Ever since he first broke into the United States national team, Cristian Roldan has been a somewhat polarizing figure. For his detractors, he’s just another MLS player with limited upside who’s taking a spot from a younger, more promising prospect probably playing in Europe. For his supporters, Roldan is a reliable, solid contributor who can adequately play a variety of positions at an international level.
Something seems to have changed after his most recent Gold Cup performance. Although Roldan was used almost exclusively off the bench, he was reliably one of the USMNT’s most influential players.