So close, oh so close.
The 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team came within one goal of qualifying for the knockout round at the Beijing Summer Games. As it stood, the Americans finished with a 1-1-1 record in Group B.
They started on an optimistic note, defeating Japan 1-0 on Stuart Holden's 47th-minute goal in Tianjin on Aug. 7. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan earned the clean sheet.
Three days later in the same city, the Olympic MNT squandered saw their lead against The Netherlands snatched away in the third minute of stoppage time, as Gerald Sibon scored off a free kick to secure a 2-2 draw. Sacha Kljestan (64th minute) and Jozy Altidore (72nd minute) wrote their names on the scoresheet for the U.S.
In the final group stage match in Beijing, Nigeria bested the U.S. 2-1 via goals from Isaac Promise and Victor Obinna. Kljestan pulled one back late with an 88th-minute penalty kick.
Despite the early exit, here’s how here’s how that group of players advanced their careers on both the club and international levels following the 2008 Olympic tournament:
Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan - One of three overage players on the 2008 roster, Guzan has since forged a 19-year career on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. At the time of the Beijing Games, Guzan was fresh off of a 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year campaign for Chivas USA, whom he’d played with since being drafted in 2005. Currently, Guzan has 267 MLS appearances to his credit, encapsulating both his time at Chivas USA and his current gig at Atlanta United, where he’s been since 2017. In between MLS stints, Guzan was a regular for Aston Villa of the English Premier League, for whom he appeared 144 times from 2008-2016. Guzan, who turns 40 on Sept. 9, has made 64 international appearances, and was on the USA roster for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Chris Seitz - Picked by Real Salt Lake as the fourth overall choice in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, Seitz wound up playing for nine clubs across his 11-year professional career. He wore the uniforms of the Philadelphia Union, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and D.C. United (all of MLS), as well as Cleveland City, Portland Timbers, Rio Grande Valley and Loudoun United (USL) before he retired in 2021.
Defenders
Maurice Edu – One of MLS’ most promising young players at the time of the 2008 Summer Games, Edu had shined as the first overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC as he’d go on to earn MLS Rookie of the Year honors by season’s end. The Fontana, Calif. native started all three games in Beijing, before signing with Scottish powerhouse Rangers immediately afterward where he’d win three Scottish Premier League titles. He’d then spend time at Stoke City (England) and Bursaspor (Turkey) before returning to the states to play three seasons for the Philadelphia Union before retiring in 2017. Edu made 46 USMNT appearances, scoring once. Since retiring, he has been a commentator for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, an analyst for CBS Sports, and worked FOX Sports' coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Patrick Ianni – A back-to-back MLS Cup champion with the Houston Dynamo entering the 2008 games, Ianni enjoyed much success early in his career following his eighth overall selection at the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. Upon being traded to the Seattle Sounders in 2009, he’d pick up another three trophies in the form of the 2009, 2010, and 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophies. Ianni was traded to the Chicago Fire in 2014, his final MLS season.
Michael Orozco - Still active at the age of 38, Orozco owns an 18-year professional career with clubs in both Mexico and the United States. Representing San Luis of Liga MX in the summer of 2008, Orozco was a key figure in helping the U.S. in qualify for the Beijing Summer Games, and he’d start all three matches while there. He earned his first senior team cap that October, and would famously go on to score the lone goal in the U.S.’ first-ever away win against Mexico in August of 2012. He played 29 times with the USMNT, scoring four goals. Currently playing for Orange County SC in the USL Championship, Orozco’s club career has also seen stops at Puebla, Chiapas, Tijuana and Lobos BUAP in Mexico, as well as for the Philadelphia Union in MLS.
Michael Parkhurst – Entering the summer of 2008, Parkhurst was coming out of 2007 season with the New England Revolution where he’d won the league’s Defender of the Year award, and was subsequently chosen to represent the U.S. as an overage player on the Olympic squad. A 2005 MLS SuperDraft pick by the Revs, 2008 would be his last season in MLS for six years, as his performance both domestically and in his three starts at the Beijing Olympics helped him earn a transfer to Denmark’s Nordsjælland later that year. A regular over the next four seasons, he’d then transfer to Germany’s FC Augsberg in 2012, before returning home for a five year stay in MLS with the Columbus Crew and Atlanta United, with whom he retired in 2019. Parkhurst made 25 appearances with the USMNT, winning the Concacaf Gold Cup in 2007 and 2013.
Marvell Wynne - The son of former Major League Baseball Player Marvell Wynne, the younger Wynne took his talents to professional soccer. Wynne had been the first overall MLS SuperDraft pick in 2006 by the New York Red Bulls, and quickly established himself as one of the fastest players in the league. By summer of 2008, Wynne was playing for Toronto FC, who had traded for him the year prior. Wynne played all three matches in Beijing, and would go on to represent the U.S. at the senior level five times. Upon retiring in 2017, Wynne had also made stops at the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes, and is one of just 56 players to have made 300+ career appearances in MLS.
