Shortly after naming his 23-man roster for this summer+s World Cup, U.S. coach Bruce Arena discussed his picks:
Bruce Arena
On the 10 alternates named to the squad: -As you are probably well aware, we announced the 23-man roster earlier this evening on ESPN SportsCenter. One item I would like to include is our 10 alternates who were not announced this evening. I think they could be key figures in our World Cup run as well, so I would like to give them their due. -We have two goalkeepers as alternates: Tim Howard and Zach Thornton. -As defenders we have Steve Cherundolo, Greg Vanney and Richard Mulrooney. In midfield: Richie Williams, Brian Maisonneuve and Brian West. -At forward we have Jovan Kirovski, Ante Razov. Those 10 alternates will be prepared to step in if we struggle with injuries or have any other problems in the next 3-4 weeks.+
To what extent that age is a factor on the U.S. world cup roster? -I think if you refer to 1990, we+ve got slightly older. After the last four World Cups we need to understand that we are still a developing country. -I think at the next World Cup you+ll see a drastically younger team than this. You+ve got a guy like Jeff Agoos who is 34 years old and our goalkeepers, (Kasey) Keller and (Brad) Friedel, who are both over 30. -But then you+ve got (midfielder DaMarcus) Beasley and (midfielder/forward Landon) Donovan, who are both 20 years old. [Beasley turns 20 on May 24]. -I don+t think it+s so bad to have our average age at 29. Hopefully the previous experience is going to be a factor. That+s why there are so many veterans on the team.+
On whether the team was picked specifically to play against Portugal, South Korea, Poland: -This is a team we have put together that I think gives us the best opportunity to be successful and place the best team we can have on the field on June 5. We took very little into account in regards to the qualities of Portugal, Korea and Poland. We took into account our own team. The areas we think we have strengths in and weaknesses in, and we tried to make up some of those voids in the final selection.+
On how he notified the players on if they had been included on the 23-player roster: -I only spoke with one player today to let him know that he was on the roster. We spent some time over the weekend talking to the players that were not making the roster. But I did have a chance to speak with one of our young guys in DaMarcus Beasley, and obviously he was very excited.+
On how it felt to tell a young player like DaMarcus Beasley: -I spent a lot of time talking to the players that didn+t make the team. I talked to him via e-mail this weekend. He+s the only player I believe I told that to. As I mentioned, I told DaMarcus that he made the team, and he was elated and looking forward to helping us in anyway he can. He+s an option late in the game. I don+t anticipate him being in our starting 11. The way we can use him is late in the game. Those qualities of quickness and speed are important late in the game and were a factor in making that decision.+
On the hardest part of selection: -To a certain degree it was easy, and then at the end it gets real difficult. The alternates I mentioned all had a legitimate cause to be part of the roster, and it was difficult. At the end we looked a little at the experience, when we felt it was necessary, and speed to complement the roster. Those issues at the end got difficult, I think the first 16-18 are not difficult but filling in the last 5-7 were, and I think we really need the right people to compliment some of our weaknesses, as well as people who I think will do the things necessary to have the right kind of team spirit as we move forward to June 5.+
On who will be the starter in goal for the three -Nike Road to Korea+ games: -I have not decided on how we will play the three games at this point. I+m going to use our camp to decide that. The bottom line is that it+s like splitting hairs between Friedel and Keller. Meola knows his role as the third keeper. But obviously, the decision will be between Friedel and Keller.+
On if Tim Howard+s inexperience was the main factor in his exclusion from the roster: -Yes, I think that+s correct. I also believe that Tim will benefit a lot over the next few months playing games. His development will improve if he+s playing games in MLS as opposed to watching Friedel and Keller in the World Cup.+
On how many players will be available for the camp in Cary, N.C.: -Right now, I+m comfortable that 19 of 23 players will be available when players report on April 30. We will likely have 3-4 players who are not yet able to report. Likely candidates for that are (Claudio) Reyna, (Tony) Sanneh, (John) O+Brien and (David) Regis. John O+Brien still has games left in the Dutch league and then the Dutch Cup Final. Sanneh, Reyna and Regis are fighting relegation battles at the moment.+
