The Jonathan Gonzalez Thread

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by TheFalseNine, Dec 14, 2017.

  1. TheFalseNine

    TheFalseNine Moderator
    Staff Member

    Arsenal
    United States
    Jul 15, 2014
    Norman, Okla.
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just read this piece by Ives at goal.com and, since it deals with JoGo and the USMNT, I wanted to start a thread about him in N&A and not clutter up his YA thread.

    Ives says in the piece that a source told him that "there was a belief within the current caretaker coaching staff that Gonzalez wasn't quite ready to be called in. This despite the November squad including several young players and national team newcomers who had little, if any, more experience than Gonzalez." Apparently his source also told him that Gonzalez was unhappy with not getting the call, but isn't ready to play for Mexico yet. Ives does remind us that he has remained consistent in his desire to represent the U.S. in international competitions. What the piece doesn't say is what @bshredder has reported on these boards, that Tab Ramos has been in consistent communication with Gonzalez. Seems like something Ives should've at least mentioned in his article.

    http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/us-n...shing-away-jonathan/unkzx30ko8bo1k03bkm4l55mw
     
    sXeWesley and Pl@ymaker repped this.
  2. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He was just named to Liga MX's best XI team, the best DM in that league.

    Neither Bradley nor Dax could or would do the same yet Arena went with them.

    In watching Gonzalez what stands out is his work rate, he's everywhere, harassing multiple attackers for a full 90. The idea we couldn't have used that while Bradley just jogged around the pitch while we lost....

    But if true that he wasn't called in for Portugal because he was deemed not ready even at that point, fire everybody!
     
  3. dougtee

    dougtee Member+

    Feb 7, 2007
    hopefully brian weighs in here since thats a rather explosive claim
     
  4. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There's the possibility that Ramos is in contact with him yet our full NT has been ran and is run by schmucks who don't think he's ready.
     
  5. yurch10

    yurch10 Member+

    Feb 13, 2004
    Let's hope this is just a bit of fearmongering from Ives (though seems unlike him, as he is very soft on US soccer like the rest of the media). I said it when they left him off that last Portugal camp, that nothing good could come from it. Sure, I was shouted down that he needed to stay with his club, but I didn't care much about Monterrey's season...he was already a key player for them, and I'd rather have him with the US team as often as possible. Him not being with the team could only have negative consequences.

    And now this. Again, seems farfetched that he'd switch teams after being so committed (or again, so i've been told). But once again, and this just speaks to that last camp, the longer we wait, the longer he's off the team, the longer he is in limbo, the closer we get to the "worst case" scenario.

    (Before anyone freaks - i realize he can't be captied for a while. Not the point. He should be in every camp at this point, and should have been in the last few camps before qualifying. I said it then, as well).
     
    TheFalseNine repped this.
  6. gunnerfan7

    gunnerfan7 Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 22, 2012
    Santa Cruz, California
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'd heard on here that Gonzalez literally turned down at least one Mexican call-up.

    If he wanted to play immediately, seems like he could've just done so.

    Seems a little to me like someone's stirring the pot a bit...
     
    yurch10, Marko72, WrmBrnr and 1 other person repped this.
  7. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Sarachan should've resigned when Bruce did.
     
    sakibomb523 and Anderson11 repped this.
  8. Rahbiefowlah

    Rahbiefowlah Member+

    Oct 22, 2001
    Las Vegas
    I don’t even know what to say if this is true. Can we light the world on fire until we hear exactly what happened?
     
  9. nowherenova

    nowherenova Member+

    Jul 20, 2003
    Formerly Terminus
    So if he switches to Mexico I can blame Arena for that too. Admiral Ackbar strikes again.
     
  10. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He should be treated just like CCV, not permanently capped but always invited to show our intent with him. If this story is true, someone's head needs to roll.
     
  11. bsky22

    bsky22 Member+

    Dec 8, 2003
    I thought there were clear stories that Monterrey asked that he wasn’t called in??? They had their last two games before the playoffs on the 9th and 18th (Portugal match was the 14th) with playoffs being three more weeks of a midweek and weekend game.

    Here are his touches against Tigres 4 days after the Portugal game...

     
  12. TheFalseNine

    TheFalseNine Moderator
    Staff Member

    Arsenal
    United States
    Jul 15, 2014
    Norman, Okla.
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    941485602389639168 is not a valid tweet id
     
    WrmBrnr and Pl@ymaker repped this.
  13. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT
    I call BS on Ives. The guy is creating noises out of nothing.


    * Monterey had key games, and playoffs coming up. The club probably wants him to stay around, instead of flying off to Euro for a meaningless game.

    * He's 18. It's not like he's a 26 year old being snubbed multiple times, and his years are running out. He's got a long way to go.

    * Does he really care that Bruce didn't call him up, or that Sarachan didn't bring him in for a friendly? Bruce is gone, Sarachan is a temp.

