By Jared Launius
You've likely already seen it, but here's the 24 men called into Jurgen Klinsmann's second U.S. National Team camp:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Bill Hamid (D.C.United), Tim Howard (Everton)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Jose Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
And here's my token analysis.
I should probably start by calming any sentiment Michael Bradley's exclusion is some sort of coup or indication Klinsmann agrees with some of you that his 60 caps are rooted in nepotism and not merit. This camp convenes at the exact time Bradley hopes to be settling in at a new club (which, Greg Seltzer says, currently looks to be Roma) and Klinsmann himself acknowledged as much when the roster was announced. I remember reading in several places that Klinsmann favors Bradley, and I have little doubt he is viewed as a crucial cog going forward. If you truly think Klinsmann favors Jeff Larentowicz over Bradley, lie off Big Soccer for a few days.
I would echo similar sentiments on Jermaine Jones and Rico Clark, though, at this point, I'm just not sure how much anyone cares about Jermaine Jones and Rico Clark. So I'll move on.
Things get a little more murky when looking at the wing backs brought into camp. Eric Lichaj had presumably established himself as Bob Bradley's first-choice left back, but Klinsmann has yet to call the Villa man in. I think Zach Loyd is a very nice player, but I certainly don't rate him higher than Lichaj. Perhaps Lichaj was also given a chance to secure a loan. Or maybe Klinsmann is serious about not bringing in players not receiving club minutes – that would explain Bill Hamid's inclusion over Brad Guzan. At any rate, good for Loyd – a hard worker and by all accounts a great guy – for getting another shot to impress the new manager.
I also find it interesting Tim Ream was called in despite a poor run of play with Red Bull of late. Along with Rafa Marquez, Red Bull have – on paper – perhaps the best centerback pairing in MLS. But with Red Bull reeling – and the defense being the main culprit – I'm semi-surprised Omar Gonzalez, Chad Marshall or Michael Parkhurst didn't get a runout. Tells you, I guess, how serious Klinsmann is about building from the back – something I wholly support.
No other big surprises in back for me. It wouldn't have been fair to make any judgements on either Edgar Castillo or Michael Orozco Fiscal after one match, so it's good to see Klinsmann continuing to live up to his billing as a guy that wants to make his players feel comfortable and not fear getting jerked after one off performance. I wasn't particularly impressed by either guy against Mexico, but one game is never enough to banish nor lionize.
Goal and nice performance aside, I'm not sure I fully comprehend Robbie Rogers' second-straight call-up. Mix Diskerud has been as consistent an as they come at the club level the last two years, still Klinsmann is yet to call the attacking middie in. Perhaps more worrying is the fact Diserud's exclusion comes on the heels of rumors Norway is making an attempt to reign the Stabaek man back into it's national team for good. I'll agree with US Soccer Daily that I'm not particularly concerned Diskerud will change national loyalties again, but it would be nice to see him called in – for nothing else – to extend a friendly hand to Diskerud (and a not-so-friendly stiffarm to Norway).
Speaking of stiffarms, do we chalk Ale Bedoya's second-straight exclusion as a product of his trying to get settled into the side at Rangers? I hate to bang this drum again, but remember when Robbie Rogers was called into the Gold Cup roster over Bedoya? Remember how that turned out? This is obviously of much less importance than Gold Cup, but it's still a bit concerning to me.
The other point of discussion in midfield, I think, is A) the inclusion of the latest German-turned-American, Fabian Johnson and B) his being listed as a midfielder. Now, I'll freely admit I've seen nothing but the same grainy highlights of Johnson you all have seen, but I thought what made him most desirable is his ability to play left back. I'm not snobbish enough to turn away a guy playing well in midfield for a Bundesliga team, but the fact he plays there – and not on the left defensive flank – certainly takes some of my Hofbrau buzz away. Regardless, it's good to see Klinsmann call Johnson in just a week after the latter's announcement he'd entertain the U.S. if it called.
I don't think Jeff Larentowicz was called in for much beside roster depth and for Klinsmann to get a bit closer look at him. Don't expect to see the Rapids man travel to Belgium – particularly with everything Colorado is chasing right now.
The most interesting thing about the forward corps, I think, is the youth. Leaving out Donovan – because he's not an out-and-out forward – the forwards called in are 18, 21 and 21. Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury and Jozy Altidore figure to each bring speed, energy and the ability to run at defenders to each friendly. That's not to say, though, I fully support the group.
I don't know what Herculez Gomez has to do to get called into a friendly, and I'm not exactly sure what Teal Bunbury has done to warrant a call-in over at least a dozen other names I could pull up. I like Teal. I worked for Sporting KC this summer and thus A) spent some time around him and found him to be a very likable, gregarious guy and B) saw every minute of every game he played in from mid-May to mid-August.
What I saw on the field each week was a player who struggles with a lot of the same little things that have plagued Jozy Altidore. Like Altidore, Bunbury is a big body with speed, power and a very strong right foot. But, also like Altidore, Bunbury struggles with a lot of the craft that goes into being a center forward. Despite the body to do so, he struggles (and sometimes seems disinterested) in holding the ball up. His movement off the ball doesn't do enough to help keep possession, get himself in good spots to score goals or free up space for teammates to run off him. He tries too often to do everything by himself, and that often results in loss of possession and the squandering of a decent scoring chance.
Case in point on Bunbury: you probably saw Seattle's thrilling two-goal comeback on Sporting KC a few weeks back. What you probably didn't see was, right before Seattle's first goal, Bunbury had given possession away after trying to take on three Seattle defenders by himself – also ignoring a wide-open Chance Myers streaking unmarked to his right. Bunbury instead took an ill-advised 30-yard shot that never looked to trouble Kasey Kellar. Seattle then streaked right up field and scored it's first goal. That was three bad decisions by Bunbury on one play: trying to take on a defense without numbers, failing to spot a wide open teammate trying to support him and then taking a poorly-chosen shot.
Now, this is all understandable. A player with Bunbury's natural gifts didn't likely have to learn to do those things before arriving in the professional ranks because he could do so much by himself. He still has a lot of learning to do – and I have little doubt he'll get there. I saw a lot of improvement in those departments throughout the season. But the fact remains Bunbury isn't even the first-choice American striker on his club right now – that title goes to CJ Sapong. It's a bit of a curious choice to me, but, as I've said, the talent is certainly there.
Here, by the way, I'll drop the requisite note that Jozy Altidore might finally be turning the corner, and I, for the first time in a long time, really look forward to see how he plays with the national team. The goals are encouraging, yes, as he now has (I believe) more goals in four games with AZ Alkmaar as he had in three years with his four previous clubs combined. But what was most encouraging for me while watching AZ's Europa match yesterday was Altidore's seeming willingness to do all those little things I discussed in regards to Bunbury. Altidore held the ball up, did well off the ball and pressured high on defense all day.
This is too small a sample to say Jozy is finally on his way to becoming the player we've always known he can be, but its certainly encouraging. I'm excited to see if he brings that apparently humbled game to his first camp under Klinsmann.
