As most people probably know, John returned to action yesterday with a strong 70 minutes for Ajax2 in the Dutch Cup. Now I absolutly can't wait until Feb 18 against Holland. This is when John O'Brien will make his return to the USA side. And with his return comes the return of America's best player. Christian Chivu said last year that he and Rafael Van Der Vaart were the most technically skilled players on the team. A team that was 1 minute away from ousting AC Milan from Champions League in the Quarter Finals. Does anybody else drool over a midfield of Reyna, O'Brien, DMB, and Convey? In terms of pure talent, thats gotta be one of the best in the world
yes, it will be great to get JOB back and healthy, and his inclusion in the US midfield does give us a talented bunch, certainly the most talented in our history. and if that group you listed is the quartet to get on the field feb18 in rotterdam, then we'll see how they match up against the very skilled Dutch midfield. it will be fun to watch.
Re: Re: Re: The Return of John O'Brien Blinding Optimism is a fun way to go through life and besides, there are only like, 25 countries at the most that are either at the same talent level, or have more talent than we do. So I wasn't actually saying anythig that out there. Considering there are something like 250 FIFA nations.
1. It's a friendly. 2. He's only just now getting back from injury. 3. I know what he's capable of. I think the injuries he's struggling with could very well be career ending, and I don't want to risk wear and tear on him, or injury, for a friendly.
All true.... but you gotta admit that you at least want to see him play for selfish reasons. For purely entertainment reasons.
I'd be wary of seeing John play, too. Isn't he in the last year of his contract? I think he needs to go very slowly on this return, and focus exclusively on Ajax, at least until he's played a good long stretch in the first team. Anything else is just not prudent, IMHO. Still, I admit it would be great to see him back, even if it was just a run out in the last 10 minutes.
True, but by the time this friendly rolls around, he may very well have reinserted himself into the Ajax starting 11 and may have gone the full 90 in Ajax's recent games (he said after his recent runout with the reserves that he felt great -- no pain). In that case, I think he might as well play -- he's no more likely to injure himself playing for the nats in a friendly than he is playing for Ajax.
JOB i am as eagerly awaiting Johns return, I hope as we all do that tis player stays healthy.There have been a number of Athletes that have worked thier way through early troubles. And then some who just dont.He should do what the staff of BOTH his employers tell him. The heart always wants what the heart wants, hope his is saying, come back when all is 110%.
Yes, the US midfield is one of the 'best in the world'. Somebodies midfield has got to be even worse? Right. So we've got a midfield thats better than someones...Indias, Thailands midfield maybe? New Zealand.
nope, India, Thailand's and New Zealand's midfields are better. Holland's midfield is the worst midfield on the world though. My high school team can clown those fools. Rafael Van Der Vaart? Hah. I'll take a one-legged Chris Armas over him.
Why can't it be one of the best in the world? There aren't that many countries with great midfields. Just depends on how you define a vague phrase like "one of the best." If "one of the best" can mean top 10 out of 200, it's not an outrageous claim. If "one of the best" means top 3 out of 200, the argument may get a little tricky.
So let me get this straight. Convey does well in a tournament that was missing about 90 percent of the top quality U-20s in the world and now he's a superstar? Did everyone just forget about the MLS season or about how he's never really been an impact player? Yes, the goal against Costa Rica was great in Gold Cup and he was great in the U-20 tournament but get a grip people, the kid isn't one of the world's best. Which leads me to my point. One of the best midfields in the world? Can you please be serious? I love the national team as much as the next guy but get a grip. The U.S. is still some time away from having one of the top 20 midfields in the world, be it the starting midfield or collection of midfielders. The talent is certainly on the way, with kids like Szetela, Gaven and Clark to go with Convey, Beasley and O'Brien. We'll be there eventually, just not yet.
Yes. As an U20. But I think the point is that we now see him realizing his potential. Hard to be a superstar at 20 but you can show signs of greatness which is what he has done. TIme will tell but he is well on his way. And 90% is far off the mark. Anyone who has followed Convey knows that the U20 tournament was the first time he has gotten real minutes in the a-mid role. He was forced to play left midfield for much of his professional career and it does not suit him nearly as well. Beyond this, everyone is impressed by his leadership, menace and intensity.
