U.S. Men’s National Team v. Russia, Krasnodar, 11.14.12

After U.S. midfielder Mix Diskerud scored off a deflected shot in stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw in Krasnodar, ESPN cameras caught Russia coach Fabio Capello chuckling and shaking his head at the cruel vicissitudes of soccer. Presumably, Capello wouldn’t have reacted in such a Zen-like way had the game been anything other than a friendly, whose score-lines are by definition meaningless. Despite the final score, Capello could be confident that his side showed more class, generated more chances, and probably should have won 4-2. U.S. keeper Tim Howard was largely responsible for keeping the U.S. close. Howard’s kick-save in the 89^th minute must have been especially deflating for Russia’s attackers, not to mention their fans.

The U.S. lineup was odd. Not only did Diskerud play (and score his first international goal), but twenty-one-year-old winger Josh Gatt got his first cap. Prodigal German-American son Timmy Chandler made his return to the U.S. lineup, playing right back and proclaiming before the match that he is “in 1,000 percent” as regards the U.S. national team. Juan Agudelo, who had such a forgettable year in MLS after getting traded to Chivas USA, also saw action, and positive action at that, assisting on Michael Bradley’s stunning goal in the 76^th minute. Finally, Jozy Altidore was invited back after his omission from recent World Cup qualifiers. Altidore played nearly the entire game and had an up-and-down performance punctuated by a blown opportunity in the 70^th minute when he couldn’t control a ball into the box from Fabian Johnson and, about ten minutes later, an excellent dribbling run to the endline and pass back to Jermaine Jones, who made a mess of the wide-open shot.

As usual, U.S. defenders should be thanking Howard for repeatedly bailing them out. The U.S. backline somehow made the field appear a hundred yards wide in this game, and Russia attackers ran into spaces they could’ve driven monster trucks through.

Clarence Goodson came on for Carlos Bocanegra at the thirteen-minute mark due to an injury and looked out of sorts for most of his stint. His 83^rd-minute foul from behind on Artem Dzyuba led to a yellow card and a penalty-kick goal for Russia. The foul was a light one, and not exactly clumsy, but of course it was in the box and the U.S. was rightly punished. Howard was visibly upset with Goodson after the call, as Howard looked to have been in position to collect the ball with or without any challenges from his defense. Geoff Cameron was solid alongside Goodson at center back, breaking up a number of Russia chances in the final third, though he did commit a few unforced giveaways, including one in the 13^th minute that nearly led to a goal for the other side. Given the U.S.’s ongoing problems at center back, which now may include an injury to Bocanegra, I would be surprised and disappointed if Omar Gonzalez does not see action in next year’s final round of CONCACAF qualifiers.

The value of this game lay primarily in giving players like Cameron, Gatt, Diskerud, and Agudelo more high-level international experience. I thought Gatt in particular looked promising. He’s known in soccer circles for his speed and athletic talent, and we saw glimpses of those qualities against Russia. He also showed good movement off the ball. He was repeatedly a target on the flanks, starting on the right side before switching places with Herculez Gomez at around the half-hour mark. Gatt had a couple of nifty moves on the ball as well, like his brief run through the midfield in the 39^th minute that started with a deft thigh trap. He appears to be tough, and mixed it up early and often with the Russia backline. One of those Russia defenders may have loosened one of Gatt’s teeth on a challenge involving an elbow in the 22^nd minute, but Gatt kept going. He made some mistakes, like a giveaway in the 52^nd that led to a Russia counter, but, again, learning from both bad and good is the point of these friendlies, and those mistakes do not in my opinion outweigh the positives Gatt brought to the team.

Speaking of learning from mistakes, the first Russia goal came off the kind of unforced error that drives even youth-league coaches batty. In the 9^th minute, Altidore drew a foul at midfield. Danny Williams then played a quick, short free kick square across field. Alexander Kerzhakov intercepted the pass and played the ball wide to fellow striker Fedor Smolov, who was streaking down the Russia right flank. He scored easily.

With luck, Williams does not need to be told by Jurgen Klinsmann and his staff that his quick free kick represented the height of carelessness on a soccer field, that he needed to give his side time to collect itself in a hostile environment against a quality team. But Williams and the rest of his U.S. teammates need to be told again and again of this fact, while replays of the turnover are played before their eyes on a loop tape. If that giveaway and subsequent goal serve to remind players not to make similar mistakes in the final round of qualifiers, then this Russian excursion will have been worth the trouble.

I'll note in closing that the U.S. goals were almost bizarrely alike. Each was set up by a long ball played to the top of the box (the first from Maurice Edu, the second from Bradley). Those balls were then headed backwards by target forwards playing with their backs to the goal. U.S. midfielders finished by scoring on the second pass. 

The goals were of course the fruits of so-called “direct” soccer, the kind of unimaginative, unattractive play that, presumably, Klinsmann wants to move away from in his quest to elevate the quality of American soccer. U.S. fans should not be surprised to see a reversion to this kind of direct soccer in the upcoming qualifiers, which start in February. Regrettably or not, that style of play probably still best suits U.S. players.

Revolution at Montreal Impact, 10.27.12: Summing Up a Season

An optimist, or a member of the New England Revolution marketing team, would likely summarize New England’s last game of the 2012 MLS season thus: The Revolution beat the Montreal Impact 1-0, matched their longest consecutive-wins streak of the season, and won on Canadian soil for the first time in nine attempts. A more balanced appraiser would note that Montreal dominated Saturday’s game in every statistical category except goals scored, that New England’s longest win streak this season is two games (a modest feat they accomplished only twice), and that winning occasional MLS games in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal is not a noteworthy achievement.

The game was one of those in which one team creates many chances but can’t finish, and the other team creates one or two chances but converts. Shortly before that conversion, Montreal had created a couple chances in front of the Revs’ goal, but the ball ultimately—it seemed almost incredibly—failed to cross the line. The Revolution got their chance in the 88^th minute courtesy of a Jeb Brovsky foul on Ryan Guy near the right corner flag. The call was dubious and Brovsky was understandably irate at the assistant referee who’d made it, but of course play marched on. Chris Tierney lined up and hit one of his characteristically excellent dead-ball strikes. His pass found A. J. Soares at the near-post corner of the six-yard box. Soares snapped a header down into the ground towards the far post and into the net.

It may have been fitting that Soares capped this season with a winning goal, as he’s been one of the Revolution’s most consistent performers during his two years with the team. He was second on the team (to Kevin Alston) in minutes played this year despite coming off season-ending ankle surgery last October and suffering through some minor (relative to ankle surgery) injuries during the latter part of this season. He, Alston, and Reis can be counted on above all others on the roster.

