What the Gold Cup meant to Texans on the USMNT

Published 5:49 pm Monday, July 29, 2013

When Brek Shea’s tap-in sent the United States to its first Gold Cup championship since 2007 on Sunday, the tall Texan capped an up-and-down tournament for American soccer players from the Lone Star state, even with Nacogdoches’ Clint Dempsey off in Asia playing preseason games for Tottenham.

From Shea’s heroics to Stuart Holden’s heart-breaking injury, here’s a look at how Texans fared at the 2013 Gold Cup, which was won by a de facto B-team to clinch a chance to go to the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Jose Torres

The Longview native keeps getting chances under coach Jurgen Klinsmann and continues to be remarkably average. Torres manages to neither play his way out of a spot in the lineup nor give the impression that he absolutely deserves that spot.

One would think Torres’ qualities as a deep-lying playmaker would suit Klinsmann’s offensive approach, which is probably why the Tigres UANL midfielder has maintained his roster spot.

However, because he’s most often played on the left wing instead of in the middle, he’s unable to assert himself on a game like he does in Liga MX.

Torres started four of the first five games of the Gold Cup, also coming on as a sub in the quarterfinals. However, Klinsmann left Torres out for the final.

Torres was solid with his passing and accurate from set pieces (nearly scoring on a free kick). But he didn’t do anything outstanding, certainly not enough to think he’ll be among Klinsman’s first choices when the World Cup qualifiers roll around this fall.

Whether the German coach is done giving Torres chances remains to be seen.

Brek Shea

Shea was a late addition to the Gold Cup roster and only made one start, but the College Station native certainly made his presence felt.

Shea was only added to the team after midfielder Joshua Gatt was scratched due to injury. He replaced Torres in the second half in four games and gave way to Torres in the quarterfinals in his lone start.

But Shea provided the difference in the United States’ two closest games.

Against Costa Rica in the final group-stage match, Shea, a second-half substitute, latched on to an immaculate pass from Landon Donovan and finished a counterattack with aplomb to give the U.S. a 1-0 win.

Sunday against Panama, Shea hadn’t even been on the field a minute when he popped up in the right place to score the game’s only goal. Sure, Alejandro Bedoya’s pass/cross may have been going in anyway and, yes, Donovan whiffed on his shot attempt to let the ball even get to Shea, but something has to be said for Shea’s nose for goal.

The winger’s form in the Gold Cup can only be positive as he tries to work his way into the lineup at English Premier League side Stoke City and new manager Mark Hughes. Shea is showing signs of why he made the January move from FC Dallas after a forgettable first half of 2013.

Stuart Holden

The Gold Cup was supposed to be a welcome back party for Stuart Holden.

Slowly working his way back from more than two years worth of injuries to his knees, Holden showed flashes of the qualities that facilitated his transfer from the Houston Dynamo to then-EPL side Bolton in 2010.

Holden started four Gold Cup games, including the final, and came on as a sub in another. He scored in the 6-1 drubbing of Belize in the opener and looked to be the first-choice central midfielder to provide some creativity next to the defensive-minded Kyle Beckerman.

But just when the midfielder — born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and raised in Sugar Land — said he wasn’t even thinking about his knee, it gave out. Holden was able to walk off on his own early in Sunday’s final, but on Monday he was diagnosed with a torn ACL.

It’s a huge blow to Holden, Bolton and the U.S. Men’s National Team.

A veteran of the 2010 World Cup and a rising star with Bolton before his injuries, Holden was once thought of as a future lynchpin for both club and country.

While the U.S. has grown accustomed to playing without him and has plenty of cover in midfield, Bolton was relegated without him.

It’s disheartening to see a player with so much potential relegated once again to sidelines.

Omar Gonzalez

I probably shouldn’t even mention Gonzalez considering he played all of five minutes in the tournament, but the Dallas native will be a key figure for the U.S. moving forward.

After the group stages, Klinsmann made the maximum allowed number of changes to his roster and swapped in A-team defenders Gonzalez and Matt Besler for Oguchi Onyewu and Dynamo left back Cory Ashe (Houston’s Will Bruin was also replaced).

While Besler started all three knock-out phase games, Gonzalez didn’t feature until coming on as a sub in the 89th minute of the final to provide some aerial strength as Panama began throwing everything at the U.S. to try to find a late equalizer.

After the Gold Cup, Gonzalez may have some competition for his starting center back spot when the World Cup qualifiers resume in September. Clarence Goodson was the Americans’ best central defender in the Gold Cup and Besler continues to improve.

It will be interesting to see which two of the three will be picked when the U.S. plays in Costa Rica on Sept. 6, four days ahead of the clash with rival Mexico.

While Gonzalez would be a good bet, Torres, Shea and Holden are more in doubt. One player sure to be back in the lineup come September: Clint Dempsey.