Onyewu becoming big part of U.S. defense
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Onyewu becoming big part of U.S. defense
Onyewu becoming big part of U.S. defense
By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer
July 23, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oguchi Onyewu's first big start for the U.S national team was one to remember: at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium in a World Cup qualifier before 110,000 fans.
``If you can play that arena, in that crowd and in that atmosphere, I think you shouldn't have problems playing anywhere else,'' he said.
The 6-foot-2 defender whose first name means ``God fights for me'' figures to start Sunday against Panama at Giants Stadium in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of soccer's North and Central American and Caribbean region.
He made his debut with the national team last October as a late substitute against Panama in a 6-0 World Cup qualifying win and put the United States in the Gold Cup final with an injury-time goal on a diving header against Honduras on Thursday night. It was just his eighth appearance with the national team and his first goal.
``These are important games for Gooch,'' U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. ``We need to get him in the mix because he's going to be an important part of qualifying.''
Onyewu, 23, has played his way up through the U.S. program. His parents, who are from Nigeria, came to the United States for college at Howard University and he grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, where he was noticed by John Ellinger, a U.S. Soccer Federation who went on to coach the under-17 team. Onyewu played two years at Clemson, then signed with the French club Metz and moved on to Standard Liege in Belgium, where he plays in central defense and is about to start his third season.
As fast as he's progressing, he could become a regular starter by next year's World Cup.
``With soccer today, people are getting a lot better a lot younger,'' Onyewu said. ``These games with the Gold Cup right now are a good opportunity to showcase that you have the ability to compete with the national team for a position for World Cup qualifying.''
Eddie Pope, a player Onyewu admired growing up, probably will miss the final after spraining his left ankle against Honduras. Pope, 31, has frequently been slowed by injuries, one of the reasons Arena has had to expand his pool of defenders.
Onyewu's first start for the national team was in a qualifier last November against Jamaica, after the Americans had clinched a berth in the final round. His second was in March at Azteca, where Onyewu was beaten to a ball by Jared Borgetti, whose header put the Mexicans ahead to stay in a 2-1 win.
``It's taken him a little time to get a feel for how we want to play in the back, and I think he's picked it up pretty well, and now he's getting pretty consistent,'' Arena said. ``I think he has confidence now with us, and I think his teammates have a lot of confidence with him.''
So much so that when the Americans were looking for a go-ahead goal in the semifinal, Landon Donovan tried to get his long free kick to Onyewu.
``That's the biggest target, so you want to put the ball near him,'' Donovan said. ``Five, six, seven times out of 10, he's going to get his head on the ball.''
Onyewu has needed time to adjust to the speed of play with the national team, which is far faster than at the club level. He enjoys playing at Standard Liege, especially now that he's learned French. He's signed until 2007.
``Belgium is a good league in terms of competition and in terms of development and everything but you can't compare it to top leagues like the Spanish League or the English League,'' he said. ``Of course, I'd like to be best that I personally could be. In order to do that, you have to keep on challenging yourself in the harder environment. Yeah, I think I'd enjoy playing in a better league sometime in the future.''
Notes
Arena is suspended for Sunday's game because he was ejected Thursday, and the U.S. team will be led on the bench by assistant coach Glenn Myernick.
http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylc=X ... &type=lgns
By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer
July 23, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oguchi Onyewu's first big start for the U.S national team was one to remember: at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium in a World Cup qualifier before 110,000 fans.
``If you can play that arena, in that crowd and in that atmosphere, I think you shouldn't have problems playing anywhere else,'' he said.
The 6-foot-2 defender whose first name means ``God fights for me'' figures to start Sunday against Panama at Giants Stadium in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of soccer's North and Central American and Caribbean region.
He made his debut with the national team last October as a late substitute against Panama in a 6-0 World Cup qualifying win and put the United States in the Gold Cup final with an injury-time goal on a diving header against Honduras on Thursday night. It was just his eighth appearance with the national team and his first goal.
``These are important games for Gooch,'' U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. ``We need to get him in the mix because he's going to be an important part of qualifying.''