In some ways, though, 2012 has been a bit of a comedown for Soares. He was named Best Defender last year by the Revolution beat media, but fellow central defender Stephen McCarthy won that award this year. Furthermore, last season Soares was the heir apparent to Shalrie Joseph as New England’s undisputed team leader. Soares may yet fulfill that role, but Joseph is now gone and it is the steady veteran Clyde Simms, not Soares, who typically captains New England. And when Darrius Barnes replaced Soares in central defense in a September 1 game against the Philadelphia Union, there was no noticeable drop-off. In fact, Barnes played well and New England came away with a clean sheet and a 0-0 draw. Soares sat for the next two games—a 2-0 win against Columbus and a 2-1 loss at D.C.—and it was unclear if he hadn’t played due to injury (he was listed as “probable” with whiplash) or to coach’s decisions. Whatever the case, Soares did regain his starting position for the final five games of the season, and he played well if not spectacularly. And there’s no doubting that the Revolution are still counting on Soares to be a fixture for them at center back for years to come, whether or not he becomes a Joseph-like face of the franchise.

Benny Feilhaber is another candidate to become the long-term leader of this New England team. After sitting out last week’s win against Chicago due to a red-card suspension, Feilhaber played the full 90 minutes against Montreal, an indication, perhaps, that coach Jay Heaps still has Feilhaber in his long-term plans. I’ve discussed Feilhaber’s sometimes dazzling, often frustrating play in a few recent posts, and I won’t go into them much here. As usual, Feilhaber saw a lot of the ball against Montreal, connected on a lot of passes in the midfield, but ultimately wasn’t much of a factor near the goal. Also as usual, he had more than his share of head-scratching unforced giveaways. In the 58^th minute, he passed to Tierney along the left sideline and the ball rolled out of bounds; in the 65^th minute he passed directly to the Montreal defense; and in the 76^th minute he gave the ball away at midfield, leading to a scoring opportunity for Montreal. Feilhaber finished the season stuck on one goal and two assists, and he is surely happy to see that season end.

With luck, Feilhaber will be around next year to improve on those numbers and build a rapport with Designated Player Bengtson. Bengtson like Feilhaber is talented but hasn’t produced much for the Revolution. He ended the season with two goals in thirteen games played. In Montreal, he did work a nice give-and-go with Fagundez in and around the box near the end of the first half. Unfortunately, though, his standout play of the night was a squandered chance in the 42^nd minute. Soares played a good ball into space for Bengtson, and Bengtson proceeded to run at the Montreal defense, Tierney making an overlapping run to Bengtson’s immediate left. Bengtson’s final ball was both poor and ambiguous; it was either a remarkably weak shot on goal or a remarkably inaccurate pass to Tierney. Tierney is not one of nature’s complainers, but even he couldn’t hide his frustration with Bengtson on that one.

In the end, the Revolution had another disappointing season, finishing well out of the Eastern Conference playoffs with 35 points. Still, that’s a seven-point improvement over last year. And while the Revolution didn’t necessarily deserve to beat Montreal in the finale, good and improving teams often win games they probably shouldn’t win, especially on the road. And to the Revolution players’ credit, they effectively killed the Montreal game after getting their late goal. Last year’s Revolution team almost certainly would have squandered the lead, as they did for example against Philadelphia after going up 4-2 in the 55^th minute. (Sebastien Le Toux scored the equalizer in stoppage time in that one.)

Also, despite their poor record, New England’s 2012 team had many new players who produced, most notably forward Saer Sene and midfielders Lee Nguyen, Clyde Simms, and Kelyn Rowe. The 17-year-old Fagundez is also skilled, and he gained much valuable experience towards the end of the season. (Fagundez easily could have had two assists in the Revs’ final two games, but Bengtson failed to convert from close range against Chicago and Fernando Cardenas couldn’t beat the keeper after getting in behind against Montreal.) Even Dimitry Imbongo, despite his occasional wild shots, has proved to be a strong player with his back to the goal and adds good value when trying to kill a game, as he did against Montreal as a substitute. Finally, the diminutive Cardenas is quick and dangerous with the ball at his feet, though it must be said that he consistently runs out of gas after about 45 minutes of play.

If those promising new acquisitions continue to produce next season, if Feilhaber and Bengtson play up to their contracts and talent levels, if Heaps and GM Michael Burns can come up with a few more good player acquisitions in the offseason, and if Revolution players can avoid too many injuries, then New England should make the playoffs in 2013. That statement is hardly a bold one given its numerous conditions. But it’s plausible that those conditions are all met. And even if some don’t break New England’s way, the Revolution should improve as their young players continue to work together and gain experience.

Something must be said in closing about the Revolution’s home field. No matter how successful the Revolution may be on the field next season, the franchise will never generate any excitement in New England or anywhere else if the team continues to play at Gillette. MLS is growing its fan base in no small part because of its appealing new stadiums, most of which hold about 20,000 fans so that there are no vast sections of empty seats, which always lends a bush-league air to any game. And of course there are no NFL markings on those stadiums’ fields, as there often are when the Revolution play at home. (Click here to see a list of MLS stadiums, along with capacities, playing surfaces, and years built.)

From a fan’s perspective, the only positive aspects of the Revs’ current stadium situation is that you can decide to go to a game at any time, right up until first kick, because no game is ever sold out. Also, fans can park and tailgate for free. Those are considerable benefits, but even fans with shallow pockets recognize that good sports teams almost by definition create ticket demand, a sense that you’d better buy in advance or it’ll be others who are having the fun and not you. The Revs will never generate that kind of excitement and demand if they continue playing at Gillette.

All of these stadium-related points have been made before, but they bear repeating because building a new stadium is critical if soccer is ever going to get widely noticed in New England, where the Revolution must compete with the popular Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. No one is dumb enough to think that building a stadium anywhere in this country is as easy as waving a wand. But no team in MLS plays in such an unsatisfactory setting as the Revolution. And with the recent proliferation of state-of-the-art soccer stadiums—such as those built outside New York and in Kansas City and Houston—the gap between the Revolution and other teams is widening. It’s therefore deeply disappointing that the Revolution still have no firm plans to play anywhere else but at an NFL stadium with an artificial playing surface in a faceless suburb with no satisfactory access to public transportation.

Revolution v. Chicago Fire, 10.20.12

The bottom-dwelling New England Revolution managed to draw 25,534 fans to Gillette stadium for their final home game of the year on Saturday against the Chicago Fire. The respectable turnout almost certainly had more to do with the unseasonably warm game-time temperatures and to a tee-shirt promotion than to any star power on the field. Three of the Revolution’s most compelling players—Benny Feilhaber, Saer Sene, and Lee Nguyen—sat out due to suspensions or injuries.

On the other side, the Chicago Fire is a good team—they’re sitting on 56 points and will finish second in the Eastern conference with a win over D.C. next week—but not a flashy one. Chicago’s best player may be Chris Rolfe, hardly a household name. Chicago announcers noted during the broadcast that the team’s lack of player charisma may prevent it from getting the recognition it deserves. The 1-0 loss to the Revolution on Saturday will not strengthen the case that Chicago is being unjustly overlooked as an MLS-Cup contender, though I agree that any team can have a bad game.

