Fan Training Camp for 6/12

As the USMNT kicks off its World Cup training camp in Princeton, Bob Dillon is in the midst of his own camp, as he prepares for the day that we've all been waiting four long years for.

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I have started my fan training camp for the first game against England. It started last weekend when I watched the FA Cup final with my two daughters, who are five and two. They always ask who I am rooting for, and they root for the other team. Fortunately for me, I had no horses in the race, so they rooted for Chelsea because they like how the name Solomon Kalou sounds. While they were cheering the Blues, all I could think about was how glad I was that all of the US 30 were basically done for the season. There was no chance that someone would end up like Michael Ballack.



I finished the weekend training by digging out my Journey to Germany video, and over the last three days, I have worked my way through the lead up to the World Cup in 2006 including qualifying and the Gold Cup in 2005. Here are some observations from my viewing:

The core of our team looked young. Bocanegra, Onyewu, Donovan, and Dempsey seemed like little kids, not the professionals that have now become by playing at Rennes, AC Milan, Everton, and Fulham, respectively.

We qualified for Germany very quickly winning six of the first seven games including the game against Mexico in Columbus that clinched it. This resulted in our best players not getting as many games together in March and April as the hex wrapped up.

I'm not sure that we have replaced Claudio Reyna with a high quality passer in the midfield. I realize that Claudio's mistake against Ghana cost us in Germany, but his energy, precision passing, and poise in the midfield were quality, and they remain a question mark for the 2010 squad. Benny Feilhaber has never shown 90 minutes of high quality play.

There are a few guys that I forgot about: Corey Gibbs, Steve Ralston, and Bobby Convey.  Ralston scored the game winning goal to clinch the qualification, and he also scored against me in high school, but that's a whole different post:

Finally, I miss Eddie Lewis. He brought a sense of professionalism to our 2006 squad. He was a great spokesman, played in multiple positions for Bruce Arena, and always could be counted on to have intelligent insight during pressers.

Next week, training camp will be about setting the watch party at my house. I've decided to stay home for the England game with friends, and try to spread the passion for the beautiful game. Good luck with your fan training camp. We all need to be primed and ready when June 12 arrives. Stay focused, and push away all of those distractions from your calendar.