Welcome back, DaMarcus Beasley.
After months of languishing on Rangers’ bench in the Scottish Premier League (and a brutal Confederations Cup), Beasley has drawn everyone’s eyes with his last week of play. On Tuesday, he scored a sweet goal in a 3-0 win over Dundee United that was his first league goal in a year and a half. That followed two other matches in which he had two assists and set up a third.
Andrew mentioned Beasley’s form in his look at the U.S. youth national teams, but after Tuesday’s beautiful goal, Beasley deserves some more props. Is he back? Did the U.S. national team just pick up another (forgotten/lost/broken/unexpected) weapon who could indirectly replace the injured Charlie Davies at the World Cup?
OK, let’s not get too excited. It’s only three games. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
Never mind, let’s do exactly that.
If Beasley can continue this return to form, his presence on one wing could allow Clint Dempsey to slide up to forward to replace Davies. Dempsey isn’t the same type of player as Davies, lacking the latter’s speed, but he has a nose for the ball that produces goals in creative, unexpected ways. Meanwhile, Beasley can bring the speed – if, in fact, his speed is what it once was. Naturally, those are big fat IFs.
The irony of Beasley’s recent stretch is that it appeared Rangers were simply showcasing him in an effort to drum up interest before the January transfer window. (Beasley made it very clear last week that he wants out, with Holland or Spain as potential landing spots.) If so, that plan may end up working, but you’d have to wonder whether Rangers might choose instead to keep him. Only one point separates them in the standings from long-time rivals, Celtic, and is that the time to sell a guy who might be hitting peak form? Maybe not.
Of course, some will say that’s exactly the right time to sell him: Sell high, buy low. (More on that in some future post, when I babble on about Soccernomics, a very good soccer book I just read.)
Either way, DaMarcus Beasley has once again become a very, very interesting player.
If he makes the team for the World Cup, I’m not watching. He’s past his prime and has had far too many chances with the national team. Even when he’s in form, he’s inconsistent at best. And he doesn’t have a defensive bone in his body.
Weird to talk about someone so young being past his prime, but I’d have to say I agree, in that he’s had lots of chances to fulfill his potential, and never has. That said, if he suddenly did, I would be okay with that.
In most sports, American athletes are just hitting their prime at 27 or 28. The European soccer upbringing is different, so many peak earlier, but Beasley’s American. There may be less tread on the tires. Anything’s possible. With so little depth on the U.S. national team, one has to hope, at least.