By Jared Launius
Forgive a rather Bleacher Report-y post idea, but on-the-field happenings stateside are quiet (even if MLS offseason is LOUD) and I couldn't think of a better way to review the U.S. men's 2011. So, yeah, at least it isn't a slideshow!
Anyway, I think this should be pretty straightforward: a grade, A-F, for all 47 players to win a cap for the U.S. men's senior team this year. Grades are based on club performance as well as how they fared in a U.S. shirt. In the process, we ought to get an idea about how the U.S. performed at a macro level this year. I put them in alphabetical order because, well, why not? We'll start with A-C today, with D-L to come next week and the rest in two weeks.
Let's.
Freddy Adu: B – two caps, one start – The first eight or so months of Freddy Adu's 2011 was perhaps the most encouraging spell the prodigy-cum-nomad has enjoyed since leaving MLS in 2007, as he cashed a nice loan spell with second-division Turkish side Rizespor into a Gold Cup roster spot and some very meaningful – and influential – minutes in the tournament's semifinal and final. An August return to MLS slowed the narrative, but it's not unrealistic to think he might still have a future with the national team.
Juan Agudelo: B – 14 caps, five starts – Seeing how Agudelo is 19 and all, it's fair, I think, to grade him on a curve. While a struggle to find consistent minutes in MLS and one lonely goal in 14 national team appearances would probably earn a lower grade in a vacuum, we don't live in a vacuum. Which is good, because that would be consistently uncomfortable. He's showed flashes of a bevy of striker's talents – an ability to take defenders on, poach "ugly" goals, keep possession, etc. – and I think the kid works his ass off. He didn't dazzle, but he doesn't have to. Yet.
Eric Alexander: C- – one cap – Alexander's lone cap (in January) was a reward for a strong 2010 with FC Dallas. He didn't repeat in 2011. Only 23, no one is writing the kid off, but he did little but hurt the little credit he built last year.
Jozy Altidore: B+ – 13 caps, 13 starts – The famous Altidore
DaMarcus Beasley: B – three caps, zero starts – Beasley, left for dead by U.S. fans and coaches the way Anakin Skywalker was left by Obi Wan in Revenge of the Sith (forgive me) – rescued enough of that old Beasley-ness with new club Puebla to get back into the national team fold. Now he just has to do better with his chances.
Kyle Beckerman: B+ – six caps, four starts – A clear disciple of the Pablo Mastroeni Camp for Good MLS Players Who Are So Consistent They Always Push For Selection, the final third of Beckerman's 2011 saw a new manager who valued his stay-at-home defensive attitude and smart positioning in front of the back four. His always-steady form for RSL has made him the current U.S. starting #6, even if he seems a tad slow on the ball to excel in the international game.
Alejandro Bedoya: B- – seven caps, four starts – Bedoya's midterm grade, had I given him one, would have been an A. Maybe even an A+. He was stellar for Orebro in Sweden and, I thought, one of the U.S.'s most consistent players in Gold Cup. Since his summer move to Rangers, though, the winger has faltered, unable to find the field in Glasgow. Jurgen Klinsmann hasn't given him so much as a gander in camp yet.
Carlos Bocanegra: B+ – fifteen caps, 14 starts – The U.S.'s 2011 caps leader, El Capitan's 2011 looked a lot like his 2010. And his 2009. His 2008 and 2007, too. Bocanegra is one of those guys you just don't worry much about with club or country. He's always going to be there, his positioning and trap calls will get the job done and, well, no one will confuse his feet for David Luiz' (he has prettier hair, anyway), but, dammit!, he gets the job done.
Jonny Bornstein: D – two caps, one start – Okay, yeah, all four of Mexico's goals in the Gold Cup Final came down his side, but I'll come to the dude's defense there – he hadn't played in a game in over a month and was asked to corral an in-form Gio Dos Santos. Not fair. That said, his move to UANL Tigres has been, if possible, less constructive than the former's move to Tottenham. I won't sling any unnecessary arrows here – Bornstein, who always seems sooooooo nice in interviews – didn't ever ask to become Bob Bradley's pet. But this has been a pretty forgettable year for everyone's favorite punching bag.
Michael Bradley: B – 13 caps, nine starts – In a year where he went from Junior Bradley to just Bradley, from Germany to England to Italy, I have to think Michael Bradley is ready to be past 2011. Whether you subscribe to the rumor Gerard Houllier kept Bradley on the bench at Aston Villa to drive down his market value so he could purchase him or not, it's hard not to classify the first half of his club 2011 as a bit of a problem. He's on track with Chievo, though, and his national team form never really seemed to dip with his club (lack of a chance at) form. Klinsmann seems to currently be looking for someone a little more Kyle Beckermanish, but Bradley will continue pushing for a spot in the German's XI.
