Soccer

O'Brien's return gives U.S. calming presence

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - John O'Brien spent most of the past three years as the invisible man of the U.S. soccer team.

After starring at the 2002 World Cup, he kept getting hurt, playing just one game with the U.S. national team and a few with his club, Dutch power Ajax Amsterdam.

"I kept springing a leak," he said.

His hamstrings and Achilles' tendons are healed, and he's set to join U.S. captain Claudio Reyna in the midfield when the United States plays Trinidad and Tobago tonight in a World Cup qualifier.

Reyna has recuperated from leg injuries and will be playing just his second international game since September. He will be paired with O'Brien for the first time since the quarterfinal loss to Germany at the 2002 World Cup.

"Having Claudio and John makes it easy on me because they do all the work," forward Landon Donovan said after Tuesday's practice at Rentschler Field. "I don't have to worry about getting the ball and moving it from side to side or finding people. They do that. I just get in front of the goal and try to score, so it's going to be fun for me."

The United States (4-1) is second in the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region with 12 points, one behind Mexico (4-0-1), and can move to the verge of qualifying for its fifth straight World Cup.

Costa Rica (2-2-1), which plays at Mexico, is third with seven points, followed by Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago (1-3-1) with four each and Panama (0-3-2) with two. The top three teams qualify, and the No. 4 nation goes to a playoff against Bahrain, Kuwait or Uzbekistan for another berth.

With a win, the United States would clinch no worse than fourth place and almost certainly need no more than three points from its final four games to qualify.

In last month's CONCACAF Gold Cup, he came in as a second-half substitute in the opener against Cuba, just his second appearance with the national team since 2002. He started the next five games, scoring the tying goal in the 86th minute of the semifinal victory over Honduras.

"End of May, I didn't think he'd be where he was," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said.

He thinks O'Brien and Reyna lend a calming influence to other players on the field. At key moments, the Americans have scrambled instead of trying to settle themselves, especially when veteran players were absent during the Gold Cup.

"Even our dumbest players, if every time we get the ball and they take off a run and it turns over, they'll eventually say, "I'm not going to run anymore,' " Arena said. "The movement off the ball is much better when you have players like Claudio and John in the midfield."

[Last modified August 17, 2005, 01:10:12]