photo by Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
BALTIMORE — Ventura Alvarado knows he has made some poor decisions and been involved in a few bad plays in this Gold Cup, but the young centerback is not dwelling on his mistakes.
Instead, he is doing his best to try to learn from them.
The U.S. Men’s National Team has reached Wednesday’s Gold Cup semifinals by going undefeated in its first four matches in the tournament, and a regular contributor throughout has somewhat surprisingly been Alvarado. The 22-year-old centerback has been thrust into the fire by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, getting the nod in three of the U.S.’s four games despite being relatively inexperienced at the international level.
With all of his nine caps coming this year, Alvarado has literally been learning on the job at a rapid pace. As could be expected, he has endured a few rough moments. Not that he is letting them bother him or affect the way he is playing.
“I’m still a young player and I’m going to make mistakes,” said Alvarado following the U.S.’s 6-0 rout of Cuba in the quarterfinals on Saturday. “The best thing is to make mistakes and be over it and put your head up and just go for a win, do good plays. I think that’s a great mentality that I’ve picked up.”
It is a good thing for Alvarado that has developed that type of mental fortitude because the mistakes have been evident and the ensuing criticism from fans and media plentiful.
The youngster, who plays for Liga MX side Club America, has been directly involved in multiple plays that have resulted in goals for the opposition. He stepped in poorly on one sequence to allow Honduras to find a late goal and make for a nervy finish in the Americans’ 2-1, tournament-opening win. Alvarado was also turned far too easily in his next start, and that set up Blas Perez’s opener in a 1-1 draw been the U.S. and Panama.
Even with those growing pains, Klinsmann has vowed to continue to give Alvarado more looks. The U.S. manager likes the 6-foot defender’s skill set and is also proud of the fact that Alvarado won the CONCACAF Champions League earlier this year playing for “the biggest club” in Central and North America.
“Also young, also inexperienced, and the only way he gets that experience is playing those games,” said Klinsmann prior to the U.S.’s second group game, a 1-0 win over Haiti that Alvarado did not play in. “There’s huge potential, there’s absolutely no doubt about it. It’s a player that can play. We sometimes discuss that he can even play as a No. 6 down the road because he’s technically so gifted and so calm on the ball.”
Most on the outside might disagree with Klinsmann’s current assessment of Alvarado, but there is a belief from some that the U.S. coach is trying to groom Alvarado to be the kind of centerback that Klinsmann wants.
Klinsmann talked after the 2014 World Cup about wanting to play a higher defensive line and not getting pinned so far deep against more talented opponents, and Alvarado seems to have the qualities to play that way even if his defending needs more polishing.
“Here we’ve got to push up a lot, and that’s what Jurgen asks for,” said Alvarado. “You get used to it.”
Alvarado might yet again be thrown into the deep end on Wednesday night, as the U.S. takes on Jamaica in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome with a ticket to the Gold Cup final on the line.
Receiving another start would surely serve as the latest massive vote of confidence for Alvarado, who is currently just as focused as learning from his errors as is he is to cut them out of his game completely.
“Every single player is going to make mistakes,” said Alvarado. “The most-experienced guys, the less-experienced guys, we’re all going to make mistakes. The main thing is we’ve got to keep our confidence and keep working at it.”
For right now, this moment in time- I do not rate Alvarado as highly as Klinnsman. Or many of you for that matter. I don’t see overwhelming technical ability and certainly not enough to justify the mistakes in positioning and marking. I do not watch his league games though.
As a CB those are the most vital things and while we want CBs who can do both (which IS why I DO rate Brooks at this moment eventhough he is far from perfect at both, he has shown ability to be a smart defender and play with with his feet.)
If Alvarado were playing in a 3 man back line I would value his assets more(in fact I think an Alvarado, Gonzo, Brooks back three makes sense), but as a true CB in the four man defense the USMNT is trying to play (one where the outside backs are asked to cover the entire 110 yards) I would value marking, positional awareness and ability in the air more.