Revolution midfielders Blair Gavin and Clyde Simms played a large part in stifling Rolfe and the rest of the Fire’s midfield. Fans will recall that Gavin was acquired from Chivas USA in the Shalrie Joseph trade. This was Gavin’s first game for the Revolution, and he looked promising, especially given his youth. (He was a first-round pick in the 2010 MLS draft.) He was disruptive on defense and made some good runs and passes. Rookie midfielder Kelyn Rowe also had a strong game, as did center back A.J. Soares. And it may be time to start paying utility man Ryan Guy a living wage. He played right back against the Fire and was all over the field, making skilled Fire midfielder Alvaro Fernandez’s night a long and sometimes painful one. Guy twice heedlessly barreled into Fernandez while challenging for headers, once knocking heads with him on a corner kick in the 29^th minute. Guy may have saved the Revolution on that play, as Fernandez’s shot went over the bar. It was one of the few chances generated by the Fire.

Perhaps the most intriguing performance of the night for either team was turned in by Revolution youngster Diego Fagundez, who played the entire 90 minutes, and not at forward but on the right wing. Fagundez did have a number of giveaways, but he was on the ball a lot, often surging through the midfield on the attack. In the 17^th minute, he scored the game’s only goal off a long-range strike. The play was, fittingly, the result of hard work and good vision on the part of Fagundez’s fellow midfielders. Gavin won the ball in the Revolution third and passed to Simms along the right sideline. Simms played the ball square to Rowe, who turned and made a good pass up field to Fagundez. Forward Jerry Bengtson also played a part, making a good run into the box to draw defenders away from Fagundez. The shot’s worth checking out, and comes at about the one-minute mark in the highlight video below.

Fire fans must hope this game is an aberration. Chicago never seriously threatened an injury-depleted Revolution side, and the Revolution really should have won by two goals. The game was not a remotely pretty one, but it did open up in the final minutes. Surprisingly, it was New England that was on the front foot, not Chicago, a team still fighting to avoid having to play in the single-elimination playoff game in the East. New England nearly got that second goal in stoppage time, when Juan Toja played a ball wide to Fagundez. Fagundez dribbled up the right wing and played a perfect cross to a wide-open Bengtson at the far post. Bengtson one-timed the cross with the outside of his right foot, sending the close-range shot over the bar. Revolution management must be wondering how a guy who scores so regularly for his country—Bengtson had a hat trick for Honduras last week against Canada—can’t finish a little more consistently for his club team. He still has only two goals in twelve games for the Revs.

Speaking of big-name players coming up small for the Revolution, Benny Feilhaber was suspended for the Fire match due to his two-yellow-card performance against Philadelphia a couple of weeks back. Given the Revolution’s success on Saturday—and in particular the Revs’ midfielders’ success—it will be interesting to see if Feilhaber starts against the Impact in Montreal in the season finale. Jay Heaps has benched Feilhaber for a number of games this season. My guess is that Heaps may again leave Feilhaber on the bench against Montreal, for part or even all of the game. Yes, Heaps may sit Feilhaber simply to give other, younger players time on the field in this lost season. But then again, Heaps may sit Feilhaber because he feels that other players give the Revolution a better chance to win.

Whatever happens next week, it’s clear that the Revolution roster is far from settled going into next season and that the team lacks a leader in the absence of Joseph. I mentioned in my post about the recent Philadelphia game that I thought Nguyen and not Feilhaber was this year’s team MVP. Apparently a lot of other fans feel the same way, as Nguyen was presented with the team MVP award before the Chicago game. Revolution management deserves much praise for acquiring Nguyen on the cheap, and for signing double-digit scorer Saer Sene. But next year the organization will need much better performances from relatively big-name players Feilhaber and Bengtson if New England is to return to the playoffs.

U.S. Men’s National Team v. Guatemala, Kansas City, 10.16.12

The U.S. men’s national team’s 3-1 home win over Guatemala was the performance U.S. fans have been waiting for in this semifinal round of World Cup qualifiers. The U.S. thoroughly outclassed their opponents, holding the ball for about 75% of the game, taking eight corner kicks to Guatemala’s one, and making many more dangerous crosses into the box than their overmatched opponents. The U.S. probably should have won by a wider margin. Herculez Gomez, for example, after a tough game in Antigua last Friday, easily could have had two assists last night, one on a ball into Eddie Johnson that Johnson scuffed and one on a deflected cross that Clint Dempsey couldn’t quite get a head onto.

The entire U.S. starting front six acquitted themselves well. (By the time U.S. subs started to come on in the 65^th minute, the game was well in hand.) Dempsey scored twice on classic Dempsey-type goals, the results of hustle and timely runs, both scored from about a yard out, one while sliding. Dempsey also had an assist after making a near-post run and flicking a header across goal to a wide-open Carlos Bocanegra, who pounded the shot home from close range. Michael Bradley had another solid game in the midfield—does he have any other kind these days?—that included a skillful chip over the keeper to put Dempsey’s second goal on a platter for him. Bradley worked well with fellow central midfielder Danny Williams, who was a virtual no-show last week in Antigua. Williams and Bradley were especially effective muscling opponents off the ball in the midfield, so that Guatemala never really had a chance to get things going.

Graham Zusi also had another good outing, looking comfortable on his club team’s home field, the sold-out Livestrong Sporting Park, probably the most visually appealing soccer stadium in the country. (I envy those U.S. fans in attendance last night.) Zusi and Eddie Johnson traded time on each wing in the midfield. Johnson looked very sure with the ball at his feet, seeming at times to be giving demonstrations on how to effectively use step-over moves to create space and send dangerous crosses into the box. After receiving a beautiful long ball from right back Steve Cherundolo in the 18^th minute, Johnson crossed from the right flank to assist on Dempsey’s first goal.

The ageless Cherundolo turned in another polished performance, but the U.S. backline otherwise kept this dominant team performance from being a complete one. The U.S. came out strong in this game but conceded an early goal off a counterattack that saw the U.S. central defenders Bocanegra and Geoff Cameron get caught flat-footed. Former MLS MVP Carlos Ruiz got in behind them and then coaxed Tim Howard into no-man’s land before using the outside of his foot to calmly finish. Bocanegra looked slow on the play and never had a hope of recovering once Ruiz had the ball at his feet. (And it should be noted that Ruiz is hardly in the prime of his career; he’s 33 and, as I understand it, is not now playing for any club team.)

Ruiz’s goal was more proof that the U.S.’s back line is far from settled. Bocanegra, remember, was forced to play left back last week against Antigua and Barbuda. (His giveaway in the 25^th minute led to Antigua and Barbuda’s only goal.) Michael Parkhurst played left back last night, and looked good defending though he did commit a couple of unforced turnovers. In any event, if the U.S. front six is to pressure the ball high up the field as they did against Guatemala, then the U.S. back four will have to communicate better, hold the line better, than it did on the Ruiz goal.

