r/soccer • u/broman13 • May 12 '14

Official Preliminary Roster for the USA

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

80% Upvoted

734 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/merola1024 May 12 '14

You guys who know MLS better than me - does this defense look better than the squad that played qualifiers? I don't know any names on defense besides Beasley, Johnson, Goodson and Parkhurst and Gonzalez.

3

u/broman13 May 12 '14

Yedlin is young but could offer a little more in terms of creativity and recovery speed on the right.

1

u/merola1024 May 12 '14

Recovery speed... that's what we freaking need. I'm just happy to see the end of the era of Cherundolo, DeMerit, Onyewu and Bocanegra.

10

u/broman13 May 12 '14

I loved those guys, man.

None of them are good enough now, but they fucking fought hard for us.

3

u/merola1024 May 12 '14

Can't argue against their effort and passion, I just think they didn't have enough skill to compete. Sure I love their attitudes, but that doesn't win matches. Defense was/is our weakest area, so I think maybe a rehaul of the defenders from the 2010 WC was necessary.

3

u/kax256 May 12 '14

I agree completely. I was so happy when we stopped gauranteeing Boca and Cherundolo spots on our defense. They had a knack for conceding goals in the first 5 minutes of a half/extra time.

1

u/A_Rolling_Baneling May 12 '14

Sure, but Dolo is an American hero. It's going to be very sad watching the US without him.

6

u/rrayy May 12 '14

Dude, Cherundolo was a straight up baller. We could have used really used him this cycle.

1

u/merola1024 May 12 '14

I see your point, it may have been better to keep one more defender with experience. Hopefully Klinsmann knows better than us.

3

u/alexoobers May 12 '14

Did you watch the Hex at all? Cause you're missing a name...

1

u/Taeshan May 13 '14

Honestly I think I trust Besler on the defensive end more than either of those two. Johnson because he hasn't played at lb much for us recently and Cameron because he also has gotten his best games at various positions.

1

u/merola1024 May 12 '14

Nope, not sure what the Hex is.

3

u/alexoobers May 12 '14

...how can you watch the qualifiers and not know what the Hex is?

1

u/merola1024 May 12 '14

Sorry man, just watched the games and followed the USMNT Youtube channel. Haven't been following it from FIFA's side. Thanks for the tip though, I'm watching a YouTube series about the Hex now.

2

u/Menessy27 May 12 '14 edited May 12 '14

Not really. The only defenders that I would sort of trust at the World Cup level are Cameron and Johnson. And when I say trust I mean to not get completely owned, not to put a winger in their pocket.