1.20.15
ASN Morning Read: MF or CB, That Is The Question
Jermaine Jones talks about his new position with the national team; We learn Fabian Johnson's new favorite position through his coach; Some news and notes from January camp in Southern California.
BY
Jesse Yomtov
Posted
January 20, 2015
7:52 AM
After such a strong 2014 for club and country, Jermaine Jones is still adapting to playing defense for the national team. “It's not a position I prefer. I prefer playing midfield," Jones said. "You have more, like, touch the ball, but the other point is [Klinsmann] has some ideas why he does it. I will take it and try to switch between midfield in New England and center back in the national team.”
Klinsmann stands by his decision to try Jones out on the back line. “I think that every coach would always say, 'I keep my options open,' but I want to see, if I have all the options in midfield, then I'm probably going to see him more as a center back,” Klinsmann said. “Because he reads the game so far ahead of time; he anticipates things. And one of our goals in this next cycle is we want to kind of get the game more moved into the opponent's half, so this is a step-by-step process.
Following Fabian Johnson’s reported spat with Borussia Monchengladbach manager Lucien Favre about where he prefers to play, there finally seems to be some clarity. “I have talked to him again, and the left side is his favorite position,” Favre said after Johnson scored in a 1-0 win Saturday. To his credit, it doesn’t really seem like Johnson cares about his position. "I want to play. In the end the coach decides where he plays me,” Johnson said. “And when I go the full 90 minutes in Bundesliga like I did today, I'll be delighted and I'll give it my all."
While the U.S. Soccer website still says Fox Sports 2, this would be great news for FiOS subscribers (like myself), who still don't get FS2 in HD for some reason:
It’s unlikely Tesho Akindele will play in the two upcoming friendlies as he continues to weigh his international options. Said Jurgen Klinsmann: "We are not pressuring that. We are not pushing them. We said, 'Take all the time in the world because once you make that decision, it’s a lifetime decision.'"
Some more from Jon Arnold, killing it on the ground in Southern California: Bobby Wood could be on his way out of Munich 1860. "Hopefully something will change," the 22-year-old said. "That’s what I’m trying to do right now but we’ll see. It’s hard to say right now."
Cody Cropper suffered a head injury last week, but Southampton says it “seems like it will be weeks and not months” before the young goalkeeper returns.
