first it's just a camp...he hasn't started him in a real match yet. secondly...i think bruce sees something in albright the rest of us don't. he has speed, height, workrate...what he lacks is a soccer's mind and scorer's mentality. perhaps the bruce wants to try him out at right back...it worked with sanneh.
(Speed, height, workrate)..hell, let's just find then...some struggling NBA or NFL player.....train 'em for a year or 2, and then cap 'em....if speed, height, workrate is what this is all about.....let's get PLAYERS out there....I'm a bit tired of the "American soccer player a good athlete cliche".. Chris is an OK player, but if Bruce is going to give a thousand chances over the years...then other guys deserve the same (thousand chances)...where was/is Ralston's thousand chances? Kreis? etc
Is Chris Albright the next Sanneh? Might be possible - he actually did pretty well when Sigi Schmid had him fill in at right wingback.
I'm with Elninho. A while back, I suggested Albright get a runout at RB. I think this was back during the Victorine experiment. My biggest reservation is that Chris doesn't strike me as a terribly intelligent player. It'll be hard for him to make the adjustment. But he's got alot of the attributes that the US could use at right back. I mean, remember, we used Frankie Hejduk at right wingback against Germany. And while Sanneh was phenomenal at the Cup, his play there was a definite outlier. It's sad that it's a smart gamble to try out Chris at that spot, but there you have it. Anyway, to bring it back to Hejduk...Chris is almost as fast, has aLOT more size, and more ball skill.
Albright All this about Albright maybe, possibly deserving a look is true. It is also true that there is a U.S. national team soccer clique. Arena's kid isn't much of a player but Bradley will give him a shot. Bradley's kid isn't much of a player but by golly, he'll also be in MLS each year. They're known quantities. So is Albright, as 1) a former U.S. youth national teamer, and 2) a former DCUer. A player with similar ability to Albright and similar MLS achievements but who was from outside the clique would be unlikely to be receiving the same invitation.
Re: Albright You got that right. He is simply mediocre, but god dammit we are gonna fit him in somewhere!!
Re: Albright Bingo. I've watched AllDim in person and on TV a hundred times now, and i'm fairly certain he couldn't make Nepal's first selection. At any position. Not even Wallace Jackson would fear for his job. Chris AllDim is the Prototypical "Collegian Athelete" that will not exists in MLS in 5 years, regardless of expansion. He has almost no skill, and even worse, has no idea he has no skill, and is totally out of place, as evidenced by the Cigar he lit up in Harrisburg when we qualified for Sydney. So why does the Bruce do this? I'm convinced Bruce does this for one reason: he always brings in one "Fool" selection to make it clear who is in charge. Last cycle, "The il Bruce Arena Fool Selection" (TIBAFS) was the ABMOD. ABMOD was not brought in because Bruce likes his workrate and he was a "known quantity"; ABMOD was brought in because he was "in" the Clique, and his presence proved who was in charge. There is no better candidate for the TIBAFS slot in this next cycle than AllDim, who barely belongs in MLS, and if not for expansion looming would be out of the League permanently. There is an additional dynamic to the "Clique"; if you are "in" and have contract issues looming, or are looking for your next home, and need to be "showcased" or "validated", you get the call. Example Primo Numero Uno: Jovan Kirovski. My feelings about all this? Unlike many other Dallasites who repeatedly call out Bruce for looking over Dallas players (part of the League-Fed anti-Dallas passive Conspiracy, which really does exist) I have no problem with one and ONLY ONE camp/cap slot going to a TIBAFS player because The Bruce is God for Korea, and will remain so until he crashes in flames*. *-interpretation of "Crashing in Flames" tbd. -bs
Thanks. I figured it would have to be Richie Williams but I wasn't sure how he translated into ABMOD.
To be fair, SA did realease an addendum to their list. Best Arena teabaggin' benchwarmer who attended UVA 1. Chris Albright 2. Richie Williams . . .
Bruce has his favorites. I get tired of him bringing retreads like Albright. Earlier this year, Bruce was asked if there were any young players he would bring to the national squad. He answered that he had given consideration to Quaranta. If you are one of Bruce's Boys, you will always be given a shot even though you have had a terrible season for your club team.
Alternate theory #2: He's calling in Albright precisely to focus our attention on Albright while he does other things. If we're too busy complaining about Albright (or ABMOD or Kirovski), then we won't have time to notice any of Bruce's other experiments, and will then presumably leave him in (relative) peace...
Where the hell do people get this cr*p about being one of Bruce's boys? While as a UVA alum and DC United supporter, I might be partial to the two players above, Arena did not coach Albright in either college or at DC United and likewise, has never coached Quaranta in any form. So why exactly would Arena feel some kind of special treatment was in order for them? Who does the US have for right back at the moment? Cherundolo and Hejduk. Cherundolo would seem the choice at the moment, but his size is of concern against most non-central american teams. And Hejduk who will be 30 when qualifying starts, still can't cross and looked like where the offense went to die for the Crew this year. Which means Arena needs to look at other players. Right now the two best choices are Klein and Albright. Klein and Albright are almost identical in size, have similar skills in that they have solid two ways skills but are not true international caliber midfielders, exactly 3 years apart in age and had somewhat similar years in MLS 6G4A for Klein, 3G4A for Albright. Right now if I were Bruce I would start trying Klein out in back, but it is not out of the question for Albright to be in camp and play this position in intersquad games with Klein on one team and he on the other. And as for Quaranta, based on the way he has looked at the U20's so far, the chances of Arena seriously calling him are about nil as he has been one of the, if not the worst players on the US squad so far.
Bingo. How many people, when they saw Heydude's name on the WC roster said, "Well, at least he didn't take ABMOD!"
Albright: Can't score, can't drible, can't cross, can't head. Runs like hell but only in a straight line. Apart thse obivous shortcomings .... he is an excellent player
You're all fools if you didn't learn anything during the last qualifying cycle. Bruce will call in ANYONE he thinks might be able to make the National team better. It's as simple as that. He wants to win. There are no "favorites" there's no 5th grade head games with a bunch of Internet nuts, he's just trying to build a team that will win.
I'm reminded of the "brilliant" way Arena handled the left back situation for 2002: Regis not up to snuff, and no alternatives in sight. Rather than testing more players for the position, Arena brought Regis, who ended up not playing at all in Korea. Meanwhile, for the better part of 18 months, Arena wasted his time watching Ritchie Williams in camp after camp. After having seen Williams at UVa and DC, didn't he already know Williams' abilities? And was there any real possibility of Williams playing in Korea? My query is this: Why does Arena insist on wasting his time on players that have no business playing at the international level? Why waste time on camps full of the likes of Albright, Perez, and other players who so clearly lack the ability to play at this level? Does anyone here actually think that the US has such a surplus of players that Arena can amuse himself with these jokers? Injuries/lack of form can happen at any time to any player. It's my opinion that the national team coach of the US should spend his time preparing for this eventuality. Albright, Perez, and many others Arena invited into the December camp lack the very basics of footballing ability, athleticism, and football sense to play internationally. Cheers!
That's funny, I remember him running out both Bocanegra and Vanney at that position. Unfortunately, both players got hurt.
It look forever for Bruce to get Pablo Mastroeni into the team, because he was obssessed with Richie Williams so much. If I recall correctly, Pablo never participated in qualification. He also never even considered Mulrooney until just before the world cup. Mulrooney should have gone instead of Regis. Mastroeni wouldn't have gotten a chance if Armas wasn't injuried, which was a blessing in disguise. US would have existed in first round if Chris Armas wasn't injuried.