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Throw-ins MLS teams waive goodbye to players
Posted: Saturday November 27, 1999 10:57 AM
It was far from a field day at Foxboro In these days of style being more important than substance, sometimes the package is more important than what is inside the box. Take, for instance, MLS Cup '99, held at Foxboro Stadium last Sunday. Here it is, the MLS Cup, the crown jewel of Major League Soccer, and you can see football lines on the field. You can also see the New England Patriots' logo washed out in the end zone. Moreover, for the players' sake, the field conditions were atrocious. We all knew about the narrowness of the field (66 yards) and it being too short (100 yards). But there was a strip of dirt from one goal mouth to the other, which isn't conducive to high-quality, creative soccer (just ask Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and his teammates about the bumpy field). Imagine what it looked like on television or to the international audiences. Here we are telling the world that MLS is a second-rate league, that its most important game is being played on a football field that was far from being in tip-top condition. Arguably, MLS Cup '99 was the poorest played of the four championship games, and the players, officials -- team, league and otherwise -- media and fans have all the right to blame the condition of the field. While you have to give a lot of credit to the New England fans -- 44,910 strong in all -- for coming out to the game after enduring four losing season (and only one playoff appearance), you have to wonder if the MLS board of governors will ever give the game back to New England again, unless there is a soccer-specific stadium built or some hard deals made with the Patriots. As for rating the quality of the four cups, I'd pick the very first one at Foxboro in 1996 as the best of the lot. Although it poured for days prior and during the match, the players on United and the Los Angeles Galaxy were able to move the ball around. MLS Cup '97 would be second (United vs. the Colorado Rapids), followed by MLS '98 (United vs. the Chicago Fire) and finally this year's confrontation. Here's hoping that before MLS Cup 2000 is awarded to either to the Tampa Bay Mutiny or United that all of those aforementioned issues are taken care of. United shouldn't have a problem because the facility is exclusively theirs during that time of the year (Oct. 15). The Mutiny is another question.
Historical perspective on Hartman's blunderWhether he likes it or not, Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman has written himself into U.S. soccer lore for goalkeeper blunders. Another one, in fact, occurred close to where he made his blooper that led to United scoring its second goal of its 2-0 victory in first-half injury time. That occurred in April 1997, when Kasey Keller's clearance bounced off the head of Mexican striker Carlos Hermosillo and into the goal during a World Cup qualifier. While devastating, the goal wasn't the end of the world for the U.S., which battled back to a 2-2 draw. "Nice pass," Hermosillo said earlier last week as a member of the Galaxy. That result, coupled with the now-famous scoreless tie in Mexico City, helped boost the Americans into the 1998 World Cup. The second blunder had more far-reaching effects as it turned into the first goal of the New York Cosmos' 2-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders in Portland in August 1977, the final competitive match for Pele. After making the save at the top right of the penalty area, Tony Chursky turned around and started to dribble toward his net. Noticing that Chursky was dribbling the ball nonchalantly, Cosmos forward Steve Hunt ran toward the keeper. Chursky, who was deaf in one ear, could not hear the warnings from his teammate. Hunt stole the ball and pushed it into the net. Giorgio Chingalia broke a 1-1 tie later for the game-winner, but virtually everyone remembers's Chursky's mistake and Hunt's opportunistic goal more than anything else.
