USMNT: Evaluating Jurgen Klinsmann’s Roster Moves and How They Fit

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 13, 2012

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The United States men's national team split a home-and-home series of World Cup qualifiers against Jamaica over the past week, and the results left the Americans tied for the lead in Group A of the CONCACAF semifinal round.

Those two very different performances raised questions about which team is the real U.S. They also shed some light on the ideas manager Jurgen Klinsmann has for the team moving forward, ideally into the final round of qualifying and for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Since being appointed as the 35th head coach in U.S. history in July 2011, Klinsmann has used a number of lineups and handed chances to numerous players—both new and old—as he searches for the right combination.

What's working? What's not working? What should Klinsmann do when the U.S. returns to qualifying in October? We'll look at Klinsmann's record and try to answer those questions below.

 



Defense

We start with the defense because Tim Howard is unquestionably the first-choice U.S. keeper. Bill Hamid, Sean Johnson and Nick Rimando have all appeared for the U.S. this year, but none are likely to replace Howard anytime soon.



Carlos Bocanegra, now 33, remains the captain and a mainstay in defense. He missed the first Jamaica game, presumably due to a lack of match fitness, but started and played the full 90 in the rematch.

A number of candidates have emerged to partner Bocanegra in central defense. Geoff Cameron, who recently signed with Stoke City of the English Premier League, debuted under former U.S. coach Bob Bradley in 2010 (a very brief second-half cameo) but made his first start in January and is quickly becoming a regular under Klinsmann.

Other options include Oguichi Onyewu, Clarence Goodson and even Maurice Edu, who can play either central defense or defensive midfield.



If Cameron continues on this path, it's feasible ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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