Steve Birnbaum makes the most of his chance for U.S. soccer team
U.S. defender Steve Birnbaum (15) celebrates along with teammate Matt Besler (5) after scoring against Iceland on Jan. 31.
A month ago, Steve Birnbaum’s future with the national soccer team appeared uncertain at best.
He had been called into training camp just once, played in one game, and was sent back to his club team with the admonition, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
Nearly a year passed before the phone rang. And even then it was clear Birnbaum was something of an afterthought. Winter camp was about to start in Carson and Coach Juergen Klinsmann was suddenly short on defenders. Could Birnbaum make it?
“I got the call Friday morning and they said can you be in on Monday,” Birnbaum remembers. “I said, ‘Yeah. I’m in Irvine. I’ll just drive up.’”
That short commute might wind up taking Birnbaum a long way.
When Brad Evans left Sunday’s friendly with Iceland at halftime with a minor hamstring injury Birnbaum took his place and made the most of his second appearance for the U.S. by scoring the winning goal.
That performance, along with the fact Evans and Michael Orozco — the two starting center backs against Iceland — have both left camp to rejoin their club teams probably will mean more playing time for Birnbaum on Friday when the U.S. ends its three-week camp with an exhibition against Canada at the StubHub Center (7:30 p.m., FS1).
“I did have expectations of myself,” Birnbaum, 25, said of his goals coming into the new year. “I wanted to improve and to be in the mix [for] the national team constantly. I wanted to prove something to them, that I should be here.
“And hopefully I’m going to keep doing that.”
Earning a permanent place on the roster will be difficult. Birnbaum’s best position is center back, and though there were unexpected openings there during winter camp, Klinsmann will have four World Cup veterans and two Premier League center backs to choose from when World Cup qualifying resumes in March.
Birnbaum can also play on a wing, versatility that will improve his chances. But he’ll need another solid effort against Canada to continue pressing his case, something Klinsmann has already challenged him to deliver.
“We send a message to the players that they take their destiny in their own hands,” the coach said. “Hopefully they create that type of motivation within themselves to really drive their cases, to drive their own careers.
“We point out you are your own boss, you are your own driver. Make your own statement.”
Twitter: @kbaxter11
