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Beasley bags brace in Puebla win

For all of the clamoring for Landon Donovan to return to the U.S. Men’s National Team, we were reminded on Saturday that Donovan isn’t the only national team veteran who might be worth another look.

DaMarcus Beasley scored a pair of goals for Puebla on Saturday, coming off the bench to deliver a pair of right-footed goals in Puebla’s 3-1 victory vs. San Luis. The first came off a chested past that he rifled home from close range (watch it here, at the 2:18 mark).

Here is Beasley’s second goal, a beauty that showed us he still has some wheels:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE6l84O5Xak]

What do you think of Beasley’s performance? See him earning a U.S. national team look in March?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Beasley would fill a missing need for this team, speed and wide play. He also is a decent defender so you do not lose much in that department like with EJ, Sasha or even Zusi. His present form would indicate he has gotten smarter, since at his age it is really unlikely he got faster. Finally, unlike the european based players he would not have top spend 6 to 10 hours on a plane just to get to the US and would lose less physically due to the travel. (I know Dempsey had a decent game this time, but I always felt his best games for the USMNT came when he travelled over a week before game day, and I can’t recall a good game he had for Fulham after returning from the US.) The impact of travel may be a reason the US looked good in Italy, and even Russia compared to the “quick trips” to play in the US. I think Klinsmann needs to consider a greater fraction of Mexico and MLS based players for games in the americas, just to ensure enough energy to compete.

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  2. His reputation never recovered following the Brazil debacle, and it’s a shame. He can still contribute, and should be in the mix. I seem to remember him playing well in his most recent call ups, but the powers that be seem to have lost all confidence in him.

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  3. I’m curious to know who many people have actually watched DMB is the last 9-12 months. People will jump on his bandwagon as he scored two goals and then there will others that dismiss the two goals for whatever reasons like crappy opponent, etc. But as someone who has watched nearly all of DMB’s matches in the last year, he is in form, period. He is playing extremely well. DMB’s lost a little speed but his game was never all speed. He combines his speed with a good touch and a high IQ. I wish others like Shea and Gatt would take lessons from DMB. I will reiterate that his form has been good for 9-12 months. Quite often he has been THE main player for Puebla. His ability to defend and create width is exactly what the US needs right now. I’m not claiming he should start but he could play an important role as a supersub. It’s not a risk.

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    • Low risk high reward. Unfair to count out Beasley after one bad game. If things stay consistent we should not see Gonzalez for a year. How fair would that be?

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  4. Beasley is long overdue to be back in the Nats fold. He’s been doing well in Mexico, on the verge of 100 caps and, let’s be honest, would have been better than most options in the past two abysmal games. He brings a veteran presence and skill.

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    • Well we certainly would be “taking our chances” with Shea. Dude hasn’t played in a minute. Gotta see what he does first.

      It’s about players playing well NOW, folks. Period. End of.

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      • Sorry, I’m not a Beas fan, even when he was healthy. He had pace but a slow mediocre decision making process. He’s had a few bright moments, but I think the Mex league flatters him. JK gave him a look and never brought him back.

  5. Beasley was always an underrated finisher. I would love to see him back in the NT mix, but I’ve thought that for many years and it doesn’t seem likely.

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  6. I was calling for Beasley before his two goal performance and heard mostly crickets. Now I hear some noise. When Beasley moved to Mexico a lot of things fell into place for him as a person and player. He is enjoying it and making the most of it.

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  7. Beasley is a player who ‘is a winger’ that should be near the top of the list when we use a formation to include wingers.

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  8. JK, you watching….Let’s see, seasoned, fast, veteran who has played in many big qualifiers….Has made mistakes before like every other player and seems to have grown much from them….So, why calling in others who haven’t even been getting as much playing time?

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  9. Arena used to say that qualifying was for veterens and the Cup needed youth. Yes, he ignoed his own advice in 2006, but in 2002 it was AFTER qualfiying that Donovan and Beasley were worked into the team, notably at the Gold Cup. (Anyone remember te game against Korea in Pasadena?)

