Major League Soccer: December 2007 Archives

Pretty much the only way to generate soccer news in LA between Christmas and New Year's Day is to make it yourself.

So we did.

David Beckham is our LA Sports Person of the Year. His move to Carson (of all places) had the entire world watching, as Sports Editor Kevin Modesti puts it, "the LA Bloody Galaxy." His story is here and don't forget to vote on whether your agree with the selection.

At the moment most readers believe Kobe Bryant's trade threat/request was the biggest story of the year.

Just to catch up a little, U.S. Women's National Team Coach Pia Sundhage has called up a trio of players from USC and UCLA to the six-day camp that opens Thursday in Carson.

U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Lauren Cheney and midfielder Tina DiMartino, both from UCLA, as well as forward Amy Rodriguez from the newly minted NCAA champion University of Southern California will get an opportunity to impress Sundhage.

Rodriguez, who scored twice in the NCAA semifinal, has played for the U.S. at the 2004 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand, and along with Cheney, DiMartino and Tobin Heath, at the 2006 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia. Rodriguez has five senior team caps, but did not play for the USA in 2007.

This is the first call-up to the full national team for DiMartino, while Cheney participated in residency training camp last year and has two caps and one goal. Heath will be participating in her third full national team training camp.

Here's the rest of the 27-player camp roster and some comments from Sundhage from the (edited) U.S. Soccer release:

Sundhage has called in 16 members of the USA’s 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team including striker Abby Wambach, who was recently named 2007 U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year. Defenders Kate Markgraf and Heather Mitts, and midfielder Aly Wagner were not named to the training camp roster as they continue to rehabilitate injuries. Veteran Kristine Lilly has not yet decided if she will pursue a spot on the roster for what would be her fourth Olympic games.

The additional 11 invitees range from numerous players with extensive youth national team experience to players getting their first-ever call-ups to the full national team as Sundhage continues to evaluate the player pool.

Sundhage called in seven players who recently finished their college seasons, including former University of Portland defender Stephanie Cox, a starter for the USA at the 2007 Women’s World Cup who missed the mini-camp in December, in part due to her wedding (she was formerly Stephanie Lopez).

Sundhage will select a 20-player roster to travel to China next month for the 2008 Four Nations Tournament.

“This is an exciting tournament as they will be the first games with the new coaching staff,” Sundhage said. “We want to continue to play with passion and start our change in attacking style. We want to try to dictate the tempo of the matches in the attack and while staying true to the principles in defending. The injuries we have to some veterans will most likely give some young players a chance (during the Four Nations), and it's important to find a good mix of young inspiration with experience.”

The full camp roster - goalkeepers Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.); defenders Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Marian Dalmy (Lakewood, Colo.), Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.), Amy LePeilbet (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Becky Sauerbrunn (St. Louis, Mo.), India Trotter (Plantation, Fla.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
midfielders Shannon Boxx (Torrance), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tina DiMartino (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.); forwards Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Finally, CONCACAF has announced the match schedule for the Olympic qualifying tournament that takes place in Tampa, Fla., and Carson in March:

Group A (Tampa, Raymond James Stadium)
March 11 Panama- Honduras 5:30 p.m. ET; U.S.-Cuba 8 p.m. ET.
March 13 Honduras- Cuba 5:30 p.m. ET; U.S.-Panama 8 p.m. ET.
March 15 Cuba-Panama 4:30 p.m. ET; U.S.-Honduras 7 p.m. ET.

Group B (Carson, Home Depot Center)
March 12 Haiti-Guatemala 5:30 p.m.; Canada-Mexico 8 p.m.
March 14 Canada-Haiti 5:30 p.m. PT; Mexico-Guatemala 8 p.m.
March 16 Guatemala-Canada 3:30 p.m. PT; Mexico-Haiti 6 p.m.

The semifinals are March 20 and the final is March 23 in Nashville, Tenn. Two from CONCACAF qualify for the Olympics.

