BY SCOTT FRENCH Senior Editor Goalkeeper D.J. Countess, brilliant at the World Youth Championship earlier this summer in Argentina, has rejected offers from three European suitors to sign a Project-40 contract with Major League Soccer. The 19-year-old Fair Oaks, Calif., native, also the starting netminder for the U.S. U-17 team that finished fourth at its World Cup in New Zealand in 1999, will be assigned to an MLS team on Tuesday through a special lottery. Countess, who would have been a sophomore at UCLA this fall, also had received offers from Hannover 96 (German Second Division), AS Monaco (French First Division) and Lyn (Norwegian First Division). “I looked at all the options, all the opportunities, and it seemed the best opportunity is the MLS right now,” Countess said Friday. “They did everything in their power to make the deal possible. I think it will be a good opportunity, a good place to start my career.” Countess said he sought counsel from U-17 coach John Ellinger, U-17 goalkeeper coach Peter Mellor and Miami Fusion (and former UCLA) goalkeeper Nick Rimando. “I did my research,” Countess said. “MLS is where I think I’m going to develop most as a professional. When you look day-in and day-out, MLS was the best decision at this time. My peer group and people around me helped me come to this conclusion.” Neither Countess nor MLS would divulge details of the contract except that it is a multiyear deal. There had been strong suspicion that Countess would sign with a European club after his superb showing in Argentina, where the Americans reached the second round largely because of his play in the nets. He’s an excellent shot-stopper with cat-like reflexes, and U.S. U-20 coach Wolfgang Suhnholz — who played in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, Oberhausen and TeBe Berlin in his native Germany before coming to the NASL in the ’70s — called him one of the best goalkeepers he’d seen at any level. Countess visited Hannover and Lyn and said it was “a great experience.” “It was actually very close [between MLS and Europe],” he said. “Up until a couple days ago, I thought I’d go to Germany or back to UCLA. … I thought I’d probably end up signing in Germany, but at the end of the day I felt MLS was going to be a great process for me to develop. It’s a good chance for me to grow, to gain experience; I’m excited by how other young players have done — Nick Rimando and Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey — and to be part of that group is a great opportunity. “Up until two weeks ago, I didn’t know how serious MLS was. They really stepped up to the plate and made a good offer. It looks like a great situation.” Every team that applies to participate in Tuesday’s lottery will be assigned a number of chances, out of a thousand, based on its record over the previous 32 regular-season games. If all 11 eligible teams apply — Colorado cannot participate because it won a lottery earlier this season for Gus Kartes, which it then traded to Tampa Bay — D.C. United would receive 266 numbers, Tampa Bay 222, New England 146, Colorado 115, San Jose 88, Dallas 64, the MetroStars 44, Los Angeles 27, Kansas City 15, Miami 8 and Chicago 5, according to Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidas. A computer program will select the winning number. Colorado and San Jose, which hold allocations, could make claims for Countess in advance of the lottery, but teams cannot use discovery options for the goalkeeper.