I think you assumptions/biases are blinding you a bit. Zusi. Any manger would have given him a shot due to his excellent MLS play? Tell it to Brad Davis. Or Kyle Beckerman. Further, even if it is true, would said manager have deployed Zusi wide right instead of his CM position? Despite getting heaps of criticism for playing a bunch of CMs (Williams, Bradley, Zusi) as RMs? I don't think so. EJ. Same thing. Half of BS exploded when EJ got the first call. And Jozy didn't. And then exploded again when he was deployed wide. Result, 2 games, 2 goals, 1 assist. Again, JK not only calls him in, but deploys him in a way many disagreed with, and he comes up huge, and then you don't give him any credit. Williams is a MUCH better player than Jones? Wow. I don't agree there. Different type of DM, for certain, but much better? Anyone who has watched Schalke's last two matches (one in CL) will certainly disagree.
-Long term judgement on EJ should be reserved for when he plays stiffer competition. He showed he can still be super, super effective against mid level CONCACAF opposition. He played beyond my expectations, but there's a leap in degree of difficulty here that should keep people somewhat skeptical until he proves otherwise. -Williams is a much better DM than Jones for the US. Jones loses any sense of positional discipline when he plays for us. He tries to be Keane, Messi and Zidane all at once for whatever reason, and that combined with his tendency to get in Bradley's way usually means he's really, really ineffective. He's great for Schalke. Not so much for us. We show better when he's not in there.
Of course it's debatable but the spine of the US team is the same as it was in June of 2011. You're arguing that things have "changed dramatically" in 16 months when in reality it's just not true. Whether or not they felt at home is irrelevant when one analyzes those ten or twelve games the US won in the US against Mexico where the majority of support was in favor of Mexico. People in the stands is not the be all end all of home field advantage. It would also be unfair for me to downplay the fact that the Mexican NT feels comfortable playing in the US since they play here so often but it is still just a second home. It is nowhere near the same as playing in Mexico. Given the fact that Chuck Blazer forced the FMF to take an U22 squad to Copa America last year plus the Quito scandal, it is no surprise that we had our worst performance in Copa America since we were invited. That, however, is not an excuse. The team played poorly and were lucky to only lose by one goal to Uruguay and Chile. Since you love "facts" so much, I invite you to look at Mexico's record in Copa America when they weren't bound by CONCACAF and were able to bring a competitive squad. The numbers don't lie and give credence to those who feel Mexico would have fared better if they had taken a better team. The difference here is that in seven out of eight Copa America participations, Mexico fared better than most CONMEBOL nations with the exception Brazil and Argentina (and Colombia in 2001). In comparison, you're trying to convince me that one friendly at Azteca somehow correlates to a better performance than the 1-23-1 record the US has posted in Mexico. Agreed. Going by your logic, there is no reason why Mexico can't pull out a positive result when they play in Columbus. Seeing as how a 12-0 record is more rational than a one off friendly at Azteca. Seeing how the US has struggled to score goals and defend them both at home and on the road thus far, it's perfectly reasonable to think Mexico could win or tie in Columbus. Not that I expect it to happen but I'm confident the team could do it. ahhhh so before the Qualifying started you claimed Mexico wouldn't be able to win on the road because they had trouble doing so last qualifying cycle. Now you're moving the goalpost again and all of sudden winning every home and away game is not that impressive. I guess losing to Jamaica, tying Guatemala and only beating the weakest opponent in the group on the road is more impressive than winning all your away games. It's a shame it takes so much to impress you....I wonder why you would even follow the US national team at all since they have been so unimpressive thus far. Why would they play each other than WCQs and Gold Cup? Some funky logic you've got there especially when considering that Mexico beat Honduras in the Gold Cup semi final and in the Olympic Qualifying final all within the span of 9 months. Those are up to date and recent results, unlike your arguments. In qualifying for the 1994 WC, Mexico beat Honduras 4-1 in Honduras. They didn't play each other in the HEX for the 1998 WC but they did split a home and away series in the previous round of qualifying with Mexico winning in Mexico and Honduras winning in Honduras. In 2001 they, once again, split the home and away series. They did not meet in the qualifying process for the 2006 WC and in 2008 and 2009 they split the home and away series once again. With that said, Honduras has only beaten Mexico once in the history of the Gold Cup, in 2007 so if that's your definition of "having someone's number" then Mexico and Costa Rica have had the US' national team's number for a LONG time. It's cute how you wash your hands of "things you didn't say" yet anyone with common sense can deduce what you're implying. At least have the stones to stand by your argument instead of moving the goalpost every time you're proven wrong. I know you are but what am I? I'm pretty sure Brad Davis has been capped before. I'm also pretty sure Beckerman played for the US under both Bradley and Klinsmann so I'm not really sure what you're getting at. Zusi's play in MLS was good enough to get him capped and I personally believe he would've been capped by any other manager due to his combination of skill and pace. I could be wrong but then again there is no way of knowing since we're arguing hypotheticals. I clearly stated that Klinsmann deserves credit for having faith in guys like Zusi and Johnson. Club wise, Jones has more pedigree but for the US national team, as an outsider, I think Williams has been a better player in the center of the field. From the games that I've watched, I've yet to see Jones duplicate his club form on the national team. If that's what you've seen, then we can just agree to disagree.