All the Galaxy want for Christmas are two good strikers up front.

Read about it here.

Happy holidays.

The Galaxy's David Beckham makes nice with new England manager Fabio Capello, his former coach at Real Madrid, in a BBC radio interview scheduled to air Christmas Day (right after the Queen's annual address just in case you didn't think Becks is treated like royalty in England). Details here.

And the latest rumor involving a new Galaxy striker names Darren Huckerby of England Championship team Norwich City as a potential target.

The reliability of the original unnamed source is always open to question when it comes to the English press, but the Galaxy's need for a striker will be the subject of my Christmas Day column in the Daily News and Daily Breeze.

Down the hall at Home Depot Center, Chivas USA has given local soccer players another reason not to over-indulge during the holidays by holding open tryouts next month. The cost: $15 a player.

Meanwhile, Loyola Marymount University Assistant Women's Soccer Coach Michelle Myers has apparently been named the new coach of expansion W-League franchise the Ventura County Fusion. Details here.

Finally, the weekend's prep action from the Daily Breeze is here and here.

Second in a series highlighting the careers of Southern Californians who play professional soccer.

Technically, of course, Cobi Jones is no longer a playing professional and has hung up his boots to become an assistant coach with the Galaxy under Ruud Gullit.

But the guy who grew up in Westlake Village has been part of the Southern California soccer scene for so long it would be just wrong to close 2007 without acknowledging Jones' accomplishments with the Galaxy and the U.S. Men's National Team.

At one time Jones was the face of American soccer, playing more times for the U.S. Men's National Team and the Galaxy than any other player.

"He's been the cornerstone of the team," former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said when Jones announced the 2007 season would be his last back in March. "He's always a player fans get excited about because he brings you to the edge of your seat. ... He didn't like losing at all and that's what made him the player he is."

At his peak he possessed a devastating pace that could - and did - change games.

Here's the lead from a June 24, 2001 Galaxy game story I wrote for the Breeze that sums up what he was capable of:

Just three minutes remained when Galaxy winger Cobi Jones collected the ball, split two MetroStars' defenders, eluded a sprawling third and crossed to Luis Hernandez, who slotted home the first of what proved to be a pair of opportunistic strikes within a minute.

The much-needed turn of brilliance all but wrapped up a game that had droned on for 86 minutes with a sense of humdrum inevitability as the dominant Galaxy finally disposed of the listless New York-New Jersey MetroStars, 2-0, Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

"It was a great move," Hernandez said after the game via an interpreter. "He made 90 percent of the goal, I made 10 percent.

The win, accomplished in 81-degree heat and before a national TV audience, meant the Galaxy became the first Major League Soccer franchise to win 100 regular-season games.

The best way to appreciate Jones' career, however, is not in words, but when he wore the No. 13 shirt we will never see at Home Depot Center again.

Here's a compilation of Cobi clips (mainly with the U.S. National Team) shown before the Galaxy's game last month against the Minnesota Thunder:

And here's a pic of Cobi enjoying one of the side benefits of being a pro soccer player.

Thanks for everything, Cobi.

David Beckham is seeking to train with EPL team Arsenal in January, according to English media reports in a bid to win his 100th England cap.

No word from the PR staff at the Galaxy, who were out of the office for the holidays Friday.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported today that Real Salt Lake traded midfielder Atiba Harris to Chivas USA, although as of now his stats remain on the RSL Web site. No confirmation from Chivas USA, although their PR staff are on vacation right now.

Former Galaxy great Mauricio Cienfuegos, meanwhile, has apparently taken his first coaching job back in his native El Salvador.

And USC's first year Coach Ali Khosroshahin was named Soccer America Coach of the Year.

