The lefty / lefty centerback pairing of Bocanegra and Berhalter just doesn't work. The distribution from the back was as bad as it has been in a long time. I remember Agoos playing right centerback in one game last year and thought how messed up it seemed. If the US has too many lefty centerbacks I would prefer to play with only three in the back; therefore requiring only one right footed player. Otherwise, I believe the passing angles going forward will be out of sync. IMO, I thought Bocanegra struggled mainly because he was a lefty playing right centerback. In midfield the dominant foot on the correct side doesn't matter as much as in the back. Playing Convey or Beasley on the right is not a big deal. I thought Gibbs did well and look forward to seeing more of him. However, he too played penetrating balls forward with his left foot from the right side. His passes were completely vertical. Balls forward should be played on an angle to give the player receiving the ball more options. I don't recall any driven long balls either. I like seeing Agoos back there because he can mix up long and short balls and make the attack unpredictable. (I'm not calling for Agoos to play just someone who can drive a few balls around the field). Mulrooney also has good distribution and played great in the Gold Cup last year as the right back. Any thoughts?
I don't think the footedness was the problem. That was kind of a ragtag team out there. Plus, Earnie doesn't play the style of center mid that is gonna make it easy for his backline to get it to him. This area of the game picked up when Earnie left.