Happy New Year to all our readers and best wishes in 2011!

The past year was a big one for American soccer.  A good but not great World Cup run, a highlight goal from Landon Donovan, and the controversial rehiring of Bob Bradley after the World Cup.  A first MLS Cup win by Colorado, the signings of Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry by New York, but maybe more importantly the rise of young players like Tim Ream, Teal Bunbury, Juan Agudelo, and Andy Najar.  The retirements of Jaime Moreno, Brian McBride, and Taylor Twellman as well as the reinvigorating of Kevin Hartman.

And 2011 looks to be another interesting year, with MLS well represented in the CONCACAF Champions League as well as welcoming two new teams into the league.  Will LA be able to finally turn their strong regular seasons into an MLS Cup?  Will the young superstars continue their development while a very strong Superdraft be able to contribute right away?  And will the Eastern Conference, especially a healthy New York team, be able to even the playing field with a stronger Western Conference?  At the national level, can Bob Bradley begin to turn his Gold Cup team into the beginning of the 2014 qualifying team?

We here at MLS Talk are always looking to improve the site and make it the premier destination for discussions about American soccer.  The Gaffer, Randy, Daniel, and all of the MLS Talk contributers all contribute great content to the site, but it is never good to stand pat at a website.  So I open the floor to you, our dedicated community:

What content do you want to see from the site in 2011?

As part of the EPL Talk Network, we are a part of a number of great sites that present many different features for different leagues.  For example, EPL Talk contributer Jesse Chula offers a “Player of the Week” every week while Niccolo Conte at Serie A Talk has a weekly “Five Things” column, among many other features.  What kinds of new content would you like to see on the site in 2011?  Share your thoughts in the comments section, and we look forward to a soccer-filled 2011!

As we close the books on 2010 and go through our retrospectives (including MLS Talk’s own awards) I wanted to take a different look back on the year that was through a different lens: what if what happened didn’t happen, or vice versa.  Over the weekend I intend to take four 2010 events from American soccer and debate what would have happened if they would have turned out differently.  And the first one is a big one.

For those who don’t know, ESPN Classic has been showing World Cup games over the past few days as part of their best of 2010 series.  I had the pleasure of re-watching the Netherlands-Uruguay match last night, a game that saw incredible goals by Giovanni von Brockhorst and Diego Forlan in the first half, as well as the Orange advancing to the finals.  But to get to that point, Uruguay had to beat Ghana, who the previous round had beaten the U.S. in an overtime game that would only be surpassed by their next.  Would we have seen this Netherlands-Uruguay match-up had the U.S. beaten Ghana?

As a recap, Asamoah Gyan put Ghana ahead in the 93rd minute to beat the United States in a game that, for most of the contest, could have gone either way.  The two big U.S. failings in the World Cup (giving up the first goal and no scoring from the forwards) reared their ugly heads again in this one – Kevin-Prince Boateng netted the first goal in the fifth minute and the U.S. didn’t have a shot on target in the last fifty minutes of the match.  That’s not to say the U.S. didn’t have chances – Jozy Altidore (81st) had a great chance to put the Red-White-and-Blue ahead for good in the match, but continued his bad habit in the World Cup of pushing his shots wide.

But what if Altidore had converted late in the match?  Or if Maurice Edu would have connected on his header in the 98th minute, and the U.S. won the shootout?

While it may not have acquired the fame of the Donovan goal from the Algeria match, again all of the news broadcasts would have led with an American victory celebration in the World Cup.  If Altidore was the goal-scorer, it would have been the first goal by an American forward but, more importantly, might have given Altidore confidence that he could score in the World Cup going forward, and confidence is a powerful thing.  If it would have been Edu, we would be remembering Bob Bradley’s 31st minute substitution of Ricardo Clark for Edu as tactical brilliance, not another example of Bob Bradley’s roster mismanagement.  And Africa, the host continent, sadly would be eliminated from the World Cup a round earlier.

