Each week Last Word SC scours the matches and news wire to bring you a roundup of US Soccer news and quick hit analysis. In the coming weeks, you will see updates on your favorite national team players abroad, as well as news and notes from the developmental ranks within the system. Look for our continuing coverage as the US Men begin a new cycle, and the Women continue their build up to World Cup 2015.
USMNT World Cup hero John Anthony Brooks is in the rumor mill for the wrong reasons. First, there were rumblings that his current club, Hertha-Berlin, was going to release him from his contract. Then the rumor mill backtracked and it looks like Brooks will be relegated to the reserves squad. He was not on the roster for Hertha’s last match, a 1-0 loss to Augsburg in Bundesliga play. He did, however, see time with the reserves squad that won their match 3-0. Brooks has come under fire before while at Hertha, as his maturity and commitment were questioned by his club manager last season. You have to figure that Jurgen Klinsmann has his eye on the situation and will direct the young German-American if things go totally south in Berlin for Johnny Futbol.
World Cup superman Tim Howard led Everton to a 1-1 draw against rival Liverpool in Premier League play. His heir apparent, Brad Guzan, did not fair as well in his two matches however. Guzan’s club, Aston Villa, offered him little support in matching 3-0 losses to Arsenal and Chelsea within a week of each other. Guzan can hardly be held liable, as he didn’t get much help from his back line. Geoff Cameron’s Stoke City took on Newcastle on Monday for a 1-0 victory. However, Cameron wasn’t on the 18 man roster, still rehabbing from surgery on his groin earlier in the month.
Back in Germany, Joe Gyau, who wowed USMNT fans in that 2-0 win against Czech Republic, made his debut for Borussia Dortmund in midweek, but did not see minutes on the weekend. The youngster needs meaningful minutes to continue his development. Although he is full of flash and dazzle, one has to wonder how effective he will be for the national side if he lacks playing time with his current club. Julian Green (ribs, Hamburg), Fabian Johnson (achilles, Borussia Monchengladbach), and Terrence Boyd (RB Leipzig) all remain injured for their clubs.
The U-23 Men’s team announced this week that they will face Brazil’s U-23 side in Brasilia on October 13th. Whereas the roster has yet to be named, the technical staff includes u-20 bench boss Tab Ramos, U-18 MNT head coach Javier Perez and MNT scout Matthias Hamann. “We have emphasized the need for this group to be together as much as possible, and to play against one of the best teams in the world will be a great benchmark for our players. They also get a chance to play in Brasilia, which is one of the host venues for the 2016 Olympics, and for many it will be a first taste of what the environment would be like for the tournament. We couldn’t ask for a better opportunity,” Klinsmann said.
On the women’s side, the U-20 squad began a new cycle this week, announcing their first training camp from October 12-October 19 at the Olympic training facility in Chula Vista, California. Head Coach Michelle French, with an eye on the ongoing NCAA season, only called up one college athlete, goalkeeper Rose Chandler. Chandler is currently attending Penn State, and is in her freshman year. Chandler was on the squad that most recently fell to Korea DPR in the 2014 U-20 World Cup quarterfinals.
In closing, let’s speak a minute about Hope Solo.
Recently, Hope Solo has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. She is currently in a legal battle on assault charges, amidst accusations of domestic violence after a family dispute turned into a slighlty drunken brawl. Recently, there have been a string of incidents in sports news that involved acts of domestic abuse, the most notable and flagrant of which has been the case of former Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice. There are some people in the media that have unfairly linked the Hope Solo incident and the Ray Rice assault. The only thing the two have in common is that they are both athletes. The Ray Rice case was allegedly swept under the rug initially by the Ravens organization. In stark contrast, US Soccer has not really made a statement on the incident, instead leaving Solo to clean up her own mess.
Another interesting distinction is that the Solo case is still pending. Rice’s assault came out in the media after the court case was already settled. Solo still has yet to go to trial. It seems that both US Soccer and her NWSL club, Seattle Reign FC, both await to levy professional sanctions until after seeing the result of her trial, which is scheduled for November 4th. In the meantime, Solo is expected to be in between the pipes for the upcoming CONCACAF Women’s Championships. Ray Rice’s guilt is clear. Let’s not put Hope Solo in that category until we have all the facts.
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