All the communication in the world, however, isn’t going to make Bocanegra more fleet of foot. It might be that Klinsmann again experiments pairing Cameron with Maurice Edu in central defense, as he did in the U.S. friendly victory against Mexico in August. It won’t be an easy call, though. Bocanegra typically captains the team and is a reliable, smart, tough, and, of course, experienced player, not to mention the fact that he’s a threat to score off set pieces. His goal last night was his 14^th, the most ever for a U.S. international defender.

In some important ways, last night’s victory was ideal in just about every way. The U.S. won convincingly, looked good doing it, and advanced to CONCACAF’s final round of qualifiers. But Ruiz’s goal will likely prevent U.S. defenders from getting too complacent. There is clearly much room for improvement. And even U.S. attackers and midfielders can’t, or shouldn’t, crow too much after last night’s win. The Guatemala defense on each of the three U.S. goals was deficient, particularly on Bocanegra’s goal. On that corner kick, Guatemala players set up in a zone defense and then remained screwed to the ground, looking like orange practice pylons painted blue as Zusi played his ball in, Dempsey ran to the near post, and Cameron and Bocanegra crashed the goal. Similarly, no one bothered to cover Dempsey on his run to the back post on the second U.S. score.

In short, while this Guatemala team has talent, it was not particularly competitive last night, a fact that game tape will amply show. After viewing that tape, U.S. players will not have to be told that teams like Honduras (who dropped eight goals on Canada yesterday) and Mexico will pose much tougher challenges for the U.S. when they meet in the final round. For now, though, U.S. players deserve a round of applause for getting through a reasonably tough semifinal group and for saving their best, and most attractive, game for last.

U.S. Men’s National Team v. Antigua and Barbuda, North Sound, Antigua, 10.12.12

The U.S. men’s national team continues to play down to the competition in CONCACAF qualifying matches, needing the full 90 minutes to generate the game-winner in this narrow 2-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda. To be fair to the U.S., the conditions were about as poor as you can imagine in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier in 2012. The playing surface looked like sodden foam rubber irregularly painted green and yellow, with patches of dirt showing here and there, and the rain came down in tropical fashion for what appeared to be the entire game. Also, the U.S. 24-man roster called in for this match was down four players. Defenders Edgar Castillo and Fabian Johnson were late scratches, and midfielders Brek Shea and Landon Donovan were, as I understand it, hopeful choices to begin with. They were injured when they were called by Klinsmann, remained injured (Donovan with a knee injury, Shea with an abdominal strain), and were unavailable last night.

Having listed those considerable obstacles, last night’s performance was, despite the result, not a promising one for the U.S. They were fortunate to come away with three points against a team that has not yet won a semifinal-round game after five attempts. Very few U.S. players distinguished themselves. Herculez Gomez, who has played so hard and so well in recent national-team games, had a night he’ll want to put behind him. Twice he received through balls in the box, and twice his heavy touches resulted in balls rolled directly to the Antigua and Barbuda keeper. Clint Dempsey looked frustrated when he was in the camera’s eye, but he was seldom there. Danny Williams played for 56 minutes but he too failed to have a significant impact.

Williams was subbed for the erratic Jermaine Jones, who had one of his lesser nights. Shortly after Jones checked in, he was given a yellow card for handling in the U.S. end. There was nothing subtle or inadvertent about it; Jones actually raised his hand above his head to flick the ball. As a result of the foul, a free kick was awarded in a dangerous area (luckily for the U.S., nothing came of it), and Jones will have to sit out the next match against Guatemala due to an accumulation of yellows. Incredibly, Jones appeared to lunge for the ball again with his hand later in the match. It’s stunning, bizarre actually, that a player from the Bundesliga would show such a lack of discipline.

The U.S. defense occasionally looked vulnerable, and they were badly exposed on Antigua and Barbuda’s goal. Due to Fabian Johnson’s and Castillo’s injuries, Carlos Bocanegra was moved to left back, and he had a mostly rough night. In the 25^th minute, he and Graham Zusi failed to clear a Quinton Griffith throw-in to the very large and fast Peter Byers. Byers collected the ball, left the U.S. players standing in his wake, and then drove to the end-line, skinning U.S. center back Geoff Cameron as if he (Cameron) were playing in ski boots. Fellow center back Clarence Goodson fell down trying to defend Byers’s cross and Dexter Blackstock scored.

The U.S. does, however, deserve a lot of credit for getting this away victory in such a tough and strange environment. And MLS fans can feel some satisfaction that it was not Clint Dempsey or even really Michael Bradley (who did have a strong game) who were prominent in this victory, but Eddie Johnson, Zusi, and even Alan Gordon, who not only earned his first cap when he came on for Gomez in the 73^rd minute, but justified Klinsmann’s surprise call-up with a clutch and skillful assist on the game-winner.

Though the U.S. looked ineffectual for great stretches of this game, controlling possession but failing to generate scoring chances, their two goals rose above the general level of play and surroundings. The first came off a give and go between Zusi and Bradley after a corner kick, the former tracking away from his own goal to receive Bradley’s pass and then curling an arcing left-footed cross to the back post. Johnson ran onto it and snapped a sure, technical header into the ground and from there into the back of the net.

The second goal was even prettier. In the 90^th minute, right back Steve Cherundolo took a throw-in in the final third, sending a ball near the flag to Sacha Kljestan, who’d come on for Zusi about ten minutes earlier. Kljestan one-timed a side-footed pass back to Gordon, who in turn calmly one-timed a cross off a short-hop towards the back post, where Johnson buried it. The four-player exchange wasn’t necessarily spectacular, but no four players in the world could have executed it better, and the goal came with one second left in regulation time.

The U.S. plays its final semifinal match next Tuesday, against Guatemala in Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City. After Guatemala’s victory over Jamaica yesterday, the U.S. needs only a tie to ensure its place in the final CONCACAF qualifying round of six, otherwise known as the hexagonal or “hex.” But anything less than a victory over Guatemala will be a disappointment for U.S. players, coaches, and fans. The environment will be friendly, the playing surface perfect, the opponent an objective underdog. If the U.S. is to join the exclusive club of elite soccer nations as Klinsmann intends, it must be able to win such games convincingly. And we should remind ourselves that the U.S.’s biggest soccer rival is again the gold standard in CONCACAF. Mexico is now 5-0 in semifinal games and has already qualified for the hexagonal.

Revolution at Philadelphia Union, 10.6.12

In today’s mlssoccer.com, Jonah Freedman makes the case for five former U.S. men’s national team regulars who he thinks could help the team now. Benny Feilhaber is the fifth player on the list, and Freedman claims that Feilhaber “creates chances at a better rate than nearly anyone currently in the US pool.”