The United State’s next opponent would of course have been Uruguay and the U.S. would have rightfully been the underdogs.  But would beating Uruguay been outside the realm of possibility?  Consider Uruguay to that point.  They had conceded only one goal in their first four matches and were known for their defense, but their best win was against South Korea.  Their group turned out to be surprisingly easy, with Mexico their only real competition.  Their scoring ability was another matter – the U.S. would have had a hard time slowing down Suarez, Forlan, and Cavani.  But Forlan, who emerged as one of the stars of the World Cup, had seen his stock rising; he was not yet the unstoppable force.  And don’t discount Bob Bradley – after four matches he finally would have had the lineup correct and would not be making the Ricardo Clark/Robbie Findley mistakes again.  Jozy Altidore would have the confidence of a goal scorer, and the U.S. could have scored against the tough Uruguay defense.

So let’s take this a step further – what if the U.S. had beaten Uruguay?  In a sense, it may have been a better win than the Confederations Cup Spain victory, seeing as Uruguay would have been a huge match-up problem for the U.S.  But the U.S. would have advanced to the World Cup semifinals and added to the team’s mystique, gotten way more mainstream media attention, and helped soccer grow a little more in this country.  Maybe players like Altidore or Clint Dempsey would have joined Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan as the major U.S. stars in the 2010 Cup, and would have been sought after by the big-name clubs like Gyan and Boateng were.

Now let’s assume the favorites naturally advanced from this match.  This would have changed the World Cup in two big ways.  First, FIFA would have been deprived of the match of the tournament, as Ghana-Uruguay was settled in penalty kicks only after some incredible play by both sides and, of course, the Hand of Suarez play.  Speaking of Suarez, assuming he didn’t palm any American shots, he would have been eligible to face the Netherlands the next weekend.  Would having Suarez on the pitch be enough to help Uruguay beat the Netherlands?  While the Orange may have had a better starting eleven, Uruguay were playing well and adding one of their most dangerous scorers could have been enough to send the South American country to the finals.

What do you think would have happened had the U.S. beaten Ghana?

MLS has already announced its award finalists for the 2010 season and throughout the month will be slowly unveiling the winners of each award (congratulations Andy Najar and Donovan Ricketts).  On November 15, MLS will announce the Best XI for the year, and few things get soccer fans as excited as picking out the best players for an event or season.

I cannot say I am in the minds of the selection committee, but here is what I think the final results will be.  I selected the classic 4-4-2 for simplicity’s sake and because of the number of quality midfielders.  Agree or disagree?  Share in the comments section below.

Striker

Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy) – The now-capped Buddle was also my pick to win the MVP Award this year, and like I said in my award post, Buddle is truly deserving of the nomination and being included in the Best XI.  This season was truly a breakout for the striker as he became one of the most feared goal scorers in the country, just missing out on the Golden Boot.  His play was impressive enough for playing time in the World Cup.

Omar Cummings (Colorado Rapids) – The Colorado striker was a legitimate candidate for the MVP Award and deserved at least a finalist spot, according to Jeremiah and Richard.  What’s undeniable is that Cummings is a playmaker and has the quickness and skill to make him one of the most efficient scorers in MLS.  His 14 goals this season was his career best .

Midfielder

Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) – The face of MLS and one of the few players Don Garber would absolutely not let leave during the season.  This season Donovan led the league in assists with 14 and scored 7 goals in 24 matches.  If you saw his run in the second half of Sunday’s playoff game, you can see why he is one of the best players in American soccer history.

David Ferreira (FC Dallas) – The stats themselves warrant selection to this list: eight goals and ten assists this season.  But what makes Ferreira an MVP candidate is his ability to be the engine that runs the FC Dallas sports car.  Even when not scoring, Ferreira is the one creating chances and maintaining possession for teammates.  Maybe his team is not as reliant on him as the next player on this list, but he is without a doubt the face of his franchise and a superstar.

Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) – He won the Golden Boot, and probably that’s enough to be included on this list.  But amazingly he scored 18 of the team’s 34 goals and has been the offense the club needed to take the final playoff spot.  While maybe not the “best” player, he certainly is the most valuable to his club and what a breakout year he has had.

Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union) – Much like Wondolowski, Le Toux was an offensive machine for the expansion club.  He scored 14 goals and had 10 assists, scoring forty percent of the club’s goals.  He and Danny Mwanga form part of a good midfield for a bad team.  Another player that had a legitimate case for being an MVP finalist.

