Oguchi Onyewu wants to make it into Jurgen Klinsmann 23 man list which the manager will be bringing along with him to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. The former Ac.Milan player stated that he joined Sheffield Wednesday as a way to guarantee himself plenty of playing time with the club and hopefully be taken into consideration by Klinsmann.
The 31 years old defender joined Sheffield Wednesday in January after not being given the chance to perform with QPR.
“Going into the winter market I knew I had to find a situation where I had at least an opportunity to showcase what I could do… If I flopped and fell flat on my face, so be it. But I needed that opportunity,” Onyewu said, in an exclusive interview.
“There were some options on the table, but Stuart Gray, Sheffield Wednesday’s head coach contacted me and expressed his interest in wanting to help out my situation, and wanted me to help out with their situation. I spoke with the U.S. international Stuart Holden about the club, who was on loan to Wednesday last year, and the move ticked every box I think needed to be ticked.”Onyewu said.
Onyewu sustains a close relationship with Klinsmann and this was evidenced when the German coach gave the captain armband to Onyewu during a Gold Cup match against Cuba back in 2013. The problem for the veteran defender is that he is constantly struggling with injury spells which has not allowed him to perform at the level he wants at just about every club he has joined starting from Ac.Milan then moving along to Twente, Malaga, Sporting CP and QPR.
Despite moving from different leagues, different clubs, he still has not managed to make a stand out role anywhere he has been in and Onyewu was a performer in the U.S. national team’s match against Ukraine earlier in March which witnessed the American team suffering a disappointing 2-0 defeat.
It still remains unclear whether or not Onyewu will be representing his country for the 2014 World Cup but the next few weeks will be crucial for the future of the veteran defender.