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Goooooooolaza-zazo!
Posted: Friday April 28, 2000 10:51 AM
Quote of the week | This week's question | Extra time | Game of the week The limitations of the English language are plain when it comes to describing soccer. Take the amazing bicycle-kick goal scored last weekend by Colorado's Marcelo Balboa. If English is your only tongue, you probably described it by saying something idiotic ("Guh!" ) or trite ("What an unbelievable goal!"). The Spanish language, however, comes equipped with the perfect, succinct term for such feats: golazos. Rolls off the tongue a lot better than "great goals," doesn't it? Spanish has other splendid one-word soccer terms. A great goal coming off a header is a cabezazo. (Cabeza is Spanish for "head .") A couple years ago, Spanish-speaking fans in L.A. dubbed the jaw-dropping left-footed goals scored by Preki zurdazos. (Zurdo means left-footed.)
Greatest golazo of all time? Another highly subjective call. For Cienfuegos it was the bicycle kick executed by Mexican Hugo Sanchez in Spain in the 1980s. For Cerritos it was the impossibly angled lob of Romania's Gheorghe Hagi in the 1994 World Cup against Argentina. And for D.C.'s Marco Etcheverry, it was Diego Maradona' s 80-yard slalom run through the English defense in Argentina's memorable 1986 World Cup triumph (my personal favorite also)Golazos are like the weather. People have different tastes," says Etcheverry, who has won the MLS goal of the year award twice -- once for a chip from midfield and once for a swooping, swerving solo run. "Personally, I like free-kick goals. But I must say this: Congratulations, Marcelo!" You said it, El Diablo. Congratulations on your golaza-zazo, Marcelo. As April closes out, April opens upOn Tuesday, U.S. women's coach April Heinrichs told me it's unlikely that any more players with 100 national-team appearances will be cut from the team before the Olympics. The 100-cap group includes veterans Michelle Akers, Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett, Carla Overbeck and (by the time cuts will be made) Shannon MacMillan and Briana Scurry. That said, Heinrichs acknowledges that cutting 100-capper Tisha Venturini from the national team was the hardest coaching decision she has ever made. "I've known Venturini since '91," Heinrichs says in describing their half-hour long meeting after this spring's Algarve Cup. "When I sat down with her, she looked me straight in the eyes and listened. She is one of the classiest human beings I have ever met, and she's well aware that she left the international game playing at her peak." Other Heinrichs revelations one week into the U.S. Olympic residency camp: When asked to name the three players who have raised their stock the most in the past four months, Heinrichs chooses Lorrie Fair, who has moved from defender to one of two central midfield positions (replacing Michelle Akers, who is recovering from shoulder surgery); flank midfielder Shannon MacMillan, who has taken forward Cindy Parlow' s spot in the starting lineup after Heinrichs's switch from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2; and goalkeeper Siri Mullinix, who was solid in goal during the Americans' title run at the Algarve Cup. When pressed about who her No. 1 goalkeeper is right now, Heinrichs takes a long pause. "If we were in an Olympic final tomorrow," she says, " Briana Scurry would be in goal." Clearly, though, the competition is a lot closer than it was a year ago. Heinrichs will only play her top lineup in the biggest games (e.g., if the U.S. were to reach the Pacific Cup or Gold Cup finals, both of which could include China). Otherwise, expect to see a lot of young faces, and don't look for any cuts to be made until mid-August, when Heinrichs trims from 30 to 18 for the Olympics. "Player development is still the priority," she says. "If we look back five years from now, the 2000 residency camp will be one of the most important things we've done. Generations move on, and you have to prepare for the next one." Whatever Heinrichs does, expect her to be decisive about it. MacMillan tells a story from the '96 Olympic final, when then coach Tony DiCicco was dithering about bringing MacMillan into the game. Finally, DiCicco called her over and started giving her a laundry list of instructions, but it was Heinrichs, an assistant on that team, who grabbed MacMillan by the shoulders and shouted, "You're going to make the difference!" MacMillan responded by scoring the gold medal-winning goal. Can the U.S. Men find a scorer -- and soon?How ugly was it watching the U.S. botch scoring attempt after scoring attempt in its 2-0 loss to Russia on Wednesday? Wicked ugly. Bad ugly. Time-to-look-for-other-options-at-forward ugly. This is how bad it got: Cobi Jones was spoon-fed a wide-open blast just inside the box and aimed right at the Russian goalkeeper. Eddie Lewis had a gimme from point-blank range in another scramble and hit a meek shot off the keeper. Brian McBride took an excellent cross from Lewis and skied his shot over the bar. The Russians, meanwhile, calmly finished their two best chances. With less than three months to go before the start of World Cup qualifying, U.S. coach Bruce Arena needs some answers up front, and it's hard to get excited about Jones (only 11 goals in 126 caps) and McBride (who isn't even his own club team's most dangerous threat). How about Joe-Max Moore (once he's healthy)? Chris Albright? Landon Donovan? Or, for curiosity's sake, Dante and Ante? (See Top of the Table).
