Today, D.C. United's Ben Olsen was named to Bruce Arena's 23-man World Cup roster, as announced on ESPN's SportsCenter. Despite having made 33 career appearances for the U.S. Men's National Team, this will be Olsen's first trip to the World Cup. The soon-to-be 29-year old joins 11 other Major League Soccer players on the roster.
"I'm extremely honored and proud to be named to the World Cup roster," said Olsen. "This is a special moment for me and I'm looking forward to representing my country in Germany next month."
Olsen will be available to media on Wednesday, May 3, following United's training session. He will also be available for selection by Peter Nowak for Saturday's game with the Colorado Rapids. On Wednesday, May 10, he will depart with the National Team for Cary, N.C.
Olsen took part in the U.S. Team's January training camp and has seen time in six matches (three starts) in 2006, totaling 256 minutes on the pitch. He scored a goal in the USA's 4-0 victory over Guatemala on February 19 and in the team's 1-1 draw with Jamaica on April 11. During his career, Olsen has made 33 total appearances with the full U.S. team, including 10 appearances during 2000.
Olsen's tenure with United has been noteworthy since joining the Black-and-Red as the League's first-ever Project-40 signing. Named as the MLS Rookie of the Year in 1998, Olsen's 40 assists are the third most in team history. He has appeared in 161 games (148 starts) and was twice named an MLS All-Star (1998 & '99), the MLS Cup MVP (1999) and, for his community work, the USSF Humanitarian of the Year (2004). He was instrumental in five major titles with D.C. United - two MLS Cups (1999 & '04), a Supporter's Shield (1999), a CONCACAF Champions Cup (1998) and an InterAmerican Cup (1998).
"We are absolutely thrilled and proud that Ben has been named to the World Cup roster," said United President and CEO Kevin Payne. "Throughout his professional career, he has played a vital role in D.C. United's success both on and off the field and he will bring the U.S. team some very important qualities this summer. As a player and a person, he has worn the United shirt with commitment, loyalty and pride, and he has now been rewarded with a place in the World Cup. We wish the US National Team and Ben the best of luck."
The U.S. men begin preparations for Germany on May 10 in Cary, NC. The team will play three games leading up to their first match versus the Czech Republic on June 12. The U.S. will face Morocco in Nashville, Tenn. on May 23, Venezuela in Cleveland, Ohio on May 26 and Latvia on May 28 in East Hartford, Conn. All three games will be broadcast live on espn2 and tape-delayed on Telemundo.
The U.S. departs on June 1 for Germany. They play their opening match against the Czechs in Gelsenkirchen, before meeting Italy in Kaiserslautern on June 17 and then finishing off group play against Ghana on June 22 in Nuremberg. The U.S. has chosen the northern port city of Hamburg as their base of operations throughout the tournament. The U.S. will submit its 23-man roster to FIFA on May 15. The full team includes the following:
Goalkeepers (3) - Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tim Howard (Manchester United), Kasey Keller (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Defenders (8) - Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Cory Gibbs (ADO den Haag), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Eddie Lewis (Leeds United), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)
Midfielders (8) - DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids ), John O'Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (D.C. United), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City)
Forwards (4) - Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Brian McBride (Fulham FC), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)
