U.S. Draw
‘Sixteen is a lot of games’
“It’s a little unsettling not knowing who [Caribbean D] is — we’re hoping to get that resolved in a couple days [it was later announced that the second draw for Caribbean teams will be held at the Gold Cup by Sepp Blatter].
“Costa Rica is a truly talented team. I don’t think their UNCAF performance was indicative of how talented they are. We saw many of Costa Rica’s players last spring. They will not be easy. They have great team speed.
“Nicaragua or Guatemala will be a difficult place to play.
“If we have to go to Nicaragua, or Guatemala, we’ll prepare for it. [Political relaitons between the U.S. and Nicaragua] are not a big concern. The battles will be on the soccer field, not outside the soccer field.
“Sixteen is a lot of games to qualify three teams. I don’t like the fact that we have to play 16 games. It is what it is. We have no control over it —
we’re all in the same situation.”
CONCACAF standard
‘Less large gap’
“There’s a less large gap than five or six years ago in CONCACAF.
“The distance from teams with strong domestic leagues and overseas players to other teams is not as great. In a country of Guatemala’s size, you can find 11 to 15 skilled players, practice hard, and coach them well, and compete with anyone in CONCACAF. Look at Jamaica [1-1 tie with Norway]; look at Trinidad and Tobago beating Norway [3-2].”
Preparation
‘We’ll take our best team’
“We have the Gold Cup, some international friendlies, and the U.S. Cup in June. We hope to have a camp in July with some internationals at that time. We’ll lose three players for the Olympics, but we’ll just have to keep training without them.
“We’ll take our very best team considering the form of the players. If a couple MLS players are in outstanding form, we may give them a look. We’ll look at all of our European-based players. We’re going to take a look at Steve Pittman in the Gold Cup.”
Alexi Lalas
‘Under tremendous pressure’
“Alexi is playing for a team that sold the vast majority of its best players, but the expectations from management and the spectators are the same. Losing a lot of offense puts a great deal of pressure on the defense. Alexi is under tremendous pressure — he’s on loan from MLS, and if a player on loan doesn’t play his very, very best, he’s the first to get criticized. I know Alexi is looking forward to returning to the U.S., playing with the national team and in MLS — he is a strong enough professional to weather this storm.”
Olympic team
‘Huge gap’
“I think players like Tab Ramos and John Harkes are coming into their prime right now. Our players mature at a later age — our 22 year olds are like 17 or 18 year olds throughour the world. I anticipate Tab being a part of the team for years to come.
“We must take our most veteran, most experienced team into qualifying. There is a gap between this team and those coming. Our U-23s’ experience is limited — it’s hard to say if any can step in for the veterans now. I’ll look at them, and hopefully, by the end of the summer I’ll be able to identify one or two that might be able to step in.”
MLS
‘Very impressed’
“I hope MLS entertains and shows the U.S. public good, quality, offensive-minded soccer.”
“I don’t think MLS will be the Bundesliga in its first year, but over time, I think it will develop a high level of play. It depends on the quality of players, foreign players brought in, effort, and coaching… I’m very impressed with that so far.
“I don’t think American players will stop going overseas. Now, they will have an option of playing abroad or playing in their own country.”