It happened to the United States in every match of their World Cup campaign; the opponent would break through the middle of the US defense and punish the Yanks early. Only once did the United States avoid an early deficit, when Algeria’s chance in the 6th minute blasted off the crossbar. Early goals came one after another: England in the 4th minute, Slovenia in the 13th, Ghana in the 5th minute as well as in the 3rd minute of extra time.
The back line was the most troubling part of the US team in the tournament and it’s hard to say whether the fact that they’ll have to replace many of the defenders for 2014 with inexperience is necessarily a bad thing. The midfield was outstanding and will likely continue to be the strong point of the team with stars returning and young players emerging. Striker is a concern for many, but Jozy Altidore will be 24 when the next World Cup rolls around and ready to make his mark on US Soccer. He has the talent and I have every confidence he will be the answer up top. It’s important to find someone to pair with Jozy too, but with the combination of glaring inadequacy and a mass exodus of experience on the back line, a “Fullbacks Wanted” flyer should be in the works. Let’s take a look at who’s available to shed the matador style the US fullbacks adopted early in World Cup matches in South Africa.
Even though it will be exciting (hopefully) to take a look at some new names, not all of the familiar ones can be ruled out of the next World Cup. Jay DeMerit and Steve Cherundolo are the two fullbacks least likely to return. DeMerit will be 34 and Cherundolo 35 when 2014 rolls around and that’s probably too old to compete at the level necessary to be successful. Captain Carlos Bocanegra is 31, but his leadership and smarts could see him in a reserve role in four years. That being said, if any of these guys are seeing significant minutes in 2014, Tim Howard is going to be busy. I wouldn’t count on Clarence Goodson to make much of an impact either. He will only be 32 for the Cup in Rio, but he’s 28 and couldn’t earn time over an injured Onyewu in this World Cup. His size is helpful on set pieces, but it’s just too late.
Three names you can expect to be in the mix from this year’s squad are Onyewu and the two Jonathans–Spector and Bornstein. Gooch was a regular in the starting lineup before his injury and before that was coming around on the mental aspect of his game, which was the ball and chain to his physical skill. Spector did not see playing time due to a poor showing in the tune-ups, but at 24 has plenty of room to improve. Bornstein showed well in the World Cup and at 25 should be able to up his game with some experience and a couple trips to the weight room. Bornstein is a Bradley favorite, but even if Bob is relieved of his post, the puddle-depth of the outside back position bodes well for Johnny. Be aware of Heath Pearce and Chad Marshall, as they were among the last cuts for the final roster.
Richard Simmons wouldn’t blame you for being unenthusiastic at this point. Onyewu is the only name that inspires any kind of confidence and he’s got major questions himself. Even the other probables seem to offer little improvement, if they are an improvement at all. The fact is, the United States has to get better at identifying and developing talent. How are stars developed? Taking a look at two international stars seems like an informative start.
Carles Puyol and Philipp Lahm would make the first 11 on any team in the world. Puyol, a Spanish international, joined FC Barcelona’s youth program at 17 as a striker and was quickly moved to a defensive midfield position, then to the back line. By 19 he was moved to the reserves squad and was with Barcelona’s first team at 21, earning his first international cap for Spain at 22. Lahm was identified by Bayern Munich’s youth program at age 11. He moved up through their system and aside from a loan to another Bundesliga club for a couple of years has been involved with Bayern to date. Lahm made his international debut at 20 and at 26 just finished up a successful World Cup on the wing for the Germans. Why can’t the US do this? First of all, the youth programs are much more developed in Europe. Even Puyol’s case wasn’t ideal, as you can see Lahm got started with Bayern Munich before he could even grow that gross junior high moustache.
Typically in the US, players aren’t noticed as early and when they are noticed they don’t have the same feeder programs. As a result, talented American players end up getting experience with the US National Team playing u-17 before playing for a competitive club. Many US prospects aren’t identified until college and they head straight for the MLS draft. Things are improving though, and we may be starting to break the mold.
First, Gale Agbossoumonde. Name win! Gale–no, Agroboss!–was born in Togo, then his family fled to Benin before coming to the United States. He played with the USMNT u-20s when he was 17 years old. Now 18, he’s on loan from Miami FC of the NASL to Sporting Braga in Portugal. This is the ideal model for building a soccer star in the US. Identify the talent as soon as possible and send them to play against the best competition possible. At 6’2″ 185, Gale is the prototype center back. It shouldn’t be tough to remember the name, so look out for this one.
Second, 21-year-old Eric Lichaj (right). Somehow this last name is harder to pronounce than the eighteen syllable one above. Lichaj was on the path to typical US development until Aston Villa was touring the States recently. They saw Lichaj play and signed him up after one year at North Carolina. Lichaj played major minutes for the Villa reserves and is close to signing a three year extension with a great shot at making the first team this season. Lichaj was on the field for essentially all of Aston Villa’s run in the 2009 Peace Cup, including all 120 minutes in the Championship Game win over Juventus.
Agbossoumonde and Lichaj look to be the future at center and outside back, but there are also some names to watch in MLS. Omar Gonzalez (21) was the 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year for the LA Galaxy and was just named to the starting 11 for the MLS all-stars who take on Manchester United July 28th. Omar was a regular with the u-17 and u-20 squads and has been called up to train with the USMNT. Ike Opara(21) is a rookie for the San Jose Earthquakes and started every game for the u-20′s at the 2009 World Championships. Kevin Alston of the New England Revolution and Tim Ream of the Red Bulls, both 22, are other MLS players to watch. Alston is a speedy wing, while Ream is an excellent possession player, rare for a US center back.
Thankfully, there is young talent coming up through the system and US Soccer is either getting lucky or getting better at identifying it at an earlier stage. If you’ve made it this deep into the defensive analysis for the US no worries, you can take the elevator straight back up to the real world and spread the knowledge. At least now we have some names to watch with interest in the coming years. How about a way too early prediction for the back line in 2014? I’m going with Lichaj, Onyewu, Agbossoumonde, and Spector. I at least expect the United States will field one “exciting” player on the back line for the first time in a long time.
[...] in 2009 and could eventually crash the team photo of players who will look to solve the Americans Back Problems in international play. How will Leonardo play? He’s been the victim on two goals of late, [...]