Players you are watching for 2006

Seems to me you have to FASTER to play in a three back, as opposed to a 4 back, since in a 4 back you're more likely to have cover if you get beat to the outside -- which is what will happen if you are slow, slower.

Meanwhile, I disagree with you. I think he is fast enough to play outside left--the main thing he must continue to work on game-reading and going forward.

 

and another mistake Bruce made

 

Hypothetically...

All of this discussion has been quite interesting, and I look forward to seeing many of these players getting a look over the next four years.

That said, What Is The USSF Waiting For????? I can't prove it, but are we the only national team in the world that hasn't played even one match since the end of the World Cup? The USSF hasn't even announced plans to announce plans for a friendly!

I do hope the Nov. 17 at RFK rumor proves true, but the USSF obviously isn't telling. Don't they want any Americans to come to the game?*


* 34,000 Salvadorans would show up to RFK if you ran one radio spot telling them the game was at 10:45 next Tuesday morning. Most Americans need a little more advance notice.

 

The way I see it a left back needs to be fast so that he can get up the field to attack and then get back on defense when he needs to. Defenders in 3 back sets are just that--defenders and very rarely attack. They tend to stay back and use their positioning to not let guys get behind them.

Boca doesn't have the passing skill or speed IMHO to play left back internationally.

Broome was really impressive in the loss against Colorado the other night. He got upfield so quickly at times he even outran his support. Of course that has to do with Rhine and Kreis not being speed demons like Broome. He tracked back on defense and was rarely beaten. He passed the ball well and beat people off the dribble. One sequence he received the ball about 8-10 yards past the midfield circle, feinted a run and chipped a 15 yard ball right to an onrushing teammate. A couple of weeks ago he rushed into attack, held the ball with his back to goal, turned and ripped a left footed shot just wide. Since the Bruce is so big on speed, I don't see how he doesn't get called up.

 

He made a few, unquestionably.

The difference between Bruce and some other coaches, though, is that he rarely makes the same mistake twice.

 

In Bruce's 4 back system, the outside defender has to provide SOME width on the attack, and SOME crossing ability to keep the opposition honest. He doesn't need to be a true speed demon, but must be atheltic and mentally tough enough to recover quickly on transition and be aggressive on the tackle.

With a 3-back system, you are often going to be isolated 1 v 1, so you had better be very fast so you don't get turned.

I think Bocanegra is fast enough to play outside in a 4- back. He will also be versatile, in that he could play inside as well. That will be a plus for him.

I do agree with you that his passing -- i.e., game reading -- can be better. I think that will continue to improve.

As for Broome, I've only seen him once this year. He has always struck me as pretty much a journeyman player, with good speed, and not much else to set him apart. That's not to say he can't step up his game, as you've noted with you examples. He will be worth watching then.

 

It didn't seem like Arena had much of a choice this time. That's mainly because 27-30 age range is thin on ability. By and large, that generation of players was too young to benefit from the run-up to World Cup 94, and too old to develop well in MLS.

In 2006, this "lost generation" will be in the 31-34 age range. That means we will have to rely on younger players. This will have a pronounced impact on our defense, where over-30 players are commonplace. It's critical that some of our inexperienced defenders develop quickly.

 

Promising players

What about Damarcus Beasely? The kid has mad speed and good moves. Plus he's an underrated defender. Coach Bruce Arenas said he is a really good defender. Also i'd love to see Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston playing on the national team. IT'
d be sick.

 

I think damarcus is a given since he's already a fixture on the team.
this thread is about new players that you're watching for 2006. otherwise all we'd talking about is landon, damarcu, o'brien et al.

 

I agree with Wanderer's view on the speed requirements for outside backs in a 3 vs. 4 back set. In my interpretation, a 3 back set within a 3-5-2 would largely look like a 5-3-2 on defense where speedy wingers (eg. Beasley) pinch off roughly 15% of the width of each side of the pitch, thereby leaving the 3 defenders in a more compressed space. This places a demand on man marking ability (even in a zonal concept) in tighter space and quickness rather than speed.

As Wanderer pointed out, defenders in such a set don't move much forward or backward so speed is not as substantial a requirement as it is for an outside back in 4 back set.

I know that Arena's conceptual preference has been a 3 back set with zonal assignments in which wingers don't have to come back and pinch off width much, and defenders are spread across the back. However, I think he was quickly disabused of this notion at the international level during the early part of his tenure. It may work when he has substantially superior talent as he did at DC (and UVA?), but it's hard for anyone to do that at the international level where speed and skill are so substantial that quick strikes can kill a team.

I also know that even with the form of 3 back set I've assumed, outside defenders can be isolated, but it should be rare, and d-mids are supposed to help out in these situations for cover.

I like Boca, but I don't think he can provide enough defensive cover on the flank or offensive threat as an outside back in a 4-4-2 due to a lack of speed. As you mentioned, he also needs to improve his passing on offense. I think he can be very good on the inside of a 4-4-2 and quite dangerous if he can improve his distribution. If we have people adjust positions slightly to occupy the left back slot, I think Beasley (maybe even Davis at some point) would be a better "convert" than Bocanegra. Boca does provide some depth and cover at the position, however.

 

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on Bocanegra.

But I did want to respond to the interesting comment above.

