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Throw-ins U.S. needs to take home advantage in Cup qualifying
Updated: Friday February 23, 2001 3:09 PM
Welcome to yet another installment of 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.
The importance of winning at homeI can't stress enough the importance of winning at home, or at least staying unbeaten (although you don't want too many ties). Since the U.S. dropped a 1-0 decision to Costa Rica on May 31, 1985, a result that eliminated the Americans from the 1986 World Cup competition, the Americans have reeled off a 16-game unbeaten streak. Quite frankly, the streak must reach 21 games by October or the U.S. could wind up watching. Unless a couple of road wins are secured, a loss or several ties could undermine the effort. You have to remember that the 10-game qualifying group is a short season. That means very game is much more vital than an English Premiership match or a 28-game Major League Soccer season. Each game, which includes incidents, goals, red cards, yellow cards, referee decisions, player decisions and coach's tactical decisions-are put under the microscope. And in this case the next season doesn't begin next year. No, it doesn't commence until March 2004. So, there is a lot of time for players, coaches, media and fans to stew and second guess a National Team while the unfortunate losers watch the rest of the world, especially the three CONCACAF countries, prepare and play in World Cup 2002. At risk here is a country's pride and soccer future, jobs, especially coaches, and several million dollars from FIFA. Each team that participated in the 1998 World Cup received $600,000 per game from FIFA, according to spokesman Andreas Herren. That means that national associations will receive a minimum of $1.8 million (the amount could go up for 2002, officials said) just for showing up in South Korea and Japan before sponsorship deals kick in. For Third World countries, that can pay for a lot of debt accrued during qualifying and set a proper course to prepare for the World Cup without too many financial headaches.
Home-field advantage and stealing points on the roadLet's a get things straight. Very few teams in any of the six confederations run the table by winning every match-home and away. Romania came the closest at 9-0-1 in 1998. So a word to the wise: Expect some disappointment and even a loss or two. Even winning every match at home can be a difficult task as well. A tie or two, even in six games, can be expected. A loss at home? Devastating, at least it can be given the proper circumstances. You can afford to loss a match at home if you win once or even twice on the road. The best case scenario is to win all five matches at home and win one or two a couple on the road. Judging how CONCACAF qualifying for France '98 turned out, 15 or even 14 points will be needed for qualification. And remember, it's not just the points you earn, it's also the points you take away from your opponents on the road. For example, if you play to a 1-1 away draw in a game your foes were favored to win, the lose two points they should have had. In '98 qualifying, 90 points were to be had by the six finalists. Guess what? Only 77 were secured. That meant there were 13 draws out of 30 matches. Win on the road and you've got a fighting chance. Two wins should mean qualification unless you made a mess of it at home.
Hello, ColumbusOf course, next Wednesday's encounter with Mexico is important. At this point every match has a degree of importance. I think U.S. Soccer officials probably would have liked to start qualifying against a less imposing opponent, but they wisely selected a northern, Midwestern city as the home venue. Playing Mexico anywhere won't be easy, not by a longshot. The U.S. has registered but two wins against its archrivals since qualifying began in 1934. The Americans registered an emphatic 4-2 triumph over the Mexicans in a qualifier in Rome, Italy only days before the kickoff of the 1934 World Cup. The Americans also recorded a 2-1 victory behind a pair of Steve Moyers goals on Nov. 23, 1980, but they already had been eliminated. Except for those two rare successes, it has been a struggle and a half. The U.S. has an abysmal 2-12-5 qualifying record vs. Mexico, 1-2-4 at home, 0-11-1 on the road (only five goals scored and seven shutouts) and 1-0 at a neutral site. And contrary to popular belief, the U.S. and Mexico hasn't met very often since the 1982 competition. In fact, the 2-2 deadlock in Foxboro and the scoreless tie in Mexico City were the only times the two have met in qualifying in the past two decades. Mexico hosted the Cup in 1986 and was thrown out of the 1990 competition for using overage players in Under-20 matches. The U.S. hosted the Cup in 1994. In fact, the U.S. enjoys a winning record in the last three qualifying confrontations between the two teams. The Mexicans, incidentally, are virtually unbeatable at home, especially when they play at Guillermo Canedo Stadium (formerly Azteca Stadium) in Mexico City. Part of the advantage comes from a talented team. The other part comes from the rarefied air of the city, which is a good 7,500 feet above sea level. I would say a draw in Columbus would be considered a decent result for both sides. The long-range weather forecast for Columbus next Tuesday calls for high temperatures of 49 during the day and lows of 31 at night, according to the Weather Channel at weather.com. There is a 40 percent chance of showers during the day and 50 percent at night. The winds are expected to be between five-seven miles per hour. Of course, there are six days to game time and as we all know, weather can change in an instant and surprise us. No sir, Columbus won't be easy, not by a longshot.
