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Throw-ins
First overall selections have done their share of moving
Posted: Friday February 09, 2001 11:31 AM
Just because North Carolina forward and Project 40 player Chris Carrieri was chosen as the first overall selection doesn't mean he will turn into a star, become a regular or stay with his team.
Just take a look at the five other first-round picks (we're using the college draft from 1996-1999 and the 2000 SuperDraft).
As it turns out, three of the selections have played with the Colorado Rapids at one time or another.
1996 -- St. Louis defender-midfielder Matt McKeon selected by the then Kansas City Wiz. McKeon has enjoyed a solid MLS career, although he was traded to the Colorado Rapids in 1999 and back to K.C. last year. He was a regular on the MLS champions, collecting three goals and 11 assists in 30 games, easily his best season. After a slow start in '96, the 26-year-old McKeon has started 108 out of a possible 128 games.
1997 -- UCLA defender Tahj Jakins, taken by the Rapids. While he played 41 games in his first two seasons, the 25-year-old never caught on. He was dealt to K.C. last season. Jakins played only two matches and 118 minutes last season. Jakins has played 63 games in four seasons, starting 36. He hasn't scored a goal and has five assists.
1998 -- Maryland defender Leo Cullen, who picked by the Miami Fusion. He is the only one of the top choices who is still with his original team. Like McKeon, he has become a solid MLS citizen. Cullen, 24, who has played twice for the U.S. National Team, has started 82 out of a possible 96 regular-season matches for the Fusion.
1999 -- Virginia midfielder Jason Moore, who was drafted by D.C. United.
Injuries and being part of a team loaded with offensive talented help hinder his play and playing time (two goals and two assists in 16 games in 1999). He was dealt to Colorado before last season. In 27 games and 2,385 minutes last season, the 22-year-old Moore had five assists.
2000 -- UCLA defender Steve Shak, who was taken by the MetroStars. The jury is still out on the 23-year-old Shak, who had some promising moments last season, but still underachieved, especially for a first-round pick and the overall selection. He played in 23 games, started 14 and had one goal and one assist.
Sack of the week
Two men share the honor this week, and they weren't even fired. Actually, they resigned. Juan Ramon Rocha quit after only a month as coach of Skoda Xanthi in the Greek First Division on Monday, claiming he was leaving for personal and professional reasons. Xanthi is eighth in the league. RC Lens coach Rolland Courbis stepped down on Thursday, a day after his team dropped its fifth consecutive match, a 1-0 loss to last-place Strasbourg in the French First Division. "What matters is Lens's future, not mine. Something had to be done," Courbis told Reuters. "The worst thing for a coach on the bench is to feel powerless. When you do, you look a fool, putting it mildly."
Loser(s) of the week
Let's give it to the referees and soccer officials in South Africa, who were banned as the South African Football Association clamped down on corruption on Thursday.
Lothar's corner
He's baaaaack. That's right? Our favorite 39-year-old German defender from Bayern Munich is back in the news this week. Former MetroStar and 1990 World Cup champion captain Lothar Matthäus is being considered to coach Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany). Lothar said he was hesitant about moving into coaching months after ending his career. "I'll wait to see what Eintracht has to say, what kind of opportunities they offer me," he told the Associated Press.
Chip shots
A new take on the odyssey. A few columns back I whined about where's going to be beaten to death with the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme this year. Then I got a note from U.S. Soccer director of communications Jim Moorhouse on how his media guide was going to be have a strong theme from the movie.
I got a chance to look at the guide's cover before the U.S. international friendly against Colombia last Saturday and it looks fantastic. The cover looks like the movie poster from the film, which definitely has a soccer theme. That includes the title: 2001: A Soccer Odyssey, A U.S. Soccer Production a soccer version of the monolith, and some of the top featured players of 2000, including Tiffeny Milbrett, Brian McBride, Claudio Reyna and Earnie Stewart. I'll let you find out the rest of the details of the publication when it is ahem, launched, in the not too distant future. I would assume the 2001 edition would be available to the general public. Last year's guide sold for $15. Check out U.S. Soccer's Web site at us-soccer.com to see when the latest guide will be available. Moorhouse, for the informed, is a big science fiction fan. Sorry, Jim. Of course, my secret of being a Sci-Fi is still safe. Oops.
My socks are still on. Last week MetroStars general manager Nick Sakiewicz told me his team's new allocation "would knock your socks off." So when I learned the man was Colombian midfielder Pedro Alvarez, I looked down at my feet. Yep, my socks were still on. Alvarez is a former captain of Nacional and reportedly will play as a central midfielder.
The real deal. MetroStars defender Mike Petke could pull in the neighborhood of $600,000 if he attains several bonuses as stipulated in his four-year deal, according to sources.
Not so sorry Charlie. The man who brokered the deal between YankeeNets and Manchester United should be quite familiar to soccer fans-former MetroStars GM Charlie Stillitano, now CEO of ChampionsWorld, a marketing company based in New York City. Stillitano said he got the idea of bringing together the two after he left MLS. "This was something about a big club like Manchester that we could learn from them," he said. "It happened I was doing work for the YankeeNets organization and they have a very international vision. I know (United chief executive) Peter Kenyon from years working in the football business and he has a great vision. I thought it made perfect sense of bringing both parties together."
It's about money. When you hear some say it's not about money, then you know it's about money. The marketing agreement between YankeeNets and United is all about money, whether the head honchos say so or not.
No window of opportunity. You want to know why some groups don't get publicity or have the media shaking their heads? Then consider the advance planning by the MLS Players Association last Saturday. The organization scheduled a press conference in Fort Lauderdale at 1:30 p.m. to give an updated briefing of presumably where its appeal is. I don't know too many writers who attended that gathering because the U.S. played Colombia at 4 p.m. and many members of the American media like to show up at games well before the kickoff to get organized and talk. The MLSPA promised any media member who couldn't attend a press release. I'm still waiting for mine. I don't think I should hold my breath.
So close. Last week I predicted the first round of the MLS SuperDraft would last longer than the entire four rounds of the Women's United Soccer Association draft. I was wrong. The MLS first round took an hour to complete, only five minutes less than the WUSA's draft.
Save of the week. Well, that naturally goes to a former goalkeeper-MLS vice president of competition Joe Machnick, who gave me some sun screen so I could stay in the sun and watch two exhibition matches between MLS draft hopefuls. And oh yes, congratulations to Joe on a much more important matter. Machnick will be inducted into the Long Island University Hall of Fame on Saturday. Machnick guided the Blackbirds to the NCAA Division I championship game in 1966 as he registered a 37-8-2 mark during his tenure. Also slated for induction is Richard Chinapoo, the only four-time All-American in any sport in the school's history.
Gut feeling. Don't have any meaningful games to predict, so now I'm going to try my luck on award shows, specifically the Espys. My gut feeling is that Kansas City Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola will added another piece of hardware to his already burgeoning trophy case. What he did win? Something like five major awards while playing for the MLS champions? I would love to see Tiffeny Milbrett win it. While she enjoyed another great year, Milbrett did not play on any championship teams as the U.S. took the silver in the Olympics.
The last word. I'm off to London for a week for some much needed (and I believe deserved) R&R and to watch Fulham take on Nottingham Forest. I think Americans and former MLS players Eddie Lewis and Marcus Hahnemann will be watching it as well, although D.C. United's Ben Olsen is expected to play for Forest. But don't worry. There will be a column next week, a special tribute to the sport we all love.
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News. He was recently honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in the college division of its writing contest for Life is Beautiful, a column on University of San Francisco coach Steve Negoesco.
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