Edson Buddle may start to run out of room on his resume for all the honors he is racking up.
Buddle scored another two goals to up his season total to nine, while also adding an assist, to help the Los Angeles Galaxy post a 3-1 victory against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. The performance helped Buddle earn SBI Player of the Week honors a week after he ran away with MLS Player of the Month honors.
There were some other quality performances this past weekend, including memorable matches from Houston's Dom Oduro, New York's Juan Pablo Angel and Real Salt Lake's Andy Williams, but Buddle's was yet another masterpiece for a player who looks intent on playing his way onto the U.S. World Cup squad.
Here is Buddle's second goal:
What did you think of Buddle's performance? Who got your vote for MLS Player of the Week?
Share your thoughts below.
Does anybody know when the USMNT camp begins? When are the call ups supposed to take place? I want to know who the 30 guys are: I am getting tired of all the speculation.
I think Buddle definitely fits Davies’ profile of being an striker based on skill, touch, and tactical awareness that plays well alongside a more power-based striker. They’re both athletic and big enough to play as the target or second forward and put together, they’re great at breaking backlines down.
+1
Can you please tell me how you know that Buddle ABSOLUTELY CANNOT compete on that level when he has yet to be tested ANYWHERE NEAR that level? Same for Gomez. As for Casey, he seems a useful sub, but I’d still take Ching. Bornstein is also a pretty good option off the bench.
“But he rarely went on a streak in the MLS like this if ever.”
Jozy was 17 when he played in the MLS! Come on now, give the guy a little credit. If he played with LA right now with Donovan providing the crosses he would have just as many goals as Buddle.
Speed is needed at a higher level….come on dude. Brian McBride has scored in more World Cups(2) than any other American. You want to say he’s a speed demon?
I’m not being negative on BB (though I should be)…I even gave him props. But I never understand why so many fans thought we did well at the confed cup or for that matter happy we can “hang” with the top teams.
The confed cup was lucky…we had a 2-3 record with negative goal scoring difference. Moons, starts, solar systems aligned for our game against Egypt and the Brazil win against Italy that allowed us to advance. Then Spain literally had a 3 to 1 advantage on shots and corner kicks. We just happened to play a tremendous defensive effort with some superstar plays.
Which leads to…
BB has a 1-8-1 record against top teams with 9 goals for and 22 (TWENTY TWO) against. If you want to be a top team and want to win a WC you have to be able to beat top teams…not just “hang” with them.
Great quote I read on another site from Giovanni Trapattoni-“A good manager, at best, can make a team 10% better; but a bad manager can make a team up to 50% worse.” I don’t think BB has ever made us 10% better and more often than not made us worse in these big games…which leads back to my main point at the beginning that he is not talented enough to lead us to victory. I don’t care if it’s JK or not…I just want someone who has been successful (amongst some other things) at the international level coaching us.
short memory, EJ had an equally blazing start when he started his appearances for the USMNT and i beleive netted 3 or 4 goals in one of his first couple games. We’ve seen it, just not often, or with this timing (going into a WC)
Before these two goals I was saying take him to the cup. After these two goals, I’m saying maybe start him. His finishing touch is just too good to overlook right now.
It was great to see Buddle delay his run and Landon to give him the ball early. Many players would have ran off-side or the passer would have taken the ball to the end line before passing. Well done.
Side note, many commentators here are arguing for non-playing Beasley to be included in the 23 for SA. I disagree, and side with Bradley who said he needs to know why Beasley has not been playing.I also agree with LD that players, playing and playing well need to be included, Buddle, Bedoya, and Gomez?
RIGHT….. he was onside man, he held up for the pass. and as a SJ i HATE the galaxy, but give credit where its due, he did everything right there.
I’ve never understood this fascination with Klinsman or negativity to Bradley. Bradley has given more players opportunities than anyone I can remember. He keeps a cool head during competition and has taken us to a FIFA final. Another thing in Bradley’s favor: the players seem to completely buy into his system and leadership. There’s no guarantee you would get this with another coach, no matter how potentially ‘talented.’ Ultimately it is the talent of the players available that will determine how far a team can go in the world cup. We’ve made some big steps there but don’t think we’re ready to challenge Brazil or Spain in a match of most talented players yet. However we proved in the confed cup that with an organized and determined team effort we can hang with those teams.
Please tell me the difference between Edson Buddle and Jozy Altidore? Edson is older but actually a tad bit faster than Jozy.. certainly a better finisher… Jozy has been given a pass this year because his team was horrible but he rarely went on a streak in the MLS like this if ever… Buddle has always been talented but attitude and injuries have set him back.. he is in the best shape of this life according to his own words and if you are not seeing some genius in his play forward right now.. you are simply not watching…
“It’s often foolish to speculate on what Bradley is thinking, so I’ll go ahead.”
Ha – nice. I do agree with your analysis though. I got the same thing from his statements.
Dear k, watch buddle’s first touch on his first goal. He is NOT top quality, but he probably does deserve to be a incase sub for Jozy.
