Captain Carlos Bocanegra is ready and willing to solve what ails the United States, while Michael Bradley reaches two milestones, Alan Gordon talks demons, and an American star might be done for the year.
BY
Jesse Yomtov
Posted
October 12, 2012
3:27 AM
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Jurgen Klinsmann won’t reveal who’s going to start at left back tonight, but with Fabian Johnson and Edgar Castillo out, Carlos Bocanegra prepared to get the call: "I know I'm an option at left back. I'm comfortable in either position, and I don't mind where I play."
After missing September’s qualifiers with an injury, new father Michael Bradley hopes that it was “the last time for a while that I won’t be around.” The midfielder is set to earn his 70th cap tonight, becoming the sixth-youngest American to do so. On a yellow card, he’ll need to be cautious in his milestone appearance to avoid being banned for Tuesday’s match.
Yet-to-be-capped Alan Gordon thinks the U.S. has been looking for a target forward since Brian McBride, and that Klinsmann sees him as such. Apparently Gordon dabbled with drugs and petty crime when he was in high school, but soccer was his out after he hit rock bottom: "I saw it and I took it and I ran away from the trouble. It's worked out. But it doesn't just happen overnight. It needs a real commitment to change your life and learn from your mistakes.”
After missing three months with a knee injury, Edson Buddle is still searching for a goal. Since his return on Aug. 29, Buddle has played in seven matches for the Galaxy, starting only one. Buddle made six appearances for the USMNT under Klinsmann, but wasn't called into the May camp prior to his injury.
On the injury front, could Brek Shea be done for the 2012 season?
And finally, if you’re anxious about tonight’s match, surely a 2007 video of Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson eating barbecue will ease your nerves. "You got to be real with the people at home. They know what they want. And I know what I want. And they want what I want,” the then-24-year-old Dempsey said. Three points tonight?
