A descendent of the Ursuline 100, I decided to, for the 2nd time, post a list of 100 players who are positioned to have a chance at playing in the 2006 World Cup, should we qualify. The list is organized, this time, by two principles: 1) A best guess at how Bruce Arena sees their chances, and I did this by looking at who he has capped, national team status, any comments he might have made, and the quality of club the player is at; 2) players born before 6/1/1973 (1969 for keepers) are not listed (but important exceptions will be covered at the end). So here we go (age on 6/1/2006 listed): Goalkeeper 1. Tim Howard (27) 2. Brad Friedel (35) 3. Kasey Keller (36) 4. Adin Brown (28) 5. Nick Rimando (26) 6. Marcus Hahnemann (33) 7. Jonny Walker (31) 8. Joe Cannon (31) 9. Kevin Hartman (32) 10. D.J. Countess (23) Probably controversial, but I think if Howard is still Man Utd #1 in 2006, Bruce would need stones the size of basketballs to go with a different #1. Left Back 1. Greg Vanney (31) 2. Cory Gibbs (26) 3. Wade Barrett (29) 4. Chris Gbandi (27) 5. Todd Dunivant (25) 6. Zak Whitbread (22) 7. Joe Franchino (29) 8. Pete Vagenas (28) 9. Chris Wingert (23) 10. Phil Salyer (24) Looking a little better now, as the addition of Whitbread helps. Right Back 1. Steve Cherundolo (27) 2. Frankie Hejduk (31) 3. Robbie Russell (26) 4. Rusty Pierce (26) 5. Kelly Gray (25) 6. Evan Whitfield (28) 7. Ricky Lewis (24) 8. Bryan Namoff (27) 9. C.J. Klaas (22) 10. Sasha Victorine (28) I'm holding out a lot of hope for Kelly Gray. Others see him in the center, but with his good pace and ball skills, I'd like to see him getting into attack. Otherwise that's a pretty ugly lot. Center Back 1. Eddie Pope (32) 2. Carlos Bocanegra (27) 3. Gregg Berhalter (32) 4. Danny Califf (26) 5. Nick Garcia (27) 6. Jim Curtin (26) 7. Oguchi Onyewu (24) 8. Ryan Suarez (28) 9. Jonathan Spector (20) 10. Eddie Robinson (27) 11. Nat Borchers (25) 12. Chad Marshall (21) 13. David Stokes (24) 14. Frankie Simek (21) 15. Alex Yi (24) Berhalter is listed third because last we heard, that's where he was. I'm hoping a number of guys pass him soon. Defensive Midfield 1. John O'Brien (28) 2. Pablo Mastroeni (29) 3. Richard Mulrooney (29) 4. Ricardo Clark (23) 5. Ramiro Corrales (29) 6. Danny Szetela (18) 7. Daniel Hernandez (29) 8. Seth Trembly (24) 9. Logan Pause (24) 10. Brian Carroll (24) Had trouble deciding whether Mastroeni or Mulrooney is number two right now. Went with the World Cupper. Attacking and Central Midfield 1. Claudio Reyna (32) 2. Bobby Convey (23) 3. Kyle Martino (25) 4. Kyle Beckerman (24) 5. David Johnson (22) 6. Eddie Gaven (19) 7. Mark Lisi (28) 8. Memo Gonzalez (20) 9. Ned Grabavoy (22) 10. Carlos Elliot (21) I think this is where Landon Donovan belongs, but for now he's certainly more of a forward in Bruce's plans. Left Winger 1. DaMarcus Beasley (24) 2. Eddie Lewis (32) 3. Brad Davis (24) 4. Santino Quaranta (21) 5. Justin Mapp (21) 6. Arturo Alvarez (20) 7. Eric Quill (28) 8. Grover Gibson (27) 9. Ian Russell (30) 10. Corey Ashe (20) Very nice looking top 6, but a drop-off after. Right Winger 1. Steve Ralston (31) 2. Chris Klein (30) 3. Ben Olsen (29) 4. Brian Mullan (28) 5. Pat Noonan (25) 6. Brian West (27) 7. Chris Albright (27) 8. John Thorrington (26) 9. Jacob Thomas (29) 10. Arturo Torres (25) Ralston, Klein and Olsen can reasonably be put in any order. Forward is very crowded and Noonan may better fit here. Forwards 1. Landon Donovan (24) 2. Clint Mathis (29) 3. Josh Wolff (29) 4. Jovan Kirovski (30) 5. Taylor Twellman (26) 6. Jeff Cunningham (29) 7. Edson Buddle (25) 8. Ante Razov (32) 9. Conor Casey (24) 10. Sir Frederick of Adu (16) 11. Eddie Johnson (22) 12. Nate Jaqua (24) 13. Alecko Eskandarian (24) 14. Mike Magee (21) 15. Kenny Cooper (20 or 21) Birthdate? That's either real good depth or a lack of top notch quality. Josh Wolff may seem high, but he was called into the last camp he was healthy for (Gold Cup but he got hurt a few days later, so...) and he was able to make the 2002 WC, something no one below him did. Overage players still getting caps: Brian McBride (33), Earnie Stewart (37), Chris Armas (33) Earnie is probably a longshot to make the club, but probably has a qualifier or two in him. Armas will likely see a few qualifiers, particularly if he keeps playing like he has recently, but I would give him only about a 35% chance of making the 2006 squad should we qualify. I'd give McBride a good chance of making the 2006 squad if he's healthy, but I don't know if he'll be a starter. 34 year old forwards (McBride turns 34 in June of 2006) have a pretty sketchy record in World Cups. Comments?
