Bradley's Firing: Winners, Losers

Bob Bradley is gone from the US national team, and with his ouster and impending replacement, the national team figures to undergo change. Certainly this team will be different now that Bradley is gone, with some new faces coming in and some old faces gone.

Who stands to gain from the move? Who may find it difficult to maintain his spot on the team or get back onto the team?

Winners

* Maurice Edu. The one spot where the U.S. has true depth is at central midfield. Bradley seemingly has alternated with central midfielders throughout his tenure. Michael Bradley has been the lone automatic starter but at times the same label was given to Ricardo Clark and Jermaine Jones. Edu, however, might be the team's best central midfielder yet his time in the position was limited at best. Edu was solid when he came on during the World Cup but Bradley turned to Clark in the decisive match against Ghana, and Edu was all but passed over by Jones when he debuted for the team in 2010. Edu has his best chance now of locking down a spot on the First XI, a spot that should have been his awhile back.

* Chad Marshall/Heath Pearce/Todd Dunivant/Omar Gonzalez: The US defense is and has been miserable, but that does not mean there aren't any good American defenders. In Marshall, Pearce, Dunivant and Gonzalez, Bradley had four top MLS defenders at his disposal but rarely called on them. I have to believe that a Marshall-Gonzalez pairing flanked by either Dunivant or Pearce on the left would have done better than Goodson-Bocanegra and Bornstein did. Marshall has been the best defender in MLS over the last 5-6 years yet who gets called ahead of him? Tim Ream, who has not even done a fraction of what Marshall has in MLS. And who had a poor showing in the Gold Cup, bad enough to relegate him to the bench? Tim Ream.

* Mexico-based Americans: Jose Francisco Torres, Edgar Castillo, Herculez Gomez... all talents the U.S. can utilize yet none were effectively used by Bradley. Torres and Castillo have seemingly fallen off the map, and while the players haven't logged many minutes with their respective club teams in recent seasons, they were never given a clear chance of winning a spot on the US when they were at the top of their club games. A new set of eyes might feel it's worth a chance to give players who compete in a league that's better than MLS a shot of winning a spot on the national team. There is one obvious exception to this which I'll get into below.

Losers

* Jonathan Bornstein: Few could figure out why Bornstein was constantly given playing time when his play with the U.S. did not warrant it. Yes, the left back position is one of need but there have been other options throughout Bradley's tenure but few have gotten so much attention at that position as Bornstein. The former Chivas USA star had his moments with the team but overall his play has been shoddy, highlighted by his disastrous performance in the Gold Cup final last month.

* Sacha Kljestan: Another former Bradley player at Chivas USA, Kljestan also received more play with the US than warranted. Perhaps it was the potential Kljestan showed when Bradley drafted him fifth overall in 2006, or the potential he showed under Bradley that season or in 2007, but with the play Kljestan received it was as if he was being groomed to take over the position on a full-time basis.

* Oguchi Onyewu: "Gooch" was the defender of the future, the rock that would lead the U.S. into the next two World Cups. Then he got hurt. And then he struggled to find his form. Yet Bradley still insisted on keeping the mammoth physical specimen around as he took up a spot on the World Cup team although he was clearly not ready to play, and then took up a spot in the Gold Cup 2011 squad when again he was not ready for action. Onyewu will be fortunate to get another call to the team in 2011.

* Michael Bradley: It's tough to be the coach's son. A lot of the anger and darts tossed Bob Bradley's way hit Michael as well. Michael was in a no-win situation. No matter how well he played, it was never good enough. Michael has scored in some very important games - against Mexico in a 2009 World Cup qualifier (both goals in a 2-0 win); versus Slovenia in the World Cup and against Mexico in the Gold Cup final last month. Yet his goals were never good enough to appease his critics, who wanted both him and his father gone. Now, Michael may very well retain his spot on the team but where he comes up short is in the mental part of the match. His father was sacked, and I have to believe that will affect him. Perhaps not in the long run as much, but he needs to impress the incoming national team coach instantly, and if he's not in the right frame of mind right off the bat, his chance to do so could be done with.

Agree? Disagree? Anyone I left off of either list?

Sacha on the loss

I had the chance to talk to Sacha Kljestan after the match and asked him what he thought about Preki saying that Sacha's mind was already on the national team.

Here's the audio of our conversation.

Sacha leaves for US duty early Wednesday and will be with the team for the games against Cuba and Trinidad. I also asked him about Cuba, but you'll have to wait for that audio.

Sacha's last pre-Olympic clip

Well, maybe he'll talk to other reporters and maybe they'll put the audio up on a blog or site somehwere. Until that happens, though, here's Sacha Kljestan before he departs for the Olympic squad.

Sacha was disappointed about the result as everyone else on Chivas was. He felt they played well enough to win. Now, though, he can start thinking about China and the Olympics and all that good stuff that goes along with that tournament. It's a special time for him and the rest of the squad and now they get to enjoy it all.

Still, he was upset about not winning. The Olympics didn't take away from that.


Here's the audio.

Who gets the American Dream?

