Onyewu V Zenit St. Petersburg

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad Gameday' started by DCU1984, Nov 21, 2012.

  1. HouseHead78

    HouseHead78 Member+

    Oct 17, 2006
    Austin, TX
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Gooch might be the most form-dependent player I've seen as a defender. He's so up and down. In his up periods, he's physically dominant (though still not quite quick enough with his feet). Hopefully it continues.
     
  2. delo_pata

    delo_pata Member

    Jan 12, 2001
    Durham, NC
    Yah, was a poor clearance, but it was def a situation where he had to rush. And to be completely picky, Pretty sure Danny was offside just before his muffed "shot."
     
  3. Bruce S

    Bruce S Member+

    Sep 10, 1999
    I agree and I think it is partly his size and muscularity. He is clumsy and not too skilled but with games and lots of work, he gets around/compensates for that. But when he is not playing regularly, it gets ugly quick.
     
  4. freisland

    freisland Member+

    Jan 31, 2001
    He was quicker with his feet when he was younger, tho.

    I think age/injuries have not helped him. When he was in Belgium he surprised many people how agile he was for a big guy - of course "for a big guy" is a big qualifier, but his foot quickness as dropped quite a bit in the past couple of years, it seems to me.
     
  5. Jazzy Altidore

    Jazzy Altidore BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Sep 2, 2009
    San Francisco
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seems a bit strange to put a guy who can't get time in the championship ahead of another who is set to see time in the second round of champions league...
     
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  6. FloridaFC2MLS

    FloridaFC2MLS Member

    Oct 17, 2009
    Florida
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I still believe Gooch has the most ability of any current centerback in our USNT pool atm. Its just a matter of playing consistently. If he isnt, which he hasnt, its worthless to call him up.
     
  7. Bruce S

    Bruce S Member+

    Sep 10, 1999
    I will take Cameron at this point
     
  8. FloridaFC2MLS

    FloridaFC2MLS Member

    Oct 17, 2009
    Florida
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For what?
     
  9. Mr Martin

    Mr Martin Member+

    Jun 12, 2002
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Most everyone does. Gooch may join the conversation for Boca's starting spot or at least Goodson's #3 CB spot. But only assuming he gets some regular match time for Malaga. Knock on wood.
     
  10. freisland

    freisland Member+

    Jan 31, 2001
    For 50, Alex.

    An in form Gooch getting games is not a bad player to have on the bench. I personally am concerned about Boca, to be honest and Gooch and Boca are very similar players and it doesn't hurt to have another option.
     
  11. stonejh127

    stonejh127 Member+

    Sep 9, 2011
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wasn't he playing regularly for Sporting when he had some dreadful appearances for the NATS??
     
  12. FloridaFC2MLS

    FloridaFC2MLS Member

    Oct 17, 2009
    Florida
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He was great for Sporting last season.

    Doesnt matter what your opinion on the NT depth chart is or what it actually is. Onyewu has the best ability at the moment. If given a shot, he can perform at a very high level at centerback. Cameron hasnt proved himself at that high of a level in the club game (at centerback) so if he has that kind of quality at centerback we havent seen it.
     
  13. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ability of what? surely not center defender in soccer.
     
  14. Deeneaus

    Deeneaus Member+

    Aug 29, 2007
    America/Deutschland
    Club:
    Arminia Bielefeld
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Uh, yes. Gooch has had some dominant games for the USMNT. Abroad he's also been quite good. The injury while he was at AC Milan really hurt him. That said, there's a reason he ends up on the rosters of some really good teams in Europe.

    Get on him for these so called technical deficiencies if you want, but he's capable of doing marvelous things in defending our goal.

    Here's hoping things come together for him quickly! Malaga and the USMNT could use him!
     
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  15. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    see, that is what is wrong, we keep talking about a player's performance in past tense, we should be talking about how he is doing now.
     
  16. freisland

    freisland Member+

    Jan 31, 2001
    That is the point, I think. Most folks are saying "if he is able to play effective CL soccer, he is likely able to play effect USMNT soccer in a position we are a bit thin." At least, that's what I'm saying.

