While DC United have 10 players of international quality in their ranks and a reputation as the most successful team in Major League Soccer, the biggest draw in next week's tour match against hosts Bermuda will be two home grown players.

Bermuda Football Association knew that when they made their move to get England-based professionals Shawn Goater and Kyle Lightbourne back for next Tuesday's clash at the National Stadium.

And after disappointing crowds for the recent friendly matches against Antigua and the Denmark under-21s, it's hoped the attendance will reflect the popularity of the two Bermudian pros.

The pair will fly to Bermuda on Sunday, the day after playing important matches for their respective teams, Manchester City and Stoke City.

Their presence should help swell ticket sales as football is staged at the National Stadium for the first time this season. The ground was closed for several months while a new track was relaid and has only recently re-opened.

It has been almost exactly five years since the pair last played together for Bermuda, that last occasion being on March 29, 1994, when they both returned for a match against the United Stated B team which the Americans won 2-1 after Goater had headed Bermuda into an early lead.

Now the two strikers will take a break from their teams' promotion battles to turn out for their country as Technical Director Clyde Best and head coach Robert Calderon prepare for the Caribbean Cup qualifying in early May when it is hoped they will again be available.

Both players leave the day after the match, having the same arrival and departure dates as DC United who will bring a strong team.

Their season got underway last weekend with a 5-2 win against the Tampa Bay Mutiny in Florida.

DC, who won the first two championships in MLS before losing to Chicago in the final last season, have some new faces in their ranks following the departure of coach Bruce Arena who took up the position of US national coach. Arena is replaced by Thomas Rongen, a former Dutch international midfielder who has also coached Tampa Bay and New England Revolution.

The 42-year-old Rongen has a big challenge ahead of him trying to fill Arena's shoes.

"I see it as a hell of a challenge, but it's all about challenges,'' said Rongen in a recent article in USA Today.

"As an athlete I thrived on big crowds and big games. I have always been committed to excellence. We want to win the MLS championship and the US Open Cup this year.

"We also want to make sure we retain our CONCACAF club championship.'' United lost veteran midfielder John Harkes to New England for salary-cap reasons while another midfielder, Tony Sanneh, moved to the Bundesliga in Germany. Goalkeeper Scott Garlick (Tampa) and defender Mario Gori (Miami) have also departed.

But it is who they have on their 1999 roster that suggests DC could still be a force this season. Additions include defenders Diego Sonora and Brian Bates and midfielders Jason Moore and Antonio Otero, and most of the team that won the prestigious InterAmerican Cup last year have returned.

DC made soccer history by becoming the first club from the United States to win both the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the InterAmerican Cup, beating Mexican First Division champions Toluca in the CONCACAF final last August and then South American champions Vasco Da Gama of Brazil in a two-leg final in the InterAmerican Cup in November.

The team have proven scorers in Roy Lassiter and Jaime Moreno while Marco Etcheverry, the MLS's 1998 Most Valuable Player, is the playmaker in midfield.

Defensively they have Eddie Pope, Carlos Llamosa, Jeff Agoos and newcomer Sonora, an Argentine, who joined them from the MetroStars.

Star attraction: The presence of Bermuda pros Kyle Lightbourne (right) and Shawn Goater should help boost ticket sales for next week's match against DC United.