Olsen in Gold Cup, United in Copa Sudamericana

Great news for Ben Olsen, who was named to the US squad for the Gold Cup next month. After two injury plagued years, Olsen restablished himself in the DC United lineup during last season’s championship run. Its great to see him get a shot at returning to national team, where he was a regular before the 2002 World Cup and injury. From the looks of the rest of the resoter, Arena will be using this tournamet at players he hasn’t called up or have been available for recent World Cup qualifiers.

Buried at the bottom of the same Washington Post article is news that United may participate in the Copa Sudamericana, a South American club tournament. Think the UEFA Cup equivalent in South America, not quite as prestigious as the Copa Libertadores but still an important competition. The team might play in a group with Chilean and Peruvian teams.