How Will MLS Transfers Affect USMNT World Cup Hopefuls?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 3, 2014

commentComment        

This Major League Soccer offseason, three U.S. internationals have made moves into or within MLS. Eddie Johnson, after a long, public spat with the Seattle Sounders over his pay, left for D.C. United. Maurice Edu and Michael Parkhurst, both healthy, but receiving zero playing time with their clubs abroad, came home.

Now the question is, how will these moves affect those players' chances of making the United States men’s national team roster for the 2014 World Cup?

 

Eddie Johnson

Eddie Johnson was the highest-profile USMNT World Cup hopeful to make an MLS transfer this offseason (Michael Bradley is a lock for the U.S. squad and, therefore, cannot be considered a “hopeful”).

After months of grumbling on Twitter about his relatively low pay (his 2013 compensation was $156,000 compared to Clint Dempsey’s $5 million), Eddie Johnson celebrated a goal in early September against the Columbus Crew with a “pay me” gesture to the crowd.

With the Sounders’ stable of forwards already more than adequate with Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Lamar Neagle and Seattle unwilling to pay Johnson designated-player money, he was traded to D.C. United in December for allocation money.



With several strong performances in World Cup qualifying and this summer’s Gold Cup, many pundits would project Johnson as a near-lock for the World Cup roster. However, the competition at forward is intense with Jozy Altidore, Aron Johannsson, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Terrence Boyd clearly in the mix and Herculez Gomez, Mike Magee, Chris Wondolowski and possibly even Juan Agudelo waiting for their chance.

In 2013, D.C. United was the worst team in the league, amassing a pathetic 16 points from 34 games, 10 less than Chivas USA and 13 less than Toronto FC.

While D.C. has made a number of strong off-season moves (bringing in Davy Ar...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!