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Bedoya, Gomez reflect on USA loss to Brazil

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photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

One day after playing against Brazil, U.S. national team players Alejandro Bedoya and Herculez Gomez were busy working out together, but it wasn't while playing soccer.

Bedoya and Gomez were taking part in Gatorade performance testing on Wednesday morning, just hours before their flights back to their respective club teams. Following the testing at the Gatorade Performance Lab in New York City, the two players sat down with media to reflect on Tuesday night's friendly and their individual performances.

"I saw tired legs. I saw pre-season legs," said Gomez. "I saw a team that the vast majority of the players are just starting (to play again) just this week, and let's give credit where credits due. I saw a very hungry, very good, very young Brazil team. For my money, I would take that team over the World Cup team."

Bedoya, who earned his first start in his fourth cap in front of friends and family at New Meadowlands Stadium, admitted the match was a tough one to start considering the opponents

"People can talk what they want to say and say 'Brazil is so young and inexperienced and this and that' but they don't realize that these guys, like Neymar and Ganso, are already big time players," said Bedoya. "They are going to be sold to Real Madrids and are at big clubs already."

Bedoya, who revealed he asked to be subbed off due to his heel hurting him, also agreed with Gomez's assessment that the single-fixture date coming during pre-season with just one training session made it difficult on the team.

"People coming in in pre-season, they're tired," said Bedoya. "For me I was still jet-lagged. I wasn't able to sleep right all night. I was waking up at three, four in the morning. It was just tough sleeping."

The New Jersey native thinks his lack of experience at the international level also played a factor in his subpar performance against the Selecao.

"It just comes down to experience on my part," said Bedoya. "Like I said, people can say what they want. It's my first start and I'm not as comfortable as I should be."

Bedoya and Gomez had to look past the national team's disappointing performance behind them as they focused on the Gatorade testing on Wednesday. Both players went through tests that included a measurement of lean muscle mass versus fat mass, a 30-minute cycling session and an estimation of fluid loss following the exercise.

"Sports training, people think it is just kicking a ball and running an exertion and exercise, but there's so much more that goes to it," Gomez said. "There's actually lots of sports science, so it is interesting to see the nutritional side of things and how that can help."

G TESTING LAB WIDE 

Comments

  1. Problem there is Bradley is not a true deffensive midfielder nor is he good enough to shield our center backs on his own. Only person who could if he plays for us is Jones.

    I would actually prefere we play a 4-5-1 similar to brazils formation until davies comes back.

    Jozy
    Donovan Felhiaber Dempsey
    Bradley Edu

    I think this would give jozy the most support and service which every striker world class or not needs. It would also limit donovans need to get back deffensively on the wings which will help as he gets older.

    If jones gets 100% id put him in place of bradley. Our strength is in the midfield and depth. We should use it instead of depending oln un proven strikers while giving them no support

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  2. “It just comes down to experience on my part,” said Bedoya. “Like I said, people can say what they want. It’s my first start and I’m not as comfortable as I should be.”

    I like Bedoya’s acknwoledgement of this fact. His first start with the USA team. He is being very honest. He is not making excuses, just stating facts. Have you guys ever played 90 minutes of Pro Soccer in Europe?. Playing two games in less than 72 hours with traveling included is tiring.If you look at the tape he was probably one of the most diligent players in the middle. He ran until he was done!. When you look at the tape carefully, you start to question other player’s attitudes. Bedoya’s was full of heart and effort. Skill + Attitude + Effort will give us results in the future. It is a process, and he is sure to be a winner

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  3. I love it.
    “Embarrassing losses” to Brazil and Italy.
    Look, the U.S. can’t be embarrassed in losses to Italy and Brazil. It’s not physically possible. Why? Because they’re Italy and Brazil.
    We’re not.
    People wanted the US to stop beating up on “minnows”, a phrase that makes my stomach turn, and Bradley gave you results against Argentina, England, Mexico, Turkey.
    I’m not defending every move he ever made. Like so many others — including Bradley, apparently — I thought starting Clark vs. Ghana was impossible to defend. And, in retrospect, starting Findley vs. Ghana in a game where his speed would be less of a factor was an obvious error. No one’s going to agree with every coach’s every move.
    But to ignore a coach’s record because of some fantasy belief that the results should/could have been better is ridiculous.
    The truth you cannot refute: No U.S. coach ever produced greater results in a four-year stretch than Bob Bradley from 2007-2010. Not debatable.

