Tuesday, July 27, 2010

NP's Mock Roster 2.0

After seeing the young but talented roster released by Brazil yesterday, I'll make a realistic roster of 24 players (the same number Brazil is bringing).  Here goes nothing.

GK(3):  Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Dominic Cervi (Celtic), Chris Seitz (Philadelphia Union)

DF(8): Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Daniel Williams (SC Freiberg), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Edgar Castillo (San Luis), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa)

MD: Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro SK), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Jose Torres (Pachuca), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabaek), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Bobby Convey (San Jose Earthquakes)

FW: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Hurculez Gomez (Pachuca), Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC)


Starting 11 from this list:

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

Spector-----Goodson-----Onyewu----Lichaj

--------------Bradley--------Edu

Holden----------------------------------Convey

---------------Altidore-----Gomez

Big names left off: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, DaMarcus Beasley, Jonathan Bornstein, Ricardo Clark, Jermaine Jones, Charlie Davies.  Why you ask?

Donovan just needs a break, plain and simple.  Dempsey needs to get settled with whoever his new manager will be, be that at Fulham or not.  Howard needs a break, no need to bring our number 1 across the pond for a friendly.  Bocanegra needs to get settled with his new club.  DeMerit and Beasley need to find new clubs, Bornstein is injured.  Clark has already turned a call up for this match to focus on his club.  Jones and Davies need to get regular playing time during the regular season to be sure that they are past their injuries.  Still, its a solid roster that should be able to compete with a young Brazil side.  The real roster is supposed to be released early next week...in typical USSF fashion, we must wait until the last second.

Brazil Announces Roster to Face the United States

Yesterday new Brazil manager Mano Menezes unveiled his first ever roster, the one that will face the United States on August 10 at the New Meadowlands Stadium.  It includes savvy veterans like Robinho and Daniel Alves and future/current stars like Alexandre Pato, Marcelo, and Ramires.  Here is the full roster:

GK(3): Victor (Gremio), Jefferson (Botafogo), Renan (Avai)

DF(8): Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Henrique (Racing Santander), Rever (Atletico Mineiro), David Luiz (Benfica), Rafael (Manchester United)

MD(8): Ramires (Benfica), Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Carlos Eduardo (Hoffenheim), Hernanes (Sao Paulo), Sandro (Internacional), Ederson (Lyon), Jucilei (Corinthians), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos)

FW(5): Robinho (Manchester City), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Diego Tardelli (Atletico Mineiro), Andre (Dynamo Kyiv), Neymar (Santos)