Arena Likes 'Balance' on Team

A Nike billboard in New York highlights the U.S. soccer team. Its 23-member roster has been set for the World Cup, which begins in Germany on June 9. (By Mark Lennihan -- Associated Press)

When U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena unveiled his World Cup roster yesterday, all the expected names were included: Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Claudio Reyna and the nine others who helped the American men's soccer team reach the quarterfinals of the 2002 tournament.

To no one's surprise, the 23-man list also included emerging players such as Eddie Johnson, Bobby Convey and Oguchi Onyewu, and a pair of backup goalkeepers who have established themselves on the English circuit.

Arena's selections were perhaps most noteworthy for three players who did make the cut (Ben Olsen, Jimmy Conrad and Brian Ching) and one, in particular, who did not -- Taylor Twellman.

"This has been a long process . . . and it was very difficult," Arena said. "There's not a rule of thumb on how any of these selections were made. Some were hunches, others were potential, others were, 'We have till June 12th and we think we can turn this player around.' "

Arena has until May 15 to submit his official roster to FIFA, soccer's world governing body, but unless a significant injury occurs, this is the squad that will travel to Germany and face the Czech Republic on June 12, Italy five days later and Ghana on June 22 in one of the most difficult first-round groups of the tournament.

The roster breakdown was balanced in many categories: 12 players from European leagues, 11 from MLS teams; 12 with World Cup experience, 11 without; 14 capable of playing multiple roles, nine more likely to stick to specific jobs.

"On paper, I like this team better than the one in 2002," said Arena, who will open training camp next Wednesday in Cary, N.C., and test his team with three friendlies late this month. However, "the way that this team is going to be judged is on the way we play in the World Cup. It's really that simple."

Said Donovan, "Talent-wise, looking at our roster, I would say we are deeper and a better team."

Arena set most of his roster several weeks ago, but admitted he needed the last few days to make his final decisions.

Olsen, who turned 29 today, reemerged with the national team just this year. Despite not playing in any of the U.S. team's 18 World Cup qualifiers between August 2004 and October 2005, his strong showing at training camps and in friendlies earned him a roster spot ahead of Kansas City's Kerry Zavagnin.

"It's a bit special after having not been part of this team at all -- and I didn't deserve to be part of it," Olsen said. "I found my identity again and learned a new role, and Bruce showed a lot of faith in me.

"I'm obviously honored and proud to be a part of this thing."

While Olsen's recent play had moved him into contention, Conrad had struggled on the field and with injuries. Despite being among MLS's elite defenders, he had made only 13 international appearances.

"He's a player, given certain circumstances, if he needs to get on the field, he can do it," Arena said. "Jimmy has shown me that he is a very capable defender and can play in the kind of style that we want to play with in our back line."

Said Conrad: "I'm kind of in shock still. . . . I'm definitely having a glass of wine with my wife tonight."

Ching, MLS's leading scorer with six goals in five games, was chosen over Twellman, the 2005 MLS most valuable player, and will provide depth behind the probable starter at target forward, Brian McBride. Ching has "done it for us and he's in pretty good form right now," Arena said.

Twellman, a former University of Maryland star, seemed to have earned a roster spot with solid recent play with the national team.

"He easily could've been on this roster," Arena said. "He was certainly among the group of players that were in and then out, in and then out along the way over the last couple months.

"We tried to find the right balance and find the right combination of players that would allow us to play a certain style against certain opponents and, in the end, the 23 we selected were the right ones."