U.S. SOCCER: Bruce Arena on his player selections

The following is an edited transcript of U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena's media conference call, on his player selections for the next two World Cup qualifiers, against El Salvador Oct. 9 in San Salvador (TV: pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET) and Panama Oct. 13 in Washington, D.C. (TV: ESPN2, live, 7:30 pm. ET).

On Claudio Reyna's absence:

''The one question mark you all may have is where is the captain, Claudio Reyna. As of late yesterday afternoon, it became apparent to us the injury that he suffered approximately 10 days ago in training with Manchester City was not coming around the way he felt it would. The decision was made that he would not be a likely candidate for any of our games. Therefore, Claudio is staying in England and the roster we have is the roster we're going with.''

On Tony Sanneh:

''I think Tony has done great. I traveled to Columbus a week or two ago, and saw him play against the MetroStars. He's just coming back in form; he's really not at his full fitness yet, but he's moving along. Tony has been very impressive in the games I've seen him play in MLS. His physical qualities are still there. I think he's played extremely well. He realizes the international games are going to be a big challenge for him at this point, coming back from a fairly long layover, but I think he can get the job done. He's been a great addition to the league and certainly a great addition for Columbus.''

On whether he feels he has built the type of player pool necessary to finish qualifying:

''I think that's a concern, however, looking at it the other way I don't think we've played at our best up to this point but we're on top of our group. If we can turn a corner here and improve our performance I think we're going to be in good shape.''

On playing Landon Donovan and Clint Mathis together:

''The issue with Landon (Donovan) and Clint (Mathis) and where the best spots to play them on the field are. Now as we enter these two games, we're without Reyna. It complicates some of that. What we always try to do is piece together a team that really takes into account the strengths of our players and we try to cover the weaknesses that we think we may have in the lineup. That's always gonna be the strategy. I think Clint's going to be a little bit better this time around just because he's been back into the swing of things a little bit longer. He had an injury over the summer and hasn't been in the first 11 for Hannover until recently. I think that's a big plus and we should see a better Clint Mathis this time around. Landon is Landon. He's a good player and we need to make sure we get him at the right time and the right moment where he can pull off the plays that make us a better team. People have mentioned that Landon hasn't played his best but I think, to Landon's credit, he's been the player that's been part of three of the four goals in the past three games: the goal in Jamaica, the goal in Panama and the goal he scored he scored against El Salvador. If Landon can be a little bit more consistent over 90 minutes it's really going to make a difference for our team.''

On developing the players to become playmakers:

''I don't have a magic wand where I can create playmakers. Players' qualities and style are developed on a daily and weekly basis with their club teams. A national team coach looks at the qualities of the players he has in his pool and places them on the field in the positions he thinks will best synchronize the whole team. We don't have many players with Claudio's qualities. I think another player that might be comparable is John O'Brien. However, we don't have a whole lot of players like Claudio and I think that's one of the voids on our team. I think there are a couple of young players that perhaps down the road will be able to step up and assume that role, but at the time I think we're a little bit limited in that regard. I think if you look around the world at a variety of national teams that does seem to be a weakness in a lot of the teams. There aren't many players with those kinds of qualities. We're hopeful that as we move forward some of our younger players can emerge in that role.''

On the challenges of replacing Chris Armas and Claudio Reyna:

''The reason Chris isn't here is because he just returned last week for the Fire after a three or four week layover. He played 15-20 minutes in the Open Cup game and will sit out this weekend due to a suspension. His fitness level for the international game probably isn't there yet. I think we could have possibly taken a chance and brought him in but at this point in time, for Chris' own good and for his club team, I think it's better that he stays there. I think Zavagnin and Mastroeni are options in the role of the defensive type of midfielder. Certainly there are central type of midfielders on this roster. Donovan, Mathis, Gaven, Beasley and Sanneh can play in the center of the midfield. We have options, we just need to, as we move forward in the week of training, make a decision who we're going to go with and the kind of shape we're going to take when we step on the field.''

On Steve Cherundolo:

''I'll tell you, Steve Cherundolo is first class. When I informed him of this decision by email, he thanked me for letting me know where he stood with everything and he wished us the best. I don't know if you know a whole lot about the modern day player, but it's very rare that we get that kind of response. Steve has always put the team first. Again, in Steve's case, and especially with his club, they frown upon players being called and flown across the pond and not participating. That was the case with Steve and I don't think that would have helped our relationship with Hannover. That was part of my thinking in that decision.''

