Interesting game here...but after wednesday, I don't know where to begin!! Here goes anyway... 1. sergio ramos: fullbacks/wingbacks have become so crucial at the international level in the last 20-25 years (ramos, alba, arbeloa, van bronkhorst, capdevilla, miguel, abidal, sagnol, cafu, carlos, lizarazu, thuram, sagnol, grosso, zambrotta, maldini, ziege, reuter, jorginho, brehme, buckwald...all these have played crucial roles in their teams winning or reaching the final of a major tourney). We need a strong one-v-one defender who can also get forward and provide width in attack and ramos fits the bill. If dolo can still go strong or chandler figures it out, then we move ramos to cb where he has also been outstanding. so many problems in our back four right now that I don't know what to address first...ramos gives us that flxibility and the others I considered 2. rooney: creator/finisher...we need someone to bolster the attack and help dempsey 3. toure: box-to-box...can win/hold the ball and make things happen going forward 4. alba: we need a left-back that can get forward 5. alves: we need a right-back that can get forward 6. xavi: he's just awesome 7. khedira: similar to toure, but less dangerous in attack...right now 8-9. van persie and falcao: only problem is we would need to get them the ball
only 29... i'll take it lol i would've even said schweinsteiger, but i was disappointed with his euro performance, and we desperately need help on the back line.
Bale This would be the one guy that checks all the boxes for me. Young. Would help on the wing obviously, which next to central defense is our biggest problem. Dead ball specialist, which we desperately need. Mirrors Donovan, who has been our most effective player, only he is better at everything. Can address the scoring problem almost as effectively as an out and out striker like RVP.
I know it's cliche (not Clichy cuz we have Fabian Johnson now) but Xavi or Iniesta. We have no one in the midfield who can consistently deliver a decisive ball. We pretty much just maintain possession until the defense tightens up in the final third and we lose the ball. I think we'd see more goals like the one Deuce had against Honduras.
USA needs defensive solidity in the back line. And a leader, now that Boca is old. Varane is great at tackling, intelligent, and (more importantly) good at helping the team come from the back. And he's only 19. Great attackers are nothing without a comfortable midfield. And nothing makes a midfield more comfortable than having a solid backline. Just as the attackers are the first line of defense, you can think of the defenders as the first line of attack (including the keeper; that's why good distribution is vital). Varane could help the team come out from the back in a fast, ordered, lethal way thanks to his precise long-passing. He'd do more good to the current lineup than Messi, Ronaldo, or any other attacking option.
A player like Van Persie is a terrible choice. He's great for teams looking for that one world class puzzle piece in the final third, but the US needs someone with an amazing workrate in the entire offensive half of the field. Someone that is a good finisher, that is creative, technical, and is just the right kind of selfish. Certainly wouldn't mind Oezil or Goetze... but Pistolero is who I would choose.
Any Spanish Nat midfielder would be a huge upgrade and help our team cohere. Any of about eight of them. It doesn't have to be Xavi or Iniesta or Busquets or Fabregas. It could be Isco, Thiago, Cazorla, Silva, Mata.
Gotze would be my choice as well. If not him, Ozil. Mata also wouldn't be a poor choice. In case you can't tell, I want a young, creative midfielder.
Great pick but he and JK would have issues and problems and thus 1 would be fired and the other banned from the NT