Bedoya's Stock Continues to Rise

There was just one USMNT player in action in Europe today, but he made his presence felt.  Alejandro Bedoya started and scored his first goal of the 2010 season, the lone tally in a 1-0 road win for Orebro over Brommapojkarna.  The goal can be seen below; a nice header at the back post to finish off a cross from the wing:



The goal is just another step forward for Bedoya, who has been a key contributor throughout the opening weeks of the season.  With six starts in six matches, he hasn't missed a beat after a very successive offseason that vaulted him from relative unknown to World Cup prospect.

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At this time last year, I think it's pretty safe to say that most of us didn't really know much about Alejandro Bedoya.  Thanks to the success he had in his first season as a professional, though, his name was soon floating around the conversation for the USMNT's January camp.  I, like many others, wasn't expecting too much when Bedoya did get the call to camp.  I figured he would make his debut in a fairly meaningless match, hoping that yet another young prospect for the future could get his first taste of the international game.  Little did I know how the first couple of months of 2010 would go for Ale.

I can't say that I knew to much about him prior to that January cap.  Of course, I had read up on him (at USSD, we always try to do our homework), but there's no substitute for actually seeing someone play.  And with the comparative lack of Orebro streams on the interwebs, I really didn't get many opportunities to do just that.  So I watched intently last January, despite the scoreline and the utter debacle that was foxsoccer.tv (worst $5 purchase of my life, for the record).  Like many others, I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw.  Some pace, some creativity, and a visible confidence on the ball.  He didn't look like someone making his first cap, with few, if any, visible signs of nerves.  While I liked what I saw, I was still cautious in my evaluation; after all, there's only so much to take from a friendly between domestic-based squads in front of a crowd that was far from intimidating (in numbers or temperament).

Following the match, I took part in the obligatory post-game analysis, praising the 22-year old's debut.  But DaMarcus Beasley's winter revival and Stuart Holden's move to England had me confident in the USMNT's wing options, and with just one FIFA date before World Cup preparations began in May, I didn't expect to see Bedoya until the 2014 cycle.  As nice as his first appearance was, I wanted to keep things in perspective.  But football is a funny thing, and injuries, playing time, and some stuff behind the scenes have a way of keeping us all on our toes.

Too often, (and I know I'm not the only one guilty of this) I over-simplify a national team camp into just the end product, the 90 minutes of game play.  But there's so much training and tactical work that we really don't get a chance to see that can be equally meaningful in a coach's evaluation.  So when Bedoya got called into the March camp, I figured his time in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year must have played a role in his rapid ascent.  Factor in his solid debut, some midfield injuries, and the Glaswegian roller coaster that is DaMarcus Beasley's time at Rangers, and it started to make sense that Bradley brought him in for some time with the so-called "A" team.  Even at this point, though, I still looked at it as a young player getting some valuable experience ahead of the next cycle, without really thinking about South Africa.

But the surprises kept on coming.  Bedoya came on as a sub and, in front of a much larger, partisan crowd against one of the best teams in the world, he once again played like anything but a youngster with almost no international experience.  He added energy to the US attack, with aggressive runs off the ball and some good touches in the final third, displaying that aforementioned offensive confidence.  It was an appearance that, all things considered, really impressed me and forced me to rethink my beliefs on where he stood in the national team setup.  All of a sudden, Bedoya wasn't just a guy for the future, he was a guy for the here and now, a World Cup dark horse making his late charge.

Fast forward a month and a half, and Bedoya continues his rapid rise toward the USMNT's final 23.  With his bright start at Orebro and DaMarcus Beasley's continued struggles with injuries and playing time, it's to the point that I actually consider the Miami native to have the inside track heading into the stretch run.  While he may not make a splash against England or even make the bench for any matches, Bedoya at least looks like a legitimate favorite for one of the few, coveted spots on the plane to South Africa that are still up for grabs.  Not bad for someone who was a relatively unknown entity just a year ago.
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It seems like every cycle, there's at least one player in the final roster who earns his place by bursting onto the scene with a well-timed run of form.  Alejandro Bedoya seems to be 2010's version of this footy archetype.  But at the rate things are going, expect him to be a lot more than just a flash in the pan.  His smooth transition to the professional ranks and now the international level have me and many others believing that this is just the beginning for the budding Orebro star.

For now, though, I'm just wondering what surprise he has in store for us next.