When Jurgen Klinsmann took over as United States manager he talked about wanting to play all of the players in their best positions. That's a pretty simple goal, even if it hasn't gone according to play. Injuries, experimentation, lack of depth in certain positions and plenty of depth in others have forced Klinsmann to move some guys around, both in and out of their best positions.
Italy Vs. United States: Jurgen Klinsmann Has Position Decisions To Make
Now World Cup qualifying is slowly creeping up on the U.S., which means Klinsmann will have to make some decisions about where to play some guys. The constant moving players around isn’t the best thing to have when the matches start to matter so what is Klinsmann going to do?
Maybe the most important person Klinsmann will have to make a decision on is Fabian Johnson. A promising player who has found a constant spot in the team for Hoffenheim, Johnson is a natural midfielder, but has spent the better part of two-plus months playing left back for his club. That's the position that has been the Americans' bugaboo for more than a decade now so will that become Johnson's home or will he stay in the midfield, where Klinsmann previously played him?
If Johnson isn't going to play left back then maybe Carlos Bocanegra will. There is no doubt that he is better as a center back, but once again, the left back spot is a complete mess and Bocanegra has played out there.
The best U.S. player hasn't exactly found his spot in Klinsmann's team either. Clint Dempsey has played as a second striker, attacking midfielder and on the wing for the U.S., so where is he going to play going forward? He's a player capable of moving around so he doesn't need to be locked into a single position, but at least figuring out where he's going to predominantly play is probably a good idea for the player Klinsmann seems to be building around.
Finally, a pair of midfielders need to find a home. Michael Bradley and Danny Williams are both central midfielders by trade, but both have been asked to play deep centrally, as more of a creator in the center and on the right under Klinsmann. Whatever the U.S. is going to do in the midfield, they need to get some sense of who is going to be where at least most of the time and Bradley and Williams are two of those up in the air.
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