I thought both Benny and Sachs deserved chances from JK long before Sachs got his. But as much as I disliked JK, if we want to be fair neither one of them seized their spots when they got the change to earlier in their careers.
Weren't they regulars under Bradley? I think Benny was on the field a bunch in South Africa in 2010.
Benny really changed since he transferred to KC. He's more of a two way player and way more fit. His free kick ability is scary good which is why he has so many assists. Honestly, if Sporting hadn't resigned him to a new contract then I probably would have canceled my tickets because he was one of two or three players left worth paying money to see.
He had rep for being lazy on the defensive side of the ball. The good thing with him is that is low mileage for his age.
Sachs was really mediocre in Belgium. Which is why I think Jurgen was unimpressed. But... Every time I have seen him in person in MLS he stands out and is usually the best guy on the ball. Both are pure #10s and are the best at that role regardless of which league they are in.
Even still, Jurgen kept calling in AWFUL Mix Diskerud over those guys. Mix can't even get on the field in MLS and absolutely nobody wants him.
One thing that I agree with Bruce Arena on is that we need a better passer in the middle. Michael Bradley has fallen off and Jermaine Jones is unreliable. Bedoya is not really all that great centrally in my opinion.
The other thing I will agree with Bruce on is trying Graham Zusi at right back. This was something Sporting did with him one or two times last season and it didn't look bad at all. He just doesn't have the pace to be a forward anymore. That poor guy declined precipitously after the last world cup.