Monday, February 27, 2006
Will He Make The Team?
Check here for postings regarding the latest team roster developments of "fringe" players.
Fight Club: Rising star Clint Dempsey has been suspended from the New England Revolution for two weeks, according to the Boston Globe. Dempsey has been targeted for the starting 11 in Germany by many so I doubt Bruce Arena will do anything but chalk this incident up to a transgression of youth. But the last thing anyone needs in Germany is a player getting sent off due to a hot temper. Consistent boorish behavour could put Dempsey back on the fringes of the national team. (Bostrom 3/14)
Machester United's Giuseppe Rossi was born nineteen years ago in New Jersey and continues to push United's talented front line of Rooney, van Nistelrooy and Saha for playing time. So far, Rossi has been limited primarily to reserve team action but has been scoring at such a prolific rate that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recently admitted his time on the first team isn't far away. In fact, Ferguson thinks so highly of Rossi that he's unwilling to part with Rossi on a loan. With Eddie Johnson's and Josh Wolf's lukewarm performances this spring, Rossi would have been a likely candidate for significant playing time in Germany. However, Rossi has shown little inclination to join the U.S. Men's National Team and has turned down invitations from Bruce Arena to train with the team. He's opted to wait for a call from Italy, the birthplace of his parents and his home since he was 13. Since natural goal scorers are such a rare commodity, it's tempting to begin obsessing about Rossi' snub of the U.S. But he certainly merits a post of his progress while he awaits a call up from Italy...that may never come. (Bostrom 3/3)
Claudio Reyna is a lock to be on the team...but his health is another matter. His importance to the team and the midfield might merit a dedicated blog to track his daily health. I'll leave that to someone else but I'm happy to report Claudio and his recovering ankle played 59 minutes in a reserve team game for Manchester City this week. Now if John O'Brien would only get healthy enough to play in a scrimmage... (Bostrom 3/2) Good news: Claudio goes 81 minutes over the weekend and helps sack the Sunderland coach with a Manchester City victory. (Bostrom 3/6)
Brad Friedel has just backstopped Blackburn into the top five of the EPL...a remarkable achievement. I don't think anyone would argue with his name being added to the WC team at the last second. Of course, he would have to "unretire" from international play, but if I were Arena I'd certainly place a call to his cell. It won't happen, but it should. Nothing against any of our other keepers, but who would you want to go into the game if Kasey went down with an injury? (Bostrom 2/28)
Longshot Chris Armas will reportedly join his Fire teammates in preseason training in California in March as he progresses in his knee rehab. After missing the '02 WC due to a knee injury, Armas is a sentimental favorite to sneak onto the '06 roster. Since Bruce Arena has a bevy of defensive midfielders, Armas has little time to prove he's healthy and a better choice than current players. (Bostrom 2/27)
Fight Club: Rising star Clint Dempsey has been suspended from the New England Revolution for two weeks, according to the Boston Globe. Dempsey has been targeted for the starting 11 in Germany by many so I doubt Bruce Arena will do anything but chalk this incident up to a transgression of youth. But the last thing anyone needs in Germany is a player getting sent off due to a hot temper. Consistent boorish behavour could put Dempsey back on the fringes of the national team. (Bostrom 3/14)
Machester United's Giuseppe Rossi was born nineteen years ago in New Jersey and continues to push United's talented front line of Rooney, van Nistelrooy and Saha for playing time. So far, Rossi has been limited primarily to reserve team action but has been scoring at such a prolific rate that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recently admitted his time on the first team isn't far away. In fact, Ferguson thinks so highly of Rossi that he's unwilling to part with Rossi on a loan. With Eddie Johnson's and Josh Wolf's lukewarm performances this spring, Rossi would have been a likely candidate for significant playing time in Germany. However, Rossi has shown little inclination to join the U.S. Men's National Team and has turned down invitations from Bruce Arena to train with the team. He's opted to wait for a call from Italy, the birthplace of his parents and his home since he was 13. Since natural goal scorers are such a rare commodity, it's tempting to begin obsessing about Rossi' snub of the U.S. But he certainly merits a post of his progress while he awaits a call up from Italy...that may never come. (Bostrom 3/3)
Here is a Link about Rossi's history
Claudio Reyna is a lock to be on the team...but his health is another matter. His importance to the team and the midfield might merit a dedicated blog to track his daily health. I'll leave that to someone else but I'm happy to report Claudio and his recovering ankle played 59 minutes in a reserve team game for Manchester City this week. Now if John O'Brien would only get healthy enough to play in a scrimmage... (Bostrom 3/2) Good news: Claudio goes 81 minutes over the weekend and helps sack the Sunderland coach with a Manchester City victory. (Bostrom 3/6)
Brad Friedel has just backstopped Blackburn into the top five of the EPL...a remarkable achievement. I don't think anyone would argue with his name being added to the WC team at the last second. Of course, he would have to "unretire" from international play, but if I were Arena I'd certainly place a call to his cell. It won't happen, but it should. Nothing against any of our other keepers, but who would you want to go into the game if Kasey went down with an injury? (Bostrom 2/28)
Longshot Chris Armas will reportedly join his Fire teammates in preseason training in California in March as he progresses in his knee rehab. After missing the '02 WC due to a knee injury, Armas is a sentimental favorite to sneak onto the '06 roster. Since Bruce Arena has a bevy of defensive midfielders, Armas has little time to prove he's healthy and a better choice than current players. (Bostrom 2/27)
