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Wednesday's don't work for MLS
Posted: Friday June 23, 2000 06:01 PM
From the "you can't have your cake and eat it, too," department: It has become more than apparent that Wednesdays and soccer don't mix very well, at least not in this country. The attendance totals for the five Major League Soccer matches played on Wednesday was 41,748 for an average of 8,349. Because the schedule was compacted -- remember, this year's MLS Cup will be played on Oct. 15, compared with Nov. 21 last year -- teams were forced to play more games in the middle of the week. So, it shouldn't be surprising that attendance will take a beating. And so will the players, when they are forced to play a Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday-Wednesday schedule. Yes, many European leagues follow a similar format, with league, cup and national team games used as mid-week clashes. But there are two big differences: they have a much larger player pool from which to choose, and they don't have to play in the sweltering heat and humidity of the summer. If this is the path MLS will follow over the next several years, then the league must consider one of two options -- cut the number of games from 32 to 28, or bump rosters up to 24 players, so teams have something to work with and rest a player or two during those unbearable stretches. Overage candidates: Agoos, Hejduk and ArmasAccording to the grapevine, D.C. United defender Jeff Agoos, Bayer Leverkusen defender-midfielder Frankie Hejduk and Chicago Fire midfielder Chris Armas are the top candidates to be the three overage players (over 23) for the U.S. men in the Summer Olympics this September. Armas, a member of the U.S. national team and considered the best defensive midfielder in MLS, has been a given for several months. But the other two potential selections were eye-openers. Coach Clive Charles, who is comfortable with the attack, felt that the team's weakness is on defense, according to a reliable source. Charles hasn't made a final decision because he wants to see the team in exhibition games in July. Agoos, who made his 100th international appearance in the recent U.S. Cup, is an experienced team leader and can play in the middle or the left side. Look for Agoos to be a central defender in Australia. Hejduk, who has speed to burn, would fill the gaping hole at right fullback, taking the place of the injured Steve Cherundolo. A tough break for McBride, Crew and national teamThe loss of forward Brian McBride to a fractured right cheekbone is a crushing blow for both the struggling Columbus Crew and U.S. national team, which kicks off its World Cup qualifying run in Guatemala and Costa Rica next month. McBride is expected to miss from four to eight weeks. While he hasn't lit up the scoreboard for the Crew this season, McBride gives the U.S. a dimension and a weapon not many teams in CONCACAF have -- a tall, target man who is adept in the air. Remember the coast-to-coast play from Brad Friedel to McBride to Armas in the penalty area against Colombia in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in February? The ball never touched the ground until after it hit the back of the net. Depending on how he recovers and his form, McBride could be back by the end of July. Crew coach Tom Fitzgerald, whose team is due a mid-level allocation player to replace Maisonneuve, admitted McBride's injury might change his team's plans. "So instead of getting a midfield, perhaps we might get a front-runner," he said. "It may change our thinking a bit." Talking from both sides of his mouthDuring Tuesday's weekly MLS conference call, Luiz Hernandez criticized the annual Mexican player draft in which teams can select unprotected players from other clubs. "I believe the draft is the worst thing that exists in the Mexican league," he said. But when I asked him about what he thought of the MLS dispersal draft, which allowed him to join the Galaxy at the expense of Clint Mathis and Joey Franchino, Hernandez was whistling a different tune. The Galaxy also lost Roy Myers to make room for Hernandez. "I really have no comment about this except these are the rules of the league," Hernandez said. "I am not to blame for the Galaxy losing three players on my arrival." Hmmm. But isn't the Mexican draft governed by league rules as well? And whatever happened to Luis Hernandez being a big crowd boost for the Galaxy? Since he joined the club, the Galaxy has drawn a total of 99,884 (including 40,303 for his debut) spectators, a tad under 20,000 a game. The Galaxy's average attendance is 19,481 through 10 dates. Hernandez has only six more regular-season home games to make an impact on (not a single point in six games) and off the field this season. Rhinos overcome the long, long roadThe next time you hear of an MLS coach complaining of playing three matches in eight days, just remember what the Rochester Raging Rhinos accomplished in the A-League and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup last week. The Rhinos were forced to play three matches in four days and incredibly emerged victorious in every game, handing each opponent its first home loss of the season. They started with an Open Cup against at the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Wednesday, a 2-1 win. They continued with a 2-0 victory over the Boston Bulldogs on Friday, and then climaxed the run with a solid, 3-1 triumph over the Long Island Rough Riders on Saturday night. In fact, it looked like the Rhinos were the rested team and the Riders the team that had played the night before. "I'm probably more tired than they are," Rhinos coach Pat Ercoli said with a laugh. Ercoli also took a gamble by not dressing a reserve goalkeeper for the last two games so he could have five field players on the bench to use as substitutes. "We took a risk," Ercoli said. "If you can sub five players, you are resting at least half of your team. We also were able to rotate some players in so we could have some fresh legs." Defender Tommy Tanner, who played in all three matches, said he felt great. "As long as you keep winning, your legs feel fine," he said. "When you're losing, that's when get really tired. We were ahead in every game." A warning to A-League teams: The Rhinos (6-3) are back on track after stumbling to a 2-3 start. They've won their last four league games and are a point behind Northeast Division leader Toronto Lynx (6-0-2). Ercoli figured the Rhinos were a team in transition. "We had three guys come in from indoor leagues," he said. "We had two guys going to national teams. We had three guys who were hurt at the beginning of the season. They were coming in and out. The team didn't jell yet. We had some new players who were trying to figure out their roles. We also had some veterans who were trying to figure out their roles." Sack of the weekWell, it wasn't a firing. But German coach Erich Ribbeck did the right thing and fell on his sword after Lothar Matthäus and Co. were eliminated from Euro 2000. Already they're lining up candidates to replace him. The most intriguing one is Italian Giovanni Trappatoni. A German has always directed the German national team. Picking another nationality would show a sign of weakness, knowing the German mentality. Still, if they tabbed Trappatoni, that would be an historic occasion, indeed. My gut feeling, however, says don't hold your breath. Chip shots
I laugh when I hear the authorities say these hooligans will be banded from attending games forever. How about jailing them and throwing away the key forever? These animals are blights on our society. And this comes from someone who is politically middle-of-the-road. Imagine if I was a staunch conservative.
However, I was far from the only person who thought the crowd looked smaller than what it really was. One MLS coach who watched the match on TV said he felt there was no one in the stands due to the camera angles. "They've got to do something about that," he said. "It looked awful."
Would love to see more behind-the-scenes stuff in the locker room. And announcer and former U.S. international Roy Wegerle has to show some more emotion. He was so stiff that I thought he was related to Al Gore.
Remember the Kansas City Wizards, who lead everyone in the standings? Forward Miklos Molnar was sixth among forwards. Preki was second among midfielders with Chris Henderson seventh and Mo Johnston eighth. Peter Vermes was sixth among defenders. Tony Meola trailed Hartman by a good 5,000 votes. In the East, the MetroStars had similar results. Adolfo Valencia led all forwards, Mark Chung was fourth among midfielders, Matthäus was atop the defenders' chart and Mike Ammann was No. 1 among keepers.
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News. His third book, Soccer For Dummies, was published this spring. To submit a question or comment to Michael Lewis, click here.
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