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Conference notebooks: Holden's arrival
Dynamo star leading first-place Houston, U.S. national team
07/15/2009 2:01 PM
By Kyle McCarthy / MLSnet.com Staff
Houston Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden emphatically announced his arrival with the United States national team when he tickled the twine with a dipping, last-minute strike to salvage a 2-2 draw with Haiti on Sunday to cap off a coming-of-age performance in central midfield.
Then again, those who were watching Holden from the beginning knew the former Beijing Olympian's arrival on the international stage was only a matter of time.
"If you look back, Stuart showed in Beijing that he's one of a group of talented younger players that we feel strongly about," U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley said after the Haiti match. "He was in the January camp, but had a little bit of an injury. As the season has moved along, he has found his form and his fitness. That all led to us feeling good about bringing him in here."
Bradley wasn't the only one who showed faith in Holden and his potential. Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear took a punt on the Houston product after an attack outside of a Newcastle bar back in March 2005 left Holden with a fractured eye socket and crippled his future with English Premier League side Sunderland.
It didn't take long for Holden to rebound and continue his development with the Dynamo. By the start of the 2006 season, Holden was in orange. By the end of the 2007 season, Holden was a regular contributor. By the end of the 2008 season, he started more often than he sat in one of league's most settled teams because he had the versatility to fill multiple roles in the midfield.
Holden's potential -- plus his on-field production -- allowed Kinnear to trade Dwayne De Rosario to Toronto FC during the offseason and place his faith in the former U.S. youth international to drive the offense in De Rosario's old spot.
The gamble has paid off in spades for Holden and the Dynamo. After a brief settling-in period, Holden racked up four goals and three assists in 15 matches and started to show flashes of what De Rosario used to do for the Dynamo offense. Holden has impressed observers to the point where he was named in the All-Star First XI on Monday, cementing his first berth in the midseason classic.
Holden's form also earned him a recall to the U.S. national team for the Gold Cup as he sought his first senior cap. In a tournament where MLS players have formed the crux of Bradley's squad, Holden stood out above the rest during the group stage with his form (two goals in two starts against Grenada and Haiti) and his versatility. Bradley has played him on the right side of midfield and as a central midfielder, though with the caveat that he has more two-way responsibilities than he does in Houston.
"It's a learning process," Holden said. "You try and pick up as much as you can. If I'm asked to play in the middle, I'll gladly do it. If I'm asked to play on the right, I'll do the same. I'll play anywhere just to get on the field."
Bradley said Holden's versatility will help the Houston midfielder make his case for inclusion when the U.S. kicks off the second half of its World Cup qualifying campaign in Mexico City on August 12. Given what he's seen so far from Holden, Bradley expects Holden to become familiar with the national team setup as he continues to develop in MLS.
"When you look at players that are here and players that we think going forward are going to step up and help, Stuart's one of those guys," Bradley said.
