The aftermath of the U.S. game against Mexico last week in Columbus shows the vastly different directions the programs appear to be heading. On the one hand, the ho-hum nature in which the U.S.'s 2-0 win was greeted by many fans (and the squad itself) illustrates the current mindset, which justifiably regards the U.S. as the power within the CONCACAF region. Yes, against top-class non-CONCACAF opposition, there's no question Mexico gets better results. But head-to-head and within CONCACAF, there's also no question that the U.S. is the superior side right now. As for Mexico, it's a team in full-blown crisis mode that needs to figure out a solution fast, else it entertain the unfathomable thought of missing out on World Cup qualifying. Here's what I'm thinking about this Monday:
1. The troublesome left back spot and DaMarcus Beasley. For my money, the most disappointing individual performance against Mexico was that of left back Heath Pearce (although to be fair, Sacha Kljestan and Brian Ching were also in the running). Still, Pearce was a huge defensive liability. Not only did it seem as though Gio dos Santos was able to beat him off the dribble at will all night long, but Pearce also had a hand in Mexico's two golden scoring opportunities. First, failing to tackle Nery Castillo cleanly in the box (with the loose ball falling to Dos Santos), and later letting Dos Santos sneak inside him at the far left post to miss from two yards out.
It's usual for a coach to live with a left back's defensive frailty if he makes up for it on the attacking end, but Pearce offers nothing special on offense. Though he has a willingness to get forward, even that aspect was blunted by the poor crosses he hit. Pearce supporters point to his supposed strong play against Argentina last summer, but as I've mentioned before, it needs to be taken into account that Pablo Zabaleta (usually a right back) played as a makeshift right wing in that game. Anyone who has seen Zabaleta play in the Premiership knows that he isn't exactly a tour-de-force threat moving forward.
The U.S. simply must upgrade at left back, which is where Beasley comes in. Beasley put in a pretty decent performance against Mexico, especially for a player who has seen so little playing time in recent months for his club team. The strengths he displayed in that match (constant back-tracking, an ability to help harass and tackle Mexican attackers, a high work rate) are exactly the reasons he should be tried at left back -- something I've long advocated. On offense, Beasley hit some nice crosses, but they were mostly hit from deep spots, before he reached the Mexican penalty box or byline, or from set pieces. In other words, the same spots from where a left back would have hit them.
Beasley doesn't really have the offensive potency or shooting ability that one would like to see at the international level, but as a left back he'd have superior offensive ability by the typical standards of the position. Defensively, you can't tell me he'd be a weaker link than Pearce at the spot -- Beasley's tackling ability is at least as good as Pearce's -- and it's no shame to convert to left back. Patrice Evra, Gael Clichy and Philipp Lahm are examples of former midfielders and wingers converted into outstanding left backs -- and in the case of Lahm and Clichy, they're every bit as diminutive as Beasley.
The other compelling selling point is this: Outside of Pearce, who are the other options for the left back spot? Jonathan Bornstein, Jonathan Spector, Cory Gibbs or maybe a shift of Carlos Bocanegra? None of these are exciting options. On the other hand, the list of players who could replace Beasley at left midfield includes Jose Francisco Torres, Freddy Adu, Robbie Rogers, Justin Mapp, Bobby Convey and Arturo Alvarez. If the goal is to get the best players on the field, surely it's worth moving Beasley to left back for a game or two to see if one of the other young midfielders or wingers is ready to develop.
2. Sven must go. Count me among those who think that both Mexico and the U.S. would be better off with a big-name foreign coach. At the same time, it has to be the right big-name coach, not just a foreigner for the sake of it. If you can land a Jose Mourinho or a Guus Hiddink, fine. If not, and it's a choice between someone like Sven-Goran Eriksson (who I've always said was one of the most overrated coaches on the planet), then you're better off with a Bob Bradley, as Mexico is finding out.
The conventional wisdom after the U.S.-Mexico game is that the Americans' midfield was so dominant and so disrupted the Mexicans' possession game, that El Tri was forced to resort to the long-ball game. That's not entirely true. Admittedly, Michael Bradley was composed and was a force all match long (his move to the Bundesliga obviously has done wonders for the maturity of his game), and the U.S. commitment as a whole to team defense paid off. But Eriksson has long been criticized for his tactics. He always has been short on offensive acumen, and when the going gets tough his teams always resort to the long ball. Add that to the fact that he has yet to win over his squad, and considering El Tri's abysmal performances under his reign, there's no doubt in my mind that Mexico needs to replace him if it wants to ensure qualification.
3. Donovan heading back to the Galaxy? Landon Donovan hasn't played poorly in Germany; he clearly has shown the ability to be a spot starter and squad rotation member for Bayern. However, he hasn't done enough yet to warrant the Bayern board acquiescing to pay out the huge fee MLS presumably wants to make his services permanent. The other problem: He's running out of time to "prove" himself, with his loan due to expire in a couple of weeks.
On Saturday, Donovan replaced injured Italian striker Luca Toni in the 35th minute of a 2-1 loss to Hertha, and had two great chances to score. On the first chance, a headed effort, only a good save by Jaroslav Drobny denied him a goal. On the second, where he was put clean through by Franck Ribery, Donovan really should have scored. Other than those two opportunities, however, Donovan was very quiet. He still seems a little too tentative and deferential out there. Virtually every time he is given the ball, he touches it straight off to another teammate or immediately back to the person who passed him the ball.
If he is to have an impact, he needs to be a little more selfish with the ball -- and even start calling for it when he's in good position. At this rate, though, it wouldn't surprise me if Bayern and MLS fail to reach an agreement on fair value and Donovan is back in MLS for the duration of the 2009 season. As for his erstwhile teammate, David Beckham, I'm not even going to comment on that situation. As we all know, that saga is far from over, regardless of MLS' artificial deadline.
On a final note, I'll be traveling the next couple of weeks, so probably won't be blogging again until sometime the week of March 9.
Jen Chang