I don’t know what statistical evidence Freedman is drawing on to make his claims, but presumably it’s derived from MLS’s Opta Chalkboard. In any case, Freedman did not mention the fact that Feilhaber has recently struggled to get playing time for one of the league’s worst teams, nor did he mention that Feilhaber has played 2,057 minutes this season and still has just one goal and two assists over that stretch.

There are of course other ways to judge a player besides studying electronic “chalkboards” and goals and assists statistics. One must have only a passing knowledge of the game to agree with Freedman that Benny Feilhaber has, by MLS standards, great skill. It’s a pleasure to watch Feilhaber with the ball at his feet. And he combines that skill with an admirable work rate and willingness to play defense. In the 32^nd minute of last Saturday’s game against Philadelphia, for example, he worked hard at midfield to help his team win the ball, running around and even sliding in his attempts to pressure the opposition. When New England did gain possession, striker Jerry Bengtson played the ball back to Feilhaber, and Feilhaber went to work, using a subtle touch with the underside of his cleats to stop the ball and roll it forward before he proceeded to slalom through a trio of Union defenders. He then cut the ball back and played a pass to Clyde Simms. The little buildup eventually led to a rather weak cross into the box, but it was a chance nonetheless and it likely wouldn’t have occurred without Feilhaber’s skill and tenacity.

So in some important ways, Feilhaber is clearly a cut above most players in MLS. His relatively high salary attests to that fact. At $400,000 per year, Feilhaber’s contract is currently worth more than twice that of any other Revolution player. But for my money, Feilhaber’s injured midfield mate Lee Nguyen was New England’s MVP this year, and Nguyen’s skill on the ball and soccer IQ rival that of Feilhaber’s. As long as we’re mentioning salaries and statistics, Nguyen makes almost ten times less than Feilhaber, with an annual base salary of just $44,000. Before Nguyen went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, he played 2,386 minutes and had five goals and two assists, all better than or equal to Feilhaber’s numbers. Statistically, you could make an even stronger case for another injured Revolution player as this year’s team MVP. Saer Sene scored eleven goals before he tore an ACL on September 1. In short, Feilhaber may have great qualities, but he’s failed to meaningfully assert himself this season, even on a bad team.

There is something to be said for the idea that Feilhaber is the type of player who needs good players around him in order to truly shine. This can be said of all soccer players, of course, though it is truer for some players than others. Former New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph, for example, could control the midfield, win balls, and outmuscle opponents no matter who he was playing alongside. But Feilhaber is a creator, the type of player who routinely tries to squeeze through balls past crowded defenses, and that kind of player needs teammates who make intelligent, timely runs.

Having said that, a great player also needs to know the strengths and weaknesses of his teammates and play passes accordingly. It should be said that apart from a bad pass very early on in Saturday’s game against Philadelphia, Feilhaber protected the ball well and in general played well. But he has committed far too many unforced giveaways in other games this season, and I believe that’s why he eventually lost his starting job, before injuries began to accumulate for New England and he got it back.

What is more disappointing than the giveaways this season, however, is Feilhaber’s occasional on-field outbursts. Given his salary, his experience, and his considerable talent, he is far from a steadying presence in New England’s midfield. He is a strong competitor, but he sometimes has trouble channeling his emotions in useful ways. Some Revolution fans will remember that last July against Philadelphia, Union veteran Carlos Ruiz baited Feilhaber into a second yellow card midway through the second half. Feilhaber compounded his error by shouting and shoving opposing players before being sent off. It was an unfortunate display that hurt his team in that game and, because of the automatic suspension, the next.

Feilhaber again failed to master his emotions against Philadelphia last Saturday. He frequently berated the referee in the second half over calls and non-calls. He eventually, and predictably, received a yellow card, for a foul on Antoine Hoppenot in the 86^th minute. Feilhaber immediately resumed his bickering and it was clear from his naked rage that he was in danger of getting a second yellow. Sure enough, just a couple of minutes later he was sent off for an away-from-the-ball foul in the midfield circle. Feilhaber punctuated the foul with a boisterous and close-range “eff you” to the ref.

And so Feilhaber exited yet another Revolution game without a goal or an assist. His team would go on to lose, and he would be unavailable to play in the next match. The Philadelphia TV color commentator summed up the situation haltingly but accurately: “And even with the frustration and all the injuries they have, he’s got to be a team leader on this team. And that’s got to unbelievably frustrate Jay Heaps. . . . There’s no leadership in the context of the eleven on the field. You expect more from a player with that kind of experience.”

I agree with Freedman that Feilhaber still has the tools to help the U.S. men’s national team. But Feilhaber’s lack of composure and continued lack of goals and assists last Saturday will not help his case with Jurgen Klinsmann.

Revolution at Houston Dynamo, 9.29.12: The Present Absent

 

New England’s 2-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo last night transported me back to, of all places, my days as an English literature graduate student in the early 1990s. One of the catch phrases in the academy at that time—along with “the feminine grotesque” and “Bakhtin’s notion of the carnival” (always pronounced “car-nee-VAHL”)—was “the absent present.” I believe the concept sprang, like so many other trendy literary critical concepts, from the pen of Martin Heidegger, and no doubt had something to do with the impossibility of defining words and how absent meanings were really present in them.

Here’s how an English grad student back then might have written about, or generated words using the subject of, the game: Four New England midfielders were present on the field last night, but their presence was felt as an absence. The players were a kind of radical opposite to Hamlet’s dead father, whose ghostly absence invests meaning into every line of the tragedy. The Revolution midfielders’ collective presence was a ghostly negation of all that is effectual on the soccer field, a sort of present absent, endlessly deferring our notion of what it means to control the middle third, if not our understanding of the very meaning of the word midfielder.

The translation: the Revolution midfield—last night consisting of starters Benny Feilhaber, Kelyn Rowe, Clyde Simms, and Fernando Cardenas, and halftime substitute Juan Toja (who came on for Simms)—didn’t show up. Probably the most damning statistic other than the score is that Houston—not exactly FC Barcelona even by MLS standards—held the ball 65% of the game.

The Revolution backline of A.J. Soares and Stephen McCarthy in the middle and Darrius Barnes and Kevin Alston on the outsides, did what they could, coming out of halftime with a clean sheet. But by the 70^th minute or so they were spent, and understandable breakdowns began to accumulate. In the 73^rd minute, Will Bruin got behind Soares and only a good save by Bobby Shuttleworth kept Houston off the board. It was just a matter of time, though, and Houston got the game-winner in the 77^th minute when Ricardo Clark deflected a Brad Davis cross off the far post and in. After going up, Houston continued to press and added another deserved goal in stoppage time.

