U.S. Men's National Team
Youth and Potential Trump Performance in January
U.S. hopefuls born before January 1, 1993—including Chad Marshall, Kelyn Rowe, and Matt Hedges—must be shaking their heads wondering what they have to do to earn a national team call-up.
CHAD MARSHALL WAS Major League Soccer’s top defender last season. Last year Christian Dean played in four games, starting one of them.
So of the two, it was pretty obvious which of them was more deserving of a call-up to the U.S. national team’s January camp. But when Jurgen Klinsmann announced his roster Friday, it was the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Dean and not the Seattle Sounders’ Marshall who got the invitation.
In fairness to Klinsmann, there is a method to this bizarre madness. The 2016 Olympics are a huge priority for U.S. Soccer and as a U-23 event for men’s soccer, it’s important to start developing a core of this team to avoid a repeat of the fiasco in 2012 when a U.S. team that hadn’t trained much together failed to qualify for the London Olympics.
Hence, 11 of the 28 players, including Dean, on this roster are age-eligible for the 2016 Olympics, meaning they’re born on or after January 1, 1993. But it seems that call-ups like Dean and Alex Bono, a tremendous college player who just signed his first pro contract Wednesday, are based more on when they were born not what they’ve done on the field. And these decisions are coming at the expense of a slew of MLS veterans who had strong seasons for their respective pro clubs.
There was talk as late as last month that U.S. Soccer would be running parallel camps, with the U-23s having a separate but integrated camp. After analyzing the roster that Klinsmann has called up, it seems that would have been a better way to go.
Because while players like Dean, Bono, and Oscar Sorto (above; he played all of one game for the Los Angeles Galaxy last season) are all legitimate candidates for the Olympic team, their inclusion on this roster sends a depressing message to seasoned pros and young veterans in MLS who have actually earned a look.
Marshall is 30 years old and has now won Defender of the Year three times, something no one else in league history has done. Some point to his age but he’s actually younger than several of the veterans Klinsmann called up for this camp, including Jermaine Jones, Clint Dempsey, Chris Wondolowksi, and Nick Rimando (though goalkeepers are graded on a different scale when it comes to age).
Based on his form last season, his size (six-foot-four), his man-marking skills, and his ability to organize a back line, it’s hard to imagine Marshall couldn’t help the U.S. in this summer's Gold Cup or the summer after that in the Copa America Centenario.
And if Marshall can’t get a look, what hope does someone like Matt Hedges of Dallas, a solid starter for three seasons in MLS, have for getting a look anytime soon?
Marc Pelosi was a tremendous youth player and was on a very promising career path at Liverpool before a horrific knee injury cost him a spot least year’s U-20 World Cup. That he’s healthy enough to come to this camp is a good sign but he’s never played a first-team game. Is he more deserving of a senior national team camp than someone like Kelyn Rowe, a starter for a team that played in MLS Cup who also features, to borrow a phrase, a very unique set of skills that few in American soccer have?
Bono was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, college soccer’s top honor; Steve Clark of Columbus was a finalist for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and was once named the top goalkeeper in the Norwegian top flight. On merit, which seems more likely to be rewarded with a senior national team call-up? But Bono—who in time will likely be a tremendous pro—is U-23 eligible while Clark is 28. Is there no room anymore in January camp for a late-bloomer?
Sorto has played 15 minutes in two seasons in MLS. Fifteen! Andrew Farrell was the top pick in MLS in 2013 and has started every game since then and played in MLS Cup last month. Both are right backs. And yet Farrell was omitted and Sorto will be in camp.
If these guys can’t get a call-up to a January camp¸ when traditionally the European-based players aren’t available, when will they ever get a look?
Again, the idea of integrating the U-23s and getting an earlier start on Olympic preparation is a good thing. (Though if it’s so damned important, how about naming a head coach?)
But it shouldn’t come at the expense of using the January camp to evaluate and reward players like Marshall, Rowe, Clark, and Farrell—athletes who have earned call-ups with consistently solid play with their clubs and have, at times, flashed enough brilliance to suggest they could actually help the U.S. national team now.
Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You can follow him on Twitter and you should feel encouraged to share your take on this topic below.
Because while players like Dean, Bono, and Oscar Sorto (above; he played all of one game for the Los Angeles Galaxy last season) are all legitimate candidates for the Olympic team, their inclusion on this roster sends a depressing message to seasoned pros and young veterans in MLS who have actually earned a look.
Marshall is 30 years old and has now won Defender of the Year three times, something no one else in league history has done. Some point to his age but he’s actually younger than several of the veterans Klinsmann called up for this camp, including Jermaine Jones, Clint Dempsey, Chris Wondolowksi, and Nick Rimando (though goalkeepers are graded on a different scale when it comes to age).
Based on his form last season, his size (six-foot-four), his man-marking skills, and his ability to organize a back line, it’s hard to imagine Marshall couldn’t help the U.S. in this summer's Gold Cup or the summer after that in the Copa America Centenario.
And if Marshall can’t get a look, what hope does someone like Matt Hedges of Dallas, a solid starter for three seasons in MLS, have for getting a look anytime soon?
Marc Pelosi was a tremendous youth player and was on a very promising career path at Liverpool before a horrific knee injury cost him a spot least year’s U-20 World Cup. That he’s healthy enough to come to this camp is a good sign but he’s never played a first-team game. Is he more deserving of a senior national team camp than someone like Kelyn Rowe, a starter for a team that played in MLS Cup who also features, to borrow a phrase, a very unique set of skills that few in American soccer have?
Bono was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, college soccer’s top honor; Steve Clark of Columbus was a finalist for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and was once named the top goalkeeper in the Norwegian top flight. On merit, which seems more likely to be rewarded with a senior national team call-up? But Bono—who in time will likely be a tremendous pro—is U-23 eligible while Clark is 28. Is there no room anymore in January camp for a late-bloomer?
Sorto has played 15 minutes in two seasons in MLS. Fifteen! Andrew Farrell was the top pick in MLS in 2013 and has started every game since then and played in MLS Cup last month. Both are right backs. And yet Farrell was omitted and Sorto will be in camp.
If these guys can’t get a call-up to a January camp¸ when traditionally the European-based players aren’t available, when will they ever get a look?
Again, the idea of integrating the U-23s and getting an earlier start on Olympic preparation is a good thing. (Though if it’s so damned important, how about naming a head coach?)
But it shouldn’t come at the expense of using the January camp to evaluate and reward players like Marshall, Rowe, Clark, and Farrell—athletes who have earned call-ups with consistently solid play with their clubs and have, at times, flashed enough brilliance to suggest they could actually help the U.S. national team now.
Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You can follow him on Twitter and you should feel encouraged to share your take on this topic below.
