Is Borchers National Team material?

[FlashMan]

I mean, the guy is good. At least MLS good. I'm sure people will question his foot speed, a la Curtin (who he may be comparable to), but his one v. one defending and positional sense are extraordinary, especially for one with so little professional experience. He's also very strong in the aerial game. He's basically had an incredible year for the Rapids and has to at least be considered.

At least as a potential backup at central D to Pope, Boca, et al., he's someone to think about.

[Karl K]

I watched last night, Rapids v Fire, and he was phenomenal. Named MOTM by the Fire announcers.

He singlehandedy squashed three very dangerous attacks in the second OT alone, one of which I was sure Razov was going to bury.

You've identified the real issue, which is speed. As a result, I don't think he can play outside at the international level.

Still, he deserves a shot, and certainly deserves a call in to the U23s, for whom he is eligible.

By the way, was he ever on any youth national teams??

[spot]

Originally posted by Karl Keller
By the way, was he ever on any youth national teams??

None. He was a PDL player.

Ridge Mahoney has a bit of the low down here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/soccer/09/30/borchers.rapids.sa/index.html

[Noah Dahl]

Having seen this kind of guy before I suspect he's playing over his head. Which I don't have a problem with. Lalas did it in '94, Sanneh in '98...

(hey Karl, thought of you with a wave of fondness while watching Armas gun around out there last night. He's looking great - and Mastro was invisible.)

[FlashMan]

Originally posted by Noah Dahl
Having seen this kind of guy before I suspect he's playing over his head.

You may be right, but he's been doing so for 3 months now, so it's a pretty long stretch of playing beyond his means.

He does remind me a bit of a Lalas in his prime - not quick or fast but reads the game well, strong in the air. I think Borchers is better with his feet (as an ex-midfielder) which is a bonus.

[Parmigiano]

Is Borchers left- or right-footed?

[352gialloblu]

Originally posted by Noah Dahl
He's looking great - and Mastro was invisible.) While Armas is doing well, Mastro was suspended and not playing, which is why he was invisible.

Borchers was a wall, damn his eyes! How he does without Fraser next game will be a key test, and I'm sure he'll do fine. I'd like to see him against the Fish, heh heh...

[FlashMan]

Originally posted by Parmigiano
Is Borchers left- or right-footed?

Right.



While Armas is doing well, Mastro was suspended and not playing, which is why he was invisible.



I believe Noah knew this which was his point. At least Armas has the wherewithal to stay on the field, whereas Pablo is constantly getting in trouble through cards, suspensions and the like.

[Noah Dahl]

Originally posted by 352gialloblu
While Armas is doing well, Mastro was suspended and not playing, which is why he was invisible.


Oh, P.S. I make joke.

As for guys playing "over their head", I believe in this phenomenon, but it's one of the hardest to defend, define or explain.

A good example though, is how some guys can be world class... for one coach.

Lalas played on a high for a couple years. He came down to earth pretty hard, took time off and has settled into a good player with a great head on his shoulders.

Players can play over their heads and grow into their new parameters. Cobi or Joe Max might fit into this category.

' Course you could just say they were that good all along, or they were late bloomers. Maybe Borchers lack of pedigree and goofy looks make me automatically discount him a bit. Nevertheless, if he keeps playing like he is and progressing as he has, he's a shoo-in for caps.

[FlashMan]

Originally posted by Noah Dahl
Oh, P.S. I make joke.



I stand corrected!!

[Noah Dahl]

Originally posted by Karl Keller

He singlehandedy squashed three very dangerous attacks in the second OT alone, one of which I was sure Razov was going to bury.

You've identified the real issue, which is speed. As a result, I don't think he can play outside at the international level.


The events of the game forced him into a sweeper-like role, which I think showed off his ability to read the game and swashbuckle.

The Rapids got on a high, nobody more so than Borchers. Watching Fraser leave the field with Razov and Ralph still out there must've kicked his rookie adrenaline up another notch.

[Noah Dahl]

Originally posted by FlashMan
I stand corrected!!

No, that's what I meant but it was a stupid little joke. Plus it's just great to see players like Van Nistelroy or Armas really make it back.

So you didn't stand corrected but now you do. Okay I'm confused. Borcher Good!

[Daksims]

As a Rapids fan, I'm all for giving Thor the caps. He's been rock solid all year, has excellent positioning on the ground and in the air, makes few mistakes, and has gradually but noticeably gotten better with his control and distribution. Earlier in the year, his defensive tactics were steal the ball and boot it upfield to nobody in particular. But the past several games it seems like he's settled down and is intelligently distributing.

As a Nats fan, I say give him a little more time. We've got time before the next World Cup. If he's still as effective next year, sign him up.

[Stogey23]

He's good, and he kinda looks like Denis Leary.