Nice job, but Chris Albright? Might as well include C.J. Brown... Oh yeah......Albright was one of Bruce's ("you get a thousand chances") guys....nevermind
phil curfman? nice lists generally and i believe certain guys will move up your rankings as time goes on (ashe, simek, buddle, casey, gooch, memo)
I'm not following. Do you mean Steven Curfman, the U17? If so, I briefly thought about it as I was somewhat impressed with him in Finland and left back is like the anti-Goalkeeper postion for us, but he's 17 and not turning pro and it just seemed like a real long shot for a guy who had just worked his way up to the first XI for the U17s. If I did a 100 for 2010, Curfman would likely be on there as we'd need replacements for Franchino, Barrett and Vanney. It's a strange position in that I'm not convinced the number 1 guy is significantly better than the number 8 guy.
1. Hasn't Corey Gibbs played center back for the nationals? 2. I'm much more confident at RB than on the left. Cherundolo and Hedjuk are better than anything we have on the other side. Maybe Russell too but I'd want to, ya know, see him play before passing judgement. 3. Aside from Donovan the forward projections are all over the place. There are at least a dozen guys who could be on final roster. 4. Don't really get the Donovan to A-Mid thing. Landon is most dangerous makeing runs off the ball, and seems to get lost in center of the field. If he's being moved to the middle try the right, where his freelancing could be covered by a defensive minded back. 5. Really like your rankings overall, good blend of projectability, and current performance.
BTW, here's some breakdowns: Abroad - 27 USA - 73 Pro - 93 Amateur - 7 82s or younger Bradenton - 20 Others - 11 (check that if you like) Age qualified (using above format) for 2010 World Cup? Yes - 76 No - 24 Fire - 9 Crew - 5 DCU - 8 Revs - 6 Metro - 7 Burn - 5 Wiz - 4 Rapids - 5 Gals - 9 Quakes - 8
I have to agree, great job....But if Albright is in the list, i demand to know why i haven't been capped yet....I try to stay off the net, and Bruce still won't call me...
Yes, he's played both for us and in Germany too, I think. Played Left Back against Brazil in the Confed Cup, I believe. Considering our lack of...anything really at left back and the fact that Cory has played their often for both club and country, I moved him to left back. Whereas someone like Nick Garcia has played almost exclusively center for the Wizards, despite Bruce giving him the occassional run out at right back. Well, if you notice, I have Ian Russell listed as #9, and that's with shoehorning Quaranta in there, so that should give you an idea of the depth problem at the position. Any suggestions for a replacement? (And yes I have seen Ashe play, you don't think I'd miss Freddy's TV debut, do you?)
Well I tried to base it on what Bruce has done in the past, and he's capped Albright a few times, though not recently. I mean my next choice at the position was Devin Barclay, so cut me some slack.
yeah (smacks forehead) that's what i meant - he's impressed me so far seriously, the depth chart makes me want to see a 3-5-2, kinda like .....pope...boca...gibbs ........reyna....JOB ....LD.....martino...DMB/lewis or reyna for martino and mulrooney/mastro for reyna i will say i've been starting to love ralston at RM, all he needs is to play with confidence
what happened to ryan suarez? i thought around a yr ago ppl were projecting big things for him, then it seemed that bocanegra took over the hype and i havent heard of him since.
