San Jose defender Jason Hernandez Called to Carson

U.S. head coach Bob Bradley has called in San Jose Earthquakes defender Jason Hernandez to the national team training camp in Carson. The 25-year-old is making his first-ever appearance in a national team camp. He has spent four seasons in MLS, having been drafted in 2005 by the MetroStars. After two seasons at Chivas USA, he moved to San Jose where he played in 28 games in 2008 for Frank Yallop. Hernandez will arrive into camp this evening.

Hernandez has been added to a defensive corps depleted by the absence of Clarence Goodson and Cory Gibbs.

UPDATED U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (4): Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Matt Pickens (out of contract)

DEFENDERS (7): Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Jason Hernandez (San Jose Earthquakes), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Chris Wingert (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brian Carroll (Columbus Crew), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Jack Jewsbury (Kansas City Wizards), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire)

FORWARDS (4): Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire)

Looking For A Day Job?

Way back in November, U.S. Soccer and the Denver Post hung out a shingle looking for a Guest Equipment Manager for the USA's World Cup qualifier against Guatemala. Contestants had to submit a 300 word essay on why they should be chosen, and Jovani Bautista got it done. A lifelong soccer fan, Jovani worked with the team in the closed training session the day before the match, then helped lay out the uniforms and gear in the locker room on game day. The only person who appreciated the opportunity more than Jovani was Tim Cook, the team's regular equipment manager!

Watch a little of Jovani's time with the national team here. Thanks again for your help. Tim misses you!

All_Access Video - Back in Camp

Before we get to the happenings of day two, here's a look back at the first day of training for the national team on Jan. 5 in Carson.

Adu Plays in Friendly

Freddy Adu played for Monaco during a midseason friendly against Italian side Juventus. Adu started in attack for Monaco and drew a penalty in the 35th minute, which Jerko Leko took to give his side the lead. Juventus eventually equalized, but Monaco prevailed 5-4 on penalties.

You can see Adu get chopped down around the 53 second mark in these highlights:

History Lesson

George Santayana once said "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to think that Chelsea and Hoffenheim have been good sides for a long period of time." Or something pretty close to that. Anyhow, Borussia Mönchengladbach have put up a video on their English language site that details some the club's storied past. Definitely worth a look.

Michael Bradley and his team are just getting back to training for the second half of the Bundesliga season, and though the first half didn't go to plan, there's still a long way to go. 'Gladbach have added to their team as well, signing four players - Brazilian defender Dante (Standard Liege), goalkeeper Logan Bailly (KRC Genk), Paul Stalteri (Tottenham Hotspur), and former captain of the Czech Republic, Tomas Galasek (Banik Ostrava).

There are lots of connections to the MNT in that group - Dante played with Gooch at Standard Liege, Stalteri was on loan at Fulham last year during the club's remarkable battle against relegation last season, and Galasek was the captain when the Czech Republic face the U.S. in the 2006 FIFA World Cup...

Interview with Jose Torres

Here's an ESPN Deportes interview with Jose Torres from earlier this week. Pachuca and Torres are taking part in Interliga (The Interliga? Interliga play? whatever.) and they defeated UAG 4-0 on Sunday.



Over at the NYT Goal Blog, Jack Bell has transcribed a bit of what Jose says during the chat. Head over there to check it out!

Vote for Clint?

Clint Dempsey is up for Fulham's December Player of the Month Award following his spirited displays at the end of 2008. Clint scored three times last month, including a memorable double against Chelsea. Head over to Fulham's website to cast your vote in their poll! Vote here!

Smith Stands by Edu

Rangers' manager Walter Smith tells skysports.com and BBC Sports that fans need to show patience when looking at the club's recent young signings. That includes Maurice Edu, and here's what Smith had to say on the matter:

"I felt we had to bring in a few younger players and it always takes a little bit of time for them to settle in... Edu will play a big part for Rangers in the coming years, I've no doubt about that. But it does take them [the young players] a little time to settle and at Rangers you have to have experienced players around you as well."

That's probably reassuring news for a lot of U.S. fans out there, since Edu's first team opportunities have been limited recently. After all, it's always nice to see MNT players succeed at their clubs. However, transitions take time and there is an endless list of players who face criticism when they transfer to new clubs and later go on to prove themselves.

In fact the Global Blog itself endured an appalling run of form after its initial inception in the blogosphere, facing harsh criticism from fans and other, better operated blogs (MNT and WNT Blogs, we're looking at you!). Only recently has it elevated itself to the world class level (*sarcastic cough) that it operates at today. Point is: Have patience!

How Did Santa Do?

On the ride over to the offices of the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group for pre-season physicals, we spent time getting to know some of the younger members of the team, and what better start than to talk about how they spent their holiday season: sharing time with family and loved ones, appreciating the spirit of togetherness and renewal, shopping like mad for last-minute gifts ... well, maybe that's just us.

In any case, we took a survey on the gift highlights of 2008. Of course it's always better to give than to receive, but it doesn't mean you can't enjoy both!

Geoff Cameron
Best Given - I gave my girlfriend a plane ticket to come visit me in Houston. She's still finishing up school in Rhode Island, so it's great when we get a chance to spend time together.

Best Received - My girlfriend got me a Guess watch. She really hooked me up this year.

Sean Franklin
Best Given - Everyone in my family got decked out in Nike gear

Best Received - My mom gave me new pillows for my bed. It was one of those things that I really needed, but never wanted to go out and get.

Jack Jewsbury
Best Given - We are having a baby girl in May, so we gave our parents webcams so they will be able to see the little one

Best Received - My parents gave us a video camera so we can start recording the memories when our daughter is born

Chris Wingert

Best Given -I gave my sister and her husband an air hockey table. They have a nice finished basement, so it fit nicely. And yes, my sister was pretty fired up! I was over their house the night before we came to camp, and they were playing an intense game.

Best Received - My sister gave me a Blackberry Storm - Sadly, I still don't know how to use it.

Marvell Wynne
Best Given - I bought my brother Batman's Gauntlets, which are the things he wears on his forearms. I think they can actually stop a bullet!

Best Received - My mother gave me an Oral B electric toothbrush. It's pretty high tech.

Sweden Roster

For all of you who read Swedish - and those wishing to test yourself - here is the link to Sweden's roster for the Jan. 24 match at the HDC. OK, so the names aren't in Swedish, but we still can't pronounce them all.

In any case, the observant ones among you will see one name on the list that sticks out, a certain former striker for Celtic and Barcelona. This guy knows how to score goals.