    It’s just another thing JK is getting wrong, throughing kids into Central AMerican qualifying and sitting vets. DMB could absolutely play a role in qualifying. How many times in the previous round could he have come off the bench as safely seen a game out? He could be doing right now what Cobi Jones did at at WC 2002. But no…not a chacne of anything that obvious being done by the Wayne Dyer of coaches…

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    • Tony,

      That sounds good in theory.

      Except Donovan and Beasley both played qualifiers in the Hex in 2001. You can look it up if you don’t believe me.

      LD even went 90 twice. Arena had a pretty solid team even without the Dynamic Duo and JK does not.

      By the way in the 2001 Hex , the US finished third with 17 points losing to 3-2 to Honduras, 2-0 to Costa Rica and 1-0 to Mexico. It went down to the final game I believe. Sound familiar? Remember, that was arguably our best World Cup team ever.

      By the way Arena , just before the Honduras game was bitching about how Gonzo could handle it and how his call up was long overdue.

      So tell me who the modern day Landon and DMB are?

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  10. Ha ha ha ha, bring back beasley is very dumb thing to say. That’s is why american soccer metality will never progress, because if some American scores or wins the game for their team, all Americans get exicted. Do you people know, puebla sucks and san luis as well. Its like saying fc dallas vs new england revolution from last year. I actually think beasley should come to Mls but maybe his loving the city of puebla, since puebla has very good food, its a spanish colonial city, the girls his banging, cheap life and the climate is not that bad. Oh and forgot to say, the mexican teams are ownby corrupted owners who do anything for their star players and maybe beasley is one of them.

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    • haha true that.. thankfully not every person who scores in MLS or LigaMX gets a call up… i would love to see him back in MLS but i think he is having a good time in Mexico.

      i don’t think he is out of the USNT picture but he isn’t the savior to our wing-less attack! Might be an interesting option on the road in concacaf…

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      • I agree that could be DeMarcus’ role! He’s not Superman, but he could be a piece. And maybe not. But the need to explore options for the role and find answers is reaching the later hours

    • Yes. Mexican teams are owned by corrupt owners, and therefore anything Beasley does on the field should be discounted. Brilliant logic.

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  11. Why was he not called up for the last game? He plays so close that he would have had no problems with the environment. We certainly could have used some wingers too,

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  12. Still no need to panic. After watching this weekend’s action I’m reminded we had many a player who played last Sat or Sun, jumped a plane for Miami arriving Monday, then jumped another plane for San Pedro Sula on Tuesday, and gasp, looked tired and out of sync against a team that had just finished a competitive tournament with 80% of their roster and was playing at home in the heat. What part of a 2-1 loss in these circumstances should make me panic? I watched the Canada Honduras game from Toronto on TV last summer and Honduras is perfectly capable of turning in a USA-Klinsmann-led-like performance too.

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    • I don’t think many of us are critiquing the actual players you’re referring to who were called in.

      The commentary is more about JK’s decision making regarding those very issues you just mentionated and not utilizing the very serviceable likes of DMB, Castillo, Torres, Corona who are playing in similar conditions against similar opposition week in and week out, doing quite well for their respective clubs.

      I’m not necessarily suggest replace outright the euro-based players with these players, but if you need a spark off the bench, a different look, etc, why have the Brads, Zusi (all out of season), etc as your bench options

      I’m truly starting to question JKs understanding of a lot of things: our player pool, the varirous elements that make concacaf qualifying unique, who’s in form now, etc

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    • TD, with the knowledge of the travel and conditions, why field the team JK did? No way is that an excuse since there are other options.

      JK screwed that game up. Coaches do that sometimes, it’s not crazy to recognize when it occurs. Time to move forward now though and he’s the Coach. Can’t afford to get it wrong like that again though.

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  13. Agree on Zusi. Anyone who thinks he is an adequate replacement for Donovan needs to think again. He and Davis have the same limitations. They can cross but they can’t dribble or keep possession. In the international game you need the confidence to take on and beat a defender and we had no one willing to do that this week. Bease can fly, finish and defend. Those skills were sorely lacking in Honduras. Bring him on…..

