Gooch: The gentle football giant of the US defence

JOHANNESBURG - After holding the vaunted Spanish frontline scoreless in the semifinal, the United States defence is looking to shut down the equally high-powered Brazilian attack in the final of the Confederations Cup Sunday.

The rock at the back for the United States in the tournament so far has been Oguchi “Gooch” Onyewu, who has played in every minute of the their first four matches and picked up slack for injured captain Carlos Bocanegra.

And though Bocanegra returned against Spain, it was Gooch who drew attention with a string of last-ditch tackles and dramatic saves.

As early as the first minute against the Spanish, his no-nonsense clearance of a dangerous corner showed it would be the big man’s night.

The 1.92m-tall Standard Liege defender even managed a searching through ball just minutes later that Iker Casillas had to save desperately at the feet of Charlie Davies to show that the Americans were not going to sit back in a shell.

In the 43rd minute, he deftly flicked his leg backward to clear with his heel when it looked like David Villa was sure to score from a Fernando Torres cross. He also made a lunging save on Xavi’s pass for Torres in the 50th minute and slid in at the last second to prevent Torres from breaking free in the 79th.

Most spectacularly, he threw himself at the feet of Carles Puyol’s point blank effort with three minutes left in the match to keep the Spanish off the scoresheet.

It’s no wonder Torres called the US defence “fantastic” after the contest, and US coach Bob Bradley said the central defensive partnership of Gooch and Jay DeMerit was “very strong.”

But when asked about his own play in the tournament, the soft-spoken player, who has been linked with moves to Birmingham City and Fenerbahce this summer after having previously spent time on loan at Newcastle, was typically humble.

“I don’t really think about my personal performances. The team has done well defensively,” he says. “Despite giving up six goals in the first two group matches we’ve come together since then.”

But he does it admit to the match being “a high point in my career” and even says it could be a “pivotal” moment for him.

Though he was born in Washington DC, his parents are Nigerian and his full name is Oguchialu Chijioke Goma Lambu Onyewu. He still identifies strongly with the West African country.

“I’m Nigerian, but I’ve never lived there for any extended period,” he says. “And anyway I try to put that aside because I play for the US

“But I’ve visited family there, and I know there are some there watching me now and they have pride to see me at a big tournament like this,” says the player who went to Europe to play with French side Metz in 2003.

Since moving to Liege in 2004, he has been named to the Belgian League’s Best XI twice, having also won two league titles and was named Foreign Player of the Year in 2005. The next year, he was voted US Soccer Athlete of the Year. He won his first international cap in 2004 and started all of the States’ World Cup 2006 matches.

Currently embroiled in a racism controversy after claiming that Anderlecht defender Jelle Van Damme made slurs at him during the championship playoff, Gooch sued the player earlier this month.

Though he won’t talk specifically about it, he is clearly serious about the need to stamp racism out of the game. And for himself, he waves off questions about the difference of hosting a World Cup in Africa.

“This isn’t the first or second time I’ve been in Africa,” he says. “And there is a great feeling of pride because of the big stage of the World Cup.

“But for me, I think everyone is the same everywhere in the world, except for language. I don’t see too many differences in people really,” he says with a characteristic shy smile.

Gooch will try to keep smiling despite the “big challenge” of meeting five-time World Cup winners, Brazil, in the final in Johannesburg.