Thursday, June 26, 2014

Courtesy of Alejandro Bedoya's camera...



See ya soon, Belgium. With our shirts on.







 - Greg Seltzer

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7 comments:

Matt said...

Greg: how much of a revelation has Beckerman been during this tournament? There were A LOT of folks claiming that he couldn't hack it at this level, and now I see many pundits claiming he's become the glue that keeps the whole defensive shape together.

Is he a much better player than everyone thought, or is this a function of the right guy for the right job.

June 26, 2014 at 7:03 PM
Jacob Klinger said...

I know you didn't ask me, but I think it's a product of him being the right guy for the job he didn't get to do often enough on his own.

When Klinsmann's rolled out the 3-CM 4-3-3 in the past, the deepest line in midfield was often shared by Beckerman and central midfielder. Now Jones and Bradley play in almost a 4-1-4-1 and Beckerman clearly know that the turf between the back line and midfield is his entirely. And he's owned it.

That said, some of the touches he's managed to switch fields and open up space when the U.S. is caught in possession have stopped me dead.

June 26, 2014 at 7:07 PM
Greg Seltzer said...

I think he is both raising his level and the right guy for the right job.

June 26, 2014 at 7:08 PM
Matt said...

Good to see him get some recognition. I freely admit I had my doubts, but he seems like a stand up guy and very much at home at this level. Plus he seems like EXACTLY the kind of calming presence we need out there.

June 26, 2014 at 7:17 PM
Sanjit said...

He's like the anti-Ricardo Clark.

June 26, 2014 at 10:12 PM
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
June 27, 2014 at 1:28 AM
Unknown said...

If Jones can't recover from his broken nose as well as Dempsey has, I bet we see the 4-4-2 Diamond rear its ugly head again.

Greg, I'm starting to see the light now, I must admit. Bradley should not be put in such advanced positions. He's a DM, not a CAM. I'd personally like to see a normal 4-4-2 vs Belgium, or a 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 with Dempsey trailing AJ or even Wondo.

June 27, 2014 at 9:41 AM

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