Midfielders
Michael Bradley – Named U.S. Soccer's Young Athlete of the Year for 2007, Bradley had already made his senior team debut before being named to the Olympic squad. Bradley was a star on the rise ahead of the Beijing Games, having just a few months prior broken the record for the most goals scored in a single season by an American soccer player in a European first division while finishing with 18 goals for Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie. Bradley played every minute of the first two matches at the Olympics, but was forced to sit for the third due to yellow card suspension. His post-Olympic career became a legendary one for the senior USMNT. He captained the side for several years, making 151 appearances in total – the third-most all-time. He scored 17 goals, including both in a dos a cero triumph over Mexico in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in 2009. He was a Gold Cup winner in 2007 and 2007, as well as the U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2015. On the club level, after leaving Heerenveen after the 2008 Olympics, Bradley’s career included stops at Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany), Aston Villa (England), Chievo and Roma (both Italy). He returned to North America in 2014 to play 258 games over a decade with Toronto FC, helping the team to the 2017 MLS Cup and earning three MLS all-star selections before calling it a career in 2023. He is now an assistant coach at Norwegian club Stabaek.
Benny Feilhaber – Well before being selected to the 2008 Olympic team, Feilhaber had already written himself into USMNT lore. The summer prior, Feilhaber scored a stunning volleyed goal against Mexico that served as the game-winner in a 2-1 defeat of Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup final. In Beijing, he appeared in all three matches as a substitute. His 15-year professional career began with Hamburger SV (Germany) in 2005, and he’d go on to play for Derby County (England) and AGC (Denmark) before returning to MLS in 2011. Feilhaber spent two years with the New England Revolution, then spent the bulk of his MLS career across two tenures with Sporting Kansas City, where he’d make 167 appearances from 2013-17 and 2019-20, with year-long stints at LAFC and the Colorado Rapids in between. He is currently the head coach of Sporting Kansas City II in MLS Next Pro.
Stuart Holden – Despite playing in only 122 club matches over nine years before knee injuries forced him to retire at the age of 29, Holden was a player to be reckoned with every time he suited up. A back-to-back MLS Cup winner with the Houston Dynamo leading up to the summer of 2008, Holden would start all three matches in Beijing for the U.S. He put in his best season as a pro to-date in 2009, earning MLS All-Star and MLS Best XI nods and parlaying them into a move to Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League in 2010. Despite suffering a knee injury in March of 2011 that would force him out for the rest of the season, Holden’s efforts to that point led to him being voted the 2011 Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year. Internationally, Holden played 25 times andscored three goals for the USA, and was a member 2009 and 2013 Gold Cup squads as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. Upon retiring, Holden quickly rose up the ranks in the broadcasting world, and is now the lead color commentator for FOX Sports soccer contests.
Sacha Kljestan – Kljestan turned down an appearance in the 2008 MLS All-Star game to represent his country at the Beijing Olympics, a decision that proved wise for both player and country. One of the league’s top midfielders at Chivas USA, Kljestan put in a star performance at the 2008 tournament, scoring twice while playing every minute in all three games. The showing sparked European interest in the California native, as he earned a trial with Scottish powerhouses Celtic in early 2009 and an eventual move to Belgian Pro League Anderlecht in 2010. After making 132 appearances over the next five seasons, Kljestan returned to MLS to compete with the New York Red Bulls (2015-17), Orlando City (2018-19), and the LA Galaxy (2020-22). Known for his ability to unlock a defense, Kljestan’s 67 assists across 316 appearances rank ninth in league history. For the senior U.S. team, he scored six goals and recorded five assists in 52 USA appearances. Today, Kljestan can be seen and heard on MLS 360 on Apple TV.
Dax McCarty – McCarty was two years into a professional career that is still going strong at the time of the 2008 Olympics. Then a midfielder for FC Dallas, who selected him out of North Carolina at sixth overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, McCarty would appear once in Beijing at the summer games. A stout presence in midfield at each of the five teams he’s played for since leaving FC Dallas in 2010, McCarty has worn the captain’s armband for D.C. United, the New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire, and Nashville SC. When he became the third MLS field player to reach 400 league matches on April 22, 2023, McCarty admitted that retirement had crossed his mind. More than a year later, McCarty is still playing for Atlanta United, having made 481 MLS appearances – the third-most in league history. He has played 13 times for the USMNT, most notably as part of the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup-winning roster.
