Monday morning and here's what I'm thinking about:
1. The shortcomings of the U.S. central midfield. Last week's win against Trinidad & Tobago showed both the good and ugly aspects of the U.S. midfield. The good: In the first half, against a bunkering Soca Warrior team that set up far too deep in its own half, Michael Bradley showed more offensive poise and controlled passing than he has for a long time for the national team. The bad: In the second half against a T&T team that pressed the ball in midfield, the U.S. and Bradley reverted to the constant turnovers and inability to hold the ball that has plagued the U.S. midfield ever since Claudio Reyna and John O'Brien were at their peaks.
U.S. fans can talk all they want about the lack of quality forwards in the U.S. pool, but until the central midfield becomes more accomplished, this team will continue to have problems against quality sides because of its inability to transition and link from the midfield to the attack with any degree of consistency. Those who have criticized Bob Bradley's lineup choices (myself included), point to his constant use of two defensive/holding midfielders as one of the root causes of the U.S.' offensive inefficiencies. Except that based on what Bradley told SI's Grant Wahl after the Cuba game on Sep. 6, the critics have been wrong all along: sort of. That is to say, Bradley, in his opinion, hasn't generally been playing with two defensive midfielders, and doesn't view either the younger Bradley or Maurice Edu as such. "I don't consider that they're both holding midfielders," said Bradley to SI. "We encourage the idea that one can move out and join in [the offense]."
This being the case, U.S. fans need to hope that either Bradley or Edu evolves into a midfielder capable of providing more penetrating playmaking (unlikely, in my opinion), or that either Sacha Kljestan (who started against T&T) or Benny Feilhaber can step up and become that player. Klejstan and Feilhaber's development is critical for the U.S. because with the exception of trying out Clint Dempsey in the central midfield role, there aren't a whole lot of prospects in the pipeline at this spot for the U.S. The problem is compounded by the fact that the other central midfielders Bradley typically pairs with his son are another pair of defensive midfielders, Ricardo Clark and Pablo Mastroeni. However, while Bradley might not
think he's fielding a dual holding midfield structure, in reality he is, at least with the personnel choices he's been making.
2. Third time lucky for Landon Donovan? There's a strong likelihood that this might be the last season in MLS for Landon Donovan, who stated earlier this year that he'd be interested in giving Europe another shot if the right offer came along. That offer could come in the form of a rumored January transfer window bid from Bayern Munich, whose coach Juergen Klinsmann is an admirer of Donovan's talents.
I'm not sure that a move to Germany would be the best thing for Donovan, especially given his spotty history there with Leverkusen. It's well known that Donovan is a player who needs a high degree of comfort to excel. Given his stated difficulties adjusting to the German culture and lifestyle on his first two go-arounds, and the fact that getting a regular starting spot in a Bayern starting lineup -- which counts Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose as forwards, and Bastien Schweinsteiger and Ze Roberto as creative midfielders, not to mention a soon-to-return Franck Ribery -- will be extremely hard if not nigh on impossible, it's hard to see where Donovan fits in for Bayern. If Bayern unloads Lukas Podolski in January, I could see Donovan fitting in as an off-the-bench option for Bayern, but it's hard to see this as a good move for him. I'd rather see him go to Spain or Holland, where the style of play would suit his game better.
3. Altidore shines in his "real" Villarreal debut. Much was made of Jozy Altidore's hat trick for Villarreal in a friendly last week against Spanish fifth-division side San Rafael. Personally, I didn't see what the furor was all about. San Rafael is a semi-pro team that offered little to zero resistance -- frankly, Altidore would find it harder to score in a Villarreal intrasquad scrimmage than against San Rafael. The real news would have been if he had
failed to score.
However, Sunday against Deportivo, in a 1-0 win for Villarreal, Altidore made his first appearance in La Liga, coming on for Guillermo Franco in the second half and had an instant impact. Altidore had a couple of nice runs down both touchlines, where he skinned the full backs and could easily have had a couple of assists. He also showed a willingness and ability to shoot from range with power. Both traits are in short supply right now for the U.S. Altidore wasn't expected to get much playing time for Villarreal this season (as evidenced by his exclusion from the Champions League registration for group stage play) but with forwards Giuseppe Rossi and Nihat out with injury, Altidore has a chance to establish himself earlier than expected.
Player Pimping
Usually I like to talk about a more unknown player, but with former Dutch national team star
Edgar Davids currently a free agent, it makes perfect sense for MLS to go out and grab him. Although he's not an attacking midfielder or forward (which is where I believe DP money should typically be spent), he has his fair share of flair, particularly considering he's a defensive midfielder -- not to mention, he's one of the most recognizable players in the world. One team that could use him is Los Angeles, which has lacked bite and a quality ball-winner in its midfield all year. Davids would also bring the added benefit of protecting the Galaxy's back line, which is still a shambles, especially considering the Galaxy's bizarre recent decision to sign Eddie Lewis over Cory Gibbs.
Jen Chang