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  4. Just curios, does anyone else think Donovan and Bradley in a diamond midfield would work as Donovan gets older?
    We really need some attacking influence in the center of the park. The only problem is who to play Left midfield unless we put Dempsey in LM and Find a forward.
    Dempsey-Altidore
    Donovan
    TBD-Holden
    Bradley

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  5. LOL indeed

    willing to bet that when Landon scored the winner vs. Algeria, you were not as happy as you’ve ever been at some of the other highest points in your life…like I’m also willing to bet that all the “homers” you insult were 🙂

    are you a hater?

    why so bitter? you and your anti-Bradley folks already have been served cold crow. just eat it already

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  6. I think Bradley should move to the next challenge. The USMNT will be better for it.

    But.. I think he is getting more than his share of stick for the lineup.

    Donovan is a champ.. That is more and more evident.

    Feilhaber needs a break from the USMNT. More than a few times he just wasnt on page with Landon and failed to see opportunities ie get in the right space. As well he’s not a winger.

    Getting back on topic.. what I liked:

    Bedoya’s runs. He made several into the box and was missed by the CMs. Those are dangerous and noone else in the pool make them.

    Omar’s resolve. He was basically beaten by Pato on that first chance, but actually played the situation perfectly making Pato push wide. He seemed like a college kid in an MLS game trying to handle the speed.. and he did ok. I still rate him for 2012 and beyond.

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  7. Jozy didnt get a ton of time, and honestly this game looked like jozy at hull at season. He got no service from our midfield the only time we really crossed the halfway line was with a long ball or clearance out of the back. you cant expect one striker to do anything with that. Hell give us the two brazilians that scored against us with as much service out of the midfield as our strikers got and they wouldnt have done a damn thing either.

    that being said, we played terribly. they fact that we lost isnt what bugs me we were flat out outclassed by several players getting their first caps. If our midfield was more solid id be more than happy having donovan up top all the time or dempsey. We have Altidore and he has proven he can be a dangerous striker we just dont have someone to pair with him until Davies comes back.

    Our midfield has a bright future but for the love of god we need someone other than bradley in central midfield. He gave up posession way too much, was caught out of position, was caught in posession…he was for me the worst player on the pitch. Please for the love of god let Jermaine jones be ready for the next tournament. Ideally our central midfield would be jones deffensively and torres offensively.

    If we can use torres how he can be used as an offensive creation mid the kid can be brialliant, we just dont have the tools for him to use yet (I.E a true deffensive mid)

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  8. I notice that no one’s commenting much about Jozy or Findley. Is it fair to say that the shine has faded on the hype that is Jozy Altidore? Findley shouldn’t even be mentioned in any conversation about international level soccer. What say you all?

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  9. Mexico is exactly the same way they have always been historically. Mexico gets good for short periods, then they fall flat out on their faces during qualifying. That’s Mexico’s history. They have always had good solid players, but that hasn’t matter through out their history. They can’t beat the weak teams, but they can play toe to toe with the big powerhouse. Calm down, Mexico is nothing to worry about. The U.S has a really bright future. We are growing in the sport like no other. Sad fans don’t see it.

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  10. “Wecan’t have players becoming complacent. ”

    How do players become complacent? Would you agree it’s usually when they have no competition for their jobs?

    If you want better results you are going to have to more good players.

    You just saw Brazil replace most of their their World Cup squad with a brand new set of you playes and then kick our butts. They look like they could do it to anyone.

    Can the US do that? How well would we do if you left Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, and Howard Dolo off the team? I doubt any of them have any real competition on this team. Are they complacent?

    Where are all the new players who are going to push our World Cup regulars. I’d like some names cause I don’t see it.

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  11. This young Brazil team looked very good. They played like a top team in the world. The question is whether they can play like that against teams that attack them consistently or how they will deal with adversity (would have loved for the US to have scored first).

    For the US, I’m mostly concerned about the lack of depth in our squad. How competitive will we be in 2014 if we are unable to identify top young prospects now?

