photo by Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
CHESTER, Pa. — After years of patiently waiting, Brad Guzan finally got his opportunity to shine this summer with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Now, Jurgen Klinsmann will have to decide whether Guzan keeps his job as the No. 1 goalkeeper.
The U.S. saw its CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign finish with an emphatic thud on Saturday, as it lost to Panama on penalty kicks to finish outside of the top three in the tournament for the first time since 2000. The Americans acknowledged after the third-place game that their performance in the regional competition was disappointing, and that improvements needed to be made across the board ahead of this fall’s important matches.
Consequential games are indeed on the horizon. The U.S. has a 2017 Confederations Cup playoff game on Oct. 9, and begins World Cup qualifying a month later. The meaty part of the four-year cycle is starting earlier this time around, and the pressure to perform will ramp up, especially after this dismal Gold Cup showing.
Klinsmann will have to go with his best players in those upcoming games, and one position where he will have to find a resolution is goalkeeper. Guzan has been the starter for the better part of the calendar year, but previous incumbent Tim Howard recently made proclamations about being ready to return to the U.S. fold.
How Klinsmann handles the situation will be one of the major storylines regarding his team in the build-up to those games, and is something he plans to talk to both goalkeepers about soon.
“I will have a phone call with Tim, probably next week, and then also with Brad to see how we want to move forward,” said Klinsmann before being noncommittal on whether Howard would make his way back into the picture. “I will have a talk with him first.”
Assuming Howard returns after taking a one-year break from the international game, Klinsmann could have a goalkeeping dilemma on his hands.
Does the U.S. boss go with Howard, the 36-year-old veteran who is entering the final years of his career and a gamble to make it to the next World Cup? Or does he continue to ride the 30-year-old Guzan, the former apprentice who is now entering his prime but still capable of making mistakes as he showed in this Gold Cup?
There’s no easy answer. Not right now anyway.
“We’re friends, of course, but we’re competitive. We both want to play,” said Guzan. “That’s not a secret. It’s plain and simple. You don’t become a professional by wanting to be a No. 2 or No. 3, whatever it may be. Going forward, it’s not an issue. You compete, you make each other better, you want to play, and, ultimately, help the team.”
While Howard’s pedigree is known – especially after his sterling showing vs. Belgium at last summer’s World Cup – Guzan is still a bit of a relative unknown. Guzan has less than half of Howard’s 104 caps, and only recently began to see the field for the U.S. on a more consistent basis.
Guzan had the chance to state his case this month during the Gold Cup, the first major international tournament he’s backstopped in his career. Results were mixed, however, as he shone at times by making key stops but also had a couple of game-defining blunders in the semifinals loss to Jamaica earlier this week.
Bad games like that happen to even the best goalkeepers in the world, and Guzan’s overall play in the tournament was solid. He posted two shutouts in six matches, and also helped the U.S. knock of the likes of Germany and the Netherlands in friendlies prior to the Gold Cup.
Whether all that was enough to unseat Howard permanently remains to be seen, but Guzan is certainly hoping that is the case.
“For me, it’s an honor every time you’re with your national team,” said Guzan. “It’s about going in and wanting to play and be a part of these big games. I’m hopefully coming into the best years of my life in terms of goalkeeping. I feel ready. I feel confident. I’m excited about the future and when it comes to talking to Jurgen, it’s no problem.”
The decision that Klinsmann is mostly likely to make is to have Guzan and Howard compete for the starting goalkeeper spot. There are two friendlies in September against South American opposition in which the two veterans could prove their worth, but how they perform at the club level could also be a major factor given the lack of time there is for them to compete heads-up.
In any case, Klinsmann has plenty to think about in the coming weeks.
“It’s always been a battle,” said Guzan. “If you’re a goalkeeper, obviously only one of you can play. Going forward, I’m sure Jurgen will make that decision.”
Diego, this kid knows how to deal with the chips being down, trust me on that one.
