ATLANTA -- Montreal Expos manager Frank Robinson was selected Tuesday to manage the U.S. baseball team that will try to qualify for the Athens Olympics.

Robinson, a Hall of Famer, will handle a professional team that begins training in the Arizona Fall League on Oct. 4 before the qualifying event in Panama City on Oct 30-Nov. 11.

The United States won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics with a team managed by Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda. Even so, the Americans have to earn the right to defend their title. Only eight countries will take part in the Olympics.

"That's a lot of pressure," Robinson said. "If you don't win, you don't make the Olympics. I look forward to the challenge. I really do. I'm really honored that they selected me, and I'll do the best job I possibly can."

USA Baseball did not say whether Robinson will manage the team if it qualifies for next year's games. The Olympics next year come toward the end of the major league season.

Robinson hopes to be managing next season, and his first choice is to remain with the Expos. Baseball, which owns the Montreal franchise, is still trying to determine where the team will be playing next season.

Robinson said he wouldn't ask for time off to manage in the Olympics if he's with the Expos in 2004.

"If I wasn't managing next year, I would certainly love to, of course," he said before the Expos played the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. "I wouldn't even think about it if I was managing. It wouldn't be fair to this ballclub."

Expos general manager Omar Minaya approached Robinson about a month ago and asked if he would agree to be considered for the Olympic job. At first, the manager said no, citing the length of the season and the quick turnaround before training begins.

But Robinson's wife and daughter urged him to do it, saying it would be an honor to represent his country. He's also looking forward to working with the minor-leaguers who will make up the qualifying team.

Thirty-two players will be invited to the training camp. They will be announced Wednesday.

"That was probably the most important thing, as far as I'm concerned," Robinson said. "I've really enjoyed working with young players, and this gives me another opportunity to do that."

Robinson has spent nearly 50 years in professional baseball as a player, coach, manager and executive. He is the only player to win MVP awards in both leagues and was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1982. He is fifth on the career home run list with 586 and is one of only 11 Triple Crown winners.

He became the first black manager in major league history when took over as player-manager of the Cleveland Indians in 1975. He also managed at San Francisco and Baltimore.

The Cincinnati Reds, Robinson's first team, will dedicate a bronze likeness of him on Friday at the Great American Ball Park.

"Any time you have a chance to get a Hall of Famer that has the kind of instant credibility that Frank does, it's a tremendous opportunity," said Dean Taylor, co-chairman of the committee that picked Robinson. "You're throwing together guys from different organizations, different environments, and it takes a special person to be able to galvanize all these players into a cohesive unit in a short period of time."

The United States will compete with Cuba, the Dominican Republic and other regional powers for two spots from North and South America. The Netherlands and Italy already have earned Europe's two slots, and host Greece automatically gets in.

Asia will have two teams, and the final spot goes to the winner of a playoff between Oceania and Africa.