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1. The guy that has been starting in front of Konrad just got a red card so maybe Konrad can start next match.

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2. Good day so far. Gianluca Busio scores and Joe Scally scores. Joe Scally has played 7 games in the Bundesliga but Greg Berhalter does not consider that a reason for a call-up, baffling…

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   • He might think it is more important for him to stay with Gladbach to cement his position as a starter. He is young, this is his first season with the team, and his opportunity to play originally came from injury to the starter. Gladbach probably did not project him to be a starter this season when they signed him and being away from the team right now might not be good for Scally. If he doesn’t think he needs him and he thinks it would be bad for Scally he probably wouldnt call him in.

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     • you really think someone on their 7th start in a row needs to stay to preserve their club status? sorry but at that point you’re just scared of your own shadow. fwiw, every player not selected — even ones who had no real chance — are by definition “left with their club.” i think it appeals to club snobs who think european soccer is so important, but it’s really just a public relations way of stating the effect of the decision as some sort of positive. the coach making the decision perhaps hopes Player X plays better for the next month. it’s not a fib but it’s not real honest why. reality is you decided for some sports reason you wanted some other soccer player. there is something more specific than their “club situation” that poses a problem. scally i think it’s as simple as lack of caps and experience. but that discussion then gets into, he looks pretty good in club, and isn’t the caps thing kind of circular. i do think experience is most justifiable the further backwards a player is on the field, because of the risk to the result and the broader campaign. but i’ve pointed out he could be camped and watched in practice, maybe played 10′ in a blowout, without risking table position. i also think the choice reflects the coach’s own ambivalence about certain players, which rather than affecting scally should maybe impact those players eg Dest and Yedlin. if i am scared those are my choices then why not make another choice?

     • “The Imperative Voice
       you really think someone on their 7th start in a row needs to stay to preserve their club status? sorry but at that point you’re just scared of your own shadow. fwiw, every player not selected — even ones who had no real chance — are by definition “left with their club.” i think it appeals to club snobs who think european soccer is so important, but it’s really just a public relations way of stating the effect of the decision as some sort of positive.”

       This has nothing to do with the so called Euro vs MLS silliness.

       Scally is a new employee. I think of him as being on a soccer team version of the 90 day probation that most us go through when we get a new job.

       He has the job with BMG, not because he beat out the starters in training and won it but because he has benefited from a fortunate, for him, run of injuries to the starters.

       He’s doing very well and, in fact, he may well remain a starter once everyone is back and healthy. But that is an unknown at this point.

       I refer you to the career of one Eric Lichaj who once had a similar run at Aston Villa. In his case, once the starters got back he never was a regular starter again. So yes it is possible that 7 games is a mirage and that once the starters get back Scally will return to the bench never to be seen as a regular again. And it has nothing to do with him being scared of his own shadow.

       If I am the USMNT manager Scally’s long term well being is far more important because:

       1. There is no guarantee that Scally wil do anything if he gets called in for this window. You can’t expect everyone to be Pepi, even Pepi.

       2. Dest has looked good for Barca recently and between him and all the usual suspects, there is no reason to think that the USMNT can’t be fine this window w/o Scally. The problem is the manager not the players.

       Leaving Scally behind at BMG may not help much but every little thing that might help Scally cement his position could be a big deal at this point in his career.

       With National teams, calling up a player a little too late is better than calling them in a little too early.

     • my response would be that as US coach my job is to ferret out what i am looking at, and based on what i have seen, he’s pretty good. at that point i don’t care what club politics delivered him to this place. i have scouted someone interesting. i then bring him over here and see how he rates relative to the regulars. to me you’re getting into the club weeds too far. this is not an all star team of players on form for their clubs. it’s the best 23 americans we can find. some of them may be sitting the bench in club or headed where you suggest scally might return. if they are better than the next guy who cares.

       now, to the extent you imply that scally is a mirage, thrown into his role by circumstance, i said the same thing about hoppe. to me you are assuming the conclusion about his value without a cap when you basically read your analysis of how he got his club time into the scouting. i don’t think your analysis explains why he did WELL when he got his opportunity. like, game 2 in college as a freshman i got my first minutes and i played so well i started that day forward. it’s too easy to say, he got his job because…..ok, and then he ran with it. having run with it, he looks good. “why” ceases to matter.

       to me this reminds of how GB routinely decides these things on paper without calling them into camp to see for himself. when a pepi horvath hoppe slips through his abstractions and gets their concrete shot, wow. so i don’t trust his psychologizing or scouting and i want him to give a list of consensus prospects their shot.

       my two cents RB is a mess, i like cannon and moore, but he doesn’t, and they are good but not great. he liked dest and yedlin, neither of whom can defend, and only dest is worth it going forward. that is unstable and ripe for a player like scally or reynolds or richards. i think quali justifies some conservatism but i think 3 game windows justifies contingency plans and long rosters, which would be an excuse to make limited (2-3 player) trials in practice. if someone is interesting, i am thinking like the 10′ sub pulisic got his first quali chance, a couple goals up. you then see with your own 2 eyes how good he is, as opposed to make guesses based on your own speculation about how he got his role at BM. i don’t get why we are so into these soap operas other than it’s the cousin of our obsession with counting UCL players. we want club to matter a lot.

