Yeah you'd think he'd attend-(I figure he'd be in Htown for the summer, especially working out with Dwight Howard or whomever this summer) but he has a complicated relationship with his home country. I dunno, he might decide to attend or he might not; just saying it's not a given as Hakeem is not exactly his home country's flag waver/bearer like some other Africans(Mutombo, Luol) are for their home country.
Just realized as well, the USA might be without Howard Donovan Dempsey Cherundolo for the next two WCQ's!!! That is not great. If anything happens to Mike Bradley.... I figure US fans probably need to hope AS Roma's manager wraps up Bradley in cotton wool for the Roma matches before the US WCQ's.
I think Dempsey will be ready. I never expect to have a healthy Cherundolo. Donovan? I have nothing positive to add about that inappropriate name for a cat. Losing Howard hurts. I've little faith in Guzan. He'd better bring his "A" game.
:grin::grin::grin: That had me Lol'ing. (Don't be too harsh on Cherundolo though, he's not always injured is he? I dunno I forget)
Missed the 02 World Cup, most of the 05 Gold Cup, and the 09 Confederations Cup. Also missed most of the 99-2000 season with a knee injury and I'm fairly certain he's missed a healthy amount of qualifying games due to various knocks. He was out with a knee injury in January and is now out for a month with an injured shoulder. Don't get me wrong, I like Cherundolo. He's a solid defender and does well coming forward. Just seems like he's always hurt when we need him. Apparently, Brad Friedel has offered his services if necessary.
US just released their roster for the Costa Rica and Mexico games. http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-N...s-23-Man-Roster-for-Denver-Training-Camp.aspx That defense doesn't exactly instill confidence.
Howard was THE reason the US won that friendly in Azteca last year. From an outsider pov, your defense and gk situation looks shaky. New keeper working with new backline should be interesting.
Oh my. Very little about that roster instills confidence outside of Dempsey, Altidore, and Bradley. 0 points through 3 games just became a very real possibililty.
Friendly fire: U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s methods, leadership, acumen in question It looks like Klinsmann is starting to lose the locker room.
This is about the time Klinsmann pulls a win out of his ass and provides a small glimmer of hope. Our defense is pathetic.
“He already broke Carlos’ heart,” another source said. “Why drive the knife in and twist it?” Lolz. These scrubs need to STFU. Nobody cares that a marginal player at the end of the line internationally is butt hurt. The USA needs better contributions than what it gets out of the likes of Bocanegra if it wants to compete at a high level.
The USA national team went thru prolonged period of "harmony" such as the players describe with little success to show for it on the national scene. I think turnover and trying new things with the national side was long overdue.
Bocanegra may not have much time left with the national team but I wouldn't call him a marginal player. He's one of the most experienced players in the current pool and the long time captain. Other players look up to him and follow his lead (either consciously or subconsciously). I think not starting him in Honduras and leaving him off of this roster isn't the main issue, but the way that Klinsmann went about it. My biggest concern from the article is Klinsmann's lack of tactical understanding, which was rumored during his time with Germany and Bayern Munich. The US team has always gotten by based on athleticism, if his plan is to make us a better team by improving our fitness then there isn't much room for growth there.
I agree with your second paragraph but I don't claim to know whether Klinsmann lacks a technical understanding. I disagree with what you described in the first passage. The US national squad is not successful enough for older players to expect to play.
I think it's less of an issue of Bocanegra thinking he deserved to play and more of an issue of mixed signals from the coach. Klinsmann should have let him know ahead of time that he wouldn't be playing, instead he had him training with the starters all week and then benched him the morning of the game. That leads to confusion within the team. And it's not like we had a ton of experienced defenders to take his place, the rest of the guys have only been with the team for a year or so.
