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.
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