On what he thinks of DaMarcus Beasley's club experience with PSV at this early stage:

''I think DaMarcus' club experience is almost predictable. You would think in the early going, the excitement and the enthusiasm of being in a new environment and a prestigious club would get him over the top early and he showed pretty well in the early going. He got caught in a number of tough games in a short period of time and I think he crashed physically. The second game, the last time down in Panama, he was completely shot. I think when he went back to PSV they noticed that, physically, he was done and he needed a bit of a break. And that's what occurred. A lot of our young players and a lot of our players aren't used to those kind of pressures. He went from a game in Panama on Wednesday to a club game on Sunday to a Champions League game the next Wednesday with all that travel, so he was pretty shot. This time around, I think he's going to play tomorrow, but we're going to see a much fresher DaMarcus Beasley when he comes back into town on Sunday. Having said that, he did play quite well against El Salvador.''

On why Brad Friedel hasn't been called up much recently and if he's indicated he no longer wants to play for the national team:

''No he hasn't. Actually, this would be the first time since the games in June that he would have been eligible to be placed on our roster. We called Brad in originally for the Grenada game, but the injury did not permit him to participate. Additionally, during the games in August and September the injury was still there and Brad wasn't in our plans because of the injury. Since the World Cup, I don't know if many people realize this, we've had 29 games and Brad has played in one of them. In the meantime, we've had a number of 'keepers such as Kasey (Keller), Tim (Howard) and Johnny Walker with our teams, so for us we've been a little inconsistent as a team, but goalkeeping hasn't been a problem. And therefore, at this point and time, I didn't want to make another change. I just think it is too many changes and Kasey, and Tim and John have done a good job for us. Next time around we may make some changes. I actually sent him an email today, and other players that weren't part of the roster, just to inform him of my decision and my reasoning, and my reasoning was exactly what I just mentioned to you. I think in the best interest of our team at this point and time, it is the right thing to do. Having said that, we know Brad is an outstanding goalkeeper, but at the same time I feel our other 'keepers will get the job done as well.''

On the fitness level of forward Josh Wolff:

''I thought he looked pretty sharp. After that recent injury he has had, he's had about now maybe six weeks, I could be wrong, because I know he was just coming back before our last game and he even felt he wasn't ready to come in to our camp. I think he's had some consistency there and I think he's running well off the ball. I think in the games I've seen he and (Davy) Arnaud have done very well. So, I think we're seeing Josh shape up and perform and I think he'll be able to help us.''

On if Kerry Zavagnin's role becomes more important in the midfield:

''There is a chance Kerry could be in our first eleven. Obvious candidates (to fill in) for Claudio would be Kerry and Pablo (Mastroeni) and (Tony) Sanneh has played in that spot before as well. Those are some things we have to consider going into the camp.''

On whether or not Carlos Bocanegra would be moved to the outside with Gregg Berhalter on the roster:

''In this roster Carlos is a possibility as is (Bobby) Convey and (Cory) Gibbs. I can't remember the last time we've had him (USA-Poland on March 31). He had that real difficult injury (to his face). He got busted up pretty good and then he had a sports hernia surgery as well. Now he's been back in full swing with his club team over the last two or three weeks, so once we get him in camp and see what he looks like and see what kind of form he is in, we'll be able to make the kind of decisions of perhaps moving players to other spots.'' On why he didn't call defender Greg Vanney in for this camp:

''Just simply a question of the way we are going to play in these games and with some of the players we have, we weren't going to use Greg on a full-time basis for any of these two games. Therefore, I felt that why bring in players over to the U.S. that aren't in our plans for the first eleven. That is really the reason. Greg could certainly be in this roster, but I felt that considering the fact that maybe we were going to do a couple of other things it didn't make sense to bring in a player from abroad that didn't have a chance to play.''

On if he is surprised at all that he is still using Cobi Jones:

''Yes. I will tell you this though, in December, Cobi and I talked by email and I just told Cobi, 'Don't worry about being there for six months, I'm not going to even entertain the idea of using you until when qualifying starts.' Cobi needed a break as he had been at it for awhile, and he got his break and slowly got back into it with the (Los Angeles) Galaxy. When he got the opportunity, to Cobi's credit, he made plays in the Jamaica game and the Panama game that made a difference. That is why he's back here. He deserves it and there is a lot to be said for experience. I think Cobi would even admit he's maybe not the guy that can play 90 minutes for us in the next two games, but he still loves it.''