View full sizeU.S. Soccer's Ricardo Clark celebrates after scoring the winning goal in the final moments of a 1-0 victory against Venezuela in a friendly match in t at University of Phoenix Stadium on Saturday. Those of us who have known Ricardo Clark since he was a skinny 19-year-old kid drafted by the MetroStars in 2003 felt good to see him return from national team oblivion Saturday night.
Clark had been a forgotten man since his two gaffes cost the United States dearly at the 2010 World Cup, mistakes that resulted in him not being recalled to the national team for 14 months, not surprisingly just after a coaching change was made.
Saturday in Glendale, Ariz., against Venezuela in the first friendly of the year, Clark entered a scoreless game in the 62nd minute and connected on an open header seven minutes into second-half stoppage time to give the United States a 1-0 victory.
It was a bit of a resurrection for Clark, who has only had one brief national team appearance since the U.S. was eliminated by Ghana in the second round of the World Cup in June 2010.
Clark showed promise his first year with the MetroStars. Drafted No. 2 overall out of Furman University in coach Bob Bradley’s first draft class, the midfielder was a finalist for rookie of the year and led the team in minutes played.
Clark played well again in 2004, despite some nagging injuries, but was traded in the offseason to the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for a youth international slot and a portion of the allocation the team received for Landon Donovan.
The Earthquakes eventually became the Houston Dynamo and Clark was a key player in the midfield during the 2006 and 2007 championship years. He left MLS in 2010 for Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany but has had trouble breaking into the lineup, somewhat due to injury, and hasn’t played for them since last July.
Bradley, then the national team coach, included Clark in the 2010 World Cup squad and started him in the first game against England.
And that's when things began to unravel for Clark.
Just four minutes into the game, Clark was caught standing still and England’s Steven Gerrard got a step on him, ran onto a through ball and slotted the shot past U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard for a 1-0 lead.
Though the Americans rallied to tie the game, 1-1, the lasting picture of the goal is Clark, who never made up that lost step, sliding desperately from behind just after Gerrard got the shot off.
Bradley benched Clark the next two games but inexplicably started him in the second-round match against Ghana a few days after Donovan’s miracle goal in the final group game enabled the U.S. to win its group and advance to the knockout stage.
Critics wondered why Bradley would bring back Clark, who was always a sensitive kid, after the media backlash following the England game. They also wondered why Bradley would break up a winning lineup that had played well in the tie with Slovenia and the dramatic victory over Algeria.
Whatever the reason, the move backfired.
Just five minutes into the game, Clark gave the ball away in the midfield circle, leading to a break by Ghana and a goal by Kevin Prince Boateng. Once again, the lasting memory of the goal is Clark chasing the play all the way into the U.S. box in a futile attempt to avert disaster.
Clark never saw the field again in Bradley’s tenure, which ended last July. Juergen Klinsmann, in his first game in charge two weeks later, recalled Clark, who got into the game as a sub.
Following Clark’s game winner Saturday night, Klinsmann had this to say about Clark.
“Ricardo came in and you could see that he was struggling because he hasn’t played for many months. He was trying hard to catch up with the group and still was not there because of that long stretch. But once on the field he is a player that is technically very gifted.”
And that pretty much describes the difference in coaching philosophies. Bradley’s biggest criticism was that he opted for bigger, better athletes over smaller, more technical players. Klinsmann, however, puts a premium on technical skill, which opens the door for Clark to re-establish his national team career.
Saturday night was merely the beginning of that quest. Clark, who turns 29 Feb. 10, is still in his prime and has become a more mature, hardened player. He could be a factor in the 2014 World Cup. And who would have thought that just a short time ago?
MLS All-STAR GAME
The 2012 MLS All-Star Game will be played at PPL Park in Philadelphia, according an Associated Press report. A news conference is scheduled for today.
ETC.
Here's how non-competitive the first eight games of the women's CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament have been. The United States, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica have beaten the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Cuba and Haiti by a combined score of 51-0. The U.S. (2-0) plays Mexico, also 2-0, tonight to determine the Group B winner. The semifinals are Friday, with the winners qualifying for the Olympics and the losers out.
In the Americans' 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic Friday, defender Ali Krieger tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in her right knee and will likely miss the Olympics.
Abby Wambach has been voted the U.S. Soccer Federation's female athlete of the year for the fifth time, matching Mia Hamm's record, while Clint Dempsey has been voted top male athlete for the first time since 2007. FC Dallas winger Brek Shea and Atlanta Beat forward Sydney Leroux were voted the top young athletes. On Saturday, Dempsey became the first American to score a hat trick in the English Premier League (he had one in the FA Cup Jan. 7) in Fulham's 5-2 victory over Newcastle. Dempsey has a career-best 15 goals this season and 52 since he joined Fulham in January, 2007.
Michael Convery of Glasgow has been charged with racially abusing U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu on Twitter. He is alleged to have sent messages to Edu and Rangers teammate Kyle Bartley, who are black. On Saturday, Edu scored for Rangers in a 1-1 tie with Aberdeen.
The United States moved up one place, to 33rd, in the latest FIFA rankings.
U.S. midfielder Robbie Rogers, 24, has been granted a British work permit and will complete his move to Leeds this week.
Tijuana midfielder Joe Corona, a member of the U.S. Under-23 team, has been voted Newcomer of the Year for the Mexico Apertura championship.
