On Tuesday U.S. Men's National Team Coach Bob Bradley announced a preliminary thirty-man roster for next month's (damn that sounds nice) World Cup. The squad, which will be trimmed down to twenty-three by FIFA's June 1 deadline, is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton)
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), José Torres (Pachuca)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)
The MLS has only six representatives in the squad, with the bulk of the players coming from such international powerhouses as Örebro, Aarhus, and Aris Thessaloniki. This is in sharp contrast to the 2002 team that shocked the world by reaching the quarterfinals, which featured 12 MLS players, the squad four years ago that featured 11 MLS players. The fact that Bradley has cut these numbers in half even before the final cuts are made indicates a lack of trust in MLS and the players it produces. Our league may not be a match for the top few leagues in Europe now or perhaps ever, but nor are the Swedish or Danish leagues a match for La Liga and the English Premier League. A show of faith in MLS and exposing its players to the sport's biggest stage is the best way for the league to grow, and Bradley's selections speak loudly of a bias towards foreign-based players. In my mind he can only justify ignoring the MLS with results- round of sixteen at least if not the quarterfinals and beyond. I am not Bradley's biggest fan, and am convinced that after a needlessly shaky qualifying process his job was only saved last summer by an improbable (and somewhat flukish) second-place finish in the Confederations' Cup. Let's hope he has figured out what he's doing.
A quick word on the goalies. Brad Friedel, for my money the best American goalie around even at 38, is not in the pool, having retired from international soccer in 2005. Friedel has been a mainstay in the EPL for over a decade, and impressively holds the record for consecutive EPL games played- 226 (and counting). Even at his age he continues to excel consistently, and I find it frustrating that one of the three goalies in the squad is his backup at Aston Villa (and subsequently never plays in actual games.) The U.S'. strongest position by far is between the sticks, and even on paper we have a clear advantage there over most teams in the world, including England. Tim Howard, luckily, also happens to be one of the best GKs in England and barring injury will be the only goalie seeing action. Come on Timmy, get your shaved head ready for standing on!
Finally, the big news accompanying the squad announcement is that Charlie Davies has been left out. I think the whole country was rooting for him to recover in time from the car accident last year that killed a fellow passenger and left him with both bones in his right leg broken, an elbow fractured, facial injuries, and a lacerated bladder. He made a near-miraculous recovery to return to training with his club Sochaux in March, but failed to appear for the team again this season. Bradley has stated that it was a very hard decision to leave him out but that USMNT staff and Sochaux staff alike felt he wasn't ready for the tournament. I can imagine how hard that is for Charlie to take. I, along with millions of kids all over the world, have always dreamed of the chance to represent your nation in the World Cup and Davies was so close to realizing that dream. Here's hoping Charlie can continue to grow as a player and show the world what he can do in Brazil in 2014.
Fulham lost the Europa League Final in overtime 2-1 to Atletico Madrid. Despite the loss, Clint Dempsey came on in the 55th min, so Scotty K will be running around the streets of Methuen shirtless. Lock up your daughters and wives and sisters and mistresses and female cousins and female second cousins, people near New Hampshire.
Hambani Kahle, amigos.
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