Monthly Archives: February 1997

Features Positive Vibrations From Reborn Jamaica By Doug Cress Sampson Sizes Up U.S. Opposition Interview by Duncan Irving Players Association Sues MLS By Paul Gardner Dallas Burn Makes Buenos Aires Connection By Steve Davis Italy Beats England At Wembley Argentina Wins On Colombian Keeper Blunder Klinsmann Hits Two As Bundesliga Resumes Columns Soccer Talk — […]

U.S. national team coach Steve Sampson has called in 20 players to report to training camp Feb. 20 in Miami in preparation for the first hexagonal qualifying match against Jamaica on March 2 in Kingston. The U.S. team will gather in Miami Feb. 20 and start training Feb. 21. The team is scheduled to train […]

MetroStars defender Matt Knowles tore his right ACL on Feb. 14 and will miss 4-6 months of the MLS season. Knowles was injured during a match between his NPSL club, the Cleveland Crunch, and the Kansas City Attack. The 26-year-old defender started 16 regular season games and 2 playoff games for the MetroStars during the […]

Feb. 18 in Chula Vista, Calif. U.S. U-20 team 1 Mexico U-20 team 4. Goals: DiGiamarino 58; Maldonado 13, Maldonado 18, Estrada 63, Ibarra 66. USA — Kirk, Chulis, McCarty (Dancy, 46), Abukusumo (Dunseth, 46), Parra, Rodriguez, DiGiamarino, Corrales, Moore (Poltl, 46), Wolff, Quill (West, 46). Mexico — Perez, Ayala, Briseno (Hemkes), Chacon, Estrada, Robles, […]

Jamaica faces two more tests Jamaica, the first U.S. opponent in the Hexagonal, tied Venezuela 0-0 Feb. 12 in Kingston in its first full international of the year. Despite good work from midfielders Peter Cargill, Theodore Whitmore and Steve Malcolm, Jamaica could not score on Venezuela, traditionally the weakest of the 10 South American teams. […]

o There are 38 teams that will play a full schedule in this year’s D3 Pro League. Each will play two games apiece (home and away) against the other teams in its division. Additional games will be against division or non-division opponents, and in some cases, against teams in other leagues within the USISL. Eighteen […]

Steve Crain Live Oak, Texas I read that the qualifying match between the U.S. and Mexico will be played at Foxboro Stadium, but the field dimensions listed were undersized. Doesn’t FIFA require FIFA-sanctioned matches be played on 80 by 120 yard fields? I thought that special permission was required to have the World Cup games […]

Feb. 15 in Nuku’alofa, Tonga Tonga 0 Solomon Islands 4. Att.: n/a. (Second leg to be played March 1; the winner advances to the Second Round of Oceania qualifying.)

Newcomer Marco Ferruzzi scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Tampa Bay Mutiny defeated the Sarasota Futbol Club All-Stars 5-1 before 1,500 fans in Sarasota Feb. 15. Ferruzzi, Tampa’s first-round selection in the recently conducted MLS Supplemental Draft, scored twice in the first 15 minutes. His diving header from a Cle Kooiman […]

In regard to the lawsuit filed by MLS players against the league, here are some general legal considerations to keep in mind: (1) MLS players have filed a class-action suit against MLS on antitrust grounds. They have formed an asoociation, not a union represented by the National Labor Relations Board, since they would not be […]

In the first game of their Italian tour, the MetroStars fell 3-1 to Serie C power Arezzo at Comunale Stadium in Arezzo. Arezzo lead 3-0 at the half after scoring on three set-pieces (two free kicks and a penalty when Ezra Hendrickson was whistled for a handball in the box). Recent draft pick Brandon Cloutier […]

Feb. 13 in Buenos Aires Argentina 0 USA 0. Argentina — Constanzo, Grabinsky, Chaparro (Marquez, 46), Marchant, Pereyra (Calena, 60), Milito, Gallelli, Romano, Moreno (Zubeldia, 46), Garcia (Marchano, 46), Prieto. USA — Hancock, Hollenbach, Califf, Thomas, Leonard (Castellanos, 63), Downing, Gutierrez (Yamauchi, 75), Wilson, Totten (Rupsis, 85), Monsibais, Twellman. Att.: n/a.