From the USC press release today:

In his first year as head coach of the USC women’s soccer team, Ali Khosroshahin wasted no time in making an impact. He not only turned heads at Troy in pushing the Trojans to a number of new program records, he capped off the season by capturing the nation’s top prize – the 2007 NCAA Championship. For his outstanding efforts in leading the Women of Troy to their first-ever national title and a record-breaking 20-3-2 season, Khosroshahin has been named the Soccer America Coach of the Year. Four Trojans also were honored with postseason awards by Soccer America. Sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Olsen continues to rack up accolades, as the Honda Award finalist was named to the Soccer America MVPs First Team. Three USC freshmen – defender Kasey Johnson and midfielders Megan Ohai and Ashli Sandoval – have been named to Soccer America All-Freshman teams. Johnson has earned a First Team nod, and Ohai and Sandoval are Second Team selections.

Finally here's Wednesday's prep action from the Daily Breeze (Mira Costa-Animo) while a roundup is here.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram has a Moore League preview.

Lots of soccer news today, so let's get to it.

Olympics in Carson

CONCACAF announced today that the U.S. will host Cuba, Honduras and Panama in Tampa, Fla., on March 11, 13 and 15 in Olympic qualifying.

Here on the West Coast it's Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico at Home Depot Center with doubleheaders on March 12, 14 and 16.

Series tickets, by the way, go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday priced between $36 and $195. Call 213-480-3232. Individual match day tickets will go on sale at a later date, if they're still around.

Two teams from the eight qualify for the Olympics in China.

MLS Tweaks Rules

MLS announced today it added one international player slot per team and will not require the Galaxy's Landon Donovan and two other high-paid players to become designated players.

The moves mean:
* Teams can have eight internationals on the roster. This year teams were allotted seven international spots per team, four of them so-called senior international and three youth International slots. That distinction has now been removed.
*Donovan, striker Eddie Johnson of the Kansas City Wizards and Carlos Ruiz of FC Dallas who had big buck contracts before the adoption of the designated player or Beckham rule, will not become DP's, which simplifies things greatly for the Galaxy since they would have to trade for another slot.

MLS also released its (early) 2008 calendar.
The highlights:
Jan. 11- 15 - MLS Combine in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Jan. 15 - April 15 - Transfer window.
Jan. 18 - MLS SuperDraft.
Jan. 24 - Supplemental draft.
Jan. 26 - Pre-season training camps may begin.
March 29 - Season opens

Awards, Awards and More Awards

On Monday, UCLA forward Lauren Cheney and USC goalkeeper Kristin Olsen were named as two of the four finalists for the Honda Award, which recognizes the nation's top collegiate player.

Cheney led the Pac-10 with 23 goals, a UCLA single-season record.

Olson had 12 shutouts and allowed a record-low 13 goals for USC.

Also nominated: Ashlee Pistorius of Texas A & M and Mami Yamaguchi of Florida State.

Galaxy Update

Three Galaxy "moments" are up for consideration in awards in 18 categories for the best sporting moments in 2007 in Southern California. They are: David Beckham’s first game, the run to the SuperLiga final and the retirement of Cobi Jones. More info and vote here

Meanwhile, tickets to the Pan-Pacific Championship in Hawaii in February went on sale Tuesday starting at $10. Details here.

Finally, this link is a couple of days old, but new Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit riffs on England and David Beckham here.

The nation's most prolific soccer-specific stadium architectural firm Rossetti is based here in LA (actually El Segundo) and is the subject of this week's column.

A comprehensive look at soccer-specific stadiums is here.

Check out Rossetti's work below. From top to bottom, are the Rossetti stadiums in Chester (Philadelphia), Sandy (Salt Lake City) and Harrison (New York City).

Minor revelation: The Home Depot Center has 25,500 "seats." Add another 1,500 people on the grass berm and you get the purported capacity of 27,000, according to Rossetti principal Tim Lambert.

Now you know.

First in a series highlighting the careers of Southern Californians who play professional soccer.

Robbie Rogers, who grew up in Rolling Hills Estates, just completed his first MLS season with the Columbus Crew

Currently on tour in China with the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team, Rogers came on strong in the latter half of the season. (He didn't see much playing time early on, although Rogers told me he didn't know why at the recent U-23 camp at Home Depot Center, but hoped he'd proved a point. Crew Coach Sigi Schmid, a long-time South Bay resident who has known Rogers since he played youth soccer, is scouting in Europe and was unavailable for comment).