Either you don't know how to read or you like misquoting me. Most of your arguments are conjured up based on things I did not say.
hmmmm How has the US player pool changed since Bradley left? I mean, what "significant" changes have taken place that would lead you to make such a claim? Are Howard, Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey and Donovan not the spine of the team? Did they all not play against Mexico in the 2009 WCQ (sans Jones) and the 2011 Gold Cup final? You can keep saying "I didn't say that" but what you're implying is perfectly clear.
Or we could just acknowledge that EJ is a CONCACAF killer past and present and use that to our advantage.
Oh, I agree. If there were a way to cryogenically freeze him and break him out every four years in the semifinal round, I'd contribute money to the cause. Beyond that round, I'm skeptical of his ability to be an impact player. He really wasn't in 2005, remember; he did his damage then in the semi round.
THe US team has changed fairly significantly since them. Of course so has Mexico. One thing that many fans who follow mostly their own team forget is that other teams are progressing as well, often times faster. Either way Cameron is a major upgrade over Goodson and Fabian Johnson is a gigantic cosmic upgrade over Bornstein or Lichaj. Those two are huge additions and the fact that we survived most of the last round without Donovan shows that players like Zusi can add quality to the pool. In addition the emerges of Gomez and the continued development of Altidore helps us. The 2011 lineup would be rather improved. ----Adu---Dempsey--Donovan -------Jones-----Bradley--Bedoya Lichaj-Goodson-Bocanegra-Cherundolo ----------Howard Current ------Gomez Donovan--Dempsey--Zusi ----Bradley--Williams Johnson-Cameron-Bocanegra-Cherundolo -----------Howard Zusi is much better than Bedoya who is pretty limited. Gomez is better than Freddy Adu simply because he's an actual forward. Half the backline took a significant step forward and only Bocanegra has probably regressed since his last go around. Williams for Jones is a relative wash if you ask me. So we have improved our pool, a lot. The only issue is I have no real idea if Mexico has done the same or not.
It's hard to say. There have been several changes over the past year but the spine of the team remains the same. Maza and Moreno, Gio and Hernandez. Everyone else is interchangeable. Zusi and Cameron are positive additions along with Williams when he plays in the center, they certainly make the US stronger but they don't really solve the issues that plagued the US under Bradley. The dependency on Dempsey and Donovan is still your achilles' heel. Zusi helps out in that department but is it enough? Where Mexico has improved the most is depth, having real options on the bench that can give you an offensive boost or more balance in the midfield and defense. Players that will break the rhythm of the team. I'm not sure what Klinsmann has in mind for the Gold Cup but I can assure you Mexico will send a competitive team.
Well yeah but if the US brings a team that is closer to their WCQ squad, Mexico will bring a team that will be competitive with whatever Klinsmann, Pinto and Rueda bring. I don't really expect them to win it but given the nature of schedule concerning the Confeds Cup and the Gold Cup, there might be some overlap there that will make Mexico's Gold Cup squad competitive.
We are not going to be bringing a team closer to our WCQ squad. this is a known fact. 2 squads. A for WCQ B for Gold Cup end of story.
He's said it's going to be a younger squad, so if he follows his word it won't be Dempsey, Donovan etc.
The simple answer is, Mexico hasn't beaten Honduras in Honduras since, 94. I expect us to make our home a fortress again. Do we have their number, hell naw lmao. Only at home. lol, But recently.. like turn of the 2000's-mid 90s, we've played Mexico much closer than anyone else, but eh, that only goes so far lol
usa, guatemala, antigua... what were the other 4 home wins??? i don't like the jamaican depth at all and of the 5 home hex matches, they won't win all 5, but i'd give them 3 at best, and once cards build up. they're dept kills them, lots of home ties , but that's whay they playe the games
usa, guatemala, antigua... what were the other 4 home wins??? i don't like the jamaican depth at all and of the 5 home hex matches, they won't win all 5, but i'd give them 3 at best, and once cards build up. they're dept kills them, lots of home ties , but that's whay they playe the games
Games played in 2008 in qualifying for World Cup 2010: Second Round: Jamaica 7-0 Bahamas Semifinals: Jamaica 1-0 Mexico Jamaica 1-0 Honduras Jamaica 3-0 Canada