U.S. coach Bruce Arena was impressed with the U.S. Olympic teamÆs performance, but besides John OÆBrien and maybe Ben Olsen, he doesnÆt plan on calling those players in for the Oct. 11 qualifier against Costa Rica.
SOCCER AMERICA: What are your general impressions of the Olympic tournament? How would you compare it to the 1996 tournament, in which you coached the U.S.?
BRUCE ARENA: One of the hard things to read is that maybe the Olympic competition is down a notch this time around. ThereÆs not as much emphasis from federations around the world. TheyÆre missing some of the top under-23 players as well as not bringing overage players.
The quality of play is not close to what it was in æ96. The timing of the tournament is very awkward for soccer. Obviously, the tournament has to be played in the summer, and if they stick to an under-23 format it would be great. I donÆt think you need the overage players in the Olympics, personally.
Five of the 16 teams didnÆt have overage players. I donÆt think thatÆs necessary, but it is necessary to have your top under-23s in the tournament.
The level hasnÆt been good, and the U.S. group hasnÆt been all that strong. But at the same time, I think the U.S. has played well.
SA: Which teams stood out?
BA: Probably the best two teams in the tournament were Spain and Chile. Kuwait was terrible and the Czech Republic was very, very average, at best. Cameroon had some individuals but as a team they were all over the place.
Japan was not as technically proficient as a team like Spain. Their game against the U.S. was an up-and-down game. Japan had chances to put the game away and didnÆt.
You can count on one hand the number of chances we had against Spain. We got very little out of our forwards although I thought [Josh] Wolff had a good first half. Landon [Donovan] didnÆt have a good game, [Conor] Casey wasnÆt a factor.
We got caught a little bit attacking with [Jeff] Agoos and [Frankie] Hejduk. When the ball turned over they were real good at getting at us quickly.
Overall, a good performance. They exceeded our expectations.
SA: How do you assess the players individually?
BA: They didnÆt change in two weeks. TheyÆre the players we see all the time in MLS. We know the kind of players they are. Certainly, itÆs no surprise that WolffÆs been good, heÆs been good lately in MLS.
Agoos has been steady, [Brad] FriedelÆs been rock-solid and his communication has been good. [Danny] Califf I think has been outstanding, heÆs a very good player. [John] OÆBrien has been solid.
To me, the biggest surprise maybe has been [Pete] Vagenas. HeÆs played a little better than I would have anticipated. He had a good tournament. And his composure on penalty kicks, his desire to get that ball and put it in the back of the net is pretty impressive. I saw a lot of senior players miss PKs in the Gold Cup.
Ben [Olsen] has had his moments and [Chris] Albright has been solid.
YouÆve got to remember, itÆs U-23 soccer. ThatÆs what it is. ItÆs a big difference from the national team, and itÆs not as good as what theyÆre playing professionally. But itÆs still a good way to measure the progress of some of our players.
SA: Which of the Olympic players are you thinking of calling in?
BA: Clearly itÆs time to start moving some of them forward, but I donÆt think you can use the Olympics as a measuring stick for how theyÆre going to do.
Josh Wolff is a guy whoÆs time will come. Califf is a defender for down the road. I donÆt agree with some of the criticism of Conor Casey, I think heÆs a kid with terrific potential.
Obviously Landon, Ben and Albright are going to be able to help, and OÆBrien can help us right now. BenÆs certainly a guy weÆre thinking of bringing in, we have to see how he gets through the Olympics.
The challenge is to get these guys more international soccer, and my hope is we can get some B team games in the near future.
SA: WhatÆs the likelihood of that?
BA: WeÆre working on it.
SA: WhatÆs the latest on the U.S. players abroad? LetÆs start with Tony Sanneh.
BA: SannehÆs playing regularly at Hertha, which is good, as an outside right midfielder. They also play him in the center of midfield.
ThereÆs no question the best place to play Sanneh is in the midfield. We need to think about that. One of the issues with our outside backs is they have too much time on the ball.
TheyÆve been in position to do the passing to get us into the attack and to be honest, I donÆt think weÆve done a good job in that capacity. We need to re-think that a little bit.
SA: YouÆve been concerned about the lack of playing time for David Regis at Metz …
BA: Regis played a little bit in September. I think his longest stint has been 25 minutes. That is a concern.
IÆve told him he needs to be playing. The thinking was that he was going to be a regular on that team.
SA: How does Kasey KellerÆs broken finger affect the goalkeeping situation?
BA: KaseyÆs still dealing with it. WeÆll see how fast he comes along.
BradÆs always been good. This is why I wanted to play Brad as much as I did in the year 2000. WeÆre confident that whoever we go with, weÆre going to be fine.
But if he signs with Blackburn, they have a game that weekend.
