The previous coach of the U.S. U-20 males’s group watched with delight as a few of his former gamers starred in opposition to Paraguay, most notably 23-year-old German-American defender John Brooks.
BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
June 14, 2016
8:25 PM
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WHEN THOMAS RONGEN watched the USA males’s nationwide group defeat Paraguay on Saturday night time in one of many group’s greatest moments ever on residence soil, he did so with a major quantity of delight. In any case, it was throughout his tenure as U-20 head coach that lots of the featured gamers made their entry into the U.S. program.
The Man of the Match in that recreation was John Brooks, who was utterly dominant on the backline and has been probably the greatest defenders within the Copa America Centenario. His journey to the U.S. group started in 2010 when he accepted a call-up to play for the U.S. U-20 for a camp in Peru.
Discovering Brooks, nonetheless, took lots of luck and it started when U.S. U-20 midfielder Bryan Arguez was offered from D.C. United to Hertha Berlin.
“If Bryan Arguez doesn’t get sold from D.C. United to Hertha Berlin, Brooks probably would have fallen by the wayside. I knew some players in Germany, like Julian Green, and I had just discovered Mix Diskerud. So I convinced Sunil [Gulati] to give me some money to go to Europe and look at some players. I had not made the connection yet at Hertha until I got a phone call from Bryan, who said, ‘Coach, there’s three Americans on this team.’ And I was like, ‘What are you talking about?'”
Arguez was referring to John Brooks, Terrence Boyd, and Jerome Kiesewetter. Rongen used his new scouting finances to schedule a visit to observe them play. Brooks was the youngest of the three and solely 16. Through the years, Rongen had assembled an extended listing of gamers primarily based overseas—many had been dual-nationals who grew up overseas—that he wished to guage. As he continued to speak to individuals, the listing continued to develop.
Rongen remembers that lots of the gamers had restricted upside, and in these situations “we would shake hands and part ways.” Brooks had been clearly a lower above, nonetheless, and after a sequence of discussions with Brooks and his household, Rongen determined to ask the tall central defender to the U-20 camp in Peru.
“I’m telling you, after the primary day of follow in Peru I take a look at my two assistant coaches and mentioned, ‘He’s going to be one of the best heart again for the USA—ever,” Rongen recalled. “I do know it is a daring assertion however he had sure attributes bodily that we do not have: snug on the ball, had an important vary, and was very tactically astute for his age.
“As a left-footer, he reminded me of a better version of Carlos Bocanergra. Having a left-footer is such a luxury. At that time he was already a very good tackler of the ball and tackling is an art. We just don’t have many American players that know how to tackle properly. He can tackle the ball and come up with it and maintain possession. We don’t teach that. Just like heading because it’s a no-no in our country.”
In a 2013 interview with American Soccer Now, Brooks himself citied Rongen’s preliminary involvement as a major issue why he determined to decide on the USA over Germany. Whereas the German nationwide group is a tricky group to make, Brooks was nonetheless very a lot on the radar for German youth nationwide groups and he as soon as performed for the German U-20 group. His coronary heart, nonetheless, was all the time with the USA and Rongen’s efforts to get to know him personally was an element.
As soon as Rongen decided whether or not a participant was a match for this system, an enormous a part of the equation when introducing a dual-national into this system was to get to know him and see if he wished to play for the USA for the proper causes.
When taking a look at Brooks’ state of affairs, Rongen got here away impressed at his enthusiasm and was satisfied that it was essential to get Brooks concerned. In the long run, Brooks was not capable of contribute a lot to the U-20 group as a result of Hertha Berlin’s unwillingness to launch him however merely getting him concerned was a essential to Rongen.
“These days there are lots of mercenaries in worldwide soccer, pondering, ‘The place do I’ve the higher probability?’ I wished to look them within the eye and discuss to their dad and mom,” Rongen mentioned. “I did this with each considered one of these gamers. Some did not communicate excellent English. It was a due diligence take a look at. I really feel that, ultimately of the day, you need to develop your personal gamers. I really feel very strongly about that. However I additionally really feel that if you will get a man who can develop into probably the greatest gamers in your nationwide group and your greatest heart again, completely it’s good to do this.
“I talked to him [on his subsequent German U-20 appearance] and he mentioned he felt considerably of an ethical obligation to attempt it,” Rongen added. “However he all the time mentioned his coronary heart was with the U.S. These children love the American tradition, American music, Brooks has American tattoos. He typically loves this nation for all the explanations children do all through the world.
“But he also really wants to play and contribute on the highest level.”
And Brooks is now simply doing that. His game-winning aim in opposition to Ghana on the 2014 World Cup was a major second not only for Brooks however for the nationwide group. However 2016 is totally different: Earlier than Copa America Centenario, it was unclear if he Brooks was a surefire starter. Now he’s not solely beginning but in addition anchoring the backline and rising as one of many group’s greatest gamers.
“He was the deserved man of the match,” former U.S. nationwide group central defender Jay DeMerit mentioned. “You look in these type of games where you need to win and you need defenders to step up. It started with his break of the 3v1. He only grew from there. Centerbacks are all about pairings and being paired with Geoff [Cameron], the whole tournament they’ve been great. John is stepping into this role as [maybe] the lead centerback of this team. That’s a place where I think he should be.”
Klinsmann’s feedback after the sport echoed comparable sentiments.
“This is a big statement what he did tonight,” Klinsmann said. “I am just impressed by the learning curve that a younger player has to go through. You’re just happy for that process. A year ago a lot of people were very critical of him. I said that he just has to have those experiences. He needs to make mistakes in order to grow. There is no growth without failure for anybody. He grew—that performance from John was really something special.”
Rongen was fired because the U.S. U-20 coach in 2011 after his group didn’t make the World Cup. Nonetheless, he stays an observer each time the U.S. performs. It’s typically mentioned that the actual success of a U-20 group is just not identified till years after a cycle is accomplished—when you may see what number of gamers progress to the senior group.
In that regard, the Copa America Centenario has been very rewarding for Rongen. Along with Brooks, 4 of Rongen’s former U-20 gamers featured in opposition to Paraguay: Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Bobby Wooden, and Alejandro Bedoya.
Rongen mentioned that he Brooks holds a particular place for him.
“I can’t say I developed him however I did acknowledge expertise,” Rongen said. “I’m so blissful for him as a result of he’s an important, nice child. He’s an important man proper now and he performed like a person Saturday. That was my job on the U-20 stage. Successful is essential nevertheless it’s about bringing guys in and getting them to the subsequent stage just like the Olympic group and the senior group.
“If you see a man taking part in at 16 and realizing he was going to be considered one of our greatest gamers, it’s fairly cool.”
