Project 2010 Update

[voros]

We're at the midway point in the MLS season, and now that we've seen some of the new blood and the U20s play, I figure it's a good spot for an update.

Here are the number of players by birth year, with the numbers picked based on the 2002 WC ages of all the teams:

Birth Year GK D/M/F
1987 or later 1 16
1983 to 1986 2 32
1979 to 1982 4 29
1975 to 1978 2 12
1974 or earlier 1 1

Goalkeepers
1. Tim Howard - 1979
2. D.J. Countess - 1982
3. Jon Busch - 1976
4. Nick Rimando - 1979
5. Kevin Hartman - 1974
6. Adin Brown - 1978
7. Brad Guzan - 1984
8. Steve Cronin - 1983
9. Zach Wells - 1981
10. Marcus Rein - 1987

Left Backs
1. Spector, Jonathan - 1986
2. Burciaga, Jr., Jose - 1981
3. Dunivant, Todd - 1980
4. Ward, Tim - 1987
5. Whitbread, Zak - 1984
6. Karbassiyoon, Danny - 1984
7. Pearce, Heath - 1984
9. Barrett, Wade - 1976
9. Collier, Jonathan - 1989
10. Wingert, Chris - 1982

Right Backs
1. Cherundolo, Steve - 1979
2. Ihemelu, Ugo - 1983
3. Wynne, Marvell - 1986
4. Gray, Kelly - 1981
5. Sarkodie, Ofori - 1988
6. Albright, Chris - 1979
7. Hejduk, Frankie - 1974
8. Moor, Drew - 1984
9. Freeman, Hunter - 1985
10. Simek, Frankie - 1984

Center Backs
1. Onyewu, Oguchi - 1982
2. Bocanegra, Carlos - 1979
3. Gibbs, Cory - 1980
4. Marshall, Chad - 1984
5. Borchers, Nat - 1981
6. Parkhurst, Michael - 1984
7. Robinson, Eddie - 1978
8. DeMerit, Jay - 1980
9. Sturgis, Nathan - 1987
10. Wallace, Anthony - 1989
11. Califf, Dan - 1980
12. Goodson, Clarence - 1982
13. Parke, Jeff - 1982
14. Cochrane, Ryan - 1983
15. Boswell, Bobby - 1983

Left Mids
1. Beasley, DaMarcus - 1982
2. Mapp, Justin - 1984
3. Convey, Bobby - 1983
4. Quaranta, Santino - 1984
5. Davis, Brad - 1981
6. Kirk, Quavas - 1988
7. Alvarez, Arturo - 1985
8. John, Will - 1985
9. Jimenez, Christian - 1986
10. Victorine, Sasha - 1978

Right Mids
1. Gaven, Eddie - 1986
2. Noonan, Pat - 1980
3. Szetela, Daniel - 1987
4. Mullan, Brian - 1978
5. Philipakos, Peter - 1983
6. Molinar, Temistocles - 1990
7. Klein, Chris - 1976
8. Kovalenko, Dema - 1977
9. Soroka, Ryan - 1988
10. Gros, Josh - 1982

Defensive Mids
1. Clark, Ricardo - 1983
2. O'Brien, John - 1977
3. Mastroeni, Pablo - 1976
4. Simms, Clyde - 1982
5. O'Rourke, Danny - 1983
6. Besagno, Nikolas - 1988
7. Bradley, Michael - 1987
8. Carroll, Brian - 1981
9. Pause, Logan - 1981
10. Olsen, Ben - 1977

Attacking Mids
1. Donovan, Landon - 1982
2. Dempsey, Clint - 1983
3. Adu, Freddy - 1989
4. Feilhaber, Benny - 1985
5. Arvizu, David - 1988
6. Grabavoy, Ned - 1983
7. Martino, Kyle - 1981
8. Ochoa, Sammy - 1986
9. Mathis, Clint - 1976
10. Rogers, Robbie - 1987

