DaMarcus Beasley’s injury scare was a huge worry for a worrisome unit.
Neil W. Blackmon
We’ll lead off this Thursday evening post with a look at the US defense. Last Friday, in a rather loud hotel lobby in New Orleans, I had the privilege of co-hosting Soccer Morning with Jason Davis, of North American Soccer Network and ESPN FC fame, and we talked extensively about the US defense. Give it a listen. Also, while I’m on the topic– Soccer Morning depends on listener support. It’s the only show of its kind in the AM in the US- devoted to American soccer and packed with great guests and time for your calls. I can’t write enough about how good Jason Davis is as a host, writer, commentator and general ambassador for US Soccer– so even if you don’t listen- please visit their site and think about a small donation. They need you to keep the show going. American soccer needs that show.
Back to the issue at hand- the American defense. The US defense is what it is, with apologies to every writing and journalism professor I ever had for the cliche. It’s a fragile, largely inexperienced group that is going to have stay compact and narrow and play extremely good help defense. The center backs won’t do much to build possession out of the back; one fullback is a 31 year old converted winger, and the other fullback will likely have to stay more at home than you’d like, especially if the US are to implement the diamond formation, where the team with the better fullbacks often wins the day. The US have plenty of options personnel-wise, but very few sure-fire “locks” among the group. So who should Jurgen take to Brazil?
The 30 man roster for the Send-Off Series camp at Stanford, from which Klinsmann and his staff will form their final 23 man team for Brazil, will likely include the following defensive options: Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley, Clarence Goodson, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Parkhurst, Geoff Cameron, Michael Parkhurst, Brad Evans and perhaps Michael Orozco and an additional fullback– maybe DeAndre Yedlin or Chris Klute. From that pool of ten, Klinsmann will likely choose seven or eight to go to Brazil.
The American defense caught an immense break this week when word came down that DaMarcus Beasley’s injury, suffered last week in his match with Puebla, was only a mild hamstring issue and it will not force him to miss much time. Losing Beasley this late in the game would have been devastating. Beasley has many detractors, but he is leagues ahead of any of his competition at left back (including Fabian Johnson, in your writer’s opinion), and were he out of the game the US would almost assuredly be bringing a player to Brazil who was significantly less-talented and less-experienced than any fellow member on the squad. Articles like this (linked) do a massive disservice to Beasley’s ability as a capable defender (since when do fullbacks mark primarily forwards and not track wingers?), but the reality is Beasley, through hard work and want to, has become a good defender and as a two-way fullback (required in the diamond), he’s the best fullback the US have on the left by a mile. Beasley, along with Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron and, reluctantly, Omar Gonzalez, are four “locks” for this team. The question really is whether Klinsmann will select seven players or eight.
Traditionally, managers are conservative with their roster choices, and select eight defenders, the idea being that things like card accumulation and potential injuries accrued at the World Cup mean it is safest to select cover at each spot. My position? The US should select seven, opting for either an extra midfielder (less preferred) or an extra forward (makes most sense) instead of an eighth defender. This position has been rejected by US Soccer writers I respect, like the great Jeff Carlisle at ESPN:
.@GuldanMR Given attacking talent US faces, I think there will be YC issues. Add injuries/poor form, & I think you need cover in all 4 spots
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) April 18, 2014
I understand the argument, truly I do. But I think even in that universe, the Americans optimize talent and roster space by selecting seven defenders. And I think with seven, even if it is untraditional- you still have “cover” at every position. That occurs because of increased position flexibility, a trait that the 2014 US team shares with its group-winning predecessors in South Africa. Bob Bradley selected seven defenders, primarily because with Maurice Edu and Jon Spector, he had the flexibility built-in to his roster to provide positional cover. Edu could be the emergency CB if need be; Spector could play multiple positions in the back four. The US roster at present has different names but the same mentality: Michael Parkhurst can play each position in the back four; Geoff Cameron can be the emergency CB if need be. (Some would argue Cameron should be the starting CB– that’s a different discussion for another day). Fabian Johnson actually gives this roster more flexibility than Bob Bradley had in 2010, because he can play fullback on either side. Beyond those three is Mo Edu, who may be invited to the 30 man camp in May. A CB for the national team in the past, Edu would also add flexibility.
Fab Johnson is one of three players that gives the US flexibility to bring 7 and still “cover” each spot.
Finally, there’s the matter of card accumulation. Selecting eight just because of that possibility is extremely conservative, and to me represents over-thinking. Cards happen at World Cups, particularly with inexperienced back lines, but do you hedge your bet that it happens and bring an extra defender who will never play otherwise, or do you bring an extra attacking minded player who can change/influence a game? The latter makes most sense on a roster where, because of positional flexibility, you have cover everywhere.
The bottom line is selecting seven defenders eliminates an even more difficult choice for Jurgen Klinsmann, who by bringing an eighth defender would in turn be forced to leave a Chris Wondolowski, Eddie Johnson, Sacha Kljestan or even a Kyle Beckerman home. Of those, Kljestan and one of EJ and Wondolowski seem most likely to be left out– but why be forced to leave behind two instead of one? Whether the Yanks bring seven or eight- the defense is going to concede a goal or two. The US will need goals to advance. Why not optimize attacking talent?
Shifting gears a bit, some excellent reading this week, and a podcast shout:
Alex Olshansky at Tempo Free Soccer has a wonderful data-driven look at a popular discussion right now- the diamond formation, which has not only been utilized recently by the United States but also seems to be catching on in MLS. Long a staple of Real Salt Lake’s success, we’ve seen it this year with Vancouver and the Galaxy(!!), among others.
Olshansky cites the March to the Match podcast in his piece and the discussion they had about the diamond. That podcast, and this week’s discussion of expansion, are both great listens. I vehemently disagree with some of the half-warranted, generalized claims about the city of Atlanta in the latter podcast, but the economics discussion is spot-on and well worth your time.
Finally, A Football Report, which I’ve described as the “drive down an autumn mountain road website of soccer writing”, has a tremendous piece about Russia, its soccer culture, and one of the country’s most beloved clubs, Kuban, which may be dying. Worth your time if you love to read off-the-beaten path tales of this beautiful game.
Player to Watch #28 coming tomorrow.
The comments, as always, are yours.
Neil W. Blackmon co-founded The Yanks Are Coming with Jon Levy after Mike Orozco was red-carded in the 2008 Olympic Games. He’s had fun writing about US Soccer ever since. Follow him on twitter at @nwb_usmnt or e-mail him at nwblackmon@gmail.com.