Some U.S. players delivered, others didn't
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 30, 2010
[USA ANALYSIS] Nineteen players got on the field for the USA at the 2010 World Cup. Here's a rundown on who met or exceeded expectations placed upon them, and
who didn't ...
GETTING IT DONE. Forwards need to score, and none of the Americans' frontline men did at the World Cup. Still, Jozy
Altidore did just about everything else asked of him, and if not for a saved shot that hit the post against England after a tremendous run to barrel past Jamie Carragher, he’d be on the
score sheet with at least one goal.
At age 20, and subjected
to tight marking and fouling while three different forward partners – four if you count Clint Dempsey – were shuffled around him, Alidore did well and should come back in
the fall sharper and smarter.
The point-blank screamer he blazed over the bar in the Algeria game won’t be soon forgotten nor forgiven. Nevertheless, he held the ball against
ruthless tackling, got into wide spots to serve good balls – as per the stoppage-time winner against Algeria – and bottled up defenders to carve out space for his mates.
Opponents knew who the danger men were, and neither Landon Donovan nor Dempsey let down the team. Toggling between forward and midfield, and taking a lot of punishment from opponents,
Dempsey sparked some of the team’s brightest attacking sequences and also did a fair share of grunt work defensively.
Dempsey scored three goals last summer in the Confederations Cup
and “only” one on this visit to South Africa, yet this time contributed in many more ways.
Donovan came into this World Cup out to prove 2002 wasn’t a fluke and 2006
should be forgiven. Answers: it wasn’t, and it is. He stood up to heavy pressure on and off the field, rallied the team during its darkest moments, and scored three goals in very different
circumstances to top the team in that department.
Both Donovan and Dempsey slid into the middle or floated to the off-side to work combinations with teammates as well as each other.
The midfield, like the backline, was very hit-and-miss at the World Cup. Lacking a true left-sided sided player, whoever lined up on that side often floated into the middle. Benny
Feilhaber earned serious consideration for future starts by contributing solidly as a substitute.
After Feilhaber’s superb goal in the 2007 Gold Cup final, the sinuous
midfielder headed off to Europe and lost his way to an extent that Coach Bob Bradley declared, “He needs to grow up.” He has. Feilhaber’s skill and vision are now
augmented by tactical and positional acumen, and he’ll stick in a tackle as well.
Going forward, Bob Bradley or a new coach has to decide how best to utilize Michael
Bradley. He provided much of the attacking impetus at times, in other situations he supported the incisive work of Donovan and Dempsey.
Michael Bradley came up from midfield to
score a great first-time equalizer against Slovenia and got near enough to goal to hit four of eight shots on target.
Critics can point to moments of sloppiness and sluggish recoveries,
but that’s inevitable when you do so much work on both sides of the ball while playing every minute. Yet if a more skilled player like Feilhaber emerges as a playmaker, Bradley could take on
more holding responsibilities.
Along with Feilhaber and Altidore, Maurice Edu boosted his stock the most at the World Cup. He started the Algeria game in-between
substitute appearances against Slovenia and Ghana, and handled the holding role behind Michael Bradley well despite a few nervous moments of shaky passes and hesitant touches.
Had
Edu’s apparent winning goal against Slovenia not been disallowed for a phantom foul call, there might not have been the need for Donovan’s thrilling winner against Algeria.
Outside back turned out to be a fairly reliable position at the World Cup. By tenacity and determination Steve Cherundolo battled foes bigger and heavier than he. His forays forward
keyed several good chances, as per his cross that Edson Buddle powered on goal against Algeria, and the ball he played up the right wing that Donovan smashed into the roof of
Slovenia’s net.
Rightly derided for a few horror moments with the national team, Jonathan Bornstein restored some of his reputation against Algeria and Ghana when
he took over at left back from Carlos Bocanegra.
Aside from a shocking shot that went out for a throw-in, Bornstein used his touches reasonably well though his crosses
were few. His positioning must improve.
DID ENOUGH. Captain Bocanegra moved inside after playing the first two
matches at left back and while not stellar, tackled solidly, marked up well, and delivered the occasional good ball out of the back.
