 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Captain committed Reyna ready to play for U.S. through 2006 World CupPosted: Tuesday July 08, 2003 10:00 AMUpdated: Tuesday July 08, 2003 11:53 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Now that he's back from knee surgery, Claudio Reyna is willing to say he'll stay with the U.S. national team through the 2006 World Cup. Reyna, the American captain, said after the World Cup quarterfinal loss to Germany last year that he wasn't sure he was willing to commit to four more years of constant trans-Atlantic travel. Then he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Oct. 28, while playing for Sunderland in England's Premier League. He didn't return to the field until Sunday, when he played the final 30 minutes as the United States beat Paraguay 2-0 in an exhibition game at Columbus, Ohio. "I decided pretty soon after the World Cup I wanted to keep going with it," Reyna said in a telephone interview Monday. "I just wanted to talk with my family. Now, obviously, I'm hungry and excited to be back."
Americans on European teams must shuttle back and forth, often playing for their clubs on the weekend, traveling to the United States for a Monday practice, then moving on for road games in Central America or the Caribbean before heading back to Europe on Thursday for another weekend game. "The traveling we do, the time we stay away from our family, it's a long grind for four years," Reyna said. "It wasn't anything to do with the soccer, being around with the guys. Once my wife was all for it ... that pretty much made up my mind." Reyna, who turns 30 on July 20, got to spend more time than usual with his family -- wife Danielle and two young sons -- during his rehabilitation. After the operation last Nov. 18 in Santa Monica, Calif., he spent much of his time in Delaware with the national team training staff, then would visit his family at their Florida home each weekend. He seems recharged after the long layoff and looks forward to building himself back to full fitness. He's on the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, which starts Saturday in Foxboro, Mass. He's healed from a recent calf strain and says the knee is fine. "I wanted to make sure that the first time I stepped on the field I wouldn't be thinking about it," he said. "Mentally, I'm fine. It wouldn't be right to get out there without being ready 100 percent." The U.S. team missed Reyna and John O'Brien, among others, during last month's Confederations Cup, where the Americans went 0-2-1 and were eliminated in the first round. O'Brien was given the summer off by U.S. coach Bruce Arena following a tough injury-filled season with Ajax Amsterdam. Often, Reyna and O'Brien are the only American midfielders capable of creating offense under pressure from top-level defenders while having the ability to settle the U.S. defense in key situations. "Getting Reyna back on the field was big," Arena said after Sunday's game. Reyna, who had eight goals in 93 international appearances, understands Arena might be tempted not to bring back all the European-based players for all the first-round World Cup qualifiers, which start in January. The Americans, who are seeded, likely will be playing small Caribbean nations. "It's tricky because you have to make sure you have a good team throughout qualifying. It's difficult because there is that pressure that automatically will pop up on you," Reyna said. "I think there's enough talent in the pool of players that we can get through with the so-called smaller countries, but you still have to have the right mind-set and not be overconfident."
As soon as the Gold Cup ends, Reyna will start preseason practice for Sunderland, which finished last in the Premier League at 4-27-7 last season and was relegated to the first division. With the drop in television income, there have been rumors that Sunderland may try to transfer Reyna's contract, possibly to Blackburn of the Premier League or his old team in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen. "Right now, I'm with them," Reyna said. "They've been very supportive through this whole rehabilitation process. Obviously, with us going down, it changes things financially for the club. But as of now, I haven't heard anything. "Obviously, I need to prove my fitness if I go somewhere. But right now, I'm going back to Sunderland." On Monday, he was just happy to have been back on the field the previous day. "It's the longest time I've been away from the game since I was 5 years old," he said. "It was weird. I wasn't nervous. It was anxiousness, to get out there and get on with it and get that first game out of the way." The U.S. will defend its regional title in the Gold Cup to be held July 12-27 in Boston, Miami and Mexico City. The U.S. opens Group C action on July 12 against El Salvador at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET. Having defeated El Salvador 4-0 in the quarterfinal round in 2002, the U.S. now holds a 9-1-4 advantage in the all-time series. The U.S. will take on Martinique in the first-ever meeting between the nations on July 14 at 9 p.m. ET in Foxboro, with that match scheduled to be broadcast live on Galavision. U.S.-Paraguay Summary
Scoring:
Lineups:
USA (4-4-2): 18-Kasey Keller; 3-Greg Vanney, 6-Cory Gibbs (23-Nick Garcia, 87), 4-Carlos Bocanegra, 2-Frankie Hejduk; 22-Richard Mulrooney, 17-DaMarcus Beasley, 15-Bobby Convey (10-Claudio Reyna, 61), 8-Earnie Stewart; 21-Landon Donovan (20-Brian McBride, 90), 11-Clint Mathis (7-Eddie Lewis, 71).
PAR (4-4-2): 12-Justo Villar; 14-Rodrigo Mendoza, 4-Ruben Maldonado, 5-Celso Ayala (capt.), 21-Jorge Nunez; 2-Diego Gavilan (20-Walter Avalos, 69), 8-Angel Ortiz; 16-Carlos Bonet, 11-Jorge Campos (15-Victor Ortiz, 46); 7-Derlis Soto (19-Jorge Acucharro, 70), 9-Juan Samudio (17-Fredy Bareiro, 46).
Misconduct Summary:
PAR - Rodrigo Mendoza (caution) 45th minute.
Referee: Mr. Mauricio Navarro (CAN)
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