A heartbreaking eliminationMany emotions went through my mind as I watched the U.S. under-17 team get eliminated by Australia in the semifinals of the FIFA world youth championship in New Zealand. Frustration, sadness and pride were among the ones I am able to describe. Now I know a little bit of how fans of England, Argentina and the Netherlands feel when their teams are ousted during the knockout competition of an international tournament. Just call it part of the American learning process in global soccer. At around midnight on Tuesday night, I was standing in a pub in New Hyde Park, N.Y. -- Bryan Borou's -- along with former U.S. national team captain Mike Windischmann (1990 World Cup) and national referee Ken Heller -- hoping for the U.S. to reach the final, which would have been a first in 69 years of a FIFA outdoor competition, dating back to the very first World Cup in 1930. It wasn't meant to be. The U.S. was eliminated in penalty kicks, 7-6, as Kenny Cutler of Richmond, Va. knocked his chance over the net. The U.S. looked like a young pro team out there at times. Despite a two-goal deficit, the young Americans took their time trying to create chances instead of trying to get it all back in one swoop. I was impressed with the team as a whole -- it actually played soccer and attacked instead of playing not to lose, which many teams do at this level -- and two players in particular. Landon Donovan has the tools and the patience to be a great. DaMarcus Beasley has some fine moves and has the potential to become a star in MLS if he stays on the right track. In fact, at times, the U.S. team looked like Brazil, the way it knocked the ball around, and the Australians looked like Americans. "They did great getting to the semifinals," said Windischmann, who is a high school and youth coach in New York City. "It shows if you have a team [together] ... for two years, these are the results you can get. This is the most talented national team we've had. You have legitimate players who can play in Europe." A couple of points from the U-17 tournament:
Waiving goodbyeAs expected, the annual MLS waiver draft did not offer any earth-shattering news of a major player being dumped, not with trades and potential transfer fees to clubs overseas perhaps in the offing. But a number of players (14 of the 22 who were released) have intriguing stories, for better or worse (usually worse, if they are getting dumped by their team). Unusuku Abukusumo, defender (Columbus Crew); Jose Botello, forward (Los Angeles Galaxy; Nino DaSilva, forward (Kansas City Wizards), and Scott Vallow, goalkeeper (Dallas Burn) -- These four are Project-40 Players. Abukusumo was a Pro-40 regular with the developmental program's A-League team, leading the side in games and starts (20) and minutes played (1,829). MLS thought so highly of him that he was featured on the June 15 conference call along with then Project-40 coach Lothar Osiander. But Abukusumo apparently fell out of favor with Crew coach Tom Fitzgerald. Botello, who played 13 minutes over one game, was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the talent-laden Galaxy. The same could be said for Vallow, who had the very promising Matt Jordan (virtually everyone's choice as the league's second-best goalkeeper) and veteran Mark Dodd in front of him in Dallas. DaSilva, who hadn't recorded a point in 10 games over three seasons with the Wizards, has a second life. He was selected by the MetroStars in the waiver draft. Gabe Eastman, defender (Los Angeles Galaxy) -- Imagine sitting on the bench of a team in a championship game on Sunday and being out of a job by Wednesday. Eastman, who played some with the Pro-40 team in the A-League after he was the first pick of the supplemental draft, was a fixture on the Galaxy bench, having played only once -- for three whole minutes as a replacement for MLS defender of the year Robin Fraser in a 2-1 shootout win over the Colorado Rapids on March 20. He was picked up by San Jose in the waiver draft. Mario Gori, defender (New England Revolution) -- A useful player early on in his MLS career with D.C. United, but injuries have caught up with and slowed down this left-sided Argentine flank player. Too bad. He was a solid player. Perhaps he will be again. The Columbus Crew thinks so, having selected Gori in the waiver draft. Nansha Kalonji, defender, midfielder, forward (New York/New Jersey MetroStars) -- He scored all of one goal last season, but having broken a scoring drought for the team, that goal caused a minor controversy. Many in the media wanted then-coach Bora Milutinovic to put Kalonji into the starting lineup so see what he could do. Bora, who forged a reputation as one of the great procrastinating coaches in MLS history, finally relented and put Kalonji in for one game. As it turned out, it was the only goal Kalonji scored this season. Matt Kmosko, midfielder, defender (Columbus Crew) -- Kmosko put the journey into the word journeymen as the Crew was his third team in as many seasons (the Colorado Rapids and Miami Fusion were his first two). A hard-edged midfielder, the memory I have of Kmosko is of him knocking a MetroStars' player against the signage in a 3-1 Rapids win in 1997. In that game, the Rapids set an MLS record for 34 fouls in a match, compared to the MetroStars' 16 (hmmm, crime sometimes does pay). Kmosko committed 17 fouls in 785 minutes this season. Extrapolated over a 32-game, 2,880-minute season, Kmosko would have 63 fouls, right behind United midfielder Ben Olsen, who was third with 65. Kevin Knight, defender (New York/New Jersey MetroStars) -- Knight barely played (732 minutes), but his first MLS start and appearance