When Columbus Crew forward Alejandro Moreno found out that teammate Eddie Gaven was called up to the U.S. national team for Copa America, he offered some advice.
"Maracaibo ... is a very hot town," Moreno said of the Venezuelan city that will host the USA's tournament opener against Argentina. "I said to watch out for the heat. The humidity is going to kill you."
And if all else failed, the Barquisimeto, Venezuela, native offered a little bit more than soothing words.
"I wished him good luck and gave him my parents' phone number in case he needs a little help," Moreno said.
Gaven was one of 22 players coach Bob Bradley called up to represent the United States in Copa America. With Thursday's game against Argentina scheduled just four days after the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, Bradley made wholesale changes for the USA's second tournament this summer.
With the possibility of an MLS-laden roster, Gaven was nevertheless stunned when he found out he was among the players headed to South America.
"I was kind of shocked just because I hadn't started for (the Crew) in the past few games," Gaven said after Saturday's 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy. "It's a huge honor. It's a chance to represent my country."
The 20-year-old has represented his country in different capacities before. Gaven played for the U.S. at the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in 2003 and the World Youth Championship in 2005. He also appeared in an Olympic qualifier and played with the senior national team three times.
His third cap, though, was in November 2005 in a friendly against Scotland. Since then, Gaven hasn't had a sniff of the senior team.
"It's not like just because I hadn't been called in I was thinking that all was lost," Gaven said. "I just had to keep on trying to work, trying to play well in MLS and I think a huge part of that is our team play and I think our team has done well in the last week. When the team does better, guys on the team start to get noticed."
Columbus picked up seven points in three games last week. Gaven came off the bench against New England and helped the Crew score a late equalizer in a 3-3 draw with the Revs on June 16. Gaven scored his first goal of the season in a 2-1 win against Kansas City four days later and picked up his first two assists of the year against the Galaxy.
Gaven's hot streak and the club's turnaround came after Crew coach Sigi Schmid benched Gaven. After a 1-1 draw against Chivas USA on May 12, Schmid sat Gaven. In the following five games, Gaven appeared as a substitute four times and did not play at all in another match.
Schmid said the benching was necessary but it worked.
"He started off the season very unlucky. He had some chances to score goals but things didn't fall for him," said Schmid, who guided the U.S. in the 2005 World Youth Championship. "I pulled him out of the lineup. It's the first time that's happened to him but he responded very well to that. He came in last week and he played excellent and he played excellent on Wednesday and he played excellent (on Saturday)."
Moreno was the recipient of a well-placed Gaven cross on Saturday. Late in the match, Gaven swung a corner kick to the front of the net and Moreno powered it into the back of the net for the eventual game-winning goal.
For his part, Moreno thinks Gaven will hold his own if called upon, whether it's against Argentina, the other two group opponents in Paraguay and Colombia or any other match the U.S. might play.
"I think he'll do well," Moreno said. "Eddie is a confident player but he doesn't show a lot of emotion. He knows what he's doing on the field."
Although Gaven has participated in tournaments around the world, he said Copa America would be a new and exciting experience.
"These are the best players in the whole world. This might be a little of a different setting. Obviously the fans down there are pretty crazy and awesome, too," Gaven said. "This is definitely going to be something new to me so I'm just going to do whatever I can to help the team."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