He failed to get a good shot on goal during set plays
and could have been sharper in transition when the ball turned over. As captain of a team that fought back several times, he earned some leadership cred.
Maybe Bocanegra should have taken
down Asamoah Gyan before Gyan scored an overtime winner, but he’d already been cautioned, and a red would have left the USA a man down for 27 minutes with no more subs available.
DIDN’T GET IT DONE. Besides the obvious problems suffered by Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark and Robbie
Findley, a few other starters came up somewhat short.
In a major tournament, teams need big saves, and though Tim Howard handled some tough situations well, his
work didn’t match that of Group C foes Samir Handanovic (Slovenia), Rais Bolhi (Algeria) and Richard Kingson (Ghana), all of whom stopped what seemed to be sure goals.
Exposing his
near post against Ghana and playing statue on the long-range curler hit by Slovenia’s Valter Birsa, whether or not Howard was screened, didn’t quite meet the required standard.
What looked to be a solid pairing from their work together at the Confederations Cup collapsed when defender Onyewu was dropped as central partner for Jay DeMerit.
Gaffes by Gooch contributed to some degree in all three goals vs. England and Slovenia, and while DeMerit played reasonably well much of the time, his shortcomings in strength and speed caused some
shaky moments.
The premise that Findley’s searing speed would warp defenses and open up lanes for other U.S. attackers made sense. Instead, he lacked the crispness and decisiveness
to use his touches effectively, and didn’t look quite dangerous enough or clever enough for this level.
An early shot by Findley against Ghana prompted a decent kick save, yet a
chance from close range with time to line it up should equal a goal or a jaw-dropping stop.
Critics of Coach Bob Bradley claim Herculez Gomez didn’t get enough time
(85 minutes in three games) at the World Cup; critics of Gomez point out he came on as a sub against Ghana in overtime and did little. In his lone start he failed to seriously test Algerian keeper
Bohli with close-range attempts.
The pairing of Michael Bradley and Clark also worked well in the Confederations Cup and at times during the Hexagonal, yet fizzled at the start against
England when Clark lost the mark on goalscorer Steven Gerrard.
The duo recovered to quell Gerrard and Frank Lampard for most of the match. After sitting out the next two games, Clark
stumbled out of the gate again by losing a ball played to him by Bradley in midfield that Ghana turned into its first goal, and drawing a caution a minute later for a foolish, late tackle.
DID SHOW UP. A relentless attacker of solid build and endless energy, Stuart Holden is embarking on a career in England that should hone him
for frequent U.S. appearances despite playing only four minutes.
Edson Buddle (39 minutes) nailed a header on frame that Bohli repelled and botched two other promising
situations.
Early use of sub in Ghana game may have negated Buddle’s possible entry in overtime with the USA down by a goal.
Yanked at halftime after he and the team
struggled against Slovenia, Jose Francisco Torres should get more opportunities to show his stuff.
Making the final squad of 23 and doing a bit of buzzing in South Africa
(10 minutes) after dropping way down the depth chart give DaMarcus Beasley a fighting chance to stay in the picture until 2014, when he’ll be 32. A dearth of options at
left mid keeps him in the picture, but not if his club morass continues.
(The only players who did not to see action were defenders Jonathan Spector and Clarence
Goodson, and backup keepers Marcus Hahnemann and Brad Guzan.)
Ridge -- I must admit one thing, you have guts! You can make the statement that you do about Feilhaber, attempt to back it up with a lame quote from BB and expect us to accept it. Your allegiance to BB would be admirable in most other situations but you are supposed to be a reporter! That means that you question those in high positions and hold them accountable for their actions. BB blew it a long time ago regarding Feilhaber and now you try to back him up by claiming that Feilhaber needed to "grow up". Guess what, that's part of a national team coach's job, to help his players mature. Nevertheless, to walk away 3 years ago and now discover, AFTER the WC that he has indeed grown up mounts to a dereliction of duty. Another nail in BB's coffin!!!