Onyewu, 23, has played his way up through the U.S. program. His parents, who are from Nigeria, came to the United States for college at Howard University and he grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, where he was noticed by John Ellinger, a U.S. Soccer Federation who went on to coach the under-17 team. Onyewu played two years at Clemson, then signed with the French club Metz and moved on to Standard Liege in Belgium, where he plays in central defense and is about to start his third season.
As fast as he's progressing, he could become a regular starter by next year's World Cup.
``With soccer today, people are getting a lot better a lot younger,'' Onyewu said. ``These games with the Gold Cup right now are a good opportunity to showcase that you have the ability to compete with the national team for a position for World Cup qualifying.''
Eddie Pope, a player Onyewu admired growing up, probably will miss the final after spraining his left ankle against Honduras. Pope, 31, has frequently been slowed by injuries, one of the reasons Arena has had to expand his pool of defenders.
Onyewu's first start for the national team was in a qualifier last November against Jamaica, after the Americans had clinched a berth in the final round. His second was in March at Azteca, where Onyewu was beaten to a ball by Jared Borgetti, whose header put the Mexicans ahead to stay in a 2-1 win.
``It's taken him a little time to get a feel for how we want to play in the back, and I think he's picked it up pretty well, and now he's getting pretty consistent,'' Arena said. ``I think he has confidence now with us, and I think his teammates have a lot of confidence with him.''
So much so that when the Americans were looking for a go-ahead goal in the semifinal, Landon Donovan tried to get his long free kick to Onyewu.
``That's the biggest target, so you want to put the ball near him,'' Donovan said. ``Five, six, seven times out of 10, he's going to get his head on the ball.''
Onyewu has needed time to adjust to the speed of play with the national team, which is far faster than at the club level. He enjoys playing at Standard Liege, especially now that he's learned French. He's signed until 2007.
``Belgium is a good league in terms of competition and in terms of development and everything but you can't compare it to top leagues like the Spanish League or the English League,'' he said. ``Of course, I'd like to be best that I personally could be. In order to do that, you have to keep on challenging yourself in the harder environment. Yeah, I think I'd enjoy playing in a better league sometime in the future.''
Notes
Arena is suspended for Sunday's game because he was ejected Thursday, and the U.S. team will be led on the bench by assistant coach Glenn Myernick.
http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylc=X ... &type=lgns
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Three Americans selected for all-tournament team
Three Americans selected for all-tournament team
July 24, 2005
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- United States defender Oguchi Onyewu, who scored the winning goal in the semifinals, was one of three Americans selected Sunday to the CONCACAF Gold Cup all-tournament team.
Onyewu was joined by U.S. midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan. Panama, the U.S. team's opponent in Sunday's final, also had three players selected: goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, defender Felipe Baloy, forward Luis Tejada.
Jorge Samuel Caballeros of Honduras was the third defender chosen, while Colombia's Jairo Patino and Mexico's Luis Ernest Perez rounded out the midfield. Tressor Moreno of Colombia and Wilmer Velasquez of Honduras were selected as forwards.
American goalkeeper Kasey Keller and midfielder John O'Brien earned honorable mentions.
The all-tournament team was selected by the CONCACAF technical study group. Only players from teams that reached the quarterfinal round were eligible.
On Thursday, Onyewu scored on a header in second-half injury time to give the United States a 2-1 win over Honduras.
http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns
July 24, 2005
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- United States defender Oguchi Onyewu, who scored the winning goal in the semifinals, was one of three Americans selected Sunday to the CONCACAF Gold Cup all-tournament team.
Onyewu was joined by U.S. midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan. Panama, the U.S. team's opponent in Sunday's final, also had three players selected: goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, defender Felipe Baloy, forward Luis Tejada.
Jorge Samuel Caballeros of Honduras was the third defender chosen, while Colombia's Jairo Patino and Mexico's Luis Ernest Perez rounded out the midfield. Tressor Moreno of Colombia and Wilmer Velasquez of Honduras were selected as forwards.
