Omar Gonzalez has had plenty of memorable moments in his young soccer career.
From winning an NCAA title, to being named MLS Rookie of the Year in 2009, but Gonzalez will be hard-pressed to match the unforgettable week he recently experienced.
During the course of one eight-day span that ended last weekend, Gonzalez played in a friendly against Real Madrid, earned his first U.S. national team cap as a starter against Brazil, then helped shutout a star-studded New York Red Bulls squad with his Los Angeles Galaxy.
“His distribution out of the back, I’m talking about short-ranging passing and getting the ball off his feet quickly, are things he had to work on. I do think he’s improving.”
“On the international level, he still has to learn the speed of play there, the mentality, the movement, the quick turnovers and transitions,” Sarachan said. “That comes with experience and it was a great learning experience for him the other night (against Brazil).”
Gonzalez’s performance in his national team debut, along with the unforgettable week he just went through, bodes well for what is shaping up to be one of the most promising career of any young American soccer player. In other words, Gonzalez might have to start getting used to weeks like the one he just experienced.
Ives Galarcep is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the U.S. national team and Major League Soccer.
