U.S. Gold Cup Roster

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton, England), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham, England), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege, Belgium), Michael Parkhurst (New England), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday, England), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United, England)

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburg SV, Germany), Justin Mapp (Chicago), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado), Steve Ralston (New England)

Forwards: Brian Ching (Houston), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City), Taylor Twellman (New England)

Players unavailable due to injury: defenders Chris Albright, Steve Cherundolo, Jimmy Conrad and Cory Gibbs; and midfielders Bobby Convey and Eddie Lewis.

 

Nice that Deuce and Boca will get some high-level competition over the summer to keep them sharp. I didn't realize it but Copa America starts RIGHT after the Gold Cup - not sure whether we'll see the same/a similar roster for that.

 

#1. Why are we still pimping Keller? (And correction sir, he does not play for Borrusia Manchengladbach.)

#2. HeyDude!!!

#3. Parkhurst?? Yo no se.

#4. Front line is weak, but won't be (fingers crossed) once Ferrari and Adu grow up.

#5. What, no Cooper?

I'll be very interested to see who makes Copa America. Could be Bradley getting some of these lads to warm up in Gold Cup competition, or practice mostly, for the trip south.

 

Please direct your correction to either ESPN or FoxSoccer as I blatantly plagerized their websites - maybe they're not aware he's out of contract.

I suspect the roster for the Copa America will be much different and I don't know why he excluded Cooper, hopefully he'll show up in the Copa America.

 

where the hell is cooper?????? damnit I want cooper and convey!!! please somebody fix convey!!! and its time for eddie johnson to kick some ass this summer!!!!

 

what does everybody think about a 3-4-1-2 line up?? tell me am I stupid or not?

 

Would have liked to have seen Altiadore, but I guess he'll play in the U-20 WC. I don't see Cooper as Nat material, but its not as if he has much competition at the moment.

 

Wierd. I agree with Spencer.

Anyway, Cooper is probably good enough for now, but not for long (unless he ratchets it up a few more knotches).

But let's remember, he is still only.........22!!!


Altidore (any concern about him playing for Haiti?), Adu, and Ferrari. Now that's got me hopes up.

 

I think Cooper has the potential to be as good as McBride if he develops well (or, if not *as good*, then at least almost as good and a comparable style player). The nats certainly could use another big target striker.

 

Re: RE: U.S. Gold Cup Roster

Yes, I agree with almost everything. Ralston has sucked so far for the national team, but hey, maybe he's just been unlucky.

Hejduk is weird, that other guy who sprung Cooper during the Denmark game would be better (can't remember his name for the life of me).

I agree Mastroeni is nearing the end. However, he is a decent and experienced holding midfielder, and if / when we play Mexico we'll probably need his experience in that role as opposed to Feilhaber or Bradley.

 

Why are we sending our best to play in this tounrament? This makes no sense and now these players surely will not play in the Copa America. This Gold Cup should be our last priority and we should send only our best to the Copa America as it actually means something and it is better competition in a hostile enviornment.

 

I am pretty sure Convey is hurt....not sure about why Cooper is not on the roster....seems like he should be there.

 

I believe injuries have led to the call up of Ralston and Hejduk.

The Gold Cup is CONCACAF's tournament where winner goes to the confederation cup. It is also an excellent barometer and an experience to play teams in our own region in meaningful competition prior to World Cup Qualifiers - which are vital.

The US has no real shot at winning the Copa America, and I don't think anyone expects them to do much more than not be doormats. The Gold Cup is something the US should try and win; that means more than a tournament the US got in only by invitation. I believe it's better to send more of a "B" squad to SA to face difficult competition on the road to get that experience and possibly expand the pool.

I think this roster is well balanced and should be sufficient to do well in the Gold Cup. Good to see Bradley not force any U-20 nats in this one (aside from Michael Bradley) - they got a World Youth Championship to excel at in July.

 

Maybe Bradley is planning to pick him for Copa America and he's trying to only pull guys off their MLS teams for one or the other? (Not a concern for Deuce and Boca and other guys based in Europe.)

I could see the Copa America roster being pretty similar but replacing:

Guzan with Matt Reis or Joe Cannon
Bornstein with Heath Pearce or Todd Dunivant
HeyDude with Steve Cherundolo if he's healthy
Parkhurst with Jimmy Conrad
Clark with Chris Armas or even John O'Brien
Mapp with Ben Olsen
Ralston with Eddie Gaven
Ching with Kenny Cooper
EJ with Jeff Cunningham
Twellman with Pat Noonan

That leaves (if I got this right) only Mastroeni and Donovan away from teams that are in season for both tournaments. You could even replace Donovan with Clint Mathis (he's looked good enough early on this year to maybe merit another callup) and Mastro with Cory Gibbs and you'd have a team that's almost as solid while not keeping guys away from their teams for too long.

This is obviously only speculation, but the point is that there's plenty of depth in the player pool to put together decent teams for both tournaments, especially considering that some top guys like Timmy and Gooch and Boca and Deuce and DMB could conceivably stay on for both tournaments. Heck, considering how hard a time Deuce had getting into games at the Cottage, I'd be happy to see him having as many chances as possible over the summer to stay in game shape and show LS what he brings to the table.


Edit: Whoa. Sorry about all the rambling.

 

US Gold Cup Roster

Since McGod retired, we have a gaping hole up top. Brian Ching is not it. Against quality he just disappears. He might do OK against the softies in the Gols Cup but is is NOT good enough against anyone else.
Ralston's game is just too limitted for the Nats.
Mastroeni made his rep in that 2002 World Cup game against Blanco & the rest ot the cheap shots. He hasn't had nearly as good a game since & was an out & out liability against Italy in 2006. Time he sat down.

I'd like to see Kenny Cooper be given a chance. He plays soft for a big guy but at least the wind doesn't blow him over like it does Ching.

As additional experiments, why not Boco in defensive mid? We have to train someone to take over. For that matter, why not Spector? He has the pace, is good on the ball, & has a cracker jack shot. When I went out to see Adu as an under 16, I left that game impressed by Spector.

 

Hey Striker, are you going the USA v China in San Jose? I'm bringing my son and a couple friends. Stoked. Here's what I would like to see for China game and the Gold Cup.
Howard

F Simek J DeMerit O Onyewu C Bocanega

C Dempsey M Bradley B Feilhaber D Beasley
L Donovan
Brian Ching

The core of the defense all play in strong defensive leagues. DeMerit was solid for Watford, they just don’t score goals. Onyewu made some mistakes for Newcastle, but he is strong in the air and a physical presence. Michael Bradley and Benny Feilhaber are learning defense in the Bundisliga. Enough said. Simek earned a starting position against a team favorite and Bocanegra was the second leading scorer for Fulham. We will definitely see some attacking runs from the back. Dempsey and Beasley offer attacking mentalities. It might limit how much Bradley and Feilhaber can roam as they will have defensive responsibilites. I would like to see a 4 5 1 formation, with Donovan as essentially 2nd Fwd. Donovan likes to receive the ball on the run off of a possession forward. I would like to see him drop back to distribute occasionally, allowing Bradley or Feilhaber to free up. This would add some spice and unpredictability. Brian Ching is the perfect possession forward. The strike force of Donovan and Ching were great in San Jose.

Agree, Disagree?