US Under 23s ready for Olympic qualifying
Published 1/29/2008 6:55:02 PM by staff from espn
For all of the ups and downs that the various U.S. men's national teams have endured over the years, one constant has been their ability to qualify for the final stage of an international tournament. The senior national team has qualified for the past five World Cups. The U-20s have made it to six Youth World Championships in a row, while the U.S. has qualified for every U-17 World Cup. But there has been one team in the past decade that did stumble during qualification, and that was the 2004 Olympic team (the U-23 national team, not the men's national team, has represented the U.S. at recent Olympic Games due to changes by FIFA -- unlike the women's Olympic tournament, which still features women's national teams).
In 2004, a team that boasted the likes of Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey cruised through the group stage, but an unexpected hiccup on the part of Mexico saw the two bitter rivals meet earlier than anticipated in the semifinals, and with only two berths available to CONCACAF it meant that one of the region's heavyweights would be watching the Olympics from home. Spurred on by a boisterous home crowd, Mexico went on to thrash the U.S. 4-0 in a match every bit as one-sided as the score indicates. Four years later, the Olympic U-23 side, with men's national team assistant coach Peter Nowak at the helm, is aiming to right that wrong. The fact that the U.S. will play the part of hosts in the 2008 qualifying tournament should help their cause, but Nowak, he of the legendary intensity, is leaving nothing to chance, and that includes walking that fine line of reminding his players about the past without obsessing over it.
"Coach Nowak brought that up the first big meeting we had as a team to make sure that it doesn't happen again, and ... no matter who we play, to bring our A-game and prepare for the worst," said U.S. forward Charlie Davies. "That's why it's been really intense in training."
Midfielder Robbie Rogers added, "We all kind of think about [2004] in the back of our mind, but we're a new team, and we're trying to think positively and not look at that negative stuff."
As the team comes together, there are some reasons for optimism. While European-based players like Freddy Adu, Benny Feilhaber and Heerenveen goal-scoring machine Michael Bradley are not available during qualifying, the U-23 team still has some significant attacking talent. In addition to Davies and Rogers, the U-23s will be bolstered by MLS veterans such as Sacha Kljestan, Jozy Altidore and Arturo Alvarez.
Plus, many U-23 players have spent a considerable amount of time together on previous youth national teams, which is why the usual obstacle of developing cohesion and chemistry is less of a problem than usual.
"Everyone is really familiar with each other, and we've all been friends for a long time, so that part has been easy," Rogers said.
But there is one problem that is looming on the horizon, and it happens to be the same weakness that plagued the team in 2004: a lack of depth and experience in the center of the defense. In 2004, the Olympic team conceded a whopping 11 goals in five qualifying games, leaking three or more goals on three occasions. This time the team's MLS contingent of central defenders consists of Real Salt Lake's Nathan Sturgis and Houston's Patrick Ianni. Both are talented players, to be sure, but neither has been a consistent starter at the club level in the past, and a shortage of central defenders during the team's December trip to China forced Nowak to play nominal midfielder Maurice Edu in the back. Ironically, even as Mexico exposed the Americans' defensive frailties in 2004, the solution to the Yanks' problem may lie south of the border in the form of Michael Orozco. A native of Orange, Calif., Orozco has been getting significant minutes with Mexican side San Luis, starting 15 of 19 matches during the 2007 Apertura championship as well as the first two games of the current Clausura campaign. Such experience could prove invaluable during qualifying, but even if Orozco is everything that Nowak hopes he'll be, the team is only an injury or two away from needing Edu to reprise his stopgap role.
Help could come in the form of some European reinforcements; West Ham United defender Jonathan Spector could help bridge the experience gap in the back. The reluctance of European clubs to release their players makes that far from certain, and with the three overage players that the Olympic tournament allows not eligible for qualifying, Nowak likely will have to make do with what he has. This week's camp in Bradenton, Fla., remains the last time he'll get an up-close look at players before deciding upon the team that will begin the qualifying tournament in March. The players assembled are all intent on making the final cut, with Rogers admitting, "Everyone is probably feeling a little bit of pressure." The Columbus attacker enjoyed a strong finish to the MLS season, but he isn't relying on that to stock his reservoir of self-belief.
"You find confidence in training every day in doing the little things right and just working hard," Rogers said. "You have to build up your confidence with each team. ... Of course it helps a little bit when you score some goals, but other than that you just have to keep working."
Such an approach has long been a trademark of Nowak-coached teams. And if those lessons can take hold, especially on defense, the U.S. stands a good chance of burying the ghost of 2004.
Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPNsoccernet. He can be reached at eljefe1@yahoo.com.
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