Jurgen Klinsmann’s recent arrival here in the states has revamped viewers and fans to believe that the U.S national team is just on the brink of glory. Despite his record, I myself have been generally pleased with the style he has tried to establish on the team. The idea of trying to generate a lot shots and becoming a more attacking team by bringing more creative players to the pitch. Though this may take time, I am afraid that with the players that are currently playing on the team that the U.S could potentially reach a plateau in their playing. There are a few players that need to go, and a few players that the gaffer needs to consider giving another shot.

We’ll start from the back. Of course Tim Howard is hands down our best keeper, that’s the obvious. However, the idea that coaches are trying to bring back Onyewu is a very poor decision. That man should be playing middle linebacker in the NFL, he is no center back. He often gets beat, and despite his enormous size he still manages to get beat in the air. Instead, the guy Coach Klinsmann should be looking at is L.A Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez. He is a regular starter for them and has proven to not only be a rock in the back, but also a threat in the air on set pieces. Put him next to our captain Carlos Bocanegra. Steve Cherundolo is a fantastic outside back full of experience and ability. On the left side, I hope to never see Jonathan Bornstein, or Timothy Chandler ever again. Bornstein blew his opportunity in the Mexico game, and showed the world that he cannot keep up with the pace of the game once again. I would put Eric Lichaj on the left. Lichaj has blazing speed, and does a great job of getting up the flanks. Guys like Tim Ream, Edgar Castillo, and Jonathan Spector are decent back-ups.

In the midfield, the biggest problem is finding that playmaker who wants the ball at his feet. Edu, Jones, and even Bradley are good holding midfielders, but all are severely inconsistent and sometimes make poor decisions on the ball. If you play a 4-2-3-1, put Bradley, and Jose Fransisco Torres next to each other. Torres is one of the better distributors and works very hard getting back. If Stuart Holden can get healthy he needs to take Bradley’s spot. Holden proved himself all last season in the EPL as a ball winner and another great distributor out of the middle.

In front of him is the diamond in the rough. A guy who is rarely talking about, but is truly a playmaker and very confident on the ball. Benny Feilhaber. He is a true playmaker for any team he plays for, and he has proven that. I don’t understand why he keeps getting looked over when players continue to get called up. Donovan and Dempsey have to be in the starting lineup, but the question is where. Donovan is strong on the outsides and does well to put balls in. Dempsey on the other hand is a little tricky because sometimes on the outside he becomes invisible because he doesn’t see the ball enough. I personally like him up top. Fast, good skill, and solid in the air. If you play with one forward he is the guy that has the ability to hold the ball and allow the rest of the players to get up the field. That sets things up perfectly for Brek Shea on the left. His deceiving speed and willingness to run with the ball is something that many US players lack. When I watched the MLS all-stars play Manchester United, besides Beckerman and Feilhaber, it seems that everyone else is generally scared to have the ball at their feet for more than two touches before they kick the ball 40 yards down the field to nobody. A few other players that seem to impress with out any recognition are Kyle Beckerman, (even though as of late Klinsmann has taken a liking to him) Houston Dynamo Brad Davis, (leading MLS in assist) Bobby Boswell, Freddy Adu, Alejandro Bedoya and Sacha Kljestan.

Before this ends, a few guys that should never be seen in a U.S.A jersey again…Hercules Gomez, DeMarcus Beasley, Robbie Rogers, Clarence Goodson, Robbie Findley, Edson Buddle, Ricardo Clark, and Jermaine Jones can go back to Germany for all I care.

Cheers.

Just remember that I told you so in a couple of years.  There’s an Arab-American player named Soony Saad playing for the University of Michigan right now (and tearing it up) as they look to make a deep run in the college championships.  Google his 67yrd shot just to see a bit of his skill.  This 18-year old freshman striker from Dearborn, Michigan has already racked up some serious awards and I think he’s just getting started.  Oh, did I mention he’s already on the U.S. national team’s radar screen?  He’s a solid contributor on the USA U-17 MNT and is expecting a call up for the upcoming U-20 MNT camp in Atlanta.  He’s trained down at the U.S. facilities in Bradenton in which he won the 2007-08 Development Academy U-15/16 Player of the Year.  After this exciting accolade, his dominance continued to be seen in the high school ranks (in Michigan) and was awarded the National Player of the Year award last year which includes an alumni list featuring 13 current or former pro players, including Claudio Reyna.  What else did he accomplish in his little high school footballing career?  How about the 2009 MHSAA Mr. Soccer and the 2009 Gatorade National Soccer Player of the Year?  Oops, I forgot to mention the 2009 NSCAA/adidas All-American title and that he was a Four-year letterwinner/all-state selection.  His legacy will not be forgotten.  He set the MHSAA single-season state record for goals with 76 and the state career record for goals with 172 career tallies.  Think he’s not a team player.  He then led the Pioneers (his high school squad) to four consecutive league titles and four consecutive district crowns.  What are his aspirations?  He’s already met Alecko Eskandarian (who gave him his national player of the year trophy) and idolizes Zidane and Torres.  He’s quietly said he wants to play in the EPL.  If some of the Liverpool coaches are watching these University of Michigan DVDs, he may get his chance.  As of this week (alongside his brother), he’s scored so many goals (18 to date) that he leads the nation in scoring this year as a freshman.  Michigan is ranked number 3^rd in the country and just thrashed Northwestern this past weekend to win the big ten championship.  He may take the Wolverines all the way to the championship.   Saad became the seventh player in program history to record a hat trick against Kentucky (on 9/22/10) and also set the U-M single-season scoring record with 15 goals against Northwestern (Nov. 16).  The energetic youngster also tacked on 4 assists this season, and has been the recipient of multiple big ten player of the week awards while constantly being named the top college player of the week by collegiate soccer publications.  Let’s just say, this kid is legit.  He’s scored the most collegiate soccer goals by a freshman since 1998, easily won the big ten freshman of the year and will most likely lock up national freshman player of the year as well as overall national player of the year.  The former Vardar club player is high on the MLS prospect list and could get drafted next year if he wanted.  Here’s what one of his former coaches said, “    Soony Saad has been the best player in Michigan since he was five years old. He’s a very intelligent player, he seems to be a step ahead of the game in terms of thinking. The unique skill he has is that he’s a great goal-scorer, that being the toughest technique of the whole sport.”  Wow! I hope he’s the next Landon Donovan.  Tune in to the College Soccer Cup this next month to see if he can lead the maize and blue to the ultimate prize.

