A Reason to Tune into the Japan Friendly

I admit that I wasn’t very excited about watching the US play Japan Friday, until just a few minutes ago when I learned that Frankie Hejduk won’t be playing. Hejduk is out with a strained right quadriceps and here’s hoping this means his time with the USMNT will be nearing an end. Hejduk has been a nice player for the Nats and I appreciate what he did for the team in 2002, but the guy has lost a step or three and every time I watch him play I cringe. US fans aren’t going to like me saying this, but his situation reminds me of that of another one time national team defender.

Yes, I feel the need to mention the name Jeff Agoos. Like Hejduk, he was a good player in his prime and helped the team qualify for the World Cup. But then the sky fell in and he played like an injuried animal that needed to be shot and put out of its misery.

Now I am not advocating that anyone shoot Hejduk, but what I am saying is enough is enough. Time to find someone else to play in the back, someone who doesn’t go on walkabouts that leave the team high and dry. It was fine for him to push forward when he had the speed to recover but those days are long gone.

Hopefully Friday’s game will be the beginning on a new era. Certainly the players listed below are largely young and inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean that don’t deserve an opportunity to shine and to help push Hejduk further down the road towards retirement. Hejduk’s loss is ESPN’s gain, as I will now be tuning in to watch what otherwise should be a less than thrilling game against two young teams.

The complete roster:

Goalkeepers: Kevin Hartman (Los Angeles), Matt Reis (New England), Zach Wells (Houston)

Defenders: Bobby Boswell (D.C.), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Todd Dunivant (Los Angeles), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Eddie Pope (Salt Lake)

Midfielders: Brian Carroll (D.C.), Clint Dempsey (New England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Chris Klein (Salt Lake), Ben Olsen (D.C.), Kerry Zavagnin (Kansas City)

Forwards: Brian Ching (Houston), Eddie Johnson (Dallas), Pat Noonan (New England), Chris Rolfe (Chicago), Taylor Twellman (New England), Josh Wolff (Kansas City)