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Mid-Day Ticker: USA roster to be announced May 23, Union-Madrid match official and more

U.S. Crest

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

If you're anxiously awaiting to know who will be representing the U.S. men's national team in the Gold Cup, your wait will soon be over.

Head coach Bob Bradley will reveal his 23-man roster for the Gold Cup on May 23, U.S. Soccer announced via its Twitter on Thursday. The announcement will be made on ussoccer.com.

Bradley recently touched on the roster selection, saying that a large portion of the team would be made up of players who took part in last summer's World Cup. Bradley also said that the Gold Cup will provide an opportunity to continue to incorporate younger talents, such as Juan Agudelo and Timmy Chandler.

Here are more stories from Thursday:

Union-Madrid friendly made official

The Philelphia Union's rumored match against Real Madrid is no longer a rumor. The game was made official and is scheduled to take place on July 23 at Lincoln Financial Field at 9pm ET. The match is part of the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge.

Keen wants Hammers job permanently

West Ham United interim manager Kevin Keen is hoping to lock up the Hammers' job on a permanent basis. Keen will be in charge of the club for its season finale against Sunderland this weekend, and he's hoping he can fill in for Avram Grant on a full-time basis after the latter was fired following last Sunday's defeat to Wigan Athletic, which relegated the club to the Championship.

Madrid close in on Altintop

Real Madrid is closing in on the signing of Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altintop. The Turkish international has only played 63 matches for Bayern during his four-year stay at the club, but he looks poised to join Madrid on a free transfer.

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Who do you expect to see on the Gold Cup roster? Planning on attending the Union-Madrid match? Think Keen can get West Ham back to the Premiership?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. How many times have we played Mexico when they had Ochoa in goal? Only a couple times? I think you and a lot of people are putting way too much in that stat.

    The only times I recall facing him are the 2009 Gold Cup Final and in the 2009 World Cup Qualifier at the Azteca. In the ’09 Final they beat Holden, Goodson and a bunch of MLS/Scandinavian scrubs, while they had players like Ochoa, Gio, Torrado, Vela, Castro and Juarez.

    And of course they beat us at home in Mexico City, which is something every starting Mexico national team goalkeeper has been able to do except for the one that started against Steve Sampson’s crew in 1997.

    Other than that all I can recall is maybe playing him in a friendly in 2007 and 2008, which ended in draws. But I can’t remember if it was Sanchez or Ochoa who played in those games.

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  2. Hey Neg….. Few changes to your Roster:

    Your choice’s for GK’s look good.

    Defense: Boca,Ream,Goodson,Chandler(Subs would be

    Demerit,Spector,Lichaj,Gooch). Although we have not seen this unit together, this is the unit we should be grooming. Both center backs are strong and can play the ball out of the back. I would imagine that Lichaj could play left back if needed.

    Midfield: Landon,Feilhaber,Edu,Bradley (Subs would be Jones,Bedoya,Diskerud,Torres.)Edu,Bradley,Jones ….. makes no difference which start cause all 3 are the same type of player. Thats why I would start Feilhaber along with Donovan for some creativity. Plus you have Diskerud and Torres off the bench for more spark if needed. PLEASE HURRY BACK HOLDEN!!!!!!!!!

    Forwards: Dempsy, Agudelo. (Subs would be Bunbury, and Jozy.) Demps and Agudelo offer an unique mix of toughness,pace,creativity, and workrate. Team those two up with Feilhaber,Donovan,and Chandler attacking out of the back and PRAY that Bradley, Edu, or Jones can provide some ounce of offensive creativity, we might do ok.

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  3. That’s A LOT to worry about. If the US had a player like ‘Chicharito’ I would have called it game,set match. Plus Gio is back in form. But giving you the benefit of the doubt and since I have seen other people post this info, and correct me if I’m wrong, he US has NEVER beaten Mexico with Ochoa on goal, and if he regains form and becomes the keeper that both Parreira and Bielsa called the best in the Americas, than he is way beyond average. A midfield of Guardado, Barrera, Elias Hernandez and little teeny ‘Hobbit’ Bermudez will feed enough balls up front to keep’em busy!
    If De la Torre can get this team to gel they will be amazing to watch, and if I were Bob Bradley I would be equally as worried about Costa Rica! That La Volpe dude is mighty sneaky!

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  4. So your evaluation of whether the man is a good manager for a soccer team is based on his fashion choices, how much information he releases to the media and how well he speaks with the media.

    Okay.

    How about Ryan Seacrest for USMNT manager?

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  5. It seems to me the USSF has made it very clear the Gold Cup is priority one. No one there is worried about how the US has looked since the World Cup becuase it was designed to prep the team for the Gold Cup.

    As for what it would take to fire Bradley, it would take having a better alternative available.

