U.S. men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann executed a tricky piece of player diplomacy on Thursday by stripping forward Clint Dempseyof the captain’s armband and handing it to center midfielder Michael Bradley ahead of the Concacaf Gold Cup, which begins for the USA on July 7 against Honduras. Dempsey, of course, has been at the […]
michael bradley
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Gold Cup: Klinsmann gives Dempsey's captaincy to Bradley
Not unexpectedly, U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has named Michael Bradley his captain for the Gold Cup inplace of Clint Dempsey, who was recently suspended by MLS and U.S. Soccer for tearing up the notebook of referee DanielRadford in the Seattle Sounders’ U.S. Open Cup match against Portland. View image | gettyimages.com Dempsey had […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
MLS: Best of May
By Ridge Mahoney(@ridgemax) Most teams played hefty doses of midweek games in addition to the typicallyfull weekend slates. Only Montreal, which had two games postponed to accommodate its schedule in the Concacaf Champions League, has played less than 10 games. Every other team but Toronto FC is pastthe one-third mark in the 34-game regular season. […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
ICYMI | MLS: Dempsey's streak, Altidore's injury
Filling in for injured Obafemi Martins (tibial contusion), Chad Barrett scored twice to give the Seattle Sounders a 2-0statement win over the Vancover Whitecaps in their Cascadia Cup match on Saturday at B.C. Place. Clint Dempsey assisted on Barrett’s first goal, giving him a goal or assist in 10 consecutive MLS regular-season matches datingback to […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Michael Bradley: It will be a process building Toronto FC
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) Every year is a new year except in Toronto, where not for a few months willthe players, executive, and fans of Toronto FC know if 2015 will be different than all the rest. A bleak start to the season — four straight losses following an impressive 3-1 defeat ofVancouver in the […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Forward thinking jumbles USA puzzle
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) The depth chart of U.S. forwards isn’t yet crowded and perhapswon’t be for a while, but on a night Gyasi Zardes wasn’t at full throttle two other young Americans certainly were. Jordan Morris and Juan Agudelo did morethan share the goalscoring honors Wednesday in a 2-0 defeat of Mexico. They demonstrated […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Three takeaways from USA-Mexico
The U.S. men’s national team set aside a troublesome post World Cup run to bounce Mexico, 2-0, Wednesday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Jordan Morris made his first start amemorable one by latching onto a deflected pass to score in the 49th minute and his replacement, Juan Agudelo, collected an elegant chip from Michael Bradley […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Projecting Klinsmann's USA roster for Mexico game
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) Projecting a USA roster for an upcoming friendly can be a fool’sexercise for many reasons. Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s penchant for springing surprises is just one variable in a complex equation. He sometimes downgrades such elements aslevel of performance and though he always talks of building for the future he’s also […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Klinsmann, ever the optimist, refuses to buckle
A worrying trend of conceding late goals continued, yet while tying Switzerland, 1-1, in Zurich on Tuesday, the U.S. national team generated more good play than it has in most of its recent matches. Though outshot, 12-6, the Americans used their possessions effectively and several times were presented clean looks at goal they couldn’t convert. […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
For long periods, USA looked lost against Danes
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) The USA national team took a pair of one-goal leads but still lost, 3-2, toDenmark Wednesday in Aarhus. Well, apparently a 4-4-2 formation isn’t the solution for the U.S. national team. Nor is it the problem. Seldom during did a 3-2 loss to Denmark Wednesday did the Americans look cohesive or […]