In ways that I do not want to go into he did an unbelievable job of holding this team together and will continue to do so going forward. As a player he is far from flawless and is far from the most talented athlete on the squad.
The US must surround him with more guys that have a soccer IQ
I don’t think too many knowledgeable, rational fans doubt Bradley’s importance to this team. As I alluded to in my previous- we had a pretty disjointed roster around him and…. as he is prone, he tried to do too much. MB ain’t dribbling end to end through a speedy midfield and Jamaica above all else was making sure they were not going to be beaten over the top.
Well that’s good. I love him as a player and I also think he can deal. But I can’t get comfortable simply absolving the guy of responsibility to the team’s performance simply because he is a very good player and they are not.
What I’m saying is effectively simple — It is time for Michael Bradley to start winning things in his career. He has some very impressive career milestones (youngest MLS player ever sold to Europe, 16 single-seasion league goals for Heerenveen from MF, an acclaimed season at Chievo that saw him move to Roma, a big money transfer back to MLS, and now the US captaincy).
Quite a resume. And yet his trophy cabinet would appear a very lonely place. Only meaningful thing I see in there is a Gold Cup Winner’s Medal from 2007 (which was won in his absence,with MB having been sent off in the semifinals). Not even a Champions League appearance or a Honda Trophy for this player, who most of us see as being the best US player over the past few years.
Bad timing..? Sure that’s probably part of it. But the fact remains…. Michael Bradley should be lifting the Gold Cup today, but instead he is home with the knowledge that his last kick of the ball was a missed penalty in the 3rd Place Game.
Understand– I love the guy– probably nobody in the US pool I have enjoyed watching more. But if this is his “final gear”, I’d say it’s disappointing. Fortunately, I think he has more in him.
All Sepp is saying it that the USMNT needs at least a couple of more players that are better than what they have now.
And as I see it about the only way that will happen is if you stick with these young guys that none of you want to be patient with, guys such as Ventura Highway, JA Brooks, Yedlin, Zardes, Garza, Yarborough, Morales, Mix, Morris, Rubin, Green, Zelalem, Hyndman etc. etc, .
Since they can’t but players, the US needs them and whoever else comes around to grow and develop over the next few years.
Otherwise forget it.
“All Sepp is saying it that the USMNT needs at least a couple of more players that are better than what they have now.”
That’s true. But hey, that’s all any team needs.
Michael Bradley is a fantastic player with an empty trophy case. Nada, Now is the time for him to decide what he wants his final CV to look like. Because right now it is a hatful of runners-up medals and forgettable individual awards. Nothing that is worthy of talent.
He can do this. Great players do. But you have to make your teammates better rather than “wait for reinforcements”. One strong-minded player CAN make the difference in the culture of a team. Maradona played for a couple of very modest Italian sides in Napoli and Sampdoria, but they became champions. Gerrard won the 2005 Champions League / FA Cup double almost on his own.
I don’t want to see MB become Dan Marino. I want to see him achieve a bunch of lame, easily breakable individual milestones. I want to see him win trophies. Be the best.
“He can do this. Great players do. But you have to make your teammates better rather than “wait for reinforcements”
Guess what by your definition Mikey is not a great player.
If he was he would have made everyone better vs Jamaica and Panama when it was needed big time.
He would have done that if he was capable. but he didn’t. He’s 26 one of the most experienced players on the team and in the pool and the Captain. If he can make player better these last two games would have been the time to do so.
Dan Marino is an all time great, one of the best ever the play his position. Much as I like Mikey he does not deserve being in any conversation with Marino.
at least in professional athletic terms.
However, Mikey is probably a better husband.
Let’s understand what MB is and what he does well as a soccer player. He is a possession mifielder that relies on players having defined roles and being surrounded by other guys with a high soccer IQ.
He is not incredibly athletic and covering as much ground as he does (one of the leaders in the last WC) takes a toll on his body.
