As promised, the conclusion of a Gold Cup roster roundtable we began in May.
Here is the link to Part One, keepers and defenders.
This time, we have a provisional roster that further frames our discussion. Note that much of this was written prior to the release of the provisional roster, and the purpose of the roundtable was to discuss both who we felt Jurgen Klinsmann would take as well as who we felt warranted inclusion. As such, there are names in our discussion who didn’t end up on the provisional roster.
If you haven’t seen the provisional roster because you’ve been too immersed in one (or all) of the four international tournaments going on right now in addition to your regiment of NASL and MLS– here it is:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
Defenders: Ventura Alvarado (Club America), DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Greg Garza (Club Tijuana), Michael Orozco (Puebla), Tim Ream (Bolton Wanderers), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Alfredo Morales (FC Ingolstadt), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Jordan Morris (Stanford University), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
And here again are the introductions for TYAC roster roundtable:
Jon Levy is Co-Founder and Co-Editor of The Yanks Are Coming. He’s the author of more US Soccer gameday previews than just about anyone in US Soccer, co-founding a site that hasn’t missed a gameday preview in six years. Follow Jon on Twitter at @TYAC_Jon.
Neil W. Blackmon is Co-Founder and Co-Editor of The Yanks Are Coming. His writing appears here and has appeared at The Shin Guardian, World Soccer Talk and A Football Report, among other publications. Follow him on Twitter at @nwblackmon.
Jay Bell is a journalist based in Arkansas whose soccer writing has appeared in The Yanks Are Coming, The Shin Guardian and other publications and who has been a mainstay of soccer Twitter for several seasons. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybellhs.
Andrew Marcinko is a soccer writer out of Orlando. He covers Orlando City for The Mane Land, founded the now-defunct Footy America and has written for The Yanks Are Coming and MLS.COM among others.
Let’s move on to midfielders:
Neil:
It’s a light midfield, although while Shea and Yedlin will be listed as fullbacks, both would be just as comfortable playing on the wing if needed.
Joe Corona, Lee Nguyen, and Perry Kitchen just miss the cut here. They’re three players I like a lot, but I just don’t think there’s a spot for them right now. For each of them, there’s a player already on the roster that plays the same role but just a little bit better than they do (Beckerman > Kitchen; Bedoya > Corona; Mix > Nguyen). Ibarra makes the team here on the assumption that Klinsmann doesn’t bring Gyasi Zardes as a forward.
I think Johnson, Bedoya, and Bradley are definitely starters, and Diskerud, Beckerman, and Morales will fight it out for the other spot in the middle. Against weaker opponents in the group stage, Diskerud should get the nod, as he’s paired well with Bradley when neither is overwhelmed with defensive duties. It would be great to see a breakout tournament from Julian Green, but I’d settle for Michael Bradley playing like 2013 MB90 again.
Neil: I think Bedoya covering for Shea is a splendid idea– akin to the Johnson and Yedlin side we’ve hoped for– keeps the more technical player on his preferred foot and frees the more audacious player up to take risk. That’s usually winning soccer. Morales is a guy I picked just because Klinsmann seems to want to give him reps. I don’t think he’s earned them in a US shirt.
Jay:
Forwards: Aronjo (AZ), Juan Agudelo (NE Revolution), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
My forward selections are based on the assumption that Jozy Altidore won’t be ready to go at the tournament’s outset.
Thankfully we can add him to the roster after the group stage if all goes well for him and the team. As for the selections above, Aron “The Iceman”/”Aronjo” is a no brainer. He’s the American forward playing and scoring most consistently on the highest level (for AZ in the Netherlands). He’s also particularly hot right now, so assuming he gels well with the boys in his first real national team camp for some time, I expect him to start for this team. And since we very well could see a 4-4-2 to start the tourney, rejuvenated Juan “You Know What It Isssssss” Agudeloagudeloagudelo might just start up top with him.
I’m making a point of including Julian Green on my squad as a forward rather than a mid as he’s often listed, because I want to see his skill in the final third. I’m much more interested in that than finding out how well he keeps possession. You may find my reasoning reductive, but this kid needs a summer of playing time and offensive opportunities if he’s going to grow into the player he could be. You could easily see Green out of the summer tournaments if he’s more concerned with club PT at Bayern Munich and/or avoiding a bad loan situation like last autumn. We’ll see.
I don’t need to write anything about Dempsey right? Attacking mid or forward, it’s all good, just make sure he’s on the field.
As for young Master Zardes, let’s just label his spot on this squad “provisional young guy.” Most of us are still Zardes skeptics here at TYAC, though his energy and will to be involved in the attack are undeniable. Still, if Rubio Rubin has a great U20 World Cup, or if Jordan Morris tears it up in the knockout stages in Toulon, pencil that name in instead of Gyasi Zardes.
Jay Bell:
Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Aron Jóhannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Charlie Davies (New England Revolution).