GOALKEEPERS (4): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) DEFENDERS (10): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Michael Harrington (Portland Timbers), Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), Chance Myers (Sporting Kansas City), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids), Seth Sinovic (Sporting Kansas City), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC) MIDFIELDERS (8): Eric Alexander (New York Red Bulls), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Dax McCarty (New York Red Bulls), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) FORWARDS (4): Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (D.C. United), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Juan Agudelo (Out of contract)
Roster at USsoccer.com excludes Agudelo. http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2014/01/140103-mnt-january-roster.aspx
I am anxious to see Klute perform. I hope he can make an impact and isn't overwhelmed by the magnitude of the opportunity. Tough time to get called for your first camp, but hey, the cream rises.
just found out me and shane o'neill have the same birthday. Valderama also was born on September 2, great day in mls history
Exactly. You hope there is some psychology involved in this process because you can see how a kid's head could easily get in the way of his talent.
Well, certainly this roster screams: "I'm looking for outside backs!" Evans, Yedlin, Klute, Sinovic, Myers, and Harrington. Nice roster. Agudelo must have something imminent or probable coming, he's the only MLS name I thought would be there but isn't. JK MLS regulars are all there: Rimando, Evans, Gonzo, Besler, Goodson, Zusi, Beckerman, Donovan, EJ, Davis, S. Johnson, Hamid, Wonod. Also nice to see Hall and Benny getting additional looks. And a nice sprinkling of new faces, headlined by Magee, Klute, Yedlin, Gil, and Sinovic. Myers and Harrington confirm the search for FBs is wide. O'Neill for the needed 4th CB. Alexander also an interesting choice that got some Cupcake caps a couple of years back. McCarthy also back in the picture after a solid year. They MLS mainstays + some guys who have earned a shot with MLS play + some youngsters + a deeper look at a position of need. Good roster.
aaaaaaaand with that, fully expecting the tweet from US Soccer on day two that "Chris Klute has strained his hamstring and has left camp. No replacement has been named." Big Soccer collectively becomes depressed.
You know you're getting old when you see the name Klute and immediately think of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland!
Wow. Our Camp Cupcake rosters look better than full strength US rosters of a decade ago. I'm impressed.
and of course your too young if you think Donald Sutherland is a misspelling of where Jozy Altidore currently plays.
Uhmmmmmm yeah. Although Decade is a bit off. I would say 1999-2000. Don't make me whip out some funny starting lineups, you. And I am correct when you look at the starting lineup of the 2003 Confederations Cup.
'03 wasn't an awful roster, Chris Klein aside. A decade ago to me is the '02 WC team. In hindsight, was a very solid roster.
That is not the way Klute is at all. His inexperience shows up in his hesitancy, kind of the opposite of O'Neill who can defend 1v1 but sends the ball in all directions willy-nilly then blames the teammate who was not within 25 yards of reaching the ball. If Klinsmann actually went to a game he would know that. Speaking of Rapids players, it was interesting that Powers was not called in, especially considering Klinsi's difficulty with finding '10' types, when Donovan is not available. Power's concussions would have been remedied weeks ago under normal circumstances.
You know, those of us who had to google that one up are happy you gave us a chance to see Jane in a Fonda light.
