MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Alejandro Bedoya is comfortable where he is at, but that does not mean he is against finding a new place to call home this summer.
Bedoya was unsurprisingly named to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s final roster for the Copa America Centenario this past weekend, and is heading into the tournament looking to impress. The veteran midfielder wants to not only demonstrate how much his game has developed after another solid season at Nantes, but also raise his stock with the hopes that it could land him a deal at a bigger club.
“I’ve always been an ambitious person, so you always want to try to play at the highest level you can,” Bedoya said recently. “Obviously, France is one of the best leagues, but I think I’d like to try and see if I can make it to maybe a higher level. We’ll see what happens, but, if not, MLS is also in the back of my mind.
“There’s no secret about that, but in the meantime I’d like definitely to stick it out in Europe a couple more years.”
The 29-year-old Bedoya’s deal with Nantes currently runs through the 2018-19 season, but he has already been linked with a move elsewhere. SI.com reported earlier this week that Bedoya was drawing interest from clubs in the English Premier League and German Bundesliga, and that a move to MLS could also be in the cards in the winter if nothing transpires this summer.
Bedoya recently piqued the interest of one potential MLS owner. One of David Beckham’s partners for the potential expansion franchise in Miami, Marcelo Claure, reached out to the versatile player via Twitter this week to try and see if he and Bedoya could meet this week in Kansas City, Kansas, where the U.S. will play Bolivia in a friendly this Saturday. Bedoya was open to it.
@marceloclaure hey Marcelo! Hope all is well. Let’s try and meet up next weekend in KC to catch up. See you there.
— Alejandro Bedoya (@AleBedoya17) May 22, 2016
While Bedoya’s club situation keeps being discussed, he is currently focused on the Copa America Centenario. He is hoping to help the U.S. enjoy a good showing in the one-off tournament, but knows that the road to knockout rounds will not be easy given that Americans were paired with Colombia, Costa Rica, and Paraguay in a challenging Group A.
Bedoya’s solid form for club could translate over to country, however. He recently delivered in the U.S.’s first Copa America Centenario tune-up, recording a much-needed assist as the team captain in a 3-1 win over Puerto Rico. He played 63 minutes in that friendly.
Stiffer tests await, but Bedoya is eager to seize the moment.
“It’s always about being ambitious,” said Bedoya. “As a player, that’s always what’s driven me. I’ve always been motivated to try to perform my best at all times and be consistent. That’s something that’s very key for me. You can’t always play a great match all the time, but I think for me being consistent and performing on a game-by-game basis has always been important for me.
“You can always see that with me, my attitude and I’m always driven to do my best not just for myself but for the team and I’m always going to put out the effort. I think it shows in every game that I’m apart of.”
Bedoya might not always be the sexiest player on the field in terms of his contributions or style, but he has been a regular for the U.S. for several years now. His blue-collared, team-first mentality has been counted on plenty in friendlies and tournaments, including in the 2014 World Cup, and he has contributed to wins in more ways than the box score might indicate.
Where he best fits in the U.S. attack is still a question that has no definitive answer, but Bedoya’s versatility and form should see him earn a starting spot this summer. He played in 28 Ligue 1 games this season and scored three goals, and is entering the Copa America Centenario with another solid campaign under his belt.
“I think he had a tremendous year at Nantes,” U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said recently. “He’s become a real fan favorite in Nantes as well, and we are pleased with that process because he stands his ground, he prolonged his contract there, and he wants to prove a point, mainly to himself first of all, but also to everybody else that he’s a high-quality player.
“He’s maturing, he’s getting more consistent. He always have a tremendous attitude, positive character, and he gives you everything he has, but sometimes his kind of performance curve a bit up and down, up and down, so he’s become more consistent now. Hopefully he can prove that now in such a big tournament like the Copa America.”
Bedoya craves to do just that. He still gets criticized by some observers for indifferent performances with the U.S., and knows that turning in a strong overall showing this summer could go a long way towards helping the Americans enjoy a deep run in a tournament that people around the world will be watching.
Doing that would certainly silence some doubters. It could also earn him a new deal at a new club.
“For every player this is another window of opportunity to show themselves,” said Bedoya. “The season just ended for a lot of players. To get new contracts and new clubs and stuff, and this tournament is no better window to do that here. We’re playing against some of the best, and that’s what you want and hopefully you can perform well.”