Michigan has already won a big ten title this year. Can they win the College Cup with the Saad brothers leading the way?

Let’s rewind to the year 1996.  I’m sitting at a small soccer field in the Midwest, outside of Chicago, watching my brother’s match for the Downers Grove Roadrunners, whom I also played for at the time.  After his game, he said to me, “Did you see that kid over there?”  “No, why?” I replied.  My brother went on to explain to me.  “He’s my age, by far the best player in the club around my age bracket, and usually plays 2-3 years above our age group”, he shot back.  I stopped by a few of the club’s other games and practices and quickly learned and observed that this kid was dribbling circles around everyone.   This young star racked up massive amounts of goals on people 3-4 years older than him with grace and precision.  His touches were perfect.  Even my father, who doesn’t know much about soccer, proclaimed, “every time that guy kicks the ball, something good happens”.  Eric Lichaj got better and starred for one of the top clubs in Chicago, the Chicago Magic (also known as one of the premier national clubs here in the states) and continued collecting trophies, including a club player of the year for his age group in 2004.  He honed his skills playing against his brothers (his brother Andrew was a solid college player at IIT in Chicago).  Eric’s parents are polish immigrants and he grew up following the Chicago Fire and often being coached by his father.  Most American youngsters don’t fancy football after about 8 years old.  It seems that this kid was living and breathing the world’s game every minute of his childhood. How does this translate?

When you excel for a club like the Chicago Magic, you get recognized. In 2003, at age 14, he joined the US MNT in the junior U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Florida.  He had now caught the eyes of the U.S. Soccer Federation and people knew he was something special.  In 2006, he received a scholarship to go play for the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill, one of the top men’s soccer programs in the country.  Unfortunately, he broke his foot and his action was limited.  Then, what happened?  A little known club (that’s a joke) called Aston Villa of the English Premier league came calling.  Shortly thereafter, he signed a professional contract and was working his way up through the Aston Villa reserve system and enjoying stints for Lincoln City and Leyton Orient (lower division teams in England).   I assume the Villa trainers (who are known for breeding great players) wanted him to sharpen his skills and toughness.  The EPL is a physical and often grueling day-to-day grind.  But, let’s clarify something first:  There aren’t many Americans in the EPL.  I count 8 (maybe 9-10 if you count Landy cakes and others).  To even get the opportunity to play for an EPL club team’s system across the pond is a huge privilege and honor.  Many foreigners cannot hack it.  To be recruited for one of these teams at the age of 18, you have to truly be something special.  Is Mr. Lichaj the future of the U.S. defense?  Should we have him dye his hair red and grow a gow-tee?

My fellow Downers Grovian has an immense amount of talent.  He finally got called up to the Senior Men’s National Team for two games in the next 5 days.  He may win his first CAP against his parents’ homeland, Poland, on Saturday in his childhood city of Chicago (at Soldier Field) or possibly have to wait until the USA faceoff Tuesday against Colombia in Chester, PA.  Along with Jonathan Spector and Jermaine Jones, the USA is building up its defensive attack.  I believe the Chicago-bred trio will lead its new crop of young and fiery players into the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have an incredible amount of respect for Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Bornstein, Gooch, DeMerit, etc.  However, I think Bob Bradley needs to shift his focus onto younger players like Lichaj and execute some type of a rehaul or new strategy/player rotation.  For example, Lichaj brings more of an offensive presence, someone who can push up more on the wings like Sergio Ramos, Maicon, Pique, Vidic, etc.  Also, even though he didn’t play in the World Cup and has his critics, I think having Spector (plays for West Ham in the EPL) and Lichaj on the wings could produce some phenomenal results.  Above all, they are energetic youngsters.  Experience will always be important as we build up to the next World Cup but we cannot rely on players between the ages of 32-35 who have not produced the results we are looking for.

