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Ten to watch
What personalities will shape U.S. soccer in 2000?
Posted: Wednesday January 19, 2000 02:19 PM
BALTIMORE -- This year promises to be intriguing for U.S. soccer. But it's
early in 2000, and there are more questions to answer than anything else.
Can the American women emerge with their third consecutive major
international title? Can Major League Soccer escape its flat attendance and
TV ratings and gain more credibility? And which -- if any -- American men's
player will emerge as a force professionally or internationally?
Saying that, I present to you 10 personalities in American soccer who should
be worth watching in 2000:
1 and 2. Octavio Zambrano and Nick Sakiewicz
I prefer to put these two men as a tandem because the success of the
New York/New Jersey MetroStars is tantamount to the survival of Major League
Soccer. As coach, Zambrano must put together a competitive team on the field,
while Sakiewicz must market it to the fullest. The league doesn't need a
championship team in New York, but at least a competitive one that isn't the
butt of everyone's jokes.
3. Mia Hamm
As the all-time leading women's goal scorer and a member of two world
championship teams and one Olympic gold-medal winning side, Hamm's place in
soccer history is quite secure. But in four major competitions over the past
decade, Hamm has failed to put in a dominant performance worthy of a Pele or
Maradona. After a good but unspectacular showing at USA '99, Hamm finds
herself with another opportunity to showcase her incredible talents -- the
Summer Olympics in Australia.
4. Don Garber
Named MLS commissioner in August, Garber has received high grades for
returning to American soccer fans some important traditions of the game. That
included axing the shootout, the game clock returning to the referee's wrist and the clock counting up and not down. Garber, however, ultimately
will be graded on the league's overall performance and improvement or demise
during his regime -- attendance and television ratings. Because the league
season ended so late -- MLS Cup was played on Nov. 21 -- the league office
and 12 teams don't have much of a turnaround time.
5. Whoever is named Women's National Team coach
As of today, it is exactly eight months before the United States' opening match at the
Sydney Olympics, and still no coach has been named to succeed Tony DiCicco.
Regardless of who is selected, he or she will be under tremendous pressure to
bring home the gold because the U.S. has won the last two major women's
tournaments. Anything but a medal will be considered a disaster and probably
mean an immediate dismissal. The candidates include Lauren Gregg and Jay
Hoffman (who together directed a young American women's team to a 2-0-1 mark and
the Australia Cup crown this past week), Under-23 men's coach Clive
Charles, U.S. Soccer director of coaching Bobby Howe, John Ellinger (who
guided the U-17 team to a fourth-place finish in the world championships in
November), and former U.S. captain April Heinrich, coach of the women's U-16
squad.
6. Dr. Bob Contiguglia
Like it or not, perception is more important than reality these days and the
tenture of U.S. Soccer president Coniguglia is perceived as slow and
indecisive. Cases in point: The delay in naming a women's national coach
since Tony DiCicco resigned more than two months ago, and the delay in
negotiating with the women's national team. He has to turn that perception
around in a hurry. Not helping things is some nasty behind-the-scenes
politics. Contiguglia is under fire from at least two camps in the federation.
7. Ben Olsen
By the end of the year, D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen might set a record
for the most games and competitions played by an American soccer player in a
year. He might also be the most tired player as well. For United, Olsen could
will play in MLS and most likely the MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
For the national team, Olsen will help the U.S. qualify for the Olympics and
could wind up as a regular with the national team itself as World Cup qualifying gets underway. Will all these
matches and challenges raise his game and make him a dominant player at the
professional or international level? Or will Olsen be a burned-out player
come December?
8. Sunil Gulati
After several years of making player decisions for all MLS teams, Gulati now
runs the show for Kraft Soccer Properties -- the New England Revolution and
San Jose Earthquakes. Now that he is on "the other side of the coin," it will
be interesting to see how successful Gulati's two teams will be. What
constitutes success in MLS? At the very least, it's reaching the playoffs.
The Revs and Earthquakes have qualified for the post-season a total of two
times over four seasons. With three, D.C. United has more titles than that.
9. Jason Kreis
After his abysmal performance in the playoffs, Kreis has a lot to prove to show that
his marvelous, 18-goal, 15-assist showing in the regular season wasn't a
one-season deal. It probably wasn't, but Kreis must demonstrate
he's a money player if he wants to get a chance with the U.S. national team.
10. Lothar Matthaeus
Well, what do you know? We begin and end with several MetroStars. We
know Zambrano and Sakiewicz will be with the team. As for Matthaeus, who
knows? He was supposed to be here Jan. 1. Then it was Feb. 8 and now it's
March 10, if he comes at all. What happens when Bayern Munich reaches the next round of the
European Champions League? Will he want to stay longer? Perhaps he won't
report to his new MLS team until July. But having Matthaeus here could have
its advantages for MLS. Let's say Matthaeus plays well and enjoys himself.
Perhaps it will open the door for other big-name (and hopefully younger)
foreigners.
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of Soccer Magazine. On Wednesday, Lewis was awarded first place in the college
story category of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America writing
contest. He won for his story about the problems facing University of
Virginia men's coach George Gelnovatch.
To submit a question or comment to Michael Lewis, click here.
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