*Insider Request*

[marionthebarberian]

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blo...index?entryID=4434962&name=us_national_soccer

Thanks...

 

[what up]

Edu rehab, Adu loan and qualifier news

Monday, August 31, 2009 | Print Entry

Posted by Luke Cyphers and Doug McIntyre

While the U.S. squad regroups in Utah's Wasatch Range ahead of two mountainous World Cup qualifiers, Maurice Edu will be at sea level in Scotland, continuing his long climb back from a May knee injury.

"The recovery's going well," Edu told Insider by phone from Glasgow. "I just got back from seeing my doctor in London, and he's pleased with the way things are progressing."

Great news for Yanks fans, right? Well, sorta. "I still don't know exactly when I'll be back, exactly what date," he said. "I still haven't gotten back to jogging yet."
To learn when Edu might be back, where Freddy Adu is headed, a potential problem for Michael Bradley and how the Yanks have been progressing in the club soccer world, you must be an ESPN Insider.

In his first season the 23-year-old midfielder helped spark Rangers' late-season rally to the Scottish Premier League championship. His outstanding play for the legendary club made him a likely candidate for playing time in the U.S. qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras, and in the Confederations Cup. But in Rangers' final regular-season match against Dundee United, he sustained ligament damage in his left knee that required surgery.

The U.S. Summer of Soccer became Edu's Summer of Bummer, with no Honduras comeback, no Egypt miracle, no Spain upset and no tantalizingly close contests against Brazil and Mexico.

And the hoped-for September comeback isn't in the cards, either, at least on the national team. "It is very difficult, to tell you the truth," he said, "just because of the timing of things. I missed all the games in the summer, being a part of all that, and now we have some more qualifiers coming up that I was hoping to be able to be a part of. I've been trying not to let it get to me too much. I try to remain positive, optimistic and just look at the bigger picture, and that's to come back being 100 percent."

Edu's summer consisted of rehabbing his knee, focusing first on strengthening his quadriceps, his hamstring and the muscles around the joint. He's hit weights, stair machines and the pool for aqua-jogging. And he's excited about running again. "I haven't done any in a while, so I'm obviously going to take it pretty slowly," he said. "I'll start with straight-line jogging, and from there cutting and more dynamic stuff."

But he's not going to come back until he's sure he's ready. "I don't want to come back and shy away from tackles, and shy away from 50-50 challenges because I'm worried. I want to just come back and not think about it at all, just put it behind me."

And the final two qualifiers -- Oct. 10 in Honduras and Oct. 14 in D.C. against Costa Rica -- are a realistic goal. "I've been lucky so far that I've progressed at a pretty good rate, and that I haven't had many setbacks yet," he said. "I trust that it will continue like that, and if it does it's a possibility that I could be back by then."

If not, Edu will still be in the mix for a trip to South Africa next year, and he won't lack for motivation. "I'm missing football like crazy right now," he said. "The American game opened some eyes this summer. We're making progress and are headed in the right direction. We are a team that can compete at the highest levels."

---

Notes


•It probably doesn't mean a thing. But for the second interview in a row, a U.S. national team player suggested -- without prompting -- that coach Bob Bradley will pair Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit in the heart of the U.S. national team's defense against El Salvador on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic).

"I don't know what the plan is, but I would think they would slide Bocanegra inside and put a new left back in," Columbus Crew center back Chad Marshall told Insider when asked about his odds of playing with Oguchi Onyewu out due to yellow card accumulation. "I'll go in and compete and hopefully make it a hard decision for Bob."

•Freddy Adu's national team future will run through Portuguese first-division club Belenenses on a season-long loan from fellow Lisbon-based side Benfica. Adu confirmed the switch Monday afternoon via Twitter. To stay on Bob Bradley's radar, the 20-year-old desperately needs playing time. He's got a better chance of earning it at a small club like Belenenses than with a behemoth like Benfica, which told Adu he didn't figure into its plans.

•Did Michael Bradley's temper earn him a benching at Borussia Monchengladbach? The 22-year-old midfielder didn't dress in a 2-0 win over Mainz. Rumor has it that his coach didn't like Bradley's reaction after being subbed out at halftime of a 3-0 loss a week earlier. Asked if he was suspended, he told Insider, "I'm fit. I wasn't suspended. Coach made his decision and that was that." It will be interesting to see how long it takes the slumping Bradley to regain his starting spot at 'Gladbach, but even more intriguing to watch how Bob Bradley doles out playing time in a crowded midfield if his son isn't seeing regular Bundesliga action.

•Charlie Davies' lights-out form for club and country makes him an automatic starter versus El Salvador. It also makes us wonder: Has an American ever raised his stock more in a short amount of time? Last spring, Davies was toiling in the Swedish league, hardly one of Europe's best. Now, after his breakout summer in international play, Davies is turning heads in France's Ligue 1. On Saturday, "Chuck Deezy" drew the decisive penalty in Sochaux's 1-0 win over Monaco, and he was an attacking tour de force before being subbed out to a standing ovation with five minutes left. Not bad for a guy who was on the fringe of Team USA's roster as recently as June. "Chuck Deezy" T-shirts will be available on his Web site soon.

•In Guadalajara, Jose Francisco Torres celebrated his latest U.S. invite by going 90 in Pachuca's 2-2 draw with Chivas. Will the solid showing help "Gringo" see the field for the U.S. in either of the upcoming qualifiers?

•Some fans were surprised that Robbie Rogers made Bradley's 24-man roster last week. Rogers is one of only two players on the squad never to appear in a qualifier, and the speedy Crew winger admits he still has work to do to get to the World Cup next summer.

"I haven't had a sit-down with [Bradley], but he's told me I have to do certain things better," Rogers says. "I think he thinks I have talent, but he's expressed that I also have room to grow."

What was he told to work on?

"Positioning tactically, working defensively, staying in tune for 90 minutes," Rogers said. "Stuff like that. I've gotten little messages from him here and there, at halftime or whatever."

•If he plays in his 32nd career qualifier on Saturday, Landon Donovan will surpass national team legends Kasey Keller, Eddie Pope and Claudio Reyna for the most all-time.

•Elsewhere in Europe: For the second consecutive week, Jonathan Spector went 90 at left back for West Ham. Helping to keep Blackburn scoreless in a 0-0 tie can't hurt Spector's odds of playing the position versus El Salvador. ... Tim Howard preserved Everton's first win of the English Premier League season with a late stop in a 2-1 triumph over Wigan. ... Will Jozy Altidore be fit enough to get the start alongside Davies on Saturday? The teenager played the final 27 minutes of Hull's 1-1 tie at Wolves. ... Remember Eddie Johnson? The former national team wunderkind saw his first EPL action in over a year on Sunday when he played the last 14 minutes of Fulham's 2-0 loss to Aston Villa. Clint Dempsey shook of a late injury scare to go the distance for Fulham in the game. ... Maybe it's good that Onyewu hasn't cracked AC Milan's starting lineup yet. The Rossoneri were trounced 4-0 Saturday by city rival Inter. ... There shouldn't be any fitness problems if Coach Bradley goes with a Spector-Bocanegra-DeMerit-Steve Cherundolo back four in Utah. Each went the distance for his respective club this weekend.

 

[jason23richardson]

boo soccer sucks