Fierce competition for Olympic team spots

Fierce competition for Olympic team spots
January 11, 2012
 
CARSON, CA – “Want to be a possession team? It is all about spacing.” 
 
Caleb Porter’s voice carried over the field like a police siren.
 
The players duly noted Porter’s instructions during a series of drills dealing with retaining possession on the second day of training camp at the Home Depot Center practice fields. 
 
“We are going to be an attacking team, so we need to focus on the attack,” Porter told TopDrawerSoccer.com after practice. “You need to take time to work on that side of the ball and all the little details that go on: spacing, movement, angles of support, rhythm, all those little things that go into attacking soccer.”
 
men's u23 national team coach caleb porterCaleb Porter addresses the U23 MNT in Carson.
The coach spent much of the morning session trying to convey these details to the players in camp and was encouraged by what he saw during the scrimmage that lasted approximately 20 minutes at the end of the morning session. 
 
“We need to make sure we get those little details right in training, and we are making good progress in that regard,” Porter added. 
 
Porter and his coaching staff split the camp of 23 players up into two teams of 11 plus one extra goalkeeper. The unspoken message: competition for a spot on the Olympic qualifying roster has already started. 
 
“Everyone is fighting for spots,” said Philadelphia Union player Amobi Okugo. “There is a lot of depth amongst a lot of positions.”
 
Okugo slotted into the defensive midfield role for one team during the scrimmage, one of the most important positions for Porter’s playing style. 
 
The coach said that he decided to bring in nine midfielders because he believed there is a heavy dependence on those roles in creating an attacking style. 
 
“There is a lot of competition and I think it is very even,” said Porter about the pool of midfielders. “We need to figure out which guys fit together, which guys bring different dimensions.”
 
Okugo paired with Sebastian Lletget and Dilly Duka for the triangle of players in the middle of the field in Porter’s 4-3-3 formation for one of the teams during the scrimmage. 
 
The Akron head coach also emphasized the role of the outside back and winger in his formation and how those players need to create space for the attack to be successful. 
 
One of the players from the wing that Porter is going to lean on to create those goal scoring opportunities is Joshua Gatt, who played right back in the 11-a-side game. 
 
“[Gatt] is a player with a lot of good qualities,” said Porter. “He is a dynamic player who can change the game.”
 
The Michigan-native, who starts on the first team for Norwegian club Molde, was just thrilled to be out on the field again. He was held out of the last camp due to injury. 
 
“I feel great,” said Gatt about recovering from injury. “Also, I’m feeling lovely because of the weather. I never see sun, so this is great for me.”
 
The 20-year-old was also upbeat about this group of players and his role on the team. 
 
“The only thing we need to work on is our team shape, but that can be worked out in days,” said Gatt. “I think we’re going to be great.”
 
Okugo was also enthusiastic about this group, but said there is unfinished business after the core of this team failed to qualify for the U20 World Cup last summer. 
 
“After we lost that game (to Guatemala), everyone was saying, ‘we have to make the Olympics to redeem ourselves'.”
Despite the limited time with the players so far, Porter is confident the team will make the Olympics. 
 
“I was confident to begin with, and I am confident now,” said Porter about meeting the goal he gave himself of qualifying for the Olympics when he signed on for the job. “It is a short window, but I like where we are at and I am pleased with the progress we are making.”
 
The camp continues from the Home Depot Center over the next seven days before the group departs for Costa Rica where they will play two friendlies.
 
World Cup qualifying begins in March from Nashville, Tennessee. 
 
Notes:
  • Despite the positive play by Gatt and Okugo, their Yellow team lost 2-1 to the Blue team in the scrimmage at the end of training. Tony Taylor scored the opening goal of the game for Yellow off of a nice combination play with Jack McInerney, who was excellent on the day. Blue responded with goals from Jared Jeffrey and Kelyn Rowe. 
  • Porter added three players to the training camp on Tuesday: goalkeepers Brian Perk and Matt Lampson, and defender Royal-Dominique Fennell. Gale Agbossoumonde and David Bingham withdrew from camp due to injury. 
 
Lineups:
 
Yellow: Zachary MacMath, Joshua Gatt, Andrew Wenger, Zarek Valentin, Jorge Villafana; Amobi Okugo, Dilly Duka, Sebastian Lletget; Freddy Adu, Tony Taylor, Jack McInerney 
 
Blue: Matt Lampson/Brian Perk; Kofi Sarkodie, Sebastian Ibeagha, Royal-Dominique Fennell, Sheanon Williams; Mikkel Diskerud, Joe Corona, Jared Jeffrey; Mike Stephens, Issac Acuna, Kelyn Rowe
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