What MB needed in this tournament was an occasional rest (both in training and in the Cuba game) and players that he could connect with. He never connected well with Beckerman, not in this cup or the WC. Nor is he on the same page with some of the young wide players (Zardes and Yedlin) who lack the soccer IQ.
As captain he is also very patient with guys like Chandler who are allowed to do whatever the hell they want to do out on the field.
Playing on this team had to have taken a toll on him mentally.
I have known him since he was five and coached him on a National team. The kid is the consummate pro.
Was he flawless in this tournament? Does he care more than most on that team and would we be better off with 3 more MB’s? I think the answer is yes
To say he was horrible or that it wasn’t a captain’s performance is just a reflection of the poor culture that exists on this team.
If the captain is unable to wield influence over the culture of the team, must one not wonder if he is the right choice for captain, no?
Nobody doubts that MB is the consummate pro. He is also quite likely our most important player, as well as our most intelligent. But I think he has another level left to reach psychologically in order to really lead this team. We can all blame his sub-par support or the coach, but bad decision making is bad decision making, and he was guilty more times than I could count. Understandable frustration? Almost certainly…. But how you conduct yourself when the chips are down is as important for a leader as how you perform in the best times.
For me, he was not horrible, but he wasn’t good enough at this turn. I believe he can get there, as he has done when confronted with tough situations before. We’re depending on him.
I’m a MB fan… but…. he had a pretty bad tourney. Jamaica game, thought he lost his composure completely after that first goal. He’s a warrior- have to respect the motivation but he needs to rein it in…. been kiind of his M.O., is prone to running wild, wasting energy, being caught out of position. Coming out of the half, they had a nice run of play, with heaps of chances, culminating in MBs goal. He then lost the plot/what was working quite well, with plenty of time left. He was trying to do too much, all on his own…. dribbling way to much/into trouble and began booting the ball over the top from very deep almost every chance he had. I’ve said it before- I think the formation was all wrong for who was on the field. CD needed to be up top with AJ, MB in his more advanced role. The lack of an athletic DM/other options forced JKs hand to provide additional cover for Beckerman and the domino effect threw the whole team out of whack.
It was evident from the game against jamaica that jamaica had fast players that most of our players connot compete with at least athletically. Our passing was terrible too many unforced errors. I agree it’s time too say bye too the old players and give a chance to the youg players who are still hungry. I am not a fan of coach k. But watching the game against Panama we looked like we never played a high level game, that’s not the coach’s fault. Our players simply did not measure up.
I can’t believe one of the commenters said Bedoya had a bad Gold Cup. He was one of the bright spots. Bradley was horrible, he is supposed to run offense, I don.t know what his pass completion record was but it didn’t look good. Plus he kept giving away the ball in middle and allow counter attacks.
Agree on both counts. Bedoya is actually a very consistent performer (at least by the standards of this group). He delivered what was expected of him and was efficient.
As for MB, it’s true that he was very sloppy with the ball, and it was costly. He didn’t seem to realize that every cheap turnover against Jamaica was bleeding 1-2 minutes off the clock. His touch was off throughout and he was unable to inspire the team, outside of a few fleeting passages. Not exactly the “captain’s performance” that we had all hoped to see, though you can’t fault his engagement. I expect he will improve — we still depend very heavily on him and his form is becoming more-and-more indicative of how the entire team performs.
Mikey had very little support in midfield from either Mix, Beckerman or even Corona who all worked hard but did not seem to be linking up very well with Mikey.
There was a distinct lack of a midfield destroyer, someone to break up plays and redirect the ball to Mikey.
All of which means Jones, Williams, Cameron and Ream, who showed well vs. Panama may now get looks in that role.
This is true. Jamaica, in particular, did a great job of consistently drawing Beckerman out wide to defend, where he is much less effective/comfortable. Even when we finally did win the ball, our shape in MF was so spread out and disjointed that we couldn’t break with any quality.
Right now, I don’t see any way that a fit and healthy Jones doesn’t start on Oct 9. Just a question of where.
Good post GW
There is just no chemistry on this team.
