Renewed commitment earned DaMarcus Beasley spot on U.S. World Cup team
Reporting from Philadelphia -- Da Beas is back.
With that bit of Chicago-ese out of the way, it’s time to recognize that Indiana-born DaMarcus Beasley has climbed out of the funk he was in and is ready to reclaim his career.
The two-time World Cup player and longtime Landon Donovan sidekick this week was named to the U.S. roster for the 2010 tournament in South Africa, much to his delight.
Less than a year ago, he was definitely on the outs, dropped by national team Coach Bob Bradley after a miserable performance at the Confederations Cup.
His club career was not going much better, with a spate of injuries and a loss of form limiting his playing time with Scottish champion Rangers.
But Beasley, who turned 28 on Monday, was not ready to quit, not with a World Cup on the horizon. He came into the national team’s camp determined to show Bradley and anyone else who cared to pay attention that he was ready, willing and able to play at his former level.
“He certainly had to prove himself,” Bradley said. “DaMarcus obviously had fallen out if it a little bit, and he needed to make a renewed commitment to doing things as a player that make his team better. We’ve seen that, and we feel good about the way he’s worked to make that happen.”
On Thursday, a relaxed Beasley was tossing around a football at the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice facility, preparing for the U.S.’ game Saturday against Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field (11 a.m. PDT, ESPN2 and Galavision).
The day before, he fielded questions about the turnaround in his fortunes.
“I’ve got my injuries behind me,” he said. “I didn’t play as much as I wanted to, the last part of the season at Rangers, but I feel fit, I feel strong, I feel better than I have in a year, so I feel good.”
Beasley played 45 minutes in a 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic in East Hartford, Conn., on Tuesday night, and his performance sealed his place on the 23-man World Cup roster.
“I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” he said, “because then I might not have performed the way I wanted to. So I just treated it like another game.
“I know I can still play. I’m having fun again. The last year and a half has been very tough for me, but I feel very strong and I’m happy that Bob gave me the opportunity to show that I can still play at this level.”
Beasley has played 91 games for the U.S., including six in the World Cup, and has scored 17 goals. He hopes to add a few more games and goals in South Africa.
“We’re young, we’re energetic, we’re excited,” he said, “and we’re going to surprise people in the World Cup, I think.”
Saturday’s game will be the third time the U.S. has played Turkey, which finished third in the 2002 World Cup. The teams tied, 1-1, in Istanbul in 1991, and Turkey won, 2-1, in St. Etienne, France, in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.
The goal-scorer for the U.S. that day in St. Etienne?
Da Beas.
