I have heard a lot of great things about the SJ earthquakes Brian Ching and i would love to see him play for the USMNT. does anybody think he will be called up? why or why not? i think he could be a powerful forward ala Brian Mcbride. of he could even be a great offensive midfielder. discuss... sincerely, iowa007
isn't one brian ching to the nats thread enough? the fact that it isn't gonna happen is besides the point. he's a good mls player, but that's all he is.
Ching's a nice player but he's no Nat...unless he improves considerably. Which isn't inconceivable but is highly unlikely. Let him have a good season for the Quakes before he's even mentioned in the same breadth as the Nats.
He first must have a full season that's identical or better to Taylor Twellman's 2002. Then, and only then, may he be called up twice only to never see action again. I saw enough of Ching when he was playing in LA to know that he's nowhere near being good enough to wear the USA kit.
Can't believe I'm stoking the flames of this one: When perfect passes stop thudding off his foot like an U12.
Never mind him when will Bruce bring up Ricardo Clark? He is a player, and the chances are good that once he is brought up he will stay up. But, I don't think he is ready now. Once he proves that he can and will score in the flow of play at times, that's when you bring him up. Most of you already know he is a player, but to make the national team he has to be also a scoring threat at times by scoring in the flow of play to be a real National player.
At the San Jose-Fire game, Bocanegra mostly, but occasionally CJ Brown, complete neutralized Ching. For Ching, this game brought new meaning to the phrase, "non-factor." He's big, he's strong (but not stronger than the Brown and Bocanegra), and really, that's about it.
I actually wouldn't be shocked to see Ching get a call-up for the Wales friendly. Bruce is going to be drawing entirely on DC, San Jose, and Euro players for that game, which leaves us thin up top--after Donovan and Quaranta, we're basically looking at Kirovski, Casey, and Eskandarian (is Kovalenko a citizen yet?), and I'm not sure any of those guys is more deserving of a call-up than Ching right now. On top of that, Ching has meshed very well with Donovan so far this season, and is a similar sort of player to McBride, which will help the rest of the team. I'm certainly not saying Ching has any sort of glorious international future ahead of him, but don't be surprised if he's in camp or even starts for this game.
Actually, he could probably learn something about ball control from your average U12. I think the Nats would be better off with putting a big orange cone out there, instead of Ching.
Ching called up for Wales game... http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/5875205.htm Look about 2/3's of the way down the page, under 'Soccer' (doh).
He was certainly a pain in the butt to the Revs a couple weeks ago. Then again, we've made some pretty feeble players look like Pele, MkII.
Hilarious to see after all the experts above posted stuff like "Never." Then again, this is a C team match for the USA, with the roster primarily all Quakes and DCU and Cannon, because SJ and DCU are the teams off that weekend. Wish they would've announced some of these, um, adjustments before the ******' tix went on sale. Then again, it's the Nats, so we have to be there. Someone posted on the Quakes board this AM that Wales isn't bringing all their guns now, either. Still looking for a link on that one...
That really is amazing. Anyway, I'm glad for Ching. He seems like a nice guy. The experience should do him good if nothing else. Also, McBride won't be in France for the Confed Cup this summer (see Wahl interview with da Bruce). Presumably Bruce will want to take at least one or two target-type forwards; if Buddle is still injured or otherwise unavailable, it's conceivable (however unlikely) that Ching could get brought in for that as well. Alright, highly highly unlikely, but just pointing it out.
I should post here more often, I feel more at home when I post my "Ching isn't that good" sentiments. I say leave Ching off and call in Barrett.
The only reason Ching's there is because Arena's picking from two MLS teams. At forward, I think Donovan, Quaranta, and Stewart would be the MLS choices ahead of him. Add guys from Europe, and Ching sits at the end of the bench. Highly unlikely he will see the field, but still nice of Bruce to call him up.
My previous slam on Ching aside . . . I love these stories of guys who come out of nowhere to get their national team chance. You take a guy who was grinding it out in the A-league, just trying to make a go of it playing soccer. No previous youth or national team experience, and used the various pro options available to grab his chance and run with it. Awesome. Having said that, I still don't rate him as a player who is in serious contention of a nats spot.
Quaranta and Stewart both remind me of out of position midfielders up top. Since Donovan doesnt exactly strike me as a pure forward. Of those 3 my first choice to start alongside Donovan would be Ching. I dont think Ching is a better player than the other two, just that he is the better fit for what is needed at forward. Regardless, unless Arena changes his pattern or he really thinks Ching is "McBride light" as hard C dubbed him, its highly unlikely he will see the field. Which is too bad, I like the guy and Id like to see him get a shot. Getting 4 shots, one of them hitting the post isnt exactly non-factor.