The first few steps in Maurice Edu’s quest for a spot on the plane to Brazil this summer have been completed, the latest of which was his strong play through three games with the Union being recognized by Jurgen Klinsmann with a call-up to the U.S. National Team for the April 2 friendly against Mexico.

The call-up announced Wednesday came a year to the day of his last appearance for the Stars and Stripes, a 0-0 draw with Mexico in Estadio Azteca that marked the national team’s first competitive point in that arena against El Tri. Edu's call-up has the potential to be a historical moment in Union history as well.

Union midfielder Maurice Edu, right, competing with Brazilian Sandro
in a May 2012 friendly, will have a chance to state his case
for a spot on the American World Cup squad next week. (AP)

The question to be answered – by the 27-year-old midfielder’s play next week and in the coming months and the myriad variables surrounding the national team – is where Edu’s chances with the national team lie. It’s a query whose answer is anything but simple.

First, we can at least localize what Edu is fighting for. He’s most often been deployed as a No. 6, a holding midfielder, for the U.S., even if his position for the Union is generally more advanced. The bad news for Edu is that this is one of the most stocked eras of talent in U.S. history in that department. Klinsmann has held firm to a 4-5-1 (visualize the midfield as a 4-1-2-2-1), where Edu is in line as the single holding midfield parked in front of defense. At that position, he faces competition from Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman, the latter of whom has become one of Klinsmann’s most consistent selections. The notion of Edu supplanting Beckerman seems unlikely.

The composition of the rest of the midfield – Michael Bradley as the No. 8 sitting on the shoulder of No. 10 Clint Dempsey between the lone striker with Graham Zusi and Landon Donovan occupying the wings – seems fairly foolproof. With Beckerman as the No. 6, that figures to be the lineup Klinsmann trots out Wednesday to give his starters a go against Mexico.  (And if so, per SI’s Avi Creditor, it would be the first time Bradley, Dempsey and Donovan started a game together since June 12, 2012.)

The issue for Edu, then, is to distinguish himself as a valuable substitute in what might be an outing of 30-45 minutes. At the very least, he’s on Klinsmann’s mind.

“We’re looking for Mo to show us that sense of urgency,” Klinsmann said in a release by U.S. Soccer. “To come back on loan, get playing time and jump into the Union team, become a leader right away and help them get off on the right foot in MLS shows that he understands that the timing has to be there now if he wants to play. He could have sat there on the bench at Stoke maybe not playing much, and then there’s no chance for him to get on the World Cup roster. But he understood that, made the decision to come back and now he’s picking it up. We’re looking forward to have Mo back with us because once he’s in a rhythm, once he is fit and really zoomed in, then he’s a very good player.”

So then, what lens should we gauge his contributions through? Here are a few suggestions:
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A quick look at the Stoke City roster makes it clear why the Barclay’s Premier League club would want to head to the United States for its preseason trip. That junket concludes Tuesday when the Potters come to PPL Park to face the Union.

It should be an interesting meeting between the English club, which is wrapping up a three-game swing that includes a 1-0 win over FC Dallas and a 2-0 loss to Houston. Both of those clubs are ones with which the club has done previous transfer business – Brek Shea from Dallas, Geoff Cameron from Houston – making the Union unique in the fixture list.

Here’s the preview of the game via Stoke’s site (including a refreshing outsider’s look at the Union’s standing), while this blog from The Sentinel in Staffordshire is informative in providing info on the Potters’ trip.

A handful of quick bullet points on the team:
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It’s been an international transfer window book-ended by attention for MLS.

Days before the window opened, FIFA president Sepp Blatter made headlines by swiping at MLS’ progress, both in the world of soccer and the American mainstream.

“It is a question of time, I thought – we had the World Cup in 1994,” Blatter said Dec. 30. “But it is now 18 years in so it should have been done now. But they are still struggling. … There is no very strong professional league (in the U.S.). They have just the MLS but they have no professional leagues which are recognized by the American society.”

As with most of the hot air emanating from the Swiss exec, Blatter’s withering criticism didn’t make way for facts. The dealings in the transfer window didn’t seem to want to follow Blatter’s paradigm either. So a month on from Blatter’s blithering assertions, MLS has shown itself to be a chic marketplace for big European clubs to do their shopping. Read more »