D.C.'s Carey Talley was the only uncapped player chosen for National Team training camp.

CHICAGO (December 9, 1999) — U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bruce Arena has named 34 players to his training camp roster for the team's first session of 2000, which begins Jan. 5 in Claremont, Calif., just east of Los Angeles. The camp will last nine days in preparation of the team's Jan. 14 arrival into Los Angeles for their showdown with Iran on Sunday, Jan. 16 at the Rose Bowl live on ESPN at 2 p.m. PT.

The training camp roster is highlighted by the selection of nine European-based players, including goalkeeper Brad Friedel (Liverpool) and four Americans playing professionally in Germany: Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Frankie Hejduk (Bayer Leverkusen), Jovan Kirovski (Borussia Dortmund) and Tony Sanneh (Hertha Berlin).

The remaining European-based players include veteran midfielder Claudio Reyna (Glasgow Rangers) and defender David Regis (FC Metz, France), who is returning to the U.S. for the first time since the 1999 Nike U.S. Cup. Defender Gregg Berhalter (Cambuur) and young midfielder John O'Brien (Ajax) also received call-ups from their European base in the Dutch Honor Division.

"This is as close to a full team that we've had since I've been coach," said Arena. "Obviously this is a critical year for us with World Cup qualifying approaching at the end of summer, so it's important for us to start on a positive note. We want to make some real progress in 2000, but that can only be measured by what we do when qualifying starts."

The remaining 25 players on the roster are all from Major League Soccer, where 11 of 12 teams will be represented, including six from three-time MLS champion D.C. United (Jeff Agoos, Carlos Llamosa, Ben Olsen, Tom Presthus, Carey Talley and Richie Williams). For Talley, the call-up is the first of his career, as opposed to Agoos, who with 96 appearances to his credit, is closing in on the century mark for caps with the U.S.

In addition to Agoos, the camp also features 100-cap veterans Marcelo Balboa (127 caps; Colorado Rapids), Eric Wynalda (102 caps; Miami Fusion) and Cobi Jones (119 caps; Los Angeles Galaxy), one of four players being represented by the hometown Galaxy (Kevin Hartman, Clint Mathis and Greg Vanney are the others).

Colorado's Marcelo Balboa has made 127 appearances for the National Team.

The mix of veterans and youth also includes the World Cup experience of Tony Meola (90 caps; Kansas City Wizards) and John Harkes (89 caps; New England Revolution), in contrast to players like Henry Gutierrez (Miami Fusion) and Ante Razov (Chicago Fire), who are among 12 players in the camp with five or fewer caps to their credit.

Following their match with Iran, the U.S. Men will travel to Chile for the first time on Jan. 25 for a match on Jan. 29 in Coquimbo. The team's January schedule is being used as preparation for the 2000 Gold Cup, being staged in Miami and then San Diego and Los Angeles from Feb. 12-27.

