I'm not sure either. It's a gut thing. Hamid is fading fast as things are, Guzan is definitely getting worse and Horvath is too soft for my liking. But, I'm still learning about Turner.
I know its a long way off of anything of note, but its great to see Edwards finally getting match time. That could be something to watch. Equally disappointing to see Gonzalez start to slump right when he started to get interesting.
Gonzalez has been up and down his whole career, though. Hence the stretches over the last several years during which others have temporarily wrestled the #1 jersey for FCD from him. It was Jimmy Maurer this year. Jesse has all the physical tools to make some fantastic saves. Its the decision making and mental side of the game that let him down. He's been around MLS for a while, so people tend to forget that Jesse Gonzalez is still only 23 years old. He's younger than Zack Steffen. Not by much, but he is younger than Zack Steffen. They're both younger than Matt Turner. Frankly, I think all of these guys people are talking about are good enough for the CONCACAF level. The chances of any of these guys reaching the Friedel, Howard, Keller level seem slim to me. Steffen is the best bet of the MLS crew. Hamid? If it was going to "happen" for him, it would have happened by now. He's turning 28 soon. That's hitting your prime as a keeper, and he's a backup in Denmark. Sorry. The soccer world is a meat market and your position in it can be made pretty clear. Hamid has had a case of Chad Marshall-itis. Great player. But just never got over the hump. And there's really no reason to explain it other than to say, it just hasn't happened.
From Hamid's YA thread... He has great physical tools including reflexes. I believe he has serious basic flaws in his game. I began documenting them in this and prior versions of this thread as one strident poster was claiming that he should have been starting for the usmnt back in early 2015. Feel free to search for those posts and dispute what I wrote, but i provided analysis with video support of Hamid not being set, cheating or overcommitting, taking up poor angles, and giving up unnecessary rebounds. I didn't see maturing you are seeing. I saw the same mistakes get made over and over and him go from GK of the year to a fringe candidate. Guzan made his fair share of mistakes but also had strong momemnts... 2016 copa america comes to mind. Hamid hasn't been impressive when playing for the USMNT and has made many mistakes as well. Steffen is much better than Hamid at the basics of the game. He provides a much more calming presence and is a much better decision maker. I think he has the potential to be the best we have ever had. He has impressed with the USMNT, his career is on the upswing and has interest from euro teams already. He is easily my #1 at this point and Hamid wouldnt be in my top three at this point. edit: my posts are in this thread https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/us-goalkeeper-discussion-thread-part-ii.1847474/
Hes poor at reading the ball in the air at times. I think his clumsy hands and bad rebounds limit his upside. Hes pretty bottom heavy too. Just seems to get his legs stuck in the mud. Agree 100%
I think Klinsmann is the most gifted keeper outside of Steffen. I was impressed with him with the youth nats. Once he puts on some size I think he will be the most commanding keeper. Not bad with his feet either. Chances are he will be in the best environment to improve his skills sooner than most keepers in the pool.
Klinsmann doesn't impress me, at all. In fact, I thought he was incredibly mediocre for YNT's and he had a terrible gaffe with his feet that lead to a goal in the U-20 WC. He can make some athletic saves combining that with good size, but he doesn't make them all that often, and he's inconsistent (at best) in other parts of the game. Just my opinion though. I think he's severely overrated due to his name.
I think he has the most natural goalkeeping talent next to Steffen in our pool. Thats not saying much. I also think many look past him because of the name. Some will never forgive him, probably. Im not saying he deserves a shot on the Nats anytime soon. I just think he is fundamentally sound in comparison to most of the keepers we have. He also has good agility for his size. Keepers, in general, are prone to gaffes. Especially at a young age. I think its a little bit harsh to pick out 1 gaffe from a youth tournament to base analysis on. Ive seen the best keepers make mistakes. Im sure if you run a Neuer tape you find a mistake. Karius was looking pretty good until the champions league final. I thought Klinsmann made some good saves throughout the tournament you made reference to. Klinsmann had a strong u20 concacaf tournament. I believe he won best keeper. I understand people have personal gripes against the boy but.....I just dont get it. Hes shown an ability to show up when called upon and he has all the measurables. I mean, I think he saved a pen in his only senior appearance, in a Europa match. I believe him to be the most natural keeper not named Steffen in this pool. Doesnt mean he wont make mistakes. Cant think of a keeper with better feet in our pool. Which isnt saying much.
