You're an American, I'm sure you know that we qualified for the Olympics in both Men's and Women's soccer. Both teams are contenders for a medal, the women more so than the men of course.The futblogosphere is buzzing because the olympic rosters are due soon. Who's in? Who's out?
The US women's roster was announced yesterday. It features the usual suspects, with some notable but unsurprising absences. GK Brianna Scurry, in her late thirties, is probably out of the national team picture for good now. Maybe a few more friendlies to end her stellar career. She is replaced by Nicole Barnhardt as the backup for Hope Solo. Two players - Cat Whitehill and Leslie Osbourne - are recuperating from ACL surgery and won't make the trip either.
Here's who's going to Beijing.
The men's roster isn't due until late July. Coach Peter Novak and his new assistant, Josh Gros, will have to choose carefully. The base roster will look something like this:
But expect surprises. The coaches have to take into account injuries, form, European pre-season, WC qualfying, and of course the roster rules, which require all players to be under the age of 23, with three exceptions.
So which three senior players will go to Beijing? What will the rest of the roster look like?
GOALKEEPERS: Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Hope Solo (Richland,
Wash.).
DEFENDERS: Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis,
Mo.), Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant,
N.J.).
MIDFIELDERS: Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Heather O'Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.).
FORWARDS: Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Amy Rodriguez
(Lake Forest, Calif.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).
Alternates: Scurry, defender Ali Krieger, midfielder Kacey White and
forward Lauren Cheney.
The men's roster isn't due until late July. Coach Peter Novak and his new assistant, Josh Gros, will have to choose carefully. The base roster will look something like this:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Chris Seitz (Real Salt
Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): Hunter Freeman (New York Red Bulls), Kamani Hill (Vfl
Wolfsburg), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Jonathan
Spector (West Ham United), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne
(Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie
Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas
USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
But expect surprises. The coaches have to take into account injuries, form, European pre-season, WC qualfying, and of course the roster rules, which require all players to be under the age of 23, with three exceptions.
So which three senior players will go to Beijing? What will the rest of the roster look like?
I wasn't able to entice anyone to comment on this post.
ReplyDeleteAlright, my three senior men would be:
* Brad Guzan or Matt Reis to play GK
* Bocanegra to anchor the back line - any of the other central defenders could also be chosen: Onyewu, Califf, Conrad...
* If Altidore plays, then we want an experienced and quick midfielder to complement him (Donovan, Dempsey, Beaseley). If Altidore does not play, we need an accomplished forward: Dempsey, Ching, Twellman, Cooper.
To simplify: it's Guzan, Bocanegra, Dempsey.
Onyewu, Dempsey, Howard
ReplyDeleteAll three still need more games under their belts to get experience for the World Cup.