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| | Wednesday, July 5 Oft-injured Ramos returns to roster | |||||
| Associated Press NEW YORK -- Oft-injured midfielder Tab Ramos, who hasn't played on the U.S. national team since the 1998 World Cup, was picked Wednesday for the roster in the Americans' opening two qualifiers for the 2002 tournament. "I got to the point where I thought I might never play -- period," Ramos said. "It's been difficult." The Americans, who had byes in the early rounds of qualifying, open the regional semifinals with road games at Guatemala on July 16 and at Costa Rica on July 23. Ramos, 33, is the only player on the roster who appeared in the 1990, '94 and '98 World Cups, but he fell so far down the pecking order that his biography wasn't even included in the U.S. team's media guide this year. The playmaking midfielder had his skull fractured by Brazil's Leonardo during the 1994 World Cup. He had two major knee operations before the 1998 tournament, where the Americans finished last in the 32-nation field, then injured a hamstring just before this year's Major League Soccer season opened. "I spent 10 months without playing a game," Ramos said. "Out of those 10 months, I spent seven of them two weeks away from playing." But in recent weeks, playing for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, his form finally approached that of the early 1990s, when he directed the U.S. offense, a task that has fallen to Claudio Reyna in recent years. "It takes a while to get your form, first physically and then technically, to make fast decisions on the field," Ramos said. When the U.S. teams goes on the road in qualifying, it often faces hostile grounds and plays on poor fields. The opener, originally scheduled for Guatemala City on July 15, was pushed back a day, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Wednesday, and moved to Mazatenango, which is 100 miles east of the capital. "Hopefully, I'll be able to help them, not only on the field, but off the field," Ramos said. "Obviously, experience has a lot to do with it. "Obviously, these are very difficult conditions. You get all kinds of things thrown at you. Somehow, you have to keep your focus and concentrate on what's between the lines." Ramos has seven goals in 78 international appearances, connecting against Costa Rica for his first international goal in 1989 and in a World Cup qualifier three years ago. "Tab has shown that he can definitely add something to the national team," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "His recent form with his club team has been outstanding, and he has experience playing World Cup qualifiers on the road, so he's a natural fit for the team." The Americans will be missing injured forwards Brian McBride (broken cheekbone), and Joe-Max Moore (knee), but defender Eddie Pope, who missed last month's U.S. Cup tournament following knee surgery, is healthy. Ten of the 18 players are on MLS teams. The American team will gather July 10 at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., leave for Guatemala on July 14 and return to Florida immediately after the game for a week of training ahead of the Costa Rica game. After the road games, the U.S. team has home games against Barbados (Aug. 16 at Foxboro, Mass.), Guatemala (Sept. 3 at Washington) and Costa Rica (Oct. 11 at Columbus, Ohio) before finishing at Barbados on Nov. 15. The top two teams in the four-team group advance to next year's six-nation regional finals, which will produce three qualifiers for the 32-nation field. The full roster: Goalkeepers: Brad Friedel (Liverpool, England), Kasey Keller (Rayo Vallecano, Spain). Defenders: Jeff Agoos (DC United), Chad Deering (Dallas), Robin Fraser (Los Angeles), Eddie Pope (DC United), David Regis (Metz, France). Midfielders: Chris Armas (Chicago), Frankie Hejduk (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Cobi Jones (Los Angeles), Eddie Lewis (Fulham, England), Ben Olsen (DC United), Tab Ramos (New York/New Jersey), Claudio Reyna (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Tony Sanneh (Hertha Berlin, Germany). Forwards: Jason Kreis (Dallas), Ante Razov (Chicago), Earnie Stewart (NAC Breda, Netherlands). | ||||||