MB is not the Plantini but he is the one guy that, when surrounded by the right players can get us going.
So for the next game and qualifying do that. There has to be some kind of shakeup
Keep MB close to Dempsey, give Jozy another shot if he is healthy, move Johnson up to midfield. Find central defenders that care about wearing the US crest and give Sacha K or Benny F AT LEAST a look. I would try JJ (if healthy out wide left and let him run up and down doing his thing which is breaking up plays, adding energy to the attack, etc. Keep him out of the build up of plays.
Also, for god’s sake, Arena was saying this 15 years ago
when you play a team like Jamaica keep it moving fast to frustrate them and make them chase you.
We didn’t do that against Jamaica. Despite having more possession we didn’t make them chase us
Everyone on SBI has been violently of the view that Mikey is the best USMNT captain because of his “leadership” qualities. Mikey is a fine captain but I think people confuse that with the ability to take over a game when everything has hit the fan..
I was very curious to see the Panama and the Jamaica games for this reason, games where the US was clearly in trouble and needed people to put the team on their back and lead them to victory
Mikey didn’t do that.
I love Mikey but he is a bit of a wussy and he doesn’t seem to intimidate anyone on either side.
Jamaica was not afraid of him or the USMNT.
It’s a little different when JJ is on the field and attitudes on both sides need to be adjusted. JK understands this and it is why he keeps looking for ways to keep him around.
Because so far the only guy in the present USMNT player pool who can maybe take this team by the scruff of the neck and drag them to victory is a fit and in form JJ.
If you are a USMNT fan you better hope Jermaine is fit and in form for that October playoff game.
I’m surprised no one has gotten into what seems the key point here. As bad as we played as a team, if Guzan was on his game we probably still walk out with a win over Jamaica.
First goal, he hesitated and changed his mind during the throw in. Even before the throw in, there was dead ball time to ensure his two center backs were positioned correctly. This was a throw to a short attacker between two taller center backs, and the only head on the ball was the attacker’s? During the throw, Guzan stepped forward and then retreated, and in the end didn’t have time to react to the slow, looping, flukishly well-placed header. But if he was on his line, I think he would have gotten there with no problem. It might have been a Jamaican corner, but not a goal.
Second goal was a dangerous free kick caused directly by the handball. Jamaica took it well – all credit to them. But take away that handball and you take away to free kick.
What happened earlier that day? Howard publicly said he was coming back into the pool, placing additional pressure on Guzan. In my mind, the player most responsible for this loss was Tim Howard.
Paul,
If you are right Guzan deserves to lose his spot.
If you are right I would drop Guzan from the goalie rotation and focus on Yarborough vs Howard for the future.
yes im gonna have to go ahead and agree here. as much as i like Tim, the timing of his announcement was poor and arrogant. placing himself as more important than the team & their prep for the game. he couldve waited and nothing would have changed. doesnt mean us wins the game, but no distractions. focus & unity are hallmarks of championship teams.
“… the player most responsible for this loss was Tim Howard.”
You can’t be serious….. right??? If a EPL/International quality GK can’t withstand the pressure of competition for his starting position….. he ain’t either of the above. Guzman has had a rough patch, but I think he’s up to competing for his spot.
Meant to say the came up against a Jamaica team that had things moving at a higher rate
You guys are hilarious..
The USMNT put together an experienced.. battle tested team that simply had things moving at a higher rate..
Jamaica was a tough defensive squad with talent in the attack.. Panamas a game team also..
The fact remains that the region is tough to negotiate.. The USMNTs past accomplishments should not be overlooked..
Wouldn’t be surprised if this was the swan song for a few guys other than Beasley..
We can talk up the Jamaica squad all we want but we have better players at pretty much every position than they do. Anything can happen in a one off game but the performances throughout this tournament were poor. No doubt, some players will be held accountable for it, and deservedly so. But the manager is responsible too and it’s not outrageous to think about him losing his job. He won’t but it’s not unreasonable to consider.
