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American soccer heroes
Updated: Thursday February 22, 2001 2:15 PM
Welcome to CNNSI.com's guide to CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. This column hopefully will supply you with enough information, analysis and history that will help you survive over the next nine months. Part one of our never-ending coverage comes under the title of "Heroes and goats and villains, oh my!" Some players you may never have heard of or never played in a World Cup, while others enjoyed that one glorious moment, while yet others used that goal or moment to vault to stardom. And remember, a villain to one side is a hero to another. But a goat is a goat is a goat, although he probably can be considered a hero by the opposition.
HeroesWhat makes a hero? It could be a single, defining moment in a match. Or the performance of a lifetime over 90 minutes. Despite its poor history of qualifying, the U.S. certainly has its share of them. Here are some of the most memorable and important performances in U.S. World Cup qualifying history (World Cup years in parentheses): 1. Paul Caligiuri (1990) -- The L.A. Galaxy defender scored but five international goals in 110 appearances, but he will always be known for the one he put in from 25 yards against Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain in November, 1989, which boosted the U.S. to its first World Cup appearance in 40 years. Trinidad needed only a tie to advance to Italy. Caligiuri, incidentally, also scored a goal in a 1-0 qualifying win over Trinidad in Torrance, Calif. on May 19, 1985. 2. Buff Donelli (1934) -- In one of the most rare and memorable results over Mexico, Donelli connected four goals-two in each half-in a 4-2 qualifying match in Rome on May 24, only days before the start of the 1934 World Cup. Three days later the U.S. fell to eventual champion Italy, 7-1, with Donelli netting the lone score. Incredibly, it would be the last American triumph over Mexico for two generations -- until a 2-1 victory in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 23, 1980. By then, however, the U.S. had been eliminated from the '82 Cup. 3. Claudio Reyna and Roy Wegerle (1998) -- The emphatic 3-0 triumph over Canada in Burnaby, British Columbia. on Nov. 9, 1997 stands out as the most outstanding performances by both players. Reyna, a midfielder, organized the U.S. attack, scored the first goal and set up the first of Wegerle's two scores. No one realized it at the time, but Wegerle, 33 at the time, was enjoying his last hurrah as a player. "I had two or three years with wretched luck with my knees and I thank heaven things are going well for me and my confidence is back," Wegerle said. "It showed today. I'm just grateful."
4. Pete Matevich (1950) -- Who? Yeah, I'm not very familiar with the name, either. But he tallied twice in the U.S.'s 5-3 victory over Cuba in Mexico City on Sept. 21, 1949, a result that catapulted the Americans into the World Cup in Brazil. Even though they secured victory, the Americans did not know they had qualified until they returned home, after Mexico whitewashed Cuba, 3-0, on Sept. 25. Matevich, incidentally, did not make the squad that went on to upset England, 1-0, in the World Cup. 5. Tab Ramos (1998) -- Talk about dramatic moments. Ramos had missed a good chunk of the 1997 Major League Soccer season with a knee injury incurred in a 1-0 qualifying victory in Trinidad on Nov. 24, 1996. Ramos, who had played in only 13 MetroStars matches that '97 season, ended eight months of frustration in spectacular fashion by scoring with 12 minutes remaining to lift the U.S. to a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in Portland on Sept. 7, 1997. Preki , who had entered the game for Roy Wegerle only five minutes prior, dribbled into the right wing corner, got free with a cutback dribble and crossed the ball into the area. Marcelo Balboa settled the ball and passed back to Ramos at the top of the penalty arc. Ramos then fired in a 21-yard blast past goalkeeper Erick Lonnis . "I hit it as hard as I could," Ramos said. "I've never been happier than today. I've had so many frustrations the last six to eight months. . . . Today was the most special goal I've ever scored." 6. Hugo Perez (1990) -- Actually, Perez played impact roles in a pair of victories on the road to Italy. Only weeks after the U.S. had been awarded the 1994 World Cup by FIFA, the Americans found themselves in a do-for-die situation against Jamaica. They played to a nil-nil draw in the first encounter. With the score tied at 1-1 in the second match in St. Louis on Aug. 13, 1988, Perez, who came on for the ailing Mike Windischmann at the half, was tripped in the penalty area by defender Dave Brooks in the 68th minute. It looked like Perez added some acting of his own to accentuate the call, but the U.S. was awarded a penalty kick by Canadian referee David Brummit. "Hugo might have gotten a 9.8 on that one, but it was definitely a penalty," U.S. coach Lothar Osiander said. Perez decisively