Captain Kljestan anchors U.S. push toward Olympics

Since his first senior cap last June, Sacha Kljestan has emerged as the leader of the young U.S. team that will look toward China. Rodrigo Arangua/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. in Summer Olympics Qualifying March 11: vs. Cuba at Tampa, 8 p.m. March 13: vs. Panama at Tampa, 8 p.m. March 15: vs. Honduras at Carson, Calif., 7 p.m. March 20: semifinals, 5 p.m./8 p.m.* March 23: final, 4 p.m.* * Should U.S. advance finalists qualify for '08 Games, all times Eastern

By Ridge Mahoney, Special to SI.com, Soccer America

When Clint Dempsey played a seemingly innocuous ball to him near the sideline early in his national team debut against China last June, Sacha Kljestan knew what to do: Find the man on the move.

Out of a congested midfield he spotted former U.S. under-20 teammate Benny Feilhaber slicing behind the Chinese back line. Kljestan looped a ball forward that Feilhaber ran onto and tapped over a charging goalkeeper to break a 1-1 tie. It held up to be the winning goal.

First cap/first assist isn't as dramatic as scoring on your debut, as other Americans -- most recently defender Eddie Robinson against Switzerland in January -- have done, yet as Kljestan has shown for the U.S. at several levels and with Chivas USA, his forte is forging chances, not necessarily taking them.

"Sacha just sent me through," said Feilhaber, neatly encapsulating the skillful yet simple manner in which Kljestan goes about his business. He'll play an important role as the under-23s attempt to qualify in March for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Many of the age-eligible Americans, including Feilhaber and Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), may not be released by their European clubs for the CONCACAF competition from which two teams qualify. So the MLS contingent of Kljestan, Stuart Holden (Houston), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Maurice Edu and Marvell Wynne (Toronto) could be among the midfield components coach Peter Nowak counts on to get the team through qualifying.

"I have been getting the picture of what we're trying to accomplish with all of U.S. Soccer in general, things we're trying to change," says Kljestan, who played a season for U.S. head coach Bob Bradley during his rookie season with Chivas USA. "Peter trusts me, and I trust him. We have a lot of faith in each other, which is cool, because Peter's a great guy to play for."

Nowak and Bradley, for all their reluctance to publicly single out players for praise, are pushing the buttons on Kljestan. As busy as he was playing for the under-23s, national team and Chivas USA in '07, this year is loaded up with club commitments and Olympic and World Cup qualifiers.

"It's good for me," says Kljestan. "I didn't have much of an offseason my first two years in the league but I'd rather be doing all these camps than being somewhere on vacation. My vacation time will come; now's the time to put in the work. It's a big year for myself and for the Olympic team and the national team."

Summer school

A month after his national team debut, Kljestan started against Paraguay and played the full 90 minutes against Colombia in the Copa América. In the latter game, he misfired on a header that could have tied the game after playing a first-time ball -- similar to his feed to Feilhaber -- that Charlie Davies squared to Eddie Johnson, who couldn't put the chance away. Colombia held on to win, 1-0.

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