But not a guaranteed WC spot or anything. Maybe JK can offer him a Gold Cup roster spot in 2015...that'll sway him, no doubt! We'll just have to see how this plays out over the next year or two. Procedurally it's complicated, even if they can persuade him.
From the few times I've seen him play this season, he's nowhere near ready to be good enough for the senior NT. U23s are the only place he'd have guaranteed playing time and that would be out of position at LB.
Fabian Johnson? He regularly switches between LM and LB for Hoffenheim. If Beasley was on Hoffenheim's roster, I'm sure he would get PT ahead of Toljan. I'd much rather have current Beasley than current Toljan heading into the World Cup. Guy is one of the best left sided players in US history.
I prefer (and JK does too) Fabian in the midfield, therefore it's DMB or Toljan...I'm not sure DMB has what it takes to play on the backline at that level.
Fabian may very well end up in the back 4 for the World Cup anyway since he's better both defensively and offensively at LB than anyone else in the pool and it might be needed to accommodate our best attacking options. Defensively, Beasley is slight of frame and can beat in the air, but his positioning has gotten much better and his recovery speed is extremely useful against fast wingers we'll be going up against. Now, Toljan is probably sturdier defensively even at his young age, but his contributions to attack are nowhere near DMB. Edit - we can take this over to this thread if you want to continue this discussion (don't want to steer this thread off topic into USMNT territory).
Anyway, how many left backs in the Bundesliga can actually defend? DMB would be hardly worse than some of those guys.
"What can the US offer right now?" We're going to the World Cup, we regularly go to the World Cup, and we have crappy starting fullbacks?
Can someone fill me in on Jeremy's citizenship status? Does he have to declare a one time switch? Is he immediately eligible, or is he another Zedelam story where we're never going to get him but talk about him anyway?
His father (now deceased) was an American citizen. He has German citizenship as well as Croatian (through his mother). According to Brian S., he has never gone to the trouble of applying for his US passport and would possibly need some help to document his father's residency in the US (since that is one of the requirements for passing on US citizenship). He has represented Germany at the UEFA U17s, so he would have to file a one time switch to move to either the US or Croatia. http://americansoccernow.com/articles/jeremy-toljan-is-earning-minutes-at-hoffenheim
To be a bit more accurate, he is a citizen but he does not have a passport. To get the passport he needs to put some paperwork together which is difficult due to the fact that his father is deceased. There was an earlier article saying he was registered with the embassy when he was born, so that hurdle was passed.
Here's what Brian said about that: it is unclear whether or not his family registered his birth certificate with the U.S. consulate after he was born. If they did do that, then he doesn't need to document his father's residency and he can simply claim his US passport. The act of registration had to have been accomplished by the time he was 18. If it wasn't registered, he has to go through documenting his father's residency in the US.
I don't want to derail the thread or get into a long argument, but I think you should watch Beasley closely the next time we play a good team. His positioning and instincts at LB are some of the worst that I have ever seen. He is not a LB.
I don't want to derail the thread or get into a long argument, but I think you should watch Beasley closely the next time we play a good team. His positioning and instincts at LB are some of the worst that I have ever seen. He is not a LB.[/quote] +1 He'll be average against CONCACAF sides like Evans but Belgium embarrassed him. He also had a rough go down in CR. We play Germany, Port and Ghana in the WC...I don't see it going well for him. Toljan at least competes and holds his own at a high level.
It shouldn't be unclear. Either a Consular Report of Birth Abroad was issued for Jeremy or it wasn't. Only his father could have done that when he was a child. His father having passed does complicate things, I suppose.
Who didn't get embarrassed by Belgium? Toljan was so bad against Braunschweig (the worst team in the BL) that he got subbed off after 22 minutes. Using isolated games as an example isn't a great indicator. For example, what about the game against Germany, where Beasley was fine against Podolski and Draxler? Yes, he played well against Dortmund but that's about the only game he was impressive in. Even Brad Evans locked down Andres Schurrle one time.
Toljan ain't ready for a friggin' World Cup. Let's be clear here. He's a prospect. Dearth of USMNT LBs be damned.
He looked fine against Germany to you? It has been a little while now, but i recall Beasley getting abused more than once in that game.
I don't recall him getting beaten badly multiple times. There was the one time he screwed up against Schurrle but other than that I remember him playing a pretty good game. Sports Illustrated: D, DaMarcus Beasley -- In his 101st cap, Beasley worked his tail off to defend from his left back position, only letting a player get behind him on one occasion -- and even then, the ball played in was over-hit. Beasley also got forward with regularity, sent in crosses, won corners and tested the goalkeeper. With Fabian Johnson faring well on the left wing and Edgar Castillo not showing so well in his performance off the bench, Beasley could find himself with a regular role on the back line. SBI: DAMARCUS BEASLEY Beaten early on by Schurrle, but recovered well and had a steady match throughout. Picked his spots well to get forward and defended solidly. Looks every bit like the choice to start at left back vs. Jamaica. ESPN: D DaMarcus Beasley -- Was beaten badly by Schurrle on Germany's best chance of the first half, but otherwise held up decently. He even found time to get forward and threaten out of the back. Edit: I just checked a few different player ratings from that game and they had favorable comments about DMB's performance.
Wasn't the Germany game where Draxler (I think) easily shoved Beasley out of the play at the 10 yard mark, and fortunately for us Germany was called for the foul.
I'm saying that because he is slight built that he needs a call to be bailed out from a play that can easily been a none called.
Beasley was horrid against Germany - I wouldn't want to see it again. In addition to the other incidents, I remember Mertesacker totally just ignoring Beasley's efforts at defense with the ball at his feet in the box.