Is it possible for a team to have too much leadership? I think the answer to that is no, but the USMNT may be about to find out. There are quite a lot of alpha-leader types in the player pool right now. By my estimation the possible captain candidates include (in no particular order) Bob Saget voice:
Matt Miazga – has openly stated that he’d like to be captain of the national team. We also know he is not exactly shy.
Tyler Adams – has also openly stated that he’d like to be team captain someday. Sebi Salazar said this about him during an interview on the Total Soccer Show, “Tyler Adams will MF anybody. I bet you that kid is cussing out teammates already at Leipzig.” 😍😍😍
Aaron Long – not someone I would have expected to put in this conversation, but he wore the armband for Berhalter after spending three weeks in January camp…I don’t think he can be left out.
Weston McKennie – Weston is a natural leader. You can see that from a mile away. Over the summer some fans were hassling Franco Di Santo during training, so the Schalke players gathered around him and sang/celebrated him off the field. Guess who was leading that parade?
Wil Trapp – Trapp essentially took over as captain for the Dave Sarachan era and has been the captain of the Columbus Crew since he was three years old. I don’t think he’s a real likely pick, but definitely has leadership qualities.
Michael Bradley – not sure I have to say much here. Bradley took over for Dempsey as captain during the Gold Cup in 2015 and was the face/voice of the team all the way through Couva. And if you listen to Jimmy Conrad you know everyone doesn’t love his leadership style.
Christian Pulisic – I really don’t think he has the personality to be the team captain, but he’s the best player and did become the youngest captain in team history when he wore the armband against Italy in November, 2018. I don’t think he’d want it btw.
Jozy Altidore (?) – another of the old guard. I have no idea how or if Altidore is going to fit into the new regime, but he did captain the USMNT a couple times under Klinsmann.
By my count that is six or seven (depending on where you fall on Altidore) starters that all would be a reasonable choice for captain. So is this a good thing or a bad thing? Does it even matter who the captain is?
So this is good, right?
I tend to think so. I couldn’t find the quote, but I’m a Michigan football fan and I remember a coach or player saying they knew 1997 was going to be a special year when they saw summer workouts. There were no coaches allowed at those practices, but the players were running themselves through intense practices with internal leaders. I think the USMNT has the potential build a really intense, competitive atmosphere where the players police themselves.
Aside from writing articles of questionable quality on this site, my real job is teaching 6th grade science. It is always best in the classroom when the students know exactly what they are supposed to be doing and get their classmates in line without me having to step in. I’m not a coach, but I have to imagine that dynamic transfers. Peer pressure has a way of influencing people that authority just doesn’t.
Could this be bad?
I suppose so. The French team has certainly blown up spectacularly in the past. Although, that seemed more like a lack of internal leadership than too much. The Dutch team has been famously divided in the past, but that is put down to player ego.
The Dutch model of self-destruction is conceivable if things go really well for several players I guess. Let’s say Adams, McKennie, Pulisic, and Alex Mendez all blow up and become stars in the next three years. If their egos run away with them and they can’t get along on the field…maybe that hurts the team. I’m stretching here.
The best comparison for concern might just be the USMNT itself. The cliques that Brian Straus so famously wrote about leading up to the “Snow Game” in 2013 could theoretically happen again if players form factions headed up by dueling leaders.
Conclusions?
Let’s be honest here – we’d probably be better off with feuding superstars than our usual, “I love you, bro” role players. The guys coming through seem like good dudes though and that doesn’t look likely to change.
Who ends up being captain then? If I had to pick one person from the list above – I’d go with Tyler Adams. He may have to put in another year or two, but he comes off as a guy that’s going to hold himself and his teammates to the highest standard and not back down. Unless money and fame makes some of these guys into prima donnas I think the surplus of leadership in the team will be a positive going forward for the national team.