fired the ball to the right of goalkeeper Paul Campbell for a 2-1 lead. The U.S. scored three more times for a 5-1 win. Imagine the embarrassment had the U.S. not advanced, because only a month prior FIFA had awarded the 1994 World Cup to this country. Perez continued his feats later in the next round against the country of his birth and in front of his 78-year-old grandfather, who had made a seven-hour drive from El Salvador to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to watch him perform heroics on Sept. 17, 1989. Honduran goalkeeper Carlos Rivera had saved a low drive off a 23-yard free kick from John Harkes. The rebound came to Peter Vermes, whose six-yard shot bounced off Rivers again. But Perez then headed home the high, bouncing deflection inside the right goalpost in the 62nd minute. "I was looking for that goal for months," Perez said. "I wanted to dl well (for my grandfather)." It was officially a home game for El Salvador, which was ordered by FIFA to play its remaining qualifiers at neutral sites after home crowd trouble. Unfortunately, an injured Perez did not play for the U.S. at Italia '90. 7. Brian McBride (2002) -- Imagine had McBride not scored the game-winner against Guatemala at RFK Stadium on Sept. 3, a goal scored against all odds because the Americans were playing a man down after Eddie Lewis was red-carded. The U.S. might have only tied and earned one point instead of three, which would have put their chances of reaching the final qualifying round in serious jeopardy. But McBride did score on a spectacular goal in the 72nd minute for a 1-0 victory. Jovan Kirovski launched a long ball down the right side to Cobi Jones. Jones brought it to the top right corner of the penalty area and lofted a diagonal pass to McBride on the left side. McBride, who has forged a reputation as a superior header, slid and slotted the ball with his right foot past keeper Edgar Estrada from four yards. "We had to bear down," McBride said. "We didn't have time to worry . . .We caught them out of position a little bit. Cobi played a very ball in for me to line it up well." 8. David Vanole (1990) -- As time was running out and the U.S. clinging to a 1-0 lead over Costa Rica (thanks to a Ramos goal), Vanole found himself in a difficult situation in Fenton, Mo. on April 16, 1989. The Costa Ricans had been awarded a penalty kick after defender Steve Trittschuh had stopped a shot with his hands in the penalty area. Vanole, who had been benched for the U.S.'s 1-0 loss in San Jose, Costa Rica two weeks before, tried to disrupt the shooter, defender Mauricio Montero. "I tried to psyche the guy, but he wouldn't look at me, and maybe his not looking meant I had him," said Vanole, who walked up and stood right in front of Montero before he took the shot. "I felt I knew exactly what he'd do, and the ball came at me like a pumpkin. It was huge. It was probably coming at me a hundred miles an hour, but it was in slow motion to me." Montero's poor attempt was hit straight on, and Vanole did not have to move too much to block it. 9. Eric Eichmann (1990) -- Eichmann, now an assistant coach for the Miami Fusion, scored only four times in 29 international appearances, but none was more important than the one he put in the net in a 2-1 win over Guatemala in New Britain, Conn. on June 17, 1989. Ramos lofted a corner kick to Trittschuh, who head it toward the goal. Eichmann directed a right-footed shot that struck defender Felix McDonald and bounced between the line to break a 1-1 deadlock in the 67th minute. "It's a great feeling," Eichmann said. 'I don't know if any of you guys (the crush of assembled media) ever scored a goal before, but . . ." Eichmann never finished the sentence because of the outburst of laughter from the media. Eichmann was on the roster, but did not play in Italia '90. 10. Joe-Max Moore (1998) -- Sometimes you react and worry about the consequences later. While several Trinidad & Tobago players protested a foul of U.S. midfielder Earnie Stewart in the 34th minute in Port of Spain, Trinidad on Nov. 24, 1996, John Harkes quickly put the ball in play with a quick free kick. He passed it to Moore, who chipped the ball over goalkeeper Michael Maurice from 16 yards. "It showed our alertness to the situation," U.S. coach Steve Sampson said. "They took a couple of seconds too long to set up [their defense] and the ball was in the back of the net." 11. Thomas Dooley, Alexi Lalas, Jeff Agoos and Eddie Pope (1998) -- Most of the heroics mentioned here are of the offensive variety. But defenders had their moments in the sun as well. Against a talented Trinidad side, these four men stood out in a 2-0 victory in Richmond, Va. on Nov. 10, 1996. Dooley, the sweeper, who at 35 was the oldest player on the field, played a solid game and scored the first goal. Lalas threw a blanket over Trinidad's most dangerous player, Dwight Yorke. Agoos, who played a strong overlapping and defensive game, set up Dooley's goal with a corner kick. And Pope, the hero of the first MLS championship game only weeks prior (he headed in the game-winner in extra time) and playing in very first international, held speedster Jeren Nixon in check. 