Clint Dempsey will not take part in the U.S. Men’s National Team’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers, but the 32-year-old forward isn’t set to write off his international future quite yet.
Speaking on KESN 103.3 FM in Dallas, Dempsey revealed that he is fully understanding of Klinsmann’s decisions, while stating that the choice to leave him off the recent roster isn’t some sort of indictment on his USMNT future.
“I felt good with my return this year with the national team,” Dempsey said. “I think I played in 10 games, scored nine goals. I’ve enjoyed my time playing for the country. I still think that there’s some more games to be played. But at the same time, it’s the travel of playing with the USA (that) takes a toll on your body.
“That’s kind of what caused me to start getting some injuries at the beginning of this year. Especially that trip to Switzerland (in March) where I got off the plane and trained and picked up that (hamstring) injury. That kind of started my injuries off for this year because the year before that I didn’t have one. So I just got to be smart about how I keep my body in top form and make sure that if I get called on again that I’ll be able to go represent.”
Dempsey’s absence, Klinsmann says, is due to the program’s desire to allow several younger strikers to earn their stripes. Alongside veterans Alan Gordon and Jozy Altidore, Klinsmann opted to bring in three young forward in Bobby Wood, Jordan Morris and Gyasi Zardes.
The 32-year-old forward said that Klinsmann let him know in advance that the team was planning on going a bit younger for the time being as the team prepared for the future. Still, Dempsey sees himself as part of that future as the U.S. builds up to the 2018 World Cup.
“It’s kind of one of those things you just kind of take it year to year to see how your body’s feeling,” Dempsey said, “and to see if you’re playing well enough to get called in — to make sure that you’re doing what you need to do to get those looks in camp.
“If you’re not playing well enough for your club, then you’re probably not going to get those looks for country. And at the same time, if your body’s not right, then you can’t do anything there. So I just got to make sure that I’m focused, take care of my body, keep producing on the club level and we’ll see where things go from there.”
What do you think of Dempsey’s comments? How do you see Dempsey’s international future playing out? How would you use him going forward?
Share your thoughts below.
Dempsey should have been included in roster, and lazy/Jozy Altidore left off!
I think that national team players (non-keepers) should hang it up around age 30. The grind of club competition and national team duty is too much.
People complain about Jozy’s 13 goals in MLS as a bad season but Agudelo averages 6 goals a year in MLS and has a career high of 7 goals.
It’s crazy that Juan Agudelo is only 22. For that matter, Agudelo and Wood are both 22 and have 3 goals for the USMNT. Add Jordan Morris, 21 to the list with 1 goal for the full team and we have a few solid young strikers.
Still, none are lights-out. We don’t have a new Landon Donovan in the pipeline.
JK still doesn’t like to give competition to his priced son…Jozy. He brings in speeders (SS), an aging CF in Gordon and combo player in Zardes to play the wing. Where is Wooten, Maars, Agudelo, true CF that can give Jozy a run for its money. With JK, the same old is the norm.
I don’t disagree with you (I’ve always felt Jozy was not someone you wanted to plan your offense around, he’s way to mercurial); but for sake of playing devils advocate, I assume there isn’t much in the way of challenging depth because AJ is out injured, and Wooten has slowed down a little. Plus JK has already brought him into camp, and gave him a cap, so he knows at least a little what Wooten can offer, which maybe it just wasn’t enough to warrant a second call-up so soon.
Agudelo and Charlie Davies (he’d be a far better veteran presence with aerial ability) are the only strikers I was hoping to get called-up. I can only assume that Davies, a striker who will be 32 next WC, was omitted for age. I know age is only a number, but it is a fact that is difficult to maintain fitness the older you get; some strikers like Ronaldo and Ibra age like fine wines, but most turn to vinegar.
And Agudelo, from what I’ve seen, is still very mercurial. his game varies weekly. Sometimes he’s very much on (like the overhead kick he just did) and other times he’s a non-factor. He’ll probably be around for the January camp. Plus, lets not forget the behind-the-scenes stuff like players seeking winter transfers or loans, injury recovery/rest, etc.
This delusion continues that we have all these great players waiting in the wings and the problem is that Klinsmann doesn’t call them in. Outside of AJ and maybe Zardes, our most promising new strikers are probably a kid still in college and Wood who is in the 2 Bundesliga. Agudelo scored spectacular goals at times, but is much too inconsistent. Costa Rica, for example, has Joel Campbell who has started 3 games in a row for Arsenal. Chicharito is tearing up the Bundesliga and he is in his prime. Both CR and Mexico did better than the US in the U-17 World Cup. And look at England who has Harry Kane who set records last year for Tottenham and Barkley who has been looking great for Everton. Germany’s Muller was tearing up the WC when he was only 22. We have a lot of pretty good players, but no real stars. There is a serious talent gap between the US and top soccer nations. The reality is that MLS is better than ever, but not because of US players. Because a US player does well in MLS, it does not mean he is going to do well in international play. We are about as good as we have been for the past 10 years, but not much better. The difference is that we don’t have as much drop off between our first and second teams. Our only reliable scorer is Dempsey and he can’t be counted on much longer. Maybe our youth players, like Morris, will continue to develop and turn out to be very good at the international level, but they could also not progress at all. We will qualify for the next WC and our success there will largely be determined by our draw. It will be an upset if we could get past the quarterfinals. Most likely is we get out of the group and give our opponent a tough game in the round of 16. Anyone who expects anything else, whoever the coach is, is not dealing with reality.