Two problems with possession ball:
1. Our passing isn’t actually very good. Even though we generally just putz around with square passes, those simple passes tend to go awry more often than they should.
2. We don’t have much creativity. We just don’t have a team that’s very capable of creating offense through incisive passing.
The quintessential display of this was the US-Czech game in Germany. After scoring that early goal, they gave us the ball and sat back. We were unable to do anything with the possession. Until we start getting more creative offensive players, counters and set pieces are going to constitute the bulk of our scoring.
Rossi cant be involved in that camp because of club commitments… he will be on the Italy roster…
NONE of those guys will get SIGNIFICANT playing time, we are looking for subs now… not starters.
I think Buddle is on the plane, and I won’t be at all surprised if he starts next to Altidore, with Gomez as the supersub–something he’s been doing extraordinarily well in Mexico. We would be better up front if Dempsey started next to Altidore, but then who do we play on the right? Holden is certainly not 90 (or even 45) minutes fit, nor is Beasley, ditto probably for Feilhaber. That leaves Alejandro Bedoya, who is the only right winger playing 90 minutes on a regular basis.
I think the choice becomes–do we play the inexperienced Buddle up front and Dempsey at his regular position? Or do we play the inexperienced Bedoya on the right and put Dempsey out of position up front? I vote for Buddle, if only because he’s been working so well with Donovan this season. That kind of synergy is unusual for the USMNT, and might just make up for Buddle’s inexperience at this level. If nothing else, it would be nice to have another tall, athletic guy in there for set pieces–which is how the USMNT often scores, anyway.
Especially considering, all last week he was posting about feeling great and scoring goals, and today’s was excitement about heading off to training, you are definitely mistaken.
This will all end soon, it’s not like this guy hasn’t spent his entire career being a total bust.
If Buddle goes to South Africa, we are doomed. It’s that simple. He cannot, ABSOLUTELY CANNOT, compete on that level. Nor can Gomez. Nor can Casey. Nor can Bornstein. If even one of those guys gets significant playing time, we won’t even advance from the group stage. It is what it is, and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.
We can speculate all we want, but both Buddle and Gomez will be in the Princeton camp (barring injury) and their performance there will determine whether one, the other, both or neither will be on the final WC squad (also Casey, Ching and Davies are in similarly tenuous positions). After that, the warm-up games and continued training sessions will make the final determination of who will start. Unless one or more of the forwards are very productive in the last days of May and early June, Bradley will indeed have a difficult decision to make regarding his starting forwards. At least, it now looks more like he will be choosing between positives rather than settling for the least bad.
It is not rocket science, at the last warm-up game before the 2006 WC, I wondered if anyone besides McBride could score goals for the USA. At least this time around, their may be some answers. Bradley has known about the dearth of quality goal-scorers for more than a couple years and he has brought in nearly everyone willing and possibly capable (Davies, Altidore, Ching, Casey, Adu, Twellman, Findley, Cunningham, probably others, whom I can’t recall), many have been found wanting and/or are now injured. The addition of two more to the list has some of us optimistic and it certainly adds to the excitement.
I would wait until buddle faces actual defense at the US camp or in the friendly before saying he is really good.
Yeah Rossi would be a starter for the US. Just like a healthy Jermaine Jones would. I know there are other factors like chemistry and tactics of Bradley’s system. But both are so good they would raise the level of our play significantly.
generous non call on the offside
Still waiting to see how Buddle adjusts to the International game. He’s been on fire in MLS, but so have Eddie Johnson and Jeff Cunningham. I’m rooting for him to succeed, obviously. Only time will tell, 8 days until the roster is announced!
I agree. It must be at least a little difficult for Rossi to look at both squads and realize that he could have been an automatic starter up front for the US at this WC. In fact, it’s possible he would have llocked that down over a year ago and we wouldn’t have seen the meteoric rise of Charlie Davies. That said, if the squad comes in completely healthy, I don’t feel like we NEED Rossi like many of us thought after he hung two on us at the confed cup. Sure would be a nice surplus to have though.
You think the US is playing towards it’s skill level???? BB took us from bunker ball to counter ball…that’s it. What about possession ball???? I’m not even dreaming of being Brazil or Spain…I just want us to start passing.
We have plenty of players who can pass the ball…a new coach will get the right players in the correct positions on the pitch and get them to pass their way out of pressure instead of panicking and booming it out.
BB has done a good job…but he doesn’t have the coaching talent to take us to the next level.
It’s often foolish to speculate on what Bradley is thinking, so I’ll go ahead. His comment last week about the improvements in Buddle’s game aside from his scoring seemed to indicate that he might be the front-runner for the last forward spot, putting him ahead of Gomez…
“That part (scoring) is not new, but it’s been there of late. There’s been a lot of maturing that has taken place in less obvious ways. He seems to be doing a lot of little things that make a difference for his team.”