If you recall, Arena's prefererence through qualifying was to play a 4 back set; he went on the record then that in a 3-back, the outside defenders could be put under too much pressure. By saying that, he seemed to suggest that the 3-back provides more opportunities for isolation of striker on defender 1 v 1 -- exactly the opposite of what you say here.

Meanwhile, I think another reason he favored a 4 back was that he wanted, not surprisingly, Pope in the lineup. Though he can play outside, or even sweeper in a pinch, his talents are maximized strictly as an inside guy in a 4-4-2.

However, what became clear in both the Germany friendly and in the Denver friendly v Mexico, was that if you throw a 4 man midfield against a 5 man midfield set, and the other guys are skillful on the ball -- certainly the case with quality teams like Germany and Mexico -- you are going to chase all day long.

Recall that in Denver we started in a 40back, then went to 3-back at half, and then began to work our will on the game, after a VERY shaky first half.

So, guess who we see in the knockout rounds? Two of the VERY teams we played in pre-cup friendlies. So Bruce, having learned from his mistakes -- yes he makes them, but he doesn't often make them twice -- comes back with a 3-back set, to excellent effect.

One of the lessons Bruce learned in this world cup was that you can't be wedded to a particular formation, and that in order to have that flexibility, you need to have players who are versatile. Moreover, with a versatile roster, you can throw out different looks against opponents -- say Reyna out wide for one game, back in the middle for the next.

As we watch players for 2006, you need to ask yourself the questions:"Is this guy versatile?" So when your attention turns to, say, Steve Ralston, who is only a wide midfielder, the answer is clear. But if you look to, say, a Carlos Bocanegra, who can play inside in a 4 back set, outside in a 3- back set and -- yes -- outside in a 4-back set...well, that's a few plus ticks on the ledger for Carlos.

That's not to say you CAN"T have single position players -- you most likely will. But it really helps your chances if you fill in well at a variety of different slots.

 

Walker

Even though keeper is a strong position it would be interesting to see how Walker stacks up against the others.

 

If you're talking about Johnny Walker from Universitad De Catholica then you're wasting your energy. He couldn't find regular work in the MLS. I've seen him play several matches & he's decent, but he's 2-3 levels beneath Howard, Brown, & Rimando.

 

I would like to see what others think of Ryan Suarez, or have a lot of people just not seen all that much of him.

He did play in a small soccer market, Dallas, which may explain why his name has not been mentioned more frequently in this thread. However, he has more speed than Bocanegra and is bigger. Unfortunately Dallas was not known for great defense. Most teams did their business on the side away from him so he did not get that much TV time but that is a compliment to his ability.

Also he has excellent offensive skills having played forward for 2 years at San Jose State before being moved to the back. Since then he has played on both sides in the back with equal success.

Arena wanted him in camp before WC but injuries prevented it. He has now accepted an invitation to join the team for the 11/17 game.

He is a local Nor Cal boy so I am perhaps a bit prejudiced but I believe he is as good or better than any of the other candidates.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on Walker since his many performances i've seen(not exclusive to copa libertadores) have not been sub par, but have been far from stellar. I've witnessed a few soft balls making it into the onion bag, but he's one of the best in Chile.

Suarez has great offensive skills, is a constant threat going foward, and is dominant in the air. While he man marks nearly as well as anyone in the US, I've noticed him to get caught out of position and not providing cover to his zone. He makes up for it a lot w/ speed & tenacity like Heydude w/ better decisions and distribution. Of the current considerations, I figure him to be a lock going into 2k6, but he may not be a perennial starter.

 

I've noticed that too. I don't care if a guys a hot head, so long as he knows when to back off ala Cobi. Every team needs an enforcer.

 

While Suarez is obviously enormously talented and has great technical skills for a defender, and is big and strong, and often looks good going forward, to me he's still a major work in progress. He's often caught off balance while defending, when going forward he often makes piss poor decisions or simply goes too fast and leaves the ball behind him, and as mentioned, tends to make rash challenges leaving him open to receiving cards. He's also sort of a hothead beyond just the normal passion which teh game requires. There's a lot of hope for him both as a MLS player and at the Nats level, but in my mind he still has a lot to learn and to prove.

Just my stupid opinion of course.

 

Great thread Nutmeg - and all the contributors. Some of the best reading I've seen on BS.

 

With the lack of much real news in the last couple months, this is close to the perfect thread. Get to learn in advance from the "experts" (people like us?) who will be fun to watch over the next few years.

 

I'm not going to be naming anyone who hasn't already been mentioned on this thread, but Adin Brown and Edson Buddle have really impressed me recently. I'd expect to see both of them contend for a spot in 2006.

Also, a couple have brought up Freddy Adu's name. He's currently 13 but training with the U-17s at Bradenton and said to be on track to graduate from high school early--perhaps a couple years early. What are the chances that he'll be on our Germany 2006 squad? He might have been playing professionally for a couple of years by then. Pele and Ronaldo made the Brazilian World Cup teams at age 17, so it's definitely possible...

 

Re: Re: Players you are watching for 2006

Broome has a ways to go before Bruce should take a look at him. And he's already 26.

The player I'd like to see get more props is Wes Hart at Colorado. He looks like he's establishing himself at the pro level.