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EXCLUSIVE interview with USMNT midfielder Kyle Beckerman

By on May 25, 2014

Three years is a relatively short amount of time. On a universal scale, it is simply a second in ages of existence. But in just three years, a lot can still change. In three years, the French national team went from being World Cup finalists to a shambles. In three years, the Mexican national team sacked five managers. In three years, nearly twelve million children are born in the US alone. And in the past three years, a journey certainly was undertaken by Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman. It was a journey that would take the midfielder all over the world, from Cyprus to Mexico to a blizzard on a winter night in East Hartford, Connecticut. When the US Men’s National Team coach Bob Bradley was fired from his post in 2011 and former Germany legend Jurgen Klinsmann took over, a massive change to US Soccer from the grassroots level to  national team tactics, Kyle Beckerman began the journey to his first ever World Cup.

Bob Bradley was fired, and Klinsmann was brought in as a replacement to completely reassemble US soccer. Aside from almost immediately founding the US Soccer Developmental Academy, implementing fluid 4-3-3 style possession play at the lowest levels of the grassroots game, rejuvenating the country’s youth system, the German also rejuvenated to national team. And as part of this, Klinsmann gave Beckerman a chance to prove himself to be worthy at the international stage.  Beckerman had made twelve appearances for the US national team previously, but was yet to feature in the world’s biggest competition, the World Cup.  Despite having been in the MLS all-star team for seven years running, the box-to-box No.6 was not chosen by Bradley as a part of the USMNT’s World Cup squads for either the 2006 or 2010 tournaments.  So, at the age of twenty-nine, Beckerman had nearly given up on his dream of playing in a World Cup.

However, when Klinsmann named him as one of the first players he would be inviting back onto the national team, everything changed.  Beckerman played the full ninety minutes in a 1-1 draw against Mexico in Klinsmann’s first match in charge of the team, and was suddenly part of Klinsmann’s World Cup preparations. Beckerman would win six more international caps in late 2011 and five in 2012.  It would be a challenge to make the World Cup roster, but Beckerman had faced a lot of challenges before.  Not the least of those were on the pitch, as a defensive midfielder.

Yet by the time the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup rolled around, Beckerman was a starter alongside Michael Bradley in the team’s midfield.  The five-foot-ten-inch midfielder started in five out of the six US matches throughout the tournament, and aside from it being a personal success, Beckerman had helped the US win the tournament, regaining the title from bitter rivals Mexico.  And although he was vying for a starting position ahead of Jermaine Jones, another 32-year-old defensive midfielder, at this point Beckerman would conceivably make the nation’s preliminary 30 man roster for the World Cup, at the very least.

S0 by the time Klinsmann announced the 30-man squad he would take to the team’s training camp at Stanford, and it included Beckerman, it wasn’t a massive surprise.  Yet a week into the training camp, Klinsmann certainly surprised the entire US by not only announcing his 23-man World Cup squad earlier than expected, but by whom he included in that squad.  Clearly attempting to give the younger members of the squad a chance to gain experience, Klinsmann left out the 32-year-old Landon Donovan. Donovan, the nation’s all-time top scorer, and recently the MLS’ all time top scorer, was cut alongside another 32-year-old experienced international, Clarence Goodson. However, instead of cutting another 32-year-old in Beckerman, Klinsmann left out 23-year-old midfielder Joe Corona and Maurice Edu. A three-year journey was complete and Beckerman would finally get to travel to a World Cup as a part of the US national team.

But Beckerman is still far from hurdling all of the challenges he will face.  In fact, for the most part the toughest challenges ahead of him will come at the World Cup; the US have been drawn in a group containing Germany, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, and the old US nemesis Ghana, who have knocked them out of the past two World Cups. But of course, Beckerman and the US national team will face that challenge, whether they are successful or not. Speaking exclusively to Football Every Day at the site of the US team’s pre-tournament camp, Beckerman said: “Of course it’s all going to be challenging, it’s the World Cup though so we’re excited to face the challenge and it should be a lot of fun.”

And although the group is labeled the 2014 tournament’s “Group of Death”, Beckerman said that the squad doesn’t fear anybody while participating in a “hangout” with US fans.

“We don’t fear anybody, we respect all those teams for sure, we know how dangerous we can be, but we definitely don’t fear them,” he said.

He added: “Time will tell, but we feel like we have a chance against all (Ghana, Portugal, and Germany) those teams.”

Especially with Beckerman, who went into Stanford Training Camp with the attitude of, “Klinsmann’s job is already very tough, but if I can make his job that much tougher than that is the best I can do”, in the squad, the US national team will carry belief out onto the pitch in Brazil.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.