By FRANCO PANIZO
BOCA Raton, Fla. — Friendlies in these primitive stages of a four-year cycle are normally used for fine-tuning and experimenting, and that is exactly what Jurgen Klinsmann plans to do on Tuesday.
The U.S. Men’s National Team will host CONCACAF foe Honduras in their third friendly since leaving the World Cup in Brazil, and the match at FAU Stadium should be an extension of the first two in that Klinsmann will continue to trot out younger players who may be on the precipice of breaking through to the first team.
Those lesser-experienced players, like Mix Diskerud, DeAndre Yedlin and Greg Garza, have used the last friendly or two to stake their claim to potential starting roles. They did so in last month’s 1-0 road win over the Czech Republic, and again in last Friday’s 1-1 draw with Ecuador.
The new wrinkle is that now they are competing for time with more of the veterans that took part in the World Cup. Klinsmann added five seasoned field players to the roster over the weekend, and now must juggle between giving them their first looks since the tournament in Brazil ended and integrating the next wave of talent in the pipeline.
“It changes certainly a couple of things, but without now going into the starting formation, you want to figure out as a coach how much time can I give each of these guys that game,” said Klinsmann. “The good part of a friendly is that there are six substitutions and that helps because you want to continue to grow the younger generation right now. I spoke to a couple of (the veterans), one on one, and they understand that process.
“It could mean that here and there, they’re left out and that’s fine with them, they understand that. Definitely, we will shake it up a little.”
For Klinsmann, the point of this exercise is to see which players can potentially help in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup and which might still need a little more work. He can also further gauge how the likes of Garza and Diskerud are adapting to bigger roles, and how they mesh with the veterans.
The game will also allow Klinsmann to make some off-the-cuff moves if he wishes, which appears to be the case with midfielder Jermaine Jones.
“Me and the coach were talking, and we have some surprise for everybody,” said Jones. “We talked and maybe you will see me in a new position.”
All the tinkering aside, there is still a game to be played against a Honduras team that also competed in Brazil this summer. The Catrachos are in a transitional phase of their own under new head coach Hernan Medford and coming off a 2-0 loss to Mexico, but still have enough talented and experienced players to make things difficult on the U.S.
From MLS-based players like Boniek Garcia and Victor Bernardez to Hull City’s Maynor Figueroa to Anderlecht youngster Andy Najar, Honduras possesses enough quality to beat the U.S. for the first time since January 2010 and fourth time overall. Still, Klinsmann will have the Americans trying to build on the ways that they dictate the tempo and take the game to the Hondurans.
“You expect a pretty tough matchup. They were obviously in the World Cup, so they’re a good team,” said DeAndre Yedlin. “We want to play our game and make them adjust to that, but we obviously know they have some dangerous players that we need to watch out for.”
Conversely, the U.S. has an array of weapons. Jozy Altidore proved against Ecuador last week that his hold-up play is still very effective even if his confidence in front of goal isn’t at its highest point, captain Clint Dempsey and midfielder ace Michael Bradley are back in the fold, and Yedlin continues to look valuable as a winger out on the right.
Klinsmann also will likely have some skillful veterans on the bench given that he will try and mix in some of next generation of players. Whether it be local Alejandro Bedoya or Graham Zusi or Joe Corona, Klinsmann will not be short on options for which to turn to.
The head coach may even hand a first appearance to Miguel Ibarra, the 24-year-old winger from NASL’s Minnesota United who has spent the past week adjusting to his first U.S. camp and feels much more comfortable now than when he first arrived.
“At the beginning, it was kind of different but now since it’s been a week, I’m kind of used to it already and it’s been amazing,” said Ibarra. “I’ve been keeping up and doing really well. It was the speed, the pace, and the intensity they practice with, so it was hard to get used to.”
This is not the type of luxury that the U.S. typically enjoys, especially when all the top American players across the globe are available for selection at once. But that is why Klinsmann is so keen on giving his youngsters looks next to more established players, to see how they fare and see if they will sink or swim.
“This is now the period of time to do it,” said Klinsmann. “The closer we obviously get then to the Gold Cup, where it’s then a real tournament that hopefully qualifies us for the Confederations Cup, the more you zoom in.”
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Expecting to see Jones in central defense? Hoping Ibarra earns his first cap? Looking forward to seeing any young players in particular?
Share your thoughts below.
Do I still count as a youngster?
Yawn.
“I made it clear with Clint’s move back and (Bradley’s) move back…”
So, Klinsmann is unhappy with Dempsey’s and Bradley’s moves to the MLS. Fine. So am I. However, why then isn’t he equally unhappy with Jermaine Jones’ move to the MLS? Can it be that moving to the MLS is okay if you’re German-bred?
Where do you guys think JJ is going to lineup? Centerback? That was the most interesting item is this article, by far.
I think CB is as good a guess as any! He’s already been tried on the wing and in a creative midfield role before so yes CB would be my guess as well! JJ is a serious pro who can play multiple positions, so why not CB!
Yes it was interesting. And one of the reasons why is that the guy is 33 in a matter of days and Klinsmann is willing to experiment with him in different roles? Ok, I guess that might make sense.
