retired_Siouxsie

I've started a career as manager of the US National Team. The game starts in Feb of 2004 (MLS Start date). Leagues playing: MLS, English Champ an up, La Liga, Serie A, Germany, France, and Portugal. Using meduim database.

It's my first try at a story so be nice. I'll try to use what i've seen from other threads, and make this as good as possible.

BarryLFC

An interesting idea, most people try to make their stories as bad as possible. Or so it seems...

retired_Siouxsie

Here are the top 50 players in the national pool in my opinion. These are the guys I will use in qualifying for the next few years, the gold cup in early 2005, and hopefully in the 2006 World Cup if I get there. They will be listed by position, and by current ability.

Goalkeepers:
Brad Freidel- 33 year-old Blackburn man who starred at the 2002 World Cup, saving 2 penalty kicks during the group stage, and almost single-handedly advancing the U.S. through the group stage. He will start the early qualifiers at least, but he has stiff competition from Tim Howard and Kasey Keller.

Tim Howard- 25 year-old Manchester United gk has a great future, but I have a hard time trusting him this early in his international career. He will most likely be the keeper in Germany if he continues to improve in Manchester. Second in line as of now.

Kasey Keller- 34 year-old finds himself backing up Englishman Paul Robinson at White Hart Lane. Nothing spectacular, but you know you can trust him not to make a critical mistake. He’s 3rd in the order as of now due to declining skills.

Others: Nick Rimando, Zach Thornton, Marcus Hahnemann, Kevin Hartman, and Johnny Walker.

Defenders:
Eddie Pope- 30 year old who plays for the Metrostars of the MLS. He never got a chance in Europe although he is one of the best central defenders around. The best American defender of all time. Can play on the right side as well, and he should anchor the defense for a few more years before Spector takes over.

Carlos Bocanegra- He’s a 24 year-old defender who can play the middle or the left side. Fulham is his club team where he was bought from Chicago of MLS. Valuable player in the defense.

Steve Cherundolo- 25 year-old who plays in Germany, primarily as a right-sided defender. He is also capable of playing the right midfield position, and will be very valuable in my tactic as an outside defender who can make forward runs and set up the attackers.

John O’Brien-The 25 year-old plays for Ajax when he is healthy. Problem is that he is hurt 300 days a year. He is very similar to Cherundolo, except he is on the left side. When he’s healthy he should be in the first 11.

“Guchi”-That’s my nickname for the 22 year-old who can play centrally or on the right side. He plays his pro ball for Mainz and is a physical freak. He is very promising, and could be close to as effective as Pope in his prime.

Corey Gibbs- 21 year-old still plays for Dallas in the game, and will be a fixture in the first team in the future. He can play on the left side or centrally much like Bocanegra.

Jonathon Spector- Just an 18 year-old Manchester United defender. He is a great prospect, and can become one of the greatest American players ever. I’m already giving him looks in some matches, and he has done pretty well. By the time 2006 roles around I will be forced to find a place for him in the starting 11.

Robbie Russell- 24 year-old who plays the exact same position as Cherundolo. He plays in one of the Scandinavian leagues (can’t remember right now). It’s a shame he plays the same as Cherundolo because he definitely has the ability. He could still split time with Cherundolo.

Greg Vanney-Plays in the French League, and is an older O’Brien with less ability.
Greg Berhalter-An older Carlos Bocanegra, who plays in the Bundesliga.

Midfielders-
Landon Donovan- At only 22 years-old he is the best player from the U.S. Already regarded by many overseas as a top notch player. Is all over the place. Can play from the left or right side, and can play in the middle. He can also play striker, but not as effectively. Creates havoc from 35 yards and closer. He is currently on loan at San Jose in the game, but he will return to Leverkusen soon, and that will only help his play. He captains the team when Reyna is hurt.

Claudio Reyna- 30 year-old is often injured, but the undisputed captain of the team when healthy. He can control the midfield from the middle, and I ask him to roam the pitch or hold the ball from time to time.

Demarcus Beasley- 21 year-old is fantastic on either side. He can dominate defenses with his speed and quickness, and works very well with Donovan. He plays for PSV Eindhoven of the Dutch League, and is another great threat for the U.S. attack.