I wasn't particularly impressed with Klinsmann as a U20 either. While we have a lot of late bloomers at the keeper position, most of us knew that Howard, Friedel, Keller were going to be special by their early 20s. Maybe there aren't many of of us left here who saw Friedel and Keller in their early 20s! Steffen is in that group for me as well. I thought I saw something special with him as a U20. For me, the keeper position is really muddled behind Steffen. Lots of options, but I'm not sure any of them are going to be international caliber. I really haven't seen enough of Brady Scott to have a firm opinion yet. Others seem to really like him.
I'm REALLY high on Steffen. Reminds me of a young Friedel more than anything else, which is saying something when you remember that Friedel himself didn't really come into his own until he moved to Blackburn at age 29. He has long term big 5 starter potential IMO. If he was a field player I'd say he had the quality and potential to play regularly at a CL club in a big 5 league. Tougher ask with GKs obviously but I can see him spending a decade or so starting at an Everton, Stuttgart type club. Beyond that you've got about 6 or 8 guys fighting for the #2 and #3 spots. Guzan is still in that mix but age isn't on his side, that said I expect him to be our #3 in 2022 (filling the Meola, Hahnemann, Rimando role) as long as he's still an MLS starter by then. Of the others I'm personally highest on Gonzalez but you've also got guys like Bono, Miller, and Turner in the mix. And I haven't really seen the younger guys (Klinsmann, Scott, Vom Steeg, Marcinkowski) play so I can't rule out one or more of those guys stepping up
Bono has passed Gonzalez for me in the depth chart, and I was a big Gonzalez guy. Gonzalez is having a bit of a rough stretch, whereas Bono has looked quite reliable
He also is on the bench already. Luis Lopez (24 years old, Honduras) started LAFC's most recent game.
I don't care about his name. Don't dislike him or anything like that. I just never thought he's any good. He plays like Jesse Gonzalez, but without the 63 career pro games that Gonzalez has. I think he's a big keeper with very good reflexes, but very error prone. Gaffes galore, whether its feet, positioning, set-pieces, etc. As for the Golden Glove he won at U-20 WCQ, there was no one else to give it to. We were by far the best defense at that tournament. He wasn't tested at that tournament. I remember the reviews of his play at that tournament weren't particularly good, despite winning the Golden Glove. But you are obviously entitled to your opinion on Klinsmann. I hope you are right and he comes good.
I didn't think Klinsman was great but keepers are odd in that it can be real hard to predict how they'll turn out. Hardest position imo to predict.
Steffen is the #1, the only guy who has had a very good game lately. At a world cup any team with an inexperienced starter, will take at least one veteran who has played big games. That would be Guzan, if he stays reasonably capable. After that it's a question mark. Right now, I have it roughly Klinsmann, Bono, Johnson, Turner, Horvath, Gonzalez, Hamid, and .... Yarbrough. But that could change any time.
Old and not very good. He looked pretty terrible in the Bundesliga promotion playoff. Not a huge sample size though.
he has always reminded me more of Keller, but with athletiscm closer to Howard. That puts his potential ceiling above all of them. I can see him getting to bigger clubs than that if he continues to develop.
I dont think Klinsmann is great. Want to clarify that. I dont know how he will turn out. I like his size and agility. 6'4 and rangey. Looked as if he was a decent communicator with his backline. I like his big kick and above average distribution. The gaffes dont worry me at the moment because hes not realistically in the picture yet. Peak years for a keeper are some way from him. He has plenty of time to solidify his fundamentals and cut out mental mistakes. I think hes in a decent learning environment and i hope he can deepen the pool. I havent been impressed with our current crop of keepers.
Tbf, Steffen went from Eintracht's reserves to sitting in CBus for a little, to MLS starter and USMNT heir apparent.
That's irrelevant. Klinsman wouldn't play in MLS not because of where he is now, but because of what he is as a keeper.
Im not so sure about that. He wasnt a bad college keeper. Hes a youth international who actually has taken a similar route to what Steffen took. He may not be a top keeper in MLS but he could start somewhere. Not as if we have a bunch of world beater goalies in MLS.