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Progress report

Confed Cup will answer questions on Arena's team

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Posted: Friday July 23, 1999 12:42 PM

If the United States doesn't win the Confederations Cup, it won't be the end of the world.

If the U.S. doesn't reach the semifinals, no one should jump out the window, either.

But if the U.S. doesn't play well and loses all three of its first-round matches in Guadalajara, Mexico, and doesn't show much or any progress, then there is a need for concern.

OK -- before saying another word -- let's explain exactly what this Confederations Cup is in an ever-expanding soccer world that had a pair of major tournaments declaring champions barely two weeks ago -- the Women's World Cup and Copa America -- and that has the final rounds of qualifying matches for the 2000 European Championship looming over the horizon starting next month.

The Confederations Cup is a relatively recent invention by FIFA that brings together the continental champions and some of the runners-up. The Cup's prestige -- the previous three tournaments were hosted by Saudi Arabia -- was tarnished after World Cup champion France refused to participate, claiming it could not bring its team to the competition, which was originally scheduled for January. So FIFA moved the competition to the summer to accommodate the world champions, who then claimed they could not send a team because there was a conflict with the start of their domestic season.

So Germany, the 1996 European champions, were sent in their place. The U.S. kicks off the tournament against New Zealand on Saturday, and then gets its sternest tests against Brazil and Germany on July 28 and 30, respectively (Mexico, Bolivia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are in the other group, and the top two teams from each group reach the semifinals).

Both soccer superpowers aren't sending their top squads, but those encounters should serve as a measuring stick of the progress the U.S. has made under coach Bruce Arena, who has guided the team in all of seven games against national teams since taking over last October.

The team has acquitted itself well in those encounters with an encouraging 5-1-2 mark but most of those games have been on American soil; the recent victory over Derby City doesn't count because it was against a club team and not a full international.

Arena will be the first to tell you that there is still a long way to go for the team to improve and until World Cup qualifying begins in the fall of 2000, when games really matter. In the wake of last year's 1-0 stunning triumph over Brazil in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 3-0 victory over Germany in an international friendly in February, the U.S. cannot sneak up on those teams any more, so Brazil and Germany will be ready and waiting.

The next level can be measured in many ways -- improvement in team play and individual performances, and of course, for the most of the American public, in wins and losses (please see the adulation given to and interest in the U.S. Women's national team during the recent World Cup). At this juncture, I'm more concerned with how the team plays and how players have improved than with results, although there certainly is nothing wrong about winning.

Here are just some of the questions that need to be answered:

• Can Richie Williams be just as pesky a defensive midfielder internationally as he is with D.C. United?
• Can Joe-Max Moore, Jovan Kirovski, Paul Bravo or someone else step into the playmaking midfielder role in the absence of Claudio Reyna?
• Will midfielder Frankie Hejduk show how much progress he has made while performing for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany?
• Will midfielder Eddie Lewis, who has looked so promising in several matches this year, continue his progress on the left wing?
• Can United midfielder Ben Olsen step in and take it up a notch?

The U.S. could call on Joe-Max Moore (above) to fill the playmaking shoes of Claudio Reyna. Scott Halleran/Allsport

And so on.

As for winning and losing the next level, the U.S. must accrue ties and wins at neutral sites. The next one after that, which is a quantum leap, is playing the home sides on an even-basis in Brazil, Germany, England and Spain, which may be a pipe dream for most of the world's national teams given those countries' near invincibility at home.

The U.S. has done quite well at home in recent years, but the Americans must improve their performances and success at neutral and away venues. That will be the difference between qualifying for or staying home from the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Remember, half of the Americans' qualifiers will be on the road, and if they reach soccer's promised land, they'll be playing in Asia.

This Confederations Cup is more of a test or a progress report for a team mixed with veterans and players relatively inexperienced at the international level. How inexperienced? Ten players on the 20-man roster have 18 international appearances or fewer. Eight of those players have played in eight or fewer matches.

A personnel decision by Arena underscores the true value of the Cup in the overall American scheme of things. Instead of calling in Reyna, Arena decided to have the playmaking midfielder remain in pre-season training with Glasgow Rangers in Scotland.

Arena figured it was more important for Reyna to establish himself as a starter on his new club rather than miss two weeks in this international competition.

It was an astute tactical and public relations move by Arena, who realizes he will need to pull Reyna away from the Scottish Premier League club when the games become a lot more meaningful next year and beyond. Besides, Reyna's absence will allow Arena to watch other players in Reyna's role in the Cup, whether it be Moore, Kirovski or Bravo.

In many respects, the Cup is a well-kept secret in this country. If you're lucky, your cable system might have it on pay-for-view. If not, perhaps a nearby pub, bar or restaurant will show the games. Instead, fans will be forced to rely on written accounts of the match and perhaps a 15-second TV highlights if they're fortunate.

Hmmm. Didn't the Women's World Cup final have something like 40 million TV viewers in the U.S. just two short weeks ago? It just goes to show that soccer still has a long way to go in this country. We'll see how far the national team has made and how far it needs to progress starting on Saturday.

• Stellar Keller: Unlike other sports, statistics aren't necessarily the lifeblood of soccer. But once in a while a number or two comes out and hits you between the eyes. Take, for example, Kasey Keller's won-lost record with the U.S. National Team. Since he started playing in 1990, Keller has amassed an impressive 19-9-6 mark. The nine other goalkeepers who have represented the U.S. this decade have combined for a 49-63-45 record. Given Keller's stellar performances against Brazil in last year's Gold Cup, and against Argentina in last month's international friendly, and his solid play in the English Premiership, that cannot be a coincidence, and is major reason why he is between the pipes in the Confederations Cup.

Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of Soccer Magazine.