By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Jul 10, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- If there’s any doubt whether Robbie Rogers wants to make the decisions on next year’s World Cup team complicated for United States coach Bob Bradley, that was put to rest last Saturday when he recorded a goal and two assists in a 4-0 US win over Grenada at the Gold Cup.
The 22-year-old Columbus Crew midfielder frightened Grenada’s defense on the left flank for much of the match, out-hustling players and reading plays in such a manner that those who have criticized coach Bob Bradley’s lack of depth over the past six months may have had second thoughts.
Rogers, however, didn’t appear interested in taking any credit for his goal and two assists.
“I had a lot of time to get the ball to them,” he said. “They did a good job of finishing it. As for the goal, I did a decent job of getting it in.”
Against Honduras on Wednesday, Rogers didn’t appear on the score sheet, but did a wonderful job of moving the ball up field and helped to create scoring chances for his teammates. On a night when several players -- including Santino Quaranta and Brian Ching -- stood out, it was Rogers who played like a one-man highlight reel. Unleashing quality crosses into the box and running at Honduran defenders with poise and agility, he simply isn't the kind of player to take the personal focus.
“It’s been a team effort,” he humbly said when asked about his performance. “We’ve accomplished what we’ve wanted at this tournament.”
Rogers has come a long way since his days as a budding college player at the University of Maryland. After completing his freshman year (and helping the school win the 2005 NCAA title), Rogers took the bold step of dropping out of school, waiving his college eligibility and signing with Dutch side Heerenveen.
When Rogers failed to crack the first team lineup, he quit and moved back to the US. Upon his return, Rogers was signed by the Crew in 2007 and was a member of the team that won the MLS Cup a year later. This season, Rogers has had a mediocre showing thus far, grabbing just one assist in 13 league games.
Although the California-native only made one appearance for the US senior side prior to the Grenada match (against Sweden in a friendly this past January), he was a regular on the Under-20 squad between 2004 and 2007, even playing at the U-20 World Cup in Canada alongside Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore. He started in all five games and recorded two assists in the process before the Americans crashed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals.
Rogers, who was named Man of the Match following the Grenada game, credited his time in residency camp this past January with helping him find the right chemistry with his teammates.
“That really helped,” he said. “We all put in a lot of work in those three weeks and it's been nice to come together and get some results."
Against Haiti on Saturday, Rogers is expected to start again and try to impress Bradley by turning in another stellar performance.
“I’m just looking forward to the next game,” he said. “We can still get better.”
Clemente Lisi is the author of “A History of the World Cup: 1930-2006.” Contact him at: CAL4477@yahoo.com
