Friendly relations

Warm welcome thus far in France for U.S.

LYON, France (AP) -- The U.S. soccer team has received a warm welcome during its first week in France for the Confederations Cup, with no sign of the tension between the governments of the two nations in recent months over Iraq.

"People have been very friendly," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said ahead of his team's opener against Turkey in Saint-Etienne on Thursday.

"We expect a fair reception," he said. "The politics is something we never get involved in. Sport fans are different than people that are viewing the political situation."

Star forward Landon Donovan doesn't think any anger toward the U.S. government will be directed toward the players.

"If they don't like what's going on, then they're not going to blame the U.S. soccer team," he said. "We're just here to play soccer, and I think they've been very accepting, very good to us."

As for the soccer fans, Donovan knows last year's run to the World Cup quarterfinals accomplished only so much for the reputation of soccer in the United States.

"We always have to prove something," Donovan said. "People always think Americans can't play soccer. That's always motivation for us."

In a span of five days, the Americans will play World Cup semifinalist Turkey, World Cup champion Brazil and African champion Cameroon, tests that will help Arena evaluate his talent pool ahead of January's start of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.

The tournament is largely unwanted by the European nations, which view it as an unnecessary event crammed into their schedules after last year's World Cup, long club seasons and qualifiers for next year's European Championship.

In European soccer, some think last year's World Cup was a fluke for the United States, which hadn't advanced that far since the 1930 tournament.

"We don't have to defend anything we've done on the field," Arena said. "If there are critics of that, fair enough. We believe when we step on the field we're capable of beating any team in the world. I don't think we need to prove anything. We're a team that understands where we're at."

 

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