Of course 2002 was one of the best rosters we had. But I was making the comparison between the 2003 Confederation Cup roster and the current Camp Cupcake roster, as I am making the point that our current roster is an improvement over a starting roster 10 years ago. I didn't say that our confederations cup roster was bad, but just that our current one is potentially better. Let's take a look. For the sake of simplicity, both rosters will use a 4-4-1-1 as the Confederations Cup roster was a 4-4-1-1. 2003 Confederations Cup: ------------------------------Kirovski--------------------------------- -----------------------------Donovan--------------------------------- Beasley---------------------------------------------------------Lewis ----------------Convey-----------------Armas----------------------- Hejduk---------------------------------------------------------Vanney ------------------Califf-------------Berhalter------------------------- ----------------------------Howard------------------------------------- Projected 2014 Camp Struedel: -----------------------------E.Johnson--------------------------------- ------------------------------Magee------------------------------------- Donovan----------------------------------------------------------Zusi ------------------Diskerud----------Beckerman--------------------- Klute------------------------------------------------------------Yedlin -----------------------Besler-----------Gonzalez--------------------- ------------------------------Rimando--------------------------------- Up top: 2003 Confederations cup had Donovan, but Donovan did not have the composure of today (He made a dumb penalty in 2003), although he had the pace. I'd rate EJ any day over Kirovski. Magee is in good form, so the edge goes to 2014. Midfield: Lewis and Beasley were in superior form at the time, but overall I'd say it's a wash on the wings because Zusi and Donovan are more than capable. The difference is in center mid--Armas was a DM workhorse but what you lose in tackling ability, Beckerman is the superior #6. When Bruce Arena rolled Convey out in the central mid, he was hoping he could be like Mix Diskerud. He wasn't. Mix is clearly superior. Furthermore, if we decided to play Feilhaber, Gil, or McCarty, we have bench options for our current roster superior to options like Stewart and Klein. Edge goes to 2014. Defense: Klute and Yedlin are the unknowns, and Heydude remains one of the best we've ever had, and Vanney out wide was servicable but Yedlin or Myers may be better options. Clearly, the central pairing of Califf and Beerholder is not nearly the skill of Besler and Gonzo. So, despite Hejduk, I'll give it to 2014. Goalkeeper: Hmm...Experienced Rimando over Inexperienced Howard. I'll give it to 2003 Timmy. The only place where the 2003 roster is better than our current one. So, by any margin, the US Strudel roster is comparitively more effective than our full 2003 Confederations Cup roster. It's actually a good sign that an MLS roster can beat rosters we've taken to tournaments in the past. Why you want to argue this is beyond me--It shows that the US has considerable depth and is a great barometer of the progress of our side. If you want to be a cynical fan who follows a stagnant team that shows little promise of improvement over decades, may I suggest being an England fan cleansheetbsc. I mean, if you can't look back and celebrate how far our program is coming, what's the point of being a US fan in the first place? Just enjoy it man. Enjoy it.
Gotta say, strongly doubt that JK is going to put Klute and Yedlin in as the frontrunners for fullback here. I get the impression he is shopping for fullbacks for Brazil a little bit, and I'm not sure either of those is super likely. Yedlin has potential but his defensive game has some serious issues, from the games I've watched of his throughout the year. Of course, I don't really think Myers will take it either. Probably gonna stick with Evans, be my guess. As for left back, I'll be shocked and saddened if Sinovic doesn't take first crack. Call me a fanboy or anything, but I'd put him at one of Sporting's three best players period--or at least most effective and essential ones. He's a smart tackler, confident with the ball at his feet, intelligent on defense and clever on offense. Will work his frickin butt off, which is absolutely something Klinsmann wants (if he isn't going to get the very best, he'll always settle for very good but works hard). That's my take. Call me stupidly optimistic, but I could see him becoming third choice for LB in Brazil. Might not sound like tons, but that's just one injury away from being on the bench.
I will agree with you--Sinovic, of all the left backs in Camp Cupcake, has a great tackling ability. No, he can't bomb upfield like Yedlin, but he is a classic defender through and through and you make a great argument to why he should start against Korea.
Well, Sinovic and Yedlin play on opposite sides. Myers is Yedlin's competition here. Chance is a very fast right back (even played on the wing a game or two this year, actually), though nowhere near as deadly in the final third as Deandre. Better on defense, though. Gotta say, aside from straight pace, I think you're wrong about Sinovic's offensive abilities. He overlaps all day long, has a decent cross, can beat defenders one on one, and makes smart attacking decisions. I can't guarantee how it would look internationally, but he is definitely not a sit-at-home left back. Seth loves getting down the field. Again, though, I rate him very highly and I understand different people see different things in players.