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  12. BSU SC never said he played at a competitive level.

    Whta evidence do you have that the US players did not give a crap?

    The US players seemed to me to give everything they had. It simply wasn’t as much as the Brazilians had to give on this particular.

    Like many US fans you don’t seem to be interested in giving Brazil any credit. They would have been a tough proposition for any team that night.

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  13. I’m always curious as to how one tells a given player is “trying harder” than the next guy. It’s always amazing to me when fans say things like, “You can tell just by looking at him”.

    Excuse of not, the fact is it was a friendly and most of the US guys were either just back from the World Cup or just getting ready for pre- season. I didn’t think Bedoya and Gomez were making excuses; they were just stating fairly obvious facts.

    For the US, this game was revenue generator designed to take advantage of the buzz created by the World Cup.

    For Brazil it’s clear the new young Brazilians were extremely motivated, by the World Cup snubs or by transfer market possibilities, to make a point.

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  14. LOL, gotta love the Bradley homers. Before the game, “USA has the experience and will pretty much be our awesome World Cup team, 2-1 win.”

    After the loss, “Well it was brazil, of course they weren’t going to win.”

    haha, what’s it going to be homers?

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  15. Mexico is becoming a very good team. I have this dire prediction, that if the US team does not make some big changes, and dig up some new youth to put into the team they will not win a single game against Mexico in World Cup qualification, or in the Gold Cup!

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  16. I never said they couldn’t do better, I’m just not going to have a heart attack over a friendly match against Brazil. If you want to get worked up about it then go ahead. I’ve moved on.

    …and your attempted insult was lame. Try again.

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  17. True that. There have been a few examples where athletes and coaches have manned-up and said, “That was embarrassing. No excuses. Now it’s on us to make sure we don’t play like that again.”

    That, I respect. A list of excuses, I don’t.

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  18. The U.S. ran their asses off, but were completely out classed by a team with more talent. I said that they played hard, they just didn’t play well. The players never gave up. The U.S. lost to a better team. End of story.

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  19. I like both these guys and think they have a future with the USMNT. Gomez is what he is, a poacher with a nose for the goal. Can see him as a quality sub at striker. Bedoya had a bad game and has further to go to make a difference at this level, but his potential is greater as well. Hopefully he can develop into a quality starting winger, as we will need to replace Donovan and Dempsey as they get older, or more likely, get moved to different positions.

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  20. Interviews can be tricky and getting the correct tone is tough for players. Bradley wants to show the best side of everything because of timing with his contract renewal.

    Step one for progress is to be brutally honest in your self-critique. I didn’t see that from the players of the coach.

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  21. I want to see the USA win every game. I expect to see them play to win. Unfortunately I only saw 5 minutes of playing to win attitude. I commend Bradley for his accomplishments. However I believe we need a new coach that will drive these players to compete at a higher level as well as create competetion for positions. Wecan’t have players becoming complacent. We need to get some fresh perspective and young players some international experience ASAP. Go USA.

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  22. I never said that they played well, but the players were obviously exhausted after the game. Unfortunately it was due to a lot of ball chasing.

    I’m just saying don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. It was an invaluable experience for Omar Gonzalez and Alejandro Bedoya. They’ll likely be key figures in 2014 and now they know what it’s like playing at the next level. I’m not going to be too harsh on the team after having 1 day to prepare to play against Brazil.

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  23. OOh you are pulling the ¨I played soccer at a competitive level card¨. If you are competitive ,you never play a game jogging around against a great team. What do you wnat them to learn from the Brasil game? That they should give a crap when playing Brasil?

    There is something called professional shame, that means you never want to lose or get embarrassed. It doesnt matter if you lose or win. What matters is how you lose or win.

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  24. You’re just another mommy. Good job boys! Everyone gets a trophy!

    Give me a break. The US sucked the other night. They can do better.

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  25. he considers himself “from jersey” as hes said in the past

    (SBI-Bedoya did live his formative high school years in Florida, but technically speaking he lived longer in Jersey than anywhere else he’s ever lived. That’s good enough for me to say he’s “from Jersey”.)