Edson Buddle: C+ – four caps, two starts – Buddle's move to 2.Bundesliga club Inglostadt 04 in January was flummoxing from a soccer standpoint (though I'm certain it made sense from a dollars standpoint). Perhaps unsurprisingly (though it's always easy to say those types of things with hindsight's perfect vision), Buddle's solid play with Inglostadt hasn't been influential enough on results as his club barely survived relegation in the spring and are at the bottom of the table as I write this. He's looked okay in spells for Klinsmann, his best play coming two weeks ago in a start against Slovenia. He fared well in the hold-up role and bagged a sharp goal on a deep giveaway by Slovenia's defense. Against tougher competition – namely Mexico and France – he looked out of his depth.
Teal Bunbury: B- – one cap – Stop me if you've heard this one before – a young American striker bursts onto the scene, blows up on Big Soccer, gets labeled "The future of the U.S. national team" and then his form drops and it turns out we realize we might have overdid it a bit. That's not to say it was a bad year for Teal Bunbury, just a (perhaps needed) pump-the-brakes year. In January, it looked like it might be the Year of Teal as the KC man became the Booobureee against Chile and then started his MLS campaign with three goals his first two games. But that was followed by a 17-game goalless run that spanned from April to nearly August during which he was demoted to the bench for a spell and, I thought, let his work ethic dip with his form. He finished his club season with eight goals in his final 17 matches (and one Klinsmann camp), but goals aren't everything – he still has a long, long way to go tactically.
Edgar Castillo: C- – two caps, two starts – Perhaps, in hindsight, calling out Jonathan Bornstein for his Gold Cup final performance wasn't the brightest decision for the Mexican American, as four months, two national team starts and one fallout at Club America later, Castillo looks about as likely to feature for the U.S. anytime soon as Bornstein does. He's better with the ball at his feet than the man he criticized, but is just as prone to defensive ineptitude and can't quite recover the way Johnny B does. I'm thinking something here about stones and glass houses.
Timothy Chandler: A- – eight caps, seven starts – Here's what I wrote about Tim Chandler in February of this year in my (now kind of silly-looking) U.S. prospects list, in which I listed him as a midfielder:
"Chandler is, without question, the mystery man of this group. Just like fellow German-Americans Jermaine Jones and Daniel Williams, Chandler is the son of an American military father and German mother and, just like Jermaine Jones and Daniel Williams, he grew up in Germany.
I’ll be fully transparent in saying these are the only things I know about Timothy Chandler: he recently broke into Nurenburg’s full-team roster; he had a goal and an assist in his first start last weekend; he’s bounced around a few positions and he’s declared an intent to play with the US instead of Germany.
So, yeah, I don’t really know what to do with him. Obviously he’s talented and making waves at the club level. But, well, I haven’t seen him play at all, details (in English, at least) are scarce as he’s just broken onto the scene.
I’ll leave Chandler for now, but he’s very intriguing. Make sure you keep tabs on him."
That was 10 months ago. No one knew anything about him. Now? He's an every-week fixture for a mid-table Bundesliga club and has done enough (even if not spectacularly) in a U.S. shirt to earn the left back spot for the near future. That has to be the most precipitous rise of any American player this year.
Steve Cherundolo: B – 13 caps, 12 starts – Much like Freddy Adu and Alejandro Bedoya, I think The Mayor of Hannover would have liked his grade a lot better had I not counted anything post-Gold Cup. He was brilliant up until then, starting his year by captaining little Hannover to a Europa birth (missing Champion's League by only five points) and kept that form rolling into Gold Cup where he was, I think, the U.S.'s best defender. An injury forced him out of the final, the U.S.'s defense melted and things since haven't gotten back on track. Sofian Chahed has more Bundesliga starts than 'Dolo for Hannover so far and, despite being Klinsmann's favored #5 so far, I don't think he's looked himself in a national team shirt. This is purely speculative, but I can't help but wonder if we've seen Cherundolo's last for the U.S. I wouldn't fault him for retiring from international duty to try to regain (and then maintain) his spot at the club level. He's 32 and has a contract to honor with Die Roten – I wouldn't rule it out.
Ricardo Clark: D+ – one cap – A D+ may have satisfied Tommy Boy, but I can't help but think Ricardo Clark probably had higher hopes. He rarely featured for Eintracht Frankfurt last season (injuries didn't help) and has struggled to make this bench this year despite his club now playing in the 2.Bundesliga. His lone U.S. appearance was an uneventful six minutes against Mexico. The only reason his grade isn't lower is that I didn't rate him all that highly in the first place. But, well, as these things often go, I can't help but root unabashedly for guys who are constantly under fire from fans. I'm sure Rico is a good dude, and I hope he can find a better situation than the one he's dealing with in Frankfurt. I tend to think a return to MLS is imminent. I'd gladly take him in KC.
So there's part one. Thoughts? I'll be lurking in the comments all weekend if you'd like to discuss.
