BY JONATHAN VERA
CARSON, Calif. – Jose Torres has had his ups and downs as part of the U.S. men's national team over the past three years, but Torres has enjoyed a national team renaissance under new U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann
Despite the U.S. team' s 1-0 loss to Costa Rica on Friday night, Torres was one of the standout American bright spots, and was arguably the best U.S. player on the night. That's not bad for a player who had gone more than a year without a national team appearance before being called in by Klinsmann last month.
“Bob [Bradley] gave me an opportunity to be here and to get a good World Cup in and I tried to do good but played only 45 minutes,” confessed Torres. “After that, I never got called in again. I never heard from him again.
“I got interviewed a few times and they asked me if i thought I was ever getting called in again and I just thought hopefully. And then Klinsmann came in and I got called up again."
Since taking over as U.S. head coach, Klinsmann has had nothing but praise for the Texas native and has even gone to the lengths of promoted him to a new position on the team.
At Pachuca and with the national team under Bradley, Torres has operated as a central midfielder, but in the Klinsmann era he’s spent more time on the left flank.
“My usual role is in the midfield, but Klinsmann puts me out wide on the left to attack a little more,” Torres explained. “But wherever he puts me I try to do my best.”
After Friday night’s 1-0 loss to Costa Rica, in a game that was dominated by the Americans in the first half, Klinsmann had nothing but praise and admiration for his side, and singled out Torres as one of his best players.
“Overall, the feeling is very positive,” Klinsmann said. “You can see that he’s more comfortable and confident, and he needs these types of games to grow and I think he’s doing it at a very fast pace.”
Though Torres was muscled off the ball a few times, he was able to deliver precise passes, sometimes even under heavy pressure, and was working through every part of real estate on the pitch.
“I think he has a very good vision," Klinsmann said. "He sees the spaces, he passes those balls, and he can switch it really quick to the other side.
"And we told him to take those risks and not to worry about a pass not ending the right way.”
Torres is a skilled player with experience, but he’s still young and developing. Klinsmann understands that the way to help Torres keep progressing and improving is to keep encouraging him and giving him experience in pressure situations.
“The more he’s here, the more he understands his role, the more comfortable he’ll get," Klinsmann said. "He’s definitely a player that we’ll build in the months and years to come."
Pretty sure Bob Bradley just wanted to put his best team on the field, which pretty much always means including Michael Bradley. Its that simple folks.
Keep fightin’ the good fight G Dub.
Thriving? Probably not the right word choice here. He’s been pretty good the past couple games, but thriving he is not. This is like claiming Castillo is “thriving” because he’s getting called up again. “Torres back in Klinsmann’s USMNT squad” is a much more realistic title to this article.
Do you think Michael Bradley could have had any influence on his dad’s roster decisions? I ask because of the Sports Illustrated article in July quoting Eric Wynalda as saying that with BB as coach and MB on the team the USMNT “locker room will never be normal.” The story says: One universal aspect of all players, Wynalda observed, is their need to share frustrations, and at some point they often build camaraderie by complaining about their coach to each other. This can’t really be done honestly and openly when the coach’s son is on the team.
I have no doubt that USMNT players were careful to never criticize BB when MB was around. But what if in the locker room or at the team hotel someone might have overheard Midfielder X and/or Midfielder Y whisper a bit of frustration about MB’s guaranteed 90 minutes per game or question MB’s role on the team or his skills or his form. Do you think if Bob Bradley caught wind of a hint of dissatisfaction with his son that he might have decided to nip it in the bud, so to speak, and quit calling up those players? Or would he have written it off as just normal playing griping and called up the players anyway? Just wondering how you see it, as it is clear that you have followed the team very closely for some time.
“He was the undisputed best player on the field.”
A,
Mizzou disputes that so Torres’ status is not “undisputed”.
I think we’ll see Gil at the Olympics for sure.