Forwards
1. Johnson, Eddie - 1984
2. Buddle, Edson - 1981
3. Twellman, Taylor - 1980
4. Casey, Conor - 1981
5. Ching, Brian - 1978
6. Johnson, Jemal - 1985
7. Eskandarian, Alecko - 1982
8. Jaqua, Nate - 1981
9. Rolfe, Chris - 1983
10. Zimmerman, Preston - 1988
11. Barrett, Chad - 1985
12. Wolff, Josh - 1977
13. Watson, Jamie - 1986
14. Arnaud, Davy - 1980
15. Gonzalez, Omar - 1988

The youngest player on the list is Temi Molinar, a 1990 I've seen play and who just returned from a very good trip with the nats from Mexico. Obviously, I have no idea which 15 year olds are good enough to make the world cup in 2010, but I wanted to add one to demonstrate that they would not be a selection that was abnormally young.

[mtr8967]

I'm not sure what your numbers mean. Do you mean "if players at the 2010 World Cup are the same ages as in 2002, this will be the number born in these years?"

[voros]

I'm not sure what your numbers mean. Do you mean "if players at the 2010 World Cup are the same ages as in 2002, this will be the number born in these years?"
Yeah for example players born from 1979 to 1983 would correspond to players born 1971 to 1975 for the 2002 WC.

It's just a way of getting a reasonable mix of ages in there to give an idea of what "normal" ages are for world cup players. For example, of the 640 outfielders, only 8 were born between 1963 and 1966, so 8/640 = 1.25%. So then 1.25% * 90 = 1.125. So tack on 8 years from 2002 to 2010, and that would give you on average 1 out of the 90 outfield players born between 1971 and 1974 (I picked Frankie Hejduk to be that 1).

So since 61 of the 90 players listed were born from 1979 to 1986 (which is a touch over two-thirds), that means that two-thirds of the outfielders at the 2002 WC were born between 1971 and 1978. (438 out of 640).

[DutchFootballRulez]

I don't mean to rag on a 15-year old but Temistocles?!!?

Dear God, I hope he has thick skin.

[voros]

I don't mean to rag on a 15-year old but Temistocles?!!?

Dear God, I hope he has thick skin.
He's Temi for short.

[ElRoss425]

To me, Temi will from here on out be known as Testicles Molinar.

[Mimir19]

That looks great.. Although I would object to your D-Mid spot.. I don't want to argue the merits of Ricardo v. Michael, but I think Michael Bradley is our best bet in that defensive middie spot as of now.. JOB and Pablo will be too old.. The other guys (Besagno, O'Rourke, Simms) are more unknown in regards to their consistency.. I have been really ecstatic with the play of Bradley.. I think the guy will be great in 2010..

[BigKris]

I think we've got a lot of talent in the pipeline. I think there's a helluva lot of potential for 2010. I think the biggest variable/unknown at this point will be who succeeds Bruce -- how radical will the difference in philosophy and player selection be? How quickly will the team adjust? Will that person live up to expectations?

[sidefootsitter]

Hejduk will be 36 in 2,010 ... pencil him in.

[terp fan]

I think we've got a lot of talent in the pipeline. I think there's a helluva lot of potential for 2010. I think the biggest variable/unknown at this point will be who succeeds Bruce -- how radical will the difference in philosophy and player selection be? How quickly will the team adjust? Will that person live up to expectations?

If the USMNT does well in Germany there's no reason to think BA would be going anywhere and whenever he does he will have lots of input on a replacement.

[okcomputer]

That looks great.. Although I would object to your D-Mid spot.. I don't want to argue the merits of Ricardo v. Michael, but I think Michael Bradley is our best bet in that defensive middie spot as of now.. JOB and Pablo will be too old.. The other guys (Besagno, O'Rourke, Simms) are more unknown in regards to their consistency.. I have been really ecstatic with the play of Bradley.. I think the guy will be great in 2010..

Nice try Bob.

[ugaaccountant]

Nice try Bob.

He makes an excellent point, Bradley is very consistent right now and should only improve. Clark is intriguing and getting more consistent but right now Bradley is ahead of him, O'rourke, and Besagno in consistency.

