No surprises with the U.S. roster for Mexico
Well, there's no doubt that all attention this week will be on the U.S. game against Mexico at Estadio Azteca. I'm actually going to be off to Boston for a work-related conference, so I will be MIA for most of this week. For those of you unable to catch the game on TV on Wednesday, Jeff Carlisle will be doing a live play-by-play for you to follow.
Anyway, here's what I'm thinking about this Monday:
1. The U.S. roster for Mexico. No real surprises about the squad named by Bob Bradley. As I'd predicted in last Friday's podcast, it was always likely to be more or less the Confederations Cup squad, save for the addition of Stuart Holden. It's no real surprise that Sacha Kljestan and DaMarcus Beasley were dropped; neither have played well for club or country for some time now. Chad Marshall's inclusion is interesting for two reasons: First, it means that he probably has moved ahead of Danny Califf in the pecking order; secondly, it likely means Bradley will persevere for now with the Oguchi Onyewu-Jay DeMerit center-back pairing, with Carlos Bocanegra on the left.
The rest of the lineup pretty much picks itself, with only two spots up for reasonable debate. Does Bradley go with Steve Cherundolo or Jonathan Spector at right back? And does he persist with Charlie Davies and Jozy Altidore as the forwards or replace one with Brian Ching? To the first question, Cherundolo might be the better choice because he's more mobile than Spector and possibly better equipped to handle Mexico's Andres Guardado. In terms of forwards, there's no doubt in my mind that Bradley starts Ching and sends one of Davies or Altidore to the bench. My guess is he sticks with Altidore and uses Davies as a change-of-pace guy in the second half.
By the way, for those who want a 'prediction' of the game, check out this nifty simulation by the folks over at EA who put this together for us with their new FIFA 2010 game (due out later this year).
2. Soca Warriors bolster their lineup. This past weekend, Trinidad & Tobago's Newsday reported that English Premier League players Bobby Zamora (of Fulham) and Jlloyd Samuel (of Bolton) have finally received their T&T passports and will be eligible to play against the U.S. when the teams next meet, on Sept. 9. Considering that T&T now boasts an all-EPL strikeforce, with Zamora partnering Kenwyne Jones and Wigan's Jason Scotland coming off the bench, this game looks a lot harder for Bradley's men all of a sudden.
3. Landon Donovan is in the best form of his life. There's no doubt that his success in the Confederations Cup has elevated Donovan's confidence to an all-time high. It shows in the way he's playing -- and not just against MLS opposition. Since he has returned from South Africa, his play has continued to be exceptional -- the biggest noticeable difference being that he has become far more direct in his play. He has shown a marked increase in his willingness to run at opponents with the ball in his possession -- something we saw against Barcelona, AC Milan and Everton in the All-Star game. He also has shown more aggressiveness in shooting when the opportunity presents itself. Witness Saturday's goal against the Revs, which in my mind won't be surpassed this season in MLS: a first-time off-foot volley from outside the box that swerved into the top right far corner. Earlier this year, while Donovan was with Bayern, you could still see elements of tentativeness in his play, but I really think the Confederations Cup has removed that from his game.
4. Freddy Adu is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Things continue to go from bad to worse for the one-time prodigy, who now finds himself desperately seeking a new club this season. Even after leaving the Gold Cup early to return to Benfica, he failed to impress management there and was told that he doesn't feature in the team's plans this season. Despite practically pleading for a Dutch club to pick him up -- even going so far as to say in an interview that he "grew up with the Dutch league" (a peculiar statement given that a few years ago he claimed to be a lifelong Chelsea fan) -- so far interest from Dutch teams has been minimal. Even NAC, whose technical director is former U.S. star Earnie Stewart, has shown no interest. So what now for Adu? It's hard to say, but his career seems to have reached a critical crossroads. How he fares with his next club (the rumor mill has him headed to Danish club Odense) will be critical.
5. Liverpool can overcome the loss of Xabi Alonso. For starters, though Alonso's a fine player, I tend to think he had a career year last year. He's certainly not a player that over the course of his five-year Liverpool career, had played consistently at the level of a player that would justify the enormous fee Real Madrid paid for him. Bear in mind that Alonso become one of the most expensive players ever at £30 million, in fact when you consider that he's the eighth-most expensive player in history, then you can argue that Real overpaid for him.
Now, don't get me wrong: In many ways, Alonso was critical to the way Liverpool played. His range of passing is exceptional, and as the team's metronome he kept the ball moving. The simple reason Liverpool struggled when he didn't play is that it didn't have any players of Alonso's ilk to replace him. That has changed now that Liverpool has bought Alberto Aquilani. Although Aquilani actually more closely resembles Steven Gerrard as a player than he does Alonso, I'd argue that Liverpool could become far more explosive with a healthy Aquilani than it was with Alonso. Of course, with Aquilani -- a player whom some Italian observers have labeled "made of Swarovski Crystal" -- staying healthy is the big question mark.
There's also the Lucas X factor -- a statement that, on the basis of his first two seasons with Liverpool, I thought I'd never utter. Put in plain terms, Lucas has been mostly terrible and lacking confidence. Indeed, I've never seen a midfielder backpass so often, and he has tended to treat the ball like a hot potato. Having said that, he has appeared to be a completely different player this preseason, spraying passes forward, carrying the ball at times (against Atletico he weaved past three players on a mazy run) and generally looking revitalized. Could this be the season Lucas emerges as the player Liverpool thought it was getting from Gremio? We'll see, but between Aquilani and Lucas, I believe Alonso's shoes will be filled. The greater concern is, and continues to be, the overdependence on the health of Gerrard and Torres. I'm surprised Rafa Benitez has yet to address the need for a third quality attacking option and matchwinner to supplement them -- although if the latest reports are anything to go by, Benitez has been handicapped yet again by the financial shenanigans of Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Jen Chang
