the Welsh fans, and Freddy Adu, who has remained glued to Monaco's bench.
More promising in the coming months is the continued development of Altidore, which will hopefully include a place in Villareal's spring Champions League squad, the move of Donovan to Bayern Munich, the intriguing possibility that Davies will develop into an internationally capable striker, and the potential transfer moves of Wynne and Kljestan into European leagues.
Happy 2009. We're about a year and a half from World Cup 2010.
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I didn't catch the rundown on du Nord, so thanks for the heads up. I don't know that there's anything inherently wrong with that squad, but like you I think that the age of both Mastoreni and Hejduk will disqualify them eventually. I'm not sure who would replace Pablo, but my first instinct is the say that Jose Francisco Torres may find his way onto the team. By the way, I have a soccer blog with an American focus, but a broader angle: check it out if you feel inclined.
http://matchfitusa.blogspot.com
Jason
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http://matchfitusa.blogspot.com
Jason
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