Football
ESPN staff 9y

United States focuses on Olympics with squad full of newcomers

United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann says building for the future and qualifying for the 2016 Olympics were in his thoughts as he announced a 28-player squad for January's training camp and first two friendlies of 2015.

Half of the players on the U.S.'s 28-player squad have yet to appear in a game for the national team.

The roster announced by the U.S. on Thursday almost exclusively features players from clubs in North America, with the only exceptions being 1860 Munich forward Bobby Wood and Liverpool youth player Marc Pelosi.

The squad will train for 12 days in Carson, California, beginning Jan. 12, before traveling to face Chile on Jan. 28. The U.S. then plays Panama at the StubHub Center in Carson on Feb. 8 to conclude the camp.

Klinsmann, who also serves as US Soccer's technical director, said the camp offers a dual focus of preparing veterans for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup, while also developing young talent that will try to qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"One, we definitely want to have a competitive group together that plays two friendly games against Chile and then in L.A. against Panama," Klinsmann said in an interview with USsoccer.com. "We want to do well in those. The other big thought was, 'How can we continue building the Olympic team cycle early enough to build that group toward the Olympic team qualifiers by the end of the year?' That's kind of how we put the process together."

Twelve of the players invited to January camp are eligible to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, which limits the majority of rosters to players under 23 years old.

"I think for a younger player to come into the senior team environment, every day is huge," Klinsmann said. "Every day you will learn a lot on the field, but also in conversations with the coaching stuff and your teammates off the field. It's a huge learning curve and having them in camp for about three and a half weeks gives them a lot of opportunities to learn.

"We want them to be sponges, we want them to ask questions, we want them to step it up, and we want them to develop personalities and kind of step out of their comfort zone and deal with problems on the field during training sessions."

The U.S. did not reach the 2012 Olympics after Honduras' 94th-minute goal in a 3-3 draw saw the Americans fail to advance past the qualification group stage.

The squad also includes seven veterans who joined the U.S. at the World Cup in Brazil: goalkeeper Nick Rimando, defenders Matt Besler and Jermaine Jones, midfielders Michael Bradley and Mix Diskerud, and forwards Clint Dempsey and Chris Wondolowski.

"Because we want to build now the Olympic team cycle, we've brought in a lot of younger guys purposely. But these younger players they still need the leadership of the experienced ones," Klinsmann said.

"And that's why these guys that went to the World Cup in Brazil that are part of this camp that I think about -- Clint Dempsey, Matt Besler, Michael Bradley, Chris Wondolowski, Jermaine Jones -- these guys, they really have to look after them. They have to educate them, mentor them and show them what it takes to become a World Cup player one day.

"So this is the exciting part that we want to continue, the part of education in the camp and the part of leadership from the experienced guys, and hopefully breaking in a lot of young players so that they start to understand that it takes a lot to become a real player one day."

Many of the U.S. newcomers have little to no experience with the club teams. Pelosi spent 14 months on the sideline after breaking his leg in 2013, and the former U.S. under-17 captain has a long way to go to break into Liverpool's senior squad.

Oscar Sorto has only made one appearance for the LA Galaxy, while Christian Dean has played in four games for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Dennis Flores has made only two senior appearances for Club Leon in Mexico. Goalkeeper Alex Bono announced this week that he was leaving Syracuse early to enter the MLS draft.

The team also includes some young players who have become well established in MLS, such as the LA Galaxy's Gyasi Zardes, Steve Birnbaum and Perry Kitchen of D.C. United, as well as Columbus' Wil Trapp.

MLS rookie of the year Tesho Akindele reportedly turned down an invitation to play for Canada last fall and will join the U.S. for the first time.

Still seeking their first cap with the U.S. are Bono, Pelosi, Zardes, Trapp, Morales, Birnbaum, Kitchen, Dean, Sorto, Flores, Akindele, Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin, Colorado defender Shane O'Neill and his Rapids teammate, midfielder Dillon Serna.

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Alex Bono (unattached), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy)

Midfielders: Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (out of contract), Dennis Flores (Club Leon), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (Orlando City), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew)

Forwards: Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Julio Morales (Tepic), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)

^ Back to Top ^