Monthly Archives: January 1998

The U.S. women’s national team played to a 0-0 tie with host China at the Guangzhou International Tournament on Jan. 21. It was the first meeting between the two countries since the USA’s victory in the 1996 Olympic gold-medal match. In a game that was played during steady rainfall on a muddy field, the Americans […]

The U.S. national futsal team placed third at the Mundialito tournament in Brazil. After opening with a win and a draw, the U.S. rallied from a 4-2 deficit to upend Belgium 5-4. St. Louis Ambush forward Mark Moser had a hat trick, including the gamewinning goal on a penalty kick with two seconds to play. […]

SA Men’s Freshman Player of the Year Nick Garcia (Indiana) Garcia stepped in as a freshman to sweep for the Hoosiers, who went all the way to the NCAA semifinals before losing. His play at the back enabled the Hoosiers’ marquee players to do their thing in attack. Scored the only goal in the final […]

SA Women’s Freshman Player of the Year Anne Makinen (Notre Dame) Notre Dame’s Finnish international splashed onto the college scene, bringing a wealth of experience to a team already brimming with talent. The playmaking midfielder exploded for a hat trick to beat Connecticut in the Big East final and had four goals and three assists […]

The Kansas City Wizards have acquired former Premier League forward Paul Rideout as a discovery player from Major League Soccer. He arrived in Kansas City Jan. 19 and joined the Wizards pre-season training today. “Paul is going to bring a number of things to our team,” said Wizards GM Doug Newman. “In addition to being […]

The following is the 1998 MLS television schedule on ESPN and ESPN2. The Univision schedule will be announced in the near future. Note: Start times for two games have changed since the 1998 MLS schedule was announced. The March 29 match between New England and D.C. United will start at 5:00 p.m. (ET) rather than […]

Brian West, who recently completed his sophomore season at Virginia, has announced that he will sign a professional contract with MLS through Project-40 and will give up his final two years of eligibility. “I enjoyed my time at Virginia and had two great years playing in the program,” said the All-ACC forward. “Now I have […]

Tisha Venturini, Tiffeny Milbrett and Debbie Keller scored goals as the U.S. women’s national team opened its 1998 schedule with a convincing 3-0 victory over Sweden at the Guanzhou International Women’s Tournament in Guangzhou, China. The Americans dominated the match, outshooting Sweden 27-7 for the game and 18-1 in the second half. Venturini opened the […]

After two weeks of training in Orlando, Fla., U.S. men’s coach Steve Sampson released 14 players from his original pool of 32 and promoted five U-23 players. The released players are still in consideration for the final 22-man World Cup roster, according to Sampson, but they will not play in the USA-Sweden match Jan. 24. […]

Here is the qualifying draw for the 2000 European Championship: Note: Co-hosts Belgium and the Netherlands qualify automatically. The nine group winners and best runner-up also qualify, while the eight other runners-up will be drawn into two-leg playoffs, with the four winners advancing to the finals. Group 1 — Italy, Belarus, Wales, Switzerland, Denmark. Group […]

The following players were selected to the USYSA Boys ODP U-18 All-America Player Pool. The pool was selected by USSF national coaching staff members at the Jan. 2-5 interregional training event in Chula Vista, Calif. USYSA Boys ODP U-18 All-America Pool Nate Anderson (Overland Park, Kan.), Emanual Ayim (College Station, Texas), Rob Birch (West Islip, […]

MLS College Draft Round 1: (1) Miami. (2) Chicago. (3) San Jose. (4) Kansas City (from MetroStars). (5) New England. (6) Los Angeles. (7) Tampa Bay. (8) Kansas City. (9) Columbus. (10) Dallas. (11). Colorado. (12) San Jose (from D.C. United). Round 2: (1) Miami. (2) D.C. United (from Chicago). (3) San Jose. (4) MetroStars. […]

