Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
There are still some starting jobs up for grabs with the U.S. national team as it prepares to kick off World Cup play, and few competitions are more wide open than the contest to start in central midfield alongside Michael Bradley.
Ricardo Clark once held that role with a firm grip, but his struggle for playing time at Eintracht Frankfurt opened the door for Maurice Edu to challenge for the job. Edu ovecame a lengthy injury spell to force his way back into the mix following a strong run with Rangers.
The newest member of this competition is Jose Francisco Torres, who has followed up a good season with Pachuca with a strong pre-World Cup camp and impressive showings in both of the U.S. team's recent friendlies. His performance in the win vs. Turkey was especially convincing and has pushed him into the heart of the debate.
So who has the edge?
Clark looked to have it before the Turkey friendly, but a subpar performance in that friendly has swung the door open. Torres will be a popular pick considering how well he did, but Edu also impressed against the Czech Republic so he can't be discounted.
Who Bob Bradley starts vs. Australia on Saturday should give us a clear idea of who he is preferring, but right now it's too close to call. I would probably give the edge to Edu right now, with Torres a player I wouldn't be surprised to see earn the nod. There was a time when Torres might not have been considered a legitimate candidate to start vs. England, but his showing vs. Turkey erased any doubts about his ability to play on that level.
So here is our question for you. Which of these three would you start alongside Michael Bradley in central midfield against England?
Who did you select, and why?
Share your thoughts below.
no one tried edu with Turkey to definitively prove your point. it seems that all you haters are spanish oriented. Look at what one of you said: edu not this not that, who is this and that? Edu should start every game—think back olympics and rangers games. he can do unthinkables.
Stephen, Edu is a european style player with precise passes.
Why should a player pick whom he can play well with? Any good player should be able to pair up with any other good player. it is a matter of understanding the game and your role–that’s what contributes most to victory. you have already classify Michael bradley as an all around american; i wonder what that means to who ever made that comment. it is not how many games you play as what team you play against and how physical. No player should ever pick whom he should play with; otherwise, Bradley should not have wasted othe young folks time in travelling to South Africa. Every player should have a playing time, both starting and subbing, period. There are players form their sub discriminating groups among them. don’t you steve ever suggest that again–very unfair practice. michael bradley is not the be all and end all. what he is able to do other players can do even better if called and given 90 minutes playing that his dad gives to him all the time.
nice
Look guys, first of all, your preaching to the choir with respect to selling me on his abilities…i’m a huge fan of JFT. I’ve watched him play for several years now and I know what he is capable of doing. I get that. There are haters out there that don’t necessarily care for his style of play because it happened to be cultivated down south, however, if you look at the past performances for the USMNST, how many of those performances would you say have been memorable? Because he made quick passes? Was able to move the ball with style and grace? Yeah, thats all well and good and reminded me of what he did with Pachuca for the last several years, which was knock the ball around, kick it there, kick it here eat some of the clock, find where the defensive positioning errors are and exploit it. That’s all good and it works for Pachuca, however, the difference between his game in Turkey and the difference between his other less memorable starts is the fact that he moved the ball not only with style and grace but with a purpose and quickness. You can hold the ball and dribble and look for the other guy but ultimately you move the ball with a purpose to change the angle of the attack and Torres did that faster against turkey. Now, maybe there was some communication or chemistry thing going with regards to the people around him, however, a performance like this was seldom seen. My whole point in my original post was to raise some questions as to why he was able to play so effectively (move the ball with a purpose on a much faster level)during the 2nd half of the Turkey game and not so much during his less memorable matches. All his other starts were not soo effective, however, stick him in that sub role and he flourishes. There is something to be said about that. After any US player that has a great half, everyone and there momma are quick to say “that guy should be starting”. How about leaving them in that role taking into consideration that for that particular team, that is where they have shown to be most effective…
Just some food for thought.
I think the Question is wrong: Here’s why…Bradley whould play out left and Torres is the creative player that makes the team GO! Having The strength of EDU and Brad on the feild will go a long way in defending world class attacks. So I go with:
Dempsey Buddle (He’s scoring)
Bradley Torres Donovan
Edu
“alongside Michael Bradley”
I was at US-Turkey and Mike Bradley was by far the worst player on the field in the first half. I don’t know how we made it back out for the second. Oh, right…
All im saying is that the last time I remember Bradley having a severe impact in a game is Mexico at home in qualifying. And neither of those goals were anything special. Hes an above average player, but I dont think hes anything special. I suggest Torres-Edu because I think Torres is a better passer and Edu plays better D. Personally, I just think Bradley turns the ball over too much to be an effective central middie against a team like England.
I’ve been beating this drum for the past 2 years, including our successful qualifying campaign — In order to compete at a world class level, we need a TRUE playmaking, ball possessing and distributing central midfielder (think Xavi, Reyna, Platini) to pair with MB’s defensive tenacity. Torres is the only player who comes close this. Both Clark and Edu are solid all-arounders, but neither of them are as comfortable on the ball as Torres, and neither of them has the distribution of Torres. I realize Torres is young, and that it could be asking a lot of him to step into this role on the eve of the WC. But my gut tells me Torres and Bradley could be the central core (think Pirlo & Gattuso) of the national side for years to come, and that the WC 2010 could be there coming out party. So, start Torres against Australia and let’s see what he can do for a full 90 minutes against a solid, physical squad.
