Californians Have Their Day in the Sun
Call them the Golden State warriors.
If Coach Clive Charles is serious about pursuing a gold medal in Sydney, it’s only fitting that the U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team he named Tuesday includes 10 players from California.
One more and Charles would have been able to field an all-California starting lineup.
He might have had that chance anyway had defender Steve Cherundolo of San Diego not been sidelined because of injury, or had Charles chosen to include midfielders John Thorrington of Palos Verdes or Sasha Victorine of Carmichael.
As it is, the U.S. team features goalkeeper Adin Brown of Pleasant Hill, as well as defenders Danny Califf of Orange, Ramiro Corrales of Salinas, Brian Dunseth of Upland, Chad McCarty of Clovis and Frankie Hejduk of Cardiff by the Sea.
In the midfield, there is Joey DiGiamarino of Corona, Peter Vagenas of Pasadena and John O’Brien of Playa del Rey. The lone California forward is 18-year-old Landon Donovan of Redlands.
The Olympic team’s West Coast bias notwithstanding, there were few surprises when Tuesday’s announcement was made.
As expected, the three “overage” players chosen were U.S. national team defenders Jeff Agoos and Hejduk and defensive midfielder Chris Armas.
“The presence that Armas has on our national team, not just as a ball-winner but as a playmaking midfielder, we felt he was pretty much an outright choice from the beginning,” assistant coach John Ellinger said.
“He’ll add a lot combining with O’Brien in the center of midfield for us.” said Hejduk, who played on the 1996 Olympic team, comes in as a replacement for Cherundolo at right back, while the choice of Agoos is intended to bolster the team defensively at left back.
“With what we’re going to be facing at the Olympics [Czech Republic, Cameroon and Kuwait in the first round], we felt we needed more international experience from our outside defenders,” Ellinger said.
Seventeen of the 18 players are professionals; 14 are from Major League Soccer clubs, while three play in Europe. Only one player, forward Conor Casey, is still in college.
“We feel pretty strong about this particular group of players,” Ellinger said. “We feel it’s got pace up front and on the flanks. They’ve proven that they’re technically sound, and they’ve gained quite a lot of experience over the past two years.”
The Galaxy provided two players, Califf and Vagenas, while a third Galaxy player, Victorine, said Charles had told him Saturday night that he would be an [unnamed] alternate, to be called up in the event of injury.
“Basically, it came down to numbers,” Ellinger said. “If we decide to go to a 4-3-3 [formation, rather than a 4-4-2], the player we feel can connect us better is Vagenas.
“As far as Thorrington, he played well in qualifying, but when it came down to going with an extra defender [Hejduk] in the back who can also play wide and in midfield, we chose to go that route instead of with John.”
Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said Charles had a reason for sticking with the players he has used all along, rather than introducing newcomers, such as Carlos Bocanegra, who are playing well in MLS at the moment.
“He went with the players that he identified pretty early on in this process and that he used in qualifying,” Schmid said.
“Clive has placed a high priority on team spirit and team camaraderie. I think that was something he really wanted his team to possess. He felt that would set this Olympic team apart from teams in the past.”
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Setting Sail for Sydney
U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team roster:
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No. Player Pos. Club 1. Adin Brown G Colorado Rapids (MLS) 2. Brian Dunseth D N. England Revolution (MLS) 3. Chad McCarty D Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS) 4. Jeff Agoos D D.C. United (MLS) 5. John O’Brien M Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) 6. Frankie Hejduk D/M Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 7. Joey DiGiamarino M Colorado Rapids (MLS) 8. Danny Califf D Galaxy (MLS) 9. Ben Olsen M D.C. United (MLS) 10. Peter Vagenas M Galaxy (MLS) 11. Chris Albright F D.C. United (MLS) 12. Ramiro Corrales D N.Y./N.J. MetroStars (MLS) 13. Landon Donovan M/F Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 14. Chris Armas M Chicago Fire (MLS) 15. Evan Whitfield D Chicago Fire (MLS) 16. Josh Wolff F Chicago Fire (MLS) 17. Conor Casey F University of Portland 18. Tim Howard G N.Y./N.J. MetroStars (MLS)
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ALTERNATE
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No. Player Pos. Club 22. Matt Napoleon G Columbus Crew (MLS)
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Position index: G--goalkeeper D--defender M--midfielder F--forward
