Galaxy Could Be at a Loss
Clive Charles, coach of the U.S. Olympic men’s soccer team, has to submit his preliminary roster of players to FIFA today, and the Galaxy may be impacted by whatever decisions he makes.
Charles named his 18-player team two weeks ago but since then two probable starters have been injured: Chicago Fire midfielder Chris Armas and Colorado Rapid goalkeeper Adin Brown.
Brown, 22, was dropped from the squad Tuesday after suffering a hip injury in training last week while trying to come back from an earlier thigh injury.
“Obviously I was disappointed, but I definitely agree with the decision,” Brown said. “You cannot take an injured player to a competition as big as the Olympics.
“Until the most recent injury, I had been starting to feel pretty good again and training hard. I was really hoping to get back with the Rapids and be ready for the Olympics, but when I had the setback last week, I pretty much realized the Olympics were not going to happen for me.
“I think it’s the dream of many young kids to play in the Olympics, and to be that close and then have it taken away from you is tough, there’s no way of sugar-coating it. I just need to keep working hard and maybe by the next Olympics I can put myself in position to be chosen as an over-age player and still be able to fulfill that dream.”
Armas--along with defenders Jeff Agoos and Frankie Hejduk--was one of three over-age players originally selected by Charles, but the former Galaxy midfielder sprained left knee ligaments in the U.S. national team’s World Cup 2002 qualifying match against Barbados on Aug. 16.
Fire Coach Bob Bradley said Tuesday he did not know if Charles would be willing to risk taking a player to Australia who might not have recovered in time to play in the first round of Olympic competition.
“At this point, he is jogging and doing some easy cutting,” Bradley said. “He has not touched a ball and obviously has not returned to training.
“To be honest, he probably is looking at another 2 1/2-3 1/2 weeks as far as his return to playing [is concerned]. All you have to do is look at a calendar and realize that that puts you right in the midst of the first-round games.”
The Galaxy’s Sasha Victorine is the likely choice to replace Armas, even though Victorine has been used as a forward more than as a defensive midfielder this season.
With Brown out, Victorine’s chance of selection improves because, at 22, he can replace the goalkeeper on the roster without costing Charles one of his three permitted over-age players. Charles can then select former UCLA and current U.S. national team goalkeeper Brad Friedel as his third over-age player.
The only complication is that Friedel, who last played with Liverpool in the English Premier League, is trying to negotiate a contract with the Blackburn Rovers in England’s first division and being absent for the Olympics might hurt his chances of being signed.
If Friedel and Victorine are selected, it will mean that four of Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid’s former UCLA players will be heading for Sydney. Hejduk and Peter Vagenas already having been picked.
