|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Veteran presence Agoos leads selections to men's Olympic squad
CHICAGO (AP) -- Defender Jeff Agoos and midfielders Frankie Hejduk and Chris Armas were picked Tuesday as the three "wild-card" players for the U.S. Olympic soccer team. Unlike the Olympic women's soccer tournament, which is contested by national teams, the Olympic men's soccer tournament is played by under-23 teams because FIFA, the sport's governing body, doesn't want it to infringe on the World Cup. Under pressure from the International Olympic Committee, FIFA decided before the 1996 Atlanta Games to allow each team three players over the age limit. However, many national governing bodies don't pick top players so as not to anger clubs, which already lose the players for World Cup qualifiers and other national team games. "These have been some of the hardest decisions I've had to make in my coaching career," U.S. coach Clive Charles said. "I feel like we've got the best team possible heading to the Olympics." Agoos (D.C. United) and Armas (Chicago) were among 14 players from Major League Soccer. Hejduk, who performed well at the 1998 World Cup, plays for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Agoos is 32, while Armas is 28 and Hejduk is 26. The Americans play the Czech Republic (Sept. 13 at Canberra), Cameroon (Sept. 16 at Canberra) and Kuwait (Sept. 19 at Melbourne) in the opening round, with the top two in the group advancing to the quarterfinals of the 16-nation tournament. The full roster: Goalkeepers-Adin Brown (Colorado), Tim Howard (New York/New Jersey). Defenders-Jeff Agoos (D.C. United), Danny Califf (Los Angeles), Ramiro Corales (New York/New Jersey), Brian Dunseth (New England), Chad McCarty (Tampa Bay), Evan Whitfield (Chicago). Midfielders-Chris Armas (Chicago), Joey DiGiamarino (Colorado), Landon Donovan (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Frankie Hejduk (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), John O'Brien (Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), Ben Olsen (D.C. United), Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles). Forwards-Chris Albright (D.C. United), Conor Casey (University of Portland), Josh Wolff (Chicago).
| ||||||||||||||||||||