Rogers showed he has an eye for goal and displayed some deft touches in midfield, drawing praise from the likes of Argentine star Guillermo Barros Schelotto with whom he combined well in midfield and credits with helping him become a better player.

Check out the highlights of Rogers season and career in this compilation of clips:

Fans are discussing Robbie and the video here.

Fabio Capello has yet to sign on the dotted line as the new England coach and already there's speculation he has made up with a certain player the then Real Madrid coach once vowed would never play for him again (although he did anyway with Real's season going south last season). Yup, David Beckham, it's said, will captain England on Feb. 6 against Switzerland and earn his century of caps. But will he make it to 101 England appearances?

Local Manchester United fans hoping to see former Red Devils midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron grace the Home Depot Center field (albeit playing for D.C. United) are apparently out of luck. Or maybe not.

At the other end of the soccer spectrum, here are today's prep soccer stories ripped from the pages, um, Web sites of the Daily Breeze, Daily News and Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Finally, while no local schools are involved, the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament has come down to the final four. Wake Forest plays Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. today on ESPN2, while the Ohio State-Massachusetts game follows at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

Still, if you can only see one game this weekend on television make it Arsenal against Chelsea at 8 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel. Manchester United take on Liverpool the same day, but that 5:25 a.m. game is on the more expensive Setanta. Here's a preview of the match-ups between the big four of the EPL.

Bruins defenders Brandon Owens of Murietta and Mike Zaher, as well as Cal State Northridge U.S. Under-23 international Sean Franklin of Palmdale were named today to the initial list of 54 college players invited to attend the annual MLS Combine.

Other college players will be named later. The combine takes place Jan. 11-15 in Florida, just before the Jan. 18 MLS Superdraft.

Other players invited, according to the MLS press release, include:

"seven seniors who are semifinalists for the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, NCAA soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Leading the way is the 2006 award winner Joseph Lapira (Notre Dame), and Andy Iro (UC Santa Barbara), Julius James (University of Connecticut), Stephen King (University of Maryland), Peter Lowry (Santa Clara), Julian Valentin (Wake Forest University) and Michael Videira (Duke University). The 2007 MAC Hermann Trophy finalists will be announced on Dec. 14, 2007 and the winner is announced on Jan. 11, 2008.

Also, Galaxy spokesman Patrick Donnelly confirmed today that reports linking Celtic striker Maciej Zurawski with LA are false.

Two lessons here: never believe the agent of a player (the source of the "story" in this case), who desperately wants to improve his situation. And don't believe an English tabloid desperate for a story (especially one that if memory serves claimed then England Coach Steve McClaren was trying to line up a job with the Galaxy).

The Washington Post's Steven Goff follows up his Tuesday blog report with a story today that the previously mentioned trade of Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon for D.C. United's Troy Perkins has fallen through. The same deal would have seen FC Dallas striker Carlos Ruiz return to the Galaxy.

Don't be surprised if this isn't the last we hear of a Cannon trade or Ruiz return.

Cannon's almost $200,000 a year contract is a salary cap burden for the Galaxy, especially since he is error-prone, while LA has lacked a consistent attacking threat since Ruiz departed. Ruiz has plenty of baggage - he's moody and previous Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid had trouble keeping the Guatemalan tucked up in bed at night and out of nightclubs - but at least Ruiz is capable of getting on the end of David Beckham free kicks.

Meanwhile, the U-23 Men's National Team, with a sizable Southern California contingent is in China preparing for two games.

Lastly, the prep previews keep coming.

On Tuesday, it was the Bay League boys, today it's the girls.

There's also previews of the girls LA section, the girls Pioneer League and the girls Ocean League.

The small schools get their due here.

The Daily Breeze girls top ten rankings are here.

