O'BRIEN'S RETURN WORTH CELEBRATING.

Byline: Scott French SOCCER

Today is huge for several U.S. players looking to show Bruce Arena something, anything, that might persuade him to include them in his Germany roster, but it's a World Cup lock's participation in the Americans' tune-up against Jamaica in Cary, N.C., that's cause for celebration.

John O'Brien is a massively talented soccer player - as good or better than Landon Donovan or Claudio Reyna, the two most renowned Americans - and his return from injury offers more hope that the U.S. can overcome a horrific draw and reach the second round, or beyond, come June.

Arena said Saturday that he hopes to give O'Brien 15-30 minutes, enough to gauge his health (finally good, O'Brien reports). Fitness will come, mostly through training and games with Chivas USA, which added the midfielder to its roster Tuesday.

It'll be the first action he's seen since last summer, and he hasn't seen much action at all since the 2002 World Cup. Hamstring and Achilles' tendon injuries have limited him to eight club games in the past three years and led to his departure from Ajax Amsterdam, whose legendary youth academy he joined as a 16-year-old nearly a dozen years ago.

He moved to ADO Den Haag last winter, made three appearances, then sustained a groin injury. If he plays for Chivas against the Galaxy on Saturday night, it will be his first club action since.

O'Brien is adamant that he's not assured a World Cup trip, but common sense says otherwise. He was phenomenal in the Americans' quarterfinal run in 2002, and his unique qualities make him a must if he's anywhere close to healthy.

"His decision-making is phenomenal," Donovan says. "People underestimate how quick he is. He's got a burst that's very deceptive. He's a soccer mind. He knows where the ball should go every time. He passes the ball, he puts it on the (correct) foot, he puts it in front of you when he needs to, he puts it behind you when he needs to - he understands those things, so you don't worry about service when he's in there."

Arena has called O'Brien the Americans' finest passer, and Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley, aformer Arena assistant, agrees.

"As far as his soccer brain, and the precision with his passing, John is a cut above ...," Bradley says. "It's not a surprise that he grows up in Ajax and he can play on those kinds of teams, because in terms of his thinking and his passing and the way he sees the game, I think he's pretty special."

O'Brien has spent much of the past two years at Home Depot Center with Athletes' Performance, recuperating first from the hamstring/Achilles' problems, then from the groin injury. AP trainers altered his mechanics, and O'Brien believes he won't be as prone to injury as he has been.

"I've been susceptible to injuries - I don't know any other way to put it," he says. "I'm hoping to turn that around. I'm always hoping to do that, go out there and just play continually."

--Big enough? Cuauhtemoc Blanco, no surprise, is moaning about being snubbed for Mexico's preliminary World Cup roster, also no surprise.

The temperamental Club America striker might be the sole Mexican attacker capable of the truly unexpected, but he's woefully inconsistent, irritatingly outspoken and too often given to temper tantrums, qualities that have alienated coach Ricardo Lavolpe.

Blanco, 33, who played at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and was the pivotal figure in Mexico's 1999 Confederations Cup triumph, has seen limited national team action since Lavolpe took charge in late 2002. He pulled out after his selection for the CONCACAF Gold Cup last year, saying he needed rest, then quipped that Lavolpe didn't "have big enough trousers" when he was left off a World Cup qualifying roster in November.

Lavolpe says there's nothing personal in his decision to leave Blanco home. He's content with Bolton striker Jared Borgetti, Mexico's all-time goals leader, Villarreal's Argentine-born Guillermo Franco and home-based stars Francisco "Kikin" Fonseca and Omar Bravo.

--Chivas pays: Guadalajara was the big loser as the Mexican Primera Division headed into its stretch run without the World Cup hopefuls, who had the weekend off before joining Lavolpe's preparations Wednesday in Acapulco.

Chivas, which by tradition fields an all-Mexican roster, surrendered six players to the national team - Bravo, Oswaldo Sanchez, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Gonzalo Pineda and Ramon Morales - and paid for it with a 2-0 loss to Morelia.

Sanchez, Mexico's top goalkeeper, was especially missed. His replacement, Alfredo Talavera, was at fault on both goals.

Guadalajara remains firmly in the playoff hunt, fifth overall with three games to play, and is enjoying a sparkling run in Copa Libertadores, South America's club championship. It is atop the Group 1 standings following last week's 2-1 win at Sao Paulo, the Brazilian giant's first Libertadores loss at Estadio do Morumbi in 19 years.

A win Wednesday at Venezuela's FC Caracas would send Chivas to the 16-team knockout round. Brazil's Palmeiras and Goias and Argentina's Velez Sarsfield already have clinched berths.

--Spot kicks: Mexico will face Venezuela on May 5 at the Rose Bowl. ... FC Dallas invited 14-year-old midfielder Bryan Leyva to join training. Leyva, who previously practiced with Mexicos national team, was discovered by Juan Carlos Michia, who first recognized Freddy Adu's promise. ... Jens Lehmann was selected Germany's starting goalkeeper for the World Cup over Oliver Kahn, who was arguably the top performer at the 2002 Cup. ... Guus Hiddink, who is stepping down as coach of Dutch Eredivisie champion PSV Eindhoven, says he'll become Russia's national team coach.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Midfielder John O'Brien, wh osigned last week with Chivas USA, is expected to play today for the U.S.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Box:

U.S. vs. JAMAICA

- Scott French