Defense

Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake)

Nate Borchers (Real Salt Lake) – Maybe it’s unfair to lump Olave and Borchers together, but they are two parts of a formidable defense for Real Salt Lake that allowed a league-low 20 goals, including only seven at home.  Olave also contributed five goals on the season, showing his prowess on set pieces.  Borchers was the rock of the defense as he led the team in matches played and minutes.

Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) – The reigning Rookie of the Year has made the next step in his maturity and became an integral part of the defense in front of Ricketts.  In addition to scoring two goals, Gonzalez also played in 28 matches and played the full 90 minutes in all of them.  The Galaxy defense overall had 12 clean sheets on the year and allowed 26 goals.

Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew) – It is kind of easy to list the two-time defending Defender of the Year as your pick, but Marshall truly is one of the best defenders in the league.  A starter against Manchester United in the all-star game, Marshall is the backbone of a defense that helped lead Columbus to the playoffs.

Keeper

Donovan Ricketts (LA Galaxy) – The newly announced Goalkeeper of the Year was a rock for the Galaxy.  He finished the year with 11 shutouts and a 0.90 goals against average, as well as helping the team capture the Supporters’ Shield.  Honestly, Nick Rimando is also a very viable candidate here, but I gave this spot to Ricketts because (a) he won Goalkeeper of the Year and (b) his club finished ahead of Rimando’s.

Today the US progressed, and not just to the next round of 16 in this World Cup. They progressed in the ranks of world football. Their status, their pedigree was elevated. How so? They did something that they as a nation have never done before. Something that Brazil, Argentina, Germany do in every World Cup. They set a goal, a plan, a mission, and they acheived it.

Going into this World Cup this US team felt that anything less than the round of 16 would be a failure. Now in comparison to the other giants of world football, advancement to the next round is a given, and going into a World Cup many aim for the semi-finals at least. But not for the US; they have never entered into this tournament and fulfilled their expectations. Round of 16 appearances in 1994 and 2002 were surprises, shocks. They caught the footballing world by surprise. They entered into World Cup 2006 with high expectations and failed miserably.

So here we sit in 2010, a known entity in the football world, expectations high, and now fulfilled. Now this doesn’t mean that we take our seat along the side of the world’s elite, not only do they acheive their footballing goals, but they do it tournament after tournament, and with class. In the big picture the round of 16 may be a small acheivement but it allows us to reach the point were we can look at the World Cup and say, “This is were we want to go in the tournament”and know that we can do it. We can look and say,”This is the result we need,” and know that we can attain it. It may take time for the class to arrive. Quaterfinals, semifinals, or even finals may come this year or in 20 years, but when the US mens team go to sleep tonight, they can all smile and think, mission accomplished. And when they wake up tomorrow, they can start on their next mission, Ghana.

With the news that controversial match official Koman Coulibaly has received a rating of “poor” after his expedited evaluation following his shocking display in the now infamous United States – Slovenia draw and is likely to be relieved of his World Cup duties on Monday it’s time we shift our focus to the United States’ final opponents in the group stage: Algeria.

This match will be different for an Algerian side that were content to sit back and play for a draw in their previous matches, something they did successfully against England, and if not for a goalkeeping howler would’ve done against Slovenia. [For an extended explanation of this, check out the excellent Zonal Marking.] This was done essentially by playing a seven-man midfield in-front off the bank of central defenders that protected the goalkeeper. Officially Algeria fielded a striker against England, Gladbach’s Karim Matmour, but he rarely contributed to the attack instead electing to stay back and help solidify the defensive effort. Algeria allowed their defensive wall slight breathers by sending wing-back Nadir Belhadj on barnstorming runs up the left hand side that exploited the gap occasionally left by Glen Johnson in England’s defense. This tactic will not work against the United States because unlike the other three teams, Algeria must win by multiple goals to advance.

