Seltzer: LIVIN' LA VIDA BOCA

[illinizissou]

Interesting take on Boca and his place with the USMNT in 2010:

Link (http://www.yanks-abroad.com/content.php?mode=extratime&id=2836)

[nobody]

Good article. Everyone falls in love with Gooch and Gibbs because of their size, but Boca has played as well as either of them over time for his club. I'd not at all be surprised to see him starting in the back come 2010. And, I think he is an obvious lock for at least a spot on the squad.

[Tonerl]

Interesting take on Boca and his place with the USMNT in 2010:

Link (http://www.yanks-abroad.com/content.php?mode=extratime&id=2836)

Nice article. While there are minor things to quibble about, I agree with the general idea. It's nice to see Bocanegra's reputation going through a bit of a renaissance after so many seemed to have given up on him.

Count me as pro-Carlos. :)

[SoccerMIGermany]

Given that he's played DM for the Cottagers, is there any chance of him moving up and taking Clark's spot? He seems to have a better sense of distribution and he's been scoring.

[IndividualEleven]

Given that he's played DM for the Cottagers, is there any chance of him moving up and taking Clark's spot? He seems to have a better sense of distribution and he's been scoring.

Boca was playing in a 5-4-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation. Not really comparable to what is demanded of Clark.

[IndividualEleven]

It's been business as usual in defense, with 'Los providing a calm, no-nonsense attitude. No, he's not one to fancy his way out of trouble; get it, get it out of danger, far and fast.

We could have used that in the Ghana game...

[jasonq52001]

Its a good article talking about a player who has worked very hard to improve is overall game. With that being said he definitely will be in the running with Clark and Mastro for the defensive midfielder spot along with central defense. Its a good thing to have options and he looks to have some gained some excellent experience and confidence this past summer.

[IndividualEleven]

The man doesn't play d-mid in a 4 man midfield. His role with Fulham as a midfielder isn't similar to what is needed with the Nats. He'll be along the backline for the Nats as usual.

[illinizissou]

He'll be along the backline for the Nats as usual.

A player like Boca is invaluable. If there's an injury or someone like Conrad pulls a Pope and starts showing major age, Boca can play most if not all of the back line positions. It's nice to know that at least on defense the USMNT has options. With Bornstein injured the USMNT has any number of quality players they can have play that LF spot. I got the feeling in '06 that Arena had a mid spot for O'Brien and when he never got better there was no other plan. I'd like to see Coach Bradley start developing some more options on the right side during the next two friendlies.

[nobody]

We could have used that in the Ghana game...

Yeah, I think the Ghana game taints his time with the US. Playing that ball up into the middle of the box when there was no danger, leading to the Gooch mystery call, was about as bad of a play as he's ever made and it happened at a big moment.

[superdave]

I think if the US is in a 4-4-2 and they're desperately holding on to a lead, you could put Boca as a DM in a 4-2-3-1 type formation in minute 80. But fulltime, no.

Well, maybe he could be our DM in Azteca in 2009. That type of situation, where the US is playing 95% or more defensively.

[Dr.Phil]

I have always liked Boca mainly because he is a good distributer out of the back

[IndividualEleven]

Yeah, I think the Ghana game taints his time with the US. Playing that ball up into the middle of the box when there was no danger, leading to the Gooch mystery call, was about as bad of a play as he's ever made and it happened at a big moment.

Not trying to bag on the man, but he needs to be in central defense. That's where he really shines.

Hopefully we'll have enough talent at fullback to not have use center backs at that position anymore.

[tab5g]

Yeah, I think the Ghana game taints his time with the US. Playing that ball up into the middle of the box when there was no danger, leading to the Gooch mystery call, was about as bad of a play as he's ever made and it happened at a big moment.

agreed with all here that Boca should be in the middle of the defense and that he is a virtual lock for a 2010 roster spot.

however, i do have a quibble with the statement that Carlos was the one to play "that ball up into the middle of the box when there was no danger, leading to the Gooch mystery call" vs Ghana. the poor play on Boca's part was with a weak clearance (straight up in the air) that allowed a Ghana attacker to out-jump him and play the ball into the middle danger area where the contact happened and the damaging penalty was called.

[NBlue]

After watching the recent Fulham and Newcastle matches it seems clear to me that Carlos is in the best form of any of our central defenders currently. He really has played spectacularly both offensively and defensively. Kudos to 'Los and keep up the good work!

