Brek Shea makes amends for horror USA debut in return to Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – Nearly a year ago, on Oct. 12, 2010, Brek Shea made his debut for the U.S. national team in Pennsylvania. It, uh, it didn't go well.

The peroxide blond's self-belief looked as fragile as a butterfly, the 6-foot, 3-inch winger consistently taking awful touches during a 0-0 draw with Colombia. Now, a year on, at 21, Shea offered the most compelling U.S. performance of the day during a 1-1 draw with Mexico.

A scorching season with FC Dallas in which he has scored nine goals (fourth best in the league) persuaded new U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann to bring the left-sider back into the fold for the friendly against El Tri in, you guessed it, Philadelphia.

"I got a lot of playing time this year and made things happen," Shea said. "I think that definitely helps a player's confidence."

Inserted as a substitute, it took some swagger, sure, but also a whole lot of skill to do what Shea did in the 73rd minute. Collecting the ball from Juan Agudelo after a quick throw, Shea burst into the box, shedding Mexican defenders in his wake, before poking a precise ball in front of goal to the back post. All Robbie Rogers had to do was run into it to knock the ball into the back of the net for the equalizer.

"In my opinion, in our league, if Brek's not the best, he's one of the best players at just getting the ball and going at people and putting people under pressure," Landon Donovan said. "As a defender, he's just a nightmare to go up against. As far as his attacking qualities, he showed tonight that he's got the makings to be a real good player."

So what changed in the scant few months between his frightened debut and his frightening third cap? (There was a January friendly against Chile featuring a weakened U.S. roster in between.) Most of it is mental, Shea admits.

"Last time I was excited and nervous," Shea said. "It was fast compared to the soccer I'd been playing. Tonight I got in there and relaxed and did what I like to do."

The talent's always been there. The first player born in the '90s to suit up for the United States has led FC Dallas to the second best record in MLS despite the absence of last year's league MVP, David Ferreira. The trick for Klinsmann was converting the scintillating club form to the international level.

"He has the qualities to take people on, he has tremendous pace," Klinsmann said of Shea. "Besides that we want to see how he integrates in a group like that, how comfortable he is, what type of character he is. He fit right in there. It was really nice to see.

"It took him a day or two – a lot of them came the first or second time here, they were nervous and that is just normal – but then he kind of shook it off and I knew we could bring him on any time."

The 21-year-old credits Klinsmann's vibe and forgiving air for allowing him to settle in the team and build his confidence.

"Jurgen, he definitely brings positive energy," Shea said. "He's all about, 'If you mess up, no big deal, just go and do it the next play.' I really like that about him."

Donovan agreed. As much as comebacks were a hallmark of Bob Bradley's U.S. team, Klinsmann has also focused on rebounding positively from errors or poor spells.

"Soccer is a game full of mistakes, just like life is. The only thing you can control is how you react," Donovan said. "I think too often as players we get frustrated and down on things, but he's made sure this week everything was positive. I think that showed on the field even though we went down a goal, even though we were under pressure in the first half. We kept going and in the end we were the better team."

Shea will remain in Philadelphia with teammate Zach Loyd, waiting for the rest of FC Dallas to join them ahead of an MLS match against the Union this weekend. Despite a horror debut in the Philadelphia area, Shea should remember Philly—when he eventually leaves—positively indeed.