turned into an utter disaster on June 5. That was the night the Dallas Burn scored two -- count 'em, two -- goals off one-on-two counterattacks following MetroStars corner kicks in a 5-2 victory. Knight was the defender on one of those goals. I thought the coach would have a say on who stays and who goes on a soccer team. But wait, the MetroStars don't have a coach -- head, assistant, interim or otherwise -- yet during this off-season. Seems like the decision came from general manager Charlie Stillitano, who seemingly makes all the decisions for this club, many of them down the wrong path. Arley Palacios, defender (Miami Fusion) -- Although there are no such statistics kept, Palacios seemingly led the league in tackles from behind. While he had talent, skill and speed, Palacious invariably would allow his man to get around him on numerous occasions. Perhaps his most famous altercation did not earn him a foul or a yellow or red card. It happened at a MetroStars practice last season when he accidentally broke the nose of teammate Eduardo Hurtado while going for the ball. Hurtado missed several matches. There are rumors bouncing around that the league signed the wrong Palacios. His inconsistent play over two seasons would second that. Alejandro Sequiera, forward (San Jose Earthquakes) -- Like it or not, Sequiera will be best known as the weaker part of one of the most lopsided trades in league history. He went from the Tampa Bay Mutiny to the Earthquakes (the Clash at the time) for El Salvadoran international forward Raul Diaz Arce. Able to team-up with Colombian midfielder Carlos Valderama, Diaz Arce rediscovered his scoring touch and helped the Mutiny reach the playoffs as the third-place team in the Eastern Conference. Sequiera? He finished with five goals and three assists in 25 games. Digital Takawira, forward (Kansas City Wizards) -- The Zimbabwean international started off on the right foot with the Wizards, collecting 13 goals and eight assists in his first season in 1996. But due to injuries and poor performances, Takawira's production fell off in the past three years as he secured only 15 goals and 12 assists in 75 games during that time, including two assists in 651 minutes over 18 matches this past season. John Jairo Trellez, forward (Dallas Burn) -- He played an important role in two of the Burn's playoff victories. Entering the third and deciding game of the Western Conference semifinals only three minutes prior, the Colombian helped set up the winning goal in the 86th minute. Trellez forced the ball through the Chicago Fire defense to Dante Washington, who redirected it to a waiting Ariel Graziani, who in turn beat goalkeeper Zach Thornton. Trellez also scored a shootout goal in the Burn's 3-2 win over the Galaxy in the conference final. Marquis White, forward (Colorad Rapids) -- Known as the "Giant Killer," White made a name for himself in 1997 with the then-third-division San Francisco Bay Seals when he scored in U.S. Open Cup upsets with over MLS clubs Kansas City and San Jose. He went on to play for the Rapids, scoring four times in 1998. His best MLS goal was scored on off an Alexi Lalas mistake in a 1-0 win over the MetroStars, on July 4, 1998, only days after Lalas returned home from the World Cup. This past season White was a late match super-sub, having come off the bench in 20 of 22 appearances. But White did not make the best of his opportunities, collecting but an assist in 441 minutes. With the Rapids ending the season with a 769-minute scoreless streak, anyone who doesn't contribute has to be seen as expendable. White, 30, might wind up as one of those players who are too good for the A-League, but just not quite good enough for MLS.
Chip shotsAn arresting scene. One of the saddest notes to come out of the MLS Cup was the needless arrest and harassment of Thomas Hill of the Midnight Riders fan club, the publisher of the best soccer fanzine in the U.S., Pictures of Chairman Mao. Massachusetts state troopers swooped in on Hill at a tailgate party, claiming he was selling beer without a license. They confiscated $127 from him. Hill claimed he was taking donations. Sometimes you have to wonder how our tax dollars are being spent. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there a problem of sexual assaults and rapes on the campus of the University of Massachusetts? Shouldn't those troopers should be finding out ways to stop those real crimes? Of course, it's easier to pick on a bunch of fans than to do the job they're really paid for. You really have to question the decision-making process of the troopers and if they're really willing to do their job. Confusing switches? As I said in last week's column, MLS should get a thumb's up for the many changes for next year (no shootout, the addition of injury time, and the clock counting up and instead of down on the referee's wrist). But implementing two of the latter changes for the championship game after using them for four seasons was questionable. While both teams were told of the changes before the match, Hartman said he thought the first half was over when he saw 45:00 on the clock. It would be human nature to relax a bit, especially since you were doing it one way for several years. Old habits die hard, especially in a championship game. What's in a name? MLS and ESPN are looking for a name for the new Monday night highlights show. Well, here's borrowing an idea with a slight variation on it. How about calling it, ahem, Monday Night Futbol? Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of Soccer Magazine. To submit a question or comment to Michael Lewis, click here.
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