So why compare him to Lalas?   Both are Midwest boys (Michigan and Illinois) with European ties, Alexi’s father, is from Greece.   Lichaj probably even has better skills than Lalas.  He grew up playing more of a midfielder/striker role.  He has a special throw-in.   I have seen and read about his passion for the game.  He has been on the EPL and USA’s radar for a while now.  Also, he can be a bit crazy at times in his style, but plays with a certain gritty class and panache just like Lalas.   Lalas made an impact at Italy with Padova and it revolutionized his career.  This could do the same for Lichaj.   Lichaj is a winner and has done well wherever he has gone.  His experience now trumps any player that comes out of the MLS around his age.  Villa has renewed this 21yr old’s contract for 3 more years.  The Birmingham organization has spoken and confirmed that they know Lichaj is for real.  Bob Bradley has finally made the call, too.  Let’s see how he does on Saturday but here’s to hoping we see him starting on the field in South America in 2014.

Lichaj is smiling in Birmingham. He'll be in Chicago this weekend for the USMNT

The “Comeback Kings” of the 2010 World Cup nearly kept their title today, but were eliminated in overtime in a 2-1 game against Ghana.

The Americans set up their reputation in group stage, with a late tie against England, a 3 goal comeback in the second half against Slovakia (although one goal was thrown out) and Landon Donovan’s now famous 90th minute goal on Algeria.

Today’s knockout round game started out with a goal by Ghana in the 5th minute, setting up the Americans for another game of catch-up. The US scored a goal in the second half and the game was forced into overtime.

Ghana scored their second goal in the first 15 minute block of overtime. The US was desperate but kept up the pace and had a lot of great opportunities at the goal but couldn’t sink it in. The game ended at 123 minutes. The USA says goodbye to the World Cup and Ghana advances to the final 8. As the only African team in the knockout rounds, the host nation must be looking to Ghana as the final hope to represent their continent, and today they delivered.

Americans should still be proud of the way the US performed, despite challenges stacked against them. We can hope the recognition will be high for US players and that America will keep their momentum for the next four years.

The FIFA World Cup is quickly approaching, and countries around the world are gearing up to watch their teams compete. Although football (soccer) is not as popular in the U.S. as it is worldwide, attention to the sport is growing. This year, American fans are getting ready to cheer on their team, especially with recent news that they may have something even bigger to look forward to in 2018 or 2022- the hope of hosting the tournament for the second time. Germany, France, Italy and Mexico are the only countries to have ever hosted twice in the tournament’s almost 80 year history. This time around, Bill Clinton’s chief advisor, Doug Band is giving the U.S. a serious chance at becoming 5^th on this list.

Band is the latest addition to the Board of Directors for the U.S. Bid Committee.  While the magnitude of the World Cup enticed a lot of high profile individuals to join the Board of Directors (such as, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, etc), having the relatively lower profiled Doug Band as the face of the committee may just give the U.S. their biggest bargaining chip yet.

Band has helped implement philanthropic initiatives in over 170 countries.  His work through the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) has helped raise millions of dollars for relief efforts thus touching thousands of lives.  His reputation precedes him throughout other countries and he is respected by them for his efforts.  Having him represent the U.S. Bid will help promote America as a great location to host the World Cup by highlight his international endeavors and demonstrating the embrace Americans have for diverse cultures.

For Band, this is nothing short of a win-win situation.  First of all, Band happens to be a soccer fan and it’s always great when you can participate in something you’ve always had a passion for.  More importantly, Doug Band is heavily involved in the political industry and currently one of the hottest topics happens to be the economy.  It’s no secret that one guaranteed outcome of hosting the World Cup is that the city hosting the games will benefit immensely from the surge of tourists stimulating the local and regional economy.  Many improvements will likely be made in preparation for the influx of media coverage and visitors alike.  Those benefits will, in turn, extend to the national economy.  Therefore, by joining the Board of Directors, Band is jointly responsible for a unique effort that could help ignite a weakened American economy if the World Cup is successfully brought stateside.  Ultimately, taking advantage of the opportunity to join the U.S. Bid Committee gives Doug Band the chance to make a real impact on thousands of American lives and really make a name for himself here on his home turf.

Winning the World Cup bid could also help extinguish any negative sentiments that may still be lingering as a result of the unsuccessful attempt by the U.S. (Chicago) to land the Olympics a few months ago.  Regardless of the sport’s relative lack of followers currently here in the states, to have the event back in the US would undoubtedly unite the nation  and spark much more American interest in the sport – bringing them one step closer to fully engaging in the “globe’s game.”  As proof of this argument, the first time the U.S. won the bid to host the World Cup (1994) the games attracted the largest attendance ever (and still holds the record),  for a single U.S. sporting event with 3.6 million in attendance, and 16.9 million American viewers watching from home.

There are a total of 9 other countries bidding for 2018 and 2022, including the likes of Indonesia, Russia, and Australia. The decision for both years will be made when FIFA’s executive committee meets in December 2010, after visiting all locations to be considered. Until then, Americans will remain hopeful about the opportunity to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 while cheering on this year’s team.

Regina