But based on his performance against Mexico–his first call up under Klinsmann–he deserved another shot in this game. Unfortunately, he didn’t show the same level of quality.
Yeah… I can picture at least one instance of exactly that just from memory.
Torres had a run of bad form leading to the loss of his starting spot. That probably factored into why he wasn’t called back.
Lack of PT for all the others had less to do with dropping off in form and more to do with not cracking the starting 11 because they never got into sufficient form to do so.
Barca…sure, OK. Thanks for teaching us all.
Regardless, you are in the vast minority of people who don’t agree, including most professional analysts.
Agreed… it’s baffling that he has never gotten a shot outside of the successful (!) 2005 Gold Cup.
zing!
typical “physical american” comment…go watch Barca and learn.
lol..do you know anything about the game??
we were terrible, call it like it is? We watched US vs Costa Rica game….I don’t know what game you watched or maybe you simply don’t know anything about soccer. Whether its for 30 min – 45 min….have you ever seen the US dominate possession, put together one touch passes (with B team players included), get the kind of openings and scoring opportunities, pressure the ball and force a team to use only the counter attack, at the start of a game…ever in recent years of the USMNT? The answer is no, and being able to do that, in our second friendly, with players like Rogers, Castillo, Orozco, Shea, Torres (that BB didn’t even considered!!!!) makes it even more impressive……
We’re looking at the bigger “picture” of US soccer, and with Klinsmann as the “Artist”, with the “Tools” he’s currently using, it’s looking like a masterpiece….
“Adu… he’s not terribly strong on the ball. He’s not a playmaker. ”
It seems to me that is Adu’s main strength so we disagree there.
I saw a fair number of Pachuca’s games before the 2010 World Cup. Torres did not play the role you describe then for Pachuca. He played even deeper, serving almost as a link between the defense and midfield.
The role JK seems to have in mind for him is more like the one you describe.
We disagree but Freddy has the skill set to play that role.
Until Adu actually gets into a camp, we’ll have to wait and see what JK has in mind for him. JK will be changing the roles of a lot fo the hold over players, Torres just being the most prominent example at this point.
before someone decides to come on here andtalk trash, I want to be the first to set the record straight:
A Mexico fan could try to say “Well you can have him, he is just a scrap for us that we don’t need.”
The truth is although Jose Torres, back before the summer of 2010, was eligible for both the US and Mexican national team and was open for both, he was a rare case in which the USSF actually beat Mexico to get to him! Believe it or not, Javier Aguirre did want to call him up to his Mexican squad. Therefore, nobody better say he was a leftover scrap from anywhere.
YouTube “Frente al Reto, Jose Torres” (It’s only in Spanish, sorry). It’s a short documentary on this kid and how he almost went unnoticed in the US.
+!
“That was the thing about bradley, if he didnt personally like a player, he didnt keep them no matter how they played, like convey. but if he did, they got chance after chance after chance until it finally cost him his job (beasley, gooch, and worst of all borstein).”
Problems with your logic:
How do you know who Bradley personally liked or did not like?
Bardley gave Torres his start in the USMNT and gave him many chances. It was Torres who never quite seized the chance. Presumably, he is a better, tougher player now.
You probably forgot it was Bradley who brought Adu to the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup even though he had played 5 minutes for Monaco that year. And it was Bradley who brought Adu back to this year’s Gold Cup after he grew up and worked hard in Turkey. And most of you had written Freddy off and thought Bradley was crazy to bring him to the Gold Cup.
We know Convey disliked Bradley but, to my knowledge, Bradley has never said anything about how he personally felt about Convey.
And if you are saying not calling Convey was proof Bradley personally disliked Convey, that is insane.
Convey last played for the US in 2008. The same can be said for Ramiro Corrales, Pat Noonan and Danny Califf. I never hear anyone say Bradley personally disliked those guys.
They just weren’t good enough and neither is Convey.
Convey plays left back part time for the Quakes and does a credible job. That does not mean he is USMNT left back material.
