Steve Cherundolo. Played like a beast all group stage, and was good enough against Ghana. Unfortunately, other members of the team weren't good enough against Ghana. I think many people wrote off Steve after a poor run about a year ago, but he bounced back and was HUGE.
Steve Cherundolo, like giffenbone said he was beast, strong overlapping runs, crosses, and composure. His defending was also unbelieveably steady
The Sanneh award goes to the guy who overachieved, no? Not sure that Dolo is the best choice if that's the case. He put together a great set of games, but it seems to me he's played that well before. That said, I'm not sure who else I'd pick. If it were simply about exceeding most fans' expectations, I'd say Bornstein. But that's mostly because the expectations were so very low.
I said it'd be Cherundolo a couple of months ago, I reiterated that opinion when this topic arose immediately previous to the World Cup, and I still feel that way afterward. Stevie Cherundolo - alert on defense, cool as you'd like distributing, and a weapon going forward. He went out like a champion. If everyone played like him we'd still be alive in the tournament.
agreed with both those points. But I'd say Bradley, cause its his first time on the big stage. Yes, we kind of expected him to be the beast, and he was. But dong it for 4 games on the big stage. I'd give it to Mike.
Jay Demerit. Like Sanneh, emerged late in the cycle and played out of his skin. Like Sanneh, old enough already that his first World Cup will almost certainly be his last.
I have to say Benny Feilhaber. He didn't get a ton of minutes, but he was incredibly effective when he was on the pitch. He didn't make any really bad passes like he has in the past playing at CM.
Dolo didn't exceed most fan's expectations? Johnnie Freakin' Spector was projected into most fan's starting lineups, it seemed, just a month or two ago, and not only did Dolo overtake him as the starter, but proceeded to be arguably the team's 2nd best player at the tournament behind Landon Donovan. That's going from the outhouse to the penthouse.....Tony Sanneh.
The trouble is, I'm not sure exactly what the Tony Sanneh Award recognizes. I'm going to assume its for the player who most exceeded expectations. I can't vote for Cherundolo, who had performed at this level for extended periods of time in the past, so I'm going with Michael Bradley. I don't think he was a total surprise either, but he's the best option so he gets my vote.
come on, he scored two goals! that counts for more than a little. he didn't have dominant games like we've seen sometimes, but teams were gameplanning against him. he's the most visible player we have. Players who performed beyond my expectations include: Cherundolo, Feilhaber, Michael Bradley. Below: Findley, Altidore, Onyewu. I appreciated Demerit's effort, but he made crucial mistakes too many times that led to dangerous opportunities for the opposition. He really should have closed down on that first goal better. Donovan and Dempsey were good. All that running as flank midfielders wore them out, but they gave great efforts and created multiple scoring opportunities each game.
Gotta be Bornstein, considering what everyone's expectations would have been going in. He was actually pretty good in both games. Hopefully he can continue to develop.
Actually, Donovan scored three goals, one a PK. I think LD played about at the level I thought he would, both overall, and in the way that his inconsistency mirrored many of his pre-WC performances. He was good at times, and then drifted out of matches for periods as well. We might have seen the WC farewell of Cherundolo. It was nice to see the older version of Dolo emerge, after seeing him struggle at times pre-WC. Benny showed that when he stays patient and lets the game come to him he is a welcome cog in the MF. MB continues to grow as a player, and the only thing holding him back is a lack of speed and athleticism. However, he can still be a player whose soccer brain will offset those limitations. Findley lacks the technical skills to be an int'l-level F. Altidore, after going through a whirlwind rise from MLS to Europe has seemed to plateau. His size and strength will continue to be an asset, but he's going to have to develop the soccer instincts to be more goal dangerous, and then prove he can finish. He's still young enough to develop, but we'll know a lot more about his eventual ceiling by the end of this next cycle. Gooch was just not ready, after rushing through rehabilitation from his knee surgery.
I take this award to mean the longtime vet who suddenly, somewhat inexplicably, raises his game to new heights in the World Cup. Has to be Steve Cherundolo. He's always had a solid career in Germany, but I can't say I've ever seen him look great for the USMNT. Probably why Spector seemed poised to overtake him a year ago. But he was one of our best players this tournament. Incredibly solid defending, dynamic in the attack -- he turned what should have been a weakness for this team (RB) and turned it into a strength. Hard to find a runner-up -- Demerit is a recent addition to the team and has always looked pretty good. I guess the nod goes to Feilhaber, who was uninspiring for the US in the year since the CC but was fantastic these last few games.
I forgot where I saw (or heard) this, but they were talking about how some of the U.S. players reacted after the game. They said that Bornstein was reviewing all the things in the game where he (and the team) could have improved their play. It sounds like he's very analytical in his approach to the game, and it sounds like he's looking for ways to get better. Whether he does get better remains to be seen, but I appreciate his attitude. I think that one of the reasons why we've seen such inconsistency from him at LB is because he came to the position rather late in his soccer career. His instincts there can still be a bit off at times. If the move goes through to Atlante it can only help his game. We shall see...
My Sanneh award goes to Benny, who looked incredibly out of form this year AND when he started in the warm-up. He comes on the field and makes more than an immediate impact, he ends up being one of our best players on the field. Outstanding and his career really needed it.
Maybe Bornstein, he just didn't play enough for my full vote. Possibly Cherundolo, but he's played like that before. Michael Bradley? I think not because I come to expect performances like that from him. Maybe Demerit, except I can point to one or two occasions in a game where he was less than stellar. The "Tony Sanneh award" is a tough one to give out on the current US team. Who on the team considered a "non star", played all the time, made no mistakes and completely dominated their position against any opponent? I can not think of anyone specifically but the players mentioned by others here do come close.
Right, I should have mentioned Feilhaber as well. He did make a difference every single time he came on, I think one of our best 11 who should have been on the field more. Except of course, he didn't play enough either….
So... I'm gonna start a finalist thread, and I'm gonna poll three names: Stevie C Jonny B Jay D Is that good? You think someone else should be included?