NEW YORK – FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman says that US manager Bob Bradley contacted him three days ago to work out an arrangement for both Heath Pearce and Brek Shea to join the US national team.
“He [Bradley] gave me three scenarios, and one of those was maybe that this isn’t the time,” Hyndman said. “I didn’t want these guys to miss an opportunity to play for the national team and be under the auspices of the national coach and national staff.”
Hyndman and Bradley arranged for Pearce to join the USMNT in Philadelphia on Sunday, Oct. 10 ahead of the Oct. 12 match vs. Colombia at PPL Park. Meanwhile, Shea will be taking on a different itinerary.
[inline_node:316762]Shea will report this Sunday and return to FC Dallas after USMNT training on Wednesday, Oct. 5. He will then travel with Pearce and rejoin US camp in Philadelphia.
“He’s a little bit younger and has got a lot of energy, and he can recover from the jet lag,” Hyndman said. “He’s had a very good MLS season. I think he brings a little bit of excitement and questions to the national coaching staff, and there’s no other way to answer those questions than to bring him in.”
When it came to Pearce’s situation, the FC Dallas manager indicated that he had a discussion on Wednesday with his left back to see if he was still up for a call-up after he was one of Bradley’s final cuts before the 2010 World Cup.
“I wanted to get a general idea where he was mentally,” Hyndman said of Pearce, who has 32 US caps. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t putting him in a position in case he wasn’t sure if he was ready to do it yet. I wanted to give him the freedom.”
