Arena Names 16-Player Squad for Final International Match of 1999
CHICAGO (Friday, November 12, 1999) - U.S. National Team Head Coach Bruce Arena has called upon nine European-based players and seven MLS players to round out the 16-man roster he named today for the USA's final match of the year, a Nov. 17 encounter with Morocco in the ancient city of Marrek
Nov. 12, 1999
"We are fortunate to have this rare opportunity to call in a nice mixture of domestic and European- based players," said Arena. "It's a great opportunity to get our team together one more time before the end of the year, and to evaluate where we are before heading into a critical year of (World Cup) qualifying."
The European contingent is led by Reyna and Keller, two players who have continued to make headlines as their clubs have risen to the top of the Scottish and Spanish first divisions, respectively. Keller, in particular, has miraculously guided newly-promoted Vallecano ahead of traditional giants Barcelona and Real Madrid to the top of the first division. Reyna, meanwhile, recently returned to action with Rangers after a hamstring injury, but opened the season by scoring four league goals and one in the Champions League qualifying round.
Joining Reyna and Keller in making the shortened flight to Morocco from Europe are goalkeeper Brad Friedel (Liverpool), defenders Gregg Berhalter (Cambuur Leeuwarden / Holland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover / Germany) and David Regis (FC Metz / France) and midfielders Jovan Kirovski (Borussia Dortmund) and Hejduk. Forward Joe-Max Moore, who recently agreed to terms with English Premier League side Everton, will travel to Morocco from the U.S.
The domestic players include two each from the Chicago Fire (Armas and C.J. Brown), Dallas Burn (Kreis and Chad Deering) and Miami Fusion (Wynalda and Brian Kamler), as well Steve Ralson from the Tampa Bay Mutiny.
"Obviously we would have liked to have been able to call in players from D.C. United, Los Angeles and Columbus also, but right now the MLS playoffs take precedence for those individuals," continued Arena. This gives us a chance to take another look at a few other players, namely Eric Wynalda, Steve Ralston and Brian Kamler, all of whom trained with the national team this year."
Wynalda, the USA's all-time scoring leader with 32 goals, last trained with the National Team during its extended training camp in January 1999. Since then he has played in the Mexican First Division with Leon, but after suffering a knee injury, he has since returned to the U.S. to play for the Miami Fusion.
Morocco, currently No. 28 (top African ranking) in the latest FIFA World Rankings, are led by midfielders Mustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo (both who play for English club Coventry City) and forward Abdeljahil Hadda (Sporting Gijon / Spain).
"Morocco is one of the best teams in the world when playing at home, so this will be an excellent opportunity for us to test ourselves," added Arena.
The USA will gather in Morocco on Sunday to prepare for the match, which will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 17 in Marrekech, Morocco. Kickoff at Harti Stadium is set for 7 p.m. local (2 p.m. ET).
| U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM United States vs. Morocco Friendly International · Nov. 17, 1999 · Marrakech, Morocco | |||||||
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Birthdate | Caps/G | Hometown | Club |
| Armas, Chris | M | 5'7" | 150 | 8/27/72 | 7/0 | Brentwood, N.Y. | Chicago Fire (MLS) |
| Berhalter, Gregg | D | 6'1" | 175 | 8/1/73 | 8/0 | Tenafly, N.J. | Cambuur Leeuwarden (Holland) |
| Brown, C.J. | D | 6'0" | 185 | 6/15/75 | 8/0 | Hayward, Calif. | Chicago Fire (MLS) |
| Cherundolo, Steve | D | 5'6" | 145 | 2/19/79 | 1/0 | San Diego, Calif. | Hannover 96 (Germany) |
| Deering, Chad | D/M | 6'1" | 165 | 9/2/70 | 12/1 | Plano, Texas | Dallas Burn (MLS) |
| Friedel, Brad | GK | 6'4" | 200 | 5/18/71 | 59 | Bay Village, Ohio | Liverpool FC (England) |
| Hejduk, Frankie | M | 5'8" | 155 | 8/5/74 | 22/4 | Cardiff, Calif. | Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) |
| Kamler, Brian | M | 6'1" | 175 | 2/12/72 | 0/0 | Ballwin, Mo. | Miami Fusion (MLS) |
| Keller, Kasey | GK | 6'2" | 190 | 11/29/69 | 38 | Lacey, Wash. | Rayo Vallecano (Spain) |
| Kirovski, Jovan | F | 6'1" | 170 | 3/18/76 | 35/6 | Escondido, Calif. | Borussia Dortmund (Germany) |
| Kreis, Jason | M | 5'10" | 155 | 12/29/72 | 8/1 | Omaha, Neb. | Dallas Burn (MLS) |
| Moore, Joe-Max | F | 5'9" | 150 | 2/23/71 | 78/20 | Irvine, Calif. | Everton FC (England) |
| Ralston, Steve | M | 5'9" | 150 | 6/14/74 | 4/0 | St. Louis, Mo. | Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS) |
| Regis, David | D | 5'11" | 160 | 12/2/68 | 6/0 | Valenciennes, France | FC Metz (France) |
| Reyna, Claudio | M | 5'9" | 160 | 7/20/73 | 65/7 | Springfield, N.J. | Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) |
| Wynalda, Eric | F | 6'1" | 172 | 6/9/69 | 101/32 | Westlake Village, Calif. | Miami Fusion (MLS) |
| Team Staff | ||
| Head of Delegation | Fred Beiber | Columbia, S.C. |
| General Manager | Pam Perkins | Evanston, Ill. |
| Head Coach | Bruce Arena | Fairfax, Va. |
| Assistant Coach | Bob Bradley | Chicago |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Milutin Soskic | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| Team Administrator | Maria Hernandez | Chicago |
| Doctor | Dan Kalbac | Miami, Fla. |
| Head Trainer | Jim Hashimoto | Wilmington, Del. |
| Assistant Trainer | David Andrews | Seattle, Wash. |
| Press Officer | Brian Remedi | Chicago |
| Security Officer | Jerry Rawlins | San Diego, Calif. |
| Equipment Manager | Brent Gonzalez | Sacramento, Calif. |
