He’s 25 years old, young enough that if he had a career outside of soccer, it would be in its early stages.
asserted
it → ’ → stages
His career has hit its stride only over the past year, during which he broke into the United States men’s national team, played in the World Cup and earned a move to England’s Middlesbrough.
asserted
he → hit → Middlesbrough
But here among the squad Mauricio Pochettino called in for the national team’s first camp after the World Cup, Berhalter is old.
asserted
Berhalter → call → Cup
You could call this Camp Cavan — as in Sullivan, the 16-year-old headliner — but with 12 players on the 28-man roster too young to buy alcohol, that might come off as a tad exclusionary.
uncertain
that → call → alcohol
The glut of teenagers meant that, when Berhalter and Gio Reyna sat for a news conference Monday morning, they did so as two of the older, veteran players in the group.
asserted
they → mean → group
That may sound strange no matter how many times one rereads it.
uncertain
one → sound → it
“I think older guy is actually a good way to put it,” Berhalter said.
asserted
Berhalter → think → it
“I’ve only been part of the team for a year now, and it feels like I’m an older guy, which is crazy.
asserted
which → feel → year
It’s good.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
I think that’s something that I take in stride.”
asserted
I → think → stride
Reyna, 23 years old with a career’s worth of narrative already in the books, was met with the particular oddity of watching striker Justin Ellis tell reporters in Orlando, Fla., that Reyna was his favorite player growing up.
asserted
Reyna → meet → Orlando
Ellis, at 19, is only four years younger than Reyna but young enough to have been in middle school when Reyna was a highly touted prospect making his debut with Borussia Dortmund and with the national team.
asserted
Reyna → tout → team
The two met for the first time after Ellis — who hopes to make his national team debut against Peru on Saturday in Orlando, where he has a goal and nine assists for Orlando City SC this season — arrived at his first senior U.S. camp.
asserted
he → meet → camp
“He’s a great kid,” Reyna said.
asserted
Reyna → ’ → ?
“It’s nice to get to know him so far.
asserted
It → ’ → him
It makes me feel a little bit old, but it’s nice to have a lot of [the young guys] here.
asserted
it → make → guys
Show them what we’ve built and what we’re striving to build.
asserted
we → show → what
Obviously, all of them are very, very talented, so we’re just here to help.
asserted
we → talente → them
While it is too early to make roster predictions for next summer’s Gold Cup, let alone the 2030 World Cup, certainly no competition will feature simply a redux of the 26-man group that reached the Round of 16 over the summer.
asserted
that → make → summer
The next generation will be given every chance to earn roles.
asserted
generation → give → roles
The players who featured this summer will need to earn their spots again, not only against the young kids, but against the players they edged out to make the World Cup roster.
asserted
they → feature → roster
Sullivan will be the most closely watched and carry the highest expectations, but everyone is here for a reason.
asserted
everyone → watch → reason
Every position group at this camp includes players who weren’t at the World Cup.
asserted
who → include → Cup
After Ricardo Pepi had to pull out with an injury, all three strikers — Ellis, Julian Hall and Damion Downs — fall into that category, though Downs, unlike the other two, has senior caps to his name.
asserted
Downs → have → name
The teenagers will need to prove they can hang.
asserted
they → need → ?
The young veterans will need to prove they can help them do so.
asserted
them → need → ?
“They need to know that the young players are going to see everything in the way that you move, walk, talk, behave — on the field and off the field,” Pochettino said.
asserted
Pochettino → need → field
“That is why I think it’s a very important period for us, also, to observe if senior players are good role models for the young.
asserted
players → think → young
If someone is not behaving well, not behaving in the way that we are expecting, that is going to have some consequences.”
asserted
that → behave → consequences
The Aporia
