Klinsmann calls up German-born Williams
Reuters - Thursday 29 September 2011, 21:58
United States head coach Jurgen
Klinsmann has called up German-U.S. dual-citizen Danny Williams
into his squad for October's friendly games with Honduras and
Ecuador.
The 22-year-old, Karlsruhe-born Williams, a defensive
midfielder with Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, is eligible to play
for either his country of birth or his father's homeland - the
U.S.
"The coach at Hoffenheim is full of compliments and
admiration for Danny, and I really want him to come in and get
a first feeling for this group of players on the U.S. team,"
said Klinsmann.
"He's a player with a huge upside in the next couple of
years. If it's possible to integrate those elements into a camp
then we will continue to do that. Talking to his coach at
Hoffenheim confirms he's ready for this step," he added.
Klinsmann has said he is looking to dual-citizen players as
a potential source of new recruits to his team and another
German born player, full-back Timmy Chandler is also included
in the squad.
Another Bundesliga player eligible for the U.S., Fabian
Johnson, was called in to train with the team last month while
his paperwork for a nationality switch was being dealt with by
FIFA. Johnson, who has recently had a neck injury, was not
named in the latest U.S. squad.
"Fabian is still recovering from the injury he suffered in
training a couple weeks ago. The good news is he has received
approval from FIFA for a change of association. He is now a
U.S. player, and we look forward to having him back with us as
soon as possible," said Klinsmann.
Sporting Lisbon central defender Oguchi Onyewu returns to
the team for the first time under Klinsmann along with
Canada-born forward Teal Bunbury.
Michael Bradley, son of former U.S. coach Bob Bradley,
returns to the squad after missing September's friendlies while
he arranged a transfer to Italy's Chievo Verona.
The U.S. will face Honduras in Miami on October 8 and then
Ecuador, three days later, at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.
Klinsmann is looking for his first victory since taking
over from Bradley at the end of July.
Under the charge of the former German national team coach
and ex-Bayern Munich player and coach, the U.S. has drawn with
Mexico and lost to Costa Rica and Belgium in friendlies.
The coach has experimented in those games but his selection
changes have been more limited for the October games.
"One important thing is to see continuity in the build-up
of our national team and also in the way we work as coaches,"
said Klinsmann.
"We'd like to see new faces as well, but we also don't want
to shake up the core structure of the team too much. The two
results with Costa Rica and Belgium didn't work in our favor
but we saw clearly that the team started to understand what we
demand from them in terms of pace, playing style and how to
play.
"We are definitely on the right path and what we now need
to focus on in this get together is the eagerness to finish
things off up front," he said.
U.S. squad:
Goalkeepers: Bill Hamid (D.C.United), Tim Howard (Everton),
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Glasgow Rangers), Timmy
Chandler (Nurnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Oguchi
Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Tim
Ream (New York Red Bulls), Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City).
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael
Bradley (Chievo Verona), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Maurice Edu
(Glasgow Rangers), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Brek
Shea (Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), DaMarcus Beasley
(Puebla).
Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Jozy Altidore
(AZ Alkmaar), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), Landon
Donovan (LA Galaxy)