Having said ALL that, the team is unbeaten in the tournament and on a hell of a run this summer- so whatever my thoughts, they are unimportant compared to the current coach who is far from perfect but doing a nice job
I cant edit, but obviously my graph two is an incomplete thought. Hopefully the rest of the post closed the gap on my thoughts on the subject
Brooks & Gonzo as backups for each other. Start one over the other based on opponent. Matt & Tim as back up for each other for the other CB position. Bring on Alvarado slowly … too young and making too many mistakes at the moment. Would be great for Olympic team.
A cynic might say that if learning from your mistakes is a plus, Alvarado will soon be the smartest CB in USMNT history.
For those of you who don’t remember or are too young to have remembered, Eddie Pope was the best CB we have seen in a USA jersey.
Alvarado and Brooks are the potential pairing for 2018, but as Keith mentioned above Carter-Vickers is probably the most talented. At 17 now, he will still be pretty young for 2018 but I could see him pairing with Brooks if he has gained experienced in the BPL by that point.
Pope was an athletic monster; I don’t remember him being particularly good on the ball or in distribution.
Different era, admittedly. But he was rough around the edges, from what I remember. A force, though.
Also…CCV. Definitely maybe.
Still think Brooks has him in terms of talent, though. Taller, a little faster, definitely has more hops. CCV is durn smooth in distribution, though, and his positioning and awareness are amazing for a kid who’s only 17.
I would not be surprised to see CCV and Matt Miazga getting significant minutes together in the next (2022) WC cycle.
CCV and Miazga are promising but everyone here is being way premature regarding their futures.
Besides Miazga is eligible for Poland, speaks Polish and , as Andy in Atlanta would have you believe, that means JK will not call him up, seeing as how JK hates Polish players like Eric Lichaj.
The best centerback in the current USNT system is Cameron Cater-Vickers. He would be an interesting pairing with Brooks.
My vote is for Gonzalice and Alvarada
I think when you talk about the talent Brooks and Alverado have and their skill sets or being tagged as being the best center backs. it’s only fair to say, they have the POTENTIAL to be great center backs. In this competition, it’s been Omar Gonzales who is shown to be the best. Most people who read this board do not get to see Brooks or Alvarado playing for their club teams, but I have. While Alvarado plays well, he is not required to push up like JK wants him too. Frequently the centerbacks (whom ever they) for the USMNT are required to cover more ground as often the fullbacks are sent into the attack and quick counter unfairly make the centerbacks failed in thier cover, not so. At Club America, he receives more help on the backline than he receives for the USMNT.
Brooks, when watching him play in the Bundesliga streams, does not look comfortable, often caught out of position, has poor tactical positioning or ball watchies. only being saved by his speed and athleticism, Brooks is big though, andl ike the motto in the NBA; ” You cant’ teach height” will do him good should he learn more tactical acumen and focus.
One of the biggest mistakes JK make and is slowly learning from, is his decisions to allow players who are not fit, who do not start for thier club teams, or have little international experience, play in high profiles games. Let Jozy Altidore rehab back at his club team, let Alverado make mistakes for Club America and don’t use the World Cup or Gold Cup for experiments unless you are forced too. If you need to blood players with international experience, do it in friendlies, Above all, allow he players to gel and play together aas a unit more than one game at a time, Yes, I realize that there neeeds to be rotation and rest, but a cohesive backlines happen when the players have played together often.
“One of the biggest mistakes JK make and is slowly learning from, is his decisions to allow players who are not fit, who do not start for thier club teams, or have little international experience, play in high profiles games. Let Jozy Altidore rehab back at his club team, let Alverado make mistakes for Club America and don’t use the World Cup or Gold Cup for experiments unless you are forced too. If you need to blood players with international experience, do it in friendlies,”
That is not a mistake. It is on purpose
Competitively speaking, only the World Cup matters and , since the days of Arena and BB everything is geared to that end.