Watching Bob Bradley in this world cup, gave me the impression that he was trying hard to recreate the wonderful moments of last year Confederation cup. Examples of that are his insistance on using Findley as a replacement to Davies and continuing use of Clark and at the beginning, Onyewu, and pushing Dempsey to the front line in the second half. But there was only one thing that was missinig in this cup and was present strongly last year; The lady luck!
Two major mistakes.
1. Ricardo Clark on the field.
2. Edson Buddle on the bench.
Biggest concern going forward.
1. No center backs.
Mysteries that need to be resolved.
1. Why is Bradley not a holding mid?
2. Who is the starting keeper?
3. Why is Altidore starting if he can't score?
Excellent assessments. I look forward to seeing more of Feilhaber, Torres and Holden in the midfield (along with Bradley and Edu).
Mr. Anderson, on one hand you state that the biggest concern going forward is the fact that we have no center backs. Then you state that one of the mysteries that needs to be resolved is who is the starting keeper. Tim Howard is one of the best gk's in the world. You dont play as well as he does for Everton in the EPL otherwise. The difference between Everton and the USA is exactly what you stated: No center backs! No keeper in the world can shine and play up to the level we're accustomed to seeing w/out a strong pair of center backs. Of the 8 remaining teams in the WC, how solid are their center backs.....very!! TH is miles above any other gk in the USA pool and has proven on numerous occasions, especially in qualifying, how world class he is. Lets please end the discussion on USA gk's.
I actually agree with Ridge assesment. Indeed, Benny had a difficult period after his goal in Gold cup.
I also like that Ridge is the first analyst to point out that Tim has not done his job. We have all seen the same thing, a mediocre game from Tim Howard, yet few people have the guts to say it, they're all afraid to upset the 'star'.
I think Clark was completly off and I'm not sure what happened with Torres, I had a lot of hope after the game with Turkey.
I think Ridges assesment on Gomez is miss leading. Gomez created alot of play in the box at times, when nobody else did. We as a country are still behind in basic abilities as far as passing and attacking on the pitch. It wouldn't hurt the US to learn Central and South American play and incorporate this into our youth academies.
There is also a large array of up and coming Talent that needs to be seriously looked at, and not by RM! Players need to understand that this is also a job and that they all need to work together to get the job done, coach included! Watching the countries that have gone through they show respect towards each other, no their position and play them well.
One player that the US National team needs to take a serious look at is NYRB
defender is Tim Reams, I have never seen a Rookie so composied under pressure, He has made a couple of mistakes but not completely on his own. He looks to be better than any of the current defenders the national team has presently and should be given a fair chance to represent the US in up and coming friendlies.
Agree completely with all points. Tim Howard did not have his best games at WC2010. ANY team that starts erratically like the US did needs a guy to save them from themselves. Howard was the Last Man Standing but did not pull it off. Who will be the 2014 GK?
Disagree- Altidore didn't get the job done; needs maturity on the field. Donovan didn't get job done - non-factor for most games. Agree - Dempsey got it done. Best player on the field for the USA. Defenders - overcommitted and not enough speed to catch strikers like Ghana's Gyan when they played up. Howard played well - maybe not his best play to date but the US isn't out because of him; it's lack of production from the strikers and key mids like Donovan.
Mr. Eftimiu, Ridge might be the first analyst to point out that Tim Howard didnt do his job (to which I dont agree), but he and the entire SA staff has failed to spend a single minute on Coach Bradley's performance. How is that possible? Is it only the players who need to be analyzed and assessed? Is not the coach, and in particlar this coach based on his constant lineup changes and questionable substitution patterns, subject to a thorough review by the "leading" soccer publication in America? Its now been 4 days since the Ghana coaching debacle and the only thing SA has provided is a poll of the readers as to whether BB should remain as coach. So before you say Ridge has guts in calling out TH, lets see some consistency w/respect to the coaching. As for Mr. Lee's comments, with the exception of the England game, TH may not have been "brilliant" and didnt pull off "miraculous" saves to overcome the erratic defensive play of the US, but you go find a better US keeper for the 2014 WC. Good luck in your search.
