looks like a pretty damn strong side. http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=29217&itype= Tim Howard GK - MetroStars (MLS) Kasey Keller GK - Tottenham Hotspur (England) Carlos Bocanegra D - Chicago Fire (MLS) Eddie Pope D - MetroStars (MLS) Steve Cherundolo D - Hannover 96 (Germany) Nick Garcia D - Kansas City Wizards (MLS) Frankie Hejduk D - Columbus Crew (MLS) Pablo Mastroeni D/M - Colorado Rapids (MLS) DaMarcus Beasley M - Chicago Fire (MLS) Bobby Convey M - DC United (MLS) Chris Klein M - Kansas City Wizards (MLS) Kyle Martino M - Columbus Crew (MLS) John O’Brien M - Ajax (Holland) Earnie Stewart M/F -D.C. United (MLS) Edson Buddle F - Columbus Crew (MLS) Landon Donovan F - San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) Jovan Kirovski F - Birmingham City (England) Brian McBride F - Columbus Crew (MLS)
umm, did you see the other odd name in there? kirovski? i almost fell out of my chair when i saw that one.
Looks like a strong squad to me. Kiro's more of a surprise to me than Earnie. Now that Earnie's domestic, I expect he'll still get some calls. He may be past it for being a key player in 2006, but for now and for the first round of qualifying, he could very well be a strong vetran, helping out the younger players and settling things up front a bit. I'll be curious if he lines up Stewart of Klien at right mid. I'm guessing something like.... ........Donovan McBride Beasley O'Brien Pablo Stewart ...Frankie Boca Pope Dolo ................Keller The other guys will have to fight for sub roles. Japan brought it's top squad, and Bruce ain't gonna embarass our young inexperienced guys by letting them get smacked. I would expect to see a few guys get blended into the game in the second half, but if Japan takes this one for real, I expect us to follow suit.
Mathis is injured and probably won't be ready for the match. Olsen... well, from what I remember hearing (rumor?) that Olsen was told that he needed gain his speed back... That's why Olsen was tried at Mid against Argie... to see if he could still be used. Stewart? No clue, I thought that we won't see him unless we were looking for new youth. No Cunningham or Twellman either...
Whose missing? Notably missing: Ben Olsen (is he still recovering from his last injury with the USMNT? I don't think so.) Taylor Twellman (has Bruce lost interest?) Danny Cayliff (I could never spell this guy's name - He's been in every friendly since '02 WC. Why is he missing now? Pope is back and so is Bocanegra. Has Garcia temporarily taken Danny's spot?) Jeff Cunningham (no surprise here, though probably not the last we will see of him)
Retarded... I don't see any prob with calling Earnie Stewart in either. While I don't think anybody expects Stewart to be on the next WC squad, I think its great for some of the younger guys to get to play and develop with a player like him.
i for one am glad JK is gettin another look - on the rare occasions when birmingham has bothered to start him, hes shown pretty well for himself - besides hes still he best free kick taker the US has (not counting adu of course lol) curious to see what buddle has on this level, cant be worse than cunningham
we've seen cunningham and twellman the last few games, i have no problem with buddle and kirovski getting called to this game. i really like the 18-player squad for the match. should be a very good game vs. Japan.
Newbie do you have any idea who you're messing with? Don't hurt him Mike... no one else thinks that Buddle is a little suprising? Good to see some of the kids in there, while having some of a Euro's mixed in
I guess its good that Kirovski is getting another look. Maybe this will persuade an MLS team to pick him him so he doesn't have to languish in Div 1 in England. Who knows, maybe he'll get back into the national team loop over here.
I guess Stewart was called in for leadership. He may be past his prime, but he is still a hell of a player and can play multiple positions for the team.
he was going to be called in for the el salvador squad last fall before he was hurt... he has played very well in 'spring training' according to most reports and his talents could very well find him a spot on the sqaud on a more permanent basis. he's a big dude, quick, can turn on a dime and has a powerful shot. i dont think there are many other people in mls that can hold the ball, turn and shoot as quick as he does. i hope he gets a few minutes...
Kirovski is a surprise, Stewart is a pleasent surprise , this guy is excited to be here, offered his services, and Bruce should field his best at all times without regard of age, or what some other bigsoccer members might think
Glad to see Buddle get a call-up. No Twellman or Cunningham is very telling. That just might be it for those two. Earnie's probably still in good shape and might be useful for Confederations Cup, the Gold Cup or even early WC qualifying. I'm very interested to see what Martino can do as a playmaker. Sure hope he gets some time on the field. Kirovski to me is a shock. To me he will always be a player with a ton of technical ability but one who's incapable of imposing himself on and dominating a game. While he may show some flashes in friendlies he NEVER comes up big when the games matter (WC qualifiyers and such). I have no idea why he was called up. All in all should be a good game to watch what with Japan bringing their "A" team and all.
The only thing telling about Twellman would have been if Bruce DID call him in. I think playing two games three days apart in Costa Rica then flying to Seattle for another game three days later would have been a bit much. After all, he's not Adu...
wow! Finally, I knew Bruce would come through. Bringing Buddle up means no more Twellman for good. I hate seeing that no talent freak running all around the field. I wonder how bruce would use buddle.
Buddle I like the inclusion of Buddle as well. I hope he gets a chance to play more at forward for Columbus this year. I'm surprised at the Olsen omission. I'd like to see him and Klein fight it out at right mid.