The Kansas City Wizards have placed defender Samuel Ekeme on waivers. Ekeme, a veteran of Cameroon’s 1994 World Cup squad, started 20 regular season games for Kansas City last year, notching two assists. With the addition of defenders Steve Pittman and Richard Gough, the former Hawaii Tsunami star became expendable. Other MLS teams have 72 […]

Colorado Foxes striker Wolde Harris, who led the A-League with 17 goals and eight assists (42 points) and earned MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in 1996, has signed with MLS’s Colorado Rapids as a discovery player. “There is no question that the Rapids have now signed the A-League’s two top players from the […]

Feb. 12 in Asuncion Paraguay 2 Peru 1. Goals: Rivarola 12, Rojas 40; Pereda 33. Paraguay — Chilavert, Ayala, Rivarola, Gamarra, Arce, Struway, Acuna (Bourdier, 72), Enciso, Benitez, D. Soto (Cardozo, 81), Rojas (Campos, 71). Peru — Balerio, Reynoso, J. Soto (Carty, 53), Solano, Olivares, Jayo, Serrano, pereda, Palacios (Sens, 72), Segarra (Magallanes, 67), Maestri. […]

The thirteen eligible members of the U.S. Olympic women’s team have agreed to play in the new National Soccer Alliance, the first-ever women’s professional soccer league in the United States. Plans for the league are to be unveiled this weekend at the annual Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association Supershow in Atlanta. Committed to playing in the […]

Features Back from injury, and back in Denver By Ridge Mahoney Marcelo Balboa takes a look back Interview by Ridge Mahoney A really bad year for the Good Guy By Duncan Irving Mexico and Costa Rica offer new looks D.C. United loses Gori on first day By Steven Goff Real Madrid opponents playing for second […]

Group 2 Feb. 12 in London England 0 Italy 1. Goal: Zola 20. England — Walker, G. Neville, Pearce, Ince, Campbell, Le Saux, Beckham, Batty (Wright, 89), Shearer, Le Tissier (Ferdinand, 61), McManaman (Merson, 77). Italy — Peruzzi, Ferrara, Maldini, D. Baggio, Cannavaro, Costacurta, Di Livio, Di Matteo, Casiraghi (Ravanelli, 77), Albertini, Zola (Fuser, 90). […]

MetroStars defender Nicola Caricola, 34, announced his retirement. He had joined MLS last season after playing 11 years in Italy, and played 26 regular-season and three playoff matches.

The following are the Argentine and Brazilian players that appaered at the mini-combine in Rio de Janeiro. MLS hopes to bring at least a half a dozen of them for MLS spring training: Goalies — Andre (Brazil, 25), Paulo Sergio (Brazil, 25). Defenders — Ramon Brites (Argentina, 27, Atl. Tucuman), Martin Ferreira (Argentina, 23, Central […]

Estonia and Scotland played to a 0-0 tie Feb. 11 in Monaco in the World Cup qualifier. FIFA moved to the principality after the originally scheduled game in Estonia last fall was not played due to the Estonians’ failure to arrive at the game in time when the kickoff time was changed to the afternoon […]

The Los Angeles Galaxy has signed Guatemalan national team star Martin Machon, GM Danny Villanueva announced today. The 24-year-old midfielder/defender has made 22 appearances for his country, and impressed MLS officials with his play during CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches this past fall. Machon began his professional career in 1991 with Galcasa of the Guatemalan […]

Daniel Goshin East Amherst, N.Y. Soccer America is a huge publication with many readers. I feel that you should take a larger role in encouraging U.S. Soccer fans to go to matches and support their team much like Sam’s Army and other supporters clubs do. Maybe you could consider running some articles on supporters clubs […]

The following are the results of the January, 1997 poll, in which 1,113 fans decided which three countries in the CONCACAF hexagonal would qualify for France ’98. Country Votes *USA 1081 *Mexico 1059 *Costa Rica 540 Canada 282 Jamaica 213 El Salvador 163

MLS has assigned forward/midfielder Chris Sullivan to the San Jose Clash. Sullivan, 31, joins San Jose from Raba ETO of the Hungarian First Division, where he played 11 games on loan from MLS after signing with the league in November. “We’ve been interested in Chris Sullivan since before last season,” said San Jose GM Peter […]