Roque Santa Cruz PICS632

The fact remains though, that the US pool is extremely shallow. The poor play of Johnson and Wolff will force Bob Bradley to look for new forwards. The immediate player to whom Bob Bradley will look is Kenny Cooper. A former youth player for Manchester United, he currently plies his trade for FC Dallas. He has scored six goals in ten games, and is a big and strong player in the mold of Brian Mcbride. The US lack a true target forward and capable backups. When the Yanks do not have Donovan and Altidore available, they need to have players who can step in and score goals. Bob Bradley must look further into the US pool, and attempt to find some competent backups.The US was also outplayed in midfield. It was evident that Ricardo Clark does not have the ability to compete against the world's best. He made a habit of giving the ball away, and was not forceful enough in making his presence felt. Bradley played an insignificant game, making a few good challenges, but generally not being as assertive as a ball winning midfielder needs to be. Maurice Edu was a bright spot when he came in for Ricardo Clark. He covered a lot of area and didn’t commit the same sloppy mistakes that Ricardo Clark made. Bob Bradley might want to consider a Maurice Edu and Michael Bradley partnership in the center midfield for the game against Spain.Bradley also needs to look deeper at the left midfielder spot. Damarcus Beasley was not at his best against England. His set pieces were poor, and he generally struggled to make progress down the left side. Beasley is the best left midfielder for the US when he is on top form, but when he struggles, there is a need for a capable backup. Beasley might need a few more months to fully rehabilitate from a serious knee injury sustained in the Champions League final.

A few years ago, Bobby Convey could have fought for a starting spot. Now he is injured and a long way from duplicating his stellar play when Reading were promoted to the premiership. The best option appears to be Freddy Adu. His confident play, quickness, and flare make him a strong replacement for Damarcus Beasley. Beasley will be the left midfielder for the foreseeable future, but The Red, White & Blue need depth.The US must play the ball quicker. They could not play the ball fast enough to avoid the English, and often lost the ball because of it. England passed the ball fluidly from side to side, but the Yanks had trouble playing quick 3 pass combinations. Steven Gerrard’s goal was worked because of quick one-touch passing, and the US struggled mightly to use any form of one-touch passing at all. Without quick passing, the Yanks will never be able to compete against teams as good as England.
England was the resounding victor at Wembley, but the US should take its lessons learned and apply them to its upcoming games against Spain and Argentina, and the beginning of World Cup qualifying. The US is playing the best in the world to gain experience. Hopefully, the lessons learned from playing world class teams can be put to use so that the US can compete against any nation in the world.John Terry was named the captain for England today, for the impending friendly against The USA. He is the third captain to be picked in Fabio Capello's rotation sytem. He will choose a permanent captain at the beginning of World Cup Qualifying. Rio Ferdinand, and Steven Gerrard were the two captains, in the England's previous two friendlies against France, and Switzerland respectively. Terry received a much needed pick me up, after slipping on his game winning penalty, and clanking it off the post. Kickoff is set for 3:00 ET, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic, and Galavision. My prediction is that the US will win 2-1 and surprise England. You can refer to my article on why the US will win the game here.
Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini, looks to be on his way out of Milan. His agent has hinted that he will be making an exit. If he leaves, who will fill the void? Jose Mourinho is the top pick, but he also has been rumored to be going back to fill the same open position for Chelsea. We wha
Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Santa Cruz

Roque Santa Cruz