Why today’s U.S. team news matters to World Cup efforts

I wrote a piece for SI.com today about Bob Bradley’s decision to bring 26-28 players to camp when the U.S. reports for final World Cup prep on May 15.

Remember, when the players reported for camp in 2002 and 2006, the assemblage represented the team. The guys who showed up knew they were going to Asia and Germany respectively.

That’s an important element of team building. From the moment you report for physicals, you know this is the team. These are the guys you will share meals with for six weeks – or longer if things go well. These are the men you’ll be with, through good and bad, highs and lows and everything in between. These are the guys who will have your back.

But in this case, that’s not the case.

Instead you’ll have tension. Not a ton of it, because there are 15-16 guys who know deep down their seats on the plane are safe. But there are others who know of no such thing. Even for a few who might think they are safe, this creates uncertainty. Do you invite the friends and family? Loved ones would surely like to make arrangements to go show their support for a soccer player’s crowning achievement, playing in a World Cup. But they can’t make arrangements until Bradley announces that final roster some time near the June 1 deadline.

In addition to U.S. Soccer confirmation of more than 23 attending the camp, there are also some new details on how and where the camp will unfold. Read further for why this matters ...

And this creates one more issue for Bradley to deal with – how to inform the players of which ones have achieved the dream and which ones came ever so close. This has been an issue before with other teams. Check out pieces from this recent story from The Times in London. It’s about how Fabio Capello will inform his provisional Englandsquad of 30 of who has and has not been granted a place on the final 23-man roster.

Imparting seismic news to a squad in congregation has pitfalls, but the alternatives are not attractive to [Fabio] Capello. In 2006, Sven-Göran Eriksson went for a televised announcement at London’s Cafe Royal, and the world knew that 17-year-old Theo Walcott was going to Germany before Walcott himself (he was in a driving theory exam and only discovered his shock selection when he emerged from the test and his dad called his mobile). Capello has no taste for Sven-style showmanship.

In 1998, Glenn Hoddle summoned players individually at set times to his hotel room in La Manga. “This is f****** stupid, I thought; he’s treating us like school kids,” recalled Paul Gascoigne. “The idea of keeping us all sitting around doing nothing for several hours, waiting for our appointment, was petty. I thought, I’m not having this.” Gascoigne ended up barging into Hoddle’s room, where he kicked a wardrobe, smashed a vase and upended a table after sussing he was being omitted. Capello has no taste for dramas.

Uh, I don’t know what “sussing” means. But if it leads to kicking and smashing and such, it can’t be good.