Photo by ISIPhotos.com
For the second straight summer, the U.S. Men's national team will be playing important games, and for the second straight summer Timmy Chandler has passed on the chance to play in those important games.
Chandler's decision to stay home rather than take part in the USA's World Cup qualifiers this summer rang alarm bells in American soccer circles for a variety of reasons. First, because he isn't cap-tied yet and could still conceivably play for Germany. Second, because the decision gave a very real sense that Chandler isn't really all that committed to the U.S. national team.
Here is my Fox Soccer column on Chandler's latest snub of the U.S. national team. Give it a read and let me know what you think of the situation.
Are you okay with Chandler passing on another national team call-up in order to get rest, or are you seriously starting to question Chandler's real motives. Think he's keeping his options open to potentially play for Germany, or do you think it is more of a case of Chandler not wanting to upset his club team, and doing so at the expense of his U.S. national team career?
Share your thoughts below.
They are both ordinary
And in his defense he had to have grown up routing for the German National Team. It would be a tough call for any individual. What if Altidore weren’t good enough for US to play, wouldn’t he have same dilemma if Haiti came calling?
Breed players? LOL
Put that Dempsey in that stall with that Morgan girl and see if we can get em to mate.
Great article Ives. I can’t say I enjoyed it because of the content, but it was very well written.
I believe Preston Zimmerman was referring to Williams playing on the wing, and he was dead-on, Williams sucks as a winger. There are better wingers in MLS. PZ should have used a different format than twitter, as his comments came across very badly.
I coached youth soccer and had players leave my team for other “better” teams. Some found the pastures on the other side weren’t so green after all and returned, some felt embarrassed and pridefully refused to return and quit soccer, some flourished in the new team. I never asked a player who left to return, though when they left, I told everyone that if things did not work out to give me a call.
I sort of imagine Klinsmann will take that approach and not call Chandler until he hears from Chandler that he has had a change of heart and would like to play for the U.S.A. As for the teammates, if he is better than the other choices in camp, they will accept, if not actually like, him.
Just because he’s in camp doesn’t mean the coaching staff is going to be busting his butt and risk aggravating his injury.
Johnson, Corona, Torres, or several other players could easily slot in for him against Antigua.
Who cares? He should stay in Germany because he’s a damn German. We need to be focusing on breeding American players instead of looking for loopholes. And all you fake US soccer fans who just want to win at any means and gave me the “your such a xenophobe” comments last year when I thought his selection was wrong can suck it.
And he’s got a big butt.
Exactly! We should not have to recruit players for the USMNT. They should want to play for their national team. It should be a dream come true etc etc. Let’s face it, if Germany called him up today, he would not tell them he can’t bc he is tired; he would go in a heart beat!!
Depending on his age and whether he played for Germany at the youth level, yes.
Correct me if I’m wrong, folks.
Brian, I did not say that there is no replacement for Chandler or that the team is a panic mode. However, Johnson had a total of 2 games (one as a late substitute) at the LB position for the USMNT so he would need to get used to his partners on the back line if Klinsmann decides to play him there. I hope that you would agree that, if your starting LB previously played 1.5 games with the rest of the backline, the situation is far from ideal. Defense must play as a unit and communication and mutual understanding are very important. Also, Fabian Johnson looked great in our midfield (in Slovenia game – by far, his best game for the USMNT) and making him a starting LB takes away an option to put him at the midfield.
I have a question – so let’s say Chandler accepts a call up from Germany in a friendly match in the next year or whatever. Plays in the match – or not (does it matter?)
Could he then decide to go back to playing with the US in friendlies?
Hypothetically, could a player alternate for two national teams in friendlies until he is cap-tied by one?
Actually, Omar left the January Camp to go on loan.
I know I’m late to comment, and I hope you see this Ives: This was the most well written, thought out, article you have ever written. Absolutely dead on on all points. Bravo. Based on everything I have read, at this point it really does seem he’s waiting for a call from Germany. Someone must be in his ear that such a call is coming otherwise he would certainly be in camp. I gave him a pass and accepted his “rest” excuse last year. Not this time. No one player makes ateam. Certainly not an outside back. If he was a Xavi-type player who could influence the tempo of a game, maybe. But not him. It’s disappointing. But that’s it. Let’s focus and support the guys who are in camp and who do make the necessary sacrifices to play for the good old USA!
If he does not want to play in WCQs, than f*ck him. If Germany will not call him up, he’ll regret turning down the opportunity to participate in the WC on the USMNT.
Guys, guys, guys slow the train down a bit. I am sure this is not Klinsi’s first rodeo and Clint is most aware as to how bad his injuty is (trust me with the potential for a big ticket transfer he won’t be risking anything and I am sure JK won’t hurt one of his main assets for Antigua). You guys make it sound like Jk has the guy starting already.
I am sure that when call ups are made there is some exchange between player and coach and they would have addressed the injury. Which brings me back to my original point – I do enjoy reading your prose on this stuff and you guys raised some great points but my take on this is that these call ups are not just about these friendlies of the Antigua game, but more so about JK molding what he thinks is hiw key set of guys.
So to me Chandler being here is not all about these friendlies and Clint being called in does not mean he will start if injured. This is about the final prep before the curtain opening (albeit against soft competition).
Fire Caleb Porter, Kofi Sarkodie, Teal Bunbury, and Zarek Valentin.
**** you Akron!
+1
“While it may be self serving, you get the impression Jones felt like he was not accepted by the German team.”
