MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake MF Kyle Beckerman Named to U.S. Men's National Team

Published on August 4, 2011 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah (Thursday, August 4, 2011) - Real Salt Lake MF Kyle Beckerman has been named by U.S. Men's National Team Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann to the 22-man roster that will represent the United States next Wednesday, Aug. 10 in a friendly against CONCACAF rival Mexico. Beckerman will join his U.S. teammates in the group's first-ever camp under Klinsmann Sunday in Philadelphia, where the U.S. team and staff will prepare for next Wednesday's match against Mexico, taking place at 7:00 p.m. MT at Lincoln Financial Field and broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3.com and Univision.

Beckerman will be available to Real Salt Lake for this weekend's home contest against the New York Red Bulls, and will re-join the team for the Saturday, August 13 match at Toronto FC.

"I'm always excited to have the chance to represent my country," said the 29-year-old Beckerman, who saw his last significant time wearing the USA badge during six appearances (five starts) in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U.S. finishing second to Mexico in that tournament. "It's a great opportunity to get myself familiar with the new staff, and hopefully put myself in a better position with the team."

Beckerman returns to the scene where he scored his lone goal for the U.S., against Panama in Philadelphia back on July 18, 2009, in the Gold Cup Quarterfinals, a 49th minute equalizer in a game eventually won by the Stars-and-Stripes, 2-1. With today's invitation, Beckerman becomes the fifth Real Salt Lake player tabbed to represent his country in recent months, as Arturo Alvarez (El Salvador), Will Johnson (Canada), and Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica) each participated in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. RSL GK Nick Rimando was named to the United States team for that tourney as well, but did not see action.

Beckerman will be looking for his 13th "cap" at the senior level for the United States, his last appearance coming back on Feb. 24, 2010, when he started and played 79 minutes in a 2-1 friendly win over El Salvador in Tampa. Other highlights from Beckerman's dozen caps include a pair of appearances in the 2007 Copa America tournament in Venezuela, and his World Cup Qualifying debut on Sept. 5, 2009, at his home turf of Rio Tinto Stadium, when he played the final 10 minutes in a 2-1 victory, also against El Salvador.

"I am always pleased when our players receive the opportunity to represent their National Teams," said RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis, "as we have full respect and appreciation for these limited chances players get to represent their country. I'm thankful, as well, that our Captain will not miss any of our upcoming MLS matches. He has been deserving of these types of chances for his entire RSL career, and we wish him the best of luck against Mexico."

Beckerman is one of seven MLS players named to Klinsmann's debut squad, with the 16-year old League one of nine professional leagues in eight different countries represented on the 22-man roster. German-based players number six total from the top two divisions, while the Mexican first division sends four. This weekend's RSL opponent, the New York Red Bulls, contribute two players to the roster, the most from any single club.

The match on Aug. 10 will mark the 59th meeting between the USA and Mexico. The U.S. has a lifetime record of 15-32-11 against Mexico in a series that dates back to 1934, but the U.S. has a 13-8-9 advantage in home matches since 1957. Since the rivalry between these two teams began in earnest in 1990, the sides have played 31 times, with the U.S. holding a 13-10-8 advantage. In the teams' most significant matchup, the United States defeated Mexico 2-0 in the Round of 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

The match will be the first for Jurgen Klinsmann since the former FIFA World Cup and European Championship winner was introduced as the U.S. Men's National Team head coach on Monday. Klinsmann has named long-time friend and colleague Martin Vasquez - currently the Director of the Real Salt Lake Youth Academy at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz. - to his staff for next week's preparations. Vasquez was an assistant to Klinsmann at Bayern Munich prior to returning stateside and served as both head and assistant coach for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer around the stint with the highly-successful German Bundesliga side.

"One of the goals of the roster for this game and moving forward is to create competition at each position," said Klinsmann. "There are many players who are established as well as many players who will get opportunities, and we want there to be a healthy contest for spots on the roster. We will get a good look at where each player is as quickly as we can during the short time in camp, and we will finish with an exciting game against Mexico."

U.S. Men's National Team Roster vs. Mexico - Click here for detailed Roster Aug. 10, 2011 - Philadelphia

GOALKEEPERS (2): Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton)

DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne), Edgar Castillo (Club America), Timmy Chandler (FC N-rnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), José Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS (5): Freddy Adu (Benfica), Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM STAFF

Head Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann

Assistant Coach: Martin Vasquez

Assistant Coach: Thomas Dooley

Assistant Coach: Tab Ramos

Goalkeeper Coach: Mike Curry

Fitness Coach: Mark Verstegen

General Manager: Pam Perkins

Trainers: Ivan Pierra, Justin Shaginaw

Doctor: Art Bartolozzi

Chiropractor: George Billauer

Equipment Manager: Jesse Bignami

Videographer: Alejandro Becker

Content Coordinator: Mark Liskevych

Press Officer: Michael Kammarman

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