UCLA freshman Kelyn Rowe gets another chance to impress with the U20's

Thomas Rongen released his 25-man roster for the U20 January training camp. The camp goes from Jan. 2-13 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Fourteen players return from the December camp, including UCLA freshman Kelyn Rowe and hat trick hero Joe Gyau. Juan Agudelo will be with the U20′s until January 6 when he will join the full national team in Southern California.

Here is the roster by positions:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Cody Cropper (Ipswich Town; Athens, Ga.), Zac MacMath (Maryland; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Brian Sylvestre (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; Hollywood, Fla.)

DEFENDERS (9): Gale Agbossoumonde (GD Estoril Praia; Syracuse, N.Y.), Greg Garza (GD Estoril Praia; Grapevine, Texas), Moises Hernandez (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas), Sacir Hot (Boston College; Fair Lawn, N.J.), Sebastian Ibeagha (Duke; Missouri City, Texas), Perry Kitchen (Akron; Indianapaolis, Ind.), Zarek Valentin (Akron; Lancaster, Pa.), Korey Veeder (Out of Contract; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Ethan White (D.C. United; Kensington, Md.)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim; Silver Spring, Md.), Fabian Huerzeler (Bayern Munich; Munich, Germany), Sebastian Lletget (West Ham United; San Francisco, Calif.), Alex Molano (Dinamo Zagreb; Grapevine, Texas), Moises Orozco (Tigres; Oxnard, Calif.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Kelyn Rowe (UCLA; Newport Beach, Calif.), Conor Shanosky (D.C. United; Sterling, Va.), Alex Zahavi (Maccabi Haifa; Los Angeles, Calif.)

FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls; Barnegat, N.J.), Conor Doyle (Derby County; McKinney, Texas), Omar Salgado (unattached; El Paso, Texas), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich; Irvine, Calif.)

The Midfield Battle:

I think Rongen will use this camp to thin out the midfield. At the moment, the midfield is the deepest group. There are probably 12-15 players realistically challenging for 6-9 spots. It’s a tough job to narrow it down, but one that I’m sure Rongen is glad to have.

Rongen plays a 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 formation. This opens the door for winger/forward types to make a case for themselves. Rongen also needs to find out who he is going to play at the attacking center mid role. I would guess that Amobi Okugo has a firm hold on the defensive mid role.

Three players to watch in this group are Fabian Huerzeler, Alex Zahavi, and Sebstain Lletget. This is Rongen’s first chance to get a look at Bayern Munich player Fabian Huerzeler. The attacking midfielder is highly regarded but we’ll see if he lives up to the hype. Another exciting player coming into the group with high expectations is Alex Zahavi. Zahavi recorded a goal and assist in the U20′s games against Colombia and Mexico at the end of November. Lletget is a highly regarded playmaker that jumped onto the scene with the US U17′s. He’s been hampered by injuries recently but Rongen believes that Lletget will be a key player for the U20′s.

Joe Gyau and Kelyn Rowe return after solid play in the December camp. Both players did themselves a favor in the 5-0 win against Canada. Moises Orozco returns to the mix after missing the December camp.

Share your thoughts on this group.

Seattle's 3rd DP, Alvaro Fernandez

Should Landon Donovan Stay or Leave?

Landon is arguably the best American field player of all time and he is finishing the most successful run of his career (Everton, Galaxy, World Cup, etc.) Despite MLS Commissioner Don Garber’s statement that Donovan wasn’t going anywhere, a number of suitors have popped up, including Manchester City. In addition, Donovan told SI:

“We have had transfer interest and we will have some time to think about it and see where it goes,” Donovan told Reuters after featuring for the MLS All Stars against Manchester United on Wednesday. “There is interest from a number of teams.”

I think it’s clear that Donovan wants to leave but Garber is reluctant to let go of the league’s poster boy. If the right offer comes along I think Garber will have to let Donovan go.

Personally, I think Donovan should leave. He isn’t getting any younger and he proved during his time at Everton that he can step in and produce in the big leagues. I’d like to see Donovan leave for 4-5 years and come back to MLS to finish off his career.

He is a big player for MLS but the addition of big names like Thierry Henry, Nery Castillo, and the rumored arrival of Rafael Marquez, I think the league has enough star power to survive without Landon.

Seattle Sounders add 3rd DP

The Seattle Sounders signed 24 year old Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Fernandez. The young midfielder was a member of Uruguay’s World Cup team making four appearances, including a start against Ghana in the quarterfinals. This is a fantastic signing for the Sounders and MLS. It’s nice to see a team sign a DP in their mid 20′s. Maybe this move will start attracting younger prospects to the league.

The arrival of Fernandez further puts into question the status of Freddie Ljungberg. Speculations suggest that Freddie is looking to depart Seattle before the transfer window closes. The question is whether he will stay in MLS or head back to Europe. If Donovan leaves LA I wonder if Arena will try to get the Swedish international to the Home Depot Center.

MLS All Stars get their ass kicked

It was only an exhibition match but the result still stings a little. I expected Manchester United to present the toughest test for our All Stars thus far but 5-2, was a little much. I hope this doesn’t deter the league from maintaining the All Star game format. No one wants to see our All Stars face Fulham, and I’d rather have them scrap the whole game if they want to go back to the East v. West format.

I can’t say what the repercussions will be from this game, but one thing is for sure . . . Manchester United has some good young players coming up.

US U-20′s in Milk Cup final

The US U-20′s qualified for the Milk Cup finals after defeating Denmark 3-2 on Wednesday. The Milk Cup is an annual youth international tournament held in Northern Ireland. The US won the tournament in 2005 and placed second in 2006. This tournament is typically used as a warm up for World Cup qualifiers or getting off cycle teams like the U-18′s some experience.

The US started the tournament off on the right foot beating China 1-0 on a goal from forward Omar Salgado. Denmark proved to be a tougher task but the US was able to squeak out a win after going down a goal in the first half. Adrian Ruelas, Santos Laguna forward, scored an equalizer for the US in the first half and found the game winner a minute from full time. Toronto FC’s Faud Ibrahim blasted a volley to temporarily put the US ahead in 74th minute.

Although the team is missing some core players, such as Philadelphia Union duo Jack McInerney and Amobi Okugo, the team boasts a very talented line up. Here are few players that you should keep an eye on: Omar Salgado (recently signed with MLS from Club Guadalajara – Chivas), Juan Agudelo (NY Red Bulls), Adrian Ruelas (Santos Laguna – Mexico), Greg Garza (Sporting Lisbon – Portugal), and Francisco Navas Cobo (Houston Dynamo).

The US faces a very tough Northern Ireland side that beat China 5-0 to qualify for the finals. The match will be played on Friday July 30th at 1pm EST.