American goalkeeper Kasey Keller and midfielder John O'Brien earned honorable mentions.
The all-tournament team was selected by the CONCACAF technical study group. Only players from teams that reached the quarterfinal round were eligible.
On Thursday, Onyewu scored on a header in second-half injury time to give the United States a 2-1 win over Honduras.
http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns
liar!The real deal wrote:He is not all that. Saw him against Mexico, average @ best. Taken out of position time and again by Mexico's passing game. Look, anybody carrying American passport is unlikely to compete for another country. We missed nothing
"The secret of life is to have no fear." - Fela Kuti
Naija 4 life!
Naija 4 life!
Onyewu is coming along nicely and the US has been very smart in the way that they have brought him along over the past year or so. As for those that are crying about losing him, that is what we get for not doing our homework. In reality, I doubt that we really had a strong chance to nab him. He was brought up and bred in the US national team system and it would have taken a more thoughtful approach from us to have nabbed him.
The time to show interest in guys like Onyewu and Owomoyela is early on, before they are on the verge of the big time. That is the proper time to attempt to plant the seed of playing for Nigeria in their minds. Now is the time, for instance, to be in touch with the likes of Nedum Onuoha, in terms of gauging their interest in playing for the land of their forefathers.
The time to show interest in guys like Onyewu and Owomoyela is early on, before they are on the verge of the big time. That is the proper time to attempt to plant the seed of playing for Nigeria in their minds. Now is the time, for instance, to be in touch with the likes of Nedum Onuoha, in terms of gauging their interest in playing for the land of their forefathers.
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I'm not saying we should beg them. Indeed, Nigeria will be just fine. However, the reality is that more and more Nigerians are being born overseas and will develop into good footballers. And we have to be much smarter about whom to approach and when to approach them. Look at Zidane or Desailly. One of these days a Nigerian of that quality will emerge that was born and bred overseas, and I would hate to see us dropping the ball if that happens. If we lose such a player because the said player wants to play for the country of their birth, so be it. But if we lose out because we fumbled on our part, then that will be sad.mastermind wrote:we should not beg them to play for us. We have the likes of Apam, Adeleye, Adefemi and Taiwo from U-21, these kids grow up in Nigeria and the love the country.
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we still don't need them, you forgot fashanu, ehiogu etc ? we need people that grow up in Nigeria or any players that wish to represent her country with pride. Adeleye said he's representing his country and his family, those kids are proud to wear this GREEN jersey.mystic wrote:I'm not saying we should beg them. Indeed, Nigeria will be just fine. However, the reality is that more and more Nigerians are being born overseas and will develop into good footballers. And we have to be much smarter about whom to approach and when to approach them. Look at Zidane or Desailly. One of these days a Nigerian of that quality will emerge that was born and bred overseas, and I would hate to see us dropping the ball if that happens. If we lose such a player because the said player wants to play for the country of their birth, so be it. But if we lose out because we fumbled on our part, then that will be sad.mastermind wrote:we should not beg them to play for us. We have the likes of Apam, Adeleye, Adefemi and Taiwo from U-21, these kids grow up in Nigeria and the love the country.
All these Americo-Nigerians are ashamed of being associated with anyhing Nigerian to begin with. Okocha and Amo are legends in Nigeria and all over africa, most people don't even know who Fashanu was in africa. It's their loss not ours.
It is not everyone that chooses not to play for Nigeria that is ashamed of playing for Nigeria, or has no love for Nigeria. In some cases, they simply feel more American (or wherever they are from) than Nigerian. And in some cases they feel a love for both countries. But if a guy was born and grew up in the US; and has played for the US at U-17, U-20 & U-23 level, it is pretty presumptious to think that because his parents are from Nigeria, he will suddenly opt to play for the Super Eagles. The love for ones country usually comes from childhood - during that period of time in which one is taking stock of his or her identity.
That being said, in the case of Oguchi Onyewu, if Nigeria had taken his pulse early in the game, we might have had a real chance at getting him. Don't get me wrong, as I said earlier, Nigeria will be just fine and has better players than Oguchi in Yobo, Enakarhire, Okoronkwo, Afolabi & Olajengbesi. I am less concerned with whether he opted to play for Nigeria or the USA, and more concerned with our process of identifying potential national team players.