Goal scoring has not been easy for Algeria in 2010, having only scored six times in eleven matches — three of which came against Cote d’Ivoire in a Cup of Nations match, with one being scored in extra time — so switching to an attacking formation will represent a seismic shift for the Desert Foxes. Much of the team’s attacking inspiration comes from Portsmouth man Belhadj who likes to fly up and down the left channel, as a result his forays forward could create holes in the Algerian defense that Bob Bradley should look to exploit using the pace of Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey. The three center backs often deployed by Algeria are all in excess of six-feet which makes it difficult to win aerial challenges but may open the door for a “fox in the box” type player such as Herculez Gomes.

Regardless of their opponent’s lack of attacking prowess, the United States must amend a glaring hole in their offside trap that has thrice been exploited in this World Cup — twice for goals, and once by an Emile Heskey effort that forced the best out of Tim Howard. A failure to rectify this flaw could be taken advantage of by a good creative player, and Algeria has one in the form of Karim Ziani who plays in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg.

Given Algeria’s focus on their spine this match could be an opportunity for the American wide players to prove their ability by getting balls in behind the Algerian wall to Altidore and either Gomes or Buddle, the latter two being in fine goal scoring form this year. It will be very important to test goalkeeper Rais M’Bohli often who despite his solid display against England has proven shaky at club level in the past.

This group has been anything but “easy” as predicted by an infamous British tabloid and the final ties of the group will show us the true quality of the teams involved.

Meh. Not exactly an inspiring performance.

Honestly this game was simply a chance for players on the fringe to prove their worth to Bob Bradley, and some may have, while some certainly didn’t.

Two of those players — Edson Buddle and Eddie Johnson — partnered each other upfront to start the match and had two very different evenings. While he didn’t score Buddle was consistently involved and showed a high work rate that had to impress the coaching staff.  Johnson, on the other hand, was largely invisible and did nothing to improve his already slim hopes of grabbing a ticket to South Africa.

Puebla’s Herculez Gomez was the other striker competing for a ticket and made the ultimate argument in his favor when he turned in Clarence Goodson’s header across the goal. Goodson had somewhat of an up-and-down night when following a solid first half he collected an assist and commited an absolute howler which allowed the Czech Republic to score their third goal of the night.

While Oguchi Onyewu had a night to forget, getting embarrassed on the Czech Republic’s opening goal, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was on the 23-man roster, in fact, I’d be shocked if he wasn’t. Given his level of fitness Onyewu simply couldn’t be held to the same standards as the rest of the team tonight and when fit he is still the top defender in the player pool.

Two players that did themselves no favors are Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce. Both left backs put in appalling shifts as Bradley continues to struggle to find a fit for the position. One of the two is going to wind up in South Africa and judging from tonight, Bornstein seems to be the lesser of two evils. Certainly defending will have to be a central focus of the remaining pre-World Cup camps.

Another fringe player, Maurice Edu, scored the opening goal of the night when he headed home Stuart Holden’s free kick but he also committed an error that allowed the Czechs to score their final goal of the night, though it is worth noting that he was playing out of position at this point.

Overall while the result was disappointing it did answer any remaining questions the coaching staff may have had about squad selection, and may have helped some bubble players, such as Gomez, find their way into the squad for South Africa.

Jozy Altidore is a wonderful soccer player from the neck down.  Unfortunately, he is gaining a deserved reputation as a player with a million dollar body and a ten cent brain.  Jozy needs to put away the twitter, stop with the silly antics on the field and become the outstanding professional he has the potential to be.  Otherwise, he is destined to become another American journeyman player in Europe whose only honors will be the Clint-Mathis-Memorial-What-Could-Have-Been Award.

Case in point was today’s game between Hull City and Sunderland.  Hull City is literally fighting for its survival, and if they had any chance of staying in the Premiership for next season, they needed to beat Sunderland at home today.  Three points were absolutely mandatory.  As Altidore took the pitch today, he knew that he needed to be sharp, poised and ready.  Hull have failed to test opposing goal keepers for the past few weeks, and with the striking corps weakened by the injury to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Hull were relying on their young American to play a critical role in the attack.

Near the end of the first half with Hull down a goal, Altidore and Sunderland’s Alan Hutton were challenging for a ball in the air.  As the ball was heading out of bounds, Altidore awkwardly jumped into Hutton and wound up on the turf.  Hutton felt that Jozy was being a bit too aggressive on a ball that was heading out, picked up the ball and threw it into Altidore’s back.