Tuesday's prep action is here.

I Want To Go To Rehab, Yes, Yes, Yes

With apologies to the (apparently) aptly-named Amy Winehouse, the U.S. Women's National Team is holding its first camp under new Coach Pia Sundhage.

The mini-camp, essentially a get acquainted session, ends Wednesday for the 16 players on the World Cup squad and handful of collegians taking part.

The camp was hastily convened so nothing should be read into the absences of the likes of Kristine Lilly, although the veteran striker is still deciding whether to keep playing until the Olympics or retire.

Hopefully, we'll have some pictures from camp later today, but you can read all about it here.

A couple of things left out of the column for space reasons: Markgraf especially sounded pleased to be reunited with her former WUSA coach who has more creative and attacking expectations than former Coach Greg Ryan did.

"I shoot more with Pia than I ever did with Greg," Markgraf said after Monday's practice. "She emphasizes making the right decision. That's what soccer is all about."

There was no major team meeting to discuss goalkeeper Hope Solo's outburst, although Sundhage referred obliquely to the melt down.

"I have addressed the fact that the U.S. Women's National Team is a team with different individuals, but no one player is bigger than the team," she said.

Sundhage said this team has the capability to do for the attacking game in women's soccer what the Germans did for defense: take the offense to a dominating, withering next level.

Striker Abby Wambach is certainly looking to receive more support up front.

"You're going to see players play differently than they've ever played," she said. "It will be a lot more entertaining to watch and a lot more fun to play."

Meanwhile, Markgraf acknowledges this is a team whose PR image also needs a bit of rehab.

"I'm just happy people are still watching us and hopefully we can win them back," she said.

Mia Hamm to Play at the HDC

Retired great Mia Hamm and baseball-playing hubby Nomar Garciaparra play in a charity game Jan. 26 at Home Depot Center.

The celebrity challenge game includes Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, Julie Foudy, Brad Guzan, Brandi Chastain and others.

More details are here and on MySpace.

Also, Hamm will appear from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 5 at the upcoming Cal South Soccer Nation Expo at the LA Convention Center.

From the (edited) press release:

Hamm will have two appearances on the Expo’s central pitch. One will be a 15-minute question-and-answer session, answering questions submitted by Soccer Nation Expo attendees. In the second, Hamm will participate in a 4-on-4 kids game as “Kingman,” in which she will switch sides with each possession. When not on the pitch, Hamm will be available to sign autographs and meet and greet Soccer Nation Expo attendees at the Nike exhibition booth.

During both pitch times, Hamm will promote the Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciaparra Celebrity Soccer Challenge, January 26, 2008 at the Home Depot Center, an event that benefits Childrens Hospital Los Angeles bone marrow patients and their families. A bone marrow typing demonstration will be part of this segment. Bone marrow typing is used to find possible matches for patients needing marrow transplants. Representatives from the National Bone Marrow Donor Program at the City of Hope will be at the Expo to type attendees interested in becoming part of the program.

More than 125 exhibitors and 30,000 people are expected to attend Soccer Nation Expo.

More details are here.

Prep Previews

Offseason, what offseason?

High school soccer is gearing up and here are previews from the Pioneer League and Marine League.

A Bay League preview is here.

Prep scores from the South Bay are here and from the Long Beach Press-Telegram here.

Finally, the Daily News checks in with news from a tournament in La Canada Flintridge.

Semifinal Shootout in Texas

For the Bruins and Trojans women's soccer programs, the season has boiled down to this.

I linked to the Daily Bruin and Daily Trojan previews of today's semifinal between the two schools Thursday; here's the Daily News' version.

There's more info here.

Sophomore USC starting goalkeeper Kristin Olsen of Orange has recorded 11 solo shutouts and three shared this season, equaling last year's program record program of 14 for the Trojans.

Here's a Q & A with Olsen.

