The second day of the U.S. men's national team's pre-World Cup training camp is being drenched by rain, but that won't stop several new arrivals from being integrated into the team.
For those of you who missed it, here is my Fox Soccer take on Day One of the training camp, which included some interesting comments from Clint Dempsey on topics ranging from the perception that he doesn't play well enough for the national team, to his preferred position. That, coupled with Bob Bradley's comments about Charlie Davies and Herculez Gomez's humble approach to training camp ('There are 29 players ahead of me.") were three of the things that stood out from day one.
Dempsey's take on his preferred position (left wing) was particularly intriguing and makes you wonder whether we might see him on the left and Landon Donovan on the right wing against England. It would pit Donovan against Ashley Cole, who he enjoyed a strong game against during his loan stint with Everton. It is certainly something to consider as we move closer to June 12th.
SBI's Franco Panizo and I are here in Princeton and will be providing updates from today's interview sessions as soon as they are completed so keep an eye out for those. For now, feel free to share your thoughts on Day One in the comments section below.
Fascinating article! Thanks for all the great insight everybody:)
Woaaaah internet cop here.
nah…don’t need it. buddle is the same height as ching and both wouldn’t be more than a sub. i’d rather have buddle and gomez.
this would be my exact 23. although, i would be tempted to bring EJ as speed option.
I like this.
Awesome video
I won’t defend him completely, but he does play on the left at West Ham. When you’re not able to hedge attackers to your strong side and tackle with your strong foot, it makes a difference. But he did take a beating at times this year.
hahaha, I know! Fox soccer comments are worse than ESPN, and thats saying a lot!
I used to try to comment on ESPN, they never publish the good ones……
But Fox Soccer, its like all the rejects from Ives blog go there to vomit. I guess because we don’t take no sh*t here, we shut them down, so they go there to spew their goo. That and maybe Ives has banned them from here, ha!
there are 30 players now. 23 by june 1. On game day 18 players suit up. In the last world cup by my calculations 16 field players made it on to the field at least once during the three games . My guess is that the coaching staff has a good idea who those 16 will be. play over the next couple of weeks and or injuries may change one or two of their choices.
that’s great info, but my abbreviations adhere to no international convention.
good stuff. looked like on another video at the USMNT site from the camp that Jozy and Clint were working up top together…fwiw
I know what Spector did in the Confederations Cup, but am I the only one that believes that Cherundolo is better than Spector at RB? Cherundolo is faster and is just as battle tested playing in the Bundesliga. He also has not been responsible for getting beat and getting scored on as much as Spector has this year with West Ham.
Before people start defending him by stating it wasn’t his fault, I still think he shares the blame.
SLO is used by the IOC.
SVN is the FIFA abbreviation for Slovenia.
If you’re gonna correct someone, be correct.
Here is a good NY Times story on altitude:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/sports/soccer/16altitude.html?scp=1&sq=world%20cup%20alttitude&st=cse
I remember reading that article as well
I use to read about soccer on Foxsports but hated that Jamie Trekker guy and all of the posters were all mental. Now with Ives writing I read his articles. But would rather get my info form the DP’s Ives, dunord, and no shortcorners.
on my way there to watch right now…thanks
-Top-notch academics
-A world class library
-A diverse student body
-Uh, lots of student organizations
ok, ok, we might not win a game in SA, but our guys’ll be book smart. Maybe we can challenge England to a debate instead.
You should also watch the video on the USMNT website posted last night, which shows us a behind the scenes look at the physicals they took. It’s insane – US Soccer basically employed an army of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, you name it, to not only take stock of their bodies, but to find out muscle imbalances and other problems, and then specifically tailor exercises to each of the players to correct those imbalances. Cool stuff.
THATS a good list….i wouldnt put any type of changes….out of the 30 players picked…thats the perfect list enuff said
Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CasDDqX2N-c
Here is some thing that a guy name braden Posted in another blog. Check it out and tell me what you think about beasley playing as a striker.
Some classic DMB…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6lW_DN7FWE
Let’s hope we see some of this in June.
If any of you guys have the chance watch the Behind The Scenes Oct 14, 2009 USA VS Costa Rica It was great, it put a smile on my face 🙂
I don’t think we can afford to field an “A-” team against ALG/SLO (and it’s Slovenia, not Slovakia, btw)
So with the possible exception of Spector for Cherundolo, I would play your lineup you suggest against England in all 3 games, assuming Holden is fit and impresses more than Beasley in training. You could sub in Beaz for Stu and switch Landon’s side, especially if Ashley Cole is on his game and whoever is playing rightback for England is sucking. Not sure if Stu/Landon are capable of swapping sides mid-half as well as Deuce and Landon, but England’s defensive weakness is on the right side, IMO.
If you are going to use that squad for England and it works than use the same squad for Slovenia and Algeria. I have Spector over Cherundolo but I’m cool with Cherundolo starting over Spector. Steve was great for Hannover.
I think we have options. who is the best pair for Jozy is the question that will answer the rest of the lineup. is it Clint? Landon? someone else? If it’s Clint or Landon, then the other is on the left and Stuart is on the right. If some other forward bursts into the scene and partners best with Jozy, then Clint and Landon do their thing on the right and left, swapping sides like they tend to do in the course of a game
excellent point. if Stuart gets the start on the right with Clint up top, I wonder if that continues or not? and if Clint does not start up top, who goes up there with Jozy? would it be Landon, with Clint on the left and Stuart on the right? will another forward push their way into the equation with strong play in the lead up to June 12?
all good options to me. nice to have good options.
I’d take Ching over Gomez or possibly Buddle. We need a back up target striker and Chings target save for his finishing, pace, and taking players on.