I should add that one Revs’ midfielder—Toja—did in fact impose his presence on this game, though unfortunately it wasn’t because of his good play. (In fact, Toja’s unforced giveaway to Davis in the 58^th minute, after which Toja simply stood in place and made no effort to right his wrong by pressuring the ball, represented a low point for the Revolution in the loss.) No, Toja imposed himself on the game by his occasionally reckless play, including at least a couple of skirmishes with the equally combative Adam Moffat, one of which led to a yellow for Toja. I’m no great fan of Moffat’s, but I thought Toja’s aerial challenge that led to the yellow was bush league. Toja easily could have been sent off after a hard tackle in the 80^th minute, but the referee didn’t have the heart.

Enough. Three more games left for the Revolution this season, and then, mercifully, we’re done.

Revolution v. New York Red Bulls, 9.22.12

The first thing most TV viewers likely noticed about last night’s game in Foxboro was the respectable number of people in the stands. According to the New England announcers, the crowd of 24,364 was the 17^th largest group ever to see the Revolution at Gillette stadium. While the final score of 1-1 might seem the drabbest of results, the game was actually exciting, especially considering the Revolution were eliminated from playoff contention last week. Both goals came in stoppage time, with the home team netting theirs on virtually the last play of the game.

The Red Bulls played the proper villains. Right back Connor Lade made one hard, dangerous tackle after another and mouthed off to the referee repeatedly on his way to getting sent off in the 74^th minute with his second yellow card. Wilman Conde got a couple of memorable cheap shots in on Kelyn Rowe, one along the sideline in the 31^st minute and another NFL-open-field-tackle in the 68^th (the latter good for a yellow). Rafa Marquez managed to avoid breaking an opponent’s collarbone this outing, though it should be noted that he only played 35 minutes and he did leg-whip and trip Lee Nguyen after Nguyen nearly faked him out of his shoes off the dribble in the 17^th minute. In the 62^nd minute, Teemu Tainio got into the act, tackling Juan Toja from behind at midfield and drawing his own yellow. After that one, Revs’ center back Darrius Barnes had had enough. He ran thirty yards downfield, got in Tainio’s grill and jawed at him while pointing a finger in his face.

It was refreshing to see a New England player stand up for a teammate, and Barnes received what I regard as karmic justice for his loyalty in the final seconds of the game. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Barnes ran onto a Ryan Guy cross and headed the equalizer past New York keeper Bill Gaudette. The Revolution players looked elated to get the draw, and the Red Bulls’ players appeared to be in an agony. Given the often classless way New York played, I will not wish them well on their playoff run. Speaking of which, I didn’t even mention that Thierry Henry was unavailable for this game due to a suspension for headbutting Kei Kamara last week. What is it with this Red Bulls team?

Lest I get accused of being a mere homer, I quite liked the Red Bulls’ lineup last year, with Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream, and Dane Richards, all of whom struck me as likeable and good players and all of whom are of course gone now. And as for last night, I thought Dax McCarty and Tim Cahill played excellent, hard-nosed games, and they weren’t dirty. Cahill was fearless and effective in the air, eventually creating what looked to be the game winner in the 91^st minute with an aerial challenge that took Revs’ keeper Bobby Shuttleworth out of the play and allowed Joel Lindpere to head the ball into the open net.

In any case, while the Revolution are simply playing out what is for them a meaningless string of late-season games, they competed hard against New York, saw the game through to the end, and were rewarded for their diligence. The backline played particularly well, including good games by Barnes, Kevin Alston, and A.J. Soares. (The lone goal conceded was a mistake by Shuttleworth, who probably should have caught the cross in from Conde or not come off his line at all.) Nguyen had one of his better games this season in the midfield, which is saying a lot. He looked extremely confident off the dribble, and New York spent much of the night manhandling him, as they did when the two teams met at Gillette earlier in the year in the Revolution’s 2-0 win. Rowe had a strong game as well last night, including a good pass to Guy to set up that assist to Barnes. These guys aren’t likely to headbutt opponents or break their collarbones, but they’re competitors and give Revolution fans some hope for a better season next year.

Revolution at D.C. United, 9.15.12: Don't Bet on It

 

Going into last Saturday’s D.C. United/New England Revolution match, there was some justification for thinking New England might win it. The Revs were coming off a 2-0 victory against the surging Columbus Crew—the Revs’ second straight clean sheet—and had drawn in each of their prior two games, a virtual geyser of points by current New England standards. Furthermore, D.C. had beaten the Revs twice already this year in games decided by a single goal, and it is, or should be, difficult to beat a rival three times in one season. On the other side, D.C. had slipped in the standings, having won only one game in their last six. Finally, last Tuesday, D.C. unfortunately lost 2011 league MVP Dwayne De Rosario to a knee injury suffered while he was playing for Canada in a World Cup qualifying match.

It pains me to say so, but if I’d been in Las Vegas last weekend, I might have laid down some (for me) serious money on New England to beat D.C. (assuming there’s a sports book in Vegas that even takes bets on MLS games). Because, you see, I “had a feeling,” one of those rare and unlooked-for surges of confidence that seems to spring from somewhere or something outside ourselves. I mention all this purely for educative purposes. We tend to remember only when these strong, sports-related premonitions prove true, as they did for me when the 1987 Redskins beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII (Denver was actually favored by 3) and when the Carolina Panthers covered the spread (and nearly won) against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

On the other hand, we tend to forget when those “feelings” don’t in the end pan out (unless we have the ill luck to actually place a big bet, in which case presumably we’d remember). In any case, I’ll wrap up this digression because this isn’t an advice column, let alone an anti-gambling blog. But I have been to Vegas many times and placed many small-dollar bets on various sporting events. Please take my word for it if you don’t have firsthand experience: it is stunningly difficult to do anything but lose money at a sports book.

But to resume: To no one’s surprise but my own, D.C. beat the Revolution 2-1, eliminating this tired, lackluster New England team from the playoffs with five games still to play. The Revolution started the same lineup they used to beat Columbus, with the exception that Jerry Bengtson started in place of Dimitry Imbongo. Bengtson did not have a memorable game, and was likely fatigued from his own international duties with Honduras. He came off in the 61^st minute for Imbongo. It is probably coincidental, but right around the time of the Imbongo substitution, D.C. exerted furious pressure on the Revs, creating a couple of excellent chances and scoring the game-winner on the second of those chances.

I could go on about how the Revolution might just as easily have won this game than lost it, marshaling superior time-of-possession and attempts-on-goal statistics to support my argument, but during that brief stretch around the 60-minute mark, D.C. effectively proved they were the superior team and deserved to win the game.

The Revs got another good game from Kevin Alston playing at left back. He was dangerous flying up the sideline and sending in left-footed crosses. He also looks better on the ball in general to me than he did last year, with an improved touch and ability to create space. The Revolution also got their first minutes from newly signed midfielder Juan Toja. Toja came on in the 73^rd minute for Flo Lechner and made an impact, sending a good ball into the box to Kelyn Rowe in the 85^th minute and drawing a foul in a dangerous area during the final seconds of stoppage time. Bizarrely, New England keeper Matt Reis called off his teammates and took the free kick himself. It sailed high over the bar.

