Photo by ISIphotos.com
Benny Feilhaber has been called in by U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley for the United States' Gold Cup match vs. Honduras on Wednesday.
Feilhaber is one of seven players added to the U.S. roster after CONCACAF awarded the United States seven extra roster slots for the Gold Cup, citing the U.S. team's participation in the Confederations Cup as a reason for the extra slots.
Feilhaber had an impressive Confederations Cup after playing poorly in the tournament's first match. His arrival should mean a start for the AGF Aarhus midfielder.
So what does his arrival mean for Freddy Adu?
The easy answer is Feilhaber's arrival means that Bradley saw enough of Adu vs. Grenada and decided he wanted another creative force in midfield when he goes with a standard 4-4-2 vs. Honduras. Adu looked rusty on Saturday and not as sharp as he has been in previous appearances. Having Feilhaber in central midfielder would allow Bradley to start two forwards up top, such as a Charlie Davies-Kenny Cooper tandem (if Brian Ching can't play), and not worry about the defensive strength in central midfield.
What Feilhaber's arrival could also mean is that Bradley wasn't happy with the lack of creativity from central midfielders Kyle Beckerman and Logan Pause (Pause's great pass on Robbie Rogers' goal notwithstanding) and Bradley has decided that having a more creative central midfielder would only help Adu and the U.S. attack in a 4-4-1-1 formation.
What do you think of Feilhaber being called in? Are you hoping Adu still starts? Did you see enough of Adu and want Bradley to look elsewhere vs. Honduras? Do you see either Beckerman or Pause getting the start vs. Honduras?
Share your thoughts below.
(not directed at you, Jimmy, but at previous posters)
I’m fine with anyone saying Adu isn’t good enough at the moment to get call-ups. I might disagree, but one can make a completely valid argument.
But it blows my mind when I read about Adu being “done”. “Gone”. “Washed up”. “Over”. The kid is TWENTY!
At age 19, Oguchi Onyewu was playing college soccer for Clemson. 20, he was at Metz, not playing. Now, he’s moving to Milan. I suppose someone should have told him after his stint at Metz that he should just pack it up and come home, his career was over.
Call Adu overrated. Say he’s not good enough yet. But to say he’s a failed experiment is just stupid. It’s exactly the same as claiming he’s the next Pele–hyperbolic nonsense that is really just a reaction to outdated media hype.
“runaway man crush on Feilhaber, because he is not good enough to be on the pitch. i don’t care about his technical skill set; he gives the ball to the opponents too often…. a shockingly sloppy player who ran himself out of the side with giveaways. …He is a sort of anti-Michael Bradley, a good-looking lightweight whose presence at this level should be enough to get BB fired. As for Adu, come on: couldn’t play for a sorry outfit like Monaco, whose attendance of 7,000 fans per game make them a team even the MLS would reject. Adu has one worse than hit bottom; he’s gone. Bring in new blood and let them play instead of these two terrible choices.”
Posted by: sean blue | July 07, 2009 at 12:39 AM
____________________
Mr. blue,
I think the question BB is trying to answer is who is the real Benny: the one who stank it up against Italy or the second half sub who helped win that game against Spain.
These two illustrate a much larger point that is often obscured on these blogs; talent and ability alone do not necessarily make you the best choice for a given team.
@ Jimmy
1 – I guess I haven’t read those posts. ……..
2 – ……I don’t think he’s as bad at tracking back as most make it sound.
3 – …..to say Benfica aren’t interested…it seems a little premature.
4 – …..It’s strange to me that a player like that is able to squander chances over and over again while players like Adu and Torres are neglected.
Posted by: Mike Caramba | July 07, 2009 at 10:04 AM
_____________
Mike,
1.) There is a fellow named harry on these blogs who, if you believe his posts, thinks the USMNT should be built entirely around Adu. One day Freddy may be that good but I don’t see that happening in the next year or so.
2.) I believe I said there is no reason why Adu can’t play defense, even though he seems to be puny, small and easily knocked over. I shudder to think what Puyol would have done to him. Playing defense is all about being in shape and having the will and desire. Adu is clearly out of shape and his will and desire are in question.
3.) Benfica seem to be okay with him spending so much time with the USMNT. This can be looked at in few ways.
He may be getting in games and should come back to them a little bit more fit. However, if he plays a lot and does well, it might drum up interest in him from other clubs. If he doesn’t then….Oh well.
It’s not entirely clear to me what Benfica think of Adu. It’s true they may want to keep him around for development but every year they get younger guys with as much if not more talent and potential.
More to the point, Adu wants to go to South Africa next year. This goal is best served by getting first team playing time either at Benfica or somewhere else. So, if Freddy is unwilling to wait, he needs to light up the Gold Cup as much as possible.