Compare this to his comments about Gomez…
“You try to assess those things and project, or factor, or ask yourself what it’s like when the games get better, are enough other pieces of the equation that fit, and see.”
While Bradley did say some positives about the play of Gomez, reading between the lines, it seems to me like Bradley is leaning towards Buddle – that is if it came down to taking one of the two.
That is what I get for trying to do 2 things at once. Thanks
I think the MLS is stopping for the World Cup
He said “session,” not “season.” Although judging from the club president’s comments last week, you’re right, he probably won’t play for Sochaux until next season!
Also, on Buddle. I agree he needs a call up. Have any of our other choices, that are healthy, ever performed like this? No. EJ, Finley, Ching, Casey or even Altidore.
Casey did well last year, but he has no speed which is needed at the higher level.
I am not saying he should start, but maybe a sub if we need some speed up top.
If Buddle and LD are both on the USMNT team when the WC kicks off, what does that say about the Galaxy?
Seriously, Buddle is responsible for every single goal scored in this young season. That’s a long time for those two to be away from their club…I just don’t know how LA will put the ball in the net…Then again, the Bruce is clever
Why do you assume they are going to sell him if plays well?
He is exactly what LA needs, someone to grab some headlines, might play in the World Cup with Landon, has them scoring, has them in first place.
Sell him ?
Anyone see Davies Twiiter message today? It looks like he is moving on to next season.
Rossi is still pretty young but WCs only come around every 4 yrs so as of now, you’re right, jokes on him. That said, Italy typically favors a more veteran side in most intl. competitions. They have pretty much the same look as last WC, which they won so maybe they still feel good about not bringing in too many new peeps.
Mr. Bradley,
If you are thinking of playing Landon, he has 5 assists to Buddle in 6 games.
pretty sure he wasn’t eligible b/c La Liga is still playing, all the guys called play in Italy except one I think who is in Portugal, time will tell
I still think it’s very tough for him to be picked for the WC. He’s always had talent and has produced in spurts, but this might just be too little, too late (or just too late, tough to say he’s doing too little). He hasn’t played international soccer in 7 years.
How about Rossi left off Italy’s 29 man roster?
Huge mistake.
He rolled the dice and went from a WC starter to a WC watcher.
“2 months until Juergen is the coach!!!!”
Nope. Juergen is going to be commentating this WC. So this fascination with him is dead. I don’t think any other coach would be able to produce more than what Bob has with the talent pool we got.
The US is playing to its skill level. I don’t think this team can start playing like a Spain or Brazil with a simple coaching change.
is it just me or was landon’s tackle to strip the ball before he made run to receive the ball for the assist a blatant two legged tackle from behind. I immediately thought red or at least a card when I saw it but no replays even considered showing it. If it was a clean tackle it should have been shown because it really was what started the play which brought about the goal.
I would like to see Altidore, Buddle, Gomez and Davies at the Princeton camp. Dempsey and Altidore should be the starters up top for us at the WC against England if we go with two 4-4-2. I hope Holden hurries back so he can lock up the right wing position with Donovan on the left wing. If we go for a single forward then we should put Altidore up top and put Dempsey back on the RW and Donovan on the LW. In BB we trust.
A major part of Buddle’s recent hot streak is the fact that LD is feeding him near perfect balls. (See the videos) But, hey, that would be the same combo on the USMNT. I say “put Edson up front”, and let LD continue make great assists.
I liked how he held up to stay on sides for that goal. 9 goals to start a season isn’t something to push aside even if it’s not the EPL. While I will attribute this to more being hot than a great player I don’t think Rooney would come in and score 9 in 6. Could be wrong but most people would be thinking Rooney would be 5 or 6 goals this far in…
He get’s a call in…all we need is for one forward to get HOT like Davies was last summer. Jozy and Demp will be the solid guys and if we can have one other step up and play mind out soccer we can make some noise!!!!
If we can average 2 goals in the run of play we can make a 2002 run…and when we get into the knockout games it can come down to anyone winning!!!
2 months until Juergen is the coach!!!!
Buddle may cool down as quickly as he heated up, but I still like him on USMNT. Thank God that Bradley has a choice other than Ching and Casey.
Guess we can stop speculating about this pretty soon.
The real question is.. will Buddle keep this very high performance if he gets into the national team?
Buddle is opne of the streakest scorers in the short history of the league.
But now, even some doubters (such as myself) are having to ask the following questions:
“Has Buddle finally come into his own?”
“Is he now the ‘real deal’?”
“Is he going to keep making Bradley’s life harder by continuing to be hot the next month?”
“Is LA going to sell him while he is hot and his market value is going to be at his peak? Or are they going to keep him until after the season before they look to shop him?”
“How soon is he going to be able to move on a free transfer?”
And most importantly:
“When will the ‘old’ Buddle return–the guy who can’t buy a goal. The guy who will go several months without really forcing a keeper to make a magnificent save?”
Dear Bob,
Please see above.
Sincerely,
America