Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Trini Connections

Several of the U.S. players have faced Trinidad at the youth international level. Freddy Adu, Charlie Davies, Sacha Kljestan, Danny Szetela, and Marvell Wynne played in the 6-1 win against T&T on Jan. 12, 2005, in CONCACAF qualifying for the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Wynne is currently club teammates with Julius James, who is still looking for his first cap for T&T.
DaMarcus Beasley had a pair of goals in the 5-1 win against T&T on March 20, 2001 in Tunapuna, Trinidad, in the second group game of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2001 U-20 World Youth Championship. Beasley scored three goals and set up the game-tying goal that earned the U.S. a place in the finals en route to being named Tournament MVP.

On the T&T side, several players on the roster made stops in MLS during their career journey. Stern John had the most success in MLS, scoring 44 goals in 55 matches for the Columbus Crew. John was the 1998 MLS Scoring Champion (the previous incarnation of the Golden Boot award) and, with 26 goals, he was also a member of the MLS Best XI that year. Here's a look at the players and their time in MLS:

Cornell Glen - MetroStars,Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy - 2004-06
Julius James - Toronto FC - 2008-
Avery John - New England Revolution - 2004-2007
Stern John - Columbus Crew - 1998-1999
Keyeno Thomas - Colorado Rapids - 2000-2001

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Don't forget the players who came to T&T with Sigi Schmid for U20 qualifying in 1998. That list includes at least Danny Califf, Carlos Bocanegra, Tim Howard, and Steve Cherundolo, although, of course, the last three aren't in the current 18 today.