The US is good enough that the US can win the Gold Cup and experiment with new/young players at the same time. With the Post Group Stage reinforcement rule the US could afford to use Honduras and Haiti to see how Jozy would respond to treatment.
He did not respond and was replaced after the Group stage. The US is still undefeated and advances w/o incident with out too much help from Jozy. No harm, no foul. If this had been the World Cup Jozy stays home.
Even if they get knocked out there is still the playoff so they won’t lose the real prize which is the Confed Cup qualification.
So, more to the point, JK has to blood the new/young players in this tournament. After this there is only Copa America ( maybe) , and then the Confederations Cup to truly test the team.
Friendlies can rule OUT players but they won’t necessarily rule them IN either. And even that is open to debate.
The sooner JK finds out how his “favorites” do under real pressure, the sooner he can plan to work them in further or cast them aside however it works out.
“Above all, allow he players to gel and play together aas a unit more than one game at a time, Yes, I realize that there neeeds to be rotation and rest, but a cohesive backlines happen when the players have played together often.”
You won’t get that cohesion if you drop them every time they have a bad game or two like you want to do with Alvarado.
After reading a lot of these posts, I suspect some folks don’t understand how national teams work. On the men’s side at least, the national team doesn’t practice together all that much. It is all most national teams can do in the time available to learn to work together. And in fact many national teams, see England for example, don’t really accomplish this. The working assumption, it seems to me, has to be that just about everyone is a full-fledged professional and the chore is to put them all together in a winning team.
Conversely, a national team is not a developmental squad. If a player has serious individual weaknesses, the place to fix them is at the club level not in national team practices and games.
Alvarado and Brooks and perhaps Green and Garza and perhaps others seem to have lots of potential, but based on their showings with the national team, they are not ready for prime time. And, here I am really quoting Jurgen, their task is to find the best club situation so that they can continue to develop and perhaps some day win a spot on the national team.
If Alvarado wants to learn from mistakes, he certainly has a lot of material to work with.
As usual, I find the Great Jurgen a little confusing. On the one hand, he has assured us that winning the Gold Cup is goal number one. On the other hand, he is also saying that it is an opportunity to give raw, but talented players some experience. Perhaps the two thoughts are compatible, but I sort of doubt it.
Similarly Jurgen has used a great deal of newsprint over the past five years lecturing us all about how playing for the right club was essential for US players seeking to improve. Jurgen’s notion about the “right club” can be a bit idiosyncratic but it’s hard to dispute his basic position. At the same time, however, he seems intent on using USMNT games as development exercises for certain players. I would have thought that, in the limited time, the USMNT plays and practices together, they have more than enough to do in the way of team development without trying to improve individual skills and techniques. I thought that such individual development was supposed to happen at your club and thus the need for the “right” club.
Max, consider this exercise:
Have every fan give you their starting 11, now, 6 months ago, and 6 months from now etc., and I’d be willing to bet the only consensus starters would be Bradley and Fabian.
And I’d be willing to bet MB would be in 3 or 4 different spots, and FabJo would be in 4 different spots.
Maybe that’s why we find him a little confusing.
For all I know, Alvarado will be the best thing since canned bear, but right now he looks very raw. He makes fundamental errors. Listening to Jurgen, you would have thought that the place to fix those weaknesses is at Club America or whatever the “right” club is for him, not playing or practicing with the national team.
For all I know, he’ll be the best thing since bottled beer, or Freddy Adu… Neither you or me, or anyone else here sees inside practices to know what JK sees.
JK has shown that if he sees something he likes, he’s not afraid to do it.
“Hey Yedlin, have you ever played midfield in a World Cup game”?
“No sir, I’ve never played in any World Cup game”
“Did we practice with you at midfield preparing for Brazil”?
“No sir”
“OKAY, get in there at right mid right now and do something special”
Point being, as Gary Page mentioned above, he often makes “curious” lineup choices (often leading to SBI exploding)
Hence why I asked the hypothetical question above.
Wait a sec: canned bear or canned beer?
canned bear is pretty nasty…except when you are hungry and camping. Everything tastes better camping.
