.@jessegonzalez44 on his National Team decision: "It hasn't been easy for me...It's been difficult." Full report: https://t.co/wTbnhguTlg pic.twitter.com/gZJWD3Cv8Z— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) June 30, 2017
pic.twitter.com/AMEXm9Ootk— Jesse Gonzalez (@jessegonzalez44) June 30, 2017 pic.twitter.com/ICVeEonUyb— Jesse Gonzalez (@jessegonzalez44) June 30, 2017 Thanks Mexico for what they've given him, and looks forward to representing the US.
Not that either of them is seriously in USMNT contention, but a really fun goalkeeping duel took place this week in US Open Cup play between Matt Lampson of Chicago Fire and Mitch Hildebrandt of FC Cincinnati (Hildebrandt was the 2016 USL Goalkeeper of the Year). Highlights are worth a watch.
Probably not but i feel like Hildebrandt booked himself a one-way ticket out of Cincinnati with that amazing performance.
I watched that game partially live and the highlights on ESPNFC, and I thought Hildebrandt looked really impressive. Solid size, agile, and made some good reads. More than any position, goalkeeper is one where legit players can be hidden for a very long time. Only one per team play, their contributions can be subtle unless they're playing the hero against an opponent that's over-matching their team, and players get better with experience while not worse from physical decline until they're pushing 40. Tim Melia has been far and away the best keeper in MLS this season by the eye test and advanced stats. And you're talking about a guy who, until 2 seasons ago, at 29 years old, was playing in the usl and sitting on mls benches.
The Polar Bear steps up . . . That's CAPTAIN @bguzan to you .His second career PK save 👐 has the #USMNT up a goal in the second half! #USAvGHA pic.twitter.com/fBu0ulBkmK— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) July 1, 2017
There's buzz out of FCD insider-types that there's more to this story than meets the eye. Something happened behind this scenes. He switched without even speaking with Bruce Arena about his USMNT prospects. USMNT coach Arena has yet to speak to Jesse Gonzalez https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/so...smnt-coach-arena-yet-speak-jesse-gonzalez?f=r Any time the US have faced Mexico, you've never hidden your support for El Tri. Was it tough in that sense to go against what you have supported? "No it wasn't tough at all. At the end of the day it's just soccer and nothing against either country. I'm grateful for everything both national teams have given me." Has Bruce Arena reached out to you personally? "No he has not."
interesting, i guess to stay even-keeled we can notch this one up as a.......not bruce arena recruitment, but a jesse gonzalez recruitment.
Another implication is that Gonzalez might be lower on the depth chart in the short-term than most expected, since we all assumed Arena himself instigated Gonzalez's switch to the US.
yup........i got a little birdie who says our top 3 is a foregone conclusion for bruce if theyre healthy, and theyre exactly who you think they are. Bruce is infatuated with Howard, Guzan, and Rimando. They're his guys, he loves them, and he will not be moved. its the post 2018 forum we gotta talk about.
Wow what did Mexico do to piss of Gonzalez? Bruce Arena is a good coach but his ride or die with Guzan and Rimando seems so short sided. Hamid, Horvath, Melia, Johnson, Frei, and Gonzalez all deserve looks and should be our some combination of our starters at the Gold Cup. What a waste of a good B team tournament to gauge the future pipeline.
Reading this thread, I never know if our goals are to win the Gold Cup and prepare our team to get ready to play for the World Cup or to give someone's nephew or cousin a chance. Arena coached in MLS for years and had the occasion to watch each of these goalkeepers. He is probably friends with each of their coaches. Obviously, he rates Guzan as the number 2 behind Howard, who he wants to see in game situations. Guzan is apparently even the captain heading into the Gold Cup. As much as we might enjoy seeing some favorite player and even be right that he might be the best of the log jam lot, the priority is to win the Gold Cup and even more importantly prepare for the World Cup.
I totally agree. It'd be 1 thing if Howard was still in his 09-14 form. He's no longer an un-disputed no.1 Arena should give Hamid and Horvath every chance possible. As well as the likes of Melia, Frei, Johnson and Gonzalez to make up a worthy competitive pool.
I don't understand why you can't experiment and win the Gold Cup. Preparing for the World Cup is done whether you totally experiment or don't experiment at all. I think every coach would prepare for the WC. I don't know what your stance is, but I think if Arena thinks he can go into the WC with the current best 23, make nearly no changes and think this team will fare well, he's going to have no idea what's coming. CONCACAF opposition and Ghana B aren't the types of teams we'll be facing at the World Cup. If this is his team for the World Cup, I expect a 3 and out. Arena has been known to play it safe, but when your predecessor did such a bad job with evaluating talent and setting your NT back, you gotta play catch up. Its a difficult proposition. You want to qualify for the WC first, but you also have to condense the integration of new players that should've happened over four years into 1.5 years. Difficult job, but I think we are at the point where we need to be integrating new players, and not worrying about qualification, which we know will happen.
