Right, are we ready for the weekend? This match against Chivas is an important one — we oughtn’t be taking three games on the slide; it would be simply unacceptable and more than a little frustrating as a fan. We can rest assured that Jason Kreis and crew would be even less happy with a loss than we would be, but that hardly solves the problems we’ve had.
The absences will be plentiful — we can nearly field a team of only injured players! It would look something like this:
Rimando
Wingert - Olave - Alexandre - Grabavoy
Alvarez - Gonzalez - Morales
Espindola - Saborio - Agorsor
We’d even have Kyle Reynish on the bench! A full 12 players on our injury list, though some could be fit for Saturday. Let’s hope! (I’ve put Alexandre in the back because he’s got the size and defensive ability compared to all other choices. It’s nice, knowing that at least our defense will be reasonably close to full strength against Chivas.) I do know that Nick traveled, and I think Olave could be fit as well, so we certainly won’t be without all these players, but my word, it’s a sight.
Potentially, our lineup could look like this (discounting all injured players, regardless of severity):
Melia
Russell - Schuler - Borchers - Beltran
Beckerman - Johnson - Williams - Warner
Paulo Jr. - Gil
Thankfully, that’s not my prediction. Not that the team there is particularly bad, but more strength will be necessary. My full prediction:
Rimando
Russell - Olave - Borchers - Beltran
Beckerman - Johnson - Williams - Warner
Saborio - Paulo Jr.
I’ve gone with Paulo over Espindola because of the knock Fabian took against Houston, and I think everything else sort of explains itself. Right, on to bigger and better things.
Internationals
Let’s start with some double-edged sword news today: Kyle Beckerman, our effusive captain, has been called up to the U.S. men’s national team side for the two matches, the first against Costa Rica — for whom I’d imagine Alvaro Saborio will be called up — and the second against Belgium. However, word surfaced yesterday (through the reliable @RealSaltLake Twitter) that he will not be involved against Costa Rica and will report on Sept. 4 for the Belgium match. If it’s true, it’ll be quite a relief, and it’ll further boost the growing respect Jurgen Klinsmann is garnering.
Also joining Kyle in confirmed call-ups is our lovable Canadian Will Johnson, and I’d expect a few others will be making the trip as well, particularly Alvaro Saborio. Arturo Alvarez could still make the trip, though he wasn’t selected in the initial 19-man call-ups, and Jean Alexandre could also be included in international play for Haiti.
Now, if the MLS were to follow FIFA international dates, perhaps we’d not be in binds like this on regular occasions. It’s more than a little frustrating when some of your best players are snatched away from you without so much as a by your leave. Here’s the problem, though: We’re beholden to national team managers in these situations, and our situation doesn’t really matter. It’s utterly ridiculous.
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