(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Does he defend adequately enough? Is central midfield the proper place for him to be playing, or should we utilize him on the wing or as a striker?
No one knows these answers.
Hopefully the Gold Cup will shed some light on Adu’s game.
Other musings:
Landon Donovan needs to learn when to pull the trigger. He had a number of chances to shoot during different games, but didn’t.
He’s the captain and needs to take the initiative. PK’s are nice, but you cannot depend on getting them all the time.
Clint Dempsey still has some magic while in a U.S. uniform. He disappeared in the beginning of the tournament but really stepped up against Egypt, Spain, and Brazil to renew the country’s faith in him.
Jay DeMerit and Jonathan Spector did a great job during the tournament and could really complete a defensive line that had some questions.
And how many times did we hear “Sacha Kljestan is a player without confidence right now”? Too many.
I’m all for getting a guy’s confidence back, but if he is not believing in his ability and it is affecting his performance on the field, why is he subbed into the tournament’s final, against superpower Brazil, in a 2-1/2-2 game (he got off the bench when it was 2-1, but didn’t come in until after Brazil scored the equalizer)?
Overall, the tournament can be viewed as a success.
The team learned a lot over the course of these five games about themselves. They also were able to get familiar with the country and the stadiums, which is only an added bonus next year (provided they do indeed qualify).
They focus shifts onto the Gold Cup now, and hopefully the team can continue to improve and perform at a high level.
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