Mr. Zimmerman,I did NOT say that Tim Howard should not be our starter. I call into question that he is our automatic #1. The game against England was a good performance, but the other three games were average. The first goal against Ghana was a save that Tim has made many times before, but failed to make at the most important time. I will not put up the discussion on keepers or any other position players.
One of the factors holding back our progress is the assumption that players have earned automatic spots on the team. If Howard is the best, let him prove it in open competition. Remember last years Confederation Cup when Brad Guzan played in our key game against Egypt. What was wrong with his performance? Howard has been a giant factor in our recent success but is just another player, who did NOT play up to his full potential at the World Cup South Africa.
Bless you Corey Z. I subscribed to SA for nearly 20 years but finally gave up on their pandering to the US Soccer establishment including college soccer. They must believe that having Paul Gardner as their token complainer relieves them of the responsibility to raise the big issues and ask the hard questions. What a pity!!
Jamie, Donovan was not as dynamic as we have become accustomed to, but you can't argue with his production. Three goals, and dangerous service on set plays. I agree that Dempsey was the driving force, offense, defense, and creativity. Fielhaber also played well coming off the bench and should be considered for a starting spot.
I can't believe some of your analysis. Seriously the American soccer public always points their finger at the goal keeper when goals are scored. Tim Howard did well. He can't help that guys are striking the ball at the top of the 18. Any world class forward should be able to beat a keeper from that range when they are not being contested. The U.S. back line was so suspect in allowing those goals to happen. Donovan was off and on throughout the tournament. He ran a lot but was not the difference maker. Dempsey did well, he was creative every time he got the ball.
The title of this article is "Some U.S. players delivered, others didn't." -- and you rate a player for 4 minutes of play in 4 games? Seriously? Clearly if your article is to rate players you cannot seriously rate a top notch midfielder who played a total of 4 minutes in 4 games. You should be asking yourself why he did not get more play time? Ask the coach that one and then write another article. The team had significant problems on critical first touches in the scoring third of the field, and on finishing plays. The midfielders as a group did not move the ball well. The defenders ... we know about the problems there. Don't even put this one on TH. He was awesome. Despite the errors we had a ton of free kicks and great scoring chances and because Holden (no relation) was on the bench you had Donovan take most of the FK's - we didn't score on one set piece (except for the goal that was disallowed). Give Brazil the same number of chances in a game and they deliver goals. It comes down to motivation, aggression, and confidence ... Who is better qualified to motivate the players? A former World Cup winner and coach, or a former MLS coach who almost won the confederation cup tournament last year? Donovan stated it for all to hear last week: "We have a great chance to do something special." Course Donovan doesn't pick his team mates and doesn't set the lineup, and doesn't dictate the formation or strategy or anything like that ... he is just a right midfielder with great talent. One player does not a team make. But having Davis on the bench would have been a huge lift to the team spirit - bad move dumping him after he worked so hard to get back into shape. You don't see the Netherlands dumping Robben right before the World Cup when he is out for 18 days -- right? Do you expect us to believe that in a few years of work our coach couldn't find four quality defenders or three quality strikers or eleven players who wanted to play together as a team? Really? He had to make a hail Mary last minute on a couple of guys who never played with the team and who looked lost on the field, and bank on a 20 year old with one year of EPL experience. Really? Sorry but the buck stops at the coach. You can review all the players you want ... the coach made all the moves and it didn't work out. He knows it. Time for US Soccer and Team USA to aim higher!
I can't believe you said Altidore "held the ball against ruthless tackling." He couldn't hold the ball if you paid him to. His first touch almost always let him down. At his size he should be able to hold the ball with his back to the goal, yet he cannot. The bottom line: Altidore can't score! How much more proof does the coach need before he'll sit him on the bench?
Don't even start with Tim Howard; he's the best goalie we have and he's fantastic.
Sorry, but I tend to disagree...Altidore did his best and for a striker he did not score; LD disappeared to often and Bocanegra shoild have taken down the Ghanaian of the second goal. Bad decisions and the inability to raise the bar at the globasl stage did Team America in...they don't have the quality horses and that showed.
