On Soccer: Eddie Johnson's international career apparently isn't over yet
Frank Giase The Star-Ledger Mike Ehrmann Getty Images
Back with the U.S. national team, he scores both goals in Friday's 2-1 win over Antigua and Barbuda
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Remember Eddie Johnson’s record-breaking debut with the United States national team? He was a phenom, the type of goal scorer we were hoping would eventually develop one day from all those kids playing soccer on weekend mornings across the country.

There was the belief he would be the first of a new breed of U.S. forward, one who would be more technically and tactically gifted than the previous generation and a player who would elevate the national team to a level few teams in the world could match.

That’s a lot to expect of any player, and within a few years we realized that wasn’t going to be the case. Yet we keep making the same mistake with every player who scores a goal for the national team or in Major League Soccer who still has the word ‘teen’ attached to his age.

We’ve done it with Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore and Juan Agudelo, and we’ll continue to do it with the next Under-17 player who shows promise as well.

Is it a bad thing to have that hope? Of course not. Maybe one day the U.S. version of Lionel Messi will be discovered. But until then we have to realize one thing about these players who don’t quite live up to unrealistic expectations at such a young age.

Their careers are far from over.

Which brings us back to Eddie Johnson. On Friday night, Johnson was making his first appearance with the U.S. national team in almost two and a half years, and was only on the roster because U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann had been disappointed with Altidore’s attitude and work ethic.

Klinsmann targeted Johnson for two reasons. He had been a consistent goal scorer with the Seattle Sounders since his return to MLS this year, and he was good in the air. Friday night, Johnson scored two goals — both on headers, including one in the final minute, when the Americans eked out a 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Antigua and Barbuda.

Johnson’s performance eased the pressure for tonight’s final qualifier against Guatemala in Kansas City, Kan., where the Americans need just a tie to advance to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.

It may also have helped save Klinsmann’s job, since a failure to advance (and coming just seven months after the Under-23 team failed to qualify for the Olympics) might have caused the U.S. Soccer Federation to blow up the entire men’s program and start from scratch.

“We see a player that has matured a lot and knows now that he has a point to prove,” Klinsmann said after the game. “He gets that opportunity and knows that maybe at his age there might not be that many opportunities coming.”

Johnson, 28, didn’t have that maturity early in his career. He scored 37 goals in 51 international youth games with the U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams, signed a Nike Project-40 contract and was drafted at the age of 16 by FC Dallas in the second round of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft. He scored 24 goals in five years and was traded to Kansas City, where he scored 15 goals in 2007.

He had an even better beginning with the national team, where, at the age of 20, he became the first player in men’s national team history to score a goal in each of his first four appearances, three of which were qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup.

But things quickly went south. Following the 2007 season Johnson went to Europe, where he had stints with Cardiff City, Aris and Preston North End, where playing time — and goals — were hard to come by.

During that time he was brought into national team camp prior to the 2010 World Cup, but was one of the last cuts. Combined with an poor attitude, you had to wonder if his international career was over.

Perhaps sensing that, and with little prospects overseas, Johnson returned to MLS this year, where he was selected by the expansion Montreal Impact via the allocation process but immediately traded to Seattle, where he has prospered under veteran coach Sigi Schmid. Johnson has 14 goals in 26 games and is said to be more open and thoughtful and outgoing with the media.

He also has 14 goals with the national team, including 10 goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers, and could still make something of his international career. Perhaps just as important, he could light a fire under Altidore, who may be taking his place with the national team a little too much for granted.

In any case, Klinsmann has another forward in the player pool to choose from. Considering the poor strike rate up front in recent years, that can only be a good thing.

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