USA Starting Eleven


The Best XI, the “A” team, rightly gets the majority of analysis by pundits and bloggers. The arguments surrounding who should be in the “A” lineup are as complicated as they are simple; given a formation, is the player the best in that position. What “best” means is, of course, complicated, but the goal of putting the best lineup on the field is a simple concept.

The “B” team is a whole different animal.

The “B” team serves multiple purposes; to analyze this animal, I employed a slightly simplistic model looking at the last 11 years of data. It’s not a perfect model, but the best I could do with accessible data, and I think it does give a reasonable approximation of the player pool in each year. The top 10 field players and top goalkeeper in minutes were marked as first team; the second ten field players and second goalkeeper in minutes were marked as second team. No attempt was made to divine the depth chart that may have been altered because of injury nor were field positions strictly accounted for. On average, each team from each year ended up with one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders, two midfield/forward combos, and a forward. On average, these “B” team players play a substantial amount, each logging an average of 400 minutes each year.

By defining the relationship between the players on the “B” team and their past and future presence on the “A” team, four types of players emerge: 1) Transitory – players who were on the “A” team before and return to the “A” team after a year on the "B" team; 2) Developmental – players who are later on the “A” team, 3) Veteran – players who had played on the “A” team in the past, but never return to first team minutes, and 4) Nevers – players who never do make the “A” team.

Each of these types play a role on a balanced “B” team. Transitory players are often working their way back from injury, a poor run of play, or being out of favor with management. These are often players in their prime like Cherundolo in 2007, Bocanegra in 2006, and probably Feilhaber in 2009. Developmental players are often not quite ready for the spotlight, but seasoning and exposure will give them a better chance to develop into top players. Veterans, used correctly, bring an experienced presence to the “B” team when they need it, like Cobi Jones did at the 2002 World Cup and DaMarcus Beasley could in 2010. And though the Nevers may seem on the surface to have no useful place, names like John O’Brien and Ben Olsen show up on this list, with Jay DeMerit likely joining them as great contributors to the USMNT success who never logged first team minutes.

“B” Team Breakdowns by Cycle


1999-20022003-20062007-2010
Transitional664*
Developmental7611*
Veteran1098
Never5117
* For the current cycle, when necessary to categorize the players, I have made projections as to who will eventually become or return as an "A" team member. These players include: Adu, Davies, Edu, Feilhaber, Guzan, Holden, Marshall, Pearce, and Rogers.


By looking at the individuals who fell into these categories during the past three world cup cycles, patterns begin to appear. Each of the three cycles shows a different primary type. The 1999-2002 “B” teams were dominated by experienced players either winding down their careers as veterans or fighting through injuries keeping them out of their place on the “A” team. Notable players on these “B” teams were Pope, Reyna, Stewart, McBride, Keller, Moore, Balboa, Harkes, Friedel, Jones, and Regis. With a lack of club seasoned youth in the talent pool at that time, these players filled minutes with their experience.

The 2003-2006 cycle, though it can lay claim to one of the most successful “A” team runs of form ever for the US, was a lost cycle from the “B” team prospective. It was an era dominated by Nevers and Veterans. None of these players carry the weight of Reyna or Harkes and few compare favorably to Moore, Jones, or Regis. What may be most notable about this class is the failure of the developmental players, with the exception of Howard, to become anything more than a role player for the national team. The other five developmental players during that cycle were, Cory Gibbs, Steve Ralston, Josh Wolff, Eddie Johnson, and Brian Ching. In four years, those were the only six players to first put in “B” team minutes and later play for the “A” team.

The current cycle has been dominated by youth and the average age of the “B” team shows it:

“B” Team Average Age

CycleFirst YearSecond YearThird YearWorld Cup
1999-200227.827.026.428.4
2003-200627.527.528.529.5
2007-201027.625.925.7


The average in the first year of the cycle has been remarkably consistent. The second and third years however were drastically different, with this current cycle being over a year young than the average of the previous two cycles. In the World Cup year of the cycle, the average has increased substantially. This increase is again likely this year as few new young players will be brought into the pool for the World Cup squad. Natural aging and the seemingly ubiquitous inclusion of a veteran or two for the World Cup nearly guarantee this. However, the youth have been well served in this current cycle. A look at the “B” team players under the age of 25 shows the increase in activity compared to the previous two cycles.

“B” Team Under 25 Players

1999-20022003-20062007-2010
Ben Olsen
Jovan Kirovski
John O’Brien
DaMarcus Beasley
Josh Wolff
Carlos Bocanegra
Steve Cherundolo
Cory Gibbs
Tim Howard
Conor Casey
Eddie Johnson
Bobby Convey
Sacha Kljestan
Justin Mapp
Heath Pearce
Jonathon Spector
Freddy Adu
Jozy Altidore
Maurice Edu
Brad Guzan
Drew Moor
Charlie Davies
Benny Feilhaber
Stuart Holden
Robbie Rogers


While not every player under 25 on the “B” team goes on the make the “A” team or land a big transfer, there is a strong history for these players making big jumps soon after seeing major minutes for the national team:

PlayerFirst “B”
Team Year
MovedFromTo
Carlos Bocanegra2002Jan 2004Chicago FireFulham
Cory Gibbs2003Jan 2005Dallas BurnFeyenoord
Tim Howard2003Sum 2003NY MetrostarsManchester United
Bobby Convey2003*Jul 2004DC UnitedReading
Benny Feilhaber2007*Aug 2007Hamburger SVDerby County
Jozy Altidore2008Jun 2008NY Red BullsVillareal
Maurice Edu2008Aug 2008Toronto FCRangers
Brad Guzan2008Jul 2008Chivas USAAston Villa
Charlie Davies2009Jul 2009HammarbySochaux
Stuart Holden20092010Houston Dynamo???
* Played with the "A" team before playing with the "B" team. First year represents the year with the "A" team.


It is apparent that Bob Bradley has made an effort to get younger players substantial experience with the national team. Whether the increase in transfer frequency is a product of Bradley use of the “B” team to showcase younger members of the US player pool is impossible to know. Has Bradley pushed too far with the youth, depriving the team of veteran leadership from the bench? If you had to choose between Torres and Beasley for the last place on the flight to South Africa, which way would you lean? With the influx of so many young, talented players, will next cycle be dominated by transitional players who bounce from "A" team to "B" team from year to year? Should developing future "A" team players always be the priority of the "B" team?
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