Howard replaces Keller as top U.S. goalie
Backup from last year leads team heading into CONCACAF Gold Cup
 Bill Kostroun / AP Tim Howard, 28, was a backup at last year’s tournament in Germany and played 18 games for the national team. |
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NEW YORK - Tim Howard has replaced Kasey Keller as the top U.S. goalkeeper heading into the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The 37-year-old Keller has 97 international appearances and started for the United States at the 1998 and 2006 World Cups. Howard, 28, was a backup at last year’s tournament in Germany and played 18 games for the national team.
“We enter this tournament with the thought that Tim Howard is our No. 1 goalkeeper,” new U.S. coach Bob Bradley said Thursday. “It’s a discussion that we’ve had with Tim and with Kasey. I do foresee the idea that in the first round Kasey will also play one of those games, and then following those games decisions get made upon form and what we feel is the best decision on the day for our team.”
Keller is leaving Germany’s Borussia Moenchengladbach and Howard starts for Everton in England. Bradley said neither is expected to be available for the Copa America this summer.
Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey also were among the 23 players picked for the Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean. The biggest surprise was the selection of 32-year-old defender Frankie Hejduk, who hasn’t played for the national team since April 2006 and missed last year’s World Cup because of a knee injury.
Twelve players are with European clubs and the remainder with Major League Soccer, including three from the New England Revolution.
Ten players have five games or fewer of international experience, including Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst, who would be making his national team debut.
Other relative newcomers include defenders Jay DeMerit and Frank Simek, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan (one international appearance apiece); and defender Jonathan Bornstein and midfielders Benny Feilhaber and Justin Mapp (two each).
“It gives us, I think, a very good blend of youth and experience,” said Bradley, who was given the job fulltime last week after serving as interim coach since December.
Among the players unavailable because of injuries were defenders Chris Albright, Steve Cherundolo, Jimmy Conrad and Cory Gibbs; and midfielders Bobby Convey and Eddie Lewis.
Europe-based players start training in the Los Angeles area Monday and are to be joined by MLS players on June 3. The Americans, 3-0-1 under Bradley, meet China in an exhibition on June 2 at San Jose, Calif., then play Guatemala (June 7), Trinidad and Tobago (June 9) and El Salvador (June 12) in the first round of the Gold Cup. The tournament winner qualifies for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
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The roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton, England), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham, England), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege, Belgium), Michael Parkhurst (New England), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday, England), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United, England)
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburg SV, Germany), Justin Mapp (Chicago), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado), Steve Ralston (New England)
Forwards: Brian Ching (Houston), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City), Taylor Twellman (New England)
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