CARSON, Calif. – Gyasi Zardes has been hoping for a chance to pull on a US national team jersey since he was a kid, and he called it a “dream come true” when the opportunity finally came his way.
Now it's time to work, and he's on board with that, too.
“It's breathtaking,” the 23-year-old LA Galaxy striker said following his first sessions under Jurgen Klinsmann at U.S. Soccer's annual January camp Monday at StubHub Center. “All the hard work I put forth throughout the season got me here. I'm thankful for this moment, but I'm going to keep working hard to progress as a player.
“… At this camp, I want to learn as much as possible. I want to work extremely hard. I want to give it my all because I know results will come.”
Zardes, who last year scored 16 MLS regular-season goals and added another as the Galaxy toppled the New England Revolution in the MLS Cup title game, is making his national-team debut, at any level, as Klinsmann begins preparations for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup to start the cycle that will conclude with the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The big, speedy and skillful striker is one of the newcomers to watch in camp, and he hopes to make his international debut when the US visits Chile for a Jan. 28 friendly, then see action again when the Yanks face Panama at StubHub on Feb. 8.
“Gyasi's one of the younger players that we're very happy now to see on a daily basis with us,” Klinsmann told media following Monday afternoon's training session at StubHub. “Hopefully, now he takes that in the right way and is open to learn every day.”
Zardes' growth since signing a Homegrown player deal with LA in December 2012 has been aided by his work with Galaxy captain Robbie Keane and US legend Landon Donovan, and Klinsmann is impressed by what he's gained playing alongside those two.
“I think playing next to a guy like Robbie Keane or Landon before, it's huge,” the US coach said. “Because they guide you, they help you, they make you understand how to move around and how to create your own chances and how to be part of the bigger picture. We're very happy to have him now with us and help him every day, and then the progression is for him then in a couple weeks, what he can tell you about his experience.”
Zardes said he hopes to glean plenty from Klinsmann, one of the top forwards in World Cup history.
“He was a phenomenal striker,” Zardes said. “I'm just a student of the game. He holds so much wisdom, so I'm just trying to learn as much as I can from him and really keep my ears open.”
Zardes' presence was anticipated following his breakthrough campaign, and he talked to teammate Omar Gonzalez, a US defender who is not participating in this camp, before joining the group.
“I just asked him about it, like, 'How's the camp?'” Zardes said. “And he's like, 'You work extremely hard.' And I'm like, 'Wow, looking forward to it.'”
Getting a US call-up has been on Zardes' wish list for more than a decade. Growing up in Hawthorne, just a few miles from the StubHub fields, he said “this is what you dream about.”
“I had a friend who played on a club team of mine, and he would always go off to residency or playing for the national team,” Zardes said. “And I'm just like, 'Man, one day I'll have that opportunity.' And sure enough, the day is here.
“This is a dream come true.”
