The United States has announced that tickets will go on sale Monday for the Jan. 29 matchup in San Diego versus Serbia. Making that announcement was none other than Bruce Arena, back for a second go-around as boss and the no-nonsense manager showed what he was all about Friday with an unprecedented Facebook Q and A.
Arena took a number of fan questions and two things happened. One, the questions were quite good and two, Arena answered them honestly and thoroughly. Gone were the days of the U.S. coach lambasting the fans after getting thrashed by four goals.
He was forthright about the January camp, mentioning that players who were out of favor in the past like Benny Feilhaber, Darlington Nagbe, Juan Agudelo and Gyasi Zardes would be there. He also intends to bring in uncapped players like Walker Zimmerman, Keegan Rosenberry and Gambian-born Kekuta Manneh, with Chris Pontius of the Union also earning the right to go to the camp. Arena detailed how Perry Kitchen won't be there since Hearts is
The coach said there is hope that Clint Dempsey will be available for the camp while explaining that Boro backup Brad Guzan is the No. 1 keeper for the qualifiers now given that Tim Howard will still be recovering from surgery come March.
Arena didn't shy away from the tantalizing possibility that Christian Pulisic and Sacha Kljestan could play together in the middle of the pitch, suggesting a 4-1-4-1 as a possible setup. He said he was unaware of any new young talent in the pipeline, with the inference being that the player pool that the knowledgeable U.S. fan sees is the same one he does as well.
He provided details of his trip to Germany in which he visited with Fabian Johnson, John Brooks, Bobby Wood, Christian Pulisic and Timmy Chandler. Arena specifically mentioned Wood's stint off the bench in a match against Darmstadt and directly answered a question of where Johnson would play by saying that he asked Johnson the exact question: Johnson said he can play as a defender or midfielder but just wants consistency. Arena noted he would not be able to work with this group until the week before the Honduras match.
As for team performance, Arena indicated that he wants a minimum of four points from the home game against Honduras and match at Panama in March. Gone are the days when the U.S. coach says we are going to "take it to them" and loses by four on the road; this is Arena's pragmatism showing. He noted that Chandler and Jermaine Jones are suspended for Honduras, a match he termed "must-win." Arena also said winning the Gold Cup is important in 2017.
Other highlights: As far as fixing the team, finding a No. 10 is a priority for Arena as well as shoring up the back line by organizing it better. And that back line will comprise of players such as Brooks, Johnson, Geoff Cameron and DeAndre Yedlin so it's unlikely anyone from MLS will fill those roles.
When asked whether he would encourage players to play abroad or in MLS, Arena was non-commital yet made this interesting remark: "For me it makes no sense if a player is playing on a reputable club abroad and doesn't get on the field (for the U.S.)." Can this be read into Yedlin somehow going off the radar for our team yet featuring regularly for Newcastle?
When asked about relying on veterans for qualifying as opposed to young players, he notably said that using younger players makes more sense at home than in an away environment like Panama. Pulisic having ups and downs was specifically mentioned. You may recall that in the first two hex games, Pulisic started both the Mexico and Costa Rica matches; this blog felt that Pulisic should have been kept in reserve in Costa Rica - a tactic the shrewd home side used in bringing in Joel Campbell off the bench to shred us to pieces.
Leaving no stone unturned, the ageless DaMarcus Beasley will get a look in January. Matt Miazga, who recently scored his first goal in Europe, is not part of Arena's plans for now since the defender is not getting regular playing time at Vitesse. Arena said Columbus attacker Ethan Finley is playing well but not well enough to earn a shot in January.
In conclusion, there could not have been a more thorough evaluation of the state of the program and all the moving pieces involved and it could not have been done in a more professional manner. We encourage all of you U.S. fans to watch the Q and A and judge for yourself. This in and of itself should give us hope that 2017 will be a step forward after this past year made us a world laughingstock.
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