CHICAGO (December 23, 2002) —U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bruce
Arena has chosen a 27-man roster that will train in preparation for the international
friendly against Canada on Saturday, January 18 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla. The first training camp of 2003 will be held at the IMG
Academy in Bradenton, Florida from Jan. 4-16, before the team relocates to
Ft. Lauderdale. Fans can follow the action Jan. 18 live online via ussoccer.com’s
MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.
"The training camp in Florida provides an opportunity to begin to build
the foundations of fitness and form that will help us compete throughout
the year,” said Arena. “Since most of these players have experienced a long
layoff, we will focus on improving their conditioning while continuing to
evaluate their potential to compete at the international level.”
Six players from the U.S. World Cup side will participate in camp, led
by the attacking trio of Brian McBride, Clint Mathis and Landon Donovan.
Mathis led the USA in scoring in 2002, recording seven goals and two assists.
Meantime, the 20-year old Donovan, who recently re-signed with MLS for two
more seasons, was the only player to appear in all 20 of the USA’s matches
in 2002, finishing first in starts and minutes played. Veteran defender
Eddie Pope returns to national team duty after undergoing knee surgery on
October 29 to remove scar tissue.
MLS players dominate the roster, with all 10 MLS teams represented for
the two-week training camp. Six players from the 2002 MLS Best XI – Wade
Barrett, Carlos Bocanegra, Jeff Cunningham, Tim Howard, Steve Ralston, and
Taylor Twellman – make the roster. In addition, the league’s goalkeeper
of the year, the San Jose Earthquakes Joe Cannon, looks to earn his first
cap for the United States.
The Columbus Crew contributes the largest contingent to Arena’s side,
with McBride leading five members of the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champions
to Bradenton. MLS Rookie of the Year Kyle Martino will look to get his second
cap for the U.S. after appearing in the 2-0 victory against El Salvador on
Nov. 17 in Washington, D.C. The West coast clubs commit eight players to
the effort, with 2002 MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy and the San Jose
Earthquakes sending four a piece. Earthquakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney
returns to action after suffering a fractured ankle against the L.A. Galaxy
on Sept. 14 of this year.
In addition to the 27-man roster, Chicago Fire midfielder Chris Armas
and FC Nurnberg defender Tony Sanneh will join the team in Florida to continue
rehabilitation from injuries. Armas suffered a torn ACL in the USA’s 2-0
win against Uruguay during the “NIKE Road to Korea” on May 12 of this year.
Sanneh has been playing through a back injury in Germany for the last two
months, and will receive treatment while the German Bundesliga takes its
annual winter break.
The match against Canada is a rematch of the team’s 2002 CONCACAF Gold
Cup semifinal clash on January 30 in Pasadena, Calif., which was won by the
U.S. in penalty kicks after a well-played 0-0 draw. In their history, the
U.S. and Canada have squared off against each other 25 times in a rivalry
dating all the way back to 1925, with the U.S. holding a slight 9-8-8 advantage.
However, the United States has not lost to Canada in nine consecutive games,
compiling a 5-4-0 mark in a stretch dating back more than 17 years to a 2-0
loss in Vancouver on April 2, 1985.
Tickets ranging in price levels from $17 to $40 go on sale starting Saturday,
Dec. 7, at 10 a.m. ET at all South Florida Ticketmaster outlets (including
FYE, Spec’s Music and Ricky’s Records), by phone (Ft. Lauderdale 954-523-3309;
Miami 305-358-5885; West Palm Beach 561-966-3309) and on-line at www.ussoccer.com.
Discount rates for groups of 20 or more are available immediately through
U.S. Soccer by calling 312-528-1249.
U.S. Men’s National Team Roster
January 2003 Training Camp
Bradenton, Fla.
Name
Pos.
Ht.
Wt.
Birthdate
Caps/G
Hometown
Club
Barrett, Wade
D
5’8”
150
06/23/76
1/0
Virginia Beach, Va.
San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Beasley, DaMarcus
M
5'7"
126
05/24/82
15/3
Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Chicago Fire (MLS)
Bocanegra, Carlos
D
6'0"
170
05/25/79
7/0
Alto Loma, Calif.
