2004 US Player and Position Review & 2005 Projections

natewhd · Dec 31, 2004

Nutmeg said:

Central Defenders:

Eddie Pope (Denmark, Haiti, Mexico, Grenada, Poland, jamaica, Panama, el Salvador, Panama)

Eddie was still the man in the middle for the US in 2004. Eddie had some outstanding games, especially against Mexico. Unfortunately, Eddie also had a couple of poor performances for the US, with his worst outing coming at Panama. Eddie struggled more than he has in the past at the club level, too, on occasion getting caught out of position or outpaced by MLS attackers. This is a major concern for Arena and the US team. In the past, Eddie was the rock we never questioned.

Carlos Bocanegra (see Left Backs)

Pablo Mastroeni (see Holding Midfielders)

Cory Gibbs (@Holland, Haiti, Honduras, Grenada, El Salvador, el Salvador, Jamaica)

Also on the left back depth chart, Cory had a strong year for the US, most notably with a standout game in Holland. His club play in Dallas was inconsistent. Sometimes he was a brick wall, sometimes he lost his focus and his play suffered. He has all the physical qualities loved by Arena in a defender, and he hasn’t had what could be termed a bad performance for the US.

Greg Berhalter (@Holland, @Poland, el Salvador, Panama)

A pretty quiet year for Berhalter, as he played only in the European friendlies and then as WCQ wrapped up. Coming off some big-time injuries, just getting healthy and back onto the field for both Cottbus and the US was important for Greg.

Oguchi Onyewu (Panama, Jamaica)

Obviously a player Bruce feels is worth investing in. It’s not often your first caps under Arena come in WCQ games. Onyewu has also played very well according to reports at Standard Liege. With more first team professional experience under his belt, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the top 3 on next year’s depth chart.

Tony Sanneh (Haiti, @Poland, Honduras, Jamaica)

Also somewhere on the right backs depth chart, Sanneh had a subpar year for the US, but a very good year for Columbus. Like Berhalter, the fact that he is healthy and playing again was Tony’s biggest win. If he can regain 100% fitness and form, Sanneh may move up the central defense chart very quickly.

Danny Califf (Haiti), Nick Garcia (Denmark)

Barring a catastrophic rash of injuries to the US backline, I don’t think either of these guys will ever see a US jersey again.

2005 Projections

I see some openings on this depth chart. There is a history of injury for a lot of these players, and a few of them, to be blunt, are old. Chad Marshall will be a factor in 2005, and I predict he’ll get caps in friendlies, Gold Cup matches, and in later qualifiers. Also keep an eye out for Jonathan Spector and Frank Simek. If they get long-term loans and perform well, don’t be surprised if they both get calls in the second half of 2005 as central defenders.

Obviously the biggest concern is Pope. If his form continues to trend downward, that’s bad news for Arena. The other concern is that the US still hasn’t found a replacement for Jeff Agoos. What I mean by that is Arena wants one vocal leader in the back to organize the defense. Mastroeni and Berhalter have taken on that role successfully in the past, but Mastroeni looks to have moved back into the midfield and Berhalter hasn’t been a reliable option this year.

I think that we’ll see much more movement in central defense in 2005 than we’ve seen in a long time as Arena looks to find his best combination for the World Cup.
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How do you leave Cherundalo off this list. Easily the biggest shoe in at right back.

natewhd · Dec 31, 2004

twenty said:

I really hope you're wrong about the Mexico game. I don't think EJ's best role is as a spark plug off the bench. He is better as a starter. He can keep aggressive teams honest and he will punish them if they get too aggressive. That is something we need throughout the game against Mexico, but especially at the start.

I think Mexico will try to take it to us to start the game in Azteca. They will probably control the run of play at the start. EJ stands his best chance of scoring at that time. He is more dangerous against the run of play. If we only bring him on after we are losing, that reduces his effectiveness, since Mex will have backed down some.
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We need physical players against Mexico. Wolff should never see the pitch. This is a Mcbride, Donovan, Lewis, Casey scenario. All better players anyway.

natewhd · Dec 31, 2004

appooOnU said:

Mexico fears El Lobo.

Also, a McBride - Rafa Marquez matchup is not to our advantage. At this point in the respective careers, it wouldn't even be fair to McBride. If I'm Arena, I line up Johnson and the Wolf and go weith speed and flair and athletecism. If you play Mexico, you DO NOT try and play possesion soccer with them.
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With which lineup did we beat them in WC2002?

mpetrik · Dec 31, 2004

I get to read this site perhaps 1x/month, and I cannot remember when I was able to read more than 1 page of a lengthly thread before tiring of the topic. The initial idea and content, along with the other posts, has been fantastic.

Tail end of the thread had some focus on our game at Azteca. While that is our second away game (and second game) of the Hex, it is definitely not the most important away match given the advancement structure (Top 3 go to Germany, 4th place faces 5th place in Asia). We can lose and still make the Cup. When I see how a country like China can get bounced from the Cup prelims, I count ourselves lucky to be in our region.

That said, I am surprised that no one made a comment about how the Mexicans dislike playing against Cobi. Having him enter the game...if we are tied or ahead or even a goal down...in the final 20 minutes will frustrate their players, and in turn their fans. He appears to be in fine enough shape to handle the altitude.

And since he had a surprisingly productive late 04 campaign with the Nats, I hope to see him on the bench.

What does he embody that they dislike so? Is it the recent US success? The dreds?

Overall, my personal feelings about Cobi mirror closely what how some of you feel about Goose...but I have never seen another team consistently dislike one of our Nats players like the Mexicans do with him. It is a source of fascination...but this match in late March will likely be the last time I can see it occur on their soil.

Hopefully 05 will prove as successful as 04, so we can get a shot to duplicate or surpass our showing in Korea. The players you have discussed make me think that we are deeper in the back and mids then we have ever been...and I hope that much like the last Hex four years ago when Wolff and Mathis began to shine, a few more forwards will show that they can play with a much higher level of competition than the last group we faced.

Happy New Year to all!