I’d try him at left back, I know it’s out of position but I think he’d be just as good as the other options we have. Also we need Fabian in the attack more. Has a good work rate, solid defender, alright passing, but not much final product. So why not give it a shot, could make the spot his own as Beasley did.
That idea isn’t half bad. Although, I think Run DMB played LB in Liga Mx before the Nats but maybe my timelines off.
I didn’t even read the article. I’m just here to tell DLOA that Bedoya is not good man! His best position is right-bench.
By the way DLOA, looks like UCLA got some of that SC type big money now from Under Armor. Richest deal in collegiate sports as of right now. Maybe we can start paying for our football players now like USC has been doing for years. 😉
If your opinion is correct, then the USMNT has reached a milestone. I don’t think there has ever been a US player who is a consistent starter in a top 5 European league who has not been good enough to start for the USMNT. In the past, someone like Bedoya would be an automatic starter for the US. (For example, starter in France Carlos Bocanegra) If Bedoya no longer merits that, then the US has improved its player pool somewhat significantly. Or, you could be wrong.
Gary, there are many ifs and coulds and maybes. I could be wrong, the USMNT could have reached a milestone, or maybe you and others use WAAAAAY OVER-SIMPLISTIC logic at times when it comes to what league a player plays in and what conclusions you draw from that. Let me throw out some quick lazy examples:
-J Green plays at Bayern and in the Champions League so he’s great- but no he isn’t.
-Altidore is great because he’s in Holland but sucks now that he’s in MLS- but he’s still the same player.
-Bedoya plays in Europe so he must be better than all of Zardes, Zusi, Donovan, etc- but is he though? He doesn’t show it when they are or were all together on the national team.
I could go on forever. How many players in Serie A is Giovinco way better than? What league a player plays in doesn’t just come down to how good they are. This is the real-world, there are a lot of circumstantial things that come into play.
Let’s look at Bedoya. He started in a lower league in Sweden, then tried to make a jump up to Scotland but failed, went back to Sweden, and then was able to make a slight jump up to a mid-table team in France. That’s good but doesn’t all of a sudden make him a great player. You move him to another mid-table team in that same French league and he might be on the bench. I prefer to look at the individual player and draw conclusions that way, not just look at what league his team plays in and draw conclusions on that. Also is France really top four? Take away PSG and what difference is there between the French, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish and even Belgian leagues? Not much.
Lol well I didn’t know I was president of the bedoya fan club…..
Bedoya is a good player with a known ceiling which is still higher than the mean of US starters.
Re: schooling, hey you guys can use your money for whatever you want; a private school education enabled me with the knowledge that putting money into your education is always better than putting it into sports. We just happen to be really good at sports….. And we are the number one research institution in the country…. Number one…… Brains and brawn……
So cool bro, go ahead and pay for your football team to be good. We don’t need to pay for that….and we’re still smarter than you and have contributed more to the Arts as well as sports
guffaw
DLOA, well first of all you took my college football comment way too seriously. Relax. Secondly, are you delusional? In what world is USC the number 1 research university in the country? Hah you are really pulling out imaginary facts out of your you know what. Academically UCLA is far superior to USC, check any of the rankings. Check all of the rankings, they will all have UCLA way higher than USC. UCLA also receives the most applications than any other university in the country, so it is much harder to get into than USC. Congratulations, you paid more money to get your inferior education than I paid for my superior education, and you say you are smarter than us? Hilarious.
I just googled it and this is just the top of the first results page:
USNEWS National Rankings: UCLA 23 , USC 24
USNEWS World Rankings: UCLA 8 , USC 44
Shanghai World Rankings: UCLA 12 , USC 49
Forbes Rankings: UCLA 45 , USC 71
TheBestCollegesdotOrg: UCLA 41 , USC not even listed
TimesHigherEducation: UCLA 12 , USC 49
The more you go the worst it gets for USC. The International Ranking from other countries are even better for UCLA, since UCLA is viewed with even higher prestige abroad.
He’d be perfect for Miami as a hometown kid, but since they may never actually start a team not sure if it will work out.
Unfortunately, he’ll be 37 before Miami gets going. However, I suppose at that age he would be a prime MLS target.
Other than the team that just lost 7-0 at home to their cross-town rivals, what MLS team has signed a 37 year old player recently?
The league leaders just signed a 37 year old, although GKs are different.
Well they didn’t really just sign him either, they signed him in the off season, So you so could argue they were 2nd to last at the time.