[sidefootsitter]

Nice try, Sigi. FYP.

[Steel Keeper]

We're at the midway point in the MLS season, and now that we've seen some of the new blood and the U20s play, I figure it's a good spot for an update.

Here are the number of players by birth year, with the numbers picked based on the 2002 WC ages of all the teams:

Birth Year GK D/M/F
1987 or later 1 16
1983 to 1986 2 32
1979 to 1982 4 29
1975 to 1978 2 12
1974 or earlier 1 1

Goalkeepers
1. Tim Howard - 1979
2. D.J. Countess - 1982
3. Jon Busch - 1976
4. Nick Rimando - 1979
5. Kevin Hartman - 1974
6. Adin Brown - 1978
7. Brad Guzan - 1984
8. Steve Cronin - 1983
9. Zach Wells - 1981
10. Marcus Rein - 1987

Left Backs
1. Spector, Jonathan - 1986
2. Burciaga, Jr., Jose - 1981
3. Dunivant, Todd - 1980
4. Ward, Tim - 1987
5. Whitbread, Zak - 1984
6. Karbassiyoon, Danny - 1984
7. Pearce, Heath - 1984
9. Barrett, Wade - 1976
9. Collier, Jonathan - 1989
10. Wingert, Chris - 1982

Right Backs
1. Cherundolo, Steve - 1979
2. Ihemelu, Ugo - 1983
3. Wynne, Marvell - 1986
4. Gray, Kelly - 1981
5. Sarkodie, Ofori - 1988
6. Albright, Chris - 1979
7. Hejduk, Frankie - 1974
8. Moor, Drew - 1984
9. Freeman, Hunter - 1985
10. Simek, Frankie - 1984

Center Backs
1. Onyewu, Oguchi - 1982
2. Bocanegra, Carlos - 1979
3. Gibbs, Cory - 1980
4. Marshall, Chad - 1984
5. Borchers, Nat - 1981
6. Parkhurst, Michael - 1984
7. Robinson, Eddie - 1978
8. DeMerit, Jay - 1980
9. Sturgis, Nathan - 1987
10. Wallace, Anthony - 1989
11. Califf, Dan - 1980
12. Goodson, Clarence - 1982
13. Parke, Jeff - 1982
14. Cochrane, Ryan - 1983
15. Boswell, Bobby - 1983

Left Mids
1. Beasley, DaMarcus - 1982
2. Mapp, Justin - 1984
3. Convey, Bobby - 1983
4. Quaranta, Santino - 1984
5. Davis, Brad - 1981
6. Kirk, Quavas - 1988
7. Alvarez, Arturo - 1985
8. John, Will - 1985
9. Jimenez, Christian - 1986
10. Victorine, Sasha - 1978

Right Mids
1. Gaven, Eddie - 1986
2. Noonan, Pat - 1980
3. Szetela, Daniel - 1987
4. Mullan, Brian - 1978
5. Philipakos, Peter - 1983
6. Molinar, Temistocles - 1990
7. Klein, Chris - 1976
8. Kovalenko, Dema - 1977
9. Soroka, Ryan - 1988
10. Gros, Josh - 1982

Defensive Mids
1. Clark, Ricardo - 1983
2. O'Brien, John - 1977
3. Mastroeni, Pablo - 1976
4. Simms, Clyde - 1982
5. O'Rourke, Danny - 1983
6. Besagno, Nikolas - 1988
7. Bradley, Michael - 1987
8. Carroll, Brian - 1981
9. Pause, Logan - 1981
10. Olsen, Ben - 1977

Attacking Mids
1. Donovan, Landon - 1982
2. Dempsey, Clint - 1983
3. Adu, Freddy - 1989
4. Feilhaber, Benny - 1985
5. Arvizu, David - 1988
6. Grabavoy, Ned - 1983
7. Martino, Kyle - 1981
8. Ochoa, Sammy - 1986
9. Mathis, Clint - 1976
10. Rogers, Robbie - 1987

