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USMNT for 2018 WC

The anti-Bradley brigade in this WC was maddening. Did he play well? Not really - but again, by his lofty standards. Without him, though, we would not have escaped the group. I'm not sure how he was deployed best fits our team, but I do know one thing: he is and remains our very best player and, along with Timmy, our most indispensable.
 
A little write up on Gedion Zelalem for folks that might want more info:

First about the player: He is probably the best young prospect at Arsenal in at least 5 seasons. His star blossomed last summer during the Asian preseason tour where he showed incredible technical and passing ability. They were playing against dumb Asian teams but he legit looked like a savant. GZ plays a deep lying midfield playmaker who can unlock defenses via the pass. He played most of the season with the Arsenal U-21s to good reviews, although he did suffer from various injuries throughout the season. He's pretty small and skinny so injuries are definitely a concern til he (hopefully) gets stronger.

Promoted to the Arsenal first team at age 16, debuted in the FA Cup in January with the first team at age 16. Arsenal fans (with no connection to usmnt or germany) pretty universally view him as the next big superstar. Multiple Arsenal players (Wilshere, others) have called Zelalem a nightmare to play against in training.

Country affiliation: GZ has 2 Ethiopian parents. He was born in Berlin and lived there ages 0-8. His family then made a permanent move to the USA and GZ grew up and played soccer in DC area in USA ages 9-15. At that point he was discovered by Arsenal and moved to London.

While he was on the USA radar because he lived here and is so so good, it was thought that GZ was a huge long shot to ever play for the USA because he isn't/wasn't a citizen (in fact no one in his family is a US citizen). The path to him getting citizenship would also be complicated by the fact that would have to renounce his EU citizenship and get a work permit for Arsenal which could be tricky.

But then a couple months ago Steven Goff at Wash Post broke a story that GZ's father was taking all the necessary steps to become a citizen and that by some obscure year 2000 law no one really knew about that GZ could become a citizen as well with his father because he is under 18. Since then Klinsmann has confirmed GZ is a #1 target. GZ's father also posted on facebook after the Ghana win a picture of himself in a USA soccer jersey.



Cliffs: I would consider Julian Green to be a 4 star recruit - really promising young player but Germany alone has many more 18-20 year olds at his level. Zelalem is a legit 5 star, I don't think there are too many 17 years in the world Arsenal would trade him for. If the USMNT wants to have an elite world class player this is probably the best bet. 6 months ago I would said the odds GZ played for the USA at 5%. Now I would say 60-70%.
 
siff said:
The anti-Bradley brigade in this WC was maddening. Did he play well? Not really - but again, by his lofty standards. Without him, though, we would not have escaped the group. I'm not sure how he was deployed best fits our team, but I do know one thing: he is and remains our very best player and, along with Timmy, our most indispensable.
Click to expand...

Bradley hate is what you get when baseball fans try to analyze soccer
 
Bradley showed how important he was when he was hurt within the last yr and the whole team was off.

he just didn't seem to be playing at his "normal" level for much of the Cup.

just an observation but will admit to not being an X's and O's person.
 
I have absolutely no idea where this came from or what it means, but its out there...

@DeutschFootball 5m: #AFC starlet Gedion Zelalem was back in training today. German-born midfielder looks set to choose to play for USA...
 
Screamindemon3 said:
I have absolutely no idea where this came from or what it means, but its out there...

@DeutschFootball 5m: #AFC starlet Gedion Zelalem was back in training today. German-born midfielder looks set to choose to play for USA...
Click to expand...

ok so false alarm, nothing new

@DeutschFootball now: no quotes as of yet but his withdrawal from DFB youth team last season was a sign. Details here http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/s.../02/arsenals-zelalem-nearing-u-s-eligibility/ …
 
Don't know that this belongs here or the transfer thread or the MLS thread but Jermaine Jones hints at making a move to MLS on twitter/instagram.

Jermaine Jones ‏@Jermainejunior 12m
S/o & Thanks for the support from the Fans in US and in Brazil AMAZING!!!������ maybe we see us in MLS �� http://instagram.com/p/p_sI9uqGeC/
 
siff said:
The anti-Bradley brigade in this WC was maddening. Did he play well? Not really - but again, by his lofty standards. Without him, though, we would not have escaped the group. I'm not sure how he was deployed best fits our team, but I do know one thing: he is and remains our very best player and, along with Timmy, our most indispensable.
Click to expand...

I think some of the frustration is that if Bradley had been GREAT (which he is capable of being) we could be in the quarterfinals right now with potentially 3 wins to our credit. I am on the low end of soccer knowledge, but it is clear even to me that he is one of our best players. From my novice point of view I put him as the 4th most effective player for the US this WC.

1. Timmy
2. Dempsey
3. Jermaine
4. Bradley

Yedlin was by far my favorite player of the cup. It seemed that whenever he was in our opportunities increased. He created mismatches on the outside, and was fast enough to get back into position on defense when the play broke down on our end. I am really excited to see him develop as a player. I think he could be a real difference maker for USMNT.
 
I'd put Besler and DMB above MB4 for the tournament. Bradley's touch was god awful on so many short passes in the mid. The assist was gorgeous, but he had so many more lapses in touch or creativity throughout. Hard to judge him against players in other positions, especially with him playing at such a vital position.
 
Well, there's this regarding Zelalem:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/wp/2014/07/03/50-random-thoughts-from-the-2014-fifa-world-cup-in-brazil/

"44. Oddly, the No. 1 story on The Post’s sports site for a spell this week was my blog item from two months ago about Arsenal’s Ethiopian-German-American teenager Gedion Zelalem nearing U.S. eligibility. (To the best of my knowledge, he got it.) Family and confidants remain mum, but with the U.S. World Cup campaign over and a new cycle starting, confirmation can’t be far away."


It's speculation, but it's from the guy who broke the original story.
 
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