Kartik Krishnaiyer
A decade of evolution for the US Men’s National Team began with Head Coach Bob Bradley desperately trying to find a solution to replace Charlie Davies in his preferred 4-4-2 “bucket midfield” formation and ended with the team barely scraping into the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Nations League, reversing an away leg defeat against Canada with a decisive win at the USMNT’s new best home stadium in Orlando.
The National Team played in three major tournaments this decade – two World Cups and the Copa America Centennial. But following the untimely and unwise termination of Bradley after a 2011 Gold Cup Final loss to Mexico, the decade became one of flux, malaise and eventually decline. While the sport became more popular than ever in this country, a byproduct of successful MLS and USL expansion as well as the extensive reach of NBC Sports coverage of the Premier League the men’s national team, the signature brand fell on its worst times since the dark days of the early 1980’s. The correlation of the sport’s domestic popularity to the success of the men’s national team, something I had for two decades theorized as critically important was completely disproven by this decade’s decline.
The heights of 2009 under Bradley where the USMNT reached the FIFA Confederations Cup Final and finished World Cup qualifying with a strength not often seen by the side were elusive throughout the 2010’s.
Without any further adieu here is our Best XI of the 2010’s.
Altidore
Donovan – Pulisic- Dempsey ©
Bradley-Jones
Beasley-Cameron-Brooks-Johnson
Howard
Bench: Guzan, Besler, Bedoya, Beckerman, Zusi, Yedlin, Cherundolo
Manager: Bob Bradley
The majority of these selections were straight forward. Some fans may quibble with the selections of Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, but I really don’t feel the need to explain nor justify their inclusions. Put plainly, they are two of the most successful and influential US Soccer players in the federation’s history. If you don’t value them, you likely value agenda over good football.
US midfielder Jermaine Jones celebrates after scoring during a Group G football match between USA and Portugal at the Amazonia Arena in Manaus during the 2014 FIFA World Cup on June 22, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSENODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images ORG XMIT: 491677751 ORIG FILE ID: 530988095
The closest calls for me were including Jermaine Jones and Fabian Johnson in the starting XI.
Jones gets the nod because of his tenacity and perhaps some retrospective analysis about what impact he could have made in the 2010 FIFA World Cup if he had been fit.
While much has been made of Bob Bradley’s need to replace Davies, Jones’ injury was largely forgotten because he had not yet suited up for the USMNT. However, he was one of the first players with senior caps to apply for a one-time switch under FIFA’s 2009 nationality policy change, which means that if fit, Jones would have almost certainly had been selected ahead of the likes of Rico Clark and Mo Edu in South Africa. Clark had been terrific in qualifying, and Edu played well in South Africa, but it is hard to disagree with the assessment that Jones could have made a decisive impact. His range, tackling and quality on the ball would have been particularly useful against Ghana in the Round of 16, a team with a formidable central midfield. When Jones did join the US, in 2011, his impact from 2011 to 2015 was invaluable and he was excellent at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
As for Fabian Johnson, we never did see him at his best with the USMNT.
Much of that had to do with the need to use a player of his quality to patch up holes elsewhere. Johnson’s ability– and his willingness to play out of position in doing so– to cover large distances yet not shirk defensive assignments has been more glaring since he inexplicably stopped being selected for the national team. The service he provided to Altidore and other attackers has also been sorely missing. His ability to hit a quick pass, even if not always accurate, has also hurt the program and its ability to establish tempo.
DeAndre Yedlin could have been a ready-made replacement, but his Newcastle form has not been replicated with the national team, though it must be said in 2015 and 2016, Yedlin was solid for the US, which is enough to put him on the bench in a disappointing decade.
The most difficult decisions from the first XI revolved around Steve Cherundolo, arguably the best field player at the club level ever produced by the United States, but one basically finished as a major contributor to the national side in 2011; and Alejandro Bedoya, whose versatility and sense of positioning made him an invaluable and underappreciated contributor.
Cherundolo’s contributions in the 2010 FIFA World Cup were nothing short of remarkable.
In fact, he was so effective in the opener against England that England manager Fabio Capello pulled off James Milner for the speedy Shaun Wright-Phillips in minute 31 to try and contain ‘Dolo. For Milner, one of the generational greats in English football, it might have been the most humiliating run out of his long and decorated career.
One other tough call first XI was John Brooks over Matt Besler but that came down to Brooks’s incredible Copa America Centanario and the feeling among many, including Bruce Arena, that Brooks’s injury in late summer 2017 cost the USMNT qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Graham Zusi was the easiest selection as to the side as a bench player : he was versatile, committed to the cause and ultimately underappreciated. Zusi was the ultimate team player this decade, and he helped make Jurgen Klinsmann’s early teams difficult to play against at times.
One glaring problem with this side– and an issue last qualifying cycle- is the lack of attacking firepower on the bench.
While Gyasi Zardes, Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris have all shown moments of quality to warrant discussion about inclusion, it would seem ridiculous to put any of them in a team of the decade as consistency has alluded all three. If one had to be chosen in the interest of squad balance, it would likely have been Wood, who was the only reliable scorer outside of Clint Dempsey in the last World Cup cycle.
One final word – as Floridians, TYAC definitely takes a great deal of pride that three of our selections (Altidore, Bedoya, Zusi) grew up in the state. The quality of our player development is often overshadowed by Texas, California and New Jersey, but Florida has proven especially in recent years, a reliable source of quality professional footballer.
Kartik Krishnaiyer is a Co-Editor of The Yanks Are Coming. A longtime soccer journalist and the former communications director for the NASL, Miami FC and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Kartik is author of two books about the beautiful game and currently works for the cutting-edge analytics organization Playermaker.