At that point, Altidore had a few options:

• He could have gotten up, stared at Hutton with a “Give me a f*&%ing break,” expression, and calmly waited for the referee to run over and give Hutton the card he clearly deserved. 
•  If Altidore really wanted to directly confront Hutton he could have run over to him with his arms tightly clasped behind his own back so as to make sure that the referee saw he had no physical intent, and referred to Hutton’s mother in a particularly anti-social manner.
•  Altidore could react like a complete loony and get himself sent off.

Altidore chose option three.  He went straight at Hutton and head-butted him, earning for himself a straight red and insuring that, with two games left in the campaign, Jozy’s season and likely his career at Hull are over.

The shame of it all is that, despite his one meager goal this season, Altidore’s play has improved tremendously.  He is holding the ball up much better than he ever has, and has become a far more difficult player to defend against.  His passing, control and hold-up play have all improved, and he is such a physical presence that, with his new-found skills, he is drawing a lot of fouls including creating several penalties for Hull.

However, all those skills are useless unless he can mature as a professional.  The USMNT’s last World Cup campaign was completely derailed by two red cards against Italy and a penalty call against Ghana.  International referees hand out cards at a higher rate than they do in England, and if the United States picks up cards this summer the way they did in last year’s Confederations Cup and 2006’s World Cup, they will be doomed.  Playing mature, intelligent soccer and avoiding cards goes hand-in-hand.  The US needs Altidore on the field and scoring goals, but cannot afford his unprofessional nonsense in South Africa.

Now that Hull is essentially relegated, the odds that they will buy Altidore’s contract from Villarreal are slight.  Instead, unless Altidore has a lights-out run in South Africa, Villarreal will struggle to sell Altidore or find a spot for him in their 2010/11 plans.  Altidore’s career looks set to hit a serious speed bump as he searches for a new team for next season.  He is being labeled the most dreaded of things – a “project.”  For Altidore to reach his potential, he needs to build up the muscle between his ears.  He has all the tools to be an outstanding player – but first he needs to work on becoming an outstanding professional.

UPDATE – Jozy has copped to losing the plot. “I’m so sorry about yesterday. Made a stupid, immature and costly mistake. I apologize to Hull City and the fans who I let down. I let my emotions get the best of me and lost my composure. Believe it or not this year playing for Hull was to date the best trip I’ve ever been on.”

In the aftermath of the United States’ 2-1 loss in Amsterdam to the Netherlands Wednesday, it’s time to start thinking about which 23 players will be on the plane that leaves Philadelphia on May 29 for South Africa and the 2010 World Cup.

Of course, coach Bob Bradley still has a couple of months before he has to name a final team. During that time, he’ll no doubt watch matches all over the world to help him decide on those last few roster spots.

Not being the patient type, I’m going to take a shot at it today. Now this is who I think he’ll take, not the roster I’d choose if it were up to me.

Just for fun, let’s assume that Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, Stuart Holden, Charlie Davies and everyone else on the injury list is healthy enough to make the trip. And let’s assume Jermaine Jones is not…

Goalkeepers

There’s no drama here. Barring an injury, it’s Tim Howard, Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahnemann taking up the first three roster spots.

Defenders

I think Onyewu and Jay DeMerit could start in the middle, pushing Carlos Bocanegra to left back opposite Jonathan Spector. Clarence Goodson, Steve Cherundolo, Heath Pearce and Jonathan Bornstein are the likely bets to grab the reserve slots.

Personally, I’d like to see Edgar Castillo or even Frankie Hejduk make the roster ahead of Bornstein, but I don’t see it happening. I don’t want to be overly critical of Bornstein’s outing against the Dutch, but when you concede a penalty that leads to a goal, get away with a clear hand ball in the box and have the ball deflect off you for another goal – it might be time to sit down for a while.

All of that said, his versatility and ability to play as a midfielder makes him an attractive roster option.

Midfielders

With 11 spots nailed down, let’s cast an eye to the midfield.

Landon Donovan and Dempsey are your starting wingers, while Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark are the likely picks for the central midfield.