Thank you Mr. Froehlich. I share your frustration. As a soccer junkie who is involved in a soccer business, I really like SA for all the soccer news they provide. It keeps me up to date and for that, SA provides a worthwhile service. However, their "reporting" of the USMNT and WC leaves plenty to be desired. It isnt really reporting and/or analysis at all. So, going forward I will take SA for what it is -- a soccer information service -- and will look elsewhere to find objective, critical, but fair reporting of what actually takes place on the pitch.
Donovan was playing as a forward on his goal against Slovenia. Yes, a US forward did score in the World Cup. While the defense knocked the ball around looking for an opening, Donovan and Dempsey were set up in front of the goal, just beyond the penalty box with Altidore in the midfield. And not to ascribe the goal against Ghana to a forward is also a mistake. Dempsey was in at forward, he took a perfect pass from Donovan, and made two moves worthy of the best forwards in the game. Dempsey was not a midfielder at this point.
It would be interesting to see the US line-up in a 4-5-1 formation with a pair of attacking mids or 3/4 specialists. Our strongest suite is the midfield, and I have to feel sorry for BB - in the sense that we have so many quality players in the midfield and how can you get them all on the field at the same time (Torres, Dempsey, Donovan, M. Bradley, Feilhaber, Holden, Edu) unless you play a five man midfield. Tons of youth players that attend ODP are trained at Center Mid: a tendency that causes us to have at least five players that could play a version of that position on our roster (and leave us with few true wing mids like Holden). That is the pack BB is playing with (although with his "system" he could have tried to select a bigger variety of specialists to choose from). I heard Torres is a winger for Pachuca: why not play him there?? Jose looked great in an attacking / cm role for us at times both in qualifying and friendlies, too.... I think the problem that BB had was trying to figure who to partner with his son.... I remember in the Gold Cup 2007 how great Feilhaber and Bradley played together in the midfield, yet you could change that for Benny and Mo.... If you could drop M Bradley out of the occasional game (which BB evidently could not do and makes me gesture for the door) then we could look at a five player mid (from left to right) of Torres (LM), Feilhaber (LAM), Edu (DCM), Dempsey (RAM), and Donovan (RM). Oh, well.... I think the future should see Donovan cleared for Holden (at 32 he will probably come off the bench for any of the mid positions save D-mid) and Bradley on for Dempsey. I have been thinking too about the reason for bringing Feilhaber on in only the second half, and I believe it lies in his lesser ability to track back. In the Ghanna game attackers were finding space deep on the left flank behind Benny and in-front of Bornstein. International caliber coaches (being what they are) would have attacked this after seeing it a bit, so this may answer why this player formation had to be used in dire circumstance (read almost every second half of the tourney). Feilhaber is not a wing mid, and his defensive awareness would probably have cost us a goal if he had consistently (as Donovan's did vs Birsa) been employed in that manner. The more I think of it BB used the team the best he could (question his picks maybe) without being able to use other CM options like Dempsey/Edu/Feilhaber/Torres instead of M Bradley (who is definite quality but could stand some rotation) is a difficulty that we might come to regret if we keep BB around.
I think there is a lot of short term memory disability and wishful thinking in this thread. Ah yes, Edu is a quality payer, but he gave up a blind backpass against Ghana in the 61st minute that resulted in a Bocanegra yellow card and a direct free kick in front of the penalty area.
Against Turkey, Feilhaber sent in a dangerous cross in front of his own penalty box - for the sole purpose of not losing the ball over the sideline. Only luck prevented these gaffes from resulting in goals. The US did very well to finish top of their group. This World Cup was a success, although with an asterisk. If we could have done better, it is probably in pushing Dempsey or Donovan forward from the beginning. That still would not have prevented the early goals, though.
