Kirovski was nearly the opposite. The Man U trainee nearly everybody was putting in their future best XI early on but who just never amounted to much.
I can see Ching being "snubbed" but EJ? Bradley started him against Czech Republic and he didn't show all that much. His form had picked up in Greece at the time so he was quite lucky to be called in. More likely it was due to not having multiple options. EJ had his shot and he lost it. Bradley, instead of trying to use Findley as Davies 2.0, should have played Jozy up top with Donovan.
I don't think so. You would need a perfect storm of a) First choice being sent off/injured b) Second choice replaces sent off keeper but doesn't do well/gets injured/sent off c) Third choice replaces both of them when banned/injured or plays in either the third place game. So in short - Not much chance.
Yep, it's been done before. Greece in 94 I remember used a different goalkeeper for each of their group games, but the other 3 are: France 1978 Belgium 1982 Czechoslovakia 1982 Greece 1994 http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/may/26/world-cup-2010-three-goalkeepers
Short memories on display here on regarding 2002 snubs. I would submit Tim Howard. B Almighty had him in camp and Howard was widely well known and was next keeper after Keller/Friedel. BA still took his homie Meola. Neither Meola or Keller saw the pitch.
I guess that's the common questioning behind for the 3rd keeper. Either a vet or a young player who could use the experience pushing forward.
Arena's reasoning behind taking Meola rather than Howard was sound. Arena openly admitted that it was highly unlikely that the third keeper would play, so he chose a guy who has been to a World Cup in the past and was a solid locker room figure and keep Howard with the Metros so he could continue to get games in rather than sitting on a bench. I'm not saying it was the right decision, but I don't believe it was because Arena just liked his boy better. Howard got his chances in the 2006 cycle but a tremendous drop in form (and confidence) kept him from pushing Keller out of the #1 spot.
That and Keller was being touted by some as one of the best keepers in the world at the time. (I'm not saying those that said that were very smart)
In 2002 or 2006? Why exactly did Friedel say he was retiring over? I read that he wanted to focus on his club career which now shows was perhaps the best decision. But was it really cause he wanted to be the de facto no.1 and not constantly having it rotated with him and Keller?
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/3722/us-soccer.html Some people believe that Arena selected Meola in 2002 as a way of drawing down the theatrics. All of these guys disliked one another, and neither Friedel and Keller would've have walked away and left the #2 slot to someone they didn't get along with.
How about snubbing Hugo Perez from the 1990 world cup. And Bobby Gansler taking Chris Henderson instead of Perez! Increadible!
Judging by that midnight oil burning in the Wondo thread, he will soon be on this list and will have fanboys rioting for decades to come.
I think you have been around the almighty too long. Does Agoos in 2002 WC and many retreads in first years with the Galaxy mean anything? As BA stated after a couple of seasons with the Gals, he needed the guys that he knew to rebuild his way. In the rebuild process, he lost some guys that could play and were in fact still playing and starting in the MLS after his "veterans" had retired. As a GM that's his call. Sort of interesting that the manager makes the player call up at USA level is not a GM. I wonder if a GM type role would not be a better role for JK for the 2018 WC? Just another reason for a one and done at the WC level for the coach IMO.