U.S. off to South Africa

That headline will be a lot more exciting to say next year. Even though it’s not the World Cup, I’m still pumped for the Confederations Cup. We get to see how our boys stack up against the world’s best a year ahead of the big cup. I truly believe that we have the talent to be one of the top five footballing nations, so the anticipation for this tournament is huge. Unfortunately, that anticipation is cooled off by the realization that as long as Bob Bradley is the coach of this team we will never realize that potential.

Bradley released the 23 man roster for the Confederations Cup and it’s about what I expected from him. I don’t think it’s the best roster we have, but still has enough talent to make a play for the cup. However, I suspect that the talent on the roster that could lead us to triumph will spend more time keeping the bench warm than scoring goals. So, I’ll get to it and let you see the roster.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern)

DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland ), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

The biggest surprise on the roster is Luis Robles, but since he’s the third choice keeper, it should be a good chance to get a young keeper some experience and let the coaching staff get a good look at him. Conor Casey was a surprise to start against Honduras, so that makes it less of surprise to see him on this roster. If we had a real coach it would still be a surprise to see him on this roster since he spent most of the game kicking the ball out of bounds, but since Bradley is running things, it’s what we have come to expect.

So how do we win with this squad? I think this lineup would produce a few upsets in South Africa:
------------------------Altidore-------------------
-----------------Adu-----------Donovan--------
Torres-------------Feilhaber---------Beasley
Pearce—Bocanegra—Onyewu--Spector
-----------------------Howard---------------------

This lineup would get Donovan, Adu and Feilhaber all on the field at once which I believe is the key to our success. These are players that can control the game and create opportunities for themselves and their teammates. Adu’s ability to hold the ball under pressure and beat one player causing the opponents defense to get off balance and then make a decisive pass is something that we lack, and desperately need if we want to compete with the big boys. Feilhaber is a great presence in the midfield. He is able to slow the game down and relieve pressure by making the simple passes and keeping possession. He can also make that killer pass to spring his teammates in on goal. Having Adu, Donovan and Feilhaber all on the field together will give the U.S. a dynamic we have not seen. It’s this dynamic that will transform us from a solid team to a great team.

I know most of you are probably wondering; where’s Dempsey? Where’s Bradley? And how do we defend without two hacks in the center of midfield. Well, don’t worry, White Kix has those answers. First, let’s tackle Dempsey. I’ve heard he just came off a great year with Fulham. To be honest, I haven’t seen him play much this year on the club level, but I have seen his performances for the Nats, and they just have not been good enough. Using just the recent Honduras game as an example gives plenty of ammunition to my claim. It was Dempsey’s patent flick the ball behind my heal and fall over move that lead to Honduras’ goal. Then he decided to try that same move for the next 45 minutes with the same outcome each time. Yes, he did a few good things. He played a few good balls wide to Spector and did keep the corner in play that lead to the game winning goal, but one header and a few good balls should be demanded out of our players. It should not be enough to keep a starting job. Also, his Honduras defensive play of the game he made on Feilhaber’s cross was appalling. It must have taking all his concentration and skill to make sure that the ball didn’t end up in the back of the Honduras net.

Now onto Michael Bradley, why is he not in the lineup? Well, because he is not a good passer, is not much of a defender and he accumulates cards like an American Express Advisors bowl at Subway. He is not the integral part of our team that his father has lead many to believe. Again, just take a look at the Honduras game. It was one of the few times we have seen the team without him this year, and it was one of our best games.

Finally, on to the last burning question; how do we defend without two hacks in the center of midfield? Well, Feilhaber, Adu and Donovan can all keep possession of the ball. Torres and Beasley will help keep the ball as well. What does that have to do with defending? Nothing, but as long as we have the ball, the other team can’t score. If you don’t believe in this line of logic, just go ask the Spaniards or the Brazilians about it.

I know we won’t see this lineup in South Africa, and that’s exactly why Bradley needs to go. Yes, we will get to the World Cup, but simply because we have too much talent not to. But when it comes to performing on the big stage, Bradley is not the guy to lead us. Our players can compete with the best on the field, now we need a coach who can compete with the best on the sideline.

Confederations Cup Schedule:
Date Opponent Time TV
Monday June 15 Italy 2:30 P.M. ET ESPN
Thursday June 18 Brazil 10:00 A.M. ET ESPN2
Sunday June 21 Egypt 2:30 P.M. ET ESPN2