Dempsey is future bench player.
Off subject but saw Julian Green tweeted a pic of him on the way to Brazil for the u23 camp, anybody have the full roster
Isn’t listed on US Soccer website. Checking guys twitter might be the best way to figure it out. US Soccer may tweet some stuff as guys arrive.
Dempsey at 32 is one of the best players we have. The only USMNT player (hence not counting Feilhaber or Kljestan) that plays like a true DP. Until someone better comes along to move him from that spot he can be 42 for all I care.
This is an ok sentiment to have until its time for the WC, and the idea of a 34-35 year old being asked to play a game every 4-6 days like its the last game he’ll ever play is not easy. If he’s still around and we want to use Dempsey like Klose, a late game clutch goal scorer, fine. But we need to start integrating new guys and developing a tactical approach that doesn’t center around the Dempsey/Altidore duo.
If Dempsey isn’t there for those reasons than Jozy shouldn’t be either. If Jozy was left off then I wouldn’t have a problem with this.
Jozy is 26 not 32. I really think JK thought Seattle would go through and Clint would need his legs for the playoffs. I still wouldn’t be surprised if one of the strikers gets a knock in training or in game 1 that Clint gets added now that his season has ended.
Jozy may be younger but he has also been considerably less productive
“Jozy may be younger but he has also been considerably less productive”
Bryan, you’re lucky that the word “considerably” is a relative and loose word…
29 in 87 (.333)
is really not far from 48 in 120 (.400)…
not to mention if you were to project Jozy’s career numbers to Clint’s age Jozy would have more goals than Clint (and Landon…)
facts and reality are fun! you should try them sometime…
The difference in the two is Clint tends to score every few games like his average where as Jozy tends to score twice in a game then go 6 without and then score and go four five more without than maybe two games in a row. He’ll still end up the third highest scorer in US history s o that’s not bad.
If Dempsey was on the roster he would start, and would take the place of one of the younger guys. So not having him there makes it easier to get them in, or would you rather have Dempsey there and just not play? Could you imagine the outrage if that happened. Gordon is just a camp body he Prolly won’t get any playing time anyway.
In all probability, JK thought Dempsey would still be in MLS playoffs. Now that he’s not, we’ll see if JK makes some lame excuse and gets him into the second game at a minimum. If we dont show well in the first game, JK will have to make changes
While that makes some sense, this is World Cup Qualifying. Dempsey is our best player at the moment and should be there. If we get a 3 goal lead then you take him and put in the youngsters.
Maybe he should actually try. I’m tired of watching him walk/jog the whole game. His over inflated head has made him the laziest player.
Like most strikers if no one is getting him the ball they tend to just stand around and pout. If you go back and read gradings of American strikers over the last 20 years you see a lot of 3.5 and 4s with the explanation, “didn’t do much, but to be fair received little service”. It doesn’t matter if their name is McBride, Dempsey, Altidore, Wegerle, Mathis, or Wynalda.
And its not just American strikers either. Look at Diego Costa, Fernandro Torres, or even Suarez when he was at Liverpool, most professional strikers don’t like to waste their energy making runs that will never get the ball.
Why do some fans rate Morris so high, he runs around like the energizer bunny he’s always moving, but a lot of his runs are wastes because no one could make the pass it would require. Let’s see how he plays in 4 years when he has more seasoning and older legs.
I rate Morris highly because he’s stepped up and performed for the national team. I was skeptical when he was called and basically thought it was a joke to include an amateur (I familiar with players at this level). Hence, I wouldn’t even consider him as a prospect until he goes pro. But watching him play for the Nats changed my mind. He delivered and by that standard, if he continues like that, then he shouldn’t even be considered a prospect, but rather an regular addition to the squad. He makes smart runs, can pass, control the ball, and has great physical attributes like speed.
Danny- He’s delivered, he’s scored once in his first six appearances. That’s one less than Jozy or Juan in the same amount of games and four or five less than Eddie Johnson. I don’t have a problem with him being called in either, but the belief that he is better than Jozy, Clint, or AJ because they are lazy and he runs all over the place is silly and that was my point.
Morris is an EXTREMELY raw talent with some pretty high upside. That’s about it though. Yes, he has delivered for the u-23 squad very well, and some pretty high stakes friendlies (ultimately these are still just friendlies though, and need to be taken with a grain of salt.) Morris NEEDS to go pro soon, so that he may learn a more nuanced TACTICAL approach to his game (like yedlin, he is still to reliant on his physical ability) and hit his prime BEFORE his body gets too old.
I thought Altidore was the laziest player. Dempsey scored more goals in the God Cup than any other player, and he has the highest scoring rate of any US national team striker but I guess you are immune to facts. BTW, sometimes coaches don’t want their strikers to come back and play on defense because they want them to be an outlet for when the team gets control of the ball. Thought you should know.