For those of you playing hooky from work on a gray and rainy Friday in LA, the USC-UCLA semi begins at 4 p.m. on ESPNU (and will be replayed at 9 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2); the Notre Dame-Florida State semi precedes it at 2 p.m., also on ESPNU.

The weather is better in Texas.

Youth is Served II

The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team won their first game Thursday under new head coach Wilmer Cabrera, winning 2-0 against Russia at the Development Academy Nike Friendlies in Bradenton, Fla.

Midfielder Carlos Martinez of Las Vegas and Stefan Jerome scored for the U.S.

The U.S. next faces Brazil at 11:30 a.m. Saturday live on Fox Soccer Channel.

Back in the South Bay, Red Bull starlet Jozy Altidore blogs for the New York Times about the U-23 USMNT Training Camp in Carson.

South Bay prep scores are here.

Solo Speaks

Finally, U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo, blackballed by her teammates after her World Cup comments, has spoken publicly for the first time since then ahead of next week's Women's National Team training camp in Carson.

I plan to head out to training camp Monday, so look for more on the team's first training camp under new Coach Pia Sundhage then.

The Galaxy will face ex-Coach Frank Yallop and expansion team the San Jose Earthquakes in their Thursday, April 3 home opener, the team announced today.

Also, Chivas USA said today they will open their 15-game home season (there are 30 regular season games in total next year) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5 against Real Salt Lake.

As noted Tuesday, both Home Depot Center-based teams open their MLS schedules the weekend before on the road, the Galaxy facing the Colorado Rapids at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29 and Chivas USA playing at noon Sunday, March 30 in Dallas.

Unusually, there are two Thursday night games April 3, but reliable sources tell me it is the David Beckham-led Galaxy that wll see their game nationally televised on ESPN2. The full broadcast schedule is not yet finalized.

As the Galaxy press release observes, the Galaxy game against the Earthquakes marks the resurrection of a fierce intrastate rivalry that ended two years ago when the previous incarnation of the 'Quakes moved to Houston and became the Dynamo.

From the (edited) Galaxy press release:

In their past 12 season openers, LA has a record of 6-4-2 including a 0-0 draw with the MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium last season. Despite a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas last season, the Galaxy are even better in their first 12 home openers, compiling an 8-4-0 record, including a 1-1-0 mark against San Jose.

Fans looking to attend the Galaxy’s home opener on April 3 against San Jose can purchase the LA Galaxy Holiday pack which, for as little as $88, gets you four tickets to the game, two Galaxy scarves, two tickets to an LA Riptide game and a holiday card courtesy of the Galaxy.

Chivas USA beat Real Salt Lake all three times the teams met last season by a combined score of 8-2.

The Chivas USA press release has yet to hit my e-mail inbox, but I'm sure the team will have ticket deals, too.

MLS 2008 is Here

MLS teams (erratically) began to release their 2008 home openers and other league games today for the season that begins March 29, a week earlier than last season.

Confirmed opening matches:
March 29
Los Angeles Galaxy at Colorado Rapids
Chicago Fire at Real Salt Lake
D.C. United at Kansas City Wizards
Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution
Toronto FC at Columbus Crew
The Red Bulls are reportedly visiting the expansion San Jose Earthquakes (the game may still being finalized).

March 30
Chivas USA at FC Dallas

April 3
New England Revolution at Chicago Fire

April 5
Toronto at D.C. United
The Columbus Crew are reportedly at New York Red Bulls

April 6
FC Dallas at Houston

April 19
Real Salt Lake at Toronto

The Galaxy will officially unveil its home opener Wednesday. The full MLS schedule will be released early next year.

Pia in Carson

From the (edited) U.S. Soccer press release:

The U.S. Women’s National Team will hold its first training camp under new head coach Pia Sundhage beginning Saturday at Home Depot Center in Carson.

Sundhage will bring in 24 players for the four-day mini-camp designed to give her a quick look at the core of the U.S. team, plus a handful of young players just coming off the college season, before the squad regroups in early January to prepare for the Four Nations Tournament in China.

