Columbus Crew SC today announced that midfielder Rodrigo Saravia (pronounced: suh-RAH-vee-ah) has earned a senior National Team call-up from Guatemala Head Coach Walter Claveri ahead of an international friendly against Honduras on Wednesday, February 10 in Guatemala City. This is the second senior call-up for Saravia and his first since being drafted and signed by the Black & Gold.
Born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala, he was first called-up by La Azul y Blanco at the senior level for a camp on July 1, 2015. The Black & Gold's First Round selection (19th overall) at the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, Saravia played four seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University, making 67 appearances (65 starts) with two goals and seven assists. In 2015, he was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year as well as named First Team All-Atlantic Sun Conference for the second consecutive season.
Saravia becomes the 10th member of Crew SC's current roster to earn a senior National Team call-up while under the direction of Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. Overall, of the 26 players currently on the Black & Gold active roster, 15 have received a senior National Team call-up throughout their careers (Harrison Afful, Corey Ashe, Sergio Campbell, Conor Casey, Ethan Finlay, Waylon Francis, Kei Kamara, Ola Kamara, Emil Larsen, Cedrick Mabwati, Justin Meram, Michael Parkhurst, Rodrigo Saravia, Tony Tchani, Wil Trapp).
Later this year, Guatemala is set to visit Columbus and MAPFRE Stadium in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against the United States. That contest is scheduled for March 29, 2016 with ticket information and official rosters for that match to be determined at a later date.
The Black & Gold continue their preseason, concluding their first camp in Lakewood Ranch, Florida today. Crew SC then trains at SuperKick from February 8-12 before departing to participate in the Desert Diamond Cup from February 15-27. The Black & Gold begin their 21st season on Sunday, March 6 at Portland and return home for the Opening Match at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday, March 12 against Philadelphia. Single-match tickets for available sections at all Black & Gold regular-season home matches in 2016 are now on sale to the general public. Tickets are available through ColumbusCrewSC.com, by calling a Crew SC ticket representative at 614-447-2739 or by visiting Ticketmaster.com.