4.) I don’t get the Kjlestan thing either. Maybe the worst thing that ever happened to him was scoring that hat trick against Sweden. It sort of obscured the fact that he has serious liabilities. Prior to that game he always struck me as a sort of a bull-in-a-China-shop, i.e. I thought he looked clumsy. This is useful in some situations but that advantage tends to be negated by the fact he has the soccer equivalent of “stone hands”. (not unlike Braylon Edwards for you Browns fans). If he ever learns how to control the ball, his bustling style and aggressive nature could be quite useful. A younger, clumsier version of Chris Albright.
I do not think it is Adu’s lack of defense that is the problem (but he clearly could chase a bit more up top). Rather, it is the unexpected giveaways and poor decisions that continue to limit his time. No team can afford a player who gives the ball away in the midfield unexpectedly or who makes bad decisions with good attacking opportunities. Neither of those things are unfixable. They do take time and experience to fix (and a willing learner). Freddy has the physical gifts and skills to be a very good player, I hope he is willing to work hard and learn what is needed to contribute to a team effort. It seems Bradley thinks he is teachable (or he would not be with the MNT now). The professional teams he has played for seem to have the same attitude, the keep him around for training, but are reluctant to give him much playing time when they are worried about results.
It is funny how Bradley was being faulted by the BB haters for not starting Adu, until those haters saw in the Grenada match for themselves that Adu was not ready.
@ Jimmy
1 – I guess I haven’t read those posts. I haven’t read anyone talk about Adu like he’s an indisputable world-class talent for quite some time.
2 – Again, I feel most of these defensive criticisms stem from discussion boards and journalism–not the games themselves. You have every right to disagree, but I feel Adu was pegged as a “bad defender” several years ago and has never lived it down. I don’t think he’s as bad at tracking back as most make it sound.
3 – Monaco wasn’t interested, obviously (it should be noted that Adu was 18-19 years old during his stint), but to say Benfica aren’t interested…it seems a little premature. They haven’t even had the opportunity to not play him yet. (And I don’t think loaning your 18-19 year old player out for a season is any indication of a lack of interest.) If there are Benfica reports stating that Adu doesn’t factor into their future, I’d like to read them.
4 – I wasn’t saying that Kljestan is his main competition. Just commenting on the fact that Kljestan has been given numerous opportunities and he has failed to impress. It’s strange to me that a player like that is able to squander chances over and over again while players like Adu and Torres are neglected.
This is one of the sharpest indictments of U.S. soccer. Neither Benny nor Adu should be playing for the National Team. I’d like to think BB is going to make his their last chance to impress, but I’m afraid he’s swallowed the same koolaid everyone else has for Feilhaber. I’m convinced this is just runaway man crush on Feilhaber, because he is not good enough to be on the pitch. i don’t care about his technical skill set; he gives the ball to the opponents too often. He was an embarrassment in Derby, a shockingly sloppy player who ran himself out of the side with giveaways. His “vision” and “playmaking” are bad jokes; he’s the kind of player who loses the ball by making dumb passes on half his possessions. He is a sort of anti-Michael Bradley, a good-looking lightweight whose presence at this level should be enough to get BB fired. As for Adu, come on: couldn’t play for a sorry outfit like Monaco, whose attendance of 7,000 fans per game make them a team even the MLS would reject. Adu has one worse than hit bottom; he’s gone. Bring in new blood and let them play instead of these two terrible choices.
This tournament is not about “getting someone in shape.” It would not surprise me in the least if Adu doesn’t make the bench this time.
BB is going to try different people a little at a time and Adu played the first game. Davies might get the night off too with Cooper starting.
It has little to do with how you’re playing and a lot to do with seeing other people. I’d be disappointed with BB if he doesn’t run all of his 23 out at one point or another.
PS – It’s hard to say I’d be disappointed with BB since I’m still hoping he’s sent packing but since we’re likely to be stuck with him, he still has to find a deeper bench then he had in SA and that means testing more people. Adu can do wind sprints to get in shape on his own time
Im going to say that I would like to see Failhaber replace Pause in the starting line-up, and would like to see Kenny Cooper up front, teaming with Davies. I would think that the two will do fine, and get a goal our two. If for some reason there is a problem, I would bring Jozy in for the next game.
If Freddy had scored 3 goals against Grenada then we wouldn’t be harping on his performance. I think everyone has great expectations of him that we harp on play more than anyone else’s.
Little Mike and Dempsey (who some of you think has flare…LOL)loses the ball all the time, Gooch huffs the ball 60 yards everytime he gets the ball, Boca can’t cross the ball, Davies can’t dribble the ball past 10 yards, but yet we now pencil these people as starters for a national team ranked number 12 in the world???
If Bradley invested as much time in to Adu as he does his own son, he would be starting, period!
I think your analysis and criticisms of Adu are accurate Ives but to say his goal was on an open net is incorrect as I understand that term. An open net would be without a keeper between the posts. While the keeper may have been out of position he was in the net when freddy took his goal.
