Great Galaxy representation for the January USMNT camp. http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=287651 This has got to be a big, big day for Ugo - congratulations to him and to Dunivant. They are the longest of the longshots, but you never know!
Ugo?!?!? Wow! Congrats to him. I didn't see that coming. That puts 3/4 of the Galaxy backline in the USMNT camp in January....most impressive!
Since I am very much a club before country guy, I view this with very mixed emotions. Great for the guys to get this recognition. Even if they don't make the team, it will help tremendously to get a chance to practice at that level and be exposed to different coaching methods. Its also got to be a real boost to their confidence to just know they are in the pool of possibles. Ugo, in particular, has a great future if he develops as we all hope. There are world cups in that kid's future even if Germany is not in the cards. And part of me keeps whispering, "I hope they don't do too well...." I'm not interested in seeing LAG decimated, even for the Nats.
I'm country over club, but I hear you, Cadaver. My personal opinion is that it will be Landon & Albright for the World Cup this year. We can survive that.
I made my comments in the revived "Herc gypped by nats" thread. I couldn't believe it when I read that Ugo was called up--I'm really happy for the guy, even though I don't think he'll make the final cut.
Fixed your post. 3/4 of the backline gets called up. I guess we really were *lucky* to have won the MLS Cup that we sooo didn't deserve. Does anybody know if these workouts are going to be open to the public?
Thanks for pointing me over there, didn't see those comments before. Last year the Revs had a bunch of guys in the January camp, and I think that really jump-started their season. Of course, most of those guys were offensive players, and most of ours are on defense, but still I think this training will be fantastic for the Galaxy, for their extra tournament play and for the regular season. If Herc was there, that would be the icing on the cake, but there's still hope - perhaps he'll be called in for an injury or if Josh Wolff ends up in England.
I really think Herc would be there if Freddy didn't get called up. Such a shame. I remember reading on the Revs site that Twellman recently had surgery, but I think that was in the end of November, so he's probably close to recovery. Of course, if he's a no go I think Herc would be the first one called up.
Twellman had the hernia surgery in Germany that has an incredibly short recovery period - like days. I would bet he'll be ready for camp. Rolfe had the same surgery, I believe.
I think Herc deserves to be there over ching. Ching has gotten his chances , and hasnt done anything with them. Ching is a target forward , but we already have twellman and McBride , we dont need another . We need someone who can put the ball in the back of the net.... HERCULEZ!
I thought Cobi would get called up. I think he deserves it. And we still don't have a RM. I mean, come on, Ralston? Cobi would be at least a good option coming off the bench.
What I like about this is it will give the team a running start at the beginning of the season. This should help us in the Champions Cup.
Given the number of late game collapses and points squandered last season, a better defense could be what LAG needs to jump start their season.
Ugo wow that was shocking to hear he got called up. Props to Ironman, gato, Ugo, and ALbright Herc has to be mad
No point bringing cobi into, what is effectively a try out camp. Arena knows what he brings to the table, so he'll either bring him or he won't, he doesn't need to prove anything.
You need to have some semblance of a strong team in order to get any idea how the fringe players perform. If you throw 11 players out there with no experience, it's not fair to any of them to gauge how they'd perform. So you put a solid core, and then put some fringe players in various spots, see how they do.
To see who's playing style is tailored to his liking. He is going to be our #1 scoring option, so in a way, he will be scouting for guys to pass him the ball in upcoming summer.
Put it this way, LD may only be 23 but he's an experienced memeber of the camp and can actually point things out even to the older guys. He's also captained the team in the past so his leadership wouldn't go a miss. Also there's a good chance that a few of a these players called up will be playing alongside him in the future, never hurts to get familiar with your teamates. I wold also have liked to have seen Cobi instead of Ralston.
It'd be brilliant if he was. We a goal up against the Czechs, then we throw Cobi on to run to the corner, he'll get fouled so much that they'll end the game with 9 men. You heard it here first.
What was Bruce smoking? This is exactly the kind of camp that Herc should be invited to. He may be inexperienced at the international level, and mentality might be an issue (I think Donovan alluded to this in an interview a month or so ago). But just think what he could have done with a full season! Even if he doesn't go to Germany, he deserves a look. I'd love to see him eat the Italian's lunch. Ugo rocked the end of the season. Congrats. NGR: I am glad Freddy got to go. I know he's too young and immature, but he needs some exposure so he knows what to expect in 2010 or 2014 or 2018... when he grows up. He could be our future. Could be.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=352947&root=us&cc=5901 Certain players may have to wait for an international opportunity. L.A. forward Herculez Gomez was named as an alternate to the camp. "He's in a category with a lot of other players," observed Arena. "He needs to continue to grow as a player and see if he can position himself for a callup and possibly start his international career and get a cap." BUT LD has his back One person who was certain Gomez could one day make the jump was his club teammate, Donovan. "I think he's validated at least a call up to get looked at. It's a different level [on the national team] and he'll find that out. He still has a lot to learn and he'd be the first to tell you that. But his skill you can't teach. His athleticism you can't teach. His speed and his ability to finish - you don't teach that. The other things, he can work on, fortunately. I think he's going to get a lot better."