Soccer US National Team

January USMNT Roster Is the Most Confusing In Years

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By @DFresh39

January 2015 USMNT Roster

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The January camp for the USMNT, often referred to as Camp Cupcake, always includes off-the-wall player choices based on timing. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann stated that this roster would have a group of players who could impact the coming Olympic roster. Even under those circumstances this roster is full of head-scratching decisions. Half of the 28 players called in are uncapped. The players on the list make for the most interesting January camp in years.

There is always a discussion of why was this player picked over that when rosters are released. Generally, that may be the least meaningful discussion when it comes to the January roster, but there are players on the roster who will even make the most diehard fan perform a Google search. Julio Morales is the most surprising name. He is currently on loan to Tepic from Guadalajara. He played at Chivas USA and made two appearances with the Mexican under-20 team. He has only made three appearances for Tepic in the Mexican second division.

There are confusing choices elsewhere as defenders Chris Schuler, Robbie Rogers, Andrew Farrell and Matt Hedges sit at home while Christian Dean and Oscar Sorto find a spot in training camp. Dean played 123 minutes total last season with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Sorto, Rogers’ LA Galaxy teammate, was with the under-23 camp last October, but he made only one appearance with the Galaxy. Perry Kitchen is also listed as a defender despite spending all his time in MLS as a midfielder.

Kelyn Rowe is also left out while Dennis Flores, Marc Pelosi and Brek Shea head to camp. Flores has promise but has made only two appearances for Club Leon and one for the USMNT U-23. Pelosi has been forgotten after a severely broken leg that kept him out of the Liverpool academy until August. He has played 162 minutes for Liverpool’s under-21 team. The fact that a European team allowed him to leave in January may show how they truly rate him. Shea continues to get calls despite a horrible move to England that resulted in loans and, ultimately, a move back to MLS.

There are some players, such as Wil Trapp and Jon Kempin, who are good to see on the roster. Still it is hard to make sense of many of the players on the list. Klinsmann will use the 2016 Olympics as the reasoning for any of the young players. Nevertheless, he took those who cover the team out of their comfort zone and sent fans searching on Wikipedia. This camp got more interesting than usual and is more unpredictable than any in recent memory. Camp Cupcake never fails to surprise.

Full Roster:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Alex Bono, Sean Johnson, Kempin, Nick Rimando

DEFENDERS (8): Matt Besler, Steve Birnbaum, Dean, Brad Evans, Jermaine Jones, Kitchen, Shane O’Neill, Sorto

MIDFIELDERS (10): Michael Bradley, Mix Diskerud, Flores, Luis Gil, Miguel Ibarra, Lee Nguyen, Pelosi, Dillon Serna, Shea, Trapp

FORWARDS (6): Tesho Akindele, Clint Dempsey, Morales, Chris Wondolowski, Bobby Wood, Gyasi Zardes

Douglas Smith is a soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DFresh39, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

Related:

Klinsmann Must Develop USMNT’s Young Players

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