1. I don’t think anyone is comparing Freddy to Pele anymore. Those comparisons ended when he was about 16 years old.
2. My point about Freddy’s defense isn’t that it’s not important for all players to be able to win balls at some point. My point is that Freddy was pegged as a “bad defender” several years ago and his critics keep harping on that. I’m saying that I cannot recall the last time I watched Freddy and said, “boy, he needs to defend better!” I don’t remember the last time I watched a game and said, “boy, Freddy was sure responsible for those goals!” He’s obviously not John Terry, but he’s not supposed to be…
3. I don’t understand how his career is in trouble. He’s a good player. Not a world-class player, but a good one, with the potential to be very good. Even good 20-year-olds have trouble starting for their clubs when they play at the top level. His lack of playing time doens’t signal to me that he’s in trouble–it just says that he’s a kid who is still developing.
4. I don’t think he should be a USMNT starter, but I just wonder how some people (cough* Kljestan *cough) find the field ahead of him. I would argue that some people’s inability to pass from the center of midfield (cough* Kljestan *cough) is more of a defensive liability than Adu’s supposed inability to tackle (which, again, I haven’t seen much evidence of for a while). That said, Torres should be ahead of Adu in the pecking order.
Posted by: Mike Caramba | July 06, 2009 at 04:52 PM
1.) Pele started for Brazil in the World Cup when he was 17 and never lost his spot except through injury or retirement. There are a lot of Adu fans(not you) on this blog who act as if Adu should be in the same category.
2.) My point is that, if you saw the good games in the Confed Cup, the forwards on this edition of the USMNT team are required to play good team defense. Adu does not appear to be very strong, tough or a good tackler but he can still play team defense. That does not just mean tackling and stripping people, it means tracking back when you lose the ball, helping the team keep their shape and just generally getting in the way of the opposition. It means being available for outlet passes to relieve pressure and holding the ball. Mostly it means Adu doing whatever dirty work is required of him. Dempsey and Donovan do it so why can’t he?
3.) His career is in trouble because, if he does not impress during this Gold Cup what club is going to take him? Monaco doesn’t want him and Benfica harldy seem all that excited about him. Granted he may be able to get onto a smaller club in the Scandanavian leagues or elsewhere(MLS?),which may actually be the best thing. My question about him is that will be a big comedown and how will he respond? He hasn’t appeared to be really mature about this stuff before.
4.) Kjlestan isn’t really his main competition. Dempsey, Holden and now Rogers may well decrease his chances for 2010.
Yeah, I’m more frustrated about the Brazil sub than anything else. Kljestan was given the chance–even though I’d disagree with it, one could make a valid argument for him being given that original opportunity–and he did nothing but disappoint. Then, he gets another opportunity with Adu and Torres on the bench? It didn’t make sense to me. Torres seemed the obvious choice with Adu #2…sure, they hadn’t played, but as was the case with Beasley, at a certain point it just doesn’t matter anymore.
Mike, I think your criticisms of Kljestan are valid, in some ways, but the situations seem pretty parallel: Both Sacha and Freddy are players who’ve shown in the very recent past they could dominate games at the international or professional level. Now that their form is gone, they’re struggling to make an impact.
I’d argue that BB incorporates his hopes of reminding these players how they _can_ be into his use of them in game situations. I mean, we’re clearly using the Gold Cup less as an international tournament and more as a sort of incubator-simulation of an international tournament.
Mike Caramba said: 4. I don’t think he should be a USMNT starter, but I just wonder how some people (cough* Kljestan *cough) find the field ahead of him. I would argue that some people’s inability to pass from the center of midfield (cough* Kljestan *cough) is more of a defensive liability than Adu’s supposed inability to tackle (which, again, I haven’t seen much evidence of for a while). That said, Torres should be ahead of Adu in the pecking order.
1. I don’t think anyone is comparing Freddy to Pele anymore. Those comparisons ended when he was about 16 years old.
2. My point about Freddy’s defense isn’t that it’s not important for all players to be able to win balls at some point. My point is that Freddy was pegged as a “bad defender” several years ago and his critics keep harping on that. I’m saying that I cannot recall the last time I watched Freddy and said, “boy, he needs to defend better!” I don’t remember the last time I watched a game and said, “boy, Freddy was sure responsible for those goals!” He’s obviously not John Terry, but he’s not supposed to be…
3. I don’t understand how his career is in trouble. He’s a good player. Not a world-class player, but a good one, with the potential to be very good. Even good 20-year-olds have trouble starting for their clubs when they play at the top level. His lack of playing time doens’t signal to me that he’s in trouble–it just says that he’s a kid who is still developing.
4. I don’t think he should be a USMNT starter, but I just wonder how some people (cough* Kljestan *cough) find the field ahead of him. I would argue that some people’s inability to pass from the center of midfield (cough* Kljestan *cough) is more of a defensive liability than Adu’s supposed inability to tackle (which, again, I haven’t seen much evidence of for a while). That said, Torres should be ahead of Adu in the pecking order.
Ives is a Freddy hater. Similar to Big Soccer posters, he’s biased and lets it show in his writing. Enough already! He’s a youngster.