On the inclusion of Pablo Mastroeni: -All things being equal, I felt that Pablo deserved to be on the roster, really because he+s done so well for us in 2002. It validates the process. For Pablo to go through the 7-8 games he+s played for us this year and for him not to be recognized for his efforts would be wrong. He+s got some good quickness, He+s good on the ball, plus he can play a variety of positions. He can play left back, he can play center back and he can play holding midfielder. So his versatility is key.+
On Mastroeni as the only player who did not play in a qualifier: -Anyone on this 23 man roster has to be prepared to play. I think we put him in enough situations, with the Gold Cup and other friendlies to demonstrate to us that if called upon he is a guy we can count on.+
What areas need to be stronger for the U.S.: -There are a number of areas we need to work on. We want to make sure that come June 5 the team is as fit as possible. At the same time we have players coming off a long difficult season, so we have to balance that. We need to be better as a team on the defensive end of the field. We have to do a better job of getting our back four sorted out and getting our midfield shape. -Lastly, besides doing a better job attacking and defending restarts, we need to be better going forward and being a little bit more dangerous. These are things I think we are capable of getting better in the next month. We have capable people in every position, and I firmly believe that spending some time together we will get better in the areas I just mentioned.+
On the sentimentality of going to a World Cup with players he used to coach in college: -I haven+t thought about it on the sentimental end. Now that I+m thinking about the guys — I guess you+ve got Agoos and Meola and Claudio Reyna. I do recall when I had Tony as a second-year player at the University of Virginia, and he was heading off to World Cup qualifying at that age and all. Obviously I never thought that 12-13-14 years later that Tony would be part of a World Cup roster. Jeff and Claudio and Tony have done quite well since they left me. I don+t make roster selections on whether they played for me in college or for D.C. United . I came into this with one simple thought: Will they help us?+
On if he+s looking to see more of U.S. forwards Clint Mathis and Brian McBride paired up top: -Most definitely. They+ve had I believe just two games together — Honduras (a 4-0 win in Seattle, Wash., on March 2) and Ireland (a 2-1 loss in Dublin on April 17). And we+ll get the opportunity to see them in training and hopefully in two or three of the games in May.+
On Landon Donovan and his role on the team: -At this point we have not established a starting 11, but Landon (Donovan) is a player who can play up front as one of our two forwards or underneath our two forwards. -Additionally he has played out wide and has done well there. One of the big reasons Landon is on this roster is not only because of his talent and his good showing over the past year, but it+s also that he can play in a number of positions. As we continue to move forward in the month of May, we will look at Landon in a couple of spots and see how he can best help us when our full team is together.+
On if Hejduk+s inclusion on the roster was an effort to improve the overall speed of the defense: -Whoever thinks of our back line is slow is mistaken. I think (Tony) Sanneh and (Eddie) Pope don+t lose too many foot races. And Agoos and (Gregg) Berhalter may not be speedsters, but they position themselves well. I don+t think our back line is labeled as one that doesn+t have good speed. But part of the reason I selected him is that he+s one of the few players in +98 who walked away from the World Cup feeling that he had done well. Lastly, he+s a guy that will fit in with the team as far as team spirit.+
On Carlos Llamosa: -Carlos (Llamosa) has proven that he is one our best pure defenders. He has a passion to defend, is a good one-on-one defender. He positions himself well off the ball, and he has a lot of experience and is composed, so he is a guy we can count on in almost any game. He has had a little bit of an issue with injuries as of late, but we think he is going to be fine. He+s had a good showing over the last three years so I think he earned his position on the roster.+
On why Llamosa was not selected for the European friendlies: -It was based on the fact that we had a number of European defenders that we wanted to look at, plus we wanted to give Eddie Pope a run in those games, and Eddie has missed a number of games in the last couple of years. So that is really the reason Llamosa was not chosen.+
On when he was finally set on the 23-player World Cup roster: -To be honest, I+ve been scratching names on a pad since we qualified in October. We didn+t really deviate too much from our original list. As I said earlier, the last 5-7 names were difficult. It wasn+t easy, but as we continued to move forward through the winter and spring. I finalized it around 10 a.m. today. But certainly we have thought of this 23-man roster for some time.+