Bobby Convey- 21 year-old left/central midfielder who plays his club ball at Reading of the EC. He is another member of the U.S. midfield which should dominated opponents for the next 10 years.

Pablo Mastroeni- 27 year-old who can play in the middle anywhere from the sweeper position to the central midfield. He will be used mostly as a versatile sub, and as a holding midfielder when I need to keep a lead. Plays for Colorado, but is drawing interest from the likes of West Brom.

Clint Dempsey- 22 year-old took MLS by storm in his first season. He plays the same position as Convey (left/central mid). He is young and improving and should be a good reserve in the future.

Ricardo Clark- At only 21 he is a very promising young defensive midfielder. He will see time in the Gold Cup most likely.

Eddie Gaven- Only 17, and he is turning heads overseas. He can play centrally as either an attacking mid or a forward. A great prospect for the future should see time along with his club teammate, Ricardo Clark, at he Gold Cup.

Eddie Lewis- Veteran from Preston, who plays on the left side.
Josh Gros- A 21 year-old surprise who was born at the wrong time for the position he plays (L. mid).
Kyle Beckerman-22 years-old, and could be a useful reserve in the central midfield.
Danny Szetela- 16 years-old and playing with the U-20 team. Good potential dmc.

Strikers:
Brian McBride-31 year-old from Fulham. He has one more world cup in him as the US target man. He is 2nd all time in goals behind Eric Wynalda.

Clint Mathis-His is a very talented 27 year-old who plays in the Bundesliga. When he is playing well, he can score multiple goals without trying too hard, but that’s the problem. He’s a headcase.

Conor Casey- In his early 20's he is a good physical player who I will use vs teams with defenders who lack size. He is a pretty solid player.

Eddie Johnson-The 20 year-old is seeing increased time from me in the game and in real life. IRL he has 6 goals in 4 appearances, and he has already proved to be a force in the game. He could be paired with Freddy Adu because his size would combine weel with Freddy’s quickness.

Josh Wolff- A very solid, veteran striker for the U.S. You know you are going to get a solid performance from him every time.

Freddy Adu- He could be in the first team by world cup time, but for now he is going to have to settle for being a big fish in a small pond at the U-20 level. Only 15 years old.

Alecko Eskandarian- A 22 year-old teammate of Adu’s at DC United. He is a solid player who can use both feet equally well which is a nice bonus. Should be a quality reserve in the future much like Wolff.

Brian Ching- 25 year-old is a powerful striker who could see the field from time to time.
Santino Quaranta-Yet another young striker from DC United. A few years younger than Alecko.

That’s a rundown of my top players in the National Pool. I will update this list with my world cup squad if I can qualify.

retired_Siouxsie

As for qualifiers I will face the mighty Anguilla in a home and home series to begin my qualifying adventure. After that, it's on the the semifinal stage where there are 3 groups of 4. The top 2 in each group go on to the final round called "the hex" since there are 6 teams (simple enough). Every team plays each other home and away in this stage, and the top 3 go staright to the World Cup. The 4th has a playoff with an Asian team for a spot in the World Cup. 5th and 6th go home for another 4 years.

retired_Siouxsie

My first match with the US was an away friendly to belgium. I wanted to see if several players could perform for me in the upcoming games. I started Tim Howard in goal although he had a 45 min restriction. I put Gibbs on the left, Gucci and Agoos (last game with u.s. has 136 caps) in the middle, and spector on the right. Beasley, Clark, Convey, and Gros were in the midfield (from right to left), and donovan and mathis were up front.

Mathis had to go off with an injury after 5 minutes, so that was the end of the experimetn of him and donovan together. Belgium then went on to score 2 goals by the 25th minute. We quickly hit back with a goal from reserve forward Eddie Johnson on a beautiful cross for Josh Gros. Belgium struck once more in the second half and that was all.