“Perhaps the two thoughts are compatible, but I sort of doubt it.”
It is not a question of compatibility. It is a matter of necessity.
JK has to build a new team for 2018 and he has only so many chances, this Gold Cup, Copa America and the Confederations Cup to really blood these guys.
And even if they lose this Gold Cup there is still the playoff.
If you notice there are plenty of veterans but there is also a lot of “new blood” being given lots of PT, i.e Guzan, Chandler, Alvardo, Brooks, Yedlin, AJ Zardes. They are young and should be hitting their peak years right around 2018.
Shea and Morris would be here if not for injury and Mix needs to raise his game.if he doesn’t want to be discarded. I’m not certain but the 10 guys I’ve just named are 25 or younger. If they all continue to progress positively, that should put the US in a pretty good position leading up to 2018.
I’m baaaaack! The mosquitoes in Nicaragua did not treat me well, but otherwise I had a blast.
So what I miss? Let me get everything out of my system really quick. Alvarado over Gonzalez!? Alan Gordon!? Juuuuuurrgeeeeeennnn!!!!!!
Gerrard and Lampard on the All-Star team?! Haha.
On the other-hand, Gerrard and Dos Santos to go along with Keane, Zardes, Gonzalez, Lletget, Juninho, Villareal and Jamieson!?? Woo hoo!!
I was listening to the commentator on Sunday give off the list and it’s pretty insane. I long for the day when Every MLS team has players of this caliber on their squads.
RisingTide/RisingShips
De La Hoya is a cheapskate
Add Brennan to that as well.
*Brener
Stupid auto-correct
“RisingTide/RisingShips”
That doesn’t work in sports.
Try “the rich get richer”.
I love that this article doesn’t even mention Omar Gonzalez – aka the best center back we’ve got, aka the defender who scored for us in the last game. Omar’s got my vote to start against Mexico in the final (yes, I’m calling it). But since Omar’s the obvious choice, that just makes it more likely that Klinsmann goes with someone else, right?
Alvarado is ahead of Gonzalez in athleticism and technical ability…by quite a bit, actually. Alvarado has some really good speed, can flip his hips and turn on a dime, and he’s just effortlessly technical, zips ball around and is really natural on the ball. Do I see why Klinsmann likes him so much? Yup. Absolutely. I think Klinsmann regards Alvarado and Brooks as his long-term pairing…so would I. Quite a duo, once they grow in experience.
That said, Gonzalez also has a lot more experience, and he’s been through the wars with the USMNT. He’s also distinctly better in the air. I very much doubt Klinsmann just gives up on him either.
Brooks blows…What team have you been watching?
Yes but he blows in German so he’s in.
Just my opinion, but Brooks is by a mile the most-talented CB America has ever had…we flat-out stole one from Germany, there. I think he’s going to be signed by a Champions League team sooner rather than later if he continues to progress.
Saying “Brooks blows” because he still makes some youthful gaffes is…ignoring his physical skills (which are elite) and his technical ability (which is also elite.)
CB’s under the age of 25 make mistakes, and you live with them…especially if the CB is as talented as Brooks is.
Nice goal in WC and good size, but I don’t see the elite technical ability. Alvarado has shown me more of that.
Huh? Have you actually been watching Brooks play? He has fantastic passing ability.
^^^Truth^^^
Brooks is the real deal. Every young CB makes mistakes. Sergio Ramos isn’t quite as young and still makes mistakes but he is getting better year after year which is why those with vision can see his potential and splash 30 mil for him. Brooks will be leaving Hertha next summer for at least 8-12 mil. Write this down.
You made my morning. Thanks for the welcomed laugh.
I agree with everyone who’s of the opinion that Brooks is the best CB in our pool. Omar is a good CB but he’s likely not to learn how become a CB that can be smooth on the ball until he’s moved to a league that highly values those skills. Brooks’ growth on the other hand is evident from year to year and I don’t see why that will stop anytime soon. I too feel like he could be bought by a team like Dortmund or Leverkusen in the future.