We all know that he does. Klien is a scrub who plays well when he is a good 6 to 8 inches taller than the guy he is playing against. I think we could try him at right back, but never in midfield. Play DMB there before Klien. As for Jovan Kirvoski, if he ever sees the field again for the Nats it will be too soon.
First, Arena didn't seem to like him much (got his only career cap against Wales), and then this year in MLS was a disaster: the Burn got off to a horrible start and then he was traded to LA in mid-season and has stopped playing altogether since. One of the top candidates to show up on Chivas if they start next year (he's Hispanic but not Mexican). Bocanegra's been ahead of him on the pecking order for quite some time now (well over a year) though.
One player that isn't on the defender list that might be able to play for the nats if he can stay healthy is Jose Burciaga Jr. of the Wizards, he's had some problems with his ACL. He was born in late 81 so he'd be 24 for the next World Cup. He's played for the U-20's, so if he can stay healthy may be able to contribute to the full nats.
Fair enough, if you're basing this on Nat callups, etc. But who do you think has better odds of replacing Keller (or Friedel)? One of these guys who seem to have pretty much peaked, or the talented young kid who would be there for experience? I've got to think that Countess, out of these four, is the only guy with a chance at being better, ever, than any of our top 3. Likewise, I don't understand how you're doing these rankings. Is Wade Barrett a better player right now than Zak Whitbread? I don't know, very possibly. Who is more likely to be starting at left back in Germany? I've got to go with Whitbread. Ditto. Kelly Gray's odds of actually playing are much better. Is David Johnson even playing for Willem II? I've got to give this one to Gaven by a mile. Isn't he a left-mid (since we all know so much about him)? These three seem incredibly high. Do you really believe that Cunningham is going to get 1/5 the caps Buddle will over the next 4 years? Overall, though, a good list. Since GersMan seems to have given up, I hope you take up his mantle.
I know this is looking forward to WC 06, but if there is a qualifier tommorow in the Saprissa, and for whatever reason one of JOB or Reyna can't go, I start Chris Armas at D-Mid. This dude is playing out of his mind right now. Pay attention to him in the MLS Cup, because think he'll me marking a certain phenom for much of the match
I'm assuming you have a rule of only one position per player? Otherwise Convey would be #1 at Left Back. I disagree with your forward depth here. #1 Donovan, #2 Edson Buddle. He must have passed Clint, Josh, Kiro, Twellman, and his teamate Cunningham out with ease by now.
Just some comments on the Quake players... Im not sure how youd rate Gbandi over Dunivant given MLS form. I cant help but look at Robinson and see more than I do than from most central defenders in terms of potential. He has his moments of poor decision making (which I am optimistic he will outgrow still) but in terms of on the ball skill and athleticism (both size and strength) he has more upside than most. And given Saurez's banishment to the LA bech, Id at least have to put him ahead of him. Robinson needs to get healthy for a full season though. Mullan realisticly belongs with Olsen, Ralston and Klein, and I think will be given a shot next year. Arena has mentioned him as being on his radar now, for whatever thats worth. To me hes probably the most complete player of the bunch, but Im probably pretty biased.
I'm not trying to rate them at all. I'm trying to use the information available to guess at what Arena's plans are. Neither has been capped, but Gbandi's got a bunch of youth caps whereas Dunivant doesn't. I'd rate Dunivant ahead of Gbandi myself, but Gbandi's figured more prominently in the National setup. Doesn't mean Gbandi's definitely ahead of Dunivant, but based on the information available, that's my best guess. I mean, I wouldn't rate Kirovski above Twellman or Buddle either but Kirovski has figured far more prominently in the nats than they have, hence the order.
I just don't see Reyna as the attacking midfielder in 2006. Will he have the legs? It will wind up being Donovan/Martino/Convey at Amid, with Convey doing some time at Left Back. Reyna will be there somewhere I just don't see him as the A-mid.
Looking at this list, you can really appreciate what MLS has done for the national team. There is another midfielder who plays for SMU(I think his name is Nunez) who is rated pretty high. The person who writes for 3rddegree which is an independent website about the Burn has stated he is a very good player and is a freshman.