I think Bradley will take nine midfielders and three forwards, since Donovan or Dempsey can play up front if necessary.

So the other five midfield spots will go to Holden, Maurice Edu, DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber and Sacha Kjjestan.

Now, we can debate the midfield all day.

I’d rather have Jose Francisco Torres over Kljestan, for starters. And I’m not sure I wouldn’t want Robbie Rogers or Alejandro Bedoya over the hot-and-cold Beasley, but I’m not married to that.

Actually, I thought Beasley was particularly good against the Dutch. It’s keeping him healthy that seems to be the lingering concern.

Forwards

Jozy Altidore and Davies are locks. I think Brian Ching is the other choice.

I know he’s not a sexy player. He can’t run like Robbie Findley or score in MLS like Jeff Cunningham.

But he’s an international player with seven years’ worth of experience in a national team shirt, and as a true target man, he provides a skill set that the two projected starters do not.

Of course, if any of our walking wounded aren’t ready, it opens the door for some other guys.

Let’s name them, too.

Last ones off

Torres and Kyle Beckerman are alternatives in the midfield, while the aforementioned Findley and Cunningham – along with perhaps Eddie Johnson – are additional forward options.

As for defenders, Castillo, Hedjuk, Frank Simek and even Jimmy Conrad could be on the waiting list.

It was a performance unlikely to show up on any clinic videos any time soon, but the United States notched a 2-1 win over El Salvador in a friendly Wednesday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Midfielder Sacha Kljestan snapped a 1-1 tie with an injury time goal after a nice give-and-go with Brian Ching.

What’s more interesting than the scoreline is having a look at who helped their chances the most in the continuing effort to make the 2010 World Cup roster.

Here are Wednesday’s winners in that regard:

Brian Ching – I thought he’d be on the plane anyway, but after scoring one goal and helping to set up another, I don’t see how Bradley can leave him off the roster? His competition – Conor Casey, Jeff Cunningham and Robbie Findley – did little to impress in the match, so I’m ready to declare him on the roster.

Of course, it’s not really up to me…

Sacha Kljestan – Scoring the game winner is enough to get him on this list, though in fairness, it must be pointed out that he missed on a few chances during the night.

But coming through when it matters most – injury time in a tie game – is a trait you’d like to have from a guy off the bench in a World Cup game.

Heath Pearce – Perhaps no player has risen higher and fallen farther than Pearce in the last year or so, but he looked dangerous going forward and solid in defense from his left back slot. I don’t know if he can muscle his way on to the roster, but he certainly didn’t hurt himself.

Post-match quotes (from the U.S. Soccer Web site)

Bob Bradley

“It’s important to say that decisions for Holland involve many different factors. In some cases we might have an idea that we want to see another guy play, so not bring in a player isn’t necessarily a statement that he has for some reason dropped down a little bit, just that we have two opportunities, this week and the next game to see some guys and we also recognize that we’ve had a number of these players away from their club teams a good amount in January, in the case of a guy like Clarence Goodson, because his team in Norway had actually started doing stuff. MLS guys, it’s just been this last stretch but we factor all those things in.”

“If you take injuries out and you hope that certain guys can rehab well, I think that there’s probably a strong nucleus of guys that we’ve seen throughout qualifying that hopefully are going to be there. Again, whether that group is 15, 16, 17 or 18 depends on the discussion at any point. Some days it’s high, some days it’s low and then we just need to continue to watch games and check out rehab and see how it goes.”

Sacha Kljestan

“I feel like in the January and February camps I tried my hardest just to get back in the team. And prove to myself, prove to the teammates and prove to the coaching staff that I want to be here and deserve to be here and can be a positive for the team. I think the game against Honduras wasn’t my best but I think tonight I played a little bit better and I hope to continue to get a chance to move on and be a part of the team.”

Brian Ching

“It’s a young team so to come back from behind is good for us. It’s a good learning experience and for a lot of guys, you could see their confidence build as the game went on. There were more and more chances we were getting at the end and everybody believed we could get the win. We went out there and we did it and I think it was a great game for a lot of guys to learn. Sometimes you’re going to be in a tough situation and I think we reacted well to it.”