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On Thursday, Bruce Arena kickstarted his second tenure as U.S. Men’s National Team Head Coach by naming 32 players to his January Camp roster. Revolution forward Juan Agudelo made the cut.
Agudelo, 24, caught former U.S. Gaffer Jurgen Klinsmann’s attention during a seven-goal campaign with the Revolution last season. He ultimately earned a call up for an October 2016 friendly against New Zealand, his first action with the USMNT in more than a year. The Colombian-born forward logged 12 minutes during a 1-1 draw.
Prior to his appearance against New Zealand, Agudelo last featured for the USMNT in mid-2015. He appeared in two matches, scoring against Mexico in April before playing 45 minutes against Germany in June.
“I’m very excited to see how [Coach Arena] trains,” said Agudelo via revolutionsoccer.net. “He’s a very good coach. He has great history. The LA Galaxy have done so well with him.”
Agudelo has recorded 21 career caps with the National Team. He debuted for then-U.S. Head Coach Bob Bradley in 2010 at just 17 years old.
“Anytime I get that call, I get goosebumps. It’s very emotional for me,” Agudelo said. “It’s an important part of my future with the national team with a new coach, a new opportunity, and also a new beginning.”
While training in Carson, Calif., Agudelo will fight for minutes ahead of two friendlies: Sunday, Jan. 29 against Serbia (4 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and UniMas) and Friday, Feb. 3 against Jamaica (7 p.m. ET on FS1 and UniMas). He’ll prepare for the matches beside Revolution legends Pat Noonan and Matt Reis, who officially joined Arena’s coaching staff on January 4.
“My main goal is to work my butt off to have [Coach Arena] have to call me into every camp,” Agudelo said. “That’s my main goal, to make such an impression that I have to be called into the next camp.”
Agudelo is expected to return to Foxboro ahead of the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup, a preseason tournament that kicks off on February 15.