Gary, “lazy” translates to “lack of engine/ lack of hustle” on this website. You should know that. Dempsey and Altidore are both “lazy” in that sense. Nobody would confuse them for players like Hercules Gomez, Alejandro Begoya, Morris, Wood, Zardes; which are all players with a high engine/motor/hustle/effort, whatever you wan’t to call it. The exact word used doesn’t matter and that’s what you are getting caught up on. I would classify someone like Zlatan as being the “lazy” type, and someone like Messi as not “lazy”. Both are world-class strikers/forwards. Of course Dempsey and Altidore don’t have Zlatan’s skills or his results, so their “lazyness” is much more annoying. Perhaps you just have an issue with the negative connotation the word “lazy” comes with, which is understandable. Next time you see someone type lazy, just know that they mean the player doesn’t hustle. In this sense both Dempsey and Altidore are definitely “lazy”.
The other thing you are getting caught up on is that you think it is black or white, in other words, being “lazy” means you can’t have success. That is not the case. You can be “lazy” and still score goals, as proven by both Dempsey and Altidore. For you to say that Dempsey scores goals, so therefore he is not lazy, is a false conclusion. The eye test says otherwise, despite Dempsey’s goals.
::The more you know::
Ucla while I agree that that is what you and one or two others might mean by lazy the majority of posters who call Jozy and now Clint and even a couple recent MBs lazy are using it in the traditional sense. And I think a couple think they’re really smart because Jozy and lazy share two letters.
I think lobbing balls in front and hoping for a goal is all we’re going to have with this team and Dempsey can say what he likes… Casey Keller used to say the same thing and he never got another call
Wow haven’t heard anyone complain about Kasey Keller in awhile. I think most would agree Tim Howard had surpassed him when he stopped getting call ups.
Im not complaining because I thought Keller was done when he said it. The point is that players always think they have more left when they really dont
You’re both right. Gordon is a strategic move toward bunkering teams, and JK is a hypocrite.
Going younger, as in Alan Gordon. Klinsmann can say whatever lies he wants and journalists won’t point out the glaring hypocrisy, double standards and inconsistencies. lol
Gordon is a one hit wonder. He is only there in case we need a goal late verses a bunkering team, so they can try to launch balls into the box for him to win. This is not hypocrisy, just admitting that the US struggles to break down bunkering teams. Which is not uncommon that is why teams bunker in the first place.
Beckerman, Jones – also NOT young. Dempsey has scored 9 goals in his last 10 games and Gordon has scored zero goals for the US. If he really wanted to go young, we have young who can come in a score versus a bunkering team.
I’m a bit biased as a RBNY fan but isn’t Dax playing better than Beckerman at the moment? If you want to go young, then I can see overlooking Dax but Beckerman isn’t going to be in Russia so I don’t know what the point of continuing with him is. Against SVG it’s a chance to break in some new players.
The quote was young strikers so Beckerman and Jones don’t apply to that comment WoodChip.
If we really wanted to confront the issue with the USMNT having problems breaking down bunker in teams, than we should really be focusing on including creative mid fielders as in Fielhaber ( which I know JK has issues with) or Lee Ngyuen…also Dax could also be a viable player in the defense mid…he has great vision he has been proving this for while now with the red bulls.
People keep complaining that there are older players on this roster. You have to include veterans when blooding younger players. I can’t think of better players than Beckerman and Jones to make sure the young bucks understand what it means to be called in to the national team.
Let’s take a look at the mix of young and old (I realize these are subjective terms) in this latest roster:
Young: Hamid, Alvarado, Miazga, Shea, Diskerud, Ibarra, Nagbe, Yedlin, Morris, Wood, Zardes.
Mid/Peak: Guzan, Besler, Johnson, Orozco, Ream, Bradley, Altidore
Old: Howard, Cameron, Beckerman, Jones, Gordon
Honestly, not a bad mix of age and experience.
Actually, I might put Cameron in the mid range. I keep thinking he’s older than 30.
While I totally agree with your sentiment about a veteran presence to mentor the young players, I don’t think that applies to Gordon. He has like, 2 caps? Not exactly a veteran. Even guys like Beckerman and Wondo, who don’t exactly have a ton of caps, but are great examples of persevering through hard-times at the club-level, to being one of the best in your position in the league.
Say what you want about them, but few American’s position themselves as good as Wondo, a trait far overlooked by American fans. Plus, Beckerman is a master at committing calculated fouls, and needs to teach his replacement this skill. Seriously, how do pull on a break-away bound Schweinsteiger, stop the play, and NOT GET CARDED?!
Gordon doesn’t really fit this bill. He is brought in purely as a late game sub against a bunkered in team, and that worries. Its one thing to need Gordon against disciplined and talented teams who bunker against us like Panama or Honduras, and another to have to rely on him against SVG and T&T. Doesn’t matter if they pack 10 guys in the box, if we can’t break down these teams through open play and by playing the ball on the ground, we have MUCH bigger problems.
Yeah, Gordon is more there for the possibility that he might score on a header in the 89th minute. Sigh.