Dallas Burn forward Eddie Johnson has had a busy life lately. He is having a breakout MLS season with the Burn where he is among the league leaders in points with nine goals and three assists. In addition, his exploits have caught the attention of United States national team coach Bruce Arena, who has called in Johnson for training camps preceding both of the United States' World Cup qualifying games.
Johnson was released from the training camp on Friday to enable him to join the Burn in Denver for their game against the Rapids on Saturday. After the game Johnson spoke about his time with the national team.
"It's been good to be called in," Johnson said. "It's been a dream of mine and a goal of mine to be called in to the national team. ... It's good to play with good players and different kind of players like Claudio Reyna, Bobby Convey, and DaMarcus [Beasley]. It's an honor."
Johnson did admit that all of the traveling has taken a toll.
"I flew in yesterday from Boston," Johnson said. "I'm kind of tired, and I think it showed in tonight's game where I wash kind of sluggish."
He also hinted a little about Arena's plans for him.
"[Arena] told me that we need to find a way to get you on the field in one of these games, but I'm just happy to be called in," said Johnson.
He also recognized the need to take his game to new heights if he wanted to continue to play for his country.
"There's no more youth national teams, and if I want to be successful and be called in to more camps I have to score goals in MLS," Johnson asserted. "It's a different mentality.....I think it's also some growing up and trying to work on my weaknesses so that when I get on the field I do well."
Geoffrey Urland is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