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  14. The main benefit of Beasley is that he can do heavy loads of defensive work and still factor into the attack. He’ll track an opposing fullback to his own end line before bursting past him down the other end when his team win the ball back. Whats more, from a technical standpoint, Beez is still a pretty good player. He’s no Robben, but the guy can handle a ball well.

    I prefer that to Danny Williams on the flank, at least. I’m not really sure I like Graham Zusi much better, either. Yeah, he can cross, but he’s not fast, or creative, or strong or a good dribbler. That could change, of course, but at the moment, he doesn’t seem that much better than a bench player we can bring on to swing in crosses relentlessly.

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    • DMB fell out of the USMNT picture largely because injury ate up a lot of his playing time at Manchester City,Rangers and Hannover.

      That pretty much covers the last two World Cups.

      Puebla has given him the stability to get back to some kind of form.

      It would be great if he came back but I would caution against expecting too much. He’s not the player he was.

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  15. I don’t care which ones are called up, but a couple of these players need to be called up in March: Gatt, Beasley, Shea, Pontius, Feilhaber, Corona.

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  16. Anybody know really WHY Beasley dropped out of the USMNT picture? I thought in the run up to WC’10 he was playing quite well (I remember he was probably the US’ best player against the Netherlands in one of the pre-WC friendlies), but after that it seemed like he just disappeared.

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    • I blame it on the Scottish league. Rangers was never a good fit for DaMarcus due to their notoriously rough tackling and his slight frame. He was injured a lot. But he’s still a class player, with good speed, tactical vision, and a wealth of international experience. I wonder though, if he’s a 90-minute player at this point.

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      • What is going on with the m_dration on this site?!!! OK, no idea why my comment is being held up, but please fill in the blanks.

        I b_me it on the Sc_ttish league. R_ngers was never a good fit for DaMarcus due to their no_oriously rou_h tackling and his slight fram_. He was injured a lot. But he’s still a clas_ player, with good speed, tactical vision, and a w_alth of international experience. I wonde_ though, if he’s a 90-minute player at this point.

      • I feel your pain, brother. I have a couple comments that I thought were pretty insightful and added to the conversation waiting almost 3 hours to be set free.

    • As JA says, he did have problems with injuries. The Scottish League tore him up. His time with PSV and now in Mexico has been very successful and mostly healthy too. He caught a lot of flack for a (partial) bad performance vs. Brazil in the Confederations Cup but still contributed. Some of his performances that were savaged by the press and fans were while playing left mid in front of Bornstein. In those he was criticized for not adding enough going forward as if it was an easy thing covering back that much. He still rates, to me, as LDs near equal in 2-way play, as his track-back, defensive ability is so great.

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    • Injuries and he fell out of favor with Beadley who tried making him into a LB.

      Klinsi has called DMB into a couple camps and he has made an appearance. I just don’t think he’s impressed at the nation level in years. I wouldn’t mind seeing him one more time.

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      • he fell out of favor after the2006 WC when Arena called him out specifically after the loss to eliminate the Nats…”Got nothing out of Beasley” or something close to that. Arena tossed others under after that match too. that was a soft US team that crumbled

        but DeMarcus, as most agree, at least represents an option for the type of player our team lacks, SOME option like him on the team. Personally I’ve always liked him and if he’s fit, he’s a player

        there are wide options, they haven’t been explored much. Mostly it’s been other ideas on how to play and create width which unfortunately hasn’t worked consistently (to say the least), and players for roles that our wide players apparently don’t fit. I don’t buy the argument that there are no options so JK has to field the 3 amigos in midfield. there are options but he chooses otherwise.

        he’s the coach. we’ll see if it works, or if he changes ideas

    • these comments are a little too kind to beasley. he wasn’t very good throughout pre-2010 quals, and he was horrid in the 09 confed cup. in the end, bob bradley preferred donovan and demps on the wings.

      funny that you mention the netherlands friendly, because he wasn’t bad there, but it was notable BECAUSE he wasn’t bad. was also a sort of homecoming for him, which is one of the reasons he was even in the game at all.