    Very clearly, Sunil wanted JK in after the World Cup and had it all set up but Sunil is only one vote of the 15 required for that decision and it seems he didn’t line up all his ducks in a row before he went public with JK so he got humiliated. Sunil does not run the USSF he is just the President.

    For whatever reason the majority of the other 14 votes were not for JK so the US still has BB.

    Whether that was because they love BB or they didn’t want JK who knows?

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  6. Bradley is dumb, and I’d rather have Caleb Porter as coach than a highschool gym teacher/ little league coach, where everyone gets to play! No, no Bradley that’s not how it works, play the players who produce, and your son isn’t playing a dime in the PL, he should surely be fired, but with a terrori.. I mean Gualti(economics Professor, what a joke!) running as president he’ll keep em even if we go winless for the whole year!!!

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  7. IT IS!! He has failed to find consistency and has been bringing in some of the same players who aren’t consistent. The same habits remain 8/10 times this team goes down first and likely within the first 25 minutes of the game, Bradley hasn’t fixed that problem, and hadn’t it been for a poor WC last year by other national teams, we would’nt even made it past the group stages.

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  8. I tried asking in the Q&A section multiple times: What does Bradley have to do to get fired?

    He didn’t light up the WC. Since then we’ve won once. If we bomb out of the Gold Cup or make it to the first round, can we really expect to do better next WC compared to last?

    On any other national team, Bradley would be feeling heat. But people here keep saying “let’s see.” Well the WC comes every 4 years, “let’s see” is a free ride for 4 years when we have a very good generation of players, arguably the best if things keep progressing the same.

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  9. Never under why he doesn’t where a suit, its not like he’s going to play. It would be like me being a manager at a factory and dressing like janitor. Bradley have some respect for the county you represent.

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  10. do not know enough about international soccer one way or the other to determine whether Bob Bradley is the best choice as our coach.But I do not like him at all. His interviews are a mixture of mumbles and babble. His intrigue and skullduggery over releasing the rosters is getting tiresome. If we were top 5 somebody might care. Coach release the roster 2 or 3 weeks ahead of the game like everybody else does. You are wasting our time and more importantly your time over nothing. Finally the guy who represents all of America dresses like a dork. I do not know if he is a dork but I am embarrassed as an American every time I see him in the sweat suit at an international game or see him mumbling through some interview.

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  11. You are completely wrong. It would take not advancing out of Group C in Gold Cup for Gulati to even consider letting Bradley go.

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  12. Cracka please. Their goalkeepers are average at best as always and their midfield isn’t exactly the most impressive bunch. Only players we need to worry about are Chicharito and Gio.

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  13. if he’s not going to play, why would we bring him? He’s a young player and if hes going ot be the 23rd choice, I’d rater him stay with his club and get some minutes.

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  14. I think the expections would be to make the final but Mexico is winning this one. This is probably’s Mexico’s best generation of players since 86.

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  15. I was a long time Freddy supporter, then I kind of gave up on him last year. What he’s doing in Turkey now though, I applaud. Don’t care if it’s 2nd division, he’s in a foreign country, difficult circumstances, and if he helps get his team promoted, that would be an achievement. That being said, I think he needs to not only get his team promoted, but then have a couple of good showings/goals in the Turkish superliga before I would call him up. Fast forward 6months from now, and Freddy has 3-5 goals and is pulling a full 90 week in week out in the Turkish 1st division, then I think he should not only get called in, but then should start.

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  16. Agudelo doesn’t start because Thierry Henry plays in front of him and Backe has made it clear that he wants to bring Agudelo along slowly underneath the wing of Henry.

    Also, I’m sure it has a ton to do with keeping him off the international transfer radar.

    The one thing it has nothing to do with is his skill.

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  17. Agudelo doesn’t even start for FC energy drink. Since when has not starting in MLS made you Nats material? He should just stick with the U-20s this summer for their WC… oh wait….

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  18. I don’t think this is a make or break tournament for Bradley. But the US is expected to win. I wouldn’t put much stock into those friendlies. I think they showed well in all their friendlies. Even the ones with younger squads.

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  19. Where’s Ochocinco going to play? He’s not doing anything this summer, and it will help him keep in shape during the lockout (if he’s not too busy bull-riding.)

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  20. Ok… here’s what I’m thinking.

    GK (3) – Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Marcus H.
    DEF (8) – Boca, Gooch, Cherundolo, Demerit, Chandler, Spector, Lichaj, Ream
    MID (8) – Landon, Deuce, Edu, Bradley, Jones, Feilhaber, Bedoya, Diskerud
    FWD (4) – Jozy, Agudelo, Bunbury, Buddle, Taylor (kidding)

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  21. I think this tournament may be make or break for Bradley. The USMNT has won only one of its last eight matches. I know there was some tough competition and a couple of experimental rosters in there, but that’s not a good record when you consider six of those were on American soil.

    Winning the Gold Cup is a requirement at this point.

    Reply

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