Young US Team Battles Chile to a 1-1 Draw

January 22, 2011 – Coach Bob Bradley gave numerous young American players the chance to show what they could do at the international level in a dreary 1-1 draw with Chile. The game, played in front of an announced crowd of 18,580 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, only produced one moment of true quality: The visitor’s goal in the 53rd minute, which was the result of some fine passing down the right culminating in an excellent half-volley by striker Esteban Paredes. The US would equalize 22 minutes later when substitute Teal Bunbery converted a penalty after fellow sub, Juan Agudelo, was tripped in the box. The draw was a fair result from a match that neither of the young sides were able to take by the scruff of the neck.

For the first match of 2011, Coach Bradley put out a starting XI with only a few familiar names. Nick Rimando started in goal with Alejandro Bedoya and Dax McCarty in midfield. The balance of the team was composed of young, primarily MLS players.

The match started out slowly as both sides appeared a bit nervous. There were several fouls that prevented any kind of rhythm from developing. McCarty and Chris Wondolowski tested the Chilean keeper with a couple of speculative shots from distance. Feisty, American, left fullback Zach Loyd was cautioned in the 23rd minute for a late sliding tackle. As the half wore on, the visitors were able to put a couple of crosses into the US area but Rimando and his defense were able to cope with the threats. Halftime arrived with neither team looking like they were going to break the deadlock.

The US made two substitutions at the beginning of the second half. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson replaced Rimando and right fullback Marvell Wynne came in for Omar Gonzalez. The Americans nearly played themselves into trouble shortly after the restart when Tim Ream’s pass out of the back was stolen by the visitors. However, Wynne was on hand to intercept their dangerous through ball. The reprieve didn’t last long as the visitors took the lead five minutes later. The Chileans managed to string several passes together down the right before crossing the ball to Paredes. His scissor-kick half-volley in traffic gave Johnson no chance.

To the young Americans credit, they didn’t panic after going down and were actually the better team over the following 10-15 minutes. On the hour mark, Bradley sent on Agudelo in place of Brek Shea and Bunbery for Wondolowski. The US continued on the ascendancy. In the 73rd minute, Loyd was substituted for Anthony Wallace. Four minutes later Agudelo was tripped as he dribbled into the area and the referee pointed to the spot. Bunbery stepped up and calmly sent the Chilean keeper the wrong way as he slotted the ball into the corner of the net. It was no less than the hosts deserved for their dominance over the preceding 20 minutes.

The game began to peter out after the equalizer. Chile put the ball in the net in the 80th minute but the goal was correctly ruled out for off sides. A few minutes later Chile’s Sebastian Toro was cautioned for a farcical dive in the US area. Eric Alexander came on for the disappointing Bedoya in the 83rd minute. Nothing much happened after that as the two sides settled for the tie.

As the US National Team starts a new four year cycle building up to the 2014 World Cup, this was the appropriate time to give young players a chance. No one really distinguished themselves on the night but it was a credible, battling result against a good footballing nation. A lot can happen in four years and a few of these young players just might find their way onto the US World Cup squad in Brazil.

Player ratings for US players (scored 1-10):

Nick Rimando (goalkeeper, 6): Dealt well with a couple of crosses into the area and made a few routine saves. He really wasn’t tested that much during his 45 minutes between the posts.

Sean Franklin (central defender, 6): Steady, unspectacular performance. Perhaps could have been marking Paredes tighter when he scored.

Tim Ream (central defender, 6): Like Franklin he could have been better positioned for the Chilean’s goal. Aside from that and an arrant pass out of the back early in the second half, he put in an assured performance.

Omar Gonzalez (right fullback, 5): I have to admit that I’m guessing on this one because I honestly don’t remember him doing a thing during the 45 minutes he was on the field.

Zach Loyd (left fullback, 7): Arguably the best player for the US he put himself about in an effort to make an impression on the match. Booked in the 23rd minute, he did well not to get sent off before he was substituted late on.

Dax McCarty (central midfielder, 7): Another American who put in a good shift, the captain got through a lot of hard work in the center of the park and played a few nice passes here and there.

Jeff Larentowicz (central midfielder, 6): Along with McCarty worked hard to cancel out the visitors in central midfield. Otherwise he didn’t really do anything of note.

Mixx Diskerud (central midfielder, 6): He played pretty well, tracking back on one occasion in the first half to win the ball.

Alejandro Bedoya (right midfielder, 5): Probably the most skilled and experienced field player out there for the US, Bedoya failed to dominate a match against relatively weak opposition. He tried to run at the Chilean defense on a few occasions but things just weren’t coming off for him on the night.

Brek Shea (left midfielder, 4): Lost every challenge in the first half and was dispossessed several times. Faired a bit better after the break but was rightfully taken off after an hour.