Garth Lagerwey quote of the weekBackup goalkeepers are a special breed -- a lot, in fact, like backup catchers in baseball or feces-tossing monkeys at the zoo. In honor of our man Garth, the Fusion's backup keeper and the most quotable player in MLS, we hereby inaugurate an exclusive new feature. Garth was on a roll this week, so we included two rimshots: On Dallas's Jason Kreis: "If NASA could launch a Mars probe like Kreis fires a right-footed volley, we'll have the joint terraformed in our lifetimes." And on L.A.'s Greg Vanney, who ruined a rare Lagerwey start with a PK last Saturday: "He's scored on me more times than I got laid in college." Nobody's counting, pal, but Vanney's beaten you three times, so ... sorry about those college years. This week's question: The over-under in MLSFor this week's survey, 18 MLS players responded to the following question: Who are the two most underrated and two most overrated players in MLS? Players weren't allowed to vote for anyone from their own teams. Even so, there was far less agreement this week than in last week's survey. Those who received multiple votes were: Most underrated M Josh Keller, Tampa Bay Mutiny
(4)
Most overrated F Roy Lassiter, Miami Fusion
(3)
I know what you're saying. Josh Keller? Sure, the Mutiny's defensive mid hasn't scored a point in over two years in the league, but don't be surprised. He's been a rock while starting all of Tampa Bay's games this season, and when I posed this survey question to Bruce Arena recently, Keller's name was one of the first out of his mouth. As for Lassiter, let's just say Rocket Roy's technical skills have never been the stuff of legend. Take away a top-flight provider (Carlos Valderrama or Marco Etcheverry) and Lassiter stops scoring, as he has in Miami. Other notable results: Balboa overrated, guys? Sure that ain't some jealousy talking after the bike last weekend? Hilariously, four players got votes for being both under- and overrated: Tampa Bay striker Raúl Díaz Arce, New England defender Brian Dunseth, Dallas keeper Matt Jordan and Miami forward Diego Serna. Even more uproariously, although I had told players not to vote for teammates (to keep them from pumping up their buddies as underrated), one MetroStar insisted on calling Matthäus overrated. Let's hear it for tension in MetroLand! Got an idea for next week's question? Send it in. Extra timeChicago's DaMarcus Beasley and D.C.'s Ben Olsen are interested in going overseas. Both have three years remaining in their deals with MLS, which would be looking at a $1 million transfer fee for Beasley and probably double that for Olsen, one source says ... After starting the season 1-4 and losing twice to the lowly MetroStars, D.C. United players met for 90 minutes this week with their team psychologist in hopes of achieving what GM Kevin Payne calls "a change of attitude." In the meantime, not many folks are unhappy over the three-time champion's league-worst record. "A lot of people are loving this," Payne says, "from the league office to every team in the league to the media. We don't care what anyone says. We're just trying to make ourselves a better team." ... After several talks, Honduran defender Samuel Caballero will definitely not be heading to New England as its allocation. He will remain with his current club Olimpia... The biggest achievement of the young MLS season has taken place in Colorado, where the Rapids are 3-3 despite playing five of their first six games on the road and now missing starters Paul Bravo, Ross Paule, Anders Limpar, Joey DiGiamarino and Henry Zambrano (all due to injuries) along with Adin Brown and Jason Bent (due to Olympic qualifying) ... The Galaxy may yet get Luis Hernández without having to trade for an allocation. Says MLS executive VP Ivan Gazidis, "If a big-time Mexican player signs and wants to play in L.A., are we to say that sounds great but we're out of allocations? No." What would actually happen remains to be seen ... L.A.'s Cobi Jones began preliminary contract talks with MLS last week, but he's exploring foreign options, too. Jones has signed on with England-based agent Paul Stretford, who has placed Americans Claudio Reyna (Rangers), Joe-Max Moore (Everton), Eddie Lewis (Fulham) and Brad Friedel (Liverpool) at clubs in the U.K. ... Reps from the Galaxy, Rapids and Fire met in Denver last Thursday with shared owner Phil Anschutz to give updates on each team's stadium progress. Fire GM Peter Wilt thinks the Rapids' stadium might go up first, simply because Colorado has no place to play next season once Mile High Stadium meets the wrecking ball. Game of the weekUnited States vs. Guatemala. 8 p.m. ET, Friday, April 26. Check local listings. It's simple. If the U.S. under-23 men win tonight's Olympic qualifying tournament semifinal, they'll go to Australia. If they lose, they'll stay home. Unlike previous Olympic teams, all but one of the American players are pros, which means -- rightly or wrongly -- tonight's result will go far to determine how well-prepared our young Yanks really are these days. Prediction: U.S. 2, Guatemala 1. Sports Illustrated staff writer Grant Wahl will keep you up to date on U.S.
soccer teams and players each Wednesday. To send him a question or comment,
click here.
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