One of the longest running game shows in American history is To Tell The Truth. I suppose it is not on anymore, but it ran for 25 years. The premise of the game was that three people would each claim to be a particular person with some notable quality or interesting background. For example, all three people would claim to be Junko Tabei, the first woman to have climbed Mount Everest. A panel of celebrities would then ask questions of the three persons and attempt to guess which of the three was actually Junko Tabei and which two were the imposters. After the celebrities made their guesses, the real person would be revealed when the host would ask the question, “Will the real Junko Tabei please stand up?” As a USMNT fan, I am feeling a bit like one of the celebrity panelists when it comes to Jermaine Jones. I am still trying to figure out who the real Jermaine Jones is.
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I am not going to lie to you and tell you I have known about Jermaine Jones for years. Yes, I write about soccer, but there is only so much time in a day. I was not an Eintracht Frankfurt or Schalke supporter and had no reason to follow Jones’ career prior to his involvement with the USMNT. I am assuming that I am like most USMNT fans in this regard. However, I did do some research on Jones when he came onto the USMNT radar. By all accounts, Jermaine Jones was a tough guy. Anything I have read or heard about Jones’ time in Germany mentions his toughness. Even the Eintracht Frankfurt fans who absolutely hate him for the way in which he left their team concede he was tough. His name was synonymous with aggression. He was very physical. He was a hot head who would pick up red cards. He was a ball winner. In 2010, Jones was described in a German press report as “a man for football war, for destroying the pitch and the opponent." While he was tough, he was not the equivalent of a hockey goon. He captained Eintracht Frankfurt and, in the 2008-2009 season, respected German soccer magazine, Kicker, named him the best defensive midfielder in the Bundesliga. With this resume, I was thinking Jones would be a more talented and savvy version of Pablo Maestroeni.
With the USMNT, however, I have seen a markedly different player than I expected. Jones has not shown a consistent aggression in winning balls, he is not flying all over the field, he has not unleashed the hard tackles to let the other side know he was there, and, most importantly, he has not made the U.S. midfield a difficult place for other teams to work. The one thing I have seen Jones do with the USMNT that matches what I expected of him is his superb touch and vision on long passes, but even that has only been seen in small doses for the U.S. Jones has not stepped up as an enforcer in any USMNT game yet and I think the U.S. desperately needs that element. I thought we would finally see the aggression I’d heard so much about in the Mexico game, but, except for a little push and shove with Chicharito late in the game, there was nothing in his performance to suggest he was “a man for football war, for destroying the pitch and the opponent.” I am not advocating tackling with an intent to injure or the Rafa Marquez flying karate kick special, but our defensive midfielder cannot go through a game with Mexico and not have three or four crunching tackles. Not only did Jones not have any “welcome to the game” type tackles, he had a chance to challenge the ball in the sequence leading to the Dos Santos goal, but he did not take it. That does not seem like the guy I heard about. I like Jermaine Jones. I think he has done some good things for the USMNT, but, frankly, at age 30, if Jones is not going to bring his destroyer mentality to the USMNT, then the U.S. should spend its time developing someone else.
Why is Jermaine so much different than I expected? While it could be that I was misinformed about what Jones would bring to the USMNT, I tend to doubt that because all of the descriptions of Jones’ time in Germany that I saw describe him the same way. It could be that Bob Bradley’s formation and system is not conducive to Jones’ skill set. Jones is on record as saying he does not like playing with two defensive midfielders and Bradley has played him in that formation a few times. Further, Michael Bradley is not a true #10, so when he is paired with Jones, it is a lot like having two defensive midfielders in the game even if Bradley is given a more offensive role. It could be that Jermaine is suffering from a lack of playing time these past two years. Jones suffered a shin injury which caused him to miss most of the 2009–2010 season, as well as, the World Cup. Last season, Jones had a falling out with Schalke manager, Felix Magath, and was demoted to the reserves. All this adds up to very little first team action for Jermaine in the past two years. With a lack of playing time could come a lack of confidence and a loss of the feeling that he owns the midfield. It could be that Jones has lost his motivation. Magath did say that Jones was demoted to the reserves because of his failure “to run and fight” in matches. This one also seems unsupported by the evidence because Magath appeared to be looking for a scapegoat to explain the poor Bundesliga record of Schalke last season. Also, Schalke has reportedly placed a price tag of $10-12 million on Jones causing Blackburn to stop trying to sign him to a permanent deal, so Schalke must think Jones has something to offer.
So, who is the real Jermaine Jones? Is he the aggressive, ball winning hothead we’ve heard about in the Bundesliga or is he the defensive midfielder who shows flashes of tough guy potential, but has yet to make a consistent impact for the USMNT? Perhaps, the answer will be seen when Jones returns to Schalke this season. While Magath is gone, there are reports that the new manager, Ralf Ragnick, doesn’t want Jones. Will Jones get back to playing regular first team soccer this season? If he does, will he return to his old form? Will he become more confident of his role with the USMNT? Will he become the physical force that the US needs in midfield? I think there are a lot of questions still to be asked about Jermaine Jones when it comes to his role on the USMNT. However, the question that I most want answered is, “Will the real Jermaine Jones, please stand up?”
