CARSON, Calif. - At the beginning of the 2005 season, rookie goalkeeper Brad Guzan was effectively thrown into the fire.
And he got burned. Chivas USA and their wide-eyed, 20-year-old Illinois boy were ripped apart by the rest of Major League Soccer. Guzan, the second pick overall in the 2006 SuperDraft, took over the starting spot in the preseason when starter Martin Zuñiga went down with a knee injury. The club lost four of its first five games and Guzan allowed 12 goals in those games.
But the tide eventually turned for Guzan and by midseason he had established himself as the team's No. 1 goalkeeper.
Along the way, he apparently caught U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena's eye. Tuesday, Guzan was one of 28 players called into the U.S. national team camp set to kick off Jan. 4 at The Home Depot Center.
"It's an honor. I think that word kind of describes that feeling I have toward U.S. Soccer and the U.S. men's national team," Guzan said. "I am thrilled, very excited and ... fortunate to be able to go into camp with the best players in the country."
With Kasey Keller firmly implanted in the top 'keeper position less than six months from the start of the World Cup, Guzan could be in the mix for one of the other two spots on the World Cup roster. Of the four 'keepers called into camp, Guzan, now 21, is the youngest by far. The other 'keepers - Kevin Hartman of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Matt Reis of the New England Revolution and Jonny Walker of the Columbus Crew - are all in their 30s.
The prospect of landing a World Cup spot, however, is far from Guzan's mind.
"As far as Germany is concerned, I haven't thought about that too much. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm not going to get my hopes up too much," Guzan said. "I'm going to work hard and not really worry about that."
Hard work is seemingly the only thing Guzan knows. A fan favorite from the start, Guzan won over supporters and teammates with his tough-as-nails attitude both in games and on the training pitch. Despite the club's four-win season, supporters often point to Guzan as one of the reasons to be optimistic at the club's near-future.
Once the early-season jitters wore off, Guzan began to develop into a No. 1 'keeper. He started 23 games and played 2,079 minutes - third most of any player on the club. His two best efforts resulted in Chivas victories. The first came in a 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake on May 7. A pair of Guzan saves 10 seconds apart kept Real Salt Lake from bagging a late equalizer and propelled Chivas to their first win. Guzan also shut out eventual MLS finalists New England on June 22. Again, a late Guzan save helped Chivas preserve their 1-0 win.
But Guzan also came away with countless bumps and bruises because of his physical style of play. In April, he collided with then-teammate Ryan Suarez and had a cut to his lip that required stitches. Late in the season, Colorado Rapids striker Diego Serna barreled into Guzan late in a Chivas-Rapids game. Guzan came away with a fractured nose and missed the final three games of the season.
Guzan pointed to his club - namely former goalkeeper coach Javier "Zully" Ledesma and former 'keeper Zuñiga - as one of the reasons why he was called into the national team.
"At the beginning of the year I struggled a bit and made some mistakes. Without my teammates and Chivas USA, I wouldn't be getting called into this camp. I owe them a lot," Guzan said. "They helped me get through the tough times in the beginning of the year and helped show me so that I can see for myself that I can make it at this level and be successful."
Now, with his entire national team career ahead of him, Guzan said he will go into camp and try to soak as much of it in as he can.
"I'm just going to go in and whatever happens, happens," he said. "I'm just going to do my best and hopefully prove I can compete at that level. I've never been there and it will be a good learning experience for me for the beginning of next year because it will go right into the preseason."
As far as the big picture, Guzan said a World Cup roster spot, be it in 2006 or 2010, would be a monumental accomplishment.
"The dream of any youth soccer player is to represent their country in a World Cup. It really doesn't get much bigger than that. That would be the biggest honor of them all," he said. "But I'm not really thinking about that. I'm just focusing on the task at hand and work as hard as I possibly can."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
