International Break Rewind: Best and Worse of

Apologies for the lack of posts following the Colombia game.  School got hectic.  But we're back at it today with a review of the full international break for the United States. 

First off, let's get a round of applause to Bob Bradley.  He certainly deserves it.   He defected away from the 4-4-2 and the 4-2-2-2 that was his linchpin for the last 2 years.  Against Poland we saw this:

4-2-3-1

-------------------------Howard

Cherundolo-----Onyewu-----Edu-----Bocanegra

---------------Bradley------------Jones

Holden----------------Dempsey--------Feilhaber

-------------------------Altidore


Here was the formation against Colombia:

4-3-3

-----------------------Guzan

Spector-----Goodson-----Onyewu-----Pearce

----------Bradley----Jones-----Edu

Holden--------------Altidore-------------Shea


Have to love the the changes from Bradley for these games.  He tried things out.  I don't think the 4-3-3 worked very well, but that had more to do with Stuart Holden and Brek Shea not really understanding the position as a true wide playing winger.  But seeing something different is always a nice breathe of fresh air.  A lot of people are calling the formation more of a 4-1-4-1, which it did kind of morph into because of the confusion from Holden and Shea.  But the official formation from US Soccer was a 4-3-3 so that's what we'll go with.

Lets talk stand-out individual performances from the two games:

Jermaine Jones- What a revelation he is.  He gives the US midfield a tough tackling, visionary, class central midfielder.  He immediately took responsibility of distribution from Michael Bradley and performed admirably, picking up an assist against Poland.  Really excited about his future.  Gold Cup 2011 will be his official coming out party.

Oguchi Onyewu- He's on his way back.  Still some rust, but you can see the physicality and the intelligence is there.  Just getting time now is his deal.  He may have to suck it up at AC Milan and take a loan somewhere.  The big hoopla about him not talking to the media is way overblown. 

Stuart Holden- Despite the confusion against Colombia, you can see that regular time in the EPL is changing his game for the better.  His vision and set piece delivery are spot on.  His tackling is what has impressed me the most however.

Eric Lichaj- A damn impressive debut for the youngster from Aston Villa.  He looked ready, strong willed, and ready to just try things, as evidenced by his attempted loft over the Colombian defender when he got forward.

Michael Parkhurst- After the debacle that was the Gold Cup 2009 final, Parkhurst reassured the US fans with a strong defensive performance against Colombia in the second half.  Deserving of more call ups.

Now for the sit down performances:

Brek Shea- Yea, yea, it was his first game, with completely unfamiliar players, etc.  However, he didn't even look like a soccer player.  He looked like a fan in a US kit who got lost on the field.  He's one for the future, but his 45 minutes showed little of what he is capable of.

Jozy Altidore- Sure, he scored the opener against Poland, but then failed to connect on goal with at least four other opportunities against Poland and then a stunning no show against Colombia.  His tantrums and carrying-on really need to end.  His yellow card is proof that he still has a lot of growing up to do.

Michael Bradley- Simply put, a terrible two games from Junior.  Everyone is allowed to have bad games, and thank god that Jones was there to clean up for him.  He'll recover.