He played 90 minutes on Sat night. Cant imagine he has a lot left for a Tues game
I wouldn’t mind seeing Alfredo Morales get more looks at Dmid. Michael Bradleyobviously played at a higher level. However, Bradley isn’t a true Dmid or creative mid so you’re limited as to the lineups you can play with Bradley on the field.
I think this has been a problem from early days with MB. He’s good in the 4-4-2 when the other CM is ready to take on a more defensive role. Otherwise, he seems to be out of position. During qualifying, many commenters on this site wanted to replace Jones with Cameron or some other lesser talent so that MB was free to go forward without defensive responsibilities, and yet when played as an attacking mid in the WC the consensus was he was unfairly being played out of position. So, yeah, when tactics call for a 4-4-2, bring on MB. Otherwise, I’d say test the waters to find guys who are either more flexible tactically or whose talents fit the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 scheme.
are we talking about a flat 4 4 2, or a diamond? he can play in both as DM, played in Chievo a lot like that right as DMt? In Holland he played more advanced in the formation but that’s just what I read, didn’t see him play there, but that seems not his place on the USMNT. And for Roma, he played in a 4 3 3 a lot on the right but still central I thought. can anyone clarify please?
for 4 2 3 , he’s a great fit as one of the 2 DMs imo, so we disagree on that one
*4 2 3 1
At Roma he played all 3 of the mid spots at different times. Usually DDR was in the middle, lying deeper, and MB, Pjanic and Strootman rotated at the outside spots, but they all kinda played tighter with the RB especially pushing up wide. They really were able to because they had such trust in their CBs & they always had good flow..hence Mikey playing in multiple spots.
I could see JK playing him like that at some point if he gets comfortable with the right personnel to play a 4-3-3.
My guess is we’ll see a ton of experimentation the next year..not shocking…
BTW, I responded to you a few days ago….
I DONT KNOW BILL BRADLEY IS NOT THAT BAD
Bill Bradley was the Princeton University Basketball Star from the early 60s, Rhodes Scholar, NY Knicks star and US Senator.
He is about 20 years the senior of Bob Bradley the PU soccer player, coach, former USMNT coach, etc.
He’s still not that bad, though…
The troll is back!
Any chance MB goes on loan in January?
he looks burnt out… a loan won’t help him.
looks like he will have 4 months off to recharge and then hopefully get his game back in time for the Gold Cup. hopefully followed by a transfer back to Europe (if only…)
No, the point was to do his swan song at home in exchange for a bank truck of cash. If he wanted to test himself to improve his chances, he wouldn’t have left Europe. He wants security and North America for his family.
You look at players like Landon and they had a lesser experience their first stints abroad, something to prove, no family.
He isn’t going back to Europe because no European team is going to pay him $6m a year. He was making $1m at Roma. There’s no great mystery as to why he moved. And I doubt he’s taking an enormous paycut in order to placate a few eurosnob USMNT supporters.
“placate a few eurosnob USMNT supporters”
really? Going on loan to improve your game and “placating” a semi-fictional group of people you’ve created conveniently for your argument, are two very different things.
Yes – the move he made was for money and playing consistently. However, playing in Europe against better competition to improve his standing and form for the USMNT would be the best thing professionally at this juncture imo.
I agree, suppose you are a 26 year-old world class player with a family and get offered a 5X or so salary increase to move to a new team. Given that every professional athlete is one serious injury from ending a career, that salary increase over 2 years covers the possible 10 years salary should you stay put. It is a no-brainer to take the money and protect your and your family’s’ future.
MB has pushed himself to compete in ever more difficult soccer situations . The move to MLS is more difficult in another way; for Toronto, the success of the team, rightly or wrongly, will be viewed as a direct result of MB’s play. That is a level of pressure he would never have experienced in europe and will see only sporadically playing for the USMNT.
We will see if he can mature into the kind of player who can carry a team or not. He is now at an age where he realistically should be able to force his will on a game. (He will need help, it is unclear if TFC has a team that can support him effectively.)
awesome post
will be interesting to see if Klinsi will use MB as an example for other USMNT players who may want to take the money in MLS instead of do what he wants, and phase him out . that should stir up the hen house
He won’t. JK is the master of the double standard. Different rules for every player and MB can do what he wants. JK seems to be oblivious that MB seems to have lost his drive. Dempsey isn’t much better
Players need to make as much as they can, as fast as they can
That’s a good post about MB.. who wouldn’t take the money- I would..same for Deuce..as well as raising kids at home. I never had a problem with either.. but I do miss seeing them Sunday morning. I don’t fault them at all. At the same time I don’t have a problem with JK always saying he wants his guys playing at the highest level possible either.
good post, Dennis.
I hope the day is soon upon us that Michael Bradley is riding pine, his spot filled by real talent
Like who?
All we have to do is find the German that’ll replace him.
No doubt JK would love to find a Germerican who can replace MB but is there one right now? You can’t just say you want him to out of the lineup without suggesting a replacement.
Alfredo Morales
They are as many as blades of grass on a Canadian Women’s World Cup field. Oh wait, wrog metaphor.
