The 26-year-old defender noticed half-hour in opposition to Ecuador on Friday—his first style of worldwide motion for the reason that World Cup. ASN’s Brian Sciaretta chatted with the six-foot-five Gonzalez after the competition.
BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
October 13, 2014
10:13 AM
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JURGEN KLINSMANN IS shifting the puzzle items round as of late, trying to discover mixtures that match collectively all around the area. On Friday, Los Angeles Galaxy central defender Omar Gonzalez bought his first alternative to play with the nationwide crew for the reason that 2014 World Cup, pairing up with Tim Ream in a 1-1 draw with Ecuador in East Hartford, Conn.
Gonzalez, who celebrated his twenty sixth birthday on Saturday, performed the ultimate half-hour alongside Ream, and the 2 confronted fixed stress because the guests fought onerous to get an equalizer. Ecuador did handle to tie the rating within the 88th minute, and the draw appeared like a good consequence.
“It felt good coming back to the national team,” Gonzalez mentioned after the match. “I thought it’s been a really good week for me. Personally for me it has been really intense with really good workouts. Obviously tonight we wanted to win and we definitely had the chances to get the win but it ended up in a tie.”
Throughout his half-hour, Gonzalez appeared pretty sharp and his greatest second got here within the 68th minute when he needed to defend a troublesome one-on-one scenario in opposition to the lightning-quick Enner Valencia. Gonzaelz caught with him effectively and denied the West Ham ahead a chance to make a detailed cross into the field.
Valencia, nonetheless, would discover the equalizer and deny the People a win within the crew’s first residence recreation of the cycle. It was, Gonzalez famous, a little bit of a blended again for the Yanks.
“I think we [applied] a lot of pressure the first 60 minutes and we threw everything at them,” Gonzalez mentioned. “Possibly it’s that we’re not 90 minutes match or that we don’t know the way to work collectively for 90 minutes but.
“Additionally, bringing in six subs doesn’t assist. There’s quite a lot of confusion and guys must get in on the suitable web page actually rapidly. That’s after they began getting a bit extra possession and placing us beneath stress. Total, we had our possibilities to win the sport. We simply weren’t sharp sufficient.”
After the competition Klinsmann mentioned that he’s assured with the defenders on the depth chart.
“We feel good about the center backs we have coming through the system,” Klinsmann mentioned. “With Omar and with Tim Ream, they also need their minutes. It’s fun to see those partnerships developing.”
Much like the final cycle, Gonzalez realizes the competitors can be intense for minutes on the nationwide crew. All through World Cup qualifying, Gonzalez moved out and in of Klinsmann’s beginning lineup earlier than ultimately discovering himself as a backup behind Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler.
In the course of the World Cup, nonetheless, Klinsmann turned to Gonzalez for the ultimate two video games—in opposition to Germany and Belgium—and the Dallas native put in a pair of sturdy outings. His performances in Brazil, mixed with a robust MLS season, have given him a great deal of momentum.
“This pool we have right now, it’s a bunch of young guys who are looking to impress and to show Jurgen what they’ve got,” Gonzalez said. “It’s good because it adds a lot of competition for spots. That’s what you want when you’re trying to build a strong team. No one feels comfortable and no one feels relaxed and everyone is fighting for their spots so you have to be great every single training session, every single game.”
The USA will play Honduras on Tuesday however Gonzalez is not going to participate in that match. he returned to the Galaxy for Sunday’s recreation in opposition to FC Dallas, a 2-1 loss, and can attempt to assist L.A. win the Supporters Protect and safe home-field benefit for the MLS playoffs.
With eight wins, two attracts, and one loss in its final 11 video games, the Galaxy seems like a robust MLS Cup contender—and the regular Gonzalez deserves quite a lot of the credit score for this run of type. So too does Landon Donovan, who acquired an emotional send-off earlier than, throughout, and after the Ecuador match.
“Seeing Landon out there playing was awesome,” Gonzalez mentioned. “I really wished he would have scored or gotten an assist. He was definitely close but it wasn’t to be. The emotional part for me was at the end watching the video and seeing him tear up with everyone cheering for all the goals on the screen. It was just a great night.”
“I’ve been locker-mates with Landon for six seasons now,” he continued. “For me, I’ve gotten to see him day in, day trip on the Galaxy and see what sort of skilled he’s and the way critical he has taken enjoying. It has been a pleasure to see. I’ve been fortunate to have the ability to play with him and watch him. I believe he’s at all times making an attempt to assist out younger guys.
“Obviously he’s leaving some big shoes to fill—leaving the Galaxy, leaving the national team. It’s up to the young guys to strive to want to fill that hole.”
Do you see Omar Gonzalez as a first-choice central defender going ahead? If not, then whom? Share your take beneath.
Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Observe him on Twitter.
