CARSON, Calif. -- Marc Pelosi's first full US national team camp has been all about rehabbing a minor knee injury so far, and he's not certain he'll be able to make his international debut in the Feb. 8 friendly against Panama at StubHub Center.
But he is holding out hope. And he is ambitious to get at least some on-field training with the team after it returns to Southern California following Wednesday's friendly in Chile.
<strong>Pelosi on Gerrard</strong><strong><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/image_nodes/2015/01/GERRARD_DL.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 113px;"></strong> |
The LA Galaxy have a pretty good idea of what they're getting in <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/video/2015/01/07/steven-gerrard-signs-la-galaxy-mls-now">Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool legend who'll arrive in July</a>, but Pelosi has watched him up close for years -- and even drawn comparisons to him.
<em>Like everyone always says, "Oh, he's a great role model." But from the inside, the first time I went to train with the first team, when I was 17, he was the first one that came up to me and was asking, "Oh, where are you from? How you doing? How's it going over here?"</em><em>He really is a big role model and just is a great person and player.</em><em>When he was younger, he played right wing and stuff, but now he's kind of dropped more into the middle and holding a little bit, just directing the game like he does. But, of course, most midfielders in the world try to play their games [similar to] Steven Gerrard, because he's one of the best midfielders in the world.</em><em>To be honest, everyone was kind of shocked he was coming over here, just because they thought he would finish his career in Liverpool. I think it's a good move for him, because, like he said, he doesn't want to have any regrets when he finishes his career, saying, "Oh, I wish I did that or that." -- S.F.</em> |
If it doesn't happen, though, that's OK, too.
As much as Jurgen Klinsmann would love to blood the 20-year-old Liverpool phenom, he knows that Pelosi is one for the future. And introducing him to the team has been one of the vital achievements of this year's USMNT January camp.
“It was important to have him with us,” Klinsmann said. “And so he senses the senior team, he becomes part of that group.”
Pelosi, who signed with Liverpool a little more than three years ago after captaining the US to the round of 16 at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, is a versatile midfielder who can play centrally or on the left flank. But there are many who believe he could set the standard for left back with the USMNT in just a few more years.
“I think my favorite's between the defensive and attacking [midfield positions],” Pelosi said, “just kind of a box-to-box midfielder, because I think I can do the defensive part and I love to attack. I don't like to sit back. I think No. 8 is my favorite.
“I used to play left back a lot -- attacking left back, of course -- [and] I think I could still play left back, defensive mid and attacking mid.”
Pelosi has been a standout for Liverpool's U-18 and U-21 reserve teams, and now that he's regained his fitness and form following a 14-month absence with a badly broken leg, he's looking to find his way into the Reds' first team.
“Everyone knows I had a long injury when I broke my leg two years ago, but I've been back for quite a while, six or eight months, with no problems right now ...,” Pelosi said. “Coming back after being out a year and a half, I had to start getting slowly back into it. I knew it was going to take a few months to get back to where I was, and so I didn't want to put any pressure on myself.
“After training for a few weeks and months and starting to play again, I fell I've been back to myself, for the most part. I think I'm in a good place and I just want to keep pushing and do my best over there.”
He's been on the national team's radar for some time and received his first call-up as one of 11 players who could form the foundation of the US Under-23 squad at next year's Rio Olympics, should the Yanks qualify, but he suffered a sprained MCL in a reserve-league game just before camp began.
When he informed Klinsmann, the US coach told him to come to Southern California anyway. He's been with the team everywhere but on the field since arriving. He remained in Los Angeles when the squad traveled Saturday to Chile for this week's encounter.
“It's frustrating [not being able to play], of course, because everyone wants to come and make a good first impression,” Pelosi said. “But just have to look forward. ... I don't want to rule [the Panama game] out, but I don't know how long I'm going to be training before that game. I don't want to risk anything a go back [to England] with another injury. We'll just take it day by day.”
Liverpool first spotted Pelosi during some exhibitions in the U.K. in mid-2011, then scouted him again at the U-17 World Cup in Mexico. Pelosi was among the tournament's most impressive players, and he turned down offers from severel professional clubs, but in North America and in Europe, as well as a UCLA scholarship, to sign with Liverpool in November 2013, an acquisition called a "bit of a coup" by then-LFC academy director Frank McParland. (McParland was fired in November 2013.)
Pelosi made an immediate impression with the U-18s, advanced to the U-21s, and was placed on Liverpool's UEFA Europa League roster before suffering the broken leg in a U-21 game against West Brom in February 2013. It didn't heal in the normal six to eight months.
“After eight months, I was jogging outside, and I was like, 'Oh, no, this is not right, it still hurts,' ” Pelosi said. “So I went to see Dr. [Bert] Mandelbaum [in Southern California, and he said] it was just too early.
“Doctors over [in England] thought I was in a car accident, because of how much force came through in the tackle, because I had some problems with compartment syndrome. It was bad. A lot of force came through it, which probably made it take longer [to heal].”
It is healed, he's progressing again at Liverpool, and his goal is to reach the first team. The consensus within the club is that he has a good chance to make it.
“They're a big club, so they're always going to sign players -- you know that going there,” Pelosi said. “But they believe in their youth, because there's always young guys making their debits.
“I think it's possible, so I'm going to just do my best and hope for the best.”
