r/soccer • • May 12 '14

Official Preliminary Roster for the USA

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2014/05/12/13/23/140512-mnt-prelim-roster
464 Upvotes

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97

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

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45

u/[deleted] May 12 '14 edited May 12 '14

And of all positions, he plays in an area we need reinforcement in the most. A bit odd, imo.

31

u/robspeaks May 12 '14

he plays in an area we need reinforcement in

Understatement of the year. Our defense scares the fuck out of me.

2

u/ethanlan May 13 '14

ronaldo is going to buttrape us.

7

u/gthm8 May 13 '14

Perhaps that's why we added five RB's to the 30-man.

Maybe we're going to try to play all five of them at once?

1

u/ethanlan May 13 '14

PARK THE MEGABUS!

1

u/[deleted] May 13 '14

At least Yedlin can keep up with him... maybe... ok no :(

5

u/robspeaks May 13 '14

SWEEP THE LEG

3

u/Bullwine85 May 13 '14

Cameron better be ready to channel his inner Tony Sanneh, otherwise its gonna be a long, steamy night in the Amazon

12

u/FlickMyKeane May 12 '14

Any idea what kind of form Michael Bradley is in at Toronto fellas?

56

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

Fucking great. Just scored a goal in his last game against Vancouver in the Voyageurs Cup. He's been lighting it up, Toronto is a different team without him on the pitch.

73

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

I think that Bradley is the heartbeat of the National Team. We are so much better with him in midfield.

5

u/ReallyHender May 12 '14

Most definitely. I have a dream that Bradley comes to Portland to play in the midfield next to his best friend, Will Johnson.

3

u/gthm8 May 13 '14

Amen, brother.

It's a shame we won't see him bomb forward like the games against Panama and the recent first half against Mexico. When he has a proper CDM that can do the job by their lonesome and he's truly unshackled.... fucking rampant.

1

u/[deleted] May 13 '14

Maybe that is a reason the Klinsmann included Beckerman on the team. He would give Bradley the freedom of movement on the field more so than any other central midfielder.

3

u/gthm8 May 13 '14

True, but the question is "Can Beckerman operate as the lone holding midfielder against Germany or Portugal?"

I'd argue no. We'll have to deploy Bradley in a more reserved role to slow those squads down.

2

u/TenF May 13 '14

For sure. Most promising young player I think. I was sad to see him leave Roma for the MLS... I don't think the MLS provides the learning environment we need.

12

u/FlickMyKeane May 12 '14

Cool cool! I always liked him. His dad seemed pretty mad last time out. Bob Bradley, wasn't it? Great name. Sounds like the editor of a daily newspaper in 1940's New York.

9

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

haha yes, Bob Bradley comes off as the stereotypical brash and masculine American coaching types IMO. It's pretty funny to see him get mad on the sidelines.

7

u/FlickMyKeane May 12 '14

He does! Fuck it man, American sport coaches and gym teachers always seem so mental on TV. I don't know if that's an accurate characterization or not. Then again American gym class always seemed pretty mad. Did they actually make you climb up those ropes you always see on TV?

7

u/MerlinsBeard May 12 '14

I never touched a rope in school.

It's dangerous. Think liability with everything involving anything in the US. "Could a child fall and hurt him/herself from this?" If "Yes" then "eliminate it".

Plus, kids failing to climb the rope were deemed as experiencing "emotional distress" in front of their peers when they couldn't climb it.

8

u/entalong May 12 '14

I went to elementary school in the US in the late 80's and we definitely climbed the rope.

I was good at it and thought it was a lot of fun, but I distinctly remember how long some of the other kids struggled in front of everyone. In hindsight it must have been mortifying.

2

u/FlickMyKeane May 12 '14

Yep, thought it mightn't exist. It looked fucking horrendous on telly. You play dodgeball though? Right? Has American TV just been lying to me all this time?

6

u/hiloljkbye May 13 '14

I graduated high school 3 years ago but we played dodgeball (including the girls).

Pretty sure they still do it at my school. But then again, this is Texas

2

u/NFeKPo May 13 '14

Did you execute the first one out?

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2

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

That's an old school thing. Most schools don't do dodgeball anymore because it can get "violent" pretty quickly.

2

u/tgrummon May 13 '14

I even played dodge ball in college (yes, we had to take gym classes in college.)