Chilean midfielder Victor Mella, who played for both San Jose and New England during the inaugural MLS season, has been re-signed by MLS and will rejoin the Clash for the 1998 season. “We’re delighted, absolutely delighted, to be able to bring Victor back to San Jose,” said Clash GM Peter Bridgwater. “Victor had a special […]

Lark Howorth Friendswood, Texas Can you explain the behind-the-scenes situation with regard to France ’98 tickets not being available through U.S. Soccer? The FIFA home page clearly states interested persons should contact either approved tour operators (Gullivers) or their home football federation (U.S. Soccer). U.S. Soccer has stated that it will not directly make tickets […]

New England keeper Walter Zenga announced his retirement from soccer Jan. 15. Zenga, who was the Revolution’s 1997 team MVP and the starting keeper for the Eastern Conference in the MLS All-Star Game, turns 38 in April. MLS and the Revolution had been working to extend his contract. “This decision was one of the hardest […]

The 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Organizing Committee announced Jan. 15 that ABC and ESPN will combine to televise all 32 matches of the world championship. The third Women’s World Cup will receive an unprecedented 64 hours of coverage. “This is not only a tremendous step for the Women’s World Cup, but a giant leap […]

Sexual assault charges against D.C. United players Raul Diaz Arce and Mario Gori were dismissed today in Franklin County (Ohio) Municipal Court. “I thank God this is over,” said Salvadoran star Diaz Arce. “Now I want to concentrate on the season ahead. This has been very difficult, but now I look forward to a much […]

MLS teams will kick off their 1998 spring training at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. from Feb. 6-16. The 12 squads will compete in a tournament format, with two games featured daily from Feb. 7-15 under the lights at the complex at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. (ET). Each of the teams […]

Two Soccer America jounalists and two newspaper writers were honored for the best articles of 1997 in the third annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America writing contest during the 51st annual NSCAA convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. SA Senior Editor Mike Woitalla won first place for a deadline/game story article for his piece titled “United […]

The U.S. Futsal team has opened play in the Third Mundialito tournament with a win and a draw. The U.S. downed Italy 2-1 on Jan. 13. Sean Bowers had the first U.S. tally, and Wes Wade scored the late game-winner. Jan. 14, the U.S, rallied from a 4-2 deficit to tie Argentina 4-4. Wade had […]

Almost two years after rejecting an offer to serve as the head of the U.S. national team program, Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz is back as a consultant with U.S. Soccer. Queiroz signed a seven-month agreement with U.S. Soccer to observe, evaluate and help coach U.S. Soccer’s national youth programs. Queiroz coached MLS’s MetroStars in 1996 […]

Four collegiate players have enlisted with MLS’s Project-40, league deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati announced Jan. 14. Defenders Scott Vermillion (Virginia) and Chad McCarty (Washington) and goalkeepers Andy Kirk (Maryland) and Matt Napoleon (Columbia) join former UVa standout Ben Olsen as players who have joined Project-40 since the conclusion of the 1997 college season. Olsen has […]

Features How MLS Hunts For New Talent By Ridge Mahoney Leonel Alvarez Returns To Big D By Steve Davis Early Kickoff: The 1998 MLS Schedule Clive Charles And The 2000 Olympics Interview by Duncan Irving Ronaldo: The Young King Collects Honors Why Juergen Klinsmann Returned To England Soccer America’s 1997 College MVPs Columns Direct Kick […]

After two years of thinking global, the MetroStars have decided to go local. Sort of. Alfonso Mondelo, former head coach of the Long Island Rough Riders, will take over the post vacated by Carlos Alberto Parreira, who replaced Carlos Queiroz, who took over for Eddie Firmani. Mondelo, 39, is a native of Bilbao, Spain. He […]

Salvadoran international forward Ronald Cerritos has signed a multi-year contract with MLS and will return to the San Jose Clash next season, the club announced Jan. 13. “Ronald Cerritos may be the most exciting young player in Major League Soccer,” said Clash GM Peter Bridgwater. “Re-signing him to a multi-year contract is a tremendous demonstration […]