Alfredo Morales Aron Johannsson and Gyasi Zardes
Photo: US Soccer
Lord Nicklas Bendtner sinks USMNT with first international hat trick
The problem currently is that the U.S. midfield and attack is far superior to its defense
by Robert Burns
It’s often hard to draw the line between facts and nostalgia when the topic of football comes up.
When years, even decades, pass, there’s a tendency to lose sight of the minutia and simply believe that things were so much better ‘back then.’
Only when it comes to the USA’s central defense, it’s becoming more and more blatantly clear that the ‘good old days’ were actually just that. It’s not too long ago that the American team was somewhat spoilt for choice between the wingbacks, and cohesion reigned.
Today? It’s a mish-mash of inconsistencies and irregularity. The center back duo, essentially the backbone of a strong defense, is a non-existent entity under Juergen Klinsmann. One week it’s Besler and Gonzalez sharing the load, another it’s Orozco and Brooks. Throw in a few debutantes and experiments and we have all the makings of calamitous scorelines.
Luckily, at present, those particular scores don’t mean much in the grand scheme of the post World Cup malaise that happens every year in CONCACAF after the world’s greatest sporting event. It is most certainly the time to experiment. Only this experiment has gone on since the first day of Klinsmann’s highly touted tenure, and there is sadly no end in sight.
It was another late breakdown in the defense in Arhus, Denmark on Wednesday that saw the U.S. lose yet again. Losing, in and of itself, is not the worst thing during this part of the cycle, but of course the manner of late capitulations is becoming increasingly worrisome, and also the number of goals being gifted. Put it this way – we made Niklas Bendtner look world class. Ouch.
Of course it’s also easy to forget that with friendlies and mass substitutions, continuity is a rarity. These wholesale changes do affect the relationship between a back four. But if there’s zero continuity to start with between matches, it’s difficult to know if it’s simply a matter of switching things up, or a deeper, more concerning issue.
In the past, there were no world beaters in the U.S. defense – that’s just being honest. As much as Klinsmann would like for the U.S. to be Germany, we’re not. But at the very least there were anchors. There were players there who knew each other’s games inside and out. In every match we played during certain cycles, the players up front knew who would have their backs for 90 minutes.
In the 90s, it was Lalas, Balboa and (to a lesser extent in his sweeper role) Dooley. Now no one is comparing these guys to Maldini, but we knew their strengths and weaknesses and could go from there. After that it was the age of the Pope – and who wouldn’t want to see him back there every week again? Then came Sanneh, Cherundolo and Bocanegra, followed closely by Gooch and DeMerit. These were mainstays and there was rarely a game that didn’t feature at least some combination of these guys in front of Meola, Keller, Friedel or Howard.
It’s always been clear to me that a solid, consistent defense unlocks the door for the players up top to have the freedom to express themselves. Understanding that a consistent back line can help itself out in times of danger, attackers feel less shackled by the burden of anticipating the hundred yard track meet to get back and cover any time a ball is lost in midfield.
The problem currently is that the U.S. midfield and attack is far superior to its defense, but still too naïve to recognize the dirty work required from all eleven players to hit the heights. Sure, there’s effort – we’re talking about professionals here. But the lack of a polished and consistent center back duo is undermining any lead the U.S. takes and creating a disconnect between the football that Klinsmann wants to play, and the football he’s actually suffering through.
In the current central defense setup, the only consistency is inconsistency – be it personnel or individual performances. The promise that the Besler and Gonzalez duo once showed has waned. Is Geoff Cameron a right back? Is he a central defender? Is he a 6? What about Tim Ream? Hard to say since we rarely get to see him play, but all of his early promise went out the window after the 2011 Gold Cup. Michael Orozco falls in and out of favor constantly, as evidenced by less than 15 caps since 2008.
What about the promise of 2012 MLS Rookie of the Year Austin Berry? Oh, he’s been loaned to a club in South Korea? Never mind.
But here’s the good news – and the bad. Football is cyclical – that can’t be stressed enough. There are some young players that have the potential to be those vital U.S. mainstays at the back for years to come, but they’re not quite there yet. For all the pomp that John Brooks got in Brazil, he’s still a work in progress, but it’s fine to get excited about where he’ll be with some more experience under his belt.
The hyphened-hype that is Erik Palmer-Brown and Cameron Carter-Vickers is real (although the latter could still end up playing for England), but a good clip away from being ready for international prime time. And some young MLS central defenders like Matt Hedges and Steve Birnbaum could step in and do a job. And of course there was the debut of young Mexican-American Ventura Alvarado, who at 22 is keeping his options open on either side of the border, but will have to make a permanent decision soon.
But in order for any of these potential anchors to get into the mix, it’s going to take more experimentation, which doesn’t bode well for a string of positive results in the coming months, or maybe even years. The U.S. is still good enough with its current squad to win this summer’s very important Gold Cup, but don’t be surprised to see Mexico or even the vastly improved Ticos steal it away. We can live with that.
But if Klinsmann hasn’t solidified his choices at center back before the 2016 Copa America Centenario, then nostalgia will be the only thing American fans will have to comfort them while we continue hemorrhaging goals and losing matches we should be winning by now.
