Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
Bob Bradley told reporters Wednesday that both Jozy Altidore and Oguchi Onyewu are fit for Saturday's World Cup opener against England.
Even more, the U.S. coach suggested that Onyewu, who hasn't played 90 minutes in any match since tearing his left patellar tendon last October, would be ready to go the full 90 on Saturday.
"The fitness program that we put our players through to prepare for the World Cup I think has every player in our 23 ready to play 90 minutes if asked," Bradley said to the Associated Press.
What do you think of this development? Hope to see Onyewu out there for the full 90?
Share your thoughts below.
Thanks for clarifying.
Watch the play, it’s the old jump first and put your hand on the defender’s shoulder move. So I think it is more about the timing than the physical ability to jump.
Three more days, Zion…three more days.
Indeed, neither of us were in training, so agree to disagree on this subject.
The anticipation, on countless fronts, is excruciating!
Well, Gooch is better than Goodson when in form. So, as they’re discussing below in this thread, if Gooch is at 80 percent, that may be about equivalent to Goodson at 100 percent. And I base that simply on watching USMNT games. Goodson has impressed a few times, especially in the air on offense, frankly. But he seems limited defensively. That’s my official opinion.
yea but Bradley’s the coach, you’re not. That means he’s right and you’re wrong
DVR, my friend!
I saw that on the listings, too, today. I immediately pulled a finger muscle from attempting to hit record under 0.3 seconds.
“Despite the constant negativity from others for expressing my opinion, it seems there is finally a large chorus of people that saw what I have all along.”
I see the same thing you do, but I just don’t agree with your interpretation of what you saw.
Bradley wasn’t looking at this last group of games the way you are, as if they were competitive games that mean something. I believe he saw them as 6 halves of experimental pairings.
Plus you don’t get to see practice and fitness sessions, which is a very big part of how this lineup will be formed.
Finally, you still don’t know what Bradley’s decision is. For all we know you’ll see a center back pairing of Spector and Demerit.
Three more days.
So this is pretty much my least favorite argument for any coaching decision made
“The coach is there, you’re not. The coach MUST be right.”
Its intended as an argument killer, but to me suggests that every single coach is infallible. Was Sven right on when he was coaching Mexico? Was he not to be criticized for not calling in players like dos Santos because “he’s the coach, he was there.”?
How about Sampson in ’98? Was his decision in the Harkes/Wynalda saga correct because “the coach knows better than everyone else.”?
Please. Coaches takes gambles and make mistakes all of the time. In this instance, I think Gooch is a huge liability.
fukc it, bring berhalter back in
If you are going to throw around these percentages then you really should explain what you mean by them better.
They sound like a load of meaningless crap to me. If Gooch at “80%”, whatever the f**k that means, is better than a “100%” Goodson Bradley would play him. The US has already said Gooch is phsyically fit so injury isn’t the issue, rust is.
Very few players are at 100% of their potential fitness in this World Cup. Many of the players are burnt out or have little injuries. The US is actually very lucky in this respect since we don’t have anyone who plays in the top flight and gets all burnt out and susceptible to injury like Robben, Ballack, Drogba, etc.
I’m not to sure. Jozy is a good presence that defenders will have to deal with. With WC refs, he’s bound to get Terry carded. Jozy’s build may also give King an issue. Buddle has been impressive when he started, Findley not as much. I’d take Findley and Gomez in the late stages when the CB’s cant’ run anymore. Starting King in an int’l is a risk to begin with(As he hasn’t been impressive, except against the Platinum Stars), leaving him on the pitch in the 70th to deal with Findley is good for us. Terry runs the risk off getting sent off if already carded by Jozy, so he’ll have a harder time dealing with Findley. Odds are we’ll go down early or will be tied so Herc and Findley would be best off the bench to me.
OMG, OMG, did you really just put Orlando Bloom on that list? Really?
Just because Gooch can play for 90 minutes doesn’t mean he can play well for 90 minutes.
And if he does start, we need to play a flawless game.
On top of good form and team shape, that also means *no injuries* and *no cards*. One bad card or even one minor injury messes with the substitution scenario.
If Bob starts Gooch, Goodson makes an almost definate sub in around 60 – 70 mins, maybe the half.
That leaves us with two subs, and we know where those will likely be made, wither to shore up the attack or help the mids.
I say start Goodson, see what he can do (and pray), and maybe save that sub for offense in the later stages … ?
To wet your WC appetite, ESPN Classic is showing US-MEX (02), US-POR (02), and US-COLOMBIA (94) games starting at 11.30AM PST.
I’m stuck at work, so suck to be me.
“An out of form Gooch is equivalent to a full-strength Goodson.”
Could you please explain this comment and how you came to that conclusion?
I think Dempsey will be. I feel he benefits from our hold up play by our forwards and he has the freedom to make runs from the midfield
I think I would rather have Gooch as president with Bornstein as VP and have Palin starting at CB before I would ever want Palin anywhere near the White House
+10. lmao.