Final Score: Belgium 3-1 USA (international friendly)
US Goals (assists): Eddie Johnson (Josh Gros)

Now we go on to Anguillawho beat grenada on penatlies to advance to this stage.

retired_Siouxsie

USA at Anguilla 2nd round 1st leg
This game should have been really easy for us to win, and that's why the first half scared the crap out of me. We had several great chances, but missed wide every time. Of course it didn't help that Mathis got hurt in the first 10 minutes again.

The second half was a different story though. Eddie Pope scored his 6th international goal in the 50th minute off of a corner, and 5 minutes later Landon Donovan took a beautful cross from Robbie Russell and put it past the keeper. Then in the 79th minute Pablo Mastroeni scored his 1st ever international goal after taking a low cross from Demarcus Beasley and slotting it into the corner of the goal.

Starting 11 (from left to right, defense to offense)-
Freidel, O'Brien, Bocanegra, Pope, Robbie Russell, Demarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Claudio Reyna, Frankie Hejduk, Landon Donovan, and Clint Mathis.
Subs:
Wolff on for Mathis(3rd min)
Eddie Johnson on for Donovan(55th)
Mastroeni on for Reyna(55th)

Next up we come back to the Rose Bowl to face Anguilla. Expected attendance in significantly larger than the population of Anguilla. I will be able to get a look at some of my younger players in the second leg as we are up by a comfortable 3-0.

Surprises of the day in concacaf were Aruba 2-2 Jamiaca, and Belize 2-0 Canada. Both underdogs must go on the road now to try to seal a birth into the semfinal round of qualifying.

retired_Siouxsie

US vs. Anguilla
Starting 11: Howard (gk), Cherundolo (dr), Boca (DC), Guchi (DC), Gibbs (dl), Beasley (MR), Clark (mc), Reyna (mc), Johnson (sc), and Casey (sc).

Subs: SPector for Dolo (67), Mastroeni for Clark (67), and Gaven for Reyna (67).

I went with with a young team here to get some experience for the young guys. Scoring started quickly as reyna took a cross from Josh Gros and headed it into the net. We were in complete control the whole match, and got our second goal in the 59th minute when Gros sent another cross in from the left side, and Casey found the net. The rest of the game went by without much happening.

retired_Siouxsie

I was given a very easy draw in the semifinal stage of concacaf qualifying. Usually 1 or 2 solid teams are left out of the hex, and i was very confident we wouldn't be after the draw we were given.

Group A features heavy favorites Mexico, as well as Jamiaca, Panama, and Belize who stunned the Canadians in the previous round with a 2-1 win on aggregate. Jamaica is favored to go up with Mexico, but Panama are difficult to play in Panama and could pose some problems for the Reggae Boys,

Group B is the "group of death", or at least as deadly as it gets at this stage of concacaf qual's. Costa Rica are the favorites, but Guatemala, El Salvador, and Trindad & Tobago are all very capable of qualifying for the HEX.

My group is a real cakewalk. Honduras can be moderatley tricky at times, but the other two in the group are lucky to be this far. St. Kitts and Nevis and Nicaragua are the teams that round out the group. It is very possible that i could finish this stage with a full 18 points.

retired_Siouxsie

USA at Honduras August 18, 2004. Matchday 1 Semifinal stage.

US lineup: ---------Friedel---------
CHerundolo-----Pope--------Bocanegra-----O'Brien
Donovan-------Reyna-------Convey-------Beasley
-------------Casey--------McBride
subs:Mathis for McBride(70), Gaven for Casey(70), and Mastroeni for Reyna(75).

I went with 2 powerful strikers to take advantage of a small Honduras backline. The rest of the players are all regulars.

There was some good news and some bad news to take from this first match of real qualifying. The bad news was that Honduras pressured our defense for much of the match and the usually potent US counter-attack was silent the whole match. We were outshot 2 to 1, but still managed to get a draw on the road.

The good news was hat although my attack was about as terrible as possible, and we still managed a draw. The defense stayed firm inside of 25 yards, and we escaped Honduras with a 0-0 draw.

With one point, we now face SKN, Nicaragua, SKN again, and then Nicaragua again before Honduras comes to the Rose Bowl for the final semifinal match. I hope that i will be able to name a squad of young inexperienced players for the Honduras match.

retired_2phat

Nice start, I look forward to your future posts.