[Chicago1871]

I've been a huge Boca fan since day one with the Fire. His move overseas was deserved, and while he has had a few moment of struggle, he has grown more as not just a defender, but a player, than maybe any other current US veteran. The US is strong in the back, but as of now I see no reason why Bocanegra wouldn't be on the roster, and possibly starting every match for the US if they qualify in 2010.

[Pisscutter]

Something you may find interesting...

I worked as a counselor for the UCLA Orientation program back when I was a student- we'd have groups of incoming freshmen for 3 days for the intro to campus life, etc.

One of the sessions was set aside for incoming athletes, and Carlos was assigned to me. He was actually recruited to play both baseball and soccer at UCLA.

In one of our conversations, he confessed to enjoying baseball more than soccer... said he was thinking about quitting soccer to focus 100% on baseball. I remember saying offhandedly, well, you might want to give both a try for the frosh season and then make up your mind... and he said, yeah, probably.

I've followed his playing career since he was drafted and it's always really weird to think about. The guy could have gone done a completely different path.

And no, I don't presume to take any credit for his soccer success, but I like to think I may have nudged him ever so slightly into sticking with it. :D

[skydog]

Boca is decent and it seems he is improving. But I'm not as big a fan as others seem to be. He has four significant weaknesses: 1) He isn't particularly fast. Not as much a problem in central defense as it is when he plays left back, but still a slight negative even in the middle. 2) He has shown a long-time pattern of playing pretty strong for maybe 88 of his 90 minutes, but a couple times each game he momentarily loses focus and makes a major gaffe of the kind that lead to scoring chances for the opposition. He did this playing in WC qualifiers, playing in the Premiership, in the WC. Against Mexico he had a couple of dangerous misplays as well. 3) He can be muscled off the ball and is sometimes outhustled during critical plays in the box (much more than say Pope in his prime), and 4) He tends to just boot the ball upfield after winning possession at center back, losing possession usually in the process.

I'm not saying Boca isn't a good player - he clearly is. But he isn't a great player at this point and is too prone to making costly gaffes at the critical moments. I hope this tendency will someday extinguish itself, but I'm not banking on it.

[Tonerl]

Boca is decent and it seems he is improving. But I'm not as big a fan as others seem to be. He has four significant weaknesses: 1) He isn't particularly fast. Not as much a problem in central defense as it is when he plays left back, but still a slight negative even in the middle. 2) He has shown a long-time pattern of playing pretty strong for maybe 88 of his 90 minutes, but a couple times each game he momentarily loses focus and makes a major gaffe of the kind that lead to scoring chances for the opposition. He did this playing in WC qualifiers, playing in the Premiership, in the WC. Against Mexico he had a couple of dangerous misplays as well. 3) He can be muscled off the ball and is sometimes outhustled during critical plays in the box (much more than say Pope in his prime), and 4) He tends to just boot the ball upfield after winning possession at center back, losing possession usually in the process.

I'm not saying Boca isn't a good player - he clearly is. But he isn't a great player at this point and is too prone to making costly gaffes at the critical moments. I hope this tendency will someday extinguish itself, but I'm not banking on it.

While I disagree with some of what you say, I think the important excercise would be to compare these perceived weaknesses with those of the players he is competing against. So, take Onyewu, Conrad, and the younger guys (Boswell, Marshall, Parkhurst) and apply the same critical eye. To me, Bocanegra is the best of them all right now (though I do beleive Onyewu will surpass him eventually).

[Dr.Phil]

Something you may find interesting...

I worked as a counselor for the UCLA Orientation program back when I was a student- we'd have groups of incoming freshmen for 3 days for the intro to campus life, etc.

One of the sessions was set aside for incoming athletes, and Carlos was assigned to me. He was actually recruited to play both baseball and soccer at UCLA.

In one of our conversations, he confessed to enjoying baseball more than soccer... said he was thinking about quitting soccer to focus 100% on baseball. I remember saying offhandedly, well, you might want to give both a try for the frosh season and then make up your mind... and he said, yeah, probably.

I've followed his playing career since he was drafted and it's always really weird to think about. The guy could have gone done a completely different path.

And no, I don't presume to take any credit for his soccer success, but I like to think I may have nudged him ever so slightly into sticking with it. :D

I thought he was big on football and soccer