The Olympics is not a FIFA event. Clubs are not required to release players. That's why the Olympics is a U-23 tournament for the men.
I'd put Donovan, Bocanegra, and maybe Cameron. Gooch is injured so that's a no go, do we really need Howard? We got a good set of GK's.
I forgot all about the Messi issue back in '08. My mistake. Also forgot that Chandler is actually U23 eligible.
Yup. There was a huge kerfluffle back in 2008 between some of the national team programs and the European Club Association. In 2008, early rounds of Champions League qualifying actually coincided with the Olympics. That happened to be the case with Barca and Messi. Bundesliga clubs in particular flat-out rejected callups. It was noted that FIFA didn't actually have the Olympics on the FIFA calendar, which is why the kerfluffle arose in the first place. A compromise was reached which ruled that for the Olympics clubs had to release U23's...........but were not obligated to release overage players. As far as I know that still stands. One can easily speculate that's why the US U23 called up Brian McBride (a player without a club as he was being held hostage by TFC prior to his trade to Chicago) rather than Dempsey, Donovan, etc. So when somebody suggests Donovan for an overage slot, my reply is "fat chance." LA isn't gonna want to lose Donovan for a month during their season, when they're already going to miss him for World Cup qualifiers, etc. Especially if they also let Beckham go to the Olympics, lose Keane for the Euros, etc.
We know the following players are 100% guaranteed to not be selected for the overage slots, assuming the US qualifies: 1. Jermaine Jones 2. Steve Cherundolo 3. Fabian Johnson 4. David Yelldell Omar Gonzalez would have been #5 if not for his injury.
Ideally I'd go with Dempsey, Donovan, and Cameron and line up like this: ------------Altidore----------- Dempsey------------Donovan --------Corona--Mixx-------- -----------Okugo------------ Chandler-Cameron-Williams-Morales -----------Hamid------------ Hard to decide between Boyd and Altidore, and Corona and Adu for me, but if we line up like this in the Olympics I think we could be very dangerous. Lets qualify first though.
I think LA releasing Donovan will depend on how well they do to begin the season and if they win the Concacaf Champions League. This team has the chance to be solid even missing two of their DP's at a time. Though, I doubt they will allow Donovan to leave, his body will probably be pretty beat up a little bit and LA will want to win everything they can. (LA galaxy fans correct me if I am wrong) On the other hand, I am hoping that Jay Demerit will be an overage player. I think he could be very useful for this team. Though it will entirely depend on his form for Vancouver in the beginning of the season. He is experienced and is used to the venues the Olympics are being played in. I dont think Old Trafford or Wembley would be as daunting to him as some of the younger players. Previous Posters have mentioned Cameron, but I dont think he is ready for this role. He has a lot of talent and will be a good centerback. However, he still makes defensive plays like a midfielder instead of a defender. His questionable red in the last friendly and his tackle on Jac McInerney in the box against philly during the playoffs which he would have gotten a red if he was a second late or had a ref that gave fouls based on intent. Though his versatility would be important on a 18 man roster.
true. but AEG will likely opt to decide to treat LD as they treat Beckham. If Beckham wants to go, he'll go. And if Donovan also wants to go, he'll likely go, too. (although, Beckham's new contract likely has such a clause specific to the 2012 Olympics -- while LD's older contract might not have any such conditions/allowances.) And I do question if LD really truly does want to go to the 2012 Olympics or if he'll come to the realization in the months ahead that he'd rather focus on his club and senior NT duties in 2012.
I don't know.............. They'll also probably be losing Keane for the Euros. If the Galaxy has a desire to win the Supporter's Shield this year, it would behoove them to keep Donovan from going to the Olympics. Presumably they'll already be without him (maybe Buddle & others) for various USMNT friendlies and the beginning of WCQ. And when are all these CCL matches anyway? I know the Galaxy is an easy pick for the Supporter's Shield and playoffs.............but it's much closer than people are making it out to be. I don't think Donovan will be there. Dempsey makes more sense as he's already living in the UK. Hell, you could make a case for three UK-based overage players for our squad. Maybe Dempsey, one of the centerbacks (Ream or John), and Lichaj.
After yesterday's olympic friendly, how does everyone feel about Donovan fitting? I like the chemistry they showed that they already have!
I refuse to comment on overage players until we actually have games to use them. But I'll just say that if I were to hypothetically pick some players they would all be at one area of the field.
I pretty much agree with this, but I'd still save one spot for either Donovan or Dempsey if they wanted it. Seeing how the team played against Mexico though, I'd probably only use them as a super-sub.
There is way too much attacking talent in the u-23 pool to be using a pick on Donovan. The guys we have need this time to put it together. Defense is another story.
One of the weaknesses of this incarnation of the U-23's was that the center midfield was sloppy and inconsistent and there was little leadership there. How do you clean that up? You can do it by bringing in a team captain who is right around the age group of these guys to raise the level and commitment of the other players. Michael Bradley is that guy to marshall the midfield and bring the thing together.
Two of the three likeliest candidates for captain are midfielders (Okugo, Diskerud). The bolded part of your statement is simple inaccurate.
I was going by what was on the field against Mexico. Diskerud, while very important to the success of that team, is not a holding midfielder and should be played more advanced. He had to track back quite a bit to cover for Morales who was uneven in his play. Okugo may be nice, but he's not Michael Bradley. Bradley provides attacking prowess as well as an ability to clean up whatever is in front of the defense. Kitchen looked solid, and putting Bradley in front of him would profide two strong pillars to the spine of the field. As for captaincy, Bradley is what all of these players aspire to be. He would be perfect for the role and has the right approach to the game to set a standard. Bradley is probably too important to the senior side to sacrifice for the Olympics, but his inclusion would be a no-brainer and a perfect fit if it was possible.
Just about any senior team player would bring more expierence and talent to a youth side. The comparison was not the u23 midfielders vs Bradley. The quote was "there was little leadership there," which means in comparison with their U23 teammates, which is plainly inaccurate. If anything the strength in leadership on the team is in midfield.
You can superimpose some theoretical ideal onto what was out there on the field in Frisco, but it simply doesn't hold up to the reality that it is juxtaposed with. It was plainly obvious that the middle of the field was a little out of control at times, with players being out of position and players making mistakes. Thats to be expected when you are both playing players somewhat out of position (Diskerud) and playing a wild card (Morales). Now, Okoye may improve that aspect a little. But when you are talking about fielding a competitive team, you want a clean and organized midfield. The best way to do that is by playing organized, motivated players in critical positions. You don't necessarily want to eliminate Okoye from the equation. You may stick him in front of the defense and move Bradley up the field some. But the idea that the team already has some equivalent leadership that would be on par with what a club-accomplished, internationally-accomplished player who is as noted for his work rate and discipline as Bradley is just silly and really isn't even worth debating.
With regards to Donovan as a senior Olympic player IF THE TEAM QUALIFIES, I think the amount of solid players under 23 who play the wing role such as Shea, Gatt, Gyau, Adu, even Agudelo may not necessarily need a Donovan other than as a more Leadership role orientented player. A player like Dempsey might offer more as just taking shots and trying stuff, but the main weakness is depth in defense and that is probably where overage players would be needed.