This kid Bunbury is no-joke and the new breed of soccer player in the U.S.A. Burnley (20) and his boy Agudelo (18) saved the day for the U.S. Saturday: On the play of Agudelo and Bunbury: There is no more inexact science than predicting the future performance of forwards, as anyone who hyped, say, Eddie Johnson can attest. That said, you can’t help but be cautiously optimistic about what the U.S. put on show after Sporting Kansas City striker Teal Bunbury, 20, and New York Red Bulls frontman Juan Agudelo, 18, came on for the mispositioned Chris Wondolowski and hapless Brek Shea. A game that had been slowly gliding into Chile’s favor, and not just on the scoreboard, turned. The two dropped off, darted, juked and combined their young hearts out, involving teammates who had been isolated and generating a dynamism the side hadn’t seen since, well, the last time the two had appeared for the U.S. together against South Africa in November. In the 75th minute, Agudelo wormed his way into the box and earned a penalty, which Bunbury converted and celebrated with a silly little dance. (*ALL SOCCER PLAYERS IN EUROPE CELEBRATE… THIS WRITER IS A DOUCHE AND PROBLEM IN AMERICAN SOCCER) Later, Agudelo’s sharp shot on goal could have been his second game winner in two games. But while the aforementioned feats were encouraging, it was Agudelo’s and Bunbury’s off-the-ball play and synergy with their teammates that could give rise to a bright future for the U.S. And this is rather good news, given that highly rated wingers Shea, 20, and Alejandro Bedoya, 23, still haven’t done anything to prove they belong. Shea covers a lot of ground and tracks back well, but his understanding of the game is so poor that he appears to lack even the faintest idea of how to use his considerable physical gifts. Bedoya, too, has enough skill for the job — although his left leg might as well be a wooden peg — but in seven caps, he has yet to turn in more than a nice run here and there. He’s either been incompatible for coach Bob Bradley’s system or lacked the temerity to demand the ball. But we shouldn’t let our stomachs churn over these players. They’re young; there’s time. The performances of Agudelo and Bunbury alone are sufficient to conclude that the next generation is at least on the right track.
