U.S. national team centerback Oguchi Onyewu is slowly, but surely, working his way back to the level he once enjoyed as the best defender in the U.S. national team pool.
First, Onyewu enjoyed his first start with new club Sporting Lisbon, and on Monday he delivered his first goal, a game-winning header in Sporting's 3-2 victory against Rio Ave on Monday.
Here is the goal (after a short commercial):
What do you think of Onyewu establishing himself with Sporting? See him regaining his starting role with the U.S. national team?
Share your thoughts below.
Oh come on- 32 is not old if you stay in shape. How old will Ronaldhino be in 2014? Just look at him go!
…and Charlie Davies!
Its nice he scored a goal, but he is still too slow and is constantly out of position. Hope we never have to see him in a USMNT jersey again (if we do its a bad sign for our defense)
Looked like they were trying to zone mark him. It was a stupid idea but it’s not like he was left completely alone
If Gooch is healthy, then he is back in the mix. Boca & Gooch in the back is the best combo we have. Unfortunatetly we don’t have Lucio’s in our pool, so Gooch getting back healthy is a plus. John, Gonzo, Ream, and Orozco are just average defenders. Demerit is a beast, but I think that ship has sailed with all the injury problems he’s been having. With that said, if Gooch is healthy, he is our CB. He’s the best we have when healthy.
I think all the low blows Gooch gets are pretty harsh & unfair. Knee injuries are not an easy task. He sucked do to injuries. What’s our CB’s excuses who are in our pool as of now? They suck, and they seem to be healthy. 🙂
Yeah, top Serie A, Portuguese, and Belgian sides signed him only because he is big. Right. So Klinsi is a better scout of defensive tactics and skill than the scouts from those clubs? Why dont we ask a world class defender such as Philip Lahm what he thinks of Klinsmann’s defensive tactical knowledge.
He’s not good enough..he represents the past, not the future.
Its great to see Gooch coming back. It was also good to see that he got a lot of air before making the header.
Hopefully this means he is working his way back from the knee injury
yeah cause we have quality international centerbacks by the bushel basket, right?
I’m not saying all the guy up now, but if you’re willing to not consider him because he’s not good enough compared to some mythical future USMNT player then you might as well sit everyone. You don’t burn a bridge simply because you think can see the other side of the river.
This is great! I love Gooch. Even when he was really out of form and I was always pulling for him. He’s such a beast in the air and a good personality for the USMNT. I really hope he continues to find PT with Sporting and works his back to the USMNT. I know he isn’t the most technical, but maybe playing in Portugal will help with that. I’m just glad he’s coming back from injury finally.
GGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCHHHHH!
It looked like there was a lot of aggression behind that header and the release of some long building frustration in that celebration. Good for you gooch
I love how a lot of you guys want to heap praise on Gooch just because he scored a goal. It doesn’t change the fact that his technical and decision making ability is VERY poor. Being big is NOT a skill people. I see a glimmer of hope in the USMNT program now that Klinsi is running things. Gone are the days of the big, fast & robotic soccer players, in are the technical / smart players where size is secondary. Gooch is the former.
And it came from Mike at 3:48 – way to go Mike
In other words no much has changed. He scored a goal against Poland and still sucked as a CB.
Just found the photo on the Internet. Thanks for the tip, nice photo–and Torres, whom I like, does look very defeated…
http://www.oleole.com/pictures/spanishfootballfederation/usavsspain/mp5y9g.asp
from what I’ve read it can take two to three years for a player to become 100% after the knee injury Gooch sustained. Hopefully this is a sign that he is getting there.
The Portuguese newspaper said this: Onyewu – Slow, missed the entry time to the ball on several occasions, without compromising. He scored the decisive goal with a stunning header.
In other words, can’t judge a player by one goal or one highlight. Hoep he continues to improve.
http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/detalhe/noticias/nacional/actualidade/leao-complica-jogo-mais-facil
anyone see tony taylor’s goal? look it up. awesome work/skills by the kid.
he headed that der ball hard
Wow, he really got up there! TONS of power!
nice hustle to the ball gooch. i just can’t give him the call back up to the nats. watch that game and the 2 goal they let in. keep it up and we’ll see.
Who you calling a SPADE!
just kidding 🙂
Thank the baby Jesus. He couldn’t be forcing his way back into relevance at a better time.
too bad he cant play defense
Oh come off it. We had no other option. None.
Well said.
Gooch looked awful for a while, who knows if he will ever be back fully, but at least he’s looking better now.
That’s a Bob Bradley decision. In his place, it would be hard to turn down a cap. His club situation wasn’t great and I’m sure he felt he could use the exposure.