Robbie Rogers – Rogers was in the midst of his most successful season as a pro in 2008 as a member of the Columbus Crew. After moving to MLS in 2007 following an early career stint with Heerenveen in Holland, Rogers would earn MLS Best XI honors in 2008 en route to helping his team lift both MLS Cup and the Supporter Shield that season. Rodgers started all three games in Beijing for the U.S. After a five-year run with the Crew and short stints with Leeds United and Stevenage (England), Rogers signed with the LA Galaxy in 2013, where played until his retirement in 2017. At 25, Rogers made history when he announced that he was gay, becoming the first pro soccer player based in England to come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990. Upon returning to the U.S. to play with the Galaxy in 2013, Rogers became the first openly gay athlete to compete in a top North American professional sports league. He scored twice in 16 games for the USMNT.
Danny Szetela - A product of the U.S. Under-17 residency, Szetela was so sought after that MLS needed to hold a lottery to determine which team for which he would play in 2004. After three seasons with the Columbus Crew, he journeyed across the pond to play for Racing Santander (Spain) and Brescia (Italy), whom he represented while with the U.S. Olympic team. He returned to the States to perform for D.C. United in 2009. A year later, Szetela suffered a torn meniscus and did not play professionally again until joining the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League in 2013. There, he played for three NASL championship sides. Szetela has played for Morris Elite SC since the Cosmos' demise in 2020.
Forwards
Freddy Adu – Until just recently the youngest player ever to debut in Major League Soccer, the then-19-year-old Adu was already five years into his professional career when the 2008 Summer Olympics began. Plying his trade at Benfica in Portugal at the time, Adu had already represented the U.S. at three separate FIFA U-20 World Cup tournaments (2003, 2005, 2007), just the second player ever to do so. In Beijing, Adu started in the team’s first two matches and assisted on Kljestan’s goal against the Netherlands, but was forced to miss the final match against Nigeria due to yellow card accumulation. Over his 18-year career, Adu would play with 15 teams across nine countries. He represented the USA on 17 occasions, scoring twice, while also being part of the 2009 and 2011 Concacaf Gold Cup squads. Adu’s title of youngest-ever MLS debutante (14 years, 307 days) was just surpassed by the Philadelphia Union’s Cavan Sullivan (14 years, 293 days) on July 17, 2024.
Jozy Altidore - Another player who made his debut as a teenager, Altidore was 16 when the NY/NJ MatroStars traded up to take him in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. When the 2008 Olympics came around, he was fresh off of an $8 million transfer to Spain’s Villareal – the largest-ever fee paid for an MLS player at the time. Altidore appeared in all three matches in Beijing, twice as a substitute – scoring in the 2-2 draw with Holland - and as a starter in the team’s finale against Nigeria. Across Altidore’s subsequent journey in Europe, his stops included Xerez (Spain), Hull City (England), Bursaspor (Turkey), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), and Sunderland (England). In 2013, while with AZ, Altidore broke Clint Dempsey’s record for most goals by an American in a European club season with his 24th of the campaign. He returned to North America in 2015, starting a nine-year stint with Toronto FC where he scored 62 goals in 139 matches and won the 2017 MLS Cup. On the national team level, Altidore scored 42 times – the second-highest total in program history - in 115 matches while representing the U.S. at two FIFA World Cups (2010, 2014) and four Concacaf Gold Cups (2011, 2015, 2017, 2019).
Charlie Davies – Davies went straight to Europe upon finishing school at Boston College, latching on with Sweden’s Hammarby IF from 2007-2009. 2008 was Davies’ breakout season in Sweden, scoring 14 goals in 27 games and getting selected to the U.S. Olympic squad. While there, he appeared as a substitute in the team’s group stage finale against Nigeria. He’d go on to score four international goals in 17 senior team appearances, including one of the biggest goals in USMNT history - the final tally of a 3-0 group-stage victory over Egypt that boosted the Americans into the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinals. He played for Hammarby IF (Sweden), Sochaux (France) and Randers (Denmark), returning to the states in 2013 to perform for the New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union before retiring in 2017. These days, Davies can be seen and heard on the CBS Golazo Network.
Brian McBride – An overage player and captain of the 2008 Olympic Team, McBride was by far the most internationally experience member of the USA roster in Beijing. Having made his U.S. debut in 1994, McBride would go on to be part of the 1998, 2002, and 2006 FIFA World Cup teams. Upon scoring in the 1998 and 2002 tournaments, he became the first American to score at two World Cups. In Beijing, McBride started all three matches of the Olympic tournament. The USA’s fifth all-time leading scorer, the Illinois native found the net 30 times in 95 senior team appearances. On the club side, he tallied 62 goals in 161 games for the Columbus Crew from 1996-2003, 33 goals in 140 contests for Fulham (England) from 2004-08, and 18 goals in 59 appearances for the Chicago Fire from 2008-09. He also competed for Preston North End and Everton in England, and VfL Wolfsburg in Germany. McBride was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014.
