Jones Back With U.S. Team, but Galaxy Status Uncertain
Cobi Jones returns to the starting lineup today when the U.S. plays Colombia in an international soccer friendly at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Whether Jones will be back in a Galaxy uniform this season is uncertain.
Jones and his agent, Cory Clemetson, still were negotiating with Major League Soccer on Friday night and the league was demanding a decision from U.S. soccer’s all-time appearance leader.
The MLS draft is on Monday, and Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid has been unable to make any moves because he does not know whether Jones will sign or decide to pursue his career overseas.
If Jones stays, the Galaxy will be significantly over the salary cap and will have to trade a player or two. If Jones goes, Schmid will have to make different decisions on draft day.
Bruce Arena, to his relief, does not have such problems.
Today’s game offers the last opportunity for the U.S. coach to assess his American-based players before the World Cup qualifying game Feb. 28 against Mexico in Columbus, Ohio.
Arena has made three changes to the team that defeated China in Oakland last Saturday, 2-1.
First, Jones returns after missing the China game because of a death in the family. He will take Ben Olsen’s place on the right wing, Olsen having returned to England to rejoin Nottingham Forest, the English first division team that is expected to acquire him from D.C. United for more than $2 million.
Brian McBride, who scored the first goal against China, also has returned to England to rejoin Preston North End. His place in the forward line has been taken by Chris Albright, who will start alongside fellow Sydney Olympian Landon Donovan in a two-man U.S. attack.
Apart from Jones, the midfield is unchanged, with Chris Armas, Clint Mathis and DaMarcus Beasley keeping their starting spots.
On defense, Arena has dropped Gregg Berhalter in favor of the Galaxy’s Greg Vanney. Vanney will start at left back, with Jeff Agoos moving inside to central defense. Tony Meola will start again in goal.
Forward Josh Wolff is on the squad and probably will come off the bench in the second half. The Chicago Fire player took Galaxy midfielder Pete Vagenas’ roster spot.
Colombia comes into today’s game off a 3-2 victory over Mexico at the Coliseum on Wednesday night and should give the U.S. a solid idea of how the team is progressing as it prepares for its 10-game World Cup qualifying series this year.
“Our goal is just to be better than we were last week, to carry the game a little bit longer,” Arena said Friday. “I thought we had a good 45 minutes [against China] then slipped, but after a month we should start to be in pretty good shape. I hope we can sustain our game longer.
“Colombia is somewhat similar to Mexico, so I look forward to a nice test.”
Arena has two games to point toward--the qualifier against Mexico on Feb. 28 and a high-profile friendly against Brazil at the Rose Bowl on March 3.
“After Saturday, we’ll sit down and evaluate where our MLS and European players stand and think about the 24 we’ll bring into camp for Mexico and Brazil,” he said.
“By the end of February, I’ll have had a look at all the players in our pool. The Brazil game is a bit awkward, coming as it does, but there are positives in it. We’ll have the guys going back to Europe after Mexico, so Brazil will be another chance to look at the MLS guys.”
