U.S. national soccer team Coach Bob Bradley selects only three from Major League Soccer to fill out his 18-man roster. The others are from European clubs.
When the U.S. roster for Wednesday's friendly international against Poland in Krakow finally was revealed, U.S. national soccer team Coach Bob Bradley's choices came as little surprise.Bradley included only three Major League Soccer players in his 18-man squad: Galaxy forward Landon Donovan, as well as striker BrianChing and midfielder Ricardo Clark, both of the Houston Dynamo.
The 15 other players are all from European clubs, with the only noteworthy inclusions being the return of defenders Jay DeMerit of Watford and Cory Gibbs of Charlton Athletic.
Injury sidelined Gibbs just before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and he dropped so far out of the picture that he was not even included in U.S. Soccer's 2008 media guide.
DeMerit last played for the U.S. in its 1-0 loss to Sweden in Gothenburg in August.
The only surprising omission by Bradley -- probably caused by an agreement with Benfica not to call him up for both the Olympic qualifiers and the Poland game -- was Freddy Adu, whose role in helping the U.S. soccer team qualify for this summer's Bejing Olympics was crucial.
Wednesday's U.S.-Poland game will be broadcast live on FSC at 12:30 p.m.
Poland, ranked 24th in the world, compared with the U.S. team's 28th, is preparing for the June 7-29 European Championship, where it will play Germany, Austria and Croatia in the first round.
Even though the U.S. is only 6-7-2 all-time against the Poles, the Poland game is the easiest of four international matches Bradley's squad will play before World Cup qualifying begins for the Americans in June.
Also on tap for the U.S. are games against England on May 28 at Wembley Stadium, where Donovan could make his 100th national team appearance; Spain on June 4 in a game that has been set for the seaport city of Santander on the Bay of Biscay; and Argentina on June 8 at far-less-scenic Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
The qualification by Honduras and the U.S. for Beijing brought the Olympic field up to 15, with the final place still to be decided among Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.
The 13 other teams with a chance at a medal are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Serbia and South Korea.
The draw to divide them into four groups of four for first-round play will be held April 20 in Beijing. Look for the gold and silver to head to South America and the bronze to Africa.
Meanwhile, two Honduran players who should have caught the eye of MLS scouts were free-agent forward Georgie Wilson Welcome, whose skills were enough to have U.S. and former UCLA defenders Marvell Wynne and Patrick Ianni lunging around and fouling like clumsy amateurs as they attempted to stop him, and goalkeeper Kevin Hernandez.
North American fans of Germany's national team will be pleased to learn that GolTV, the network run by former Uruguayan standout and 1984 South American Player of the Year Enzo Francescoli, has acquired the North American rights to all of Germany's 2010 World Cup qualifying matches as well as six of its friendly internationals, including the one against England in Berlin in November.
Mexico's two most illustrious teams are enjoying or enduring two very different seasons.
Chivas de Guadalajara seems able to do no wrong and, after Sunday's 2-1 victory over CONCACAF champion Pachuca, is unbeaten and in first place with a 7-0-4 record. Forward Omar Bravo scored one of Sunday's goals and leads the league with eight.
Club America, meanwhile, is going through a horrendous spell. Coach RubenOmar Romano's team is on a seven-game winless streak and is in last place in the standings. Romano did little to endear himself to America fans when he was quoted as saying that doing well at the Copa Libertadores tournament is more important this year than doing well in the Mexican league.
He backtracked a bit when questioned about that stance.
"Things sometimes get misunderstood," he said. "The league is also important. However, the reality is that we are way down in the league standings but much closer in Libertadores. But that doesn't mean we are going to ignore the league."
Club America leads it Copa Libertadores group, just ahead of Argentina's River Plate.
With the MLS season set to begin this weekend, there has been no new word from Toronto FC on its quest to land former New York Red Bull and Chivas USA midfielder Amado Guevara, the league's MVP in 2004.
If Guevara returns to MLS, Chivas USA would have the right of first refusal for the Honduran international. It can claim him and then trade that right.
If Chivas Coach Preki opts not to claim him -- which would be foolish because Chivas gave up a designated player spot to get him in the first place -- the San Jose Earthquakes and Toronto, in that order, would have the chance to acquire him, according to a league spokesman.
