Then I think Julian Gressel is an interesting name to see on this list, just because of the backstory there. The fact that the German-born wide midfielder has been one of the better players in MLS for a long time now, was able to get citizenship and is now qualified to represent the United States through that process at 29 years old makes for a cool story.
Carlisle: Another name I’d throw in there is Eryk Williamson. He’s had a few extended looks under Berhalter, but obviously an injury kind of sidetracked him a bit. Now he’s back.
There was a lot of love directed towards the midfield trio of Adams, Musah and Weston McKennie during the World Cup, but I think there’s a concern in that group that there’s not enough quality on the ball. Williamson is a guy who I think provides enough on the defensive end, and when combined with his offensive ability, is a guy to watch to see if he can move up this cycle.
And then a total flyer is Sam Rogers. This is a guy who the Seattle Sounders flat out told wasn’t tough enough, wasn’t physical enough. So he took a path through the USL, and then he landed in Norway. He logged a lot of minutes last year for Rosenborg, which is one of the biggest clubs in Norway, and scored six goals as a center-back along the way. And that’s just in 23 appearances.
It’s difficult to judge whether he’ll see the field with Zimmerman and Aaron Long in camp, but I think Rogers is an interesting prospect, and we’ll see whether he’s able to parlay his time in Norway into a move to a bigger league.
Gabriel Slonina and Paxten Aaronson are both in this team, having just joined clubs in Europe this month. Would they have been better served by remaining with Chelsea and Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively, and getting settled in to their new homes?
Carlisle: This is kind of where all January camps are not created equal. This is a much shorter timeframe. It used to be for the whole month of January whereas this year, camp started on Saturday and the final game will be seven days later. So I don’t think that it’s necessarily going to take a huge bite out of Aaronson’s time with Frankfurt.
And all of this gets done with the club’s blessing. They didn’t have to release him. If they wanted him to stay, they could have put their foot down. I think in their minds, it’s probably a situation where maybe he gets a competitive game or two that he otherwise wouldn’t have gotten with his club.
For Slonina, I think it’s a no-brainer. We’ll see if he plays because Sean Johnson is there as well, but I think for Slonina’s position and where he sits in the Chelsea hierarchy, I think it makes a ton of sense because he could get a competitive game or some competitive minutes he wouldn’t get with Chelsea.
Bonagura: In that similar vein, it’s interesting to see Matthew Hoppe‘s name on this list, too, because his career path over the past few years has been bizarre.
He kind of unexpectedly rises up in Germany, scores that hat trick with Schalke 04 that gets everyone really excited, moves to Spain, then moves to the Championship in England — where he’s played six games for the first team and five for the reserves — and now he’s in a January camp in the middle of a season. That’s not the trajectory anyone would have liked for him.
It also doesn’t feel like a great sign that that Middlesborough released him in the middle of their season — more so than the other guys that have just joined up with their clubs. And I thought he was impressive in the Gold Cup. He hasn’t been able to capitalize on that at all.
What are your expectations from these Serbia and Colombia teams, who also won’t have several of their first-team regulars?
Carlisle: These will be competitive games for this group of U.S. players. No one’s really expecting Serbia and Colombia to bring anything close to their first teams, but it’ll still be a good challenge for this group. For the players that are on the current roster, it’ll give them a different look.
Another thing I’m pleased about is that it wasn’t some run-of-the-mill CONCACAF opposition that got scheduled. Stylistically, it’s going to take these guys out of their comfort zone a little bit. I think that’s a positive.
Bonagura: I think the other positive about the January environment, generally speaking, is that because the other countries have the same scheduling issues as the U.S. team does, they also feature younger players looking to make an impression on their coach. We’ve seen full-team friendlies before where it feels like guys are going through the motions; at least here, you would expect the energy and effort level from other teams to be high. That doesn’t mean it will allow for much clean soccer, but it’s something.