    * The US is in a period of transition. There will be a NEW president and a new coach over the next few months. If he continues to be ignored in 2018, then yeah, it might make sense for him to start thinking of other options.

    * We have one thing that Mexico does not have, rising stars. Pulisic, McKennie, Yedlin, and perhaps Moore, Adams, Sargent, etc. He's in this age group, he played with some of these guys, and already know these guys pretty well. That's a huge advantage we have over El Tri.
     
    yurch10 and TheFalseNine repped this.
  14. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    That was a newspapers best XI. That wasn't the official league best XI. Those are often just hype lists, same way all the same players always make the MLS All-Star team.

    Also, why couldn't Bradley or McCarty make the LigaMX best XI? You don't think one of the best MLS CM's could be one of the best LigaMX CM's?

    And I'm no fan of those players, but to think if we brought in the youngster hype squad that we'd definitely have qualified is wishful thinking. Arena should've used more of them, like Miazga, and called in someone like McKennie who was getting Bundesliga starts. I'm not sure Gonzalez had any place on the NT at that time. Whether he'd currently fit into a best 23 is hard to know. Given though that the team doesn't need to win any games between now and the WC, he should be called in for the March friendlies, and given a run-out.
     
  15. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT
    Why don't you think one of Liga MX best CM can't do a better job in the Hex than Bradley?

    Chicken and egg argument, but we never know because he never had the chance to play the role while the one that played the role every game had been garbage.
     
    yurch10 repped this.
  16. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    #16 ussoccer97531, Dec 14, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2017
    Is Gonzalez one of the best LigaMX CM's? If someone put Tyler Adams on an MLS Best XI, I'd question it, as well. Based on what I saw, Gonzalez held his own as a starter, which is very good, given his age, but was far from a dominant player. He played a very generic destroyer role, and at times was even overwhelmed by his role (the final). Do Brazil and Argentina call up every 18 year old to their senior NT who gets a regular role in the first division?

    I just don't like this argument people use that we could've called in the all hype team with Gonzalez, Adams, Sargent, Moore, Parks, all these guys most of these people were not talking about as realistic NT alternatives at the time of qualifying. If a youngster deserves a role, go ahead and give them one. I thought Miazga should've been playing more, McKennie deserved a spot in the team and maybe a few minutes, but I don't really understand the case for Gonzalez's inclusion for qualifying. I still have a problem with a lot of these players getting call ups, although a player like Gonzalez would not be among the ones I would say don't yet deserve a call up.

    Whether these players would've got us to the WC, who knows? The reason Bradley and co. didn't get there wasn't talent. Call in the best 23, and play the best players. Usually a young player playing a few first team games doesn't make them good enough to get a NT call up right away. Pulisic was an anomaly, McKennie an anomaly. There will be other anomalies, and one could reason that Gonzalez, Adams, etc could earn regular NT spots within a year or two of getting regular playing time, but they need to earn NT spots, like everyone else. The anomalies earn it easily with their play almost right away. Being part of the federation hype squad is not enough. Gonzalez needs to prove himself better than Roldan, Acosta, Trapp, Williams, etc among the last few options on a NT roster at CM.
     
    SlyEli repped this.
  17. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Because they aren't good enough.
     
  18. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think McCarthy and Bradley were that good at the age of 18.
     
  19. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    Omar Gonzalez was supposedly one of the league's best CB's a year ago. He was our worst NT performer during WCQ.
     
    jnielsen and swedust repped this.
  20. Borrachin

    Borrachin Member+

    Feb 28, 2006
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Let me think about it...........NOPE. How many Liga MX games do you watch per week? To begin with, the players and teams in Mexico are loaded with exceptional players on the bench, what does that tell you about the players on the field? Bradley has been crap for four years including the last world cup yet he continued to be called in, you know how long he would have lasted if he was playing for the Mexican team, the WC would have been the last we would have seen from him, just like Ricardo Clark in 2010. So no, those two could not make the Liga MX best 11.
     
  21. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What does Omar have to do with this?
     
  22. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I thought he was named to what we would call the all-tournament team.
     
  23. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    If LigaMX is so good that good LigaMX players walk into USMNT playing time, why did Omar Gonzalez do so and play so poorly compared to the MLS players?

    I simply don't believe LigaMX is good enough that Jonathan Gonzalez walks into USMNT playing time because he gets LigaMX playing time. He needs to earn his role with the USMNT, how does he compare to the other options?
     
    deuteronomy and superdave repped this.
  24. Borrachin

    Borrachin Member+

    Feb 28, 2006
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Liga MX is probably the best league in South and North America, maybe Brazil might be better, but not by much. To answer your question, Omar did not deserve to be starting over other players, don't blame the player, blame the idiot coach. If you can't see the difference between both leagues, I don't know what to tell you, keep on believing both leagues are very close to each other. Plus he is not only getting "playing time", he is the best 11 in the whole league.
     
  25. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Are you saying Liga MX is better than Argentina's?
     

Share This Page