Rongen Finalizes Roster
Thomas Rongen, coach of the United States under-20 national team, Thursday named a roster of 20 players, including eight from Major League Soccer, to take part in the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates later this month.
“We’ve been preparing for two years now,” Rongen said, “and I believe this team is ready for the challenge it will be faced with in the UAE.”
The U.S. will play Paraguay, Germany and South Korea in the first round of the 24-nation world championship, with all three games set for Al-Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The American roster includes three players from the Los Angeles area: UCLA defender Jordan Harvey of Mission Viejo, Stanford defender Chad Marshall of Riverside and midfielder David Johnson of Venice, who plays for Willem II Tilburg in the Netherlands.
Johnson is one of two European-based professionals on the team. The other is defender Zak Whitbread of Liverpool.
The eight MLS players selected by Rongen for the Nov. 27-Dec. 19 tournament are midfielder Bobby Convey and forward Santino Quaranta of D.C. United; forward Mike Magee and defender Ricardo Clark of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars; forward Ed Johnson and defender Jordan Stone of the Dallas Burn; midfielder Arturo Alvarez of the San Jose Earthquakes; and midfielder Justin Mapp of the Chicago Fire.
The team leaves Nov. 22 and will play Panama in a final warmup match in Abu Dhabi three days later.
Burn Moves Back
The Dallas Burn, which will move into its new stadium in Frisco, Texas, in 2005, announced Thursday that it will return to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for the 2004 MLS season.
The Burn’s attendance fell dramatically this season when it played at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas. The team, which failed to make the playoffs this year, spent its first seven seasons at the Cotton Bowl.
“Our fans spoke loud and clear and we listened,” said Greg Elliott, the Burn’s president and general manager.
Takeover Opposed
Fans who hold a financial stake in Manchester United are moving to make sure that there is no takeover of the English Premier League champion.
Shareholders United, the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, which owns 17% of the club, said Thursday it would fight any such move.
“We didn’t go through that epic battle [with would-be buyer BSkyB] only to see the club snatched away from fans five years later by another rich megalomaniac or international corporation,” said spokesman Oliver Houston. “United are a 125-year-old community asset, not some stock market plaything.”
Quick Passes
Ronaldo confirmed in Teresopolis, Brazil, where the world champions are training for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Peru, that his four-year marriage to Milene Domingues is over and that they are close to finalizing a divorce.... Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand formally denied a charge of misconduct brought against him by England’s Football Assn. after he failed to turn up for a drug test. He has requested a hearing.... Midfielder Sebastian Battaglia, 23, of South American champion Boca Juniors will be transferred to Villareal in Spain for a reported $3.5 million as soon as the Argentine team has played European champion Real Madrid in the Intercontinental Cup in Yokohama, Japan, on Dec. 14.... Otto Rehhagel, the German coach of Greece’s national team, has been offered a two-year contract extension that would keep him in charge through the 2006 World Cup.
Times wires services contributed to this report.
