Top Stories

The Monday Freestyle: U.S. squad to be announced, Europa Final set and the team I’d take to Princeton

It was a relatively slow news day in the soccer world on Monday, what with World Cup preliminary rosters set to be unveiled on Tuesday and the Europa League final headlining proceedings on Wednesday.

Here are some items to ponder as Monday winds down:

The U.S. 30-man preliminary World Cup roster will be unveiled on ESPN2 at 2pm. As it stands, we can figure that Edson Buddle and Brian Ching are among the selected (thanks to Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez and the Houston Dynamo PR department for (inadvertently) leaking that info to the masses).

Former England manager Steve McLaren has parlayed his success at Dutch champion FC Twente into a nice two-year deal to become the new manager at Wolfsburg. Will he bring along Costa Rican star Bryan Ruiz (since it's a safe bet Edin Dzeko is on his way to a bigger club)?

The Europa League Final looks set to go on as planned on Wednesday (ash cloud be damned). If you're wondering where you can watch it, DirecTV is showing the match, but that's about it as far as television options. SBI will be doing a live commentary on the match so you can always follow along here.

With the World Cup a month away, my colleagues at Fox Soccer have begun their World Cup previewing with a wide variety of info, including the first of their 32 team previews. They began the team previews today with North Korea.

I know some of you have asked me to name my own 28-man roster for next week's U.S. training camp. Here is the group I'd bring to Princeton:

SBI'S Proposed 28-man roster for USMNT Training Camp

Goalkeepers– Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan

Defenders– Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce, Chad Marshall

Midfielders– Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Jose Francisco Torres, Alejandro Bedoya, DaMarcus Beasley

Forwards– Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Brian Ching, Edson Buddle, Eddie Johnson, Herculez Gomez

A few caveats to consider. If Torres has club duty with Pachuca, and if Davies isn't healthy, that could free up a spot for Freddy Adu, Robbie Rogers or Sacha Kljestan.

Chad Marshall might seem surprising, but he played a full 90 minutes on Saturday and was entrenched as a top four centerback just a year ago. Frankie Hejduk probably played himself out of the picture in recent weeks, though it wouldn't shock me if he wound up on the squad.

—————————-

The SBI MLS Power Rankings will come out Tuesday morning for those of you wondering where it was today. I had to take care of some equipment upgrading today as I get ready for the World Cup, which is fast approaching. As you might expect, there's plenty of shaking up in this week's rankings.

Also look out for the MLS Team of the Week, MLS Best XI, and the return of the MLS Rookie of the Week feature.

—————————

What do you think of any of the above items? Did you like my 28-man projected camp roster?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. And why not!!?? He was part of the WC Preliminary squad in 2006 before he was injured during one of the friendly games just before the game started. Check your USMNT history please, where have you been!? He hasn’t been picked once since your bud Bradley became coach, for obvious reasONS mentioned in my initial comment.

    Reply
  2. He def deserves to start….. he is the only reason they are still alive in the tourney    a big Europa league Final coupled with what should be a big world cup for Demps def get him a big move this summer

    Reply
  3. I think itll be sooner than later……. When RBNY, LAG, Seattle and Toronto (maybe) get there 3 dps the league is gonna see a huge boost in attendance. If Chivas could get there act together they could get three dps also…… Why hasnt chivas tried their hardest to get three dps this year two mexicans and a european would give them a boost……… If Henry goes to NJ others will follow hopefully

    You already know that MTL is gonna try its hardest to get some good french players when they start, and the cosmos happen they will def get some amazing players

    One could hope
    Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

    Reply
  4. Ha oh I’m sure it will be on Espn2… it will prob be posted on the bottom of the screen while they talk about Lawrence Taylor raping another 15 year old girl

    Reply
  5. You have to understand the ways some people/fans think because they never played soccer in their life and here they are trying to be “experts” when they have no real understanding what unique qualities make a soccer player different from one another. This is why Adu should be going because he can be unpredictable with a nifty juke or pass, even if he only plays 5 mins, as he can be a match winner.

    When you are playing top class competition, they are going to know what the average player is going to do, but they probably don’t against someone like Adu and Davies.
    This is why it is crucial we have some players with excellent INDIVIDUAL SKILL to
    make something out of nothing.

    Reply
  6. Agree, but as a player who is trying to make the world cup squad, if you are given the chance to show what you can do for the team, you have to make an impact or at least show yourself so the coach will notice that further assessment is necessary. Castillo managed to touch the ball twice and then…

    We can use Bedoya as an example, the very first game with the team the showed what he can bring to the team. Who knew… few months ago nobody was aware of him… then he was given the chance and he made the most of it.

    Reply
  7. New Zealand suck. They cannot string together 3 passes against quality opposition. Their game is just kick and run, cross, win corners and score off set pieces. NZ ~= 11 Vinny Jones clones.

    Reply
  8. I agree with that starting lineup….Thats using the best players in their best position….I rate Clark, Edu and Bedoya equal but worry about the reckless play of Clark. I like the agressiveness of Bedoya.

    Reply
  9. It is too bad their neighbors to the north (outside of Toronto and Seattle ) can’t emulate that, soccer in the Americas would be unbelievable.

    I will keep dreaming…someday, someday.

    Reply
  10. I hear what you are saying, but I think the money is probably very minimal.

    I am all for CCL, but the losers league is too much for me due to the level of support.

    Reply
  11. I guess we will see Bornstein given yet ANOTHER look. If Adu was given 1/2 that, I think we would have our 2nd Striker. Ahhhh… the benefits of being the coach’s favorite.. It’s really nothing personal with me on Bornstein but just look at the mistakes he has made in positioning and recklessness. In a game where one goal may decide the winner….were in trouble!

    Reply
  12. Ives, why 28 and not 30. Any comments on Capello’s selections. For me it appears a younger side than is normally picked for England, with zero nostalgia or bit players.

    Reply
  13. Capello has announced his squad, and picked seldom and never capped players, that’s against the grain of an overwhelming consensus here at SBI who favor experience.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to madmax Cancel reply