General Soccer Thread

[JackofDiamonds]

I am pretty excited about it. Also pretty excited that I found out I had FSC all year. I've been watching a lot more FSC than ESPN.

[thrill]

For the upcoming Friendlies:
K-Hamid, Howard;
D-Bocanegra, Castillo, Chandler, Cherundolo, Goodson, Loyd, Orozco Fiscal, Pearce, Ream;
MF-Beckerman, Dempsey, Edu, F Johnson, Kljestan, Larentowicz, Rogers, Shea, Torres;
F-Agudelo, Altidore, Bunbury, Donovan


No Lichaj, Jones, Bradley and who the F is F Johnson?

I could see all the exclusions making moves at the end of the window which would be an excuse.

http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-Natio ... C-BEL.aspx

Making his first appearance in a U.S. camp is 23-year-old Fabian Johnson. The former Germany U-21 international midfielder holds dual citizenship and currently plays for Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga after beginning his career at 1860 Munich and playing two seasons with Wolfsburg.

US Soccer

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has named a squad of 24 players to prepare for the upcoming friendlies against Costa Rica and Belgium. The MNT Blog asked Klinsmann for a few thoughts on the roster and the team's upcoming games:

On Costa Rica:
“Playing Costa Rica is an exciting opportunity. At the moment they are in transition because of a change in leadership. Costa Rica put in an impressive performance at the U-20 World Cup.
They are a gifted team and have a lot of exciting young players coming through the ranks.”

On Belgium:
“Belgium is one of the up and coming nations in Europe. In qualifying for the European Championship they are right behind Germany in their qualifying group and have a good chance. All the coaches I have spoken to say they are one of most talented squads in Europe. It should be a good realistic benchmark to play against them and see where we are it.”

On the exclusion of Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark and Jermaine Jones:
“All three of these players are trying to sort out their club situations, and the deadline for transfers is a week away. They have also not been playing matches, so for these reasons we decided to select different players for this roster.”

The U.S. first hosts Costa Rica on Sept. 2 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. PT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3.com and Galavision. Four days later, coverage from King Baudouin Stadium begins at 8:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN and ESPN3.com.

[JackofDiamonds]

That's a good enough reason for me to leave Bradley, Clark, and Jones off the roster.

I like that Edu is back for another game, his feed from midfield was beautiful last time around.

[robbotis]

That's a good enough reason for me to leave Bradley, Clark, and Jones off the roster.

I like that Edu is back for another game, his feed from midfield was beautiful last time around.

Hopefully Jones and Clark stay gone. Far gone.

Edu deserves another look.

I'd play Shea and Agudelo for sure.

And I'm warming to Jozy.
If he can keep this up I'm sold. Let's see him net 20 this year, and actually score some goals for team USA. Then I'll be a supporter.

[thrill]

Some nice pedigree: http://www.socceramerica.com/article/43 ... hnson.html

Two years ago, Fabian Johnson lined up alongside Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil in a midfield that led Germany to a 4-0 win over England in the U-21 European Championship final. Now the Munich-born Johnson, whose father is American, has decided to wear the U.S. jersey, accepting an invite from Jurgen Klinsmann for friendlies against Costa Rica Sept. 2 and Belgium Sept. 6. He arrives after starting the Bundesliga season setting up three goals in three games for German first division club Hoffenheim.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this kid play for us. One-time switch means even though these are friendlies, he's cap tied.

[thrill]

Best, most insightful article ever written about Jozy: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... -countries

[robbotis]

Best, most insightful article ever written about Jozy: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... -countries

Nice link.
Hey, I was(am) a Jozy hater. He didn't score goals. Now, he's scoring. I hope he keeps it up. I'm coming around. So what they're cheap goals. They're goals. Putting them in the net is a skill. A skill the US forwards have lacked. Who cares how pretty they are. Berbatov is a crazy lazy, and ugly goal scoring player. He scores, and scores a lot. So, he's super valuable. If Jozy keeps scoring at this pace, I won't care how ugly they are, and I'll be a fan.

[robbotis]

Dempsey to Arsenal?
For 10 Million Euros is what I'm hearing.

[thrill]

Bradley to Chievo Verona is final.

I don't think Dempsey moves strictly because Fulham wouldn't have time to replace him and they'd be relegation contenders without him.

[thrill]

Although this sheds a lot more light onto the situation than I was aware of. The bid was placed initially before the United obliteration on Sunday and Jol has already lined up a replacement:
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slu ... riousconte

Fulham coach Martin Jol is ready to make a late move for FC Twente's Bryan Ruiz if he loses Dempsey. The 26-year-old Costa Rican has been closely tracked by Fulham during the window and has admitted that he is open to a move to England.

Hot damn I'd be so board with the Arsenal if that happened.