He played somewhat more forward than usual. Liked the assist but feel he was less effective in that position disrupting the midfield game. He does better when his defensive duties are top priority, IMO.
Fortuna confirms that due to their Sept 13 game, that both Morales/Steffen will only be available for the Mexico friendly. https://www.f95.de/aktuell/news/pro...rspielreise/7751b911204a4502d1a70eba75324a47/
Short profile (in German): https://www.kicker.de/757072/artikel/krieger-morales-ueberall-mittendrin#omrss Do not bother energetically - that's usually not the kind of Alfredo Morales. "My opponents must feel that I am there", that is his motto. "I'm a warrior when I'm in the square." And this determination should also be felt by the next Düsseldorf opponents.
In the last couple of years he's become a terrier in midfield, always there interfering with the rivals' play. Fredo has very good stamina (unless he's just coming back from injury).
@bshredder profile: http://www.americansoccernow.com/ar...e-morales-ready-to-contribute-to-the-u-s-team “It's not that I was at my house, for example, the whole day hoping somebody calls me but I was just trying to prepare myself mentally for everything,” Morales recalled. “And I just got a text from an American number: ‘this is Gregg Berhalter, do you have a minute to talk?’...He just told me that I deserve to come in and just be a part of the team. He was just trying to explain to me his idea of soccer. The idea how he wants us as a team to improve. It was a really good conversation we had. I was really excited to come here to meet him personally. It's been a good few days so far.”
I don't doubt Beerholder has a reasonably decent idea of soccer. He seems smart and has played under a couple decent managers, from ten Cate to Bruce to Francis (as well as some dogs, tbf). He simply has not had enough experience testing those "ideas." Or adjusting those ideas to folks with better ideas.
seems like he's out for min 3 weeks but could be longer. https://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/...les-faellt-drei-wochen-aus-64499082.bild.html
Strained right groin according to USSF. It would be interesting to see stats on it, but it seems to me that guys on these longer flights pick up more muscle strain type injuries. I guess MLS would be the perfect data set for seeing if that's true. Hope he heals well and fast. https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/09/08/alfredo-morales-usmnt-usa-injury
Thought it was an abductor injury when I saw it. He seemed to go down without any contact, was clearly in a lot of pain and was clutching his lower stomach area. Had to be stretchered off with his head in his hands
Whe it rains, it pours. I thought he played with passion. He missed a few passes that he should have made. Getting caught in open field is not where you want him to be. I hope he has a quick recovery.
He had a couple of good moves in the first half, including one where Fredo dribbled between two Mexicans and tried to put a through-ball to Gyasi.
You couldn't fault Morales' fight, which is more than we can say for a lot of our DMs recently. He wasn't a perfect player but he provided an edge that we've lacked recently. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery and we can see him in games that count for something.
In a set-up where he can be effective. If Beerholder insists on some sort Morales/Wes/Trapp or similar midfield, Morales (and the US) will disappoint against decent to good competition. He's not that guy. He needs an AM-type in front of him to be most effective - just look at his club set-up.
Interview: https://www.express.de/sport/fussba...in-heiss-auf-die-hertha--33262978?dmcid=sm_em He was one of the best Fortunas in the first games. His running strength was missing because of a muscle injury from an international match. Will Alfredo Morales now return surprisingly quickly? The game against his youth club Hertha BSC motivates the US boy even more to be back. In addition to Morales, there could be one goalkeeper Zack Steffen. Alfredo raves about his teammate from the US national team: "Zack holds for us unbelievable. He's the best keeper in the league for me right now. " Together, the US boys want to rock Berlin on Friday.
Thanks for finding and translating this. I was bummed when Morales got hurt. He had been kind of a forgotten USMNT candidate playing in top-flight Euro. I have seen all of Fortuna's league games this season and he was one of their best players to start the season... and they have certainly missed him. More importantly, he was one of the only USMNT players that seemed to be fighting hard against Mexico in the friendly. He really had a chip on his shoulders that I think was missing in some of the other players. I understand why the injury would negate a call-up this go-around... I am sure Fortuna was against it this time considering where he is in his recovery and where they are in the table. I really hope he can return today... it would be a pleasant surprise.
This linky says he is fit and wants to play as well: https://sbisoccer.com/2019/10/morales-eager-for-first-team-return-in-trip-to-hertha-berlin I hope he starts.