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The Keeper Pool
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| Troy
Perkins and several MLS keepers have stepped in when needed and looked
the part. In fact, there's a shorter list of failed MLS keepers
than successes. Something that hasn't made picking the third-slot
for National Team purposes any easier. JH-RnO |
Brad
Friedel's retirement from international duty turned an obvious answer
into yet another question for US National Team coach Bruce Arena.
Who takes the third keeper spot for next summer's World Cup? Yes,
we're taking two calculated risks here. The first is that the US
will qualify, and the second is that Kasey Keller and Tim Howard are
locks for the World Cup squad.
That leaves us with:
Jon Busch:
Out of nowhere from A-League backup to one of the better keepers in
Major League Soccer, but still not quite the level of some of the other
keepers in the pool. Age (he’ll be pushing 30 next summer)
and his current injury won’t help. Sure, you can say that
keepers last until their late 30’s, so why not give a guy a run
that will be an established veteran in 2010, but it’s still a
substantial risk.
Joe Cannon:
One on one he might be the best keeper in the pool not named Kasey
Kelller. Athleticism, timing, intimidation... Cannon has all of
those things and he's showing signs that he can really marshal a
defense the way you expect at international level. We’ve
already seen him takeover games this season, but in short tournaments
that isn’t necessarily a breaking point. He's also young,
something that should be a primary point as Arena considers the third
spot.
Jonny Walker:
Another injury, and a poor decision by his club to blame him for a bad
run late last season. Now with the Crew, Walker is in one of the
more opportunistic positions, a horrible club that might give him
enough 1-0 wins to remind people of his South American pedigree.
Walker is the best pure keeper in the pool, but the US has always
tended towards the best shot stoppers. Meola, Keller, even
Friedel, though Walker is much closer to Brad than he is Tony or
Kasey.
Kevin Hartman:
If you go by the statistics, there's no better keeper in the history of
Major League Soccer. Hartman's National Team experience is close
to nonexistent, and in a half vs. half with Jonny Walker in March of
2004 against Haiti, he didn't leave the field looking like the better
keeper. It's not likely we'll get to see him in an extended run,
allowed to build a comfort zone playing in National Team games.
That will keep him further down the depth chart than he probably
deserves, the Jason Kreis of the keeping pool.
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| Zach Thornton might have been the obvious young choice in 2002, but Bruce Arena opted for Tony Meola. JH-RnO |
Zach Thornton:
It’s worth wondering why Arena went with Tony Meola over Thornton
in 2002, considering he was in goal for the last Qualifier in the Fall
of 2001. For whatever reason, Thornton stayed home and it
hasn’t exactly been strength-to-strength since. The
months at Benfica ended up being irrelevant, and why he wasn’t
Henry Ring’s replacement near the end of the Fire’s
disaster of a 2004 season is a good question. He’s back in
that starting job, and the Fire are back among the MLS elite.
That should tell you enough about one of the best keepers in MLS
history.
Nick Rimando:
The obvious criticism is what found him on DC United's bench for a
significant stretch of last season. You can't teach height, and
combining that with conditioning issues could keep him out of the
picture altogether. That would be a shame, because Rimando is one
of the best shot blockers in the pool and is still young enough where
the third spot makes sense. He could be a factor for the 2010
team and there's a lot of upside in giving him the confidence that a
trip to Germany would bring.
Marcus Hahnemann:
It's worth noting that until very recently Hahnemann wasn't listed as
part of the Federation's player pool, wasn't included in their Yanks
Abroad update, and was basically considered a guy who has had some
success in the English Championship but not exactly National Team
calibre. Now, more than a few people have him penciled in as the
favorite to take the third spot to Germany... even if he was a late
addition to the Gold Cup squad and still only has four caps with the
last one coming two years ago against New Zealand. As odds-on
favorites go, he's not much of one. That could change quickly,
but it's still a long shot. On paper? Maybe, but Arena has
had ample opportunity to use him in the past and opted for different
players.
Brad Guzan:
Zero National Team experience and pushed into a starting role with the
worst team in the League. But he’s responded, improving as
much as any of the first year players and getting the kind of
admittedly negative experience that could turn him into a much better
player than watching from the bench. If Arena wanted to make the
bold move, this is it. Last time around, he disappointed most of
the younger keepers in MLS by going with Tony Meola. This time
around he could go in the opposite direction. Yes, that does send
the message to an entire generation of keepers that they’re
likely never going to play in a World Cup with Arena running the
show. But with three spots and five years, building up a 20
year-old who has the size and the poise to be an elite keeper might not
be the worst decision.
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| Round not Oval Is: Kevin
McGeehan, Bill Urban, Tony Edwards, Andrew Monfried, Jill Beauchesne, and
Jonathan Tannenwald. Pictures courtesy of International Soccer Images and
our staff.
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