Ryan Suarez?

Bruce wanted to try Victorine at right back, and the pairing of Califf and Boca in centrally. Doesn't mean he'll never play for Bruce.

 

remember also that bruce looks highly upon play in camp... and suarez made the cut... granted he didn't play and only 3 guys were really cut (dmb and brown left off due to injuries), but still

he'll get his chance, and it's not like bruce didn't use to bring in guys for games and not play them, just so they could see it, feel the experience and be more prepared next time round

 

but doesn't it seem odd that one of our brightest prospects at right back was left on the bench in favor of SASHA VICTORINE playing out of position?

The bruce works in mysterious ways.

 

A couple of things.

First in the camp, Arena called Suarez a tweener, which in the Arena world is NOT a good thing. Think of Ryan's teamate on the Burn, Jason Kreis and his Nats career under Arena.

Does this mean that Arena thinks that Suarez doesn't have enough talent? No it doesn't. It means that Suarez doesn't obviously fit well enough yet into Arena's system (according to Arena).

Does it mean that Arena thinks Victorine has more raw talent? Again no. It means that Victorine is closer to what Arena is looking for in a right back. Again, Arena is calling him a tweener which means that he is not just against Victorine for a place but also the center backs, in this case Califf and Bocanegra, both of whom fit what Arena is looking for in a center back more than Suarez does.


Does this mean that Suarez is condemned to live a Jason Kreis existence? No. Bocanegra, like Suarez, was once called a tweener and evidently has made the jump to a real center back in Arena's eyes.


Does this mean that Victorine was playing out of position? Not according to Arena who thinks that Sasha was playing basically the same position, 'cept on the left, with the Gals.


Personally I think Suarez will get real playing time with Arena but it seems that Arena thinks that it will be easier to get Victorine to learn international right back defense than it will be to get Suarez to learn international right back offense. Sasha will get the first chance to claim the position.

 

in the context that i thought arena said it... i thought it meant that he was a tweener in the since of central defender or a wide defender

i don't think that's a bad thing in the arena world, it seems to be rather common, players that can play multiple positions

 

Having gone to quite a few Dallas Burn games I'm afraid that Saurez isn't really any better than Sasha as a right back in the BA system.

Saurez may be faster, I couldn't say, but he has some of the same bad tendancies that Sasha has as well. It may be a year or more before Saurez is playing at international speed.

I know on TV Ty said the two flank defenders had a good showing, but I think it was the opposite. Barrett didn't get forward enough or with any impact and Victorine played at a slower pace than everybody else on the field (2 or 3 touches when he should have been playing 1 or 2, perhaps thinking too much?). I'm not sure that Saurez would be any different...just wish we could see how he was playing in camp.

 

Slow right back?

Tony Sanneh aint exactly known for his pace. I recall wonder why in the world The Bruce continued to play him as he was continually beaten by speed during qualifying. But I have learned to trust The Bruce's judgement. The guy I thought was a liability was our best defender in Japorea. While we may not like the Bruce's selection or style, it is effective.

 

I agree. I think BA was looking for someone with attributes similar to Tony Sanneh. That why I think he put Sasha at that position. He may have the size for it, but he doesn't have to speed and quickness that Suarez has. It's hard to find wing backs that have the size and speed to combat wing midfielders and fullbacks. Just look at the situation with Steve Cherundolo during the WC qualifiers and the friendly at Rostock against Germany.