The national team is staying at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Seattle and I work at a Starbucks on the bottom floor so we've had some nats around the last couple days. Today I talked to Marcus Hahnemann and he said he would start Thursday with Kasey Keller starting against Canada.
Excellent tidbit! Glad that Arena knew to start the Seattle player first... and the Olympia one second
Glad to hear it, if it's true. We need to start the process to figure out who amongst the young keepers will be Nats material down the road. Congrats to Marcus. I hope he posts a clean sheet.
How does Marcus qualify as a young keeper? Or a potential starter down the road? Don't get me wrong, I love Marcus and I'm glad to see him (possibly) get the start, especially in Seattle, but I just don't know his playing helps us figure anything out about our goalie situation. Keller will start in Germany, with Howard and one of Hahnemann, Rimando, Hartman, or Brown as the other two, with Hahnemann having a substantial leg up on the other three.
After Keller I feel the only option will be Howard. Maybe Marcus can find his way onto the WC squad as the 3rd gk (behind Keller and Timmy)
It would be smart to play more of the reserve players against Cuba. Since games are so close together, you could have the reserves play against Cuba, regulars against Canada, reserves against Costa Rica, then regulars in the QF and beyond. Everyone would be well rested.
I think it will help determine if Hahnemann goes to Germany as the top back-up, as a #3, or loses a slot to one of the MLS guys. He's been in camp, and this seems a golden opportunity to give him a chance between the pipes in a real game. Flash back to Gold Cup 2002, and ask yourself why our then-seen-as back-up keeper got so much playing time. That keeper darn near worn the starting job for the WC with his stellar play, and it certainly helped clear up the situation for the next four years. The back-up heading into Gold Cup 2002 was Keller....... Hahnemann's playing can help determine a great deal.......
He certainly is deserving of a start. Interesting question of who is the number 2-- the starting GK at Reading or the sometime starting GK at ManU
So Rja3, if you happen to meet and talk with Bruce Arena, pls ask him if he would release Donovan for Galaxy-Real Madrid match for me ? thanks.
I'm looking forward to the Gold Cup, just hours away now 'til the first US game. Only started watching the last time around thanks to reading threads about it on BigSoccer. Thought why not - give it a squint. But when you sit down with a brew and no expectations for the what seemed like a joke competition, it actually turned out to be fun to watch, despite its obscurity. Anyway on the excitable Spanish stations they make every game seem like they're World Cup finals. So since I am fortunate enought have all the relevant Spanish lang channels, would be a crime to not use 'em, especially knowing how understandably pissed off many US supporters are who don't get any or all of the matches on the box. Seem to remember Kasey making some big saves. With all those English league keepers it helps me thru their off season, something extra to watch when the Quakes are not playing. Women's Euro 2005, Yoof Cup, and Confeds Cup ensure it's year round footy on an almost daily basis these days. I don't have time to watch every single match, but I'll definitely be checking out all the games involving USA, Canada, and Mexico, and the knockout games. Good thread. Will be interesting to see how BS posters react to the US and tourney in general as it unfolds. Let it begin. Make mine a Keoke coffee.
Is Hahnemann cap-tied to the US yet? (Honest question, though I know he wouldn't play for anyone else.)
http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/players/marcus_hahnemann/ He has four caps, with one shutout. He has the longest time between caps for the USMNT, with his first three coming in 1994, and the next in 2003. He has no caps since then.
Please, please, please stop using the names Rimando and Hartman in the USMNT forums. These names should only be used in the MLS forum.
I haven't seen Joe Cannon on the USNMT in some time. Is he more or less out of the picture? I like him over all those guys except maybe Hahnemann only because I haven't seen him play. Brown has been good in the past, but I don't know how well he's doing abroad.