That being said, in the case of Oguchi Onyewu, if Nigeria had taken his pulse early in the game, we might have had a real chance at getting him. Don't get me wrong, as I said earlier, Nigeria will be just fine and has better players than Oguchi in Yobo, Enakarhire, Okoronkwo, Afolabi & Olajengbesi. I am less concerned with whether he opted to play for Nigeria or the USA, and more concerned with our process of identifying potential national team players.
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We cannot run around looking for them, nobody begged/scouted all the foreign born Nigerians that played for us. Evan Ekoku and that RB that played for us in the 90s don the SE with pride and they did well.mystic wrote:It is not everyone that chooses not to play for Nigeria that is ashamed of playing for Nigeria, or has no love for Nigeria. In some cases, they simply feel more American (or wherever they are from) than Nigerian. And in some cases they feel a love for both countries. But if a guy was born and grew up in the US; and has played for the US at U-17, U-20 & U-23 level, it is pretty presumptious to think that because his parents are from Nigeria, he will suddenly opt to play for the Super Eagles. The love for ones country usually comes from childhood - during that period of time in which one is taking stock of his or her identity.
That being said, in the case of Oguchi Onyewu, if Nigeria had taken his pulse early in the game, we might have had a real chance at getting him. Don't get me wrong, as I said earlier, Nigeria will be just fine and has better players than Oguchi in Yobo, Enakarhire, Okoronkwo, Afolabi & Olajengbesi. I am less concerned with whether he opted to play for Nigeria or the USA, and more concerned with our process of identifying potential national team players.
We can beg/scout basketball players, but not soccer players, we got lots of players in NPL, it's a matter of picking the right ones. Siasia already prove that, he wasn't begging those naija boys in italy, he managed what he got from NPL and they did Nigeria and africa proud.
Once again, I disagree.
It is our duty to keep our eyes open for talented Nigerians accross the globe. Going by your assertions Efan Ekoku, Rueben Agboola, John Chiedozie and Tunji Banjo would never have played for Nigeria because of the fear that we would have been percieved as 'begging' them.
Now I do agree with you that we should not be running from pillar to post trying to engage the services of every half promising foreign born Nigerian. However, if we do not have a sound policy or idea of what we are doing when it comes to identifying such players, and whom among them merits our consideration, then guess what? We will be back to square one making a mockery of ourselves chasing every Tom, d#$% and Kumbur, just because they are foreign born.
As I said before, my concern is with the process involved in identifying and targeting such players. No doubt 99% of our players will always be born and bred Naija, but the reality is that there will be more and more prospects that are the offspring of Nigerians in the diaspora, and we've got to be able to take stock of them - in terms of their talent, their potential usefulness to Nigeria and their disposition to playing for Nigeria, in the few cases where there is a warranted and legitimate interest on our part.
This is not about begging, but about being smart.
It is our duty to keep our eyes open for talented Nigerians accross the globe. Going by your assertions Efan Ekoku, Rueben Agboola, John Chiedozie and Tunji Banjo would never have played for Nigeria because of the fear that we would have been percieved as 'begging' them.
Now I do agree with you that we should not be running from pillar to post trying to engage the services of every half promising foreign born Nigerian. However, if we do not have a sound policy or idea of what we are doing when it comes to identifying such players, and whom among them merits our consideration, then guess what? We will be back to square one making a mockery of ourselves chasing every Tom, d#$% and Kumbur, just because they are foreign born.
As I said before, my concern is with the process involved in identifying and targeting such players. No doubt 99% of our players will always be born and bred Naija, but the reality is that there will be more and more prospects that are the offspring of Nigerians in the diaspora, and we've got to be able to take stock of them - in terms of their talent, their potential usefulness to Nigeria and their disposition to playing for Nigeria, in the few cases where there is a warranted and legitimate interest on our part.
This is not about begging, but about being smart.