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  26. Half of that list has been done by other coaches, big deal. The Confed Cup came after massively embarrassing losses and pure luck that all the other teams caved in on the last day, as well as losing a 2 goal lead in the final due to Bradley’s inability to sub.

    Winning the group was in the easiest group we have ever had and we bombed out right after because of Bradley’s tactics.

    Bradley’s wins also reflect the talent he has at his disposable, probably the best group of guys we have ever had during his reign.

    Bradley blew more than he kept.

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  27. “The guys played hard…”

    That’s a bit of a stretch. Who, in your estimation, “played hard” pray tell? For the life of me, outside of Guzan, I didn’t see anybody “playing hard”.

    I don’t have any problem with the fact they lost to a clearly talented Brazil. I do however have a problem with the fact that they played like excrement, didn’t seem to care that they played like excrement, and on top of all that, they compile a grocery list of excuses of why it’s actually ok that they played like excrement, because, afterall, it was Big Bad Brazil, and a friendly, and on and on……

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  28. Spoken like someone who has never played soccer at a competitive level before.

    The U.S. didn’t play well and they know it. They’ll learn from the experience and move on. You should do the same.

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  29. We lost a freindly against one of the best teams in the world. The guys played hard they just didn’t have it on that night. No need to get so bitter over a freindly game.

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  30. Progress?
    You wouldn’t know progress if it bit you on the nose.
    Once again, for those who have trouble keeping track:
    Under Bradley:
    2007 Gold Cup champions
    2009 Confederations Cup runner-up
    2009 CONCACAF Group qualifying champs
    2010 World Cup group champs
    We’ve just completed the best four years in our soccer history, and all we get are ridiculous comments about the coach being crap.
    The U.S. has progressed. Certain fans seem to have been left behind.

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  31. Billy bob/8ball

    Admitting that Brazil is better than the US in soccer is not an excuse for losing, it is the reason we lost. It is also not a reason (or excuse) for the coach or any of the players to sit back and say that it is OK to lose to anyone. Whenever these guys (or any other athletes) get asked a bunch of questions after they lose, some of what they say could sound like they are making excuses, that does mean they are losers or don’t understand that they need to get back out there and work on their games. In the case of Gomez and Bedoya, these are both guys who have worked their a**es off to get where they are, and don’t sound like they want a “gold star from mommy” when I listen to/read all of what they say here or elsewhere. I also don’t think this is what Andy was saying, but he can speak for himself. You get your butt kicked, you try to figure out why, deal with it and move on – that’s life. Most of us do this all the time in our jobs, school, or whatever, we just don’t get interviewed afterwards…

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  32. Guys relax it was only a friendly. Brazil youngen’s were hungry and clearly in a better situation to play well. I agree it was embarassing but it happens just ask Man U about their game against a 10 man KC team or being out played by an expansion Philly team.

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  33. Ally McCoist was there from Rangers to scout. Rumours are it could be Benny. Bedoya was possible as well but that one seems a long shot because he wouldn’t qualify for a work permit in Scotland. He could be loaned to Spain but that would take two years, he’s too old for that.

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  34. Exactly. You can’t start a game thinking you’re going to lose. It was a home game! Play that game in Sao Paolo and it’s a different story.

    Andy is just another “give everyone a gold star” mommy. We don’t progress with mommy.

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  35. How is Gomez doing in Mexico now? Hopefully starting or scoring or both.

    Bedoya is most likely going to be headed to Spain or France or Italy. Very technical winger. Hope he can lead Orebro to a title before he leaves Sweden.

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  36. Dude, nice rejoinder to Billy Bob.

    If playing Brazil is such a foregone conclusion, why even get out of bed on gameday?

    Nice defeatist attitude! Or excuse me, just one more lame excuse.

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  37. LOL! Yeah, ’cause we should have beaten Brazil right? Something we’ve only ever done once and that took Kasey Keller’s best career game.

    There’s a reason Brazil has 5 little stars over their Federation crest.

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  38. Ok, it was Brazil, but these guys and the coach seem to have every excuse in the book. It’s pre-season, it’s post-season, it’s the travel, it’s the lack of playing time together, it’s the this, it’s the that.

    It’s you. It’s your coach.

    Reply

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