Soccer

Wings and A Prayer
U.S. midfielders, like many around the world, struggle to learn the lost art of the cross

Never leave your wingman, Tom Cruise learned in Top Gun. But what if you're the sport of soccer, and all your wingmen have left you? Anyone who has grown tired of watching teams spray crossing passes from outside the penalty box that go over the touchline or off defenders' legs can tell you: Outside midfielders—and, more to the point, those who can serve dangerous crosses—are a dying breed. "It's a lost art," says U.S. coach Bruce Arena "A lot of players aren't patient enough to learn the position because they don't hit a good cross. With a guy hanging all over you, it can be pretty difficult." It's instructive to note that while the U.S. scored eight goals in three games to win last week's U.S. Cup, not one of the scores resulted from a cross that originated outside the box.

A sign of the times: Though the U.S. has only one 100% pure winger ( Eddie Lewis), the team's flank play is considered one of its strengths. During the U.S. Cup, in which the Yanks beat South Africa (4-0) and Mexico (3-0) and tied Ireland (1-1), Earnie Stewart and Cobi Jones turned into a dangerous combination on the right side, alternating between the interior forward and wing positions. Lewis, on the other hand, ranges from the leftside touchline about as often as a monk leaves his monastery, and his superior crosses show why. "Everybody on the team knows that Eddie is our best crosser of the ball," says forward Brian McBride, Lewis's most frequent target "He has great touch, and he can drive the ball, with pace, on the run."

One reason for the scarcity of good wingers is the unique set of skills the position requires: speed and ball control as well as the ability to deliver accurate crosses. "I've been hitting crosses my whole life, and the only way I've learned is through repetition and experience," Lewis says. What's more, Arena reasons, many teams have stopped using wing players in the midfield. " Brazil doesn't have any," he says while diagramming the Brazilians' 4-4-2 alignment. "They play with two central attacking midfielders and two holding midfielders and let their outside backs, Roberto Carlos and Caf�, go forward."

What's the difference between a good crosser and a great one? Consistency and an ability to see the field while under pressure of the sort Brett Favre faces when he's throwing out of the pocket, according to U.S. assistant coach Dave Sarachan, who considers England's David Beckham the best server in the world. "Anybody can do it when you can take a touch and then look and serve," Sarachan says. "But Beckham can do it on a dead run, and he can do it from angles where his body's still facing the end line."

The perfect cross happens about as often as the perfect storm, since it requires exactly the right moves at exactly the right time by server and receiver, all in a split second. For starters, merely getting free to deliver the cross can be an overwhelming challenge. When MLS defenders began overplaying Lewis to his left side two years ago, he spent every day for six months learning how to cut the ball back on the run and start swinging with his right foot. "As the cops get smarter, so do the thieves," says Lewis, 26, who left San Jose this year to join Fulham of the English First Division.

Once a winger creates some space, either through guile or speed, he faces an entirely new set of decisions. "There are tons of variations, whether that means just getting the cross up above the first defender and then down in front of the box, or laying it up a little bit, or just whacking it in there," Lewis says. "A lot of times, I'll hit crosses into places that I know are dangerous, even if the forwards aren't necessarily there yet. Their defenders will start closing in on them, and in the process holes develop. The forwards' first reaction is to get into the open spot, so you try to hit them there, and if they can make contact and put the ball in the net, that's a pretty special combination."

Not coincidentally, a pretty rare one these days, too.

WUSA's Master Plan
Catch the Foreign Stars

Part of the appeal of WUSA, the women's pro league that begins play next April, is the promise that it will showcase the top players in the world. Now that WUSA has assigned the stars of last year's World Cup-winning U.S. national squad to its eight teams, the league will begin negotiating with agents, clubs and federations to land the 32 best international players. Perhaps taking a cue from Noah's Ark, WUSA acting commissioner Tony DiCicco hopes to sign 16 foreign stars this summer and—when possible—place them in pairs, by nationality, before September's Olympics. Each team would then select two other internationals in drafts of domestic and foreign players held in October and December, which would be followed by a college draft.