Well, each of us is entitled to our own opinions, of course. The time to have experimented was before Arena took over. There are a lot of chips on the table, now. Bruce has been through this before, of course. It's always fun to look at new flavors, but the priority is to prepare toward 345 days from now.
I agree that Arena will, for better or for worse, select the trio of Howard, Guzan, Rimando for 2018 if they are all healthy. I'm okay with Howard the #1 and Guzan as second-string. They're not ideal, but I can understand it given their international experience, and professional experience against very good competition in the EPL. However, it's going to hit a nerve when I see a 39-year-old Rimando given a ticket to Russia over Horvath, Gonzalez, Hamid, Johnson, Bendik, Melia, Frei, etc. I don't buy for a second that Rimando at this point in his career is a better option than them, and I don't like the idea of carrying two 39-year-olds at one position. Alas, it will most likely happen.
Basically, this is a good case for the other side of the equation. I might just also add this. 1. The third goalkeeper is often taken as a locker room presence. He probably would not get to play. Rimando, without saying, would be exceptional in this role. 2. A lot might happen between now and May, when the selections are made. Certainly, someone could step up and make their case. 3. More might be revealed in the upcoming Gold Cup matches. Should Hamid, or perhaps, Sean Johnson, get a match, this situation would assuredly bear watching. Rimando, of course, did not get called in. Johnson and Hamid are being checked out in training.
Yup. The time to experiment and look at other options was the first 2.5 years of this cycle. Klinsmann. Nobody jumped out to wrestle a position away from Howard and Guzan, partly due to injury and partly due to lack of performance. I will say that I'm less convinced that we'll go with Rimando as the #3 moving forward as others on this thread are. If one of the younger options like Horvath, Hamid, Johnson, etc. really perform well..............I see no reason why they can't win that job. Rimando will be 39 in a couple of weeks. He's not the present or the future of the USMNT. I want the third keeper to be more than a "locker room leader." There are cases when a national team requires a third keeper at the World Cup due to injuries to two keepers, but they're really rare. I'll go on record as saying Hamid will go to the World Cup as the #3...................... Howard will likely retire from international play after 2018, pushing Hamid and Horvath into 2/3 positions. (or guys like Steffen if they keep progressing). When you're in that position then you can challenge for the #1 slot. Guzan's gonna have to come back to MLS and prove he's better than these other MLS-based options. He very well might do that.
You simply must play some the younger guys in actual games. You can evaluate a lot in training sessions but its is very very difficult to totally evaluate keepers strictly based on training sessions. It is such a demanding position from a risk perspective. It is hard to go 110% in training when you put yourself in position for a bad injury. Sure all players have the same issue. But its taken to another whole level in goal. Field players have many opportunities in training to make a big statement. Keepers get very few. I have told this story before but its worth repeating because its exactly what I see happening with our keeper situation right now. When I was a freshman in college our starting keeper was only a sophomore. So i was looking at three years riding pine. He was good. I knew I was better but wasn't getting a chance. I worked hard in training but it just wasn't the same to show what I could do in a match. Spring semester I got my chance. The starter saved a shot but the force of the ball pinned his hand against the crossbar. Broke three fingers. So in the middle of a tournament in I went. Short version is that the other guy never sniffed the field again. Arena has some advantage here in that he has seen most of these guys play in MLS. But even that is still different than suiting up at the international level. The Gold Cup gives him a perfect opportunity.....come on Bruce please use it to our best benefit......really need to see some other guys besides Cuzan.
The Dallas Morning News (DaMN) has an interview with Gonzalez about his switch. One odd thing I keep seeing is that no one from the coaching staff has contacted Gonzalez yet he was put on the 40 man initial roster. That begs the question of are players picked but not talked to or is he maybe referring to after the paperwork was done? Also apologize if the link below is behind a pay wall as I actually subscribe so can't tell. https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/so...ternationally-us-mexico-easy-defend-hard-make
Yes, not sure where this originated. It sure wasn't mentioned in the linked article, which did show up.
Memo Ochoa has moved to Standard Liege, which finished 9th in the Belgian league table and no European play, compared to Horvath's Club Brugge finishing 2nd and earning a Champions League third round qualifying spot. That is pretty much who Ochoa is. Not a bad keeper, but this is a guy who set records, in a bad way, in Ligue 1 and La Liga. On his best days, he matches Guzan. Anyway, I'm looking forward to see Horvath face and outplay Ochoa next season.