Washington, D.C. (June 25, 2009) - D.C. United announced today that midfielder Santino Quaranta and defender Dejan Jakovic have been called in by their respective national teams to participate in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Quaranta will play for the United States while Jakovic will represent Canada in the biannual competition. Depending on how far their respective sides advance in the tournament, which runs July 3-26, the pair could miss up to three MLS matches.
Quaranta will be donning the red, white and blue for the first time in more than three years. Once a staple of the U-17 National Team, the 25-year-old has 11 caps with the senior side, including four appearances at the 2005 Gold Cup. Quaranta converted a crucial penalty kick in the championship game tiebreaker of that tournament after the United States and Panama played to a scoreless draw. A Baltimore native who overcame a much-publicized drug addiction to turn his life around and rejoin United in 2008, Quaranta is currently enjoying the best season of his nine-year career, having already registered a career high six assists to go along with his two goals.
Jakovic recorded his first cap for Canada on January 30, 2008, during a friendly against Martinique. He then played every minute of the U-23 squad’s four contests at the CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament last summer, helping the team secure a third place finish. A native of Karlovac, Croatia, Jakovic emigrated with his family to Canada when he was six years old. United signed Jakovic early in February after the 23-year-old spent one season with Serbian power Red Star Belgrade. The 6-2 center back has made an immediate impact with United, starting 15 of the Black-and-Red’s first 16 matches.
Broadcasting and P.A. Request: When speaking of the organization, please refer to the team as either “D.C. United” or “United,” but not “the D.C. United” or “the United.” We appreciate your cooperation.
Doug Hicks,
dhicks@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5448,
Boris Flores,
bflores@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5452,
Kyle Sheldon,
ksheldon@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5450 or
Cristina Cruz,
ccruz@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5440
