On the Eve of the World Cup, Beasley's Full of Anticipation

DaMarcus Beasley started on the U.S. team in the 2002 World Cup before injuring his knee. (By Robert E. Klein -- Associated Press)

HAMBURG, June 5 -- DaMarcus Beasley's mind works as quickly as his lively little feet, so it didn't come as much of a surprise Monday when he voiced his impatience at having to wait to find out his role in the U.S. national soccer team's World Cup opener next week against the Czech Republic.

He wants to know if he will be starting on the left side of midfield, on the right side of midfield, in the middle of the field -- or, perhaps, not on the field at all.

Coach Bruce Arena will not announce his starting lineup until an hour or two before kickoff and, if recent history is any indication, he doesn't plan to tell the players until two or three days beforehand.

"Right now people [on other teams] know where they're going to play, whether they're starting," Beasley said Monday at the team hotel. "That kind of sets guys' minds at ease -- whether you're going to play or not going to play. Even if you're not in the first 11, at least you know you're going to be in a reserve role and you can accept that and you can move on. A lot of people are still fighting for spots and still trying to break into the lineup.

"It's a little irritating not to know, but I think Bruce is going to have some decisions to make."

Although he said he understands Arena's approach to selecting starters, Beasley said it would be beneficial to the players to know the lineup further in advance.

"If we trained with our first 11 for, say, a week or five days and now it's our first game, that would be better to help our first 11 to see what we need to change or do this or do that," said Beasley, who, at age 20, started the first two matches of the 2002 World Cup before a knee injury limited his time the final three games.

Beasley has not been in top form lately and, in the last of three tuneup matches in late May, he started on the right side instead of in his natural position on the left, leading to speculation that the surging Bobby Convey will play on the left wing against the Czechs.

"I've played the left, I've played the right, I've played the middle, so any of the midfield positions is okay with me," Beasley said, adding later that "left midfielder, that's my position."

Primarily on the left for the national team, Beasley usually finds himself on the opposite side in the Netherlands, where he has played for Dutch champion PSV Eindhoven for two years.

"We have several guys who are comfortable on either side of the field, and sometimes you'll move a guy to another side of the field to open the door to get another player onto the field," assistant coach Glenn Myernick said. "What any coach tries to do is, at all times, try to have their best soccer players on the field and maybe this isn't their ideal position; that's okay, as long as they're on the field and that's probably the case with Beasley."

Asked if testing Beasley on the right could be interpreted as a way of opening a spot for Convey, Myernick said, "It's a possibility."

Despite Beasley's accomplishments with the national team and his club, there is also the possibility he could end up as a reserve. Arena has numerous midfield options, both in terms of personnel and formation. Much also depends on the fitness of team captain Claudio Reyna, recovering from a strained hamstring, and veteran John O'Brien, who has been working himself back into shape after a series of injuries.

Regardless of where he plays -- or whether he plays at all, for that matter -- Beasley has been one of the most dynamic players to emerge in the U.S. program in the last decade. With a slender build, sprightly feet and breakaway speed, he is constantly tormenting opposing defenses.

His scoring instincts have also become influential; of the 20 field players on the U.S. roster, only Brian McBride (30) and Landon Donovan (25) have more international goals than Beasley (12).

Beasley is a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., who bypassed college to sign with MLS and play 4 1/2 seasons with the Chicago Fire before joining PSV Eindhoven.

He made the decision at age 12 to give up basketball -- he's 5 feet 8 and 145 pounds now, so that was probably a good move -- and pursue soccer.

With little or no soccer on TV at the time, he and his brother Jamar, a former MLS journeyman, would head to Soccer House on Coliseum Boulevard in Fort Wayne and buy European highlight tapes. DaMarcus's favorite player was French legend Michel Platini -- "the way he commanded midfield" -- while his brother liked Pele.

Three times a week the pair would watch their heroes.

"We would get up before we had to go to school and we would watch soccer tapes," DaMarcus Beasley said. "And then after school, we would go into our backyard and try to emulate moves and do different things, just me and my brother. We really didn't have anyone to play with growing up."

Asked if any of his classmates knew who Platini was, he said: "Definitely not. Nobody knew what soccer was. . . . Things have changed a lot."

Now comes a second opportunity to star in the World Cup. If only he knew what his role will be.

"Everybody wants to know if you're going to play, as soon as possible," Beasley said. "You have that different mind-set whether you are starting or if you are not. That's just how Bruce works. We're kind of used to it."

U.S. Notes: The U.S. beat Angola, 1-0, in a closed scrimmage Monday. Brian McBride scored the goal and Reyna, recovering from a strained hamstring, played.