|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Tony Meola's top 10 moments
By Ridge Mahoney, Soccer America Tony Meola has started in both U.S. national team games of 2001. When he returned to the national team in 1999, after a four-year absence, he improved his chances of adding more glory to his illustrious career. NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL FINAL(1984). Meola plays for Kearny High in the New Jersey state high school final at Rutgers Stadium. "We went 24-0 that year. There were about 15,000 people at the final. "John Harkes was a senior, I was a sophomore. We were up, 1-0. They tied it up with about eight minutes to go. We won it about two or three minutes before the end. "We got a police escort back to Kearny and through town. We were dropped off at a Burger King next to the river, where there was a 15-foot bonfire. "People from all over town were flocking to the place. The cops lined up along River Road. They weren't arresting anybody, they were just making sure nobody who'd been drinking was going to be driving." USA-PERU (1989). Meola enters the national team fold in the Marlboro Cup at the Meadowlands. The U.S. wins, 3-0. "Gans [Bob Gansler] and Joe Machnik were calling everybody. Vanole had been hurt against T&T, Jeff Duback was hurt, they called Steve Fuchs, Kasey [Keller] was at college, Mark Dodd was in France.
"Joe Machnik told me, 'Punch and punt. Don't try to catch anything or throw the ball out to anybody.' "We took the cup to the Scots-American Club that night so everybody could look at it. A week later Doug Newman called me up and asked where the cup was. "I told him I'd left it for him at the hotel. I wasn't staying there, I'd been commuting from my house. I left it at the front counter. "I'm sure they got it. Back then, there weren't too many cups at U.S. Soccer."
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO-USA (1989). Meola earns the starter's job for the last four U.S. World Cup qualifiers, which culminates with a 1-0 win in Port of Spain. "The night before the game, Paul Caligiuri and I were in our room. I was on the bed and he was laying on the floor. He says, 'How's this for a headline: Caligiuri gets goal, Meola gets shutout?' "He really did say that. I was laughing. "The goal happened so fast. Tab chipped it and it just bounced up for Cal and he whacked it. "My college roomates -- Kris Keldermann, John Maessner and Curt Onalfo -- had given me a T-shirt with all kinds of stuff written on it, messages. That's the T-shirt I'm wearing after the locker room, the red letters were bleeding through from all the sweat. "The other thing I remember is Sunil Gulati calling me after he saw the picture in Soccer America. I was the only underage player with a beer."
VIRGINIA-SANTA CLARA (1989). Meola's Virginia reaches NCAA final, at Rutgers (1-1). "That was the coldest game I've ever played in. I started the game with shorts on, I put pants on at halftime. God, it was cold. The field was frozen, it was like ice. "I made one of the best saves I've ever made. The ball went through my legs but I reached behind me with my hand and got it. We did that in training and I used to think it was the dumbest drill in the world."
USA-CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1990). The U.S., in its first World Cup game since 1950, at the Stadio Communale in Florence, loses, 5-1. "We were staying out on the coast in Tirrenia, and we didn't really feel like we were in the World Cup until the bus pulled into the stadium for the first game and the fans were outside cheering and going crazy. "It was my first World Cup game, something I'd dreamed about, but I wasn't ready. None of us were. You can't just show up the day of the game and switch it on."
ITALY-USA (1990). Meola's pride in his Italian heritage crests at Rome's Olympic Stadium, a 1-0 loss in his second Italia '90 outing. "While we were in Tirrenia, it seemed like every day somebody came to the guards at the front gate and said they were related to me. "I don't think any of them were, but in Italy, if you speak to someone on the phone or break bread with them, you're considered part of the family. "My folks were at the game, everybody was there. My grandmother was going blind at the time, but she was there, going crazy. "I remember the goal [Giuseppe] Giannini scored. He just flew past us and I remember thinking, 'This is not good.' "But [Gianluca] Vialli hit the post with a penalty. We calmed down and started to play really well. Then Walter Zenga saved a shot from Peter [Vermes]. It him in the butt. "We told Peter that was a $10 million miss. Whenever he misses a shot in practice, we make fun of him. "Once we put like 22 passes together. The fans were 'Ole-ing' us all over the place and booing Italy."
