October 17, 2009
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Davies will be missed the most as Bradley tries to fill in the gaps
Injuries suffered in a car accident will sidelined U.S. forward Charlie Davies from six-12 months.
Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images
By Michael Lewis
BigAppleSoccer.com Editor
Well, that was certainly a short honeymoon.
Any good feeling for and from the United States qualifying for the World Cup last weekend has been all but squelched with three critical injuries to starters over a four-day period -- defenders Oguchi Onyweu and Jay DeMerit and forward Charlie Davies.
Unless you have been living in a cave or was on strike about using the internet, I'll recap:
* On early Tuesday morning, Davies, as a passenger, was involved in a car accident that left one woman dead and his participation at South Africa 2010 in serious jeopardy. He suffered a lacerated bladder, fractures to the tibia and femur bones in his right leg, facial fractures and a left-elbow fracture.
* In the 83rd minute of the U.S.'s 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw Wednesday, Onyweu tore the patella tendon in his left knee. He is expected to miss three to four months.
* And on Friday, Soccer America reported that DeMerit would miss two months because he needed a cornea in his left eye replaced.
Three starters who have made contributions to the team, especially during the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa that seems much longer ago than June.
It was during or after the 2-0 upset of Spain that I said that I would take the lineup that coach Bob Bradley had deployed, any time and anywhere in the world, especially in the World Cup. Of course, I realized that was going to be a long shot, given injuries, suspensions and players falling out of form and in and out of match fitness.
But Bradley had found a starting 11 that worked and that was dangerous.
The U.S. lineup at the time:
Goalkeeper -- Tim Howard.
Defenders -- Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyweu, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Spector
Midfielders -- Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey
Forwards -- Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies
So much for that great idea.
But that's the way it is in international soccer. Like it or not, players come and go. Other teams have and will suffer injuries to key players as the U.S. team has, knocking them out of the World Cup, and go through similar misery.
Bradley's depth will be tested.
Of those three players, Davies will be missed the most, assuming he is out of South Africa. His speed gave the Americans such a devastating dimension they hadn't seen since Eddie Johnson motored along (remember him?). Usually playing alongside the former Red Bulls striker and the young bull Jozy Altidore, Davies gave opponents more than a handful, having the wheels to leave them losing many footraces.
Other forwards can replace Davies in the lineup, but it difficult to replace speed at the international level. Brian Ching, Conor Casey and Kenny Cooper come quickly to mind. While they are hard workers, they do not possess Davies' speed.
Gooch is not the most nimble of defenders, but his size (6-4, 210 lbs.) and strength make him one intimidating figure and his desire to shut down the opposition is second to none.
DeMerit and Gooch made a nice pair at the Confederations Cup. When team captain Carlos Bocanegra was ready to return from injury, Bradley kept DeMerit and Gooch in the middle and put Boca on the left flank. DeMerit was supposed to be cover for Gooch and Boca.
So, who will cover for DeMerit?
Right fullback Jonathan Spector can play in the middle, but does Bradley want to remove him from a spot he has done well, even though he has Steve Cherundolo and Frank Hejduk waiting in the wings? Does Danny Califf resurface with the team?
Does Bradley move Jimmy Conrad, Chad Marshall or Clarence Goodson into the spot? Or does he move midfielder Maurice Edu, just coming back from an injury with Glasgow Rangers into one of the center back slots? Edu captained and played central defense for the U.S. at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Fortunately, the World Cup doesn't kick off for another eight months, so Bradley has time to experiment and prepare.
That preparation has begun already in his head and the world will start to see the fruits of Bradley's planning when the U.S. plays Denmark Nov. 18.
I wouldn't be surprised if he brings some players not necessarily on the radar to the January camp at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. to see how these youngsters stack up in camp.
Teams do actually add players and young players who haven't played in qualifiers to team rosters prior to the World Cup (Pablo Mastroeni in 2002).
And don't be surprised if it is someone like Real Salt Lake's Robbie Findley.
It’s been done before.
After his superb 2003 season with the MetroStars, John Wolyniec was called into camp by coach Bruce Arena the following January. Woly's reward? Two international appearances totaling 85 minutes.
After the U.S. soccer community was given the lesson of players’ fragilities, national coaches need a deep depth chart, just in case you get hit with three injuries to three key players in four
days.
It's just part of international soccer these days.
Michael Lewis would like to hear from you. If you have a comment, drop him a line at email.