Wondo is a legit star striker for the same team, far more legit that Convey, yet he hasn’t show anything at the international level either.
“im glad we got a coach now that will give more than a one game shot to players even if they are terrible in their first showing. (not saying i want to keep seeing castillo now, but im glad he got at least two games.) ”
Bradley kept playing Bedoya after his poor USMNT start and I remember most of SBI as being outraged about it.
You say that now but wait until JK keeps on playing Fiscal, Castillo and Rogers.
Throw in Brad Davis to that list. Bradley traded Davis when he was coach of the Metrostars for Mike Mcgee. Bradley never gave Davis a fair chance after that.
Funny how Rogers, Bornstein and Klejchan got plenty of opportunity because Bradley drafted them at Chivas USA.
I didn´t watch the game, did Chandler had a good game?, I expect much more from JK and the USMNT, but I have a good feeling, this team will improve a whole lot, kudos to Torres.
The way to keep your guys from getting stripped of the ball is for them to know where they are going to pass it before they even get it.
JK sees Donovan as his best attacking player and seems to be trying to locate him centrally and find players to support him.
Comparisons are dangerous but, while obviously not in their class, you could think of Torres as playing Xavi to Donovan’s Iniesta while Clint will be Messi.
And the way to deal with tough physical challenges is to speed up the pace of the movement of the ball and to increase the danger to the opposing team off the missed tackle or blown defensive assigment.
Messi, Xavi and Ineista are small guys but are frightening because they are smart,quick and dangerous. Defenders have to be careful about tackling them really hard because if they miss the consequences are terrible.
Torres cannot be stripped of the ball if, before he gets the ball, he already recognizes multiple options in terms of where to send it and does so immediately. If you do that there is no crunching tackle.
This is the essence of what Barca do and it took them years of playing together to get it right. I suspect that JK is trying to develop some semblance of rapid ball movement and cohesion with this group so it will take time.
Adu and Torres are not the same player, in any way, shape, or form.
Adu is a withdrawn forward, he’s not terribly strong on the ball. He’s not a playmaker.
Torres is a deep-lying midfield playmaker. That kind of player doesn’t ‘get’ assists often (which is actually a pretty useless stat in footy). But he CREATES goals and goal scoring chances with his vision.
Adu’s problem (besides not being fit), is that he plays the same position as Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, and can’t do it as well.
“If the “talking points” about this game are about Torres, it seems to me about two years too late.”
It’s still early.
The role JFT is being asked to play for the US is not one he plays at Pachuca so for this experiment to succeed, Torres will have to be tough and patient and everyone else will have to bear with the ups and downs.
Two years ago Torres was not the player he is today. He is obviously older,wiser and tougher.
And two years ago he did not have the support of an attack first philosophy and the kind of teamates he has now. There was no Shea, Agudelo, an in-form Adu , Altidore etc. etc.
Two years ago I thought Torres was a special player but not necessarily good enough to build a team around.
Two years down the road, the players and the team philosophy have changed enough so that, while I would not say JK is building the team around him, the team is now where there is more of a role for players like Torres,Adu,and maybe Mix.
The change actually started in the Gold Cup where Bradley brought in Adu and Bedoya to play major roles, much to everyone’s shock. Bedoya,in particular, was very much despised by most everyone at SBI after a few early non-descript games. This is a good thing to remember when evaluating Castillo and Fiscal.
Torres is actualy playing the role Benny was supposed to but never could for more than 20-30 minutes.
And it remains to be seen how Torres will react to the kind of brutal pressure a team like Belgium can put on you.
JK obviously is looking for someone to serve as Donovan’s partner in crime but, given Donovan’s lack of form, JK may have to feature Dempsey as his “best attacking player” and find a sidekick for Clint instead.
The Belgium game should be fascinating
It wasn’t missing any more of its best players than the US was. Don’t overplay the ESPN talking points, please.