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  17. It doesn’t have to be Beasley, but somebody for Christakes, Gatt, Beasley, Bedoya, Corona, Shea if healthy, Donovan if in it, etc. YOU NEED WINGS.

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  18. Beasley needs in next match as well as well as feilhaber. And edu and Gomez need to start and forgot sean johnson as a third keeper and bring Boyd for the trip.
    Howard
    castillo-Cameron-bocanegra-Williams
    -bradley-
    davis ………….. -zusi
    ………..dempsey……..
    gomez………….Altidore over ej only because of mls isnt in full swing.

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    • Pretty sure you have offered up the most obscure, unlikely, and tactically challenged line-up possible. And that’s an accomplishment, especially after the line-up that was fielded against Honduras.

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    • Williams and Castillo as the fullbacks? Bradley as a lone holding mid, even after your original point being that Edu should start? Are you drunk?

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  19. Both of those are nice goals from Beasley with great touch and footwork and poise, and supports my argument that the USMNT needs to switch full-time to a 4-2-3-1, with speedy attacking midfielders at the club level who can both score goals and supply crosses. Beasely looks like a happy trooper these days. I would much rather see him, as a bona fide winger starting on the wing than Jermain Jones, Eddie Johnson, Danny Williams…

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  20. What are you guys thinking? You mean you’d actually prefer to see an experienced, energetiic, speed burner on the wings instead of Torres, Klestjen, Jones, Danny Williams, etc? Coach JK will never buy it!. We need to stick with his plan for a slow, lethargic and totally inept lineup designed to bore the other team to death and lull them to sleep.
    Have patience my friends… have patients! Just because this lineup is going to lose every away game doesn’t mean we can’t still sneak in and qualify!.

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  21. I wanna see DMB get to 100 caps. He’s made it clear he wants it, so if he’s gonna bring that fire, the team sure seems like they could use it.

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    • “Accomplished” is spot on. Important performances for the US team since 2001, multiple roles asked of him. Played in England, Scotland, and the Netherlands. Semifinal appearance in the Champions League. 12 appearances in the CL.

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  22. Two weak-footed shots. Nice. Always one of my favorite players with the USMNT. Not saying he *should* get any more looks, but I’m not gonna lie and say I would be disappointed. I’d rather have his hustle and effort than the lethargic (weak sauce) display we saw from a lot of his Euro-club counterparts.

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      • What I don’t understand about the whole situation with the USMNT in qualifiers is we’ve got players like DMB (loads of international experience and clearly playing at a high level, but most importantly playing in Latin American atmospheres week in, week out) and Castillo (Liga MX winner and playing quite well too) among other examples. These players are playing well and playing in similar environs against similar opposition to concacaf teams. How does JK and co. not see how useful they can be? Even as subs to change or influence a game? Frustrating to me as a huge Nats supporter and lifelong fan.

      • I posted a reply to you, but moderashun (sp wrong on purpose because I think that’s one of,the catches) deemed my perfectly legit comment as moderatable (word I made up to avoid the dreaded big M)

        Ives. Seriously. Please fix this feature. It’s deplorable. I’ve been commenting sensibly and respectfully on your site since ’05. Most of us are similarly loyal and responsible. It’s killing threads bro.

      • Yeah, he loves his Germans, that why he’s called in players from MLS, Mexico, EPL, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Germany!

        Oh and lets not forget the 3 players he’s be accused of favoring, Jose Torres, Herculez Gomez and Kyle Beckerman… Yeah damn them for being Germans!!!

        And if that’s not enough to put this nonsense to rest… There are 5 Americans who were born in Germany on the team; T. Chandler, F. Johnson, J. Jones, D. Williams & T. Boyd (A. Morales hasn’t really played with the senior team yet).

        5 out of 23 is 22% of the team, that’s alot but I don’t see a German takeover… heck if you count in everyone he’s called in then this numer shrinks even more.

      • To make your argument more honest (or at least to more accurately characterize the opposing view), a more relevant figure isn’t 5 out of 23 but 4 out of 11.

