One thing Bob Bradley harped on last year with Chivas was strength in the middle of the field. Now that he's the US coach, he still has the same philosophy and has a pair of strong central defenders that will serve as anchors in the middle of the field.Carlos Bocanegra, a former Bradley player in Chicago, and Oguchi Onyewu are strong and experienced and one of the reasons why the US should do well in the Gold Cup.
Bocanegra is more polished and more experienced internationally than Onyewu but both players are capable of performing at the highest level. I expect to see other players in central defense throughout the tournament but Bocanegra and Onyewu will play together when it matters the most.
Onyewu still has to prove that he is worthy of international-level status (see Carlos Salcido)before people start making predictions about his "awesome" physical prescence.
ReplyDeleteUm, okay.
ReplyDeleteOnyewu clearly has a lot of upside and maybe at least to your liking hasn't yet proven his worth internationally but he was a key part of the US' 2-0 win over Mexico in September 2005. He did have a poor performance against the Czech Republic last year in the World Cup but clearly Gooch is a key member of the US.
Not sure what predictions you are referring to, either.
Salcido is a quality player, no doubt. But he was responsible for both goals against the US on Feb. 7. Just some food for thought.
I agree with you Luis. I think the 2005 game was a benchmark game for Onyewu, but being a top defender in Belium is not the same as having the impact that Salcido had at PSV or Marquez at Baca.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I meant by international-level. I make the comparison to those guys because they 're in the CONCACAF.
As far as the world cup, he was the invisible man. His performance was not worthy of the hype. Yes, he has upside, but he needs to play for a team that can better suit his physical gifts while enhancing his mental game. He looked lost at Newcastle (except the Liverpool game).