| overrated |
| April Heinrichs |
Let's see: In four years on the job, the U.S. women's coach has presided over two failures in major tournaments -- the 2000 Olympics and 2003 World Cup -- and the Americans have tumbled from World's Best to Fallen Empire. Heinrichs says all the right things about new playing styles and youth development, but let's be honest: results matter. That is, they do unless you're U.S. Soccer president Bob Contiguglia, who gave Oh-For-Two April a hearty vote of confidence after the World Cup crash. If Dr. Bob really regarded the U.S. as the Brazil of women's soccer, Heinrichs would be looking for an NCAA job right now -- though, it must be said, her record as a college coach (zero Final Fours in 10 seasons) ain't much to shout about either.
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| underrated |
| MLS investors |
The WUSA's demise was a devastating blow for the sport, one that only reinforced the remarkable fortitude of MLS moneymen Philip Anschutz, Lamar Hunt and Robert Kraft. After suffering nine-figure losses, MLS finally appeared to be inching toward viability in its eighth year, adding new investors for the first time since 1998 (including Wal-Mart billionaire Stan Kroenke), new ties with Mexican soccer honchos and a sparkling new soccer cathedral (the L.A. Galaxy's Home Depot Center), with a half-dozen more intimate fútbol-only stadiums in the planning stages. MLS has a long, long way to go, but it is sinking roots into the American sports landscape.
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| annoying |
| Giorgio Chinaglia |
The insufferable former New York Cosmos great has resurfaced as a broadcaster and senior vice president of ChampionsWorld, the company that organized Manchester United's summer exhibition tour of America. Never mind the conflict of Chinaglia's singing ChampionsWorld's praises on TV without mentioning his financial interest, or the fact that he's a third-rate commentator lacking the most basic of insights. What's most galling is his blatantly revisionist history of the NASL -- he'd have us believe that every team played to sold-out stadiums -- and willful denigration of MLS (whose players, he told Sports Illustrated in 1998, "couldn't shine our shoes.") Memo to Giorgio: MLS provided the bulk of the attack that led the U.S. to a better World Cup finish than your Italy had in 2002. And just because you can make money on one-off exhibition tours doesn't mean you know jack about running a viable league -- and actually growing the sport -- in America.
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| breakthrough performance of 2003 |
| Tim Howard |
How about this for a story: Jersey guy overcomes Tourette's syndrome and European skeptics, signs contract with world's biggest soccer team and makes Manchester United exhibition debut in front of 79,000 hometown fans at a sold-out Giants Stadium. Even better, the 24-year-old goalkeeper jumps straight from MLS' MetroStars into Man United's starting XI, beating out World Cup-winning netminder Fabien Barthez. By the end of 2003, boss Sir Alex Ferguson was comparing Howard to the legendary Peter Schmeichel and being hailed for making the smartest acquisition of the year in the English Premier League.
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| uplifting |
| Freddy and Emelia Adu |
The 14-year-old prodigy (and recent D.C. United signee) has already produced jaw-dropping youth highlights, but the most remarkable thing about Adu may be the way he carries himself off the field. Already a more engaging interview than 99 percent of the athletes I've covered, Adu is clearly a product of his mother's upbringing. Emelia Adu has demanded that Freddy work hard in school, remain humble and show respect to his teammates and elders. Even though she's a single mother who once worked two full-time jobs to support her family, Emelia had the restraint to turn down big-money offers from agents and European clubs from the time Freddy was 10. Even now, with a million-dollar Nike deal and the richest contract in MLS, Freddy and Emelia are opting for the safer domestic route -- he'll live at home, after all -- over the riskier youth system of a European giant. For a family that emigrated from Ghana with virtually nothing six years ago, it's a classic American Dream story at a time when the American Dream appeared to be a hopelessly quaint vestige of the past.
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| mvp |
| Landon Donovan |
He didn't win the MLS MVP award -- an equally deserving Preki did-- but the 21-year-old San Jose Earthquakes forward took the next step in his career by discovering the leadership and sustained excellence of a champion. With 13 goals in his last 15 games, including one in the greatest comeback in MLS history and two in a 4-2 MLS Cup win over Chicago, Donovan proved beyond a doubt that he's a money player who performs best when the stakes are highest. Donovan's second title in three MLS seasons casts him as American soccer's Derek Jeter -- a notion Donovan will get to back up when he goes for three-out-of-four in 2004.
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| storyline to follow in 2004 |
| Too Much Adu? |
Can Adu survive the over-the-top expectations in his rookie year with D.C. United? Can the Mia Hamm-led veterans of the U.S. women's team go out on a winning note at the Olympics? Can Donovan win another championship -- and overtake Marco Etcheverry as the greatest player in MLS history? Will the European championship continue being, top to bottom, the world's most exciting soccer tournament? Will Manchester United and Real Madrid raise the stakes in their battle for the hearts and minds of American sports fans? Can Clint Mathis save his career? Can Bruce Arena's U.S. men get off to a smooth start in World Cup qualifying? And can the WUSA revive in any form, whether it's a short season or a knockout tournament?
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