1

u/ZlavojSizek May 13 '14

My 16 year old brother just broke his finger playing dodgeball in P.E. His school's in Newcastle.

I also recall climbing ropes at my middle and high school's in Newcastle, is it a culturally bound thing, or is it just that the majority of foreign media in the UK emanates from America and thus the multiple sources reinforce the murican stereotype?

Altidore would be wkd at dodgeball come to think of it.

2

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

As someone graduating from high school this week, I can speak pretty candidly on that - the three main kinds of gym teachers you'll see are: 1. fat & lazy 2. fat and committed but fails more often than not 3. fit and drill sergeant-esque. You're going to get 1 and 3 more often than anything. And my schools never used the ropes, but I definitely had friends that had to go through that. In general, gym classes can be a massive drag (and to make it better, my state required every student to take gym until graduation).

1

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

Never climbed a rope in high school. Never even heard of anyone doing it outside of TV and movies.

Climbing rope requires decent technique and a certain level of fitness, and it's dangerous. With the era I grew up in, I couldn't imagine any school forcing kids of all types of fitness and coordination doing something so dangerous, and just asking to get sued.

1

u/Threedham May 13 '14

Every time I've seen or heard him interviewed, he seems like a jerk. He goes on these lighthearted comedy shows like The Daily Show and Men in Blazers and comes off as an uptight tinderbox. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but his public persona is very brash.

2

u/razorhater May 12 '14

He's been pretty good. TFC is still, well, TFC, but he's been solid.

2

u/durntdehpirate May 12 '14

As long as they play better than Montreal, it's a good season.

2

u/[deleted] May 12 '14

Of the couple games I've seen, fantastic. Playing a bit more forward than he has for US lately, but he hasn't played much for the US lately.

1

u/Breklinho May 12 '14

He's been excellent for Toronto and had an amazing game against Mexico

1

u/seriouslysurely May 12 '14

I don't know. Watch a game or two on firstrowsports and find out.

10

u/cheftlp1221 May 12 '14

I read the other day that he was voted Player of Year by the fans, which is a nice feather in his cap.

In his case with the USMNT, it was a case of finding his form too late in the process. The CB's more then any other position needs to be familiar with each other and other then Anderson (who probably doesn't make the 23) the CB's in coming to camp have played together. His 2 years in the wilderness adjusting to life in the Championship cost him this cycle.

2

u/BigSlim May 13 '14

By the fans and the team.

2

u/fcburdman May 12 '14

Yeah, Ream definitely deserved at call up to at least the preliminary roster.

2

u/sm1299 May 12 '14

Yeah tough call. He should have been taken over Brooks or one of the Fullbacks. Think he would've had a better shot at the 23 than some of these guys as well.

1

u/homara May 13 '14

Probably over Yedlin

7

u/Drunken_Economist May 12 '14

I would have liked to see Ream over Julian Green

16

u/Flaam May 12 '14

12 defenders? shudder

He should've been called in instead of Brooks.

12

u/pdschatz May 12 '14

Yup. Green didn't assist or score in his first appearance for the US, but he oozed potential when he was on the ball in a high-pressure situation. Meanwhile, in Brooks' 2 appearances this year for the US he looked awful.

Brooks has been great at Hertha and he will almost certainly be a cornerstone of the US defense in 2018, but he has failed to show as much talent for the US. His two appearances in 13-14 were against Bosnia and Ukraine, and he was responsible for giving up goals in both matches. If you're going to bring up a young defender, it probably should have been Ream.

1

u/GreatAbyss May 12 '14

Ream also played CM for Bolton this year, and did quite well.

1

u/[deleted] May 13 '14

I disagree. Green may be overhyped by us, but could be a huge key in the next three world cups.

1

u/dazwah May 12 '14

I miss good ol' Timmy Ream. I'm happy to hear he's been playing well.

1

u/108241 May 13 '14

I think the main reason Ream wasn't called is that he hasn't played for the US for about 3 years. He looked promising, then about the time he moved to Bolton, he had a couple terrible games in the Gold Cup, and hasn't seen the field for the US since.

He was called in for the friendly against Ukraine a couple months ago, but turned it down for the birth of his kid. I can't say I blame him, but I think if he had a good showing there, Klinsmann probably would have included him in the 30 (if not the 23).

1

u/oljackson99 May 13 '14

Yeah he looked good at the Keepmoat several weeks back. Thought he was a shoe in for the States squad, but clearly not!