Just because Jurgen Klinsmann has called up some young relatively-unknowns for this Friday’s international friendly against Ecuador doesn’t mean he’s discarded the horses than led him to the World Cup.
Some veterans’ absences are easily explained by Major League Soccer limitations -- Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones are in the midst of playoff races -- but others like DaMarcus Beasley and Brad Davis of Houston are out of the playoffs and the roster.
[ MORE: How will they line up? | Americans Abroad weekend wrap ]
Here’s what Klinsmann had to say.
Klinsmann also said they could dismiss some players back to their European clubs after Friday’s match, ‘filling in the blanks’ with MLS players after their weekends are complete.
And he also talked about the call up of Miguel Ibarra from the NASL’s Minnesota United:“Miguel is a bit of a late bloomer coming through the NASL system, but he did tremendously well the whole season there,” Klinsmann said. “We watched him and a couple other players in the league, and they might go a different path than coming through MLS, Europe or Mexico. But he’s a good example that there are different ways to get all the way to the top of the Senior National Team level.”
Klinsmann said that Ibarra’s pace in the final third stood out, and he is eager to see how his skillset will translate at the National Team training grounds.
“He knows he has to prove it now,” Klinsmann said. “He has tremendous skill – he has speed, he has an engine and he can take people on. He keeps everybody on their toes and keeps them very busy.”
So perhaps we’ll see Beasley, Davis or even Wondolowski following the weekend of MLS play. Plenty of interesting things said by Klinsmann