Chicago Fire (MLS)
Califf, Danny
D
6'1"
175
03/17/80
2/0
Orange, Calif
Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Cannon, Joe
GK
6’2”
190
01/01/75
0/0
Los Altos Hills, Calif.
San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Convey, Bobby
M
5'8"
150
05/27/83
3/0
Philadelphia, Pa.
D.C. United (MLS)
Cunningham, Jeff
F
5'8"
155
08/21/76
5/0
Crystal River, Fla.
Columbus Crew (MLS)
Donovan, Landon
F
5'8"
148
03/04/82
29/7
Redlands, Calif.
San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Dunseth, Brian
D
6’0”
170
03/02/77
0/0
Upland, Calif.
Columbus Crew (MLS)
Garcia, Nick
D
5'10"
160
04/09/79
0/0
Plano, Texas
Kansas City Wizards (MLS)
Hartman, Kevin
GK
6'1"
174
05/24/74
1/0
Palos Verdes, Calif.
Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Howard, Tim
GK
6’3”
210
03/06/79
2/0
North Brunswick, N.J.
MetroStars (MLS)
Klein, Chris
M
6'1"
180
01/04/76
7/0
St. Louis, Mo.
Kansas City Wizards (MLS)
Martino, Kyle
M
5’10”
144
02/19/81
1/0
Atlanta, Ga.
Columbus Crew (MLS)
Mastroeni, Pablo
D/M
5'10"
170
08/26/76
14/0
Phoenix, Ariz.
Colorado Rapids (MLS)
Mathis, Clint
M/F
5'10"
170
11/25/76
26/10
Conyers, Ga.
MetroStars (MLS)
McBride, Brian
F
6'1"
170
06/19/72
65/20
Arlington Heights, Ill.
Columbus Crew (MLS)
McCarty, Chad
D
5’11”
190
10/05/77
1/0
Clovis, Calif.
Columbus Crew (MLS)
Mulrooney, Richard
D/M
5'9"
160
11/03/76
4/0
Memphis, Tenn.
San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Olsen, Ben
M
5'8"
140
05/03/77
20/4
Middletown, Pa.
D.C. United (MLS)
Pope, Eddie
D
6'1"
180
12/24/73
55/5
High Point, N.C.
D.C. United (MLS)
Ralston, Steve
M
5’9”
160
06/14/74
7/0
St. Louis, Mo.
New England Revolution (MLS)
Rimando, Nick
GK
5'11"
181
06/17/79
1/0
Montclair, Calif.
D.C. United (MLS)
Suarez, Ryan
D
6’2”
185
07/28/77
0/0
Roseville, Calif.
Dallas Burn (MLS)
Twellman, Taylor
F
5’11”
170
02/29/80
1/0
St. Louis, Mo.
New England Revolution (MLS)
Vagenas, Pete
M
5'8"
150
02/06/78
1/0
Cerritos, Calif.
Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Victorine, Sasha
D/M
6'2"
165
02/03/78
2/1
Corona, Calif.
Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Goalkeepers: Joe Cannon, Kevin Hartman, Tim Howard, Nick Rimando
Defenders: Wade Barrett, Carlos Bocanegra, Danny Califf, Brian Dunseth,
Nick Garcia, Chad McCarty, Eddie Pope, Ryan Suarez, Sasha Victorine
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Chris Klein, Kyle Martino,
Pablo Mastroeni, Clint Mathis, Richard Mulrooney, Ben Olsen, Steve Ralston,
Pete Vagenas
Forwards: Jeff Cunningham, Landon Donovan, Brian McBride, Taylor Twellman
U.S. Men's National Team Staff
Head Coach: Bruce Arena (Fairfax, Va.)
Assistant Coach: Glenn Myernick (Denver)
Assistant Coach: Curt Onalfo (Oak Hill, Va.)
Goalkeeper Coach: Milutin Soskic (Bakersfield, Calif.)
General Manager: Pam Perkins (Evanston, Ill.)
Trainers: Ivan Pierra (Los Angeles)
Theron Enns (Denver)
Equipment Manager: Joe Ahearn (Chicago)
Press Officer: Michael Kammarman (Chicago)
Copyright © 2002, mysoccer.com