Gibbs withdraws from US Camp, Ihemelu his replacement

January 7th, 2009
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Following up on a previous article about Rapid’s defender Cory Gibbs, he has withdrawn from camp and is being replaced by Ugo Ihemelu. Hopefully this bodes well for our defense this season, to have two defenders on Team USA.

Ihemelu has one cap versus Norway, and clearly has better hair than Gibbs. Nonetheless Gibbs’ withdrawal is puzzling.

Read the full article at the Rapids site

Rapids News and Analysis, US National Team , , , ,

  • brianrants

    Gibbs’ mysterious withdrawal solved.

    From The Denver Post:

    Cory Gibbs revealed he pulled out of the U.S. national team camp ahead of its Jan. 24 friendly against Sweden at the behest of Smith. Gibbs said Smith was concerned the defender, who had injury issues before joining the Rapids last August, might put too much stress on his body with the extra training prior to the regular season.

    Smith said he spoke with national team coach Bob Bradley about his concerns and they ended in agreement.

    “Through discussions with Cory, we both felt it was the best thing for the club and individual,” Smith said.

  • http://coloradorapidsfan.com/2009/02/rapids-lock-in-2-internationals-ihemelu-cummings/ Colorado Rapids Fan Site – Unofficial fan blog for Colorado Rapids Soccer Fans » Rapids lock in 2 Internationals – Ihemelu, Cummings

    [...] National Team last year. Ihemelu started in 16 of the 19 games he appeared in, and has been a recent presence on the US Men’s National Team. He earned his second cap in the 3-2 win over Sweden in [...]