Forwards
1. Johnson, Eddie - 1984
2. Buddle, Edson - 1981
3. Twellman, Taylor - 1980
4. Casey, Conor - 1981
5. Ching, Brian - 1978
6. Johnson, Jemal - 1985
7. Eskandarian, Alecko - 1982
8. Jaqua, Nate - 1981
9. Rolfe, Chris - 1983
10. Zimmerman, Preston - 1988
11. Barrett, Chad - 1985
12. Wolff, Josh - 1977
13. Watson, Jamie - 1986
14. Arnaud, Davy - 1980
15. Gonzalez, Omar - 1988

The youngest player on the list is Temi Molinar, a 1990 I've seen play and who just returned from a very good trip with the nats from Mexico. Obviously, I have no idea which 15 year olds are good enough to make the world cup in 2010, but I wanted to add one to demonstrate that they would not be a selection that was abnormally young.

Awesome post. I really like how you analyzed it by age as well. But let me nitpick.

GK:
Guzan and Cronin higher, Hartman and Busch lower. Cannon should be on the list.

LB:
Check plus

RB:
No complaints

CB:
I like Gibbs more than Boca, but only a small disagreement. Conrad will still be in the top 15.

LM:
I certainly wouldn't classify Quaranta as a LM. More of a AM, RM, or even F. Would be near to top of list in those positions for me.

RM:
Noonan should make the 2006 roster and play a little, but he'll be 30, Philipakos will be in his prime. Not a Mullan man myself. Quaranta would be up there, certainly ahead of Noonan and right there with Szetela.

DM:
I like Besagno and Bradley more than that. Definetly top 5 in my book.

AM:
Sammy Ochoa, yuck. Feilhaber doesn't seem to have a position in Arena's diamond midfield. A true center midfielder like Dempsey.

F:
Every other position has great depth except for the one which probably needs it more than any other. Zimmerman should be higher. Kenny Cooper might deserve a spot. Eskandarian is too high.

Otherwise, can't think of too much wrong.

[metx]

To me, Temi will from here on out be known as Testicles Molinar.


Why not better "COJONES" is the same in spanish

[Soccer Doc]

I don't mean to rag on a 15-year old but Temistocles?!!?
.

Be careful or he'll send his pet Lion after you. ;)

(If you don't get the joke go ask your town Librarian) :D

[metx]

You listed some players that never been called to the Nat and other that are very irregular players as a players go, and too this date they are older players as:

Burciaga...............24 willbe 29 by 2010
Dunivant...............25.........30
Wade Barrett.........30.........35
Winger Chris..........24.........28
Gray Kelly.............24..........28
Albroght Chris........26..........31
Broches Net..........24..........29
Hejduk.................31..........36
Victorine..............27..........32
Mullan.................27..........32
Klein...................29..........34
Kovalenko............28..........33
O'Brian John..........28..........33
Mastro.................29.........34
Olsen..................28.........33
Wolf...................28..........33

We are not going places with siniors citizens as this, we even never will cualified with this olds gots y you want to compit in a World Cuo you need a average of 26 years and youngers players, if not you will be retired before you start

[okcomputer]

He makes an excellent point, Bradley is very consistent right now and should only improve. Clark is intriguing and getting more consistent but right now Bradley is ahead of him, O'rourke, and Besagno in consistency.

no he isnt

[Stan Collins]

I don't mean to rag on a 15-year old but Temistocles?!!?

Dear God, I hope he has thick skin. Yes, clearly it should have been Cheezi Meltz. ;)

[swedust]

For people complaining of who voros has included as being either too old for 2010 or too unproven: pay attention to the selection process he's using. He's not saying "this is who should be sent" but "based on range of player ages in WC02 overall, the following from these age groups might be candidates."

Thanks voros; are the updates semi annual?

A propos of nothing, this past Saturday was my first good look at Szetela and I for one am very impressed. He's got moves and size and smarts. He doesn't seem to get a lot of love on BS; maybe this will change post-Andrulis...?