3. Gianluca Busio scored the tying goal for his team!

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   • I just saw the highlights: his shot took a big deflection off a defender’s arm and wrong-footed the ‘keeper. Had it been saved it would have been a penalty.

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     • Even his coach is comparing him to Pirlo. That’s…uhm, high praise. And a high bar.

       I’ve seen it myself, I wasn’t sure the Italians actually did. Kid is just quality and I don’t think he’s nearly as good as he’s going to get.

4. Miazga’s starting for Alaves again. Intrestin’.

   He could well work his way back into the mix. I remember thinking back when he was at Red Bull he had a ton of potential but he never quite lived up to it as a Nat…if he’s starting regularly in La Liga you wonder if he might hit that next notch. Some guys – especially defenders – seem to take a minute.

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   • I saw the Alaves match today also, coach! Alavés doesn’t look like a good team at all. (Come to think about it, some US players are on really bad teams, Mallorca, Norwich City, Greuther Furth, Pumas). Aly Moreno made a joke about how many teams Miazga has played for. Def had me my bag of giggles. Busio is fluent in Italian, has family in Venice, making his move a lot easier than Tessman’s, right?! How many minutes will GB give ‘em? Does Busio get a run against Jamaica? I def hope to see him playing vs CR. Finished the highlights vs Cagliari, but watch his last match live, started as 6, when Ampadu came on, he played more of attacking midfielder. I always thought Pirlo was a 6? What’s your memory of his position?

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     • Tessmann said in interview Busio doesn’t speak much Italian but does understand a lot more than Tanner. Also, Busio’s brother is staying with Gianluca right now and is fluent, he does most of the talking when the three are out and about. Apparently Tanner and Gianluca live in the same housing complex. I need to listen to Tanner’s podcast, I think Busio is his guest in one episode.

   • Miazga is 26

     He’s been a mild disappointment so far but center backs often take a while longer than other positions to hit their groove.

     Now would be a good time to do so

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     • i don’t buy it. boca, eddie pope. i do think it’s a position that due to the sometimes “banger” nature of play there can favor players who fill out physically over time and perhaps get more composed. but we’ve had plenty of fresh from college CBs who were fine.

       i do think one dynamic at work here is we have more CBs turning pro at 18 and more so than many positions a skinny 18 year old who may have some growing left is not necessarily a great matchup for some big 30 year old burly target player. i think technical and speed players are better poised to transition to the adult game young. i think players at physical positions may need some maturity.

       also fwiw the standard issue coaching manual of “don’t sub backs mid game” makes the position more akin to goalie in terms of opportunities. it’s not like forward or mid where they might use most of their 5 subs there, which means 10 or so attackers might play. back it tends to be the same 4 all night, maybe one sub, and then a similar 4 next week, and next week. if you think about breaking into a team, that poses a higher hurdle than being able to be a routine attacking sub before you can start.

   • “The Imperative Voice
     i don’t buy it. boca, eddie pope. i do think it’s a position that due to the sometimes “banger” nature of play there can favor players who fill out physically over time and perhaps get more composed. but we’ve had plenty of fresh from college CBs who were fine”

     Like who?

     Center back is the last line of defense. It is a very cerebral position.

     You want your smartest players there because besides the keeper they have the whole game in front of them and are best positioned to “read” it. They are best placed to position the defense and kick off the offense.

     An attacking player making a mistake is likely to be a lot less of a big deal than a center back making a mistake.

     If you are young and very athletic like Eddie Pope or Miles you can ride on that for a while. You can be the “legs” and the (like Miles and Aaron Long before him) while the other CB is the brains (like Brooks was supposed to be) but eventually if you want to last, you learn how to read the game and use your brains.

     That’s why guys like John Terry, Ryan Nelsen, Chiellini, Bonucci, etc., etc., last a long while after their athletic skills are not what these used to be. Vergil VD started getting really good just a year or two younger than what Miazga is now.

     And no, I’m not suggesting that Miazga is in that class.

     But he has a chance to get better as he gets older because everywhere he goes he seems to play a lot.

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     • i grant there is some cerebral to CB but my experience having played both central and wide is that wingback is more of a speed thing, and kids can be fast, so that usually doesn’t alter with age, while CB can at times demand size to deal with a beefy tall target player, and that can be gained over time. sometimes a skinny kid who can be bullied fills out and becomes physically capable of the position in a way he was not before. this is true in reverse at striker. the couple times in college i had some 6’2″ 180 lb monster backing over me, no fun. at that point my soccer IQ is out the window. i can either stop them or not. i am not a big person and had to like learn things from watching NBA centers. eg, “drop the chair.” they lean too hard on you, you step back and let them fall over. i would have to try and jump with people 9 inches taller. you’re trying to make it an exclusively soccer thing when part of it may be growing a couple more inches and putting on 20 pounds of muscle like a full grown adult.

       that being said, i think historically we have had a few players who were ready made at 18 or when they got out of college. i think part of our problem is a veteran bias that doesn’t want to believe such things. despite the fact most of our good players who perform well are U23 right now. the skepticism is more justified coming off a world cup run where the existing lineup was in the final 8 teams or something. this team missed russia. i wouldn’t assume anyone over 25 is anything special or we wouldn’t be where we are. they should have to show up and prove themselves just the same.