There are classic feel-good stories that are designed to give people an inspirational uplift that might even last more than a day. There are tales that warm the heart.
Sacha Kljestan's Karate Kid celebration, done in honor of his father, Slavko, definitely takes on greater meaning when viewed in the context of their close relationship and Slavko's soccer past.
There are aspects of this story that bother me, though.
I'll admit that it might be tied up with my own O.C. experience. I lived in the area for two years.
Slavko Kljestan, as the article details, entered the U.S. illegally. He stole across the northern border instead of the more commonly crossed southern one, but he didn't have papers, not even when he married. The article hammers home the theme that Slavko and his family have achieved the American Dream.
It strikes me as something of a contradiction when there isn't a mention of the obvious fact that many in the U.S. are now engaged in a furious effort to deny that dream to those trying to achieve it by coming in from Mexico.
By the way, there's a good chance that a future Olympic athlete could very well come from that direction as well.
In fact, that point is already proven by Michael Orozco, Sasha's teammate on the U.S. squad. Michael was born in Orange, a city within the O.C., but there's no O.C. Register profile on him or even a mention of his Olympic inclusion (I realize that Sacha's article was published before the official Olympic roster came out, but I did a search on the OC Register site today for Michael's name and nothing for him came up. So as far as their own database reveals, they've never written about him).
Bottom line, there's a lot of people who view the U.S. as the place where they can make "something from nothing". However, there sure seems to be more acceptance for those who take the initiative to come here without permission if they're European.

Kljestan on match

Sacha Klejstan likely played his second-to-last game with Chivas USA for a while. Later today, he will probably be a part of the United States' Olympic roster.

If that's the case, he's going out with a bang.

Sacha served up a perfect ball to Ante Razov, who did what he does best and buried the ball in the back of the net for the only goal in Wednesday's 1-0 win over Santos Laguna.

Sacha had probably one of his better performances of the season. Though his finishing skills and killer instinct need improving, Kljestan is a fine player nevertheless. The hope is he'll round out his game soon enough.

Anyway, here's Sacha from after the match on Wednesday.

Practicing corners

Chivas USA ran through a spirited training session on Tuesday. The club played a intra-squad scrimmage for maybe 30, 45 minutes or so, and among the things the club worked on were corner kicks.

I managed to snap a few pictures of the players as they tried to sort out their positions on these particular corners. One thing I realized was that Sacha Kljestan can jump pretty high.

Okay, well, here's the quick description:

Jesse Marsch seemed to try and sort out the order during the corners and I'm not sure if Sacha Kljestan decided to go somewhere else or if he just did what he felt was best but Sacha camped out on the near post on these pictures. He got some air on the first one, leapt high on the second but didn't put either of these attempts on frame.

Sacha at the presser

Sacha Kljestan - I actually wish I had tape of his conversation with the media after the presser. he was telling stories about playing soccer years ago with Robbie Rogers "He's like a little brother to me.", and of being one of the shortest on his team all through his youth until a late growth spurt freshmen year, where he grew inches in a matter of months. It actually cost him for a while in soccer, because he was so awkward with his new body. "I couldn't figure it out, how to move, and I got dropped from the State team." and of wanting to play his way on to a starting sport in the Olympic Team. "I've got to make it hard for Peter not to pick me." He also mentioned how much he loves playing in Giants Stadium, which is rare among MLS players, who generally hate the turf. Apparently, Sach has a lot of good college memories there - the Seton Hall players would scrimmage the MetroStars. Sacha also mentioned Amado Guevara as one of the players who was nice to the college visitors.

Karateka Kljestan

Sacha Kljestan scored a game-winning goal on Saturday and celebrated by punching and kicking his way toward a group of DC supporters.

I asked Sacha after the match about the goal celebration.

Same old thing. You guys have seen the karate. The other fans like to talk and they don't appreciate me going up to them but I like to celebrate with my team and celebrate how I feel after I score a goal. Obviously I'm very pumped up so it's exciting.

I then asked him about the inspiration behind the karate-style celebration. I had pondered everything from Spongebob and Sandy to Bruce Lee. Turns out it was Daniel-san and Miyagi-do Karate all along, albeit indirectly.

The Karate Kid was always something that my dad did when he was playing in men's leagues. I always kind of did it as a tribute to him early on and now it's kind of stuck. Everyone says it's my trademark so I guess I've got to keep doing it.

Guess who's back?

Sacha Kljestan served his suspension on Sunday and will be available for Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Said the Chivas USA standout about facing the rival Galaxy: "I don't enjoy beating anyone else better than I enjoy beating the Galaxy."

Sacha suspended

Sacha Kljestan has been one of Chivas USA's best players this season, but his late red card against Columbus put a damper on what was a tough loss for the club.

Here's audio of a little chat I had with Kljestan about his red card and missing the FC Dallas match.

Captain K

Sacha Kljestan will be central to the United States' Olympic hopes. He's heading out soon enough with the team so I took the opportunity to talk to him out at camp the other day. I might not have the chance to talk to him until after the qualifying tournament.

Here's the write-up I did for MLSnet.com.