Benny Feilhaber again did not start, coming on as a late substitute with Toja. Feilhaber added to his large and growing number of near misses, sending a scorching shot into the wrong side of the side-netting in the 79^th minute and firing a shot directly to United keeper Bill Hamid in the 86^th. It’s very difficult not to feel for the guy, just as most of us feel for baseball players stuck in a hitting slump. The unpleasant fact remains, though, that Feilhaber’s the Revolution’s highest-paid player and after 29 games and over 1,800 minutes, he’s still sitting on one goal and two assists. And his team is still sitting on a mere 28 points.

U.S. Men’s National Team v. Jamaica, Columbus, Ohio, 9.11.12

After a dispiriting loss to Jamaica in Kingston last Friday, the U.S. men’s national team dominated Jamaica in Columbus last night, beating them 1-0. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann started five players yesterday who didn’t play much or at all on Friday: Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Jose Torres, Danny Williams, and Graham Zusi. Right back Cherundolo, apart from one or two bad crosses, looked particularly good on the ball. The U.S. is a much better and more dangerous team with him on the field. (It’s sometimes easy to forget how crucial outside backs are to a team’s success these days; like cornerbacks on a football team.) Williams also had an outstanding game, playing mostly at defensive midfielder but also moving to right midfield in the second half. In the 30^th minute, he hit a stunning shot from 35 yards out that slammed into the post and, unfortunately, back into the field of play.

The U.S. thoroughly dominated the first half. Williams’s strike in the 30^th minute was the third U.S. shot to hit the post to that point, and there were other near misses to boot. When the half ended, the soccer gods appeared set on tantalizing the U.S. players and fans and forcing them to settle for a scoreless draw and a single point. To the U.S. players’ credit, they continued to press Jamaica, chipping away at their defense until breaking through on a Herculez Gomez free kick in the 55^th minute. It was fitting that Gomez scored, as he’d worked particularly hard. But just as it’s difficult to think of any U.S. player that really distinguished himself in Jamaica last Friday, it’s difficult to single out a starter that did not perform well in Columbus last night. If I had to pick a man of the match, I’d probably go with Gomez, though Williams, and even Zusi (who hit the post twice and had two other near misses), wouldn’t be far behind.

In short, the U.S. put forth good individual efforts and also played well as a team. They played the way Klinsmann has envisioned and talked about them playing, with defenders pressing forward into the attack, players all over the field working hard to win the ball back once it’s lost, and the U.S. dominating possession and dictating the game. (The U.S. held the ball 69% of the time last night, as opposed to only 52% in last week’s match.) The only thing that was missing for the U.S. in Columbus was a goal scored in the run of play, but that was easy to forgive considering all the near misses and, ultimately, the important three points gained.

One sequence in the second half struck me as emblematic of the kind of soccer that the U.S. is striving to play on a consistent basis. In the 78^th minute, with the U.S. players tired and sitting on a slim one-goal lead, Jamaica got possession and strung together some passes near midfield. After Jamaica worked the ball into the U.S. half, Jermaine Jones and substitute Maurice Edu closed on the attacker and muscled the ball away from him. Edu first played a little one-two with fellow sub Brek Shea along the left sideline, then played a longish ball to Shea that the latter headed square to a waiting Gomez. Gomez played the ball back to Williams, who in turn switched fields to Cherundolo on the right. Williams made a run into the box and was rewarded by a deftly lofted pass from Cherundolo.

Williams couldn’t get a shot off due to some good work on the part of the Jamaica defense. But the buildup (not to mention the defensive pressure from which it sprang) was assured and positive, even stylish. It was the kind of buildup that sometimes leads to a goal, and the kind play that lesser teams are incapable of producing on that “consistent basis” mentioned earlier. Klinsmann must try to transform the U.S. team into a consistently dangerous, attacking side while also managing to qualify in the rough-and-tumble CONCACAF region. Last night’s victory was an important step that direction.

U.S. Men’s National Team v. Jamaica, Kingston, 9.7.12

The U.S.’s first goal in this match occurred in the opening minute and was in one way a preview of things to come. Herculez Gomez attacked down the right, shot at close range, collected a deflection, and shot again. His second deflection fell to Clint Dempsey, who slotted home a goal that most intramural youth-league players could have buried. The U.S. would never again seriously threaten in the game. Moreover, they went on to concede two set-piece goals and much midfield possession to a team known more for its speed than its skill. The U.S. eventually lost 2-1.

In other words, Dempsey’s opening-minute goal did not presage more U.S. chances and scoring opportunities—let alone goals—but, to put it bluntly, garbage play on the part of the U.S. The quality in this match was teeth-grindingly poor, and I struggle to think of any shining moment for any American player, no matter how fleeting. The game for the U.S. was characterized by stasis, players off the ball just listlessly standing around, or players on the ball booting it forward to the other team. About five minutes before the end of the half, for instance, with Jamaica level after a Rodolph Austin free kick, U.S. center back Clarence Goodson faced no pressure at all near the midfield circle but played a pass on the ground directly to a Jamaica midfielder.

The game was filled with those kinds of perplexing balls, and Goodson should not be singled out for notably poor play. In fact, the U.S. defense—with Goodson and Geoff Cameron in the center, Fabian Johnson on the left and surprise starter Michael Parkhurst on the right—played well. Parkhurst in particular looked solid, which is surprising given Jamaica players’ speed and how vulnerable Parkhurst looked when playing right back against Canada in June’s friendly. (Parkhurst apparently started against Jamaica due to an injury to Steve Cherundolo.) Both of Jamaica’s goals came as a result of fouls in dangerous areas committed by U.S. midfielders, not defenders. Kyle Beckerman committed the first foul (and unfortunately inadvertently deflected the ensuing free kick just enough to send it past Tim Howard and into the net), and Maurice Edu committed the second.

Speaking of those two players, Jurgen Klinsmann played about as uncreative a midfield as you’re likely to see on a supposedly quality international side. Beckerman and Edu were joined by Jermaine Jones in the middle, along with Clint Dempsey. Dempsey, of course, hasn’t played in a competitive game in months due to his recent holdout in the English premier league, so he wasn’t his usual self. True, he scored, and he put another sliding shot on goal near the end of the first half, but he was clearly gassed during the second half and largely a nonfactor. Given the fact that Dempsey can’t possibly be match fit, it’s a wonder he played the full ninety minutes. Even accounting for this, one would have thought that such an imposing, defensive-oriented group of midfielders would have been able to more effectively shut down Jamaica after scoring early, especially when playing in front of a back line that performed well.