Actually I can agree with this. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people asking the tough questions of JK right now. Like any major sports coach, he should have to answer for the failures of the team, and this certainly qualifies.
He won’t be fired (we can all agree to disagree about whether he *should* be). But he has probably seen his margin for error cut back considerably — he now has his work cut out for him and a huge load of pressure going into the Oct 9 play-in game. Will be interesting to see if he turns to familiar guys like Jones, Jozy, or perhaps even Howard. Really not much time to tinker, either.
Slowleftarm,
JK has said he is very happy that there is all this passion over the loss.
It shows that people care, that expectations are higher and that is the only way the team will get better.
What this really shows is that JK means what he says.
And that is, he is going to try and do two things at once, build the best 23 man team he can for 2018 and at the same time win every game and tournament along the way.
He has been talking about his approach all along, it’s just that no one seems to understand he really means it.
Now if the USSF disagrees with this approach they are certainly free to fire him. However, if they do they better have a better plan. Certainly everyone on SBI has one.
Everyone here keeps talking about how things were better under Bradley and Arena. If so they why did you all fire both?
I remember the criticism for the both of them being just as vicious during their time. I remember a BB team that had one way to attack, on the counter with Donovan and Deuce cleaning up the scraps. Oh and with “Lalas’s set pieces”.
In other words at their best BB’s team looked like Jamaica looked the other night. I think JK is aiming for better than that.
Regarding the Gold Cup performance:
1) Most underwhelming performance from the US Team in any tournament I’ve ever seen them play. Including the 90 & 98 World Cups.
2) The Veterans let the team down. Wondo, Beckerman, Bedoya, Zusi, & Jozy did not provide anything during this Tournament. Outside of Bedoya & Jozy, who were both apparently injured coming in, these players should be replaced within the player pool ASAP.
3) Lack of speed was clearly evident throughout the Tournament. We need speedy players who can move on and off the ball.
4) JK and his coaching staff need to take accountability for the poor performance and poor decision making.
As for the question of Goal Keepers. I would suggest that the coaches continue with Guzan for the remainder of 2015 and then open the competition up with Howard in 2016. With Timmy’s return to the fold it allows the coaches to drop Rimando (another player who’s not worth the roster spot) and bring in competition for the next generation (Yarbrough, Hamid, S. Johnson, Irwin, Clark, etc…).
Rolls Eyes
+1. This should be the last time we see Wondo, Zusi, Beckerman, and Beasley. Focus on the U-20s crop and working them into the fold, especially in the midfield. Yeldin is more effective on the back line, and Zardes should play at the forward spot.
And continue to look for dual citizens playing abroad.
Agree except the last part. Passport Americans haven’t helped and are a distraction from developing players here which should be our focus. Besides, the Germerican pool will be decreasing going forward because of the decrease in US servicemen in Germany beginning in the mid 1990s. We have 320 million people living here. Some of them must be great soccer players.
More accurately – some of the 320 million living must have the ability to become great soccer players.
If your logic was sound then China would be a consistent World Cup contender and Italy, Spain, England, the Netherlands, etc. all countries with dramatically fewer people and resources than the US would have weaker soccer teams than the US.
But then again your logic is not original and the USSF had already bought into your logic:
http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/2010/01/revisiting-project-2010.html
The discussion about the goal keeper is certainly valid. In no way does today’s loss say that Klinsmann needs to go. What bothers me is that there are people on the team who do not play as if they knew who was where on the field. It is imperative that the whole team knows to look around before a pass is made. The lack of looking around may have been due to fatigue. Klinsmann needs to trust that certain players will pretend that they are sharp when in fact they are not. The two times when Wondolowski was playing it was evident that the midfield pretended not to see him even when he waved. There should be repercussions when a [layer does not pass to the best positioned forward. Johannsson seemed to be very fatigued during the whole game. Players who are fit do not, time and again, cause fouls they didn’t intend to commit. It showed that he didn’t have his body under control..
