Parkhurst, Davies Make Olympic Cut

Nowak Names 18-Player Roster for Beijing

July 17, 2008

The Revolution’s Michael Parkhurst and Boston College alum Charlie Davies were among the 18 players named to the U.S. National Team for this summer’s Olympics in Beijing.

The roster features 12 players who have experience at the full national team level, including the three youngest players on the team, Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley, and the most senior member of the team in Brian McBride. The official roster is due to FIFA no later than July 23.

Michael Parkhurst

Michael Parkhurst was named to the US National Team's roster for the Olympic Games. (CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com).

Parkhurst, 24, was one of three “overage” players named to the team comprised of players from the Under-23 age group. The Cranston, R.I., native will join the team for pre-Olympic training in Stanford, Calif., on Sunday evening following the Revolution’s SuperLiga 2008 match against Chivas USA in Fullerton, Calif., for which he will be available for selection.

“I’m very honored to be selected for the 2008 Olympic team,” Parkhurst said. “It’s any athlete’s dream to compete in the Olympics and represent your country at the highest level.

Parkhurst becomes the fourth active Revolution player to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, joining Imad Baba and Alexi Lalas (1996, Atlanta) and Brian Dunseth (2000, Sydney).

“Michael is a key player for us and has rightfully earned his selection to the Olympic team,” said Revs’ Vice President of Player Personal Michael Burns, an Olympic player himself (’92). “We’re thrilled for him to have this opportunity to represent the U.S. Speaking from my experience at the Olympics in Barcelona, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he’ll remember forever.”

Davies joins the team in midseason form from Sweden, where he is among the leading scorers for a Hammarby IF side off to an 8-0-2 start in the Swedish first division.

The U.S. will begin their final preparation for the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, July 20, with six days of domestic training in San Jose, Calif. The team will then depart for Hong Kong, where they will participate in the ING Cup, facing fellow Olympic participants Ivory Coast on July 30 and Cameroon on Aug. 2.

“We know that some players are coming in during the off-season, and some are in season so we have to make sure that everyone is on the same page during our preparations,” said coach Peter Nowak, who selected the roster. “Our senior team plays in a World Cup Qualifier in August, and we wanted to make sure that we have two competitive teams for both the Olympic Games and the World Cup qualifiers.”

“There’s definitely a lot of experience in our group, and a lot of guys who have been able to get good experience with the full National Team,” said Bradley. “Those experiences will be able to help us as a team as we move forward. At this point we’re looking forward to getting together this weekend to start the process of getting ourselves ready for the tournament.”

Full 2008 Men’s Olympic Roster By Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (5): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio)

FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

Return from Parkhurst, Davies Make Olympic Cut to New England Revolution

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