This is shaping up to be One Crazy Summer.
Ah, I would love to spend the whole column talking about the classic movie of the same name, the 1980's masterpiece that starred John Cusack as a lead character called none other than "Hoops." While the film had both Cusack and Demi Moore, it was stolen by the acting stylings of the legendary Bobcat Goldthwait.
But the crazy summer I'm talking about is what's about to happen in the soccer world as school lets out and the days get longer.
Where do you start? Beckham coming to Planet LA? MLS footy north of the border? The All-Star Game between Celtic and MLS at the new home of the Mile High Arsenal? The long awaited premiere of "Spiderman 3?"
Clearly there is going to be plenty to juggle this summer. But you think you have it bad, how about being Bob Bradley?
Not only is he auditioning for a job while doing the job (and not in terrible fashion, by the way), but this summer he has to figure out some way to navigate one of the biggest traffic jams since that TV network put those lite-brites around Boston a couple weeks ago and shut down the whole city.
You see, between June 6-24, you got your basic Gold Cup, which is not just about regional supremacy, but gives you a bid to the Confederations Cup in 2009 in South Africa, which is a good thing for a whole lot of reasons.
Then just four days later, you got your basic Copa America, the prestigious tournament that soccer fans have been begging U.S. Soccer to be a part of. But at least the teams in that event aren't very good, as the U.S. found out this week it only has to start off against Argentina, and then play Paraguay and Colombia.
So the question everyone wants to know - especially MLS coaches, by the way, is how Bradley and U.S. Soccer plan on handling the two back-to-back events from a personnel standpoint.
You have to figure out how to balance the pressure from MLS teams who don't want their players gone for two months, how to handle the internationally-based players and how to attack each event since you just can't take the same team to both tourneys.
And it looks like we may have gotten a bit of a clue this week, when Bradley said the following to the media:
"The Gold Cup is still the most important event for us," Bradley said. "Obviously, it's our confederation championship, but the main reason that I think it's extra important is because winning the Gold Cup will earn us three very good games [at Confederations Cup] in South Africa in 2009. Moving forward, the opportunity to try to play in order to get those kinds of games is very important."
He also noted Gold Cup makes more sense for the European-based Yanks, who can come play in that tournament and then have some down time before their seasons ramp back up across the pond.
My take is I couldn't agree more. Bradley's job status aside, U.S. Soccer needs to concentrate on one thing and one thing only: the World Cup in 2010.
So it says here you put your best foot forward and try and win the Gold Cup and get that spot in the Confederations Cup and some big-time warmups at the site of the World Cup and most likely against some serious competition.
Use your full team for that tournament and win it. The results actually do matter as far as helping in the build up to 2010.
Now, since the down time of the World Cup cycle (which we are in) is all about prepping for when business picks up, I say you trot a team of youngsters down to South America for Copa America.
Use the event to look at some kids and see how some of the names already on the radar screen do under a major microscope against some nasty competition. I don't care if the U.S. gets smoked three straight; the experience a young player can gain from an atmosphere like that will be invaluable. The results really don't matter at all in the grand scheme.
The whole point of that event would be like the open tryouts for an MLS team - you try and find one or two players that could maybe help you unexpectedly when qualifying begins.
Believe me, no one would love more than I would to see the best of our best battling it out with Argentina and the other South American powers to see how we would fare.
But this is a crucial time for the national team program, which has lost several big names like Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna, and absolutely must find replacements and set itself up as well as possible to succeed should it qualify for the big dance in 2010.
And to do that, Bob Bradley - or whomever is leading the program - is going to need to find some new faces right here in our back yard.
So while MLS coaches were worried about the national team stealing all their big stars this summer, if I have my way they might also be without some of their up and comers.
But the young players that would return from a stint in Copa America would be even more valuable - both in the MLS stretch run and to the national team program along the way.
It's a lot to figure out, but it could be a valuable stretch in the long process to find the team that can try to get the U.S. back to yet another World Cup, and see if the program can pick up where The Bruce left off.
Sounds like One Crazy Summer.
During the season, The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com
