usmnt

Lichaj back in the mix again is interesting, though pretty much everything I've read about him indicates he doesn't have what it takes. Luckily for him, though, none of the other pool fullbacks seem to have what it takes either.

Lichaj always looked "sub-standard" edging towards "pretty bad" whenever I saw him playing for Villa fwiw. And competition in Villa's back four hasn't exactly been stiff these last three years or so

Yous are gonnae get pumped so hard by Scotland :)

Also since when has Beasley been a defender?

since klinsmann asked him to be one.

Yup, outside back is the weakest spot for the US right now.

Dull dull dull first half.

not familiar with this guy's game so much.
http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/soccerusa/id/3889?cc=5901

dan et al, could he offer something to the us?

I think he might if given the chance. He's great at being in the right place at the right time to score, but he's not really the type to deke a defender on the dribble, to beat them 1-on-1. He's more of a give-and-go-and-bang-it-in type. Great team player, can also play on the left (where he was mostly at for LA w/ Keane, Becks, Lando). Plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, I think, for being overlooked for so long. Then again, he's never scored close to 20-some goals in a season before.

you know what? i like this draw. got to play the big boys to see where we are. A couple things go right and we're second in the group.

i agree. what's the point of going to a world cup wanting to play crappy teams.
the us has shown an ability to step up their game against better opposition. on their day they have a chance of beating portugal and ghana. let er rip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRTngtsOY8Q

you know what? i like this draw. got to play the big boys to see where we are. A couple things go right and we're second in the group.

― anky, Friday, December 6, 2013 3:13 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXhRFnUn72E

xposted from the quals thread if you didn't see it, cracks me the fuck up

good christ

http://gifti.me/i/E1dJaGO.gif

http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2014/news/article/2013/12/12/jurgen-klinsmann-us-soccer-agree-new-four-year-contract-add-technical-direct

i havent read commentary or anything, but what is the rush? wait til july and then decide, right

The most coherent explanation I've heard is it gives reassurance to upcoming players that there will be some consistency over the next WC cycle.

Then again they re-hired Bradley and how long did that last?

U.S. National Team All-Time Best XI

Goalkeeper – Brad Friedel 1992-2004 (25 votes)

Defender – Marcelo Balboa 1988-2000 (35 votes)
Defender – Carlos Bocanegra 2001-2012 (25 votes)
Defender – Steve Cherundolo 1999-2012 (25 votes)
Defender – Eddie Pope 1996-2006 (33 votes)

Midfielder – Clint Dempsey 2004-present (25 votes)
Midfielder – Landon Donovan 2000-present (52 votes)
Midfielder – Tab Ramos 1988-2000 (42 votes)
Midfielder – Claudio Reyna 1994-2006 (45 votes)

Forward – Brian McBride 1993-2006 (45 votes)
Forward – Eric Wynalda 1990-2000 (43 votes)

Only difference between that and the picks I made is I had Michael Bradley instead of Ramos.

demarcus beasley? a brief but brilliant spell i s'pose. wynalda never really proved himself at club level tbh, jozy probably better or as good tbh. but then again its usmnt performances rather than club level we are talking about

dunno much about tab ramos, except reading issues of world soccer saying stuff like "tab ramos is US soccers only guiding light in a country where soccer is less popular than midget throwing!!!"

Ramos has stuck around to coach youth teams, I didn't see a lot of him while he was active but from all indications he was indeed the guiding light at that time.

I thought about Beasley, a lot of people suggested moving Donovan into Wynalda's place and slotting Beas in there.

Brendan Husebø ‏@BrendanHusebo 36m

Bob Bradley will be unveiled as Stabæk manager at 10CET tomorrow. He will become the first American manager to manage in Europe. (Budstikka)

good luck to Bob, but that's kind of underwhelming considering their best known manager ended up at the new york red bulls.

I'm guessing it's due to the schedule of the Norwegian league, this must be their offseason. I can't imagine a club in a bigger league replacing a fired manager with Bradley at this point. Maybe this will just be a foot in the door for him, he has said for a while he wanted to coach in European top divisions.

In other news:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (10): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Michael Harrington (Portland Timbers), Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), Chance Myers (Sporting Kansas City), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids), Seth Sinovic (Sporting Kansas City), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Eric Alexander (New York Red Bulls), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Dax McCarty (New York Red Bulls), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (D.C. United), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

The camp, which runs from Jan. 6-Feb. 1, will be conducted across two continents. After six days in California, a 23-player group will base in Sao Paulo from Jan. 13-25 to give the players and staff a dry run of this summer’s tournament in Brazil. The team will then return to the U.S. Soccer National Training Center.

Michael Bradley to TFC!?!?!?

what in the fucking hell?

http://www.thestar.com/sports/tfc/2014/01/08/tfc_signs_tottenham_striker_jermain_defoe.html xposted from the prem thread

If Bradley wants to be a star and have a team built around him then Toronto isn't a bad place to start. No one to fight with him for dominance or playing time.

if that's what he wanted he could have stayed at Chievo rather than move to Roma.

The second half of that is basically what I've heard, he's getting squeezed out at Roma and that's not a good thing leading into the summer in Brazil. Seems like there's a lot of interest from clubs in Germany and elsewhere in Europe but he needs guaranteed playing time more than anything. xpost

http://i57.tinypic.com/29cqvtd.jpg

much love for wondo!

Srsly bummed for Magee at the same time.

glad for gil

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1/1959900_676794495733583_1045112342_n.jpg

deuce coppin a bit of a feel there on a.morg?

Bring back the hoops!

I hope the Davis Cup team wears the same uniforms.

ryder cup too prob

yeah what happened to the hoops

Thankfully, they decided looking like barber polls was a hideous mistake.

rong

Look - it's the US Men's National Team!

http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/m3-FoxiMTF8hLdYtD8FVhwA.jpg

feel so bad for this dude. i thought he was going to be a major player for the usmnt.

In his first game action since tearing his ACL in July’s Gold Cup final, Holden reinjured the knee 23 minutes into an appearance with the club’s under-21 squad.

Rushing back for the 2010 WC was a bad move. He wasn't fully healed and that has led to more injury. I always hated him for Houston but you're right, he would have been a contributor for the nats in a way that Jones/Klestjan/Edu/Williams haven't been.

Sounds like Cherundolo is hanging 'em up.

he's one of my favorites. amazing to have more than 400 appearances with Hannover, he's been there since 1999!

http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2014/03/140318-julian-green-applies-for-association-switch.aspx

Bayern Munich forward Julian Green has chosen to represent the United States in international competition and has applied for a one-time change of association to FIFA. The process is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

http://soccer.si.com/2014/03/19/julian-green-usa-usmnt-bayern-munich-schweinsteiger-robben/ -- kind words from some Bayern players about Green