FIFA World Cup 2010: The Future of The US Men's National Team, Part 2

(Note: This is part 2 in a 4 part series examining the future of the US MNT.)

Next up on our trip to the near future is the back line, which will experience the most change in the next four years.  Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, and Jay DeMerit, starters all, will be gone.  Their contributions this cycle were invaluable, but their ages will likely put them out of contention.  Clarence Goodson and Jonathan Bornstein may also find themselves out of the frame.  Realistically speaking, the only current starter that can be expected to make the 2014 roster, if healthy, is Oguchi Onyewu.  Whoever has the reigns of the MNT going forward will build his back line around the AC Milan center back.  Although he lost his starting spot to Cherundolo, West Ham United’s Jonathan Spector stands to inherit the position going forward.  His relative youth and the high level of play in the Premier League will help him make the spot his own.  All totaled, this leaves between three and five open spots for a new generation of American guardians to claim alongside the stalwart “Gooch.” 

At the head of the list of potential new troops is LA Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez.  The Dallas, Texas native began to appear on the scene as a member of the University of Maryland Terrapins squad that won the 2008 national championship.  Drafted by the Galaxy in 2009, he has already accumulated 45 starts for the club and notched a pair of goals in the process.  The ex-Terp was named the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2009.  His play of late has helped LA Galaxy quickly gain the reputation of having one of the stingiest defenses in MLS’ 2010 season.  As far as international service goes, Gonzalez was brought into the January 2010 MNT training camp in Carson, California.  Before that, he was active in the US youth system.  He appeared twice for the U-17 squad in 2005 and three times for the U-20s – scoring two goals in his service in 2007.  Standing 6’5”, Gonzalez will likely form a terrific aerial combination with Onyewu.  Gonzalez has surprising speed for a tall player, adding depth to his game.  Many smaller attackers would look to simply blaze past tall center backs on the assumption that they, by and large, take a longer time to turn around and pursue.  Gonzalez has the agility to negate that disadvantage, and is also very good positionally. 

Look for current Sporting Braga reserve center back Gale Agbossoumonde to be in contention, as well.  Agbossoumonde measures in at 6’2”, making him yet another power in the aerial game.  At 18 years old, he has plenty of time to grow and mature in the sport.  Born in Togo, Agbossoumonde and his family made it to the United States when he was 8 years old, settling in Syracuse, New York.  He spent time with the U-17 program as well as time at the IMG Soccer Academy.  He began his professional career with Miami FC in 2009, appearing six times.  At that point, he was loaned to Braga on a six month deal.  He has been involved in US youth teams for years, putting in 16 performances for the U-20 squad and helping the same team to a berth in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

As already noted, Jonathan Spector will hold down one outside back spot, but the left back position looks to be up for grabs.  A variety of names will be thrown about to claim this position, including Mexican league regular Edgar Castillo.  Castillo’s name rose quickly among the Yank faithful as the potential savior at the left back spot.  Possessing dual citizenship in Mexico and the United States, Castillo was disappointed that El Tri did not cap him in a high-level event.  He completed the soccer version of a defection to the United States in 2009 and first appeared in the MNT’s friendly against Denmark.  Castillo is an intriguing talent – he’ll be 27 during the 2014 World Cup and should have a wealth of experience from the Mexican  league (or others) by the first kick in Brazil.

  Standout MLS rookies Tim Ream and Ike Opara may also make the squad.  Ream would likely get a look as a young center back.  He’ll be 26 in 2014, and he has a promising career ahead of him.  Already a regular for NY Red Bulls, he has appeared 13 times in MLS in his rookie campaign.  At 6’1”, he has the size to shut down the aerial threat as well as the ability to stay mobile on the pitch.  Opara has seen similar success in MLS.  Playing for San Jose Earthquakes, Opara has put in seven MLS appearances and has scored twice.  Opara has more national team experience than Ream, however, having played on the U-20 team three times as recently as 2009.  Both Ream and Opara have the potential to make moves abroad if their MLS success continues, although as Landon Donovan has proven, you can still play in MLS and have national team success. 

MLS regular Kevin Alston of New England Revolution may also get a look at one of the outside back positions.  Alston has the ability to play either the right or left back spot and is only 22 now.  He has appeared 22 times since his rookie season in 2009 for the New England Revolution after a stellar college career as a Hoosier at the University of Indiana.  Alston (and his Cobi Jones-like hair) earned 17 appearances for the US U-17 squad between 2003 and 2006, and he earned a call up to the same 2010 training camp as Gonzalez.  It was assumed that he would get time in a friendly against Honduras, but a slight injury prevented him from earning his first senior cap.  Alston’s work rate is among the top in MLS – his motor simply doesn’t stop.  One could even say that he plays a little in the Frankie Hejduk mold. 

Other names to watch out for include Eric Lichaj of Aston Villa, an LA Galaxy pair in AJ DeLaGarza and Sean Franklin, and the young Parker Walsch who currently plays in the Bundesliga.

To make a very long story short, there is one new face who can be expected to make the national team in Gonzalez and a wealth of other new faces who will push for the squad in 2014.  Early indications of the future makeup of the squad’s back line may come in the 2011 January camp or during the 2011 Gold Cup.