Give him some U-23 time and see how he plays.

[Nutmeg]

My take on why Borchers is right now better than Califf, Berhalter, and Gibbs (I assert these as opinions, not facts):

He has a better read of the game
He reacts more quickly to the flow of the game and puts himself in better positions to make plays
He uses his strength better and is not prone to hacking or fouling
He is more dominant in the air
He partners better with his fellow central defender
He communicates better with his teammates in front of him
He plays within himself and does not try to do too much
He understands his weaknesses and plays in a way that compensates for them

So my answer to the thread's question is an obvious "yes." I think his footspeed and quickness hold him back from being in a class with Pope and Bocanegra, but he has the potential to be very close to that caliber of player.

In defense, the cerebral aspects of the game and ability to perform under pressure are in my opinion the two most important qualities in a player. This season - not just last night - Borchers has impressed me in both of these areas. His insertion into the lineup has made Colorado a better team, the ultimate standard for any player.

He'd better get called into the Olympic squad, or Mooch will rightfully have some 'splainin' to do.

[Karl K]

Originally posted by Noah Dahl
(hey Karl, thought of you with a wave of fondness while watching Armas gun around out there last night. He's looking great - and Mastro was invisible.)

Though this is a thread about Borchers -- and back to him in a moment -- I will say this about Armas, since you brought him up.

He is playing very very well. He looked great last night, and looked great when I saw him in person when the Fire played the Gals in the Open Cup semis. He's even taking the occasional free kick for the Fire -- he hit the crossbar on one.

For a while there, I was thinking maybe he was done for the USMNT, but now I am not so sure. I say 50-50 he is back in the mix next January.

Back to Nat.

[bigdush]

Nat has been pretty damn solid all year at defense, really no dip in form at all. He plays defense with a certain, tranquil style. He doesn't get flustered when the calls aren't going his way or the few times that he gets beat. He's always looking toward the next play he'll have to make while learning from the last play he did or did not make. The guy never rests mentally.

Having said that, I would start him with the 23's and see how he does. Although personally I shudder at the proposition because that means that Mooch has the opportunity to turn this great diffender into a misplaced cone.

[Sandon Mibut]

My first instinct is to say "let's see how he does with the 23s before we bring him in with the senior nats."

If he does well with Mooch and Co., then by all means, give him a call.

At the same time, it has been pointed out by other posters that Carlos Bocanegra and Nick Garcia had strong rookie years but didn't make the Olympic team and they have played for the full team while two of the defenders who were picked over them for Sydney - Chad McCarty and Brian Dunseth - haven't played for the full team since the Olympics.

[Noah Dahl]

Yeah my first instinct is to say "Congrats Nat!" But there's no hurry to get him in the mix. He's gettin' games, let him season and prove himself.

[Karl K]

Originally posted by Sandon Mibut
My first instinct is to say "let's see how he does with the 23s before we bring him in with the senior nats."

If he does well with Mooch and Co., then by all means, give him a call.

At the same time, it has been pointed out by other posters that Carlos Bocanegra and Nick Garcia had strong rookie years but didn't make the Olympic team and they have played for the full team while two of the defenders who were picked over them for Sydney - Chad McCarty and Brian Dunseth - haven't played for the full team since the Olympics.

Interesting that you should mention that.

Clive Charles was one of the great personages in USA soccer, and clearly a man whose significant and wonderful legacy in many areas of the game -- club, pro, college, national team, both the men's and the women's game -- is beyond dispute.

But like most things in life, there is a flip side. Is it possible that the thing that made him so beloved to many of his players -- loyalty, devotion, his big heart -- led to decision making and player selection that was "suboptimal?"

I don't know the answer, but I do believe this:

To be a professional soccer coach -- and let's not kid ourselves, coaching the Olympic team is a professional assignment -- requires a mind set of cold, perhaps ruthless, rationality. Even the application of pyschology, and establishing team morale, is a means to an end. You can't let your own emotion and feeling get in the way. Instead, you use emotion and feeling as part of your coaching arsenal to extract outcomes you want.

What does that mean? Simply that players are in the end replaceable fungible resouces to use, deploy, and discard as circumstances warrant.

Recall in The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, when McGinnins is talking with Thomas Rongen about the keeper McGinnis was touting and why he wasn't playing. Why is he on the bench? asks Rongen? McGinnis replies that the coach has a "father-son relationship" with the other keeper and simply won't play him.

"That's ridiculous," Rongen says. "Pardon me for being so blunt, but no professional manager anywhere would be stupid enough to keep a better goalkeeper on the bench just because he happened to like the worse one. I've been in this business for quite a few years and let me tell you: If I had to field every year a team made up of only players whose personalities appealed to me, I'd still be looking for my first eleven."