The discussion should be about firing JK, nothing else. He again is diverting attention.
Friend…. I am afraid you’re wasting your energy…. JK ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. He’s been hired and then given the very strongest of endorsements , a long-term extension, technical director duties. He had a REALLY bad tournament, but if you think that is enough to get a man in Gulati’s position to admit that he made a huge error in judgment, you are fooling yourself. JK is here for the cycle barring a complete meltdown. Rather than hope for that, better to hope JK learns and makes some adjustments… pronto.
Although I understand it is nearly impossible that Gulatti would fire Klinsmann, we should not stop calling for his resignation. A lot of us are really pi$$ed at this enormous humiliation at home at the hand of teams that Bruce and Bob used to beat handily, teams that combined I think have one world cup appearance.
First, Bruce and Bob didn’t use to beat these teams handily. Our record against Jamaica has been really good, but I don’t remember more struggles than cakewalks in those wins.
Second, these aren’t the same CONCACAF teams that Bruce and Bob faced. The confederation is still on the weaker side globally, meaning its not yet comparable to Europe and South America, but its getting closer. Jamaica played three solid games in South America, and earlier iterations of their national team couldn’t have done the same.
Yeah, I don’t know where you got this idea that we used to beat these teams handily. I distinctly remember Panama taking Arena’s team to penalty kicks in a Gold Cup final. Beating Jamaica has never been an easy task.
Yeah also Panama had a score to settle while the game is basically meaningless for the US. We knocked Panama out of the World Cup in a game that was meaningless for us (but not for our players trying make the cut). We came from behind and heat them at home and they begged our players, literally to stop playing so hard, and we didn’t. If we perform similarly in the Copa America fail to qualify for the Confed Cup and look shaky in early qualifiers look for Klinsman to get back onto the hot seat.One data point is an anomaly. Three is a trend.
“Bruce and Bob used to beat handily,”
You haven;t been following the USMNT very long have you?
2001 0-0
2001 2-1
2002 5-0
2003 2-1
2004 1-1,1-1
2005 3-1
2006 1-1
2011 0-0
2012 1-2, 1-0
2013 2-1,2-0
This is the US record vs Jamaica under Arena, BB and JK. I saw most of those games and while we usually beat them, I wouldn’t describe the games as the US “beating them handily”.
MLS has certainly helped Jamaica’s player pool get more regular work as the performances of Barnes and Mattocks would indicate.
Not the same CONCACAF at ALL!
One dynamic that has changed significantly in the region is MLS. The advantage other small nations had in soccer culture/passion etc was negated by $/Organization/infrastructure- a place to express the passion. We’ve given access to a competitive league and development that has bridged the gap. So….. it’s a good thing…. accountability through competition- we have to up the ante in promoting the game/culture/development of our own.
dalomismo,
There is this notion that as MLS grows stronger so will the USMNT.
That is true but maybe only up to a point.
The positives are obvious.
On the negative side, will American kids develop fast enough to prevent MLS teams from signing more advanced, cheaper, foreign talent, a lot of it from CONCACAF competition?
MLS is not in business to develop talent for the USMNT. And many MLS cities have very significant immigrant populations from our CONCACAF that they would like to appeal to.
We are already seeing how the increase in salaries and ability to sign DPS means more foreign players so it will be interesting to see how many USMNT eligible players play significant roles on their MLS teams in the next 5-10 years.
And it will be interesting to see how much better other CONCACAF teams get due to MLS.
Please, fire Klinsmann. We are regressing.
I’m not sure that we are regressing, but we certainly aren’t progressing. One of the problems with firing Klinsmann is that there isn’t anyone waiting in the wings like he was with Bob Bradley. Who would we hire, Ben Olson or bring back Bruce Arena?
Also, this was always going to be a team in transition following the retirement/decline of the Donovan/Howard/Dempsey generation, so I’m not sure how much impact a new coach would really have on this.
If we are willing to spend the money we could get someone. I don’t have a name off the top of my head though.
David Moyes
+1