05-28-2011, 02:17 PM
(05-28-2011, 07:04 AM)LebRN Wrote:(05-27-2011, 08:01 PM)Rick Wrote: I'm not sure what you could possibly be basing that on since he never suited up for Milan except for a couple of friendlies in which he actually showed some things of promise and some things that needed work. At the time Milan signed him he had been a standout for several years for Standard Liege and was a rock on defense for both club and country. Once he came back from his serious injury he wasn't nearly up to par for the USMNT last summer and maybe will never be the same again. But when Milan signed him he had some promise and might have developed into a player who could have helped the squad. We'll never know how helpful he might have been, but I don't think it's fair to say he was awful. He wasn't anything, really, since he was seriously injured before he had a chance to play.
Other than the friendlies and before the injury, he played 3-4 times as a substitute. I know this is less than a handful of games but when u manage to do NOTHING right every time, it is hard to wait for a 29 yr-old to improve on that.
(05-27-2011, 07:42 PM)russo-neri Wrote: I'm American and I watched Oguchi play in MLS. He was never good - even by MLS standards. But then somehow he was the best CB in the confederations cup in 2009 and that brought him to Milan. Sometimes I have a good week at my job, but they don't promote me to CEO because of it.
He most certainly did not play three or four times as a substitute in competitive matches. He played 30 minutes subbing for Nesta in a Champions League game against Zurich (Milan didn't allow a goal while he was in there, so he couldn't have been as bad as you claim). Aside from that, his only action was in three friendlies in the United States during the summer. He actually did some nice things in those friendlies, although he also showed he needed work in some areas. He was 27 then. So, again, you don't really have anything on which to base your opinion aside from the general attitude he faced from the moment he joined the club which was that because he's American he automatically sucks. Few Milan fans were willing to give him a chance from day one and once he was injured he had no way of improving his game and winning the fans over. So I stand by my assertion that Gooch was an excellent player for Standard Liege, an excellent player for the USMNT. We'll probably never know if he could have developed into a useful squad player for Milan had he not suffered his injury.
And why would you give a thumbs up to a comment about how mediocre Gooch was in MLS when the guy never played a single game in MLS nor was he ever contracted to any MLS club?