U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM

Training Camp Roster — January 5-16 — Claremont, Calif.
Agoos, Jeff -- D 5'10" 175. Born: 5/2/68. Caps/Goals: 96/3. Hometown: Dallas. Club: D.C. United(MLS).
Armas, Chris -- M 5'7" 150. Born: 8/27/72. Caps/Goals: 8/0. Hometown: Brentwood, N.Y. Club: Chicago Fire (MLS).
Balboa, Marcelo -- D 6'1" 175. Born: 8/8/67. Caps/Goals: 127/13. Hometown: Cerritos, Calif. Club: Colorado Rapids (MLS).
Berhalter, Gregg -- D 6'1" 175. Born: 8/1/73. Caps/Goals: 9/0. Hometown: Tenafly, N.J. Club: Cambuur (Holland).
C.J. Brown -- D 6'0" 185. Born: 6/15/75. Caps/Goals: 9/0 Hayward, Calif. Club: Chicago Fire (MLS).
Cherundolo, Steve -- D 5'6" 145. Born: 2/19/79. Caps/Goals: 1/0. Hometown: San Diego, Calif. Club: Hannover 96 (Germany).
Deering, Chad -- D/M 6'1" 165. Born: 9/2/70. Caps/Goals: 13/1 Plano, Texas. Club: Dallas Burn (MLS).
Brad Friedel -- G 6'4" 202. Born: 5/18/71. Caps/Goals: 60/0. Hometown: Bay Village, Ohio. Club: Liverpool (England).
Gutierrez, Henry -- M 5'7" 150. Born: 8/28/68. Caps/Goals: 1/0. Hometown: Miami, Fla. Club: Miami Fusion (MLS).
Harkes, John -- M 5'11" 165. Born: 3/8/67. Caps/Goals: 89/6. Hometown: Kearny, N.J. Club: New England Revolution (MLS).
Hartman, Kevin -- G 6'1" 174. Born: 5/24/74. Caps/Goals: 1/0. Hometown: Palos Verdes, Calif. Club: Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS).
Hejduk, Frankie -- M 5'8" 155. Born: 8/5/74. Caps/Goals: 23/4. Hometown: Cardiff, Calif. Club: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany).
Jones, Cobi -- M 5'7" 145. Born: 6/16/70. Caps/Goals: 119/8. Hometown: Westlake Village, Calif. Club: Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS).
Kirovski, Jovan -- F 6'1" 175. Born: 3/18/76. Caps/Goals: 36/6. Hometown: Escondido, Calif. Club: Borussia Dortmund (Germany).
Kreis, Jason -- F 5'10" 155. Born: 12/29/72. Caps/Goals: 9/1. Hometown: Omaha, Neb. Club: Dallas Burn (MLS).
Lassiter, Roy -- F 5'10" 160. Born: 3/9/69. Caps/Goals: 29/4. Hometown: Raleigh, N.C. Club: Miami Fusion (MLS).
Lewis, Eddie -- M 5'10" 155. Born: 5/17/74. Caps/Goals: 14/1. Hometown: Cerritos, Calif. Club: San Jose Earthquakes (MLS).
Llamosa, Carlos -- D 5'11" 166. Born: 6/30/69. Caps/Goals: 5/0. Hometown: Maspeth, N.Y. Club: D.C. United (MLS).
Mathis, Clint -- M 5'10" 170. Born: 11/25/76. Caps/Goals: 3/0 Conyers, Ga. Club: Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS).
McBride, Brian -- F 6'1" 170. Born: 6/19/72. Caps/Goals: 35/9. Hometown: Arlington Heights, Ill. Club: Columbus Crew (MLS).
Meola, Tony -- G 6'1" 205. Born: 2/21/69. Caps/Goals: 90/0. Hometown: Kearny, N.J. Club: Kansas City Wizards (MLS).
O'Brien, John -- M 5'9" 150. Born: 8/29/77. Caps/Goals: 1/0. Hometown: Playa del Rey, Calif. Club: Ajax (Holland).
Olsen, Ben -- M/F 5'8" 140. Born: 5/3/77. Caps/Goals: 8/2. Hometown: Middletown, Penn. Club: D.C. United (MLS).
Presthus, Tom -- G 6'4" 205. Born: 4/5/75. Caps/Goals: 1/0. Hometown: Dallas. Club: D.C. United (MLS).
Ralston, Steve -- M 5'9" 150. Born: 6/14/74. Caps/Goals: 5/0. Hometown: St. Louis. Club: Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS).
Razov, Ante -- F 6'1" 175. Born: 3/2/74. Caps/Goals: 4/0. Hometown: Whittier, CA. Club: Chicago Fire (MLS).
Regis, David -- D 5'11" 160. Born: 12/2/68. Caps/Goals: 7/0. Hometown: Valenciennes, France. Club: FC Metz (France).
Reyna, Claudio -- M 5'9" 160. Born: 7/20/73. Caps/Goals: 66/7. Hometown: Springfield, N.J. Club: Glasgow Rangers (Scotland).
Sanneh, Tony -- M 6'2" 190. Born: 6/1/71. Caps/Goals: 5/1. Hometown: St. Paul, Minn. Club: Hertha Berlin (Germany).
Talley, Carey -- D 6'2" 180. Born: 8/8/76. Caps/Goals: 0/0. Hometown: Cordova, Tenn. Club: D.C. United (MLS).
Thornton, Zach -- G 6'3" 210. Born: 10/10/73. Caps/Goals: 6/0. Hometown: Edgewood, MD. Club: Chicago Fire (MLS).
Vanney, Greg -- D 5'11" 169. Born: 6/11/74. Caps/Goals: 4/0. Hometown: Tempe, Ariz. Club: Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS).
Williams, Richie -- M 5'5" 145. Born: 6/3/70. Caps/Goals: 8/0. Hometown: Middletown, N.J. Club: D.C. United (MLS).
Wynalda, Eric -- F 6'1" 172. Born: 6/9/69. Caps/Goals: 102/33. Hometown: Westlake Village, CA. Club: Miami Fusion (MLS).

— Team Staff —
General Manager: Pam Perkins (Evanston, Ill.)
Head Coach: Bruce Arena (Fairfax, Va.)
Team Administrator: Maria Hernandez (Chicago)
Equipment Manager: Brent Gonzalez (San Jose, Calif.)
Press Officer: TBD (Chicago)