Gabriel Fuentes Manhattan Beach, Calif. After hearing the comments of various “veteran” players on the U.S. squad after the World Cup, I sensed that many of these players did not like or did not appreciate the inclusion of the new players (e.g., Deering and Regis) into the national team. Regis is a proven player, and Deering seems to have been singled out (since he did not play again) for the loss to Germany. I thought Deering was no better and no worse than anyone else. Actually, I think the U.S. has finally found the defensive midfielder it has been looking for. What do you think will be Deering’s or Regis’ status with the future versions of the national team, and do the other players not respect Deering and Regis? Mike Woitalla: The veteran players I talked with made it clear that there was not a rift between them and the newcomers. While they were obviously upset whenever they sat on the bench while a newer player started, the veterans say they encouraged and supported those who got to play. I agree that Deering had a decent game against Germany — or at least not worse than any other player — and I was puzzled that Sampson went from placing so much pre-tournament confidence in Deering to dropping him suddenly. We don’t even know who the new coach is, so it is hard to speculate on the future of the current players. I think Deering obviously has the talent to represent the U.S. in the future. He can make a case with his play in MLS, because he just joined the Dallas Burn. Regis is a solid defender, and after all the trouble they went to to make him an American, they might as well keep him in mind. Matt Replogle Harrisburg, Pa. Do you know of any U.S. players being sought after by European First Division clubs? In particular, how about Eddie Pope, who has the most potential of the domestic U.S. players? I heard that a few clubs have shown interest in Frankie Hejduk. Pete Bailey: Matt, Eddie has certainly been the most sought-after U.S. player from the World Cup team. According to Sunil Gulati, there are two Bundesliga clubs and a Premier League club offering $3 million or more in transfer fees for the D.C. United defender. Gulati would not name the clubs, but Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund have been mentioned as actively seeking to acquire Pope. From what Gulati said, it appears MLS would sell Pope, but the final decision rests with Eddie, who has previously expressed a desire to stay in the U.S. Gulati would sell Pope because (1) he can gain great international experience and (2) MLS can make a lot of money it won’t in turn lose at the gate. Unlike Marco Etcheverry, Pope is not going to sell lots of tickets. The most serious offer for Frankie Hejduk came from Tennis Borussia Berlin, just promoted to the Bundesliga 2. Eric Wynalda has talked of offers from England and Spain that he may pursue after the MLS season ends. I’m sure he’d love to leave the Clash if he could. There has also apparently been some interest in Brian McBride. Bottom line: there’s little activity. Ron Williams Plano, Texas It is my understanding that there are schools/academies around the country, functioning as an education facility and specializing in soccer training. Do you know of any such organizations? Perhaps one example would be the Bolletieri Academy in Florida? Paul Kennedy: There’s been for several years a soccer academy at the Bolletieri (tennis) complex. You might describe it as a “boarding school” for soccer. A few U.S. U-17 players have attended it. Some foreigners have gone there for training. It is the proposed site of the mega-development program U.S. Soccer and MLS want to launch in 1999. John Boal San Jose, Calif. Isn’t the MLS single-entity system going a bit far? A team like D.C. United earns its way to two titles only to see no compensation for lost players. Then the Galaxy (which is scoring goals at an alarming rate) picks up Hermosillo. Will we see the single-entity system break up at all? Pete Bailey: Hermosillo is a special situation, because he would only sign with the league if he could play in L.A., as his wife has relatives there. He is an important addition to the league in terms of credibility and drawing power in other cities as well (look at the 22,000 in San Jose for the recent Galaxy game), so MLS wasn’t going to tell him to take a hike. If Dennis Bergkamp called Sunil Gulati tomorrow and said he wanted to come to MLS but would only play for D.C., you can bet he’d be in the red, white and black in no time at all. The team that has the most right to be upset over the Hermosillo allocation is San Jose, which has been trying to sign a top Mexican player for two years and had previously asked MLS to give it Hermosillo. With respect to the single-entity situation: it isn’t fair, but it is necessary until the league has established itself and has a solid foundation. Yes, MLS needs more high-quality foreign signees, and yes, it will take a higher maximum salary to get them, but giving individual teams carte blanche to sign foreign players at astronomical prices is not a good idea when the league has yet to make money and still has franchises struggling at the gate. MLS officials have done well to study the downfall of the NASL. Nancy West Hills, Calif. Does you know the insides to why the U.S. team fell apart? It can’t be blamed totally on Sampson, nor can it be blamed totally on the players. I feel cheated as a soccer fan by both Sampson and the players who spoke out against him. I feel there was no team unity and that had to be a major factor as to why the USA did so poorly. The team was headed in the right direction until just before World Cup. What do you think? Paul Kennedy: Team unity was very fragile, but to say that the team was headed in the right direction until just before the World Cup isn’t totally accurate. The U.S. played two good games this year — 1-0 vs. Brazil at the Gold Cup and 3-0 vs. Austria in Vienna. Almost everyone now agrees the ease with which the U.S. beat Austria was the worst thing that could happen. The U.S. struggled with lowly Cuba, had to rally to beat Costa Rica at the Gold Cup, never really looked like beating Mexico in the final of the Gold Cup, stunk against the Netherlands and Belgium. As for the final tuneups, the U.S. was rarely challenged. The Scotland game in particular was totally useless. Going back to ’97 and ’96, the signs of major trouble lay in performances against Costa Rica away — the U.S. was notably run off the field in the first away game in Saprissa — and Jamaica in Washington. The U.S. managed only four wins in 10 games in the Hexagonal — two against a bad Canada team, a 1-0 win against Costa Rica in Portland, where it was a major struggle, and a win over El Salvador on the final day of qualifying when El Salvador was basically out — it needed to win and Jamaica needed to lose. If the U.S. struggled in CONCACAF, what could we expect at the next level?