The 2nd half was disappointing, to be sure. Edu ought to have done more to protect the back 4, and they needed another ball-winner in MF. Having Bradley alongside Torres would’ve made for a stronger MF presence when we needed it. It also would’ve let Donovan play in Roger’s spot. Which would’ve been better all around.
Sorry, JFT had a good, not great game. He seemed to tire substantially after the 55th minute, which makes me wonder if he has a 90 minute tank for the International level.
But let’s hold off the Reyna & Tab Ramos comparisons until they’re actually warranted. He offers a skill set that the team could use, but claims that he’s a better all-around MF than MB are misplaced at present.
Thanks for that bit of explanation about the Jozy sub. Because JK has talked about wanting to play the JAs together, and that would’ve been a perfect time. But no reason to risk a player in a friendly.
if you think usmnt was depleted than take a look at costa rico.. they left all their players home.. the cr team was a c plus team at best.. when did we ever have the lack of pressureon the ball that cr gave us. if you cannot control the game under these condition you never will.. to be in awe of ourfirst 30 miutes is a joke, yet this poor team tok the game away from us for the next 60 timutes.. i donnot think we even had a shot in the second hald and did not win any 50-50 balls. i cannot try and make excuses(tired players, missing player, etc) we were terrible, call it like it is.
Like your comment very much, can tell you are writing from the heart. But whether or not certain players were called up by BB and received playing time, I think, goes beyond whether or not BB liked a player. You noted that Torres and Adu each were pulled at half-times when they were playing well and seemed ready for bigger roles on the team, but that they basically did not see any USMNT time after that.
I will pose a question: If Torres and/or Adu would have been integrated into the USMNT squad as key players, then which starting midfielder on the USMNT squad would have seen a diminishing role and reduced playing time on the squad? Think about it. But those dark days are over. Bright future ahead for the USMNT.
But, Dennis, Jozy got knocked flat a couple of times by the Costa Ricans. And Jozy ain’t a little guy. The point is that Torres took the knocks and jumped back up and kept his cool.
And in my mind, the most significant quote after the game was this gem from Klinsmann: “He (Torres) is definitely a player who we will build over the next months and years to go.” That is a bold statement that Klinsmann would only make if he is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt of Torres’s talent.
agreed. the first 30 minutes blew me away, seeing the like between the the defenders and midfield and the triangle passing, just like Germany, albeit at a more primitive level. Can only get better from here. What really amazed is that the guys never really lost their cool under pressure, not deperation long kicks forward into a black hole. And that as a back line of three youngsters anchored by Boca….
+1 just looked at the stats on Omar Salgado. Will turn 18 in a few days and is 6’4″. is he the real deal?
that is an inetersting point, gets me all excited just thinking about the dynamic attacking possiblities. And to think, six weeks ago we were being told the talent pool was weak and small and the coach was doing a great job with what he had…oh, the times they are a changin’…
i recall the WC qualifier against costa rica the first time back in june 2009 when we played costa rica and lost 3-1. torres started in that game for bradley and IMO was by far the best US player but was taken off at halftime. I was baffled. then if I recall correctly he never played another MEANINGINGFUL USMNT minute until that 45 minutes vs slovenia which was mostly bad.
Bradley did the same thing with adu after they played england, spain and argentina in the summer of 08. adu played vs. spain and argentina and was amazing(watch the youtube highlights) then was subbed at the half vs. argentina, and for some reason could hardly sniff the mnt.
That was the thing about bradley, if he didnt personally like a player, he didnt keep them no matter how they played, like convey. but if he did, they got chance after chance after chance until it finally cost him his job (beasley, gooch, and worst of all borstein).
im glad we got a coach now that will give more than a one game shot to players even if they are terrible in their first showing. (not saying i want to keep seeing castillo now, but im glad he got at least two games.) I honestly think every player should get at least 3 chances in 3 seperate games( starting or coming off the bench) to get comfortable. After that if they cant hack it, oh well. but how many of us would be able to step into a high pressure situation knowing u get only one shot and still be able to perform to best of our abilities? Id be NERVOUS!
