Canales Daily: U.S. National Team Opens Camp

By Andrea Canales

For Southern California, it was slightly overcast, but the sun peeked through on the US Men's National Team players working hard on the first day of Bob Bradley's January camp. Most were from the domestic league, though four play in Scandinavia.

It seemed a bit odd to not see Landon Donovan there, as he was once a January camp stalwart. The last one he missed was in 2005, when he was with Bayer Leverkusen. Of course, that stint in Germany ended with a return to Major League Soccer. It might be the case again, as the Los Angeles Galaxy have finally announced officially Donovan's loan term to Bayern Munich, pointedly including in the press release that he is scheduled to return on March 8 to his MLS squad.

But while Donovan trains in Dubai with Bayern, a number of new faces back in the States have pushed forward into the national team picture. A full nine players on the roster have no previous national team caps. Others, like Chad Marshall, have been absent from the squad for years.

No one, however, starts the new year off with more revived life than John Thorrington, who first debuted for the national team in 2001. Thorrington's dedication to keeping himself fit after years of battling various injuries showed in the running drills that concluded scrimmage training. He was out in front, out-pacing many of the youngsters.

Chicago's John Busch, however, was making cracks about how the running shouldn't be required of goalkeepers. "We just need to dive here and there," he panted as the trainer's whistle allowed for a short walk before the running began again.

Troy Perkins, however, was representing well for the goalkeepers, running up with the midfielders. However, I'm not sure anyone matched the pace of Stuart Holden, who was moving at a punishing rate.

In general, one could tell, as Kenny Cooper admitted, which players had anticipated getting called up and worked themselves hard to get fit and do well at training. Others had perhaps enjoyed their Christmas holidays. On the other hand, weather conditions could have played a role.

Sacha Kljestan, a SoCal native, didn't seem even slightly winded after practice, admitting that his informal offseason training consisted of games with friends in the area. Since a number of MLS pros are from around Los Angeles, Kljestan could still be participating in high-quality pickup games while other vacationing players are either confined to indoor soccer or stuck on a treadmill for fitness.

Kljestan's presence at the camp as one of the most experienced national team players involved highlights a changing of the guard.

"You've only got a couple of really strong veterans in this group," Kljestan noted. "I'm a little bit more of a leader."

As Bradley emphasized, the camp is an opportunity to reward players who performed well during the past year. Even if certain elements of the practice felt more like punishment than anything else, the timing is in fact a golden opportunity, in the year before a World Cup, to impress the national team coach.

Bradley made clear that he intended to use the players involved in this January camp for important games, including the one in February.

"Some of these guys we'll use for the game against Mexico," Bradley said.

As often happens, late changes were made to the roster. Clarence Goodson did not participate because he is still recuperating from ankle surgery and had to decline his camp invite. Brian Ching's flight hadn't landed yet. Cory Gibbs was also out of the camp for undisclosed reasons.

Gibbs' surprising absence did nothing to make Bradley easily dismiss Neven Subotic's recent FIFA switch to Serbia as inconsequential.

"Anytime there's a young player who plays and develops in the youth national level, there's the hope that that experience will be important and that it will lead to being a part of the senior team," Bradley stated, admitting that the news of Subotic's defection from the U.S. player pool wasn't good. "It's disappointing."

Still, for the most part, all those in the camp weren't thinking about the past, but focused on the present and also thinking about long-term potential.

Kljestan, who also has Serbian ancestry and could have played for that country, was concentrating on the job at hand even as rumors continue to swirl about a possible transfer abroad for the versatile midfielder.

"I've got to focus on what I'm doing here," Kljestan concluded. "I don't let that distract me and always look forward to the future."

Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com USA

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