Mexico women's national team forward Maribel Dominguez scored a hat trick in Friday night's 5-0 victory Guatemala, which made the 33-year-old captain the all-time leader with 17 goals in CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying.
Red Bulls midfielder Carl Robinson, a native of Canada, retired and accepted an assistant coaching position with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Former Red Bulls goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul allowed two goals when Senegal lost to Zambia, 2-1, Saturday in its opening game of the African Nations Cup.
The Chicago Fire agreed to a multi-year sponsorship deal with the Quaker Oats Company to put the Quaker name and logo on the front of both the Fire's home and away jerseys in a deal that is reportedly worth up to $8 million over three years. The Fire had been without a shirt sponsor since Best Buy declined to renew its deal following the 2010 season.
Sporting Kansas City signed midfielder Michael Thomas, a hometown player who spent the past two seasons with Ljungskile SK of the Swedish league, and forward Jacob Peterson.
The Seattle Sounders signed 19-year-old forward Cordell Cato from Trinidad and Tobago.
FC Dallas signed 21-year-old defender Carlos Rodriguez from Tauro FC in Panama.
Galaxy forward Robbie Keane, on loan to Aston Villa, scored twice in a 3-2 win over Wolverhampton.
Chris Coleman, a former Wales player who stepped down as coach of Greek club Larissa Jan. 9, has been named Wales coach. He replaces the late Gary Speed, who committed suicide Nov. 27.
Leeds captain Jonny Howson signed with Norwich.
Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, 39, signed a contract extension through next season.
Striker Anthony Modeste, who scored 13 goals in 52 games for Bordeaux, has been loaned to Blackburn for the rest of the season.
Warrior Sports, an athletic apparel company based in Warren, Mich., signed a six-year agreement to design Liverpool's jersey. The deal is reportedly worth $38.6 million a year.
West Bromwich Albion beat Stoke, 2-1, Saturday, its first victory at Stoke since September 1982.
Crystal Palace plays at Cardiff today and Manchester City is at Liverpool Wednesday in the second legs of the English League Cup semifinals.
Out of contract midfielder Rabiu Ibrahim signed a 3½-year deal with Celtic.
Chivas coach Fernando Quirarte resigned after the club's third straight loss to open the Mexican season, a club record.
Real Madrid plays at Barcelona on Wednesday in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 115 goals in 118 appearances since joining Real Madrid in 2009, and he set a Spanish league scoring record with 40 goals last season, but had has just three goals in 14 games against Barcelona.
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal, 32, signed a one-year contract extension through next season.
Barcelona is set to transfer B-team striker Jonathan Soriano to Red Bull Salzburg. Soriano, 26, led the Spanish second division with 32 goals last season.
Espanyol forward Sergio Garcia will be sidelined at least six weeks after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
Lionel Messi played his 300th game for Barcelona last week.
Granada, in 17th place in La Liga with a 5-10-4 record, fired coach Fabricio Gonzalez.
Sevilla acquired striker Baba Diawara from Portuguese club Maritimo.
Feyenoord gave coach Ronald Koeman a one-year contract extension.
Freiburg, in next-to-last place in the Bundesliga, signed defender Michael Lumb on loan from Zenit St. Petersburg until the end of the season, and defender Karim Guede from Slovan Bratislava. Meanwhile, striker Papiss Demba Cisse, who scored 37 goals in 65 games the past two seasons, left for Newcastle.
Werder Bremen striker Sandro Wagner has been loaned to Kaiserslautern for the rest of the season and all of next season.
Bayern Munich defender Daniel van Buyten will be sidelined a couple of weeks following surgery for a broken metatarsal.
Borussia Moenchengladbach swept the season series from Bayern Munich for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
Schalke captain Benedikt Hoewedes broke a cheekbone in a collision with teammate Marco Hoeger and will be out indefinitely.
Werder Bremen defender Andreas Wolf is set to join Monaco.
Roma captain Francesco Totti scored two goals Saturday in a 5-1 win over Cesena to raise his career total to 211 and break the Serie A record for most goals with one club. AC Milan's Gunnar Nordahl had the record with 210. Overall in the league, Totti, 35, trails only Silvio Piola (274 goals), Nordahl (225), Giuseppe Meazza (216) and Jose Altafini (216). Totti also has 266 goals in all competitions for Roma. Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero has the Italian record in that category with 285.
Udinese loaned midfielder Thierry Doubai to Sochaux until the end of the season.
Fiorentina forward Santiago Silva reached an agreement to join Boca Juniors.
AC Milan, which lost Kevin-Prince Boateng for a month with a torn left thigh muscle, brought back midfielder Alexander Merkel, who had been on loan with Genoa.
AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato will be out for three to four weeks with a muscle tear in his left thigh.
Saint-Etienne signed Serbian striker Danijel Aleksic, who had been playing in the German second division.
Nice signed midfielder Kevin Anin from Sochaux on a 3½-year deal.
Lille signed 18-year-old Costa Rican striker John Jairo Ruiz from Deportivo Saprissa on a 4½-year deal, and striker Nolan Roux from Brest on a 4½-year deal.
Canada midfielder Josh Simpson joined Swiss club Young Boys on a 3½-year contract.
Swiss club Neuchatel Xamax lost its license to play in the Swiss Football League in a case that includes alleged fake American bank documents and fraudulent bank letters intended to prove that new owner Bulat Chagaev could finance the club.
The Red Bulls will face Pumas in a friendly Feb. 23 in Phoenix.
Frank Giase: fgiase@starledger.com