I expect for more dual nationals to pop up. The team is showing well, JK is a draw himself, and he showed he will use dual nationals including the young ones. As long as JK doesn’t get obnoxious I see us as a magnet. I’m not entirely sold on his coaching but he can recruit.
Well if we’re look at right this second, Jones and Mix are playing at a different level on the US team than Bradley. Bradley has a history we can rely on, but man has he tanked since coming to MLS.
Jones is showing that a player can come into MLS and dominate from the start. Him and Mix together would be quite exciting.
@Josh D
I agree MB90?? can no longer be called so, as his WC and MLS form have not been great.
I thought he had a decent game the other day against RBNY. He can’t help that he’s surrounding by a pretty lousy team. I don’t think joining a worse team makes you a worse player.
These games are all about experimenting and getting ready for next summer though so trying out some new combos can’t hurt. Now that Landon has retired, I guess Bradley will be the next player who Klinsmann attacks because Bradley dared to come to MLS and make 6 times the salary. Looks Klinsmann’s MO is to publicly attack the best player due to his tiny ego. I wouldn’t mind this nonsense so much if he actually got better results but he hasn’t so far.
Klinsmann has gotten better results than anyone else. His W-L percentage is the best, and he did survive the Group of Death no one thought we would get out of.
He did not exactly inherit a loaded team, leftarm. We were in BAD shape in 2011 when he took over, and now there’s depth all over the place – and a lot of that depth he found or developed himself.
I don’t think he’s going to take Bradley out, mostly because Bradley’s got that iron-man work rate Klinsmann values. I do think he’s trying to motivate Bradley on out of TFC…which is probably a good idea, though TFC needs him so badly – and has so much invested in him – I don’t know that they’ll let Bradley go anytime soon.
quozzel, re. results please consider:
-Arena’s 2002 World Cup Squad
-Bradley’s Confed Cup Final squad with result against Spain and the first ever int’l final for the USMNT
-Bradley’s 2010 World Cup team that won our group in 2010 by overcoming 2 honest goals disallowed but won the group anyway for first time in 60+ years
and who didn’t think we’d get out of that group? Death in name only. I’m not diminishing the accomplishment, just not overstating like you are
on MB, he was looking good before going to Brazil and not the horror story now some report here imo, needs a break and TFC suck, but his batteries could use a charging imo
Who didn’t think we were going to get out of that group? Seriously?
Lalas, twellman, and every single statistical forecast and betting parlor, for starters.
“and who didn’t think we’d get out of that group? Death in name only.”
Seriously? Tons of people (experts and fans) doubted the U.S. would make it out of the group in Brazil.
I do not understand the perception that the 2002 side was somehow talent-deficient.
The side was anchored by first choice players for very recent Champions League sides (Reyna, O’Brien).
The defense was marshalled by Eddie Pope, who most consider to be the best US CB ever. Ditto the attack, which was led by McBride.
GK- Friedel… no problems here.
Seriously, is this really a bad side? All these guys were in their primes…. to say nothing of the youngsters like Beasley and Donovan who gave us an element of surprise.
if Germany doesn’t destroy Portugal or if they had taken our game more seriously we would have been eliminated, people need to stop seeing just the results and start to see how we got there.
always thought we’d get there, I remember discussing it with our good friend GW, Portugal overrated BIG and that it all came down to game vs. Ghana. I’m very glad we won. I’ll hold with my position
LOL that you quote Lalas to try and make your point.
Good point ian, if we ignore all group stage dynamics and only look at some nebulous “how” we’d realize we were wrong to celebrate advancing.
That’s why I refused to enjoy our confed cup run (needed brazil to beat italy by three) and our 2002 run (needed south korea to beat portugal).
Frankly I’m surprised we didn’t forfeit our place in the knockout stage out of shame.
Yea- that no talent Bradley who proved himself in the Dutch, German and Italian leagues. He has the best experience of anyone on the Nats save Jermaine Jones. He will most likely be the next captain of the squad. Get over it. Sure- he had a tough world cup (actually not that bad) being asked to play completely out of position.
That was then, this is now. He has looked mostly terrible in MLS. If he all of a sudden starts playing very good again then his team better get on his back about working in MLS games cause the few times I’ve seen him, he’s bee average at best.
I think this whole story is a puff piece. JK needs to look much further that Corona, Bedoya or Mix. He needs to start looking at players in MLS that are showing well enough to get a look.
He needs to start phasing out the Sr members. He did it with Donovan… Dempsey and JJ are now in an older bracket. Move on JK
As far dual nationals… enough already. We don’t need any more and I will be quite angry if JK continues this trend. His job is to build the US program, not beat the bushes for the illegitimate offspring of American servicemen on a weekend pass. Work from within.. find MLS players, US players playing in other countries, promote from the youth teams. That is what he needs to do. There is no long term good to be achieved from recruiting dual nationals. If this is his solution then he needs to find another gig
your post might seem more credible if you actually listed those players with “real talent”
Take your pick of any midfield player on the USMNT.
Bench our best player. Good call.
define “best”