10.23.12
Morning Read: Great Guzan, Gonzalez vs. the Goonies
The United States No. 2 establishes himself in England and earns much-deserved playing time, while stars from San Jose and Los Angeles do battle on the field instead of in the press.
BY
Noah Davis
Posted
October 23, 2012
4:15 AM
Yesterday, it was Tim Howard's time to shine on a Premier League team of the week list. Today, Brad Guzan gets the honor. Although Aston Villa fell 1-0 to Fulham, the American did well to stop Dimitar Berbatov on multiple occasions. Guzan, now firmly installed as Villa's No. 1, continues his strong run of form to start the season. Can he challenge Howard for the Red, White, and Blue job? (No, but having a strong No. 2 is vital, especially in the packed year coming up.)
The battle between Omar Gonzalez and Steven Lenhart is a good one and not just in a "War of Words" type of way. MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle reports Gonzalez won the on-field war during the clash over the weekend, but the King of the Goonies prevailed in a battle or two and helped change the game. Related: If you haven't read Lenhart's ASN Questionnaire, you really should. It's some kind of magical.
Mark June 7-18 on your calendar as the most important stretch for the United States national team in 2013. They will most likely contest three Hexagonal matches during that 11-day period. On June 19, a berth in the 2014 World Cup could very nearly be sewn up... or it could be an uphill battle for the remaining four games.
A lone American takes the field in Champions League action today: Michael Parkhurst and Nordsjaelland go up against Juventus at 2:30p.m. Eastern. Get it on foxsoccer2go.com.
Ian Darke wonders how good the American team is right now. His answers seems to be "Who the heck knows?," which is about how I'd answer that question as well.
John Todd/isiphotos.com