I agree with this.. however wish we had more time to try it out. Previously, I had wanted a 4 – 2 – 3 – 1, with Edu and Bradley in the bucket and Torres or Holden in the center of the 3. (although I’m uncertain of this formation against a team with speedy wingers, although if Gerrard plays left wing..)
After watching the Turkey game I think Torres’ role is the deep lying midfielder, who is the first outlet for the defenders (don’t tell me Demerit doesnt need this) and hangs back a little.
Therefore, I’d invert it and now go with a 4- 1 – 4 – 1. Torres as the 1 and Edu and Bradley in the 4.
The Australia game will be interesting.
I didn’t. Learn to read.
I’m going to go down the other road guys. As much as I like Torres & Edu, I will have to say that Chico Rico gets the start for me. He is a young veteran and has had great amount of experience in the last couple of years or so. In the Confederations Cup Rico was a monster. He sacrificed his body and held the midfield quite well. Without him we wouldn’t have won the Spain game. He also saved us down in Trinity. He deserves to get a bit more respect than what people give him. There is a reason why he plays in one of the best leagues in the world. I will take physical presence and experience in Rico to start before the two youngstaz. He might not be flashy, but he sure can kick the crap out of a player to make his presense.
I think the difference between the Holland game and the Turkey game is how and where Bradley played.
Against Holland Bradley played further back looking to collect the ball, then he rarely pushed it to Torres, instead he looked up field.
Against Turkey it was Torres who collected the ball from the back. And instead of pushing it forward he looked to settle and find the open man. Bradley pushed ten yards off making space.
I think Torres is the future CM on this team, as in his time starts now. But I can’t argue if Edu starts v England, with him coming in at 55′.
By the way, I admire Torres for the way he’s worked to improve his game, and also for what he’s brought to the Nats so far. (Big part of a vital away point in El Salvador, probably one of the reasons Donovan has been improving his free kicks, who knows what else.)
I voted for Edu, because I think he’s adequate on the ball and better defensively than José. I notice some posters mention Mexico’s friendly against England. It’s true that Mexico did well with possession, but then everyone of Mexico’s players has grown up with that kind of soccer, so comfort and good decisions on the ball, getting open for each other, making good runs, are all second nature to them. If y’all haven’t noticed, we don’t have 11 guys like that. Especially, at least 3 of our back 4 don’t have that kind of composure. A possession game means the back 4 also must be good with the ball and at getting open to receive it if needed.
I’m a little disappointed that people are giving up on Dempsey as withdrawn striker partnered with Jozy after a bad half in which the overall team chemistry was limited. You had Clark playing a mediocre half and Feilhaber playing out of position. Do you really want to start Findley or Gomez against England? Maybe it’s not Dempsey’s favorite but it would allow Holden on the field and he will track back, put in good crosses and add more creativity to the total mix.
Agree. Start Edu – sub Torres at the half.
My immediate thoughts on this were to start Edu, but thinking about it more, I think that Torres is going to be the better start. I figure that Capello is going to expect us to sit back and defend. He has no defensive midfielder with Barry out, so he’s going to go with a very attack-minded team. He may even get greedy and go with the dreaded Lampard/Gerrard duo (maybe if he reads this he’ll think it’s a good idea!).
What we will need is not someone to act as a destroyer, but someone that can get the ball, and NOT LOSE IT. Our backs tend to hoof the ball up the field, giving the ball back to the opposition. That is the WORST thing to do against this England team, because they WILL give the ball away. Having Torres will enable us to more effectively spring the counter. Kicking the ball back to the opposition is exactly what got us into trouble against Brazil, where we couldn’t hold possession, and just kept giving it back.
After thinking about it, I am more convinced than ever that Findley will start with Jozy, and the English backs (I’m looking at you John Terry and Rio Ferdinand) will need to stay back to avoid getting hit on the counter. With no defensive midfielder (and as a ManUtd fan, Carrick is no defensive midfielder), they will have no protection, and their CenterBacks will be left vulnerable.
Bring in Edu when we’re up by a goal (or two!) in the 2nd half. Perhaps I’m too optimistic, but after watching the EPL for the past 10-15 years, I’m not in awe of England. A number of their stars have not been in-form, or are nursing injuries and knocks. If they were healthy, that would be a totally different story…..
While it’s true that Pachuca has been very consistent in the Concachampions and la Primera, showing a fair amount of grace under pressure, you should also understand that Mexico’s “2 semester, 2 playoff” system makes for some unusual things in the playoffs, like teams coming out of the relegation hunt to make the playoffs at times(cf Clausura 2009). As to the Concachampions, it has a ways to go to be the competition it should be.
To change the subject, perhaps we shud challenge the shoe in for Altidore up front. He maybe the poster boy but on paper he has not performed for Hull against English clubs and added little against Turkey. OK he did well in SA last year but does that book a seat. Not necessarily.
New chant for Torres during future WCQ, sung to the tune of Liverpool’s chant for their Torres:
“We stole the kid from Mexico, Torres, Torres…and now it’s through the Hex we go, te amo Torres. Te amo Torres, Te amo Torres. And now it’s through the Hex we go, te amo Torres.”
Why does Michael Bradley have to be involved in the pairing? Personally, I think Bradley is what causes the anemic offense during some matches. I would much rather have Clark/Torres or Edu/Torres than any other with Bradley