Sitting the bench, and worse in FulhamDuring my recent sojourn to England I had an opportunity to talk to three Americans who are plying their trade over there -- midfielder Eddie Lewis and goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann for Fulham and D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen for Nottingham Forest. Olsen is having the time of his life as a starter for Forest, although the same can't be said for the Fulham duo. Lewis, who came over from the San Jose Earthquakes in a $1.9 million transfer deal last year, doesn't even dress for games any more and Hahnemann will sit the bench as the backup goalkeeper. Needless to say, they are frustrated with the situation, especially since Fulham is runaway leaders of the English First Division. Barring a major late season collapse, Fulham is expected to get automatic promotion into the Premiership. Lewis, whose wife is expecting their first child early next month, played the first 10 matches for Fulham last season. But has been all but forgotten this year. "It's been really frustrating not being a part of his plans," Lewis said of Fulham manager Jean Tigana, a former French international. "He was upset that I left for CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. By the time I got back, they had signed two French players who were left-footed. As more and players were signed, I got knocked back." Over three reserve matches, Lewis connected for a pair of hat tricks and one single score. "For some reason, the harder I work, nothing is accomplished," he said. "It doesn't seem I can win over the coach. He seems to be a decent guy. We're winning and I don't have any reason to complain." Lewis said Tigana told him he won't transfer him until after the season. "I need to be playing games week in and week out," he said. "I need to be playing at my best." At least Hahnemann, who was brought over for the bargain transfer fee of $150,000 from the Colorado Rapids in 1999, gets an opportunity to sit the bench. "Part of the problem with any athlete is your ego," Hahnemann said, "and that goes hand-in-hand with your confidence. All of a sudden you're not getting picked. And I had always played. All of a sudden you're sitting on the bench. It's a total different way of thinking and everything. It was difficult for you. "If I went to a different team, maybe I might start playing right way. But I don't know if I want to go away [to another team]. You want to play where you have [talented players]." Asked if he had any regrets, Hahnemann replied, "Yeah, for sure, I think. I could have been playing in Colorado. We have a good life here. We're happy. You don't get an opportunity to live overseas very often, especially as an American soccer player." As for Olsen, well, he's enjoying life at Forest, although his responsibilities are different and a bit more restricting than they were for D.C. United. He also takes corners and throw-ins for Forest. "I have a little more freedom with D.C. United to go forward," he said. "I've got to be pretty honest with the way I do things. I think it will make me a better player." He hoped that MLS and Forest will resolve his transfer situation soon. "I'm really enjoying it over here. The MLS is great, but I think it is a good time for me to get over here to see if I can do this thing," Olsen said. "I think the league will help me out. They're been real good so far. I think they realize my wishes." Asked to compare MLS to the English First Division, Olsen replied, "It's a whole different game. It's certainly faster. It's certainly more physical. It's fun. I'm having a blast here. These games -- you don't know what's going to happen." Fulham defeated Forest on Saturday, Feb. 17, 1-0. "It's disappointing," Olsen said. "They're a good soccer team. they're heads and tails above other teams. I thought we took it to them in the second half. I've heard a couple of people say they haven't seen them rattled like that in the second half for a while."
The Beautiful Game is beautifulIt's time for my annual culture review. Last year I reviewed The Cup, well done a foreign-language film. This year's review is on stage in the West End in London -- The Beautiful Game. The musical is an unlikely collaboration between legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and noted British writer Ben Elton (book and lyrics). While I don't think the play rivals Webber's best efforts -- try Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Evita, among others-it is certainly entertaining and time well spent at the theater. The play is about a local church soccer team in Belfast, Northern Ireland-inspired by true events-and how it changed and coped with the ongoing violence from 1969-72. It has a little bit of everything from humor to love to tragedy and some twists and turns that I won't mention. The musical has some spirited lyrics. It starts off with the company singing "The Beautiful Game:"
Measure your life in football seasons
Goal!
And so on. There are several memorable tunes, including God's Own Country, a soft, sad number about Ireland. A word to the wise, don't expect a show about how glorious the game is because most of the soccer, err, football action is before the intermission. But if you want to learn a little about the world and a lot about the great conflict while being entertained, then go for it. The verdict: Thumbs up.
Chip shots
If you are a youth administrator or coach, you probably won't be too happy with the proposed fee increases by U.S. Soccer over the next nine years. Currently, players who are affiliated with the U.S. Youth Soccer Association and the American Youth Soccer Organization pay 50 cents to U.S. Soccer. That would increase to $1.50 this year, $2.50 in 2002, $3.50 in 2004, $5.00 in 2007 and $7.50 in 2010. Amateur players pay $1.50 to the governing body today. But that would rise to $2.50 this year, $3.50 in 2002, $4.50 in 2004, $5.00 in 2007 and $7.50 in 2010. The increases also would affect MLS, Women's United Soccer Association and A-League/USL. MLS, WUSA and A-League/USL presently are charged $50 per player (that comes out to $205,000, $175,000 and $150,000, respectively. The MLS and WUSA rates would increase to $200 this year, $267 in 2002, $347 in 2004, $495 in 2007 and $805 in 2010. The A-League would move to $150 to $200 to $260 to $371 and finally to $604. I expect members of the USYSA to fight these proposed increases. To be continued, for sure.
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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