US Announces Olympic Team for Beijing
Published
7/17/2008 10:44:36 AM
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US Men’s Olympic Team head coach Peter Nowak has named the 18 players who will represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The roster features 12 players who have experience at the full national team level, including the three youngest players on the team, Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley, and the most senior member of the team in Brian McBride. The official roster is due to FIFA no later than July 23.
2008 US MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders (5): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
Midfielders (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio) Forwards (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
The Americans will begin their final preparation for the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, July 20, with six days of domestic training in San Jose, California The team will then depart for Hong Kong, where they will participate in the ING Cup, facing fellow Olympic participants Ivory Coast on July 30 and Cameroon on Aug. 2.
"After an extensive process of evaluation, we are very excited about the group of players that we have chosen to represent the United States at the Olympic Games,” said Nowak. "It has been a very competitive environment, and we had some tough decisions to make. It's no secret that we have a difficult challenge in front of us with our group, which is one of the most difficult in the tournament. We know that some players are coming in during the offseason, and some are in season so we have to make sure that everyone is on the same page during our preparations. Our senior team plays in a World Cup Qualifier in August, and we wanted to make sure that we have two competitive teams for both the Olympic Games and the World Cup qualifiers.”
A total of 11 players were part of the USA squad that booked the team’s ticket to Beijing in March by finishing in second place in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Adu, Maurice Edu and Michael Orozco were named to the Best XI in that event, while Sacha Kljestan received Honorable Mention.
Eight different leagues from around the world are represented on the US roster, including Major League Soccer, which sends 10 players from six different teams. No more than two players have come from any one team, as the Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC each send a pair to Beijing. Nowak has enlisted three-time World Cup veteran McBride as one of three overage players, along with goalkeeper Brad Guzan and defender Michael Parkhurst. McBride brings a wealth of experience to the young squad having earned 95 caps during 10 years with Men’s National Team. McBride ended his National Team career with 30 goals, and is the only American player to score a goal in multiple World Cups. The next-highest cap-winner is Bradley, who has earned 20 caps with the full side and will turn 21 on July 31. Bradley is coming off a banner year for SC Heerenveen, his 20 goals in all competitions the most for a US player in a major European league in a single season.
“There’s definitely a lot of experience in our group, and a lot of guys who have been able to get good experience with the full National Team,” said Bradley. “Those experiences will be able to help us as a team as we move forward. At this point we’re looking forward to getting together this weekend to start the process of getting ourselves ready for the tournament.”
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