Chris Wondolowski (Striker, 6): Played pretty well in the first half getting off a decent shot from distance. Started to fade a bit during the second interval and, along with Shea, was subbed on the hour mark.

Substitutes:

Sean Johnson (goalkeeper, 5): Didn’t have much to do aside from pick the ball out of the net after Paredes had scored. No real chance to prevent the goal.

Marvell Wynne (right fullback, 5): He’s played several times for the National Team now and he’s never impressed me. He made a good interception shortly after coming on but looked shaky defensively at other times. With Steve Cherundolo approaching his mid 30s and Jonathan Spector proving to be a better midfielder than fullback for his club team, right back could prove to be a troublesome position for Coach Bradley.

Juan Agudelo (striker, 7): Changed the game when he came on for Shea in the 60th minute. The Chilean struggled to contain him and ended up fouling him in the area, leading to the penalty-kick equalizer.

Teal Bunbery (striker, 6): Didn’t do a whole lot aside from score the penalty but he did that extremely well. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a keeper that badly fooled.

Anthony Wallace (left fullback, 5): Did alright over the last 15-20 minutes filling in for the impressive Loyd.

Eric Alexander (right midfielder, 5): Didn’t have much of an opportunity to contribute to a match that was all but over by the time he came on in the 83rd minute.

January Transfer Window Poses Important Questions to USMNT Members

How to balance the need for competitive football with the need for playing time

January 24, 2011 – The transfer window for European clubs has been open for more than three weeks now. With only a week remaining, some US National Team members have already been on the move while others may still change clubs before the end of the month. Making the right decision of whether to leave one’s current club and where to go once the decision has been made to leave are critical.

Generally speaking, all players want to compete at the highest possible level while enjoying regular playing time. Choose too small a club or league and the player’s development stagnates. Select too big a challenge and the player ends up stuck on the bench or frozen out of the squad entirely. So how have American players done in striking this delicate balance during the current transfer window? This article takes a look at a few key cases.

Oguchi Onyewu: Strategic Retreat

On January 11th the big US defender left AC Milan on loan to FC Twente of the Dutch Eredivisie for the remainder of the season. This was a necessary move to a less-prestigious league for a player who’d failed to make a single appearance for the Italian giants this season. It wasn’t the first time that Onyewu had failed to make a positive impression in one of Europe’s top leagues. He was less than impressive during a loan spell at Newcastle United back in 2007 as well. A permanent move to Twente would probably be a positive development for him.

Oguchi is returning to full fitness after suffering a severe knee injury back in October of 2009. While he was able to play a couple of games for the US National Team during last year’s World Cup, he’s not back to being the player he was before the injury. Now that he’s healthy again, he needs competitive matches to regain his form. Sitting on the bench and playing in the reserves for Milan wasn’t enough. Onyewu needs regular first-team football. In the two weeks since arriving in the Netherlands, he’s already played two games. Hopefully he can continue to play regularly for the Dutch Champions and be ready to reclaim his central defensive position for the US at the Gold Cup this summer.

Jermaine Jones: Change of Scenery

Things had grown stale for the German-born, US international at Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04. He had been there since 2007, making 70 appearances for the club. Earlier this season, Jones had a falling out with the manager, Felix Magath, and was dropped from the squad. So it was no surprise when the defensive midfielder went out on loan to Blackburn Rovers on January 18th for the remainder of the season.

Jermaine made his first appearance for Rovers in a 2-0 home win over West Brom on Sunday. If he does well over the remaining four months of the season, he could secure a permanent move to England. This would come as a welcome change for Jones as playing time at Schalke will probably be hard for him to come by as long as Magath is in charge. What’s more he’d put himself in a good position to compete for a spot in central midfield with the US National Team. This will be no small task as the likes of Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Stewart Holden, and Sacha Kljestan are already in the mix in the center of the park.

Landon Donovan: Lack of Ambition?

Finally there was the move that didn’t happen. Despite enjoying a successful loan spell there last season, Donovan turned down the chance to go back to Everton on loan this year. He sighting fatigue after a long club season with the LA Galaxy and competing in the World Cup for the US as his reasons for staying put. While all players need to recharge their batteries, I believe it was a mistake for Landon to pass up the opportunity to play in one of the world’s best leagues. America’s all-time leading scorer has already done everything there is to accomplish in the MLS. At 28, he’s in the prime of his career and can still improve if he’s in the right situation. Another successful loan stint with the Toffees could have led to a permanent move to the EPL. Things have a way of changing quickly in football and the opportunity to join a club like Everton might not come again for a player who is so vital to the US team.

Thus far these have been the major moves, or lack of movement as in Donovan’s case, for US players during this transfer window. It will be interesting to see how things turn out for the three of them going forward. Coach Bob Bradley will want to have as many of his regulars playing week in and week out for their clubs. It’s a constant concern for a national team coach. Hopefully the top US performers will be healthy and in good form when the major international tournaments roll around.