USA Soccer Team Has Bruins Roar
The pipeline from UCLA to Team USA has been open for years.
Bocanegra is a Bruin. He has a lot of company on Team USA.
Right now, the sting of giving up a two goal lead to Brazil stings too much for USA soccer and its fans to look at this as a building block, but that’s what it is — growth in stature in international soccer does not happen overnight. It is earned over years and decades.
And if Team USA wants to keep building up, they need to keep the pipeline from UCLA going.
Four UCLA alumni were on the pitch in South Africa Sunday. That starts with team captain Carlos Bocanegra (who was wisely finally moved to left back). He had been missing when the USA struggled through the early rounds — Bocanegra hurt himself scoring the game winner against Honduras in a World Cup qualifier June 6. But he was back on the pitch for the USA’s surprise win against Spain and the good showing against Brazil.
Other Bruins on the team are Benny Feilhaber (who plays professionally for AGF Aarhus in Denmark), Jonathon Bornstein (who plays here in Los Angeles for Chivas of the MLS) and Marvell Wynne (Toronto of the MLS).
UCLA has produced some of the nation’s best soccer players for generations — more than 20 have been on USA Olympic soccer teams. As the USA moves up the world rankings, look for that pipeline to stay open.
