If you could pick a starting 11 from the very best USMNT players of all time, who would you pick? Given that there are only 11 choices, this necessarily means that some very talented players will be left off. In my case Ramos, Harkes, Cherundolo, Perez, Lalas, Bocanegra, Gonsavles, Patenaude, Bradley, Clavijo, Moore, Keller, Stewart, Wegerle, Howard, Cobi Jones, Meola all had to be left off. Nevertheless, with the following players all in their prime, this roster is a WC semi-finalist roster. What do you think? Friedel Sanneh Pope Balboa Caliguri Reyna Dooley Donovan Dempsey Wynalda McBride Some eyebrows may be raised with the inclusion of Tony Sanneh at right back instead of Cherundolo, but quite simply the best US team of all time was probably the 2002 team, and the best US player of that tournament was Tony Sanneh.
LS McBride/Altidore RS Wynalda/Moore LM Dempsey/Jones RM Donovan/Stewart LCM Harkes/Bradley RCM Reyna/Ramos LB Bocanegra/Caliguiri LCB Pope/Lalas RCB Balboa/Dooley RB Cherundolo/Sanneh GK Freidel/Howard/Keller
We've already got this thread going: https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...eam-popularity-contest.1993021/#post-28543677 I think the two are mergeable.
One thread is about the best 11 and the other thread is about your favorite 11. Not necessarily the same, but would most likely be the same or very close...
Yep, for where Bradley is now. Ramos, in his prime. One could make a reasonable argument for Hugo Perez as well. Bradley will likely surpass both of them, or anyone else, when all is said and done however.
Between the OP and this list, I don't have much to add. I would probably switch Boca and Caliguiri and Sanneh/Cheruundolo between first and second teams. Also, Dooley was a better player than Balboa, but didn't he play more midfield (DM) for the USMNT than CB?
Dooley's most common USMNT positions don't really exist anymore, but are closer to CB than the CM positions that are generally in use. I wanted him on the roster, regardless.
Understood. He needs to be included on the list. Also, I forgot to mention that I would only have Freidal and Keller. From a USMNT team perspective, Keller was better (especially in qualification games)...Both Howard and Keller were average in WC games...
I'll go again in this one like I did in the other: Team 1: --------------Friedel------------- Cherundolo--Pope--Dooley--Caliguiri ----------Reyna---Gonsalves---- Ramos---------------------Dempsey ---------Donovan--McBride--------- Team 2: ---------------Keller--------------- Hejduk---Lalas---Balboa--Bocanegra ----------Bradley--Harkes--------- Stewart------------------------Perez --------Wynalda--Altidore--------- Team 3: --------------Howard------------ Sanneh----Onyewu-------Agoos -------------Mastroeni------------ ----------J. Jones---O'Brien--------- C. Jones------------------Beasley ---------Murray--Max Moore------- Just missed: GK: Meola D: Berhalter M: Armas F: Mathis Bradley will supplant Gonsalves before he is done.
Dooley was an awfully good player, and similar in style to Bradley, but he only joined the national team in his 30s. Ramos was a highly skilled midfielder and a good passer, but he didn't defend well, and his positional sense was surprisingly poor. He tended to drift around the field and sometimes disappear from games. Once he got onto a good Spanish 2nd division team, he was in over his head and quickly fell out of favor. Perez was also highly skilled and creative but slowwww. He and Ramos were very useful to our national team because our general skill level was poor, but there's a pronounced tendency to over-rate them on these boards.
Well, there is also a tendency to over-rate Mike a bit here. Guy is good, for sure, and has a somewhat higher ceiling, considering he's only 26 and a midfielder (I'd argue they keep growing until the age of 28-29). But he makes defensive mistakes, disappears from games at times, and sometimes gets too over-eager, producing an unnecessary turnover. Also, you seldom see something spectacular from him --like that cannon versus Russia (when you see it, it's usually with the NT). There's a reason why he's not a lock starter for Roma. He's been great for the NT of late, though.
Keller Dolo Pope Lalas Boca Landon Reyna Perez Dempsey Wynalda McBride Bradley will probably replace Perez eventually, and Jozy may replace McBride
Yeah that's because they are completely stacked at CM. Strootman would start for every team in Serie A except Juve, De Rossi is a Roma legend, and Rudi Garcia loves Pjanic. IMO he should start over De Rossi (not a Roma fan but I do watch a lot of serie A), especially if you compare the performance of both last season. Not a knock on Bradley I think, he's just the unfortunate odd man out due to circumstance more than anything.
i've only been following the USMT since 2002, so here is my best 11: -----------------------------------------Friedel --------Cherundolo-----------Pope---------------Bocanegra-----------------Hejduk --------Donovan-------------Bradley------------O'brien--------------------Dempsey --------------------------------McBride-----------Altidore
Whats the criteria for this? does the player have to be playing with the US for at least half a decade because if we are going with straight talent Clint Mathis and John O' Brien were easily top 5 talented US players but did not have the USMNT careers they should have. The goal the 2 linked up for vs South korea is what you would see from Zidane passing to Brazilian Ronaldo at Real Madrid.
Thank you. I was hoping someone would make the 'peak' vs. 'career' value point. Because I understood the OPs premise (based on his inclusion of Sanneh, who indeed, during KorPan, was a left-footed Maldini) that this is a mythical team, at their individual peaks, to win a game TODAY. Not an all-time contributors Best XI. Clint Mathis' career may have been over in an eyeblink, but at his peak he was more dangerous with the ball than only a handful of US players. Before the famous goal in Daegu, cited above, if he doesn't score that FK in the 86th minute @Honduras in March of '01...or doesn't find Wolff with the long pass vs. El Tri in Columbus...the man saved our bacon more than once.