Quaranta resurfaces in Gold Cup

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When the “The Star-Spangled Banner” is played before the CONCACAF Gold Cup game Saturday between the United States and Haiti, you might expect Santino Quaranta will be standing extra tall and at attention.

It wasn’t that long ago the 24-year-old forward from DC United of Major League Soccer thought he might never again play for his country, or for that matter, play professional soccer again.

Quaranta made his first appearance for the national team since 2006 and scored the winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Honduras at Washington on Wednesday. He was close to tears at the postgame news conference.

“To listen to the anthem was very emotional for me because it has been such a fun and long road back,” he said.

Quaranta was still beaming after a U.S. practice at Gillette Stadium, where the Americans can clinch their group — they already have advanced to the quarterfinals — with a draw or a win. “My Blackberry crashed from all the messages after the game,” he said.

“The goal for him was a special moment,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said Friday. “It happened in D.C., and knowing how he has managed to put so many things in his life in order, I think he was just proud it could happen there in front of his family and it was a good feeling for everyone else.”

The native of Baltimore was the youngest player in MLS history when he turned pro at 16 in 2001 after being drafted in the first round by DC United; a 14-year-old Freddy Adu would come along three years later.

The oft-injured Quaranta has admitted to abusing drugs for about five years after first becoming addicted to painkillers in 2002 while being treated for a sports hernia during his second season.

Quaranta told the Washington Post in 2008 that he spent an estimated $250,000 during his troubled years on alcohol and a variety of drugs, including Oxycontin and cocaine.

According to that story, he tested positive for cocaine in 2006, but because he was a first-time offender, MLS did not suspend him and the results were not made public. In the following 18 months, however, his addiction grew progressively worse, culminating with a three-month stay at a treatment facility in Malibu, Calif.

Along the way, DC United traded him to Los Angeles in 2006, and his problems followed him there. He was traded to the New York Red Bulls, but was injured after just three games in the 2007 season and eventually waived.

On his forearm Quaranta has tattooed “10-23-07,” the date he called the MLS offices begging for help with his addictions.

He got that help and returned to DC United in 2008, where he had six goals and six assists in 35 MLS and international matches. He has two goals and six assists this year and his steady play earned him a chance to play in the Gold Cup.

“To be able to play for your country before, it didn’t mean as much to me as it does now,” he said.

Quaranta makes it clear what he wants to do next.

“My ultimate goal is to be part of the World Cup in 2010,” he said.

In 2006, he attended a winter World Cup tryout camp out of shape, and never really had a chance.

“I had to learn the hard way,” he said. “I have an opportunity now, a second chance, and I have to take advantage of it.”

The United States is 2-0 in Group B of the Gold Cup and already through to the quarterfinals after a 4-0 win over Grenada, followed by a 2-0 victory over Honduras. The Americans have never lost in Gold Cup group play, going 22-0-1.

Grenada, 0-2 and without a goal in two Group B games, will take on Honduras in the other match in Foxborough. Honduras beat Haiti before falling to the Americans.

With the United States already through, Bradley hinted at some lineup changes against Haiti, which he called an “athletic, but unpredictable” side.

Freddy Adu will not be in the U.S. lineup for the rest of the Gold Cup, opting to participate in the preseason for the Portuguese club Benfica, which he joined in 2007.

“It’s important to get preseason in with your team,” Adu said. “It gives you the best chance of being part of the team for the season.”