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Harkes blasts Sampson Former captain criticizes U.S. World Cup coach
Posted: Tuesday June 15, 1999 04:03 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- John Harkes, surprisingly dropped as U.S. captain just before last year's World Cup finals, has broken his silence in a new book in which he puts the blame for the team's miserable performance squarely on the shoulders of then-coach Steve Sampson. "I can't think of one thing that Steve did right in the months leading up to the World Cup," Harkes writes in his biography, Captain for Life, and Other Temporary Assignments, just published by Sleeping Bear Press. "The fiasco that took place during the 1998 World Cup should be expected when someone who has never played or coached professionally is allowed to manage the national team," Harkes says, spreading the blame to those who put Sampson in charge. Harkes, a midfielder or defender, played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups for the United States and is one of America 's most experienced players, having also played in the English Premier League with Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County. The son of Scottish immigrants in New Jersey, he led Washington's DC United to two MLS championships in the first three years of Major League Soccer and is currently playing for the New England Revolution. Sampson's decision not to include Harkes on the team in France last year was a bombshell at the time and seemed even more inexplicable in light of the Americans' three miserable losses in the tournament. Sampson was fired after the World Cup, but is still working for the U.S. Soccer Federation in youth development. In his book, Harkes accuses Sampson of harboring grudges and being a "control freak." Sampson had no immediate response to the criticism from Harkes, who alleged the coach punished him for such things as missing team buses, not setting standards for younger players and generally undermining Sampson's authority. "Although Steve was criticised by the press and players after the U.S. team failed in the 1998 World Cup, the problems didn't rise all of a sudden," wrote Harkes. "When he came on board as interim coach in 1995 [after Bora Milutinovic was fired], the players took him for who he was and we liked the way he worked with us. "We knew he didn't have a lot of experience, but he was always up front and honest about it. It's when he started to feel the pressure and began to overcoach that the situation got out of hand." By the end of 1996, things had already begun to deteriorate with Sampson constantly changing the lineup and ignoring experienced stars such as Alexi Lalas, Tab Ramos and Marcelo Balboa, in favor of young or untested players like Brian Maisonneuve, Chad Deering and David Regis. "Steve was constantly tinkering and there didn't seem to be any clear rationale," said Harkes. "Steve was barking at players in training and wasn't open to anything we had to say. Basically, he was turning into a control freak. "He seemed to have no respect for or understanding of the tournament. How could he possibly have imagined that he could drop his captain, switch the formation, bring in new players, play people out of position, completely disrupt team chemistry and still get good results against the best teams in the world?" Harkes said he found out he wasn't going to the World Cup on a conference call Sampson had with reporters. "I didn't embrace the left-back position, Steve said. Then he said I had a strong personality that held [midfielder] Claudio Reyna back on the field. How insulting is that to Claudio?," asks Harkes. "Steve then added that there were 'leadership concerns' that would remain private, as if he were showing this incredible amount of respect for our relationship." Harkes probably won't play in the 2002 World Cup, but he supports new U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who was his coach in college and with DC United. "We need coaches who have experienced the game at the highest level and understand the commitment and discipline that's necessary to succeed there. We need coaches who can handle different personalities," said Harkes. "It's hard as a player to respect a coach who doesn't have the same knowledge or experience that you do."
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