21015_isi_zardesgyasi_usmntjd02081545 John Dorton/isiphotos.com
Player Spotlight

Where Does Gyasi Zardes Fit in the U.S. Player Pool?

There's no two ways about it—the Los Angeles Galaxy forward looked very comfortable in the U.S. men's national team's victory over Panama on Sunday. John D. Halloran assesses the situation.
BY John D. Halloran Posted
February 10, 2015
10:03 AM
TWELVE MONTHS AGO Gyasi Zardes was just another MLS prospect—a forward trying to eke out some playing time on a loaded Los Angeles Galaxy roster. Today he is the toast of the U.S. men's national team and one of the most talked-about athletes in the player pool.

Yes, it's been quite a year for the 23-year-old Hawthorne, Calif., native.

In 2014 Zardes registered 16 goals in his sophomore MLS campaign—many of them created by his attacking partners, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane. Then, in December, Zardes scored the opening goal of the 2014 MLS Cup Final, using a nice combination of strength and skill to help the Galaxy win its fifth league title.

His impressive MLS showing led to a call-up—his first—with the United States men's national team in January, followed by his first international cap two weeks later against Chile.

On Sunday afternoon, Zardes took another big step forward, earning his first start for the U.S., picking up a lovely assist, and earning praise from his teammates and coaches alike for a strong 90-minute effort.

After the match, U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley practically gushed.

"He's an exciting player for us, there's no two ways about that," Bradley said. "Everything that he showed in MLS, he showed here with us. He's a great kid. He comes every day with the right attitude, willing to learn, willing to listen. He continued to get better and better as the month wore on, which is also the sign of a player.

"Look, we have to be careful because we don't want to put too much pressure on him, we don't want to rush him along too quickly, but there's no doubt that he's shown—going forward—that he's a guy who has to be here."

Zardes also earned recognition from Klinsmann, who commented after the match that Zardes has "something special."

As the team moves forward in its preparations for the 2015 Gold Cup, a question will undoubtedly surface: Where does Zardes fit into the U.S. player pool?

While he played most of this past season as a forward for the Galaxy, Zardes also saw substantial time on the wing—in the same position he started for the U.S. on Sunday.

And considering the U.S.'s relative depth at forward, which includes veterans Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Aron Johannsson, and upstart Rubio Rubin (as well as Klinsmann favorites Chris Wondolowski and Bobby Wood and an injured Terrence Boyd), Zardes' best chance to make an impact on the international level, at least in the near future, will likely be as a wide midfielder.

However, sorting out the team's depth chart on the wing, especially considering Klinsmann's propensity for playing his men somewhere other than their natural positions, is a little tricky.

Klinsmann has used central midfielders Joe Corona, Luis Gil, and Lee Nguyen in wide positions, but Zardes would appear to have a leg up on Gil and Nguyen considering they participated in this recent camp and Zardes earned more playing time than both of them. Corona appeared to be on the verge of establishing himself as a Klinsmann regular in the fall, but he suffered from some relatively poor performances in those friendlies and is just starting to fully recover from a recent foot injury.

Zardes will likely face competition from Fabian Johnson and DeAndre Yedlin—who have both played as outside backs and outside midfielders for Klinsmann. And then there's Brek Shea—a Klinsmann favorite whose play against Panama on Sunday was miles ahead of his disastrous outing against Chile two weeks ago.

In terms of competition among the team's "pure" wingers, however, Zardes' position on the team looks quite bright at the moment.

Outside of Alejandro Bedoya, who has become entrenched in Klinsmann's starting XI when the full team is available, minutes on the outside of the U.S.'s midfield are wide open.

Six months ago, following a World Cup qualifying campaign full of beautiful assists and a goal that saved Mexico's life, Graham Zusi was a lock in the U.S. starting lineup. But after a series of shaky performances in the second half of 2014—for both club and country—Zusi's position on the team doesn't seem so secure.

And none of the U.S.'s other options out wide are exactly lighting it up on the club level. Julian Green was just demoted to Hamburger SV's U-23 team. And for all the talk about Gedion Zelalem, it's not even clear at this point if he'll be eligible to play for the Stars and Stripes anytime soon due to issues with his FIFA paperwork. And besides—the Arsenal winger is still just 18-years-old.

Dortmund winger Joe Gyau, who showed plenty of promise in the U.S.'s fall matches, is set for a long layoff with a knee injury and Miguel Ibarra, while showing some promise on Sunday, simply couldn't match Zardes' production. As crazy as it might sound, and despite Bradley's caution about over-hyping the player, Zardes may be the second best winger in the U.S. player pool—right now.

And it's hard not to cheer for the guy.

"I've just been trying to learn as much as I can from the coaches, but not only the coaches—the players here. The players are phenomenal here," Zardes said after the Panama game. "All the feedback they've been giving me, I've just been taking it in and trying to develop and grow as a player."

Galaxy manager Bruce Arena often cites the young player's work ethic in training but after Sunday's match he tempered his praise and contextualized the performance.

"He had one of the better games, but I think that you have to look at things in the big picture and you can't be too hasty in your judgments on players in a game like that," Arena said. "The game was not of high quality. You don't use a January camp or a game against Panama to see where everyone is at. You wait until you play some quality teams.

"You have to be smart not to get caught in the [hype]. You say to the player, 'Good game and now we'll see where you stand when we play some better teams.' I'm not surprised how he played... However, I'm pretty sure that he is not walking on water yet."

Still, it's hard not to get excited for Zardes. While he certainly still has plenty of work to do, he showed a refreshing amount of desire—something that has been lacking in many U.S. players since the World Cup. He also possesses a fantastic attitude, a great coach in Arena, and the prospect of training and playing alongside Keane and Steven Gerrard for the foreseeable future.

Every year, it seems, one U.S. player uses January camp to springboard his status from relative obscurity to the first team. Geoff Cameron did it. So did Matt Besler.

And this year's breakout player may just be Gyasi Zardes.

Where does Zardes fit in with the current player pool? We want to hear your take, and the Comments section is open for business.

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