        That being said, I agree with you in that I don’t necessarily see a German bias. I just think the German players are better than the options available: Johnson, Jones, Chandler for sure. Williams based on his last performance is a bit more questionable.

      • If you’re replying to biff’s tongue-in-cheek “Made in Germany” remark, fair enough.

        If you’re replying to my comment, my point regarding “euro-club counterparts” was not referring only to the Germany-based players.

        I do have another comment that elucidates more specifically my thoughts on having players from Mexico, for example, over euro players during qualifying. But it was m-derated.

      • @Allen: Is that the A. Morales who got called for the USMNT January camp (an honor that dozens of players have dreamed of since they were boys) who had not even made the bench for his 2. Bundesliga team since September and who got playing time against Canada? Do you think Klinsmann would call up other players in similar situations? How do you think hard-working MLS players who were not called up for the January camp felt about this call-up? Is it fair to those MLS players? Just asking.

        And by the way, as any SBI regular knows, I fully support German born players such as Jermaine Jones, Fabian Johnson, Terrence Boyd and Daniel Williams as members of the USMNT player pool and am glad to see them chosen to play–IF they are at the top of the depth charts based on their form and ability to contribute to the team.

      • Jermaine Jones was first capped and played a ton under Bradley. Bradley also called Morales into a camp a couple years back, though he didn’t see the field in the friendly. JK is not the only one who seems to rate him.

      • “Is that the A. Morales who got called for the USMNT January camp (an honor that dozens of players have dreamed of since they were boys) who had not even made the bench for his 2. Bundesliga team since September and who got playing time against Canada? Do you think Klinsmann would call up other players in similar situations? How do you think hard-working MLS players who were not called up for the January camp felt about this call-up? Is it fair to those MLS players? Just asking”

        biff,

        If JK, and Bradley before him, thought you,biff, could help them, and if they knew about you, they would call you up in a heartbeat. Why wouldn’t they?
        Did you see Morales play? Because what i saw of him looked very good to me.

        If I were those “hard- working” MLS players you are talking about I would increase my efforts and work twice as hard. I’d turn over every rock to find people to help me figure out what I could do to get good enough to earn a call up. In the off season I’d beg my manager to help me get training sessions with the best teams possible.

        This is not some soccer mom league. biff, where everyone gets a turn and where we make sure no one’s feelings get hurt .

        Getting playing time with your international team depends on a player making the manager take notice of him and then continuing to impress once you get his attention.

        It’s inherently unfair because a manager and his staff can’t be right all the time and will miss some players.

        But, it turns out life is not fair and if you haven’t figured that out by now I can tell you your hard working MLS players probably have because most pro athletes get that right away.

      • I’d judge Klinsman pretty harshly if he didn’t use all his influence to cap-tie as many talented American-Germans as he could. And if Marcello Lippi had been our coach, I would have wanted him to put his best foot forward to land Giuseppi Rossi.

      • I agree I would like to cap tie as many duel nationals that we can that are valuable. I used to say only the ones that really want to play for us but as my father tells me, sometimes people don’t really know what they want so you help them out. No shame in cap tying them to us, and with the German-Americans, it’s not like if they can’t crack USA then try could play for a less stronger country, like Guatemala (no disrespect).

        I would like to see Shawn Parker join our pool, along with Aaron Johannson and Seb Hines, Will Packwood, etc. Adds to the cosmopolitan composure of our team.

        Does Klinsmann have a German bias? A little bit in the sense that that is what he is from. He knows the quality of Bundesliga 1 and 2, and it’s development capabilities. We all lean a little but on what we know from experience. I think he is more connected there which is why he’ll get US players trials there as opposed to elsewhere. But I think he’s not given much to Boyd, Gyua, Wooten, Morales. I might like to see Boyd. Not always superb quality but hell of a heart

  23. Two weak-footed shots. Nice. Always one of my favorite players with the USMNT. Not saying he *should* get any more looks, but I’m not gonna lie and say I would be disappointed. I’d rather have his hustle and effort than the lethargic (lazy-ass) display we saw from a lot of his Euro-club counterparts.

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