Now and then

This U20 team is actually the second that Rongen has been in charge of. He first led the squad to the U20 World Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates in 2003, where the team advanced under Bobby Convey's captaincy to a tough quarterfinal loss to Argentina, after leading for most of the game. Eddie Johnson won the tournament's Golden Boot as leading scorer.

Here are Rongen's thoughts on the two U20 teams:

"I think that first group was pretty special. So is this one, but that group was pretty special. If you look at that group, Clint Dempsey scores the only goal for the U.S. in the last senior World Cup. He played on that team and didn’t even see that many minutes, because Ricardo Clark and Bobby Convey played ahead of him. But I’m so pleased to see Justin Mapp out of that group, who is a very special talent, finally do well. He’ll be part of the senior team camp with Bob Bradley, the coach there. So that’s nice to see."

"Freddy was part of that U20 group. I think finally Santino Quaranta is turning the corner again and getting another chance in LA with Frank Yallop. He still has a lot of soccer in him. Mike Magee, too. We all hope that Eddie Johnson, who’s getting another chance with that injury to Taylor Twellman, that he will perform again at the level he did prior to the World Cup, at the level he played for me with the 20’s. Ricardo Clark is now in camp with the senior team. Ryan Cochrane and Chad Marshall are both now legitimate starters in MLS. That was a great group, a very enjoyable group. Drew Moor is a legitimate player now for FC Dallas."

"I think in this group now, there are some similarities. If you look at Eddie Johnson and look at Jozy, there are some similarities there with their skill and striking power. If you look at Justin Mapp and compare him with Robbie Rogers. Robbie Rogers is very special off the dribble, going to goal. If you look at Bobbie Convey and Freddy Adu, there’s some similarities there. If you look at Danny Szetela and Ricardo Clark – there’s true grit and they’re tough and hard-working guys. If you look at the back, at Nathan Sturgis, who, although smaller than Chad Marshall and very technical, was already a starter for Sigi’s group."