Brian Carroll called up by Arena

Steven Goff is reporting that Brian Carroll has been called up for the world cup qualifier against Panama.  Caroll’s had a strong season, leading United in minutes played.  That’s not to say that he’s been a stellar player every game.  He had a stretch of games around the middle of the season where it seemed he couldn’t pass forward or complete a pass to a team mate.  But during the last strech of games, he’s played very well and even saved a goal off the line in United’s away game at Dallas.  Caroll isn’t the type of player who you notice readily during a game, and it’s often late into the second half when I realize that he’s been playing well.  It’s good to see a young player like him get some recognition for playing well, especially on a team where you have Christian Gomez, Jaime Moreno, and Freddy Adu in the spot light.  I think Arena is also starting to look beyond 2006, since it’s hard to argue that Carroll is ahead of more established defensive midfields (and no, I don’t include Chris Armas in that list).If his play continues to develop, he should be in the national team pool after Germany.