The camp is basically the beginning of the run to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, with the USA preparing for the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Final Round qualifying tournament, being held April 2-13 in Chihuahua, Mexico. Two countries from the six-team tournament will advance to China.

“It’s a short camp, but it will be valuable time spent together as a team and a unique moment for me to have a chance to work with the best players in the United States for the first time,” said Sundhage. “It will give us the chance to get to know them as players a little bit more, they’ll get the chance to learn my style and I’ll also get the chance to get to know them off the field. It will be a good start to something new.”

The roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS: Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Marian Dalmy (Lakewood, Colo.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
MIDFIELDERS: Yael Averbuch (Upper Montclair, N.J.), Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.), Nikki Washington (Mesquite, Texas), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.);
FORWARDS: Michelle Enyeart (Hemet, Calif.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Casey Nogueira (Raleigh, N.C.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Is here.

Check out the previous post for a picture gallery and more from the Under-23 camp at the HDC.

Late blogging today because I headed out to the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team week-long camp at Home Depot Center in Carson today, the first under Coach Peter Nowak.

I'll have more on the camp in Tuesday's column in the Daily News and Daily Breeze, but here's a pictorial taste of Day 2 courtesy of Daily Breeze photographer Brad Graverson.

At top left is Nowak, top left and middle right is Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rodgers, who despite what the U.S. press officers say grew up in Rolling Hills Estates in the South Bay; middle right is Red Bull New York (for now) striker Jozy Altidore; bottom left is defender Mike Randolph, virtually the only member of the Galaxy's back four who covered himself with a measure of distinction last season; and bottom right is a winded Altidore.

Incidentally, the Crew's Eddie Gaven Eddie Gavin was a late scratch from camp for personal reasons (good ones, I was told without anyone being specific) and replaced by Aaron Hohlbein of the Kansas City Wizards.

Rogers, who came on strong during the latter part of the Crew's season sounded like he enjoyed playing with Argentine star Guillermo Barros Schelotto and hopes he will return to Columbus next year.

"Every time I played with him it was so much easier," Rogers said. "It made me a better player, playing with him."

Fontana's Maurice Edu who said he set - and achieved - his goal of becoming the MLS Rookie of the Year is reveling in living and playing in the multicultural, European-like atmosphere of Toronto.

"I like it a lot," he said. "(The fans) are really passionate about the game. They live and die for it."

Striker Sal Zizzo said the same about Germany, where he believes he's getting closer to making the 18-man first team squad in Hannover. His last name is pronounced Ze-Zo, by the way, not Ziz-Zo.

The last time I saw him in person, Zizzo was the best player on the field for UCLA in a preseason game against Loyola Marymount a little over a year ago.

Now he's turned pro, got picked up by a Bundesliga team and made his debut for the U.S. National Team.

"It's been a wild trip since then," he said. "It's great. (I'm playing) the best soccer I've ever played."

Now if he can just pick up the language (Zizzo has had two dozen German lessons).

Peter Nowak, who has a reputation for being brusque with the press, was friendly and accommodating, by the way.

I asked about the differences between coaching in MLS and at the national team level and Nowak observed that unlike in the frenetic pace of club soccer, you don't necessarily have 10 months to work with a team on a daily basis to put things right. There's less margin for error and the job is consequently more challenging despite the apparent slower pace, he said

The Euro 2008 draw was held this morning, with Holland, France and Italy drawn in the toughest group along with Romania.

Croatia was drawn in Group B and opens with hosts Austria on June 8, meets Germany on June 12 and concludes with Poland on June 16.

The tournament opens with a June 7 game between Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

All 31 games are live in the U.S.on ESPN. Here's the complete schedule.

Chivas USA plays its final game of the year at 4 p.m. today in Santa Ana in what is a benefit game for the victims of the devastating recent flooding in Mexico.

Among the many Mexican futbol stars scheduled to participate are the likes of former Galaxy strikers Carlos Hermosillo and Luis Hernandez.

Tickets start at $15.