EuropeÆs clubs make Bruce ArenaÆs job harder Those U.S. national team players plying their trade beyond the confines of MLS often get tangled up in a Catch-22. The poorer their performance, the less important they are to the club, and thus, the more likely they are to be released for U.S. duty. But by not playing, they can take themselves out of the national team through inactivity and poor form. And the cream of American talent ù those good enough to start in Europe ù find their club reluctant to release them and learn that national team duty can cost them their hard-earned spots. Frankie Hejduk, Tony Sanneh and Brad Friedel are mostly warming seats at their European clubs. U.S. coach Bruce Arena has met little resistance securing their releases, and all three played Jan. 16 against Iran at the Rose Bowl. Yet only Friedel is on his Gold Cup roster. Hejduk, who is a roster alternate, and Sanneh will focus on regaining the faith of the German club coaches while the Americans host their confederationÆs championship. Arena can retrieve non-starters from Europe with little problem, but players who have wedged themselves firmly into the starting lineup ù such as Claudio Reyna at Rangers or Kasey Keller at his former club, Leicester City ù can trigger strained diplomacy between club and country. If a standardized international calendar takes effect ù FIFA President Sepp Blatter hopes to have every country in the world adopt schedules on the calendar year in 2005 ù it wonÆt arrive a day too soon. Arguments and disputes between clubs and national teams erupted frequently last year, and 2000 started off acrimoniously as European club managers moaned about the African Nations Cup and an upcoming heavy schedule of South American World Cup qualifiers.

Kirovski expendable for Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund is permitting Jovan Kirov-ski to remain in the United States. Midfielder Andy Moeller will miss another month of action with an injury, yet Kirovski is so far out of the clubÆs picture that Dortmund has, as it did in the first half of the season, refused to register him on its active roster. Kirovski, Friedel and Reyna are the only foreign-based players on the U.S. Gold Cup roster. Arena and Rangers manager Dick Advocaat worked out a compromise that kept Reyna in Scotland last summer for the Confederations Cup and will free him to play in the Gold Cup. But Advocaat later threatened to replace players who leave for national team play outside of Europe, and Reyna has been used as a substitute since returning from the Iran game in California. It must be a discomforting dTja vu for Reyna, who fell out of favor at Bayer Leverkusen after a prolonged absence for U.S. Cup Æ97. Prying Keller away from Manager Martin OÆNeill at Leicester had exasperated Arena prior to KellerÆs move last summer to Spanish club Rayo Vallecano. ôEvery situation is different,ö said Arena. ôWhen Kasey was at Leicester, letÆs just say Martin OÆNeill wasnÆt very cooperative.ö Former U.S. coach Steve Sampson grappled with the same problem, and KellerÆs superb performance against Brazil at the 1998 Gold Cup might never have happened if Sampson had been cowed by OÆNeillÆs stubborn bickering. Keller stayed in England during the first round and quarterfinals of the Gold Cup, then swooped across the Atlantic to blank Brazil. He stayed for the final, which the United States lost to Mexico, 1-0. Reyna was also on standby for the semifinal but arrived injured and had to sit it out. This came one year after OÆNeill issued the extraordinary statement in 1997 that if Keller insisted on playing World Cup qualifiers that spring, he might not play in the League Cup final. Keller did play against Canada and Costa Rica in March of that year. He had to jet across the Atlantic the day after Leicester clinched its spot in the final to join the U.S. training camp a few days before the Canada match and returned to the nets as Leicester won the League Cup after a replay. Hours after Leicester toppled Middlesbrough April 16 to cop the cup, Keller was back on a plane for a Foxboro rendez-vous with Mexico. When a club manager reaches this level of stridency, the player has just one recourse: Stay out of it.

Clubs balk at FIFA mandate

FIFA stipulates clubs must release players for official competitions such as the Gold Cup, but more than a few teams regard non-European regional events with disdain. FIFA is losing clout in the ongoing feud between clubs and countries, and national team coaches soon learn to fight the battles they think they can win with minimal damage. During his days at Sheffield Wednesday, John Harkes seldom was released without a struggle between the U.S. Soccer Federation and Manager Trevor Francis. There were no qualifiers to be played in 1992 and 1993, since the U.S. hosted the 1994 World Cup, so Harkes rarely played. ôIt was a complete change when [former manager] Ron Atkinson left,ö says Harkes. ôTrevor Francis didnÆt want to hear about it, didnÆt want to be bothered, didnÆt want to discuss it. HeÆd just say no.ö For non-European Union players on English Premier League rosters, club pressure to sit out qualifiers squeezes them between a rock and a hard place. To keep their work permits, they are required to play in 75 percent of ôAö internationals during the previous two calendar years. But if they are forced to miss internationals by their clubs, they could be dropped from subsequent games as coaches and tactics and systems change. Several years ago, FIFA set out guidelines that required clubs to release their players for a certain minimum number of friendly matches as well as all competitive internationals. Now coaches have to juggle their needs with the egos and temperaments of their increasingly frosty club counterparts. The days of simply informing a club and a player when and where he was to check in are gone forever. Invoking the FIFA mandate often roils the waters rather than calming them. ôYou always hope it doesnÆt come to that,ö says Arena. ôThat usually doesnÆt do the player any good, and in the long run, you do what you can so both the club and player are happy. ôFrankie was lucky that he landed on a club that will cooperate with us. Ajax has never been real cooperative with John OÆBrien, and itÆs been more difficult as his injuries have piled up. WeÆve had problems with other Dutch clubs in regard to Ernie Stewart. ôLiverpool has been keeping Brad as an insurance policy, but we do expect to have him for the Gold Cup. A lot of these clubs are playing it right by the letter of the law. ôEvery national team coach has the same problems I do. ItÆs not unique to this country. And it is a major problem.ö by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney