JUST GIVE THEM THE FOUR CENTRAL DEFENDERS AND THE BENCH WOULD HAVE BEATEN THE STARTERS:

The Curious Case of Jose Francisco Torres (Noah Davis, 8/12/09, Goal)

Jose Francisco Torres, a Mexican-American born in Longview, Texas, could have chosen to play for either country, but last October he announced his intention to join Bob Bradley's American team despite his club career at Pachuca. On the 11th of that month he made his international debut for the Stars and Stripes, coming on in the 68th minute of a 6-1 rout against Cuba. He's since earned four more caps and made the 23-man roster for July's Confederations Cup -- a squad featuring the best U.S. talent -- although he didn't see a minute of action during the tournament. [...]

Torres isn't likely to start for the U.S. side against El Tri, but he could see action as a second-half substitute despite his struggles to fit into the American style. That said, his talent, vision, and creativity are undeniable and represent the vast amount of untapped potential that could be infused into the American squad, especially given FIFA's recently relaxed rules governing international allegiance.

In the immediate future, however, he'll have to exercise patience.

Because what does vision and creativity do but produce scoring opportunities? Which wasn't in Coach Bradley's game plan.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 13, 2009 6:24 AM