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Klinsmann: Dempsey and Johnson should be ready for qualifying, Cherundolo back training with Hannover

Clint Dempsey

By IVES GALARCEP

U.S. Men’s national Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann took to Twitter on Monday for a live Q&A on the U.S. Soccer Twitter account, and among other tidbits, revealed some very encouraging injury updates on some national team veterans.

Klinsmann revealed that both Clint Dempsey and Steve Cherundolo are back in training with their respective teams, and stated that Dempsey should be fine for World Cup qualifiers later this month.

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The injury updates should offer a sense of relief for U.S. fans after a rash of injuries looked to be putting the national team’s chances of earning points in this month’s World Cup qualifiers in jeopardy.

With Dempsey and Johnson expected back, the U.S. receives a major boost. The team is still facing the absences of Tim Howard, Edgar Castillo and Steve Cherundolo, but Brad Guzan and Timmy Chandler are expected to step in and start.

What do you think of this development? Feeling better about the USMNT’s chances? Encouraged by Klinsmann’s comments?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Crackin me up to read all these post about us winning at Azteca. You people do realize we have never won a meaningful match there right? Not trying to be a downer just realistic. A draw would be a really good result there.

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  2. Just because. One can wish.

    4-2-3-1

    ——-jozy——

    Shea———-Clint———–Gatt

    ——Jones—Bradley——

    Fabian—Cameron–Brooks—chandler

    Guzan

    Sigh…

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      • Brooks is better than gonzo right now imo and no Donovan and zusi quit frankly I prefer central but with our depth central there are just better players. So, yeah I went with Gatt. Better winger again imo.

        Like I said one can wish

    • IMO Gatt is not yet ready for a starting RW. I’d go with someone a little more experienced to start (Gomez maybe) and bring Gatt in around the 60-70 min mark.

      While I’d love to see Brooks….I don’t think he’s ready to commit to the US at this level or that JK wants to try out another CB in these critical games. Expect to see Gonzales or Besler in the starting 11….but maybe Brooks on the bench.

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      • Personally I don’t see how either gonzo or besler have more experience than brooks. 2 bundesleaga is not cake walk. I say it’s comparative to mls.

    • Hercules for Gatt and Gonzo for Brooks (who hasn’t even said he will play for us) and you have the lineup that makes maximum sense for this player pool and will therefore never see the field.

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    • Jim, as a fellow Atlantan I gotta ask, while I don’t disagree that it would be great to see Brooks in the WCQ camp, how can you really be sure that Brooks is better than Gonzalez right now? Where are you streaming Bundesliga 2 games from? Lol and GATT to start in these qualifiers? I too am excited about his prospective talent but he has literally done nothing but be fast so far….FILA

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      • Lol Chivo, I think we can all agree that if Brooks does happen to accept a call up and is on the bench that he will see the field (more likely against CR ) at least as a late substitute to cap tie him. There is n way they bring him in and don’t shut the door on that controversy right away.

      • Yes brooks is better than gonzo imo, if you look hard enough you can find a few games and judge for yourself. Gatt over zusi was because I find zusi as more of a central player and with Jones and Bradley he fell to bench. Against CR yeah I probably would go with this line up it maximizes our team potential. Jozy needs service and players to combine with and our top for can all provide him with that. We have two of our top goal scorers on the field and our two best CMs. I watch Manchester City run this formation with yaya and Milner player the sling game with one going and one staying why can’t we? Both Bradley and Jones are good hoping forward and can track back but they are NOT attackers and should never be played in advanced roles when we have better players suited for those roles.

        To me this line up and formation just makes too much sense that’s why I can understand why the NT coaches always waist time on players and formations we all know don’t work. For once I wish they would just stop the nonsense and just put the best….no the better players on the pitch.

        They have sent senior scouts to watch brooks so that means they have him in mind for either gold cup or qualifiers so why wait. Kid can play. He’s no varane (Madrid) who is also 19 but he’s no gale either…I mean that in a good way.