Alvarado is in a good position to grow as well and I look forward to seeing him in the Club World Cup. Oribe Peralta is one of the best players in North and Central America and Club America, depending on who’s in their group, could go far. It’s always fun to see a Mexican team play a J-League or K-League team.
I highly value those skills…Arena will be hearing about this!
There’s no denying Gonzalez continues to improve and remains in the mix, but to label him as our best defender (and then reference him scoring to back up the claim) is a massive stretch.
He’s far too prone to mistakes still.
i hear this often about Gonzalez (too prone to mistakes) but whenever I see him play for the USMNT I don’t see these mistakes. No he’s not the sexiest or most mobile choice at CB but I think I would rather take his good positional awareness and dominance in the air over Alvarado, who’s mistakes are well documented over the last few games and have even directly led to goals for the opposition.
I don’t see the mistakes either…No doubt who should be #1…#2 is a different story. Ventura has the skills but need experience.
I’m not at home right now to give you the specific time in the match, but even as recent as last match vs Cuba, Gonzalez completely lost the ball in the box a boneheaded play.
Had that been any competent national team with decent strikers, that would have been an almost certain goal scoring opportunity/goal score against us.
Literally…every single match he has one, two or three of these.
Still the best defender by far…Are you watching a different team?
This is what I’m asking you and the rest who consider him the “best defender by far”.
If that is the bar, routine gaffes and blunders we’re hurting worse than I thought.
Haw?
Greg Nice,
I have no idea what “Haw?” is, or intended to be but given it’s simplistic stupidity I’ll just avoid your posts in the future.
All our defenders are average. All of them showcase brain farts during a game. Some result in goals, others are more fortunate. If you cannot see the mistakes, than you probably thought Gooch was decent on the ball too.
He had a couple of bad patches 18 months or so ago–a CCL game against Monterrey and some Galaxy games. However, this year and last year’s World Cup, none of that was evident. He has been very solid in the last 12 months. He was truly outstanding in the game against Germany in the WC. I think he’s past that lapse of concentration phase.
Omar made a few mistakes in friendlies but when it really matters he is lights out. In the 9 hex games he played the teams GAA was 0.67. He has also been money for the Galaxy. He was also excellent in the 2 WC games he started against some very good opposition.
This is for you “SlowLeft…”
this article is about Alvarado, that’s why. no note about Brooks, Ream, Besler, or Orozco either. complaining just to complain?
Yes.
Everyone complained when Boca lost his job, Omar and Besler have both had some bright spots and everyone pretty much forgot about Boca other than to say Thank you for your awesome service as Captain.
When Omar looked shaky, made some mistakes, and then got hurt before Brazil, everyone gave up on him. Then we he was inserted into the lineup everyone freaked, until he played very well.
Omar is in this squad for a reason, and it’s up to him to perform, but based on the last few years, JK hasn’t given up.
If Brooks is the future, which he’s showing as a real possibility, chances are JK wants him paired with an athletic and faster partner who can also pass the ball well out of the back. But JK knows without Brooks, Omar’s presence in the air is too valuable.
I don’t see a Brooks/Omar pairing happening, but Omar is still an important part of this squad. If Besler wants to be, he’s gonna have to raise his game and be persistent about it. Kinda like Ream never gave up and looks like he belongs now.
Don’t forget, a few years ago when they did that best 11 of all time, Lalas had Ream in his starting 11…. next to himself of course…
Who freaked?
I don’t have the specific names off the top of my head, but I do remember this: When Omar was inserted into the starting lineup a lot of people here threw a hissy fit.
That’s who
True! I thought the site (and a few others) might crash
Count me in the intrigued group who would like to see OG and Brooks side by side…I’ve already dubbed them the “tower of power”. They would be dominant in the air…likely to get a card or two but there pairing would make teams play very narrowly through the middle because they wouldn’t get a cross in against this two. Obviously the narrow play works to our advantage on the break with Zardes/Yedlin breaking at speed with MB90 chipping them in over the top.