12. Mark Petersen (1986) -- He scored the game-winning goal against Trinidad with 100 seconds left in a 2-1 victory in St. Louis on May 15, 1985. It kept the U.S.'s chances alive for 16 days until the Americans lost to Costa Rica. 13. Peter Millar (1970) -- During the dark ages of international soccer for the U.S., there has been too much to write home about. But Peter Millar, who played for New York Inter in the old American Soccer League at the time, connected three times in a 6-2 victory over Bermuda in Kansas City on Nov. 2, 1968, a rare World Cup laugher, especially in those days. Some reports gave Millar two goals because he apparently struck the ball the same time as teammate Willy Roy . It wasn't a rare feat for the Scottish-born Millar, who came off the bench to register a second-half hat-trick against the Rochester Lancers in a 4-2 warm-up victory and another two in a 3-3 draw with the Israeli National Team. 14. Clint Mathis (2002) -- Two times Clint Mathis had opportunities to give the U.S. a much-needed boost in the first half of its qualifier vs. Barbados and two times the forward was denied in Waterford, Barbados on Nov. 15. His eight-yard shot, with goalkeeper Horace Stoute out of the net, ricocheted off the post in the 36th minute. His point-blank attempt was stopped by Stoute three minutes later. "It was almost like nothing was going in for us," Mathis said. "Trying to get that first goal put a lot of added pressure on us." Finally, Mathis connected in the 63rd minute, taking the pressure of the world off his teammates' backs as the U.S. went on to a 4-0 Group E victory and play another day in this year's qualifying round. 15. Tony Meola (1990) -- In only his second qualifier, 20-year-old Meola, then a freshman at the University of Virginia, was called on to make two big saves in a scoreless tie in Guatemala City on Oct. 8, 1989. He saved forward Onelio Panigua's point-blank deflection as he dived to his right to stop in the 42nd minute. Harkes gave Meola a high-five for his fine save. "That was a goal," Meola said. Guatemala already had been eliminated. "I'm depressed if we lost," he said. "The main thing is we got a point out of it. . . . The most depressing thing about it was we have an incentive for Italy '90, they didn't." 16. Kasey Keller (1998) -- Keller came up big to deny Jamaica several goals in what turned into a scoreless tie in Kingston on March 2, 1997. Keller's best save? It happened in the opening half as Walter Boyd got around Lalas and fired a low shot that Keller dived for and knocked away with his right hand. As time was running out, he headed away a dangerous backpass from the usually reliable Dooley. "Kasey's a world-class goalkeeper," Sampson said. "He has tremendous composure and confidence in goal. I have absolutely no fear of any situation when he is in goal. I think he played an outstanding match." 17. Eric Wynalda (1998) -- While Wynalda, the U.S.'s all-time international goal-scoring leader (33 goals), did not break a tie in dramatic fashion in the waning minutes of any of the qualifiers, he did score five goals to lead the U.S. to France. Current U.S. coach Bruce Arena would love to have some player connect five times in the final 10 games. 18. Mike Burns (1998) -- With Keller forced out of position in that 1997 match in Jamaica, the defender cleared a shot off the line in the final minute of the first half. Keller left the goal to challenge a Jamaican player. Andy Williams got to the ball and shot toward the net, but Burns got back in time to play hero. "Any time Kasey comes out, like on a corner kick or any other situation, one of us [defenders] has to drop back and cover the line in case something like that happens," Burns said. "I was just in the right place at the right time and able to make the play." Burns earned the nickname, "The Postman," because he made several such saves for the National Team. However, when he guarded the post against Germany in the 1998 World Cup, the ball somehow squirted between his body and the right post for German's first goal in what turned into a 2-0 victory. 19. Ade Coker (1986) -- He might have scored two goals against the minnows of CONCACAF in a 4-0 qualifying win over the Netherlands Antilles in St. Louis on Oct. 6, 1984. But as the U.S. has learned, every goal is precious. 20. The entire U.S. National Team (1998) -- With four regulars out due to suspensions or injuries -- Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, Earnie Stewart and Keller -- Jeff Agoos was awarded a red-card in the 32nd minute. Still, the U.S. managed an improbable scoreless tie against the favored Mexicans in Azteca Stadium on Nov. 2, 1997. No one American stood out as it took a team effort for the visitors to earn their first point ever in Mexico City. See what teamwork can do for a team? 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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