USA-ENGLAND (1993). Meola blanks England, 2-0, in the U.S. Cup at Foxboro Stadium. "When I went out for the toss, Paul Ince said something like, 'It's going to be a bad night for you.' I said, 'Nice to meet you, too.' "Ian Wright was talking the whole game. He's the worst trash-talker I've ever played against. He had two breakaways, and I stopped him. "In the second half Harkes gave a ball back and we mis-trapped it. [Nigel Clough] broke through on my right and shot, and I had to push it over with my left hand. "The other thing I remember is how Tab took that ball down on [Thomas] Dooley's goal. It was like he stuck his leg up over his head and put the ball back for Dooley. "When Alexi scored it was obvious he's not a forward, because his celebration was terrible."
USA-COLOMBIA (1994). The Americans win, 2-1, in the World Cup clash at the Rose Bowl. "We got one point in our first game against Switzerland. We felt if we even got a point we'd be in good shape, because we matched up pretty well with Romania. "On their own goal, John [Harkes] wasn't shooting. It wasn't a shot on goal. I remember thinking, 'Where's he going with that?' Then [Andres] Escobar put it in his own net. "We deserved to be up, 1-0. [Eric] Wynalda just missed the post. We were really playing well. "The bounces went our way. Remember the shot [Mike] Sorber cleared off the line? "Then Tab squeezed a ball through and Ernie [Stewart] just reached it. That ball took forever to roll over the line. "I had a great view of Marcelo's bike. That was another $10-million miss."
USA-BRAZIL (1994). In the round of 16, the U.S. loses, 1-0, at Stanford Stadium on July Fourth. "The atmosphere was incredible. I was playing against the best team in the world. "We couldn't take advantage after Leonardo [was ejected for] hitting Tab. I saw Tab at halftime, and it was like he wasn't there. That scared us. "When they scored, I remember Alexi sliding to block the shot. [Bebeto] slid it between Alexi's legs and he put right inside the post. I didn't see it until it was too late for me to react. "I'll take full blame for the goal against Romania, but I don't take blame for that one." KANSAS CITY-CHICAGO (2000). Chosen as the league's regular-season MVP, Meola takes MVP honors again as Kansas City wins, 1-0, in the MLS Cup. "I couldn't wait to play. It had been a long wait for me to play in a final as a professional. "We'd beaten them, 4-3, early in the season, and they'd beaten us, 3-2. Both of those games were wide open the whole time. "I don't remember our goal. I don't know how it happened. I just remember Miklos [Molnar] celebrating. "I made some good saves, but Zach [Thornton] made a great save on Miklos. He smoked that thing. "[Dema] Kovalenko broke my gloves. He hit the shot so hard it tore off the palm of my glove. It's hanging there and I'm yelling at the bench for a new pair. "There was no speech at halftime. We knew we had to grind it out. Mo [Johnston] said we have 45 minutes to achieve what we've spent eight months trying to do. "I couldn't believe it when the fourth official showed there'd be six minutes [of stoppage time]. I've never heard of that, except in that World Cup semifinal when it seemed like they tacked on 17 minutes for the Italy-Argentina game. "I remember thinking, 'What can I do to kill six minutes?' Then [Chris] Henderson chipped the ball over [C.J.] Brown and the ref blew the whistle." Ridge Mahoney is a senior editor at Soccer America magazine. Tony MeolaPERSONAL Age: 32. Position: Goalkeeper. Height: 6-1. Weight: 205. Hometown: Kearny, N.J.
CAREER College: University of Virginia (1988-89). England: Brighton & Hove Albion (1990-91), Watford (1990-91). APSL: Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (1991). NPSL: Buffalo Blizzard (1994-95). USISL: Long Island Rough Riders (Pro League, 1995). MLS: MetroStars (1996-98), Kansas City Wizards (1999-2001).
TITLES College: University of Virginia (1989). USISL: Long Island Rough Riders (Pro League, 1995). MLS: Kansas City Wizards (2000).
USA Caps: 96.
INTERNATIONAL U.S. national team: 1994 World Cup (second round), 1993 Gold Cup (second place), 1991 Gold Cup (champion), 1990 World Cup (first round). U.S. under-20 national team: 1987 World Youth Championship (first round).
| |||||||||||||||||||||
