by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 17, 2013

By Ridge Mahoney

Jurgen Klinsmann

Oguchi Onyewu

Carlos Bocanegra

Landon Donovan

GOALKEEPERS, THEN AND NOW.

Tim Howard

Brad Guzan

Nick Rimando

Better or worse than in 2009? Better.

DEFENDERS, THEN.

Jay DeMerit

onathan Bornstein

Steve Cherundolo

Jonathan Spector

Heath Pearce

Michael Parkhurst

DEFENDERS, NOW.

Omar Gonzalez

Matt Besler

Timmy Chandler

Eric Lichaj

DaMarcus Beasley

Fabian Johnson

Geoff Cameron

Better or worse than in 2009? Worse.

MIDFIELDERS, THEN.

Michael Bradley

Ricardo Clark

Clint Dempsey

Pablo Mastroeni

Eddie Lewis

Maurice Edu

Sacha Kljestan

Stuart Holden

Robbie Rogers

Bob Bradley

MIDFIELDERS, NOW.

Graham Zusi

Jermaine Jones

Eddie Johnson

Joe Corona

Jose Torres

Edgar Castillo

Brek Shea

Brad Davis

Danny Williams

Better or worse than in 2009? Better.

FORWARDS, THEN.

Charlie Davies

Jozy Altidore

Conor Casey

Freddy Adu

Brian Ching

Kenny Cooper

FORWARDS, NOW.

Herculez Gomez

Terrence Boyd

Better or worse than in 2009? Worse.

The 2014 World Cup is about a year away. How does the U.S. team compare to its counterpart four years ago?At this stage of the 2009 Hexagonal, the Americans had the same number of points, 10, that they do now. Crammed in between the fifth and sixth Hexagonal games were the Confederations Cup and Gold Cup. It made for an extremely busy year: in 2009, the U.S. team played 24 games, the most since U.S. Soccer employed players full time in 1993 (34 games) and 1994 (27 games).The 2013 Gold Cup will commence in about three weeks and there’s considerable interest in which players head coachtakes from the 35-man preliminary roster announced May 31. Veteransand, of course,highlight what in the past few editions was more of a "B" team but this time around could include a few "A"-listers as well.So a year out from the 2014 World Cup, is the U.S. better or worse than a year prior to the 2010 competition? This is not a comparison of the current team to the 2010 World Cup squad, but rather the national team pool that eventually topped the Hexagonal, finished second in the Confederations Cup, and lost to Mexico in the Gold Cup final.Not much has changed, at least at the top., 34, has a lot more Premier League seasoning, and while his occasional gaffes inevitably prompt calls for a change, he’s the top dog. A very good season for Aston Villa and added experience does strengthen the No. 2 slot, and thusis much better prepared to step in if necessary. The probable No. 3,, is the same age as Howard and doesn’t seem to have lost any of his bounce nor exuberance.Bocanegra, in his second season in France with Rennes, was still toggling between left back and center back. Onyewu was at the top of his game, andhad been playing for years in England and led Watford into the Premier League with a storybook goal at Wembley in the playoff finale. Left back was a problem spot; the much-maligned Jwas beset by critics and challengers (though he did eventually play well at the 2010 World Cup). Right back, the longest-serving U.S. player in a European league, was joined in the outside slots byand. (Just a point of reference, a guy namedplayed three games in 2009. Wonder what happened to him?)There’s great potential in, but his instincts at the international level have not yet matched his amazing physical attributes.is emerging as a steady, reliable defensive pillar who can be counted on. Cherundolo, another member of the 34 Club, hasn’t played for the SA yet this year, and behind him are Evans,and maybe. Likewise on the left, the ascent ofis encouraging but not definitive, andand Chandler are among the alternatives.is also in the mix at right back or centerback as well as midfield.The midfield mainstays for the World Cup qualifiers were, Donovan and Beasley though both Donovan andplayed forward as well.was still in the mix, as wereand. Though they didn’t play in many qualifiers,(11 games) and(nine games) were pretty busy in 2009. Then-coachplayed myriad midfield combinations with undulating success.Uncertainty over Donovan’s future clouds the prospects in midfield, though the ascendancy of Bradley, improvement by, recent play by Fabian Johnson on the left side and big-game prowess of Dempsey are major pluses. So, too, is the recent play of, whose propensity for cautions appears to be a chronic problem Klinsmann is willing to live with. And as for, it ain't broke, so .....The return to health of Holden and emergence ofare also encouraging, but what’s the long-term future of, Edu and Kljestan? Will this be Donovan’s position if he gets out of Klinsmann’s doghouse?showed a lot of promise in 2012 but this year has played only one game and was dismissed from the current camp for lack of fitness.Since debuting for the national team against China in 2007,had grown in strength and confidence. His scrappy goal that triggered the 3-0 defeat of Egypt in the Confederations Cup personified determination, and being paired with a 19-year oldor Donovan oroffered lots of possibilities. This wasn’t the best phase of Eddie Johnson’s career,had stagnated, andandwere fringe players at this level.Altidore has only recently translated his club success into national-team production, yet his ability to hold up balls and battle center backs are valuable assets. He’s on the upswing. Finding a reliable partner for him amongand Eddie Johnson hasn’t happened, and none of them has the skill set of Dempsey, so deploying Dempsey in the hole seems the wisest move.