      • Personally I can’t say I disagree that Brooks is probably better(no doubt a better prospect right now) and yes I have seen him play a couple times and try to catch him on onetouch. The point I was trying to make is that for any American it’s really hard to know exactly how he is doing because it’s hard to see him play. I would be stunned if they don’t try to call him in for the Gold Cup to see where his head is at as far as making a decision on Germany or the Yanks. With as much inexperience as our back line has collectively I am sure JK won’t play him in the upcoming qualifiers but I guess one could argue that we couldn’t get much worse in the back so run the kid out there. Either way, I really don’t want to have to watch ANOTHER CB in the Bundesliga for the next 5-10 years that COULD HAVE been a Nat. Especially when we are in desperate need.

  3. Hopefully, fitness won’t be an issue.

    Klinsmann finally stop using three D-Mids, use more tradition forwards (Boyd and Altidore starters!!).

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  4. incredible news! dempsey is vital to this team. what is Castillo’s status? i know he is hurt but i have been hearing that he might be able to play with a face mask? i guess if he is out for TJ he is out for the USA…

    side note: whats up with Jurgen responding to random twitter followers? kind of an interesting way to make a announcement..

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    • the second guy @CheifFif tweeted right after saying “Holy shit! @ussoccer just Rt’d me and my Q got answered by the coach. This is the peak of my twitter existence” then carried on tweeting about game cube and Kentucky MMJ petitions.. lol

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  5. 3-1 win over Costa Rica and a 0-0 tie at Azteca. What can I say I am optimist. A few adjustments, a few good results, and I think this team can start to gather momentum.

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    • not an unrealistic bet. Always go for a win at home and a tie away in the hex. this series should be no different except it will be our most difficult away tie.

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  6. I feel a lot better now. Thanks for the injury updates. I’m going to Mexico City for the game and I was a little sad over the weekend reading that no Howard, no Dolo, no Donovan AND possibly no Dempsey or Fabian Johnson for the game. I’m not expecting a win or tie in Azteca but I’m hoping we at least play well. Biggest disappointment for me vs. Honduras was not so much the loss (which was bad) but more so how poorly the entire team played that day. We have to play better against CR and Mex!

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  7. One side effect of setting up both games at altitude — Azteca was not our choice but Colorado was — is that if you have players trying to rehab back to fitness you just made it that much harder.

    I think the whole approach is naive because the altitude benefits usually come later after the extended stint at altitude. Couple altitude practices then a game is unlikely to do much for you when you then go to Azteca, same story, couple practices, game. Does anyone really believe we’re going to train our players’ legs off related to game 1 to try and prepare for game 2? You’d risk losing both.

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    • its one of those moves where if it works you’re a genius if not you’re an idiot. I agree that we shouldn’t be looking past one game to prepare for another though. History has taught us that the odds are very much against us getting a result in Azteca. Making one of our home games tougher on our own players to (possibly??) help us with Azteca isn’t the right move in my opinion.

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      • Playing in Denver is a challenge for the Costa Rica team as well. So we’re probably wrong to say that the only reason we’re playing there is to prepare for Mexico. It will be cold, it will be hard to breathe. A few players on CR’s team are probably not worried about that. Sabo (RSL), Arrieta (CLB), and the two guys they have in the EPL. The rest of them will hopefully struggle a bit in those conditions. At least our European based players will be used to the cold if not the altitude.

      • I am sure more CR players play at altitude then US players. I don’t understand putting the game in Denver. Plus, the fans are a bit weak.

      • Umm…what!?? Come again? The game is sold out and I will be there with 2000 of my fellow AO brothers and sisters singing our a$$es off! Denver is going to be rocking!

      • While the altitude acclimation of their bodies gained by playing in Denver wonā€™t last until they go to Azteca at least for those of them who have not played in altitude before, it beats not having ever done so.

        As long as they played in a colder, wintry place like Foxboro, Columbus, Rio Tinto or Denver they would have that going for them. It should bother at least half of the Costa Rican team.

        Besides I got the impression that awarding the game to Denver was more about some sort of political favor paid off.

