I would humbly suggest that the following players take a bow and call it a career for the national team and make way for the next or current generation of players. It would also require that B.Bradley stop doing favors for veterans and start to coach new talent: 1. Eddie Lewis: maybe the sweetest left cross we ever fielded. A defensive liability, but feisty and accurate. I would say he should concentrate on his club form and make Bradley choose the next Beasley. 2. Josh Wolff: He may have self-imposed retirement after the England match, but he should just go ahead and make it official. Great vision, positioning. He could have been an excellent striker if he could finish. I always liked his game, personally. 3. Mastroeni: I think he is the best d-mid of the last 12 years. Is not the liability that Wolff or Lewis can be in the run of play, but is a liability on cards. He needs to move aside so that Edu can get playing time as it is obvious M.Bradley is never going to be benched under daddies watch. More than the top two, I would keep him around for qualifying. 4. Frankie: Guy was an absolute inspiration during the Gold Cup, but now has to resort to wild play and tackles to make routine plays. Another player that you hate to see go as he is a natural leader by example and can probably play competitive soccer until he is 45, but on the right you have Wynne and 'Dolo to mentor him. On the Cusp: 1. 'Dolo: He has never been my favorite player as he is prone to mind numbing mental collapses, but he is fearless and can stick into people. However, I believe he will be 32 by 2010 and Wynne is clearly ready for some serious grooming. I think he should be on the bench for 2010, but if I were Bradley, I would have Simek and Wynne battling for this position. 2. Ching: His ability to hold up play in the box, spring players and ability in the air are all good assets, and I think Arena did him a huge disservice by not putting him in against Italy or Ghana, but by 2010 you wonder if he can keep it all together. I dont mean to do any player here a disservice, but I suspect one of the hardest things to do is retire from playing from your country, even though you know it is what is required to make the team better for the future. Also, I think Bradley needs to simply develop younger players from the talent pool as speed and more international experience are needed if we are going to make a dent in 2010...assuming we get there.
Frankie has always looked a little wild out there, crazy two footed tackles, laughable step overs, and goofy dances. He's still one of the most consistently effective players on the team. Even if he ain't pretty.
He's getting there, but I don't think he's necessarily past the sell-by date just yet. He really shouldn't appear again until he's shown decent club form, though. Agreed. He's on your retirement list, but you would keep him around for qualifying? I think Mastro has always been underrated for his comfort on the ball. He looked poor at times vs. Guatemala, but I certainly don't think it makes any sense to push him aside just because you want Edu to start. There's no question in my mind that Mastro is, at worst, the fourth option in midfield, which means he remains in the mix for the next year at least. I'd still worry about his occasional recklessness, but he still hasn't shown that he's past the sell-by date. Like with Mastro, this appears to be more about making space for someone else than about the player in question. Unlike with Mastro, the guy you want to make room for hasn't even proven that he's better than Frankie yet.
Players announce their retirement from international duty when they no longer want to be called up and go through the travel, training, low pay associated with the national team. Some guys would be honored to be called up when they are 50 so won't ever announce their international retirement. Doesn't mean they get called up, they may just quietly fade away.
You're never too young or too old, if you're good. Age has nothing to do with it. BTW, I think Mastro can be very helpful even in 2010, if you need another d-mid in order to play Edu in the back or Adu upfront.
I don't think people should retire from national team play unless they no longer want to play for the team. If you mean, "Who do think should effectively be retired from national team service?", that's an interesting question. But I have to say that the list you offer seems replete with premature dismissals. Also, I think that it--like a lot of BS lists that stress youth--is ironically and probably unconsciously the result of an old US mentality, something along the lines of "We don't have 21 good players much less 40, so it's not worth doing anything to keep fringe guys in play." I think a healthy, successful national team, though, is always keeping an eye on--maybe even calling up--a lot more players than will make the squad for any given game. Especially two full years before a World Cup. As for your particular proposed retirements... I keep finding myself saying that promise ain't proof, and when it comes to WCQ and the WC, one has to have a pretty good ratio of proof to promise. Sure one wants a lot of young guys in the NT picture, but for big games one wants to field only young guys who have already shown something concrete at the highest level. Of course that means giving them some chances to show it in other games, but in order to qualify you can't just throw a bunch of newbies on the field at once in high-pressure situations and say, "Git 'er done." We need to mix young players in with solid veterans, or we'll likely look like we did at Copa America last year: out-thought and out of sorts. Another way of putting that: there's a difference between retiring in 2008 and by 2010. A lot of the guys you list might not still be useful to the squad come South Africa, but at least some of them are going to be important to getting there. And the coach (Bradley or whoever) will still want some to keep in reserve some of the players whom he isn't planning to put on the field in WC 2010, just in case their younger replacements get hurt, develop a coke habit, or quit soccer to work for Goodwill. That doesn't mean calling older players up all the time (or at all), but it does mean letting them know where they stand and urging them to be ready if the call comes. Oh, and lastly, in friendlies or even qualifiers when it's safe to do so, I've got no problem giving starts to younger players with promise. But when it comes to crucial games (especially WC games), if everybody's available, you put the best and/or most appropriate players on the field for that given game. So I'm fine with looking past Josh Wolff, but all the other guys on your list strike me as being among the better players in their positions. They should stay in the mix until they aren't. Cherundolo, for example, is still probably the best right back we've got, especially against certain kinds of teams. Wynne--particularly if he can learn to play better positionally--might be a better bet against a big, strong team like Sweden or Poland, but Dolo has played well against class opposition for us recently. (The Guatemala game notwithstanding.) Maybe Simek will beat him out by 2010, but maybe Simek will still be injured in 2010. There's no point making that decision in 2008.
I don't disagree with most of them but if you think Dolo is prone to mental blunders... have you watched Wynne for any length of time? He's 10 times worse, even if you account for his youth. I also disagree with Mastro. I still think he's a usual player. He's versatile and can play both defensive mid and central defense. He's a good distributor of the ball too. Yes, he's a little card prone but he's still an important player.
I don't want to see Landon play below expectations anymore. And most of our players (many of them the younger guys) are big pu$$ies. They whine and don't challenge correctly, then make up for it by being "tough" and getting cards. Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey and the rest of our offense are about as dangerous as a wet pair of boxers. They shoot like girls and are afraid to fight for that extra bit of space to score goals. Hopefully Altidore will break that mold, but I ain't betting on it. Bring back Tab Ramos and Eddie Pope.
Here is my list: . . . . None. Players should play as long as they want to and we don't have better players available. The only guy on your list who even probably fits there today is Josh Wolff. For everyone else, we can all hope we have enough better players to not use them anymore, but only time will tell.
if you're prone to menal blunders you don't last long in bundesliga.. dolo, basically off a summer break was rusty, but league matches will take care of things for him.... people retire AFTER a cycle is over, not in the middle of one... mcbride, keller, reyna great careers, know when to retire... if the coach calls you in, do you say no... only friedel, seems to be a guy who retire prematurely..