I realize this means we would have to live through another cameo or start by castillo, orozco, and rogers, but i stand by it. if after the third chance they still arent where they need to be then,”too bad, so sad.”
I love the way klinsi is doing things now even with this loss cuz there were so many positives. OVER TIME he will take us to the next level.
There are lots of finese skilled players that cant cut it once the game matters. This is completely stupid bringing up that Bob Bradley didnt call him again after the WC. He was calling in new players for meaningless friendlies. As for the Gold Cup, Bradley had the guts to call in Adu who is just frankly better than Torres and has acutally contributed to the US MNT in terms of asssists and goals which Torrres has yet to do.
I’d like to see if Torres and Holden can play on the field together (thus freeing up Donovan and Dempsey to be used as needed). Both have the potential to be highly creative, controlling, and tenacious players who will make the individual talents at our disposal far more potent. It already looks like three in the midfield anyway.
Is that why he can pick his team in Europe? Man City is going to come calling. Calling him the next Claudio is laughable.
And look at the result!
very balanced review of his performance I think, and agree with it.
Torres’ first half was the best we’ve seen from him yet in the uniform. Since his first feature for the team I’ve liked him, and follow Pachuca whenever possible just to watch him play these past couple of seasons. I’d be one of those posters who gets accused of over rating him, but am also critical of his performances and not blind to the second half…but I like him, like watching him play, and watching him grow and get better.
He’s a nifty little player but saying that he could use some muscle. Small players can be good but they have to be strong ala Messi, Aguero or even Maradona. Hit the gym and gain about twenty pounds then he can shrug those thuggish players off. I think he could be special with a little work.
Torres is skilled and can see good passes. There is no denying that he is an intriguing player, but he still has a lot to do to become the center piece of the US national team. Playing defense is not his strength, nor is it the role Klinsmann seems to have in mind for him, but he can tackle and win a few.
I think the major weakness he has is his inability to stand up to physical defending. At least 3 times he was stripped of the ball by C.R. in spots and times that were dangerous to the US. C.R.’s inability to capitalize on those chances made them less noticeable and in fairness one or two of those challenges probably deserved to be called fouls. Still, it is always very bad to have the ball stripped from your C.M. when the whole team is thinking and moving in attack mode, those losses of possession are dangerous. Torres must get better at that or for all his positives, he may end up costing more goals than he creates.
I think he has gotten better in this regard since the W.C. but that might simply be the difference in the opposition he was facing.
man, come on
Always liked torres, but Bradley could not do this. The fans would have had his head. In a way it’s great to have a different coach, because we will kgive him a chance to make mistakes. However if bradley did this, brought in the same team with the same results, the fans would go nuts. The fans hated Torres.
I liked Bradley and I think K will make the right changes. But K’s impact will be in the youth program I hope. He’s a director with vision.
What I’d like to see is K coach the team through 1 world cup and then replace Gulati.
K can create the vision the full US program needs and he will bring in the right people and the next coach. I think he’s going to scare Gulati, maybe so much so that gulati wont give him the latitude he needs to make significant changes to our current foundation. What about getting red of Gulati now…like Bradley he’s done as much as he can do. We need a change.
Yes they do in games that actually matter!!! This was a friendly.
Everybody remember to wish Jose a happy birthday October 29th!! Little things to let our boys know we appreciate them.
results count in world futbol
Damn we as a USMNT fanbase muse be out of touch if we think Jose F. Torres is the way forward…
That explains why we really haven’t had a decent midfield tandem since Claudio Reyna and John O’Brien. Torres is Reyna(ish), now we need an O’Brien(ish) midfielder to pair with him. Never mind these “holding mid”,”attacking mid” pseudo names. Just a “midfield tandem with chemistry” of the likes we haven’t seen since WC 2002.