Hard to imagine Juergen can pick him for ANY qualifiers if he stays at Rangers. Hard to imagine Carlos moving to another higher club if he stays there the season. Playing at such a low level, it will be impossible to keep his form. Only a few days left in the transfer window, but nary a peep about offers for him vs. Edu and Bedoya who are moving on, and Rangers don't seem to have a problem covering his salary either. Has Carlos effectively retired from USMNT, and if so- who is our next captain? I'd vote for Timmy....
I've been banging the Donovan for captain drum for years, but it's getting more and more obvious who the 2014 and beyond captain should be.
Unless JK wants to continue with Howard being captain as a good luck charm, I see Landon as the shoe-in. Bradley is the other option and the only thing keeping me from thinking it'd be him is that he can be captain for the 2018 cycle, I'm sure he'll get the chance to formally take the reins eventually either way.
Tim Howard will be the next captain of the USMNT, he was the captain last week against Mexico, maybe he already is the new captain.
I can see Donovan getting it... Even having to slum it, so the speak, in MLS or the Championship would be better than where he is. If Edu is going to Stoke I see no reason why Boca couldnt get in a top flight club in Germany, Netherlands, England, France...anywhere else basicially. Maybe bring Ream or Spector in to compete.
First off, I hope that we have not seen the last of Boca in a USMNT jersey. Love the guy. But if we have, I see the C being worn on only two other Jerseys: Landon Donovan has to be the first choice, IF he is willing to accept the honor. He has debated retirement (although that is crap), and he may not want the added pressure. Tim Howard: Second choice behind Landon, and anchor to the D. Has the fire to het the team going. I think that Dempsey and Bradley are candidates for Captain, but for the 2018 World Cup. and when that day roles around, I hope it goes to Bradley. that kid deserves it. But the next captain of the USMNT will be Landon.
According to Seltzer he had other interest, and JK was trying to line him up with a Bund club. MLS was also interested and I thought that would be worst case scenario. It wasn't. He seemed to choose to stay at Rangers for reasons aside from competition on the pitch, and if that's so, and I love Boca and what he's done for us, then playing for the NT and going to Brazil obviously isn't his top priority. And it's perfectly fine if he doesn't want to play in a better league and keep himself in top form and loves his surrounding in Scotland, but as it pertains to our NT and the WC, none of that matters. You're either trying to test yourself against the best and preparing as best you can for Brazil, or the NT isn't as important as it once was. Boca has earned that right and I hope he has fun. But JK can't put pressure on the rest of our NT pool to play in the best league possible and face the highest level of competition possible(as Ream just stated in an interview, where he said JK is putting pressure on every MLS NT player to move on to a better league), only to make an exception for Boca who is playing at a level far below anyone else in our NT pool at the moment.
If he's choosing to stay at Rangers to play 4th division Scottish sooccer, well good for him. Give him a send off match at home, and that's it.
He must be on a new contract. Jurgen Klinsmann's advice helped Freddy Adu make his latest career decision.
Boca isn't retired as far as the September qualifiers are concerned. He will be there and most likely starting. His form won't drop that drastically since the May/June matches. But I agree that if he's stuck with Rangers this Fall, JK will be forced to start looking elsewhere, as early as the October qualifiers. I can't believe a Championship side or MLS wouldn't jump at Boca, and that level would be OK to keep his Nat's spot into 2013. Besides Boca, Howard is the veteran with the most appearances under JK. I think Howard would be next in line to wear the Captain's arm band. Cherundolo, Donovan and Dempsey fill in on the rare occasions that Howard isn't playing. Bradley is the no-brainer Captain for the 2018 cycle.
Carlos is 33. He'll be 35 come Brazil. When the 2014 cycle started you guys didn't actually think he'd make it to Brazil did you? It always seemed clear to me that he would be the guy who would help us get there but not make it himself. He kept getting the call ups under JK because there simply isn't any one else in the player pool who is as good as him. On that assumption I expect he will be called up for the Jamaica games so we can assure ourselves passage to the Hex. Then JK can start worrying about who the LCB of the future is. On the other hand, if he isn't called up in September then I think JK has decided that the time is now to find our new LCB for the WC and Carlos is effectively retired. So there is no pressure on him to find a new club and remain in top form in that scenario. He might as well enjoy himself. Regardless, Boca has earned the right to retire on his terms and finish out his career however he wants. But I agree that when he does officially retire he should get a sendoff game. As for who the new captain should be... Timmy seemed to have done a good job as captain and he's our best player. And he's never had an issue telling his teammates what he's thinking. So I'll go with him as captain for now unless Clint wants it. Come 2018, MB does seem to be the logical choice for captain.
Howard for 2014... Bradley once Timmy hangs up the cleats. If it weren't for Phil Neville I think Timmy would be Everton's captain too.
That's true about Adu, but he was in a different situation than what JK and I were obviously referring to. Guys who have cemented their spots in MLS and are on the NT, or on the cusp, JK wants them to test themselves in better leagues. Rogers. Ream. Cameron. Gonzalez before the knee injury. Freddy is clearly different as he'd bounced around from one league to another for years, and above all else just needed stability and playing time.