Analysis of Jurgen's First Squad

So, the squad for the game against Mexico has been announced, and so we finally get a solid first look at his selection process. There is the obvious caveat of the fact that this game happens a few days before many leagues kick off, and so certain players (Dempsey most notably) are already in their club mixes. But anyways, let's take a look.

The Usual Suspects
Tim Howard (Everton)
Carlos Bocanegra (St Etienne)
Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04)
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover)
Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Maurice Edu (Rangers)

OK, so no one here is a surprise. If anyone seriously played up any doubt about Bradley being here is completely foolish. He's our best pure midfielder and will always at least be in the squad. He can be a little...abrasive but that's mostly to the media and I doubt that will spill over on Klinsmann. He never thought he'd spend his entire career coached by his dad by USA and he knows how this works. The rest are as the name implies. I'd say Edu is the one to watch out of anyone, he really came into his own with Rangers this past year and I think he could challenge Bradley and Jones, particularly if Klinsmann favors only one defensive midfielder.

The Prodigal Sons
Jose Torres (Pachuca)
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)

Say hello to the two happiest Americans after the announcement of Klinsmann! There was no real fall from grace for either in terms of club play, as both have had distinguished careers in Mexico and MLS respectively but both were pushed out of the national team during the Bradley era in ways due to their style of play. Both are creative midfielders with an eye for the pass, and I have always been impressed with Beckerman whenever I've seen him play. Due to his age, it will probably be Torres who wins out, but it's good to see both here. Obviously Torres played himself out of the team with the Slovenia game in the World Cup, but he is a talented player who deserves another shot. Great to see both in here.

The Reclamation Projects
Freddy Adu (Benfica)
DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla

Look, Freddy Adu deserves to be here. He played out of his mind in the Gold Cup and in his defense, he has almost always delivered when representing the national team. What has submarined him has been his inability to get anyone outside of the country to believe in him. If he can get regular football anywhere (COUGH MLS COUGH) he should go. There is no shame in coming back Freddy. None. Now, I think Klinsmann rightfully sees plenty of talent (and history) with Beasley that points to him possibly catching lightning in a bottle as Bradley with Adu. I hope so, but I gotta say it's unlikely. Beasley has just been awful for a few years now and he went from one of our most central players a few years ago to having played himself completely off the squad. With the loyalty of Bradley, that is no easy feat. Even Adu couldn't pull that off. I think the Adu Renaissance will continue but I don't harbor high hopes for Beasley.

The Young Gun
Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls)

He could be put on the usual suspects list already because everyone would be shocked if he does not get included in squads at this point. He is our most talented and promising youngster and while he had a mediocre (at best) Gold Cup, you've gotta hope he will just continue to improve.

The Groans
Clarence Goodson (Brondby)
Heath Pearce (Chivas USA)
Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt)

Goodson some would disagree a bit on, but I cannot get remotely excited by anyone here. If anyone of these guys starts, it just showcases a lot of the mediocrity that we have to deal with as a shallow talent pool. Pearce has had so many shockers that I literally cannot believe he has been capped 32 times and Buddle is really just a striker of complete last resort. There's not much to say here as these are three players who are not particularly young (Pearce at 26 is the youngest) and so probably not getting much better. These guys won't be starting in Brazil in three years so there's nothing for me to get myself all worked up about seeing as we don't have a trophy to play for until 2013 but yeah these guys are the groaners.

The Young Hopefuls
Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)
Edgar Castillo (Club America)
Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis)
Timmy Chandler (Nurnberg)
Bill Hamid (DC United)

And the rest. Hamid won't start, might get on the field to get cap-tied. I don't know if he is a dual-citizen, it just tends to be a safe assumption with American players. Hell, if I was good enough I'd have to be cap-tied too it just makes sense. Ream has already had a handful of caps and while he hasn't been great I think he has the makings of at least a solid central defender. It is of note that we have one goalie, one attacker and four defenders here. Defense is clearly our weak point and so the point where we need fresh thinking. Castillo should be decent, similar to Ream but I'm really excited about Chandler. A natural successor to Cherundolo and his Bundesliga crosses....everything we need in the team. Every team needs an exciting wingback and we've been hurting for a truly exciting one after Hejduk. Granted, Cherundolo is better than Hejduk in my opinion but he doesn't have the same pizzazz. Orozco Fiscal isn't exactly young (25) but he fits into Klinsmann desire to get a more Latin flair into the team. I honestly know nothing about this guy. He plays for a Mexican team whose name isn't super familiar to me and he played one season with the Union. And I guess he was on our last Olympic team. Alright then. Shea is the only relatively new guy in an attacking role, and he has been legit for Dallas thusfar and it will be exciting to see him start to feature for the national team, but given our glut of midfielders I don't expect to see him on Wednesday.

Well, that's the team. A lot of regulars, a lot of borderline players called up in replacement of missing players and then a handful of chances. I don't expect to see too much shaken up, but if there were to be something, maybe just one defensive midfielder. Given how Clark, Edu, Jones and Bradley aren't the world's most creative destroyers, you could be looking at just one of those on the pitch. I still think you'll probably see both of Jones and Bradley.

But in all honesty, there's some real quirks with this squad. It first off has one striker, and that striker is Edson Buddle. That is crazy. Donovan and Agudelo will probably be some weird forward combination upfront, but neither is a true striker. Agudelo is closer to one, but I think he is a better foil at this point. So we could be playing one striker up top (Agudelo), play both Donovan and Agudelo up top or in some way have Edson Buddle in the team. All of those options sound awful to me. Now, if Donovan is going to go a bit further back and placed on the right wing, we could replace Donovan in the second striker role with...Adu! I would be pretty excited with this, I want to see more Adu! Now if we put Donovan on the right, that would mean Beasley or Shea on the left...with which I would always want to see the young talent of Shea playing there. While I'd like to see Torres or Beckerman in the lineup, I'm so Bradley-fied that I can't imagine not seeing Bradley Jones in there, but I'd love to see Bradley Torres. For defense, Cherundolo on right, Bocanegra on left, and Ream and Castillo in the center, with Howard in back. I don't see the point of Pearce or Goodson as I really don't see either of them making any serious squad in the future so the future is now. So, something like this

Agudelo
Adu
Shea Bradley Torres Donovan
Bocanegra Ream Castillo Cherundolo
Howard

The final question is that of subs. Look, this isn't your usual friendly. This is against Mexico. This is one of the biggest soccer rivalries on Earth, particularly with national teams. There are no friendlies. I want to win this game no question. Way more than the usual friendly, I won't be happen with encouraging progress. I want a statement of intent. So, I don't know how much tinkering you should really expect to see. If my lineup is correct (highly unlikely), I'd like to see Edu and Jones see some action, along with Chandler and Beckerman. Granted how we named six central midfielders, all of whom have real potential to start for the national team, it's hard for me because I like all of them. Outside of the players I named in the lineup, Chandler is the only other player I'd really like to see. Maybe some Orozco Fiscal so I can get a better gauge on him as well. Either way, the only thing I know is I don't know care who starts, what is most important here is trying to get the win. USA!