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| Sunday, November 17, 2002 22:24 EST |
A fresh start in D.C.
By Marc Connolly
[ESPN.com]
After sifting his way through 93 players in his
four-year reign leading up to last summer's World Cup,
Bruce Arena is at it again.
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Arena's first National Team camp roster from 11/98
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GK: Kevin Hartman, David Kramer, Zach Thornton.
D: Jeff Agoos, C.J. Brown, Leo Cullen, Robin Fraser, Mike Petke, Eddie Pope.
MF: Chris Armas, Mark Chung, Cobi Jones, Eddie Lewis, Clint Mathis, Ben Olsen, Steve Ralston, Richie Williams.
FW: Paul Bravo, Roy Lassiter, Brian McBride, Joe-Max Moore, Ante Razov, Josh Wolff
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Of course, this time around, the U.S. National Team is
not in need of a total overhaul the way it did after
Steve Sampson left the job in 1998.
Arena speculates that half of his 23-man roster from last summer's quarterfinalists will not be in the mix come World Cup qualifying 18 months from now – players such as Jeff Agoos, Carlos Llamosa, Joe-Max Moore, David Regis and Earnie Stewart.
But for the most part, the strength of that upstart
side will be around for 2006 and beyond when you look
at names such as Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley,
Pablo Mastroeni, Clint Mathis and John O'Brien.
Even 29-year-old team captain Claudio Reyna is now expected to be a major part of the qualifying effort and future World Cup campaign after originally saying he might retire from international soccer after playing in his third World Cup.
Despite all this, Arena is starting his no-stone-unturned search party this weekend with a friendly against El Salvador at RFK in a very similar way that he did upon taking the job in the fall of '98.
The 23 men he chose to bring into camp for the
team's first international game since losing to
Germany last June can easily be compared with the 22
players he summoned to play Australia on Nov. 6, 1998:
All 23 men play in Major League Soccer, as was
the case with the 22 Arena picked to face Australia.
11 players in D.C. right now have not received a
cap. There were nine neophytes in '98, including some
guys named Chris Armas, Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff.
Four players in camp have World Cup experience
(Beasley, Donovan, Mastroeni and Mathis), while five
had such a distinction on their resumes in '98 (Agoos,
Cobi Jones, Brian McBride, Moore and Eddie Pope).
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Starting lineup U.S. vs. Australia on 11/6/98
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GK: Zach Thornton
D: Carlos Llamosa, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope
MF: Cobi Jones, Joe-Max Moore, Richie Williams, Clint Mathis, Eddie Lewis
FW: Roy Lassiter, Brian McBride
Subs: Chris Armas, Mark Chung, Ben Olsen and CJ Brown
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Where the big difference between the two squads lies
is in the age.
Arena called in three players over the age of 30 in '98 in Agoos, Paul Bravo and Robin Fraser.
This time around, not only is there not a single player who has experienced the Big Three Oh, but not even one who could be classified as being in
his late-twenties.
The oldest player in camp is Chris Klein of the Kansas City Wizards, who turns 27 in January. The average age is just under the age of
24. Startling, yet a testament to the youth
national team programs, Project-40 and MLS.
Speaking of youth national teams, this roster is one that is practically fully supplied from either the U-17, U-20 or U-23 (Olympic squad) teams of the past
three years.
U.S. National Team press officer Michael Kammarman reports that everyone on the roster except three players -- Jeff Cunningham, Eddie Robinson and
Ryan Suarez -- have played on a youth national team. Twelve of those have played in either a youth World Cup or the Olympics.
So wearing a jersey with a U.S. patch on it will be
nothing new for several of these players, including
21-year-old Kyle Martino, who was named the MLS Rookie
of the Year in October.
Arena has said that the National Team futures of these players won't be decided based on their play in camp and against El Salvador. This is just a starting point
in a very long process.
But if the past means anything, these 23 players might want to know that 12
out of the 22 players from that squad in '98 weren't
even in consideration for a roster spot in the World
Cup, and most of from that group didn't even suit up
for a World Cup qualifier from the time it began in
July of 2000 through the following year.
For those who start on Sunday, here's an interesting
fact to note: eight of the 11 players who started
against Australia made the World Cup roster – Agoos,
Jones, Eddie Lewis, Llamosa, Mathis, McBride, Moore
and Eddie Pope.
What really should be fun to watch over the next few
years is how the goalkeeping situation pans out.
Arena is in a win-win situation once again, as this is, by
far, the deepest and strongest part of the team. Brad
Friedel (31) and Kasey Keller (33 on Nov. 29) are
playing the best soccer of their lives right now, so
there is no reason to think that both World Cup vets
won't be in the mix throughout the next four years.
What Arena is looking at, really, are their backups in
Adin Brown, Tim Howard and Nick Rimando.
All three of these keepers are young, supremely talented and have
the chance to make a living playing in Europe's top
leagues in the near future.
Unlike what happened with Kevin Hartman, David Kramer and Zach Thornton after
making the squad to face Australia four years ago,
Sunday's match should mark the beginning of a dog
fight between Brown, Howard and Rimando that will
extend into MLS play, future National Team camps and competitions such as the Gold Cup and Confederations Cup before qualifying begins in the summer of 2004.
The most intriguing part of the upcoming friendlies
and look-see opportunities for Bruce Arena isn't as
much watching can't-miss future National Team regulars
like Taylor Twellman and Kyle Martino.
It's checking out the relatively unknown players such as San Jose
defender Eddie Robinson or older players like Daniel
Hernandez (26) who have always shown tremendous skill
in MLS, but just haven't put it on display at the next
level and need to start proving themselves on the
international level if they are to play with the U.S.
in meaningful games in the future.
Let the sifting begin.
Marc Connolly covers soccer for ESPN.com. He can be
reached at shaketiller10@yahoo.com.
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