Goalkeeper
Brad Guzan
Nick Rimando
Sean Johnson
... yea, pretty much a no brainer.
... yea, pretty much a no brainer.
Defense
Geoff Cameron
Fabian Johnson
Timothy Chandler
Carlos Bocanegra
Omar Gonzalez
Michael Parkhurst
Edgar Castillo
... truthfully Bocanegra shouldn't
even get this call. I mean, he's not even playing for his division 2 squad. But
I think he gets the call based on his past Concacaf experience and sits in as
more of a guide for the young guys.
... Castillo had
been on a good stretch of form in Liga MX. Unfortunately he broke his face and
is racing against the clock.
… Michael Parkhurst is in the same position as Bocanegra except the
outside back position is a bit shallower to choose from
Midfield
Michael Bradley
Jermaine Jones
Maurice Edu
Sacha Kljestan
Danny Williams
Graham Zusi
Jose Torres
… no real surprises in this
group for me. Jose Torres has been
playing Great for Tigres so I think he gets the call. The problem with the
midfield is that while all (MB/Jones/Edu/JFT) can play that DM role only Danny
Williams is the true one of the bunch. MB/Jones/Edu/JFT are all possible
starters but all like to go both ways. So if you start a combo of any of those
four you leave the possibility of too many pushing up without enough cover
defensively. If they’re all on the same page then great, but if they’re not,
then we leave ourselves too exposed.
Also, none of these players
are truly the “creative” types. That responsibility would be left up more to
the likes of a Mixx (who can’t seem to even make a Jan. camp starting roster),
Adu (no explanation needed), Feilhaber (who isn’t consistent enough), or Zusi
(who is the closest, but not quite technical enough yet for the pace of the
international game) I leave Kljestan out of the group only because it is to my
understanding that his game has since morphed into more of two-way player, than
his Chivas USA CAM days. He’s more akin to the quartet of two-way players I
first referenced.
Forwards/Wingers
Clint Dempsey
Brek Shea
Herculez Gomez
Jozy Altidore
Terrance Boyd
Alejandro Bedoya
… Eddie Johnson gets the snub here for me, only because he hasn’t
really come out of the gates as I think we all would’ve liked (yes I saw his
goal vs Tigres), but also because he doesn’t truly provide us with any really
wide threat. He, like Dempsey, even though stationed out on the left, will
always tend to drift in. Which is the same reason that Clint won’t work out
there. So even though we’re limited with our wing options, I feel that Shea,
Gomez, Zusi and Bedoya (who I’m a huge fan of out wide) will provide more
width. Also, I realize that Gomez is not a traditional winger, but his work rate
makes up for it. You’re not gonna get what he gives you out wide in terms of
“fight” from Dempsey or EJ.
If Jurgen’s a smart
man he’ll take this all into consideration. If he wants a smooth road to Brazil
that is!
Starting Line-up Below...