Next World Cup. Strength - Midfield with the guys we have now still not aging out plus some good youngsters like Luis Gil added to the mix. Strength - Goal altho' I admit that Howard was less than stellar on a couple of opposing goals. Unclear - Striker. Altidore is only 20 and is improving. If Davies can make it all the way back, we should be OK. Weakness - Defense. Blow it up and start all over. Hopefully we can find a worthy group over the next four years. Weakness - Coach. We need someone who can execute a gameplan that avoids the one or two blunders per game this group routinely suffered thru
Midfield is not the problem with this team, but strikers and backs are. The first touch is still lacking for many players and the lack of pace of our backs is obvious. Dempsey and Donovan spent most of their time as wing midfielders, yet gave the team very little width. Dempsey was really a problem in this area. The coaching staff should have been able to recognize that and dealt with it. Watch the true front runners such as Brazil and Spain. They know how to use the entire field.
Mr. Mahoney is clearly lobbing a softball to Bob Bradley in this supposedly "critical" piece. OK, think back to when you (and I) played the game. think about how you may have been backed by the coach on one team and sure of your place on the team and because of that you fit smoothly into the system with your teammates and they generated opportunities for you. Now think about a time when you struggled and maybe the coach favored others and you didn't get the minutes and you were less familiar with teammates so it was hard to get plays and positions to flow smoothly, and so you couldn't show your full potential. With that in mind now, don't give us that garbage about Altidore is the man - he's had every benefit of the doubt from status quo US Soccer folks like you and what has he done? Gomez gets awarded the last ticket on the bus, is fighting to be seen as worthy by the coaching staff and is not familiar playing with the USMNT, and you are going to say that you are making an apples to apples comparison of USMNT forwards?
What has Altidore done? Well, he shrugged off a world class defender and scored the game winning goal that was truly 'all his' against the #1 team in the world.
Are you kidding me? Have you ever actually played soccer? This is the worst evaluation of the individual's performance that I have ever heard. Too much to go into so I will stay with 1 player.
Altadore - I am not sure why he got the starting position but is responsible for 40% of why we lost to a country like Ghana. He has no business playing at this level. Soccer is a running game and Altador does not run! Bradley picked the the 2 forwards who had the worst scoring record period. At least Findley was trying and making runs But he has not been scoring. Did Bradley expect that forwards who had not been scoring all year would all of a sudden start scoring at the highest level of competition? Come on the US was doomed to begin with with a coach that does not even know who his best players are. You can't advance in the world cup if your forwards can't score and you can't score if you don't make runs.... Altadore! Gomez and Buddle both came in as scorers but were never given a chance. How soon can we get a new coach?
Leland, I am not sure on what basis you feel more Buddle and Gomez would have increased our chances. Goals scored in League play? (did you see those goals?) International friendlies? If the question is "playing at this level" then it is yet a question of what your high opinion of them is based on. At this point, I can't say that either one is a difference-maker. Anyway, I like to see the US score, and I don't really care who gets the final tally. So if Altidore can put in a difficult ball against Algeria for another player to run onto, then that's fine with me.
Steven,
I was commenting on Mohoney's article not your posting but yes I was referring to their goals scored in league play. Did you notice Bradley's tieing goal? It came off an assist (sort of) from Altadore but the key play was Gomez's run, pulling the defender and leaving Bradly wide open. The little I have seen Gomez and Buddle play, they are willing to make the runs required by a forward which will normally lead to scores.
should have brought brian ching or mcbride. they would have gotten it done up top. usa had no experience up top that was their first problem
and are u kidding me about beasley. he played so bad. he is horrible. get him off the team. the time he played he ended up losing balls and committing stupid fouls. who is this reporter? do u know anything about soccer? seems like you just listen to fricken espn and copy what their dumbass has to say
i agree with leland. if u arent going to make runs u better walk ur ass into open space and score some goals. otherwise u should just go home. the thing that pissed me off the most was the Ghana game. Fricken Carlos Bocanegra on the goal Ghana scored. a little shove in the back and give up. ur the captain and u put that weak crap on the field. so disappointing. come on basics grab his hip so he has no power to move or shoot. alot better than a pussy shove. take the red. they wouldnt have scored a free kick.