It’s bizarre to see blanket pronouncements from people who cannot possibly have any better understanding of players’ fitness than the coaches and trainers. First Bradley gets ripped for not bringing in Davies. Now he’s being blasted for saying Gooch is ready. Fine to dispute that based on what you’ve seen, but given that we’ve seen about 1/100th of what the trainers have seen, a little humility might be in order.
too bad we only have 3 subs…
Yes I think Torres will start. Unless BB wants us to kick and run down the wings, turnover, chase, ad nauseum for 90 mins.
Agree 1000%.
Bid Soccer has a list of viewing parties, being held at pubs,bars and restaurants around the country, for those who want to partake.
Dallas…biggest crowd might be at Victory Park, outside American Airlines Center, watching party hosted by FCDallas.
They put you to sleep if you pick up an injury in N. Korea.
What city will you be in?
He will definitely have Jozy in there to keep their defenders honest. This forces their defenders to stay back. With Buddle or Findley, they will say whatever and not give US any space in midfield.
M Resort in Las Vegas. A few Brits and several Americans getting together if anyone else would like to attend.
As long as Abigail Clancy is at the match in the least amount of clothes possible, its all good.
I’m pretty sure Gooch said he was tugged off balance on the play. I think it was a one-off mistake. I’m sure he can still jump.
I’d go with Altidore and Buddle. I like their combination of size and speed. Their first touch is not good, but neither is Findley’s. I would not go with Gomez because he has flourished in the sub role so far.
I bet I can guess where N. Korea ranks!
Ives and gang, can we start a thread here about watching options, for those of us who dont want to watch solo in the living room? Where are the USA fans going to be (other than South Africa) for Saturday?
I don’t think I would start Torres. If you do start him, who do you bring off the bench to give the team some spark in the second half if we need it? I think Torres is most effective with room to operate and that room might be there in the second half. I’d go with Bradley and Edu in the CM to start with Torres a second half sub.
Yeah, I don’t think anyone really believes Gooch is 100 percent, and Bradley didn’t say that, only that the players can go 90. Anyhow, as Bradley is not letting out a hint of who will start, I think there could be a couple unexpected players in the line-up. Look, we really have no clue who will partner up with Jozy, or start with Demerit, and I don’t think Clark is a forgone conclusion. There is no doubt we will cede some possession and try to counter, but any of our players can do that. I have a feeling Bradley Jr. is going to have a monster game. It is his chance to prove himself against a great midfield and show, at 22, that he can be a bigtime player. I am slightly worried that he will be so intense that he runs onto the pitch, rips out Lampard’s heart Kali-ma style, bathes in the blood, and leaves the audience terrified and astounded.
I love how we’re learning history as we gear up to play England.
Gyllenhaal was an indie fave til Day After Tomorrow and than did Jarhead and Brokeback Mountain and several other films.
He’s a very good indie actor and quite a leading man but not really box office but he’s talented that’s for sure.
Bloom has PotC and LotR but he can’t open a film on his own and can’t act.
Farrell can act but hasn’t had a hit film since his breakout year in 03.
IMO Buddle — and if he isn’t clicking, Demps or LD can move up and we can bring in a different midfielder (depending on flow, matchup).
What about Buddle/Findley? I’m not convinced Jozy will start.
Amen. I’m actually stressing about where to watch Saturday’s match. One place is outdoors and free but could have kids and parking problems, another is actually charging at the door but isn’t outdoors…
Can’t believe you got Gyllenhaal right but missed Hartnett. Sheesh.
Are there FIFA rankings for medical teams?
I’m calling this a psychological ploy by Bradley. I’m betting Goodson will start. Not that it will fool England or matter to them. much. An out of form Gooch is equivalent to a full-strength Goodson.
Fine assumption. But even worse if you give it a second of thought. Crouch comes in at 70′ and has a field day with an exhausted Gooch.
Training is training. He hasn’t played a full 90 in 7 months. Its a bit of a leap of faith to ask him to do that against the #3 ranked team in the world. I think everyone here thats saying that would have Gooch in their XI without a doubt if he were 100%, but he just isnt.
Maybe this is best left up to BB who sees him in training everyday!
The US needs a Onyewu who can go the 90 especially against England. Should Rooney and Hesky start and not have the desired effect, Capello would bring in 6’7″ Peter Crouch. A 6’4″ heavyweight like Onyewu on Crouch would make him less effective, especially in the box. Remember Jan Koller the 6’7″ Czech who led the Czech to a win over the US in 06? It showed that even having a big body on a big striker is not good enough without a TEAM defense.
This leads to the age old adage….wait for it:
“IT WILL TAKE 11 YANKS TO BEAT A TWO-METER PETER”
buuda-bump!!
caps lock, sweet infallible caps lock.
any new Studio 90 videos?
hey any new Sports Illustrated or just any P.R. media for the team? It’s so cool to have our guys in the news and getting the spotlight.
I understand the words that are coming out of BB’s mouth, but I don’t believe. Gooch has not showed in the warmups that he is fully capable of going a full 90. Especially against England.
For god sakes Bob, no Bornstein! I don’t care how good he is at darts or ping-pong in the game room, he will get torched Saturday.
I hope we see Buddle up front with Jozy to start, then Gomez come in as our supersub!