There are only two American field players starting for clubs in one of the Worlds top four leagues. If you include Ajax as being of that level, then you might have three. But Cherundolo and O'Brien are defenders at their clubs. Only Reyna starts as a midfielder and even he spent a lot of time on his best previous team (Rangers) at defender. There are dozens of Argentines, Brazilian, French, Dutch, and Portugese midfielders plying their trade at this level. Eddie Lewis and Jovan Kirovski have spent a lot of time starting for the US but have never seen the light of day in the Premiership. The US team as a whole is better than the sum of it's parts and the midfield is probably better than most europeans give it credit for, but Brazil can field three or four midfields that outclass the best the US can offer. As Americans, we should understand that our current world ranking (12th) is about right. The USMNT is no more 8th in the word now than it was 32nd after WC98. That said, the US is improving at an exponential rate. I think I will see an American captain hoisting the WC trophy in my lifetime (i'm 44) and that is better than can be said of Spain even with their excellent professional league and storied club history. Look at where the US was fifteen years ago. From that perspective it's not too hard to see the US being serious contenders in another fifteen. But being contenders is no guaranty of winning. Holland has been to two finals, losing both times. England has been to one final, winning only at home, same with France. Spain has never been to a final. Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina or Uraguay have played in every final, often against one another. That doesn't leave much room for anybody else.
so does anybody differentiate between talent and actual current playing ability? I mean we have 4 guys who have the TALENT to play WITH anybody. That's been proven in the world cup, champions league, and the English Premiership. Than you have Convey, and only an idiot would think the he doesn't have great potential and talent. So what exactly is wrong with my statement? I don't recall saying that the US midfield of DMB, Convey, Reyna, and O'Brien was better than Brazil's, France's, or Italy's. This place is idiotic sometimes. Its like people see "USA" and "among best in world" in the same sentence and immediatly have a hissy fit. What did FIFA pass a rule saying that American's are not allowed to have talented soccer players? Do Golden Balls, Silver Balls, WC X1, U20 All-Star Teams mean nothing? Oh or maybe since its an American who FIFA picked out it autimatically means its a political selection that has no merit what so ever?
Please do tell me who the 90% of the "top quality U-20s in the world" are so that I can make sure to check them out. If my math isn't failing me, there has to be at least hundreds of them and at most 4320. That's a lot. The future of world soccer has never looked so promising! (Oh, and I'm not asking about Tevez or Rooney or any of the Portuguese. We already covered them. I'm asking about the hundreds of "top quality U-20s in the world" who, for some reason, are still unknown qualities.) I'm not saying Convey is one of world's best or even close to that. I don't know if he or a midfield with him would ever be one of the world's best. But he might just be one of the better young players in the world. Inferiority complex and boosterism can both cloud one's judgement. And in the world of sports, it's much easier to understand boosterism. That's why I'mamazed at how some people are ready to knock down their own players' achievements. Convey did well against some of the better (or best) young players in the world. So give him and the team some credits. It might be that the US does produce good players every once in a while and Convey can be one of them.
Maybe some day you'll be able to develop reading comprehension. My comment was that 90 percent of the top quality U-20s in the world weren't at the tournament. If you make a list of the best 50 players in the world under 20, how many were in this tournament? Seriously? You can sit there and say that most of them are but that's just not reality. Take it a step closer, of the players who did play in the tournament, who would rank highest? It would be Cavenaghi, who would be the only one to even come close to cracking the top 10. Here's a list of true under-20 superstars for any of you that actually believe the world's best U-20 players played in the U-20 world championship (* if this player's team was in the tournament). Rafael Van Der Vaart Wayne Rooney Fernando Torres (*) Cristiano Ronaldo Ricardo Quaresma Hugo Viana Mido (*) Tomas Jun (*) Obafemi Martins Carlos Teves (*) Robinho (*) Diego (*) Helder Postiga Nigel De Jong Arjen Robben Jelles Van Damme Vaclav Sverkos (*) Jermaine Jenas (*) Philipp Lahm (*) Ruben Olivera Glen Johnson (*) Dmitri Sytchev Emmanuel Adebayor Gael Clichy Vincent Kompany These are all U-20 aged standouts playing for big clubs that would command larger transfer fees than Bobby Convey. Yes, Convey had a nice tournament and was a great example to show young Americans. I'm all for that and love him for that, but when some yahoos who don't really have a clue about world soccer start talking about him being one of the best young players in the world it's time for a reality check. As for the clown who wanted me to list 20 better midfields in the world I'll do that some other time. Maybe someone else can step in and handle that one. Heck, I'll try anyway. I actually only came up with 18 countries (Ireland would have been 19th if Keane still played for them): France Brazil Argentina Italy Spain England Holland Portugal Czech Republic Turkey Sweden Wales Germany Uruguay Japan Nigeria Cameroon Senegal Argue these till your blue in the face, it's fine with me. It's all speculation and opinion anyway isn't it? That said, i don't want to hear about depth or all these young studs we have. I based the 18 I came up with on fielding the best possible four or five-man midfield unit TODAY. Sorry to say it but all of these countries would field a stronger midfield than the U.S., injuries or not.