    The jury is still out, of course, but if he can continue to get some games and if he is performing well (which will likely go somewhat hand in hand at Malagra) I expect he will get some USMNT game.
     
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  17. afgrijselijkheid

    Dec 29, 2002
    mokum
    Club:
    AFC Ajax

    This is the big fallacy with NT rosters. You are not only talking about current form. Many times, the performance level ceiling is as important. Gooch's performance level ceiling is the highest of any US center back.
     
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  18. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Ceiling has an expiration date and Gooch is older and slower than he was in his prime.

    As to Malaga itself, Pellegrini's schemes are only slightly less adventurous than Zeman's. They look fantastic on offense but that defense will usually get exposed. Zenit had a 58/42 possession advantage, 16/10 shot advantage, 12/2 corner kick advantage. Malaga, with is B-roster, was just hanging on.
     
  19. Bookmesir

    Bookmesir Member

    Oct 14, 2012
    Club:
    FC Aarau
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They advanced. Pellegrini did his job. His B team drew away with Zenit's A team.
    Gooch played like the Gooch I've come to ? over the years. His good was not great, his clearances from goal were stabs. From his facial expression, he seemed totally uninspired.
     
  20. afgrijselijkheid

    Dec 29, 2002
    mokum
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Yes, which I'm guessing comes some amount of time after he slaps Hulk around for 90 minutes. The guy is all of 30.
     
  21. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Eh, soccer is not a one-on-one sport and, after a rough start, Malaga's B team was dominated by the Zenit starters.

    As is typical for a Pellegrini team, both teams had a slew of chances, a fact only partially reflected in the 2-2 score. Sure, Gooch won a few battles when Hulk tried going through him. He also lost his share when smaller, quicker players went around him. I wouldn't assign the blame for getting late to the cross (that lead to the first goal) entirely on him, as it was played fairly wide initially but the whole defense gave up a lot of chances. I doubt anyone on it earned too many accolades for that.
     
  22. Woodrow

    Woodrow Member+

    Dec 7, 2001
    Brick City
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    He needs to go to the Gregg Berhalter school for slow-footed defenders.
     
  23. FloridaFC2MLS

    FloridaFC2MLS Member

    Oct 17, 2009
    Florida
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    But he played consistently and nearly as good as his prime for Sporting less than a year ago. He wasnt loaned out because he underperformed either. Now he is in a position where he is probably just as a good as the starting centerbacks but it just isnt necessary for those centerbacks to be adjusted for him because of their form.
     
  24. Mr Martin

    Mr Martin Member+

    Jun 12, 2002
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Gooch's strong period for Sporting was between September 2011 and late February 2012. He appeared in over 20 club games, scored 5 goals and recieved Man-of-the-Match twice.

    During that 6 month period he only appeared for the USA twice, in October 2011. One appearance was for 45 minutes in the 1-0 win over Honduras and the other was 90 minutes in the 0-1 loss to Equador. Ream was largely responsible for the Equador goal, beaten to a header a few minutes after subbing in for Boca. I'm not sure one can call Onyewu's two appearances for the USA dreadfull at all. The US team's troubles at that time lay elsewhere. Onyewu seemed to be returning to form very nicely in the Fall/Winter of 2011-2012.

    Then in the 3d week of February 2012, Onyewu had his second leg injury and was out for more than a month. The rest of 2012 was largely a lost cause for him, trying to regain his form.

    It was the 4 appearances in May and June 2012 where Gooch didn't play well. But he had only recently returned to action after about 8 weeks out of the game and made only 3 appearances for Sporting leading up to Klinsi's May-June camp/tournament. He simply wasn't ready yet and looked poor. That is probably what you are remembering.
     
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  25. freisland

    freisland Member+

    Jan 31, 2001
    He is a faster runner than Beerholder (who was a very decent defender, by the way, hampered by his lack of pace) but Beerholder was positionally very good, which let him punch above his speed. But he was not fast.
     

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