I think we all know that top quality leadership is crucial for any team and even more so for a team as young as ours. While we all probably agree on my initial statement, there is likely a certain amount of disagreement on what it takes to be a great leader and who are the prime candidates in our current pool that are likely to be on the plane to Qatar. What are some of your thoughts? Adams has been captain recently, and I see him as an amazing young man with outstanding leadership qualities. McKennie seems to have good leadership qualities as well...he seems like the kind of guy that people just want to be around and that is a good start, he had a bumpy start to the ocho that could have gone south very quickly but, imo, he handled it very well which I believe is a real sign of maturity and character but perhaps he still needs time to grow into the role. Pulisic seems like the type that could be a Donovan type leader...not vocal but leads by example. Those are just three that kind of stand out to me...probably no surprise that they are three of the most prominent members of our team but who catches your eye? by the way, if you haven't seen it, ESPN has an excellent feature on Tyler Adams: https://www.espn.com/soccer/rb-leip...hes-earning-it-anyway-with-bundesliga-success I think it is worth the read. Edit: I'll add Zimmerman to the list. I think he has been more important to the defense for his leadership than his play and I think that is saying a lot. Also, believe Acosta has shown himself to be one of the team leaders as well. I believe it was most apparent during the gold cup. I think this team, although young, has a great deal of character across the board. some will be stronger leaders than others and maturity will help them all but our team character is one of the things about this team that gives me the most hope for Qatar and beyond.
Adams, Pulisic, and McKennie are clearly the core of this team, but Zimmerman also seems like he’s very much a leader in this group. Yedlin too just him having been around awhile and being the only player in the pool other than Brooks to have actually played in a World Cup.
Perhaps I am wrong, I always thought of him as a guy that was honest, open and was not afraid to speak his mind to the press but not particularly vocal on the field.
Yes. I saw that. The only reason I didn't mention him was that I see his role, as described by Berhalter, as more of a "glue" guy if that makes sense. Perhaps that is just another type of leadership. I know Roldan was also mentioned, but I think the chance of him going to Qatar is probably 50/50 while A.Rob, is more of a sure bet.
I think Cannon has also shown excellent leadership qualities when he has been in the team but he is somewhat less likely to be in Qatar when all are healthy.
According to this https://www.si.com/soccer/2021/03/24/usmnt-captain-gregg-berhalter-leadership-council Berhalter's initial leadership council (which the players voted on) was Long, McKennie, Pulisic, Steffen, Adams and Ream. I imagine it's shifted a bit since this article, but that gives you a sense as who the player pool viewed as the leadership group. I think I'd like to see Berhalter name Adams as captain for the World Cup and maybe name Pulisic and McKennie as vice captains or something like to make clear they'd step in if Adams isn't in the game.
On pure leadership ability in the current group it should be either Adams or Zimmerman. The long-term edge goes to Adams because I think he’s more likely to keep his spot for the next few years, but the flip side is that Zimmerman (if he’s the starter in Qatar) is more likely to start every match.
Adams is your traditional captain. I think McKennie and Zimmerman bring the fire. Yedlin and Kellyn Acosta will cut you. I think McKennie, Jedi and a few others are the strong social bridge -- Pulisic is in there, I'm sure. Yedlin, Zim, Long, maybe Steffen bring maturity and balance, I suspect. I honestly think Christian is a "leader" because he's good, and it's great that he works hard. I don't think his personality and actions lend much to leadership, which is okay. But he's too quick to get down, too involved in his own shit to be the person leading a team. The best he can do as a top player is come to work hard, focus, and exhibit good teamwork. The biggest name/best players doing that means no one else can slack. I actually am not super worried about leaders on this team. I just think with their youth, it's simply very hard to bring consistent heat and focus. In other words, I think it is a really tough leadership task. ------------- By the way, I love the council idea. It spreads the responsibility out, it allows for changing lineups and injuries, and most importantly .... not everyone responds to the same style of leadership. Bradley was a leader, but he was an abrasive leader to some people who didn't respond to it. Let's say Tyler is that way (I don't think he is), but if Tyler is an issue for someone, and let's say that someone knows Tyler and Weston are bros, someone can still go to say, Aaron Long for advice on how to handle. Age and seniority are important to some people; perhaps they need a Yedlin who has been to a Cup to listen. And so on.
Donovan has talked about how he didn't particularly enjoy being the USMNT captain. There's a lot to that role off the field as well. That particular type of leadership wasn't in his wheelhouse. He liked being freed from the burden of that responsibility to just worry about his impact on the field. During Donovan's "era" both Bocanegra and Dempsey served as captain more than he did. Then Bradley started serving as captain towards the end of his tenure. The captain of an international team isn't necessarily its best player. From a distance it seemed like Bocanegra was a fantastic captain. So when we talk about USMNT captain, it may be that the role won't suit Pulisic. It seems like Adams may be the guy.
For the 14 games qualifying, Adams was the captain 7 times, Pulisic 4, and Zimmerman 3. Obviously it may had been different if Pulisic and McKennie hadn’t missed so many games, or if Zimmerman has been an established starter during window 1.