There are other good players who for one reason or another were not accepted by Jogi Low and the German national team. I will say this: I like Klinsmann a lot and am happy he is now USMNT coach. But his apparent seeming lingering friendship with Jogi Low and Low’s inner circle I do not understand. A significant portion of the Germany fan group, while happy with Low’s success, do not like the guy or his deputies. Several players, such as Torsten Fings and Kevin Kurányi, were basically bullyed off the team by Low and his favorite players. And what Low and players like Lahm and Podoloski did to Michael Ballack, the former team captain who gave years of service to the team, at WC2010 in South Africa and afterwards is unforgivable.
I don’t know any details at all about Jones’ stint on the German team, but it would not surprise me if he was not treated well. My dream is to see the USMNT in WC2014 beat Germany in the knock-out round and, I tell you, one man I want on the field for that game, assuming his skills are still intact, is Jermaine Jones.
+1
If you recall the interviews with Jones after his first few games with the US, he always made a point of talking about how much he appreciated being accepted for who he was and how warm and accepting his teamates were of him.
This after what sounded like a not so friendly experience with the German team. While it may be self serving, you get the impression Jones felt like he was not accepted by the German team.
You may even recall how he would jokingly berate Donovan for speaking German to him and slowing down Jones’ learning how to speak English.
He has never backed off of his apparent love for the USMNT and even in his most recent interviews you can tell how much affection he has for his USMNT teamates or “the boys” as he calls them.
He seems to take his leadership role as the experienced European, Champions league campaigner who should pass his knowledge on to his younger American teammates very seriously.
When you compare him to Chandler, remember Jones was a star in the Bundesliga and was called up to the big team. For him there seems to be a sense of been there, done that, did not like it.
So if Chandler were conflicted, Jones would be the guy to talk to. I’d love to be a fly on the wall ( accompanied by a translator fly) if those two talk about this.
After all, to quote Terrance Boyd in reference to another young German- American who was considering playing for Germany and not the US, and whose name I forget, ” Dude, you can’t do that!”.
Seriously. I am so over this guy. Decimates one of our most promising young CB’s, and then continually snubs us. I say we’re done with him. I don’t want the USMNT to be like that girl whose boyfriend repeatedly cheats on her, but she keeps taking him back because she doesn’t think she “can do any better.” Well, maybe we won’t find someone for the next couple of years with the raw natural athleticism and speed that Chandler possesses (although, from what I saw of Lichaj the past few months, he isn’t too far off). But at least we’ll have someone who actually wants to be with us, not just f*ck us.
“I think it’s whack having Dempsey show up hurt, sorry, that’s the meal ticket.”
Absolutely.
When I saw Dempsey’s name on the list and before I realised Chandler was not on it I thought this would be the “big” story.
Why are we risking Clint? Yes we should not take anyone lightly but Antigua?
Groin injuries are notoriously tricky and tend to keep coming back. Would this not be a good time to let him rest and try out whatever Plan B is for the “Dempsey injured scenario”, whether that is Donovan, Gomez, Fabian or Wondo?
Because if Clint makes that thing worse ( how can any groin injury ever be minor?) and winds up missing significant time a compromised or missing Dmepsey is a much bigger deal than a missing Chandler.
Dude, teach me.
If that were true than why is JK “leaving the door open”?
The answer is because when Chandler gets his at together if he wants to come back, JK will take him because when all is said and done, Chandler is still the third best defender in the US pool and he probably has very little chance of playing for Germany.
I think it’s possible he never plays international football for anyone again.
Why do you think Chandler is using the USMNT to showcase himself to Germany?
It makes no sense.
He plays the vast majority of his professional games in the BL so Loew can see him against teams like Dortmund, Bayern, Schalke,etc.
If he does well against them don’t you think that makes a bigger impression than beating the tar out of Antigua? Or any of the CONCACAF nations for that matter. I mean come on?
Jk wished Germany good luck in an article recently.
Do you want him fired?
And by the way did I miss something or does the USMNT play in Euro 2012?
Rossi is an American. He has a passport that says so and he considers New Jersey home. It just so happens he plays soccer for Italy.
That is his choice and nobody’s business but his. He made himself a soccer player, the US had little if anything to do with it.
Those who label him a traitor never did nothing for him, as it relates to soccer.
Get over it.
Well this whole situation just stinks. He’s young, maybe we can pin his clear indecision on that. I would love to see Chandler in a USMNT uniform again, but who really knows if he cares enough to get it. That being said, as Ives pointed out, we have more than enough options. However, I don’t think any of them have the attacking prowess of Chandler.
What is interesting to me is that Germany’s coach was brought to the national team by Klinsmann and from what I’ve heard they had fantastic relationship while managing the German national team. Given their history, Loew may be less likely to try to poach a player from Klinsmann.
I agree and don’t see how Klinsmann can keep the door open if he doesn’t play the practice games.
Badstuber started out at LB.
Kevin Alston stopped being up and coming a couple years ago. Dude isn’t that good.
Wrongen drove Subotic out with a list of slanders against him and the Bundesliga 2nd division, claiming the academy played better soccer. TG Rongen is gone.
That’s not necessarily true. I highly doubt Chandler did that, but I’ve heard of plenty of athletes, celebrities, famous people, etc. that edit their wikipedia page (usually to fix errors that bother them).
We’ve got Fabian Johnson, who in my opinion looked much better than Chandler at LB, and we have Lichaj who has looked good at LB, too. There’s no need to panic here.
Sounds like it’s almost time for “Germany’s Most Disturbing Home Videos.”