    • The general rule is that it takes about a week to get acclimated to a major change in altitude. If the players can get to Colorado on Sunday before the Costa Rica match, it can make a difference in Mexico and while it won’t help vs. Costa Rica it won’t hurt. I think it’s worth the gamble.

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  8. This is a important match, best case scenario we win the match agianst Costa Rica 2-1, and get a tie in Estadio Azteca. I’d like a win to get six points from both matches, realistically Mexico is going to play much better at home against the U.S. They underestimated Jamaica and nearly lost, if their strikers were better finishers.

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    • I think four points is aiming high and six points is a dream possibility, but winning at home against Costa Rica and a loss where we don’t get blown out at Azteca seems a more realistic hope. From what I have seen in this qualifying cycle, the current incarnation of the National Team plays with almost no confidence on the road. I know it is tough to go to Central America, or even the Caribbean, but their have been some dreadful performances that leave you scratching your head. I would like to see Klinsmann field a more aggressive lineup in away games and take the match to the opponents a little bit more, but I past evidence seems to point to a ultra-conservative approach in that regard. Beating Costa Rica is a must, though; otherwise, it is likely time to panic a little.

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      • I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence so much as it’s a lack of experience. Playing away to Central American teams takes experience to understand all the unique elements. They’ll do better this go around.

      • Wrong!!!!! Of course the U.S. can get 6 points. Even though Mexico will be up for their match, they really have not been playing that well in my opinion and it just is not the Jamaica game. The U.S. should defeat Costa Rica. Even if the U.S. comes up with 1 point, they still probably make it to the WC. But I believe the U.S. actually has a great chance to beat Mexico in Mexico this time. It is not a dream; it is reality.

      • I did not mean it is a dream, as in ‘you are dreaming’ or that there is no chance whatsoever. I think getting a tie in Azteca would be a major accomplishment for a squad that has played, to be totally frank, like garbage on the road in qualifying so far. A win in Mexico would be a ‘dream’ result in that, for me, it would be fairly unexpected. I always try to be optimistic, but I also look at past results and try to temper my expectations.

      • if your looking at past results then you’d take into account we just beat mexico in AZTECA! Friendly aside, because we know there is no friendlies between the two! Thats bold well for our confidence going back down there and im sorry but mexico just isnt the animal that everyone wants to make them out to be!

    • Jamaica could have won that game 2-0, or 2-1, if their strikers had any skill at all.. Mexico had a tough time with that Jamaican defense holding their shape well.

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      • No, Mexico played much worse than we did and they did it at home. The Jamaicans had 2 1 v 1’s against the GK and missed both, not to mention they had an open goal and kicked it right to the keeper. The USMNT played very poorly in Honduras but Mexico played much worse, the only reason it doesn’t seem that way is because Mexico has a point to show for it and the Yanks don’t.

      • 140 character is plenty. Let’s try one: Why have you stuck with playing three central midfielders when game after game the USMNT’s attack has been poor as a result?

        That’s 124 characters.

      • Good one, Sandtrout.

        I do not understand these US Soccer people, it’s as if they play damage control, or are afraid to have honest real talk about the team and players because it will hurt their feelings, This applies to both the Mens and Womens sides. It is becoming comical if it wasn’t so sad. We all know what happens in other countries when the ship has holes. The people are up in arms and they certainly have to address the issues honestly and constructively. It is as if they think we are all in some kind of little kids league where everybody gets a trophy.

        Who wants to bring the knife to cut the orange slices?.

      • BOOM! That’s the only question worth asking. Albeit, I’m sure he purposefully stayed away from any tactical questions or questions questioning his ability to manage.

      • Lol Nate, why do you think he took questions OVER TWITTER? It’s a lot easier to ignore the tough ones and answer only softballs.

  9. as long as Klinsmann has a midfield of Bradley, Jones and Williams/Beckerman everything is OK in his mind… the vaunted 4-3-0-3 formation should effectively disrupt USMNT offensive flow and between the three central forwards and the three central midfielders, leave the wings for the opponent’s counters…looking forward to more attacking and attractive soccer….

    I didn’t realize, Empty Bucket Formation, how I miss you until you were gone…

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