Alas, it won’t happen but I can dream.
Are you kidding? Everyone on this board freaks out about everything. That’s why we are on here!
The eurosnobs that only watch MLS teams during summer friendlies…That’s who.
Fact is, we have quite a few pretty good CB’s now. Omar is the best in the air and can be an offensive threat. But his passing out of the back, while improved, is not stellar. Alvarado is likely speedier and has better ball skills, things that JK really likes. So, it probably will depend on the situation. A team that relies on crosses a lot, and Omar may be the starter. As I have said before, JK has made what seemed to be questionable personnel choices in the past which turned out to be very astute. He sees these guys in practice all the time; we don’t. I say give him the benefit of the doubt on his evaluations.
Too bad he can’t pass…
Mr. Dory,
Assuming they are healthy and not in card jail, Brooks and Alvarado will start the final if the US gets there.
In Alvardo’s case, he started badly but has been getting better and if the US gets to the final and it is Mexico, well,Mexico won’t have any surprises for Alvarado.
JK talked a lot about veteran presence and he has that here but that doesn’t mean the veterans will play. Alvarado and Brooks are the pair JK would like to see settled by 2018.
This tournament is their chance to justify their spot at the top of the pecking order.
And if they screw it up there is always the playoff game.
.
My father’s name is “Mr. Dory.” You can call me Hunky, G-Dub.
Hunky,
Next time then.
I think this sentiment is synonymous with all center back candidates.
For me, Brooks appears the most capable of pulling away from the pack, but every single pairing has been shaky and must continue improving and find consistency.
Not worried about the mistakes. I remember Gonzo and Besler in the same position just a short while ago…that turned out pretty good and this will likely turn out well too. If players aren’t given a chance to fail that means they also are not given a chance to shine.
Shine on boys.
If it turned out that good, they’d still be the first choice pairing!
Klinsy is a fraud
So who won the Hex? Snow game? In Mexico?
When did they actually lose when they shouldn’t even won? Compare their W/L record?
They weren’t perfect but they were pretty good for two dudes who got thrown into the fire. Furthermore one of them is still starting for the national team when the other new kids aren’t playing.
Despite Klinsy
Kinsmann is clearly forming his partnership with an eye toward the future. Brooks has the talent and athleticism to be the best player in the region, but he is still making the mental errors typical of a young center back. Alvarado also is good with the ball at his feet but his defending is still very inconsistent. Again, the potential for a great cb partnership is there, but these two guys are still years away from their prime.
For me, Ream and Gonzo are the best partnership today, but Brooks and Alvarado could really be special in a few years. Fans should be patient with them. I don’t think they should be guaranteed starters, but it’s clear to me why they are getting every chance possible.
+1
I haven’t watched every minute of every game this Gold Cup, but from what I’ve seen Brooks has been a monster on crosses and set pieces. Very promising set of games for him.
sockpee,
On SBI if you miss one tackle or mistime one header, regardless of how important the mistake might be it is enough for posters to raise the alarm to have you thrown off the team.
You can’t over look the fact that we actually are beginning to have a “pool” of center backs. 5 years ago Gooch was still considered the gold standard for American CB’s. That goes to show you how far we have come in development and I must say I give a ton of credit to JK for not being afraid to push the envelope. The same can be said for our forwards/strikers. If you have not noticed we have been scoring goals and they have been coming from a bunch of different players. Young players to boot (exclude Deuce). No longer do we have to turn to the likes of Wondo or Gomez. Future truly looks bright. It will only come to fruition though if the players like Alvarado, Brooks, and others take it to the next level. i.e. truly world class.
Absolutely! This is a 8-10 year project. I hope JK stays on as technical director after 2018 (assuming he doesn’t go for another WC)
So Klinsi just gave Alvarado his vote of confidence? It was nice knowing you Ventura!
That JK vote of confidence is akin to a kiss from the godfather.
+1