This game showed that Klinsmann is very far from transforming the U.S. squad into an attractive and attacking side. It also showed that the importance of Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley to the U.S. team probably can’t be overstated. (Those two were not called up due to injuries.) That better midfielders are not in the pipeline is cause for concern, though it is never wise to dismiss any particular group of players based on a single game, particularly an away game in group-stage play. Still, the U.S. performance was a troubling one. Many soccer results are flukes, but last night’s was not. Jamaica, a team that has only once qualified for a World Cup finals tournament, was clearly the better team, and the final score was just. After last night, it would be foolish for any U.S. player, coach, or fan to assume that the U.S. is a cinch to qualify for Brazil in 2014.

New England Revolution v. Columbus Crew, 9.5.12

The Revolution ended a franchise-record ten-game losing streak tonight by beating the Columbus Crew 2-0 at Gillette Stadium. New England dominated the game, attacking even while protecting a lead, taking twenty shots to Columbus’s seven and nine corners to Columbus’s three.

What to me was far more impressive and refreshing than the victory was the lively manner in which New England played. Imposing striker Dimitry Imbongo, who was so peevish in defeat last month against Kansas City when barking at teammate Fernando Cardenas, played well and without complaint against the Crew, scoring the game-winner in the 53^rd minute off a rebounded Diego Fagundez shot and applying the pressure that led to a Crew own-goal in the 74^th. Even the normally fiery and scowling Jay Heaps seemed to enjoy himself on the sideline well before the game was in hand. He laughed with his assistants after a Kelyn Rowe shot skied over the crossbar in the 47^th minute and gave Blake Brettschneider a robust, encouraging slap on the back before sending him on in the 78^th. I mentioned last month that the Revolution needed to go out and have some fun, and by God they did tonight.

What’s more, the Revolution beat the surging Crew (undefeated in their last six matches) with an improbable starting lineup that included not only Imbongo and Fagundez up top, but Darrius Barnes and Flo Lechner on defense. In addition, Kevin Alston switched from his normal position of right back to play on the left. Usual starters A.J. Soares, Benny Feilhaber, and Chris Tierney started on the bench, and only Tierney got off it. He came on in the 73^rd minute to play midfielder, notching his 100^th MLS appearance. The reliable and versatile Tierney played a part in the second goal, flicking a long ball from Matt Reis towards Imbongo that Chad Marshall inadvertently headed over his own keeper and into the Crew net.

Speaking of Reis, he had another impressive performance and recorded his second straight shutout. His effort against the Crew wasn’t quite as spectacular as his effort against Philadelphia on Saturday, but then again it didn’t have to be. The New England back line was excellent all around, though Darrius Barnes perhaps deserves special mention. Barnes’s solid play at center back in the last two shutouts will make it hard even for a player of Soares’s quality to regain his position in the starting lineup. Of course, that’s just the kind of dilemma Heaps wants to face.

It should be noted that Soares has whiplash and was listed as probable for this game. Feilhaber, on the other hand, is not suffering from any injury that I know of. It may bode ill for him that the Revolution played their best game in two months and he didn’t get off the pine due solely to a coach’s decision.

Should Benny Feilhaber Play Right Back for the U.S. National Team?

U.S. men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has announced the roster for the coming World Cup qualifying matches against Jamaica on September 7 and September 11. Despite injuries to Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley, Klinsmann did not summon New England Revolution midfielder Benny Feilhaber. At 27, Feilhaber is still young and promising, but Klinsmann seems to think less of his talents than previous USMNT coach Bob Bradley did. Feilhaber played in three of four U.S. matches in the 2010 World Cup finals, but has only appeared for the national team once over the course of 2011 and 2012. Yesterday’s roster announcement must be particularly frustrating for Feilhaber, since the roster includes such relative international newcomers as Joe Corona, Graham Zusi, and Brek Shea, all of whom play in the midfield.

Feilhaber’s omission from the current USMNT roster is in some ways unsurprising. Klinsmann has openly encouraged U.S. internationals to move from MLS to Europe, and Feilhaber has done just the opposite. After stints in Germany, England, and Denmark from 2006 to 2011, Feilhaber moved back to MLS last season. His play with the Revolution so far has been mostly solid, but hardly spectacular. This season, for example, he has played over 1,800 minutes but has only one goal and two assists to show for them. Those are notably poor numbers for a team’s highest-paid player.

The good and bad of Feilhaber were on display in Saturday’s scoreless draw against Philadelphia at Gillette Stadium. I’ll use a sequence in the 10^th minute as a representative example. Feilhaber collected a deflection near midfield and started an attack by dribbling and playing a pass towards the right sideline to Fernando Cardenas. After an exchange with right back Flo Lechner, Cardenas ultimately played the ball back to Feilhaber, who prepared to receive it with his back to the goal and his two strikers in an onside position behind him. So far so good. But rather than hold the ball and wait for Cardenas and/or Lechner to make a run, or turn and try to find his forwards, Feilhaber, under very little defensive pressure, one-timed a back heel pass through his legs and directly into the line of Philadelphia defenders. Yes, it was an attempt to be creative, but the pass was also risky and ultimately ineffective, a needless turnover that killed a promising buildup.

Despite frequently making these kinds of high-risk, low-reward passes in the final third, Feilhaber possesses many of the qualities Klinsmann professes to value, such as creativity, quickness, and an ability and willingness to apply defensive pressure all over the field. His efforts tracking back on defense have been particularly valuable to his club team over the past couple of seasons. More importantly, Feilhaber is a skillful player with an excellent understanding of the game and good vision. Despite his poor assist and goal numbers this year, Feilhaber leads New England in fouls suffered at 65, which is one measure of his skill on the ball and his savvy. Yes, he’s prone to turnovers, but he likes to play the ball on the ground and to unlock defenses through possession rather than booting the ball to the flag. As I understand it, that’s precisely the kind of player Klinsmann is looking for.

So why not try to get Feilhaber on the field? If the national team’s midfield is too crowded, there may be a spot at right back. Tim Chandler, once considered the right back of the future for the U.S., has twice turned down call-ups and appears to be out of the picture. Steve Cherundolo is an excellent player, but he’ll be 35 during the next World Cup Finals. Other good options at right back include Eric Lichaj and Steven Beitashour, neither of whom were called up for the Jamaica games. Fabian Johnson can also play right back—and did against Mexico in the U.S.’s most recent friendly—but he is more suited to playing on the left.

Playing Feilhaber at right back would allow the U.S. team to field a highly skilled player who can not only defend, but also start buildups and confidently attack opponents with the ball at his feet. The thought of both him and Johnson flying down the flanks and raining crosses into the box, or placing more pinpoint passes to players like Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, and Landon Donovan, is intriguing to say the least. The downsides of the experiment would include the fact that Feilhaber lacks experience at the position, and the fact that he sometimes holds the ball too long and is prone to giveaways. Still, if Klinsmann really wants to get the maximum number of highly fit and skilled players onto the field at the same time, and to play a more assertive and attacking brand of soccer than is typically associated with our national team, then Feilhaber should at least be considered as a possibility at right back.