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The Portland Timbers today announced that Michael Harrington has been called up to the US National Team's January camp by coach Jurgen Klinsmann. The camp features mostly MLS-based players and will be held jointly in Carson, California and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The culmination of the camp is a February 1 friendly against South Korea at the Stub Hub Center.
January camp is always used as a chance to take a look at a new crop of players, be it youngsters or domestic players who made an impression in the recently concluded season. As such, the group of twenty-six players includes stalwarts like Landon Donovan, young players like DeAndre Yedlin and MLS veterans like Harrington. Still, it's a rare honor, and rarer still in Portland.
Harrington joins three of his former Sporting Kansas City defensive teammates as Matt Besler, Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic will also take part in the January camp. Former Timbers midfielder Eric Alexander will also be in Carson this month, marking his second such call up.
Excited and honored to be a part of the #USMNT January camp. Thank you so much for all the support and kind words. Let's get to work.
— Michael Harrington (@mikeymomoney2) January 3, 2014
Here's the Timbers' press release announcing Harrington's inclusion:
TIMBERS’ MICHAEL HARRINGTON CALLED INTO CAMP WITH U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
Defender to join U.S. National Team for training camp Jan. 6-Feb. 2
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today announced that defender Michael Harrington has been called into camp with the U.S. National Team by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann for the team’s January Training Camp from Jan. 6 to Feb. 2. The camp will include training in Carson, Calif., and São Paulo, Brazil, as well as a friendly against Korea Republic on Saturday, Feb. 1, as the United States prepares for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Harrington, 27, is scheduled to join the team Monday, Jan. 6, in California for training at the National Training Center. As part of the camp, the team will train and stay at its base camp for the upcoming World Cup in São Paulo, Brazil, from Jan. 13-25. The United States will then return to Carson, Calif., for training and plays host to Korea Republic on Saturday, Feb. 1, at StubHub Center at 2 p.m. (Pacific) on ESPN2.
The Greenville, N.C., native earns his first call-up to the senior U.S. national team. Harrington previously represented the United States at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels, competing in both the 2003 U-17 and 2005 U-20 FIFA World Youth Championships. He also spent time with the U.S. U-23 National Team leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Harrington played in all but one league match through the regular season and MLS Cup Playoffs for the Timbers in 2013, helping the backline record a league-best 15 shutouts, including an MLS single-season record 11 shutouts at home. He set career marks in both games (33) and minutes played (2,951) during the 2013 regular season as Portland finished the campaign in first place in the Western Conference and reached the conference final.
Harrington is a veteran of seven MLS seasons with Portland (2013) and Sporting Kansas City (2007-12), having appeared in more than 180 regular-season matches and recording five goals and 15 assists.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION – Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (10): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Michael Harrington (Portland Timbers), Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), Chance Myers (Sporting Kansas City), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids), Seth Sinovic (Sporting Kansas City), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Eric Alexander (New York Red Bulls), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Dax McCarty (New York Red Bulls), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (D.C. United), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