SA: A few others arenÆt seeing much playing time …
BA: Joe-Max [Moore] has only been playing a little bit, thatÆs a concern. Same with [Jovan] Kirovski.
SA: Steve Cherundulo hasnÆt played in months. WhatÆs his status?
BA: IÆve talked to him a couple of times. HeÆs training regularly and doing pretty well. In October heÆs targeted to start playing.
SA: HeÆs not available for the next two U.S. games, but whatÆs the word on Claudio Reyna?
BA: HeÆs playing right back. ItÆs really kind of like a midfield position for him. TheyÆve had some trouble with their right back. TheyÆve moved [Ronald] DeBoer up top with Michael Mols.
[RangersÆ manager Dick Advocaat] always wants to play four in the back, but Claudio probably gets more of the ball now than he does when heÆs in the midfield.
HeÆs quite comfortable there and playing pretty well.
SA: What are your impressions looking back at the win over Guatemala?
BA: On a couple of occasions, they actually went forward and thatÆs how we caught them on the goal. We countered them. We were down a man, but we actually had a bit of space to play.
If they had played a regular game, it would have been a different game. WeÆre playing to win and advance. WeÆve got to do whatÆs dictated on that day.
Guatemala leaving with a point would have been a massive victory.
SA: Did Guatemala play any differently than in a 2-1 loss to Costa Rica?
BA: Basically they played the same way.
Defensively, they have a way of playing and they make it tough. No oneÆs giving them credit. They played pretty well that day.
Every gameÆs a little different. There are an awful lot of 1-0 games being played around the world, and so it was comical to me the reaction from that game. And there was no positive reaction from the Barbados game, and that was 7-0.
SA: Has Costa Rica improved since its showing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
BA: The Gold Cup is insignificant. Costa Rica has defined itself in these qualifying games, and itÆs pretty clear what kind of a team they are.
TheyÆve got a dangerous forward [Paulo Wanchope] that weÆve got to stop. One thing that surprised me is that their goalkeeper [Alvaro Mesen] has played very well. He played a very good game against us.
They have a very solid team. They play very well at home, it will be interesting to see how they play in the U.S.
TheyÆre going to be tough, but our intention is to get three points and advance after five games.
SA: YouÆre depleted in midfield without Eddie Lewis, Claudio Reyna and Earnie Stewart [suspended]. How can you counteract these losses?
BA: We have a bunch of options. We donÆt want to show our cards at this point. In all honesty, we know what we want to do but we donÆt want to advertise our game plan.
If weÆre a little better moving the ball, a little better running off the ball, better in possession, weÆre going to create more chances.
WeÆre going to put a little bit different team on the field than we did in Costa Rica.
ItÆs no secret weÆll be stronger in the back and more dangerous up front. WeÆll give them a little bit more to think about than the last time. We were a little thin when we had to play them in Costa Rica.
SA: What particular issues regarding players could be trouble spots for this game?
BA: ThereÆs a lot of issues around all this stuff and itÆs never easy. ItÆs absolutely ridiculous. My headÆs spinning all the time, so I roll with the punches. ItÆs always a problem with all of this crap.
The only thing we have going for us is that the European players are available early. But [Gregg] Berhalter would still be there playing if he signs with Bolton, because they have a game on [Oct. 6].
The callups for the next game, who makes the MLS final becomes an issue. There are possible games on Oct. 6. TheyÆre all weighing in how I bring this roster together.
SA: How will the MLS playoffs affect which players you choose?
BA: A fringe guy it might be an issue with. The other issue is the attitude of the coaches. They canÆt restrict us from bringing anyone in. WeÆre going to call in who we need, regardless.
But itÆs still going to complicate matters. IÆve made concessions on every game this year, but this time we certainly have to put the national team first.
SA: Have you been involved with U.S. SoccerÆs attempt to get your three-game suspension reduced?
BA: I havenÆt been involved in that situation at all. I canÆt be sitting on the bench. ItÆs not the end of the world.
SA: Will you be permitted to communicate with the bench?
BA: I assume you can. If they can do it all over the world, I imagine it can be done in our game.
IÆll pick the starting lineup and IÆll be training the guys all week. We donÆt talk to anyone during the game. If thereÆs something I need to get down to them, IÆm sure there are ways of doing it.
You know whoÆs going to win the game? IÆm going to assume the 11 players on the field are going to win the game.
SA: YouÆve been in charge for nearly two years. Are the team and the federation headed in the right direction?
BA: ItÆs been all right. The whole structure of U.S. Soccer will change in the next couple of years for the better with [Secretary General] Dan Flynn there. HeÆs real hands-on, he understands the issues, he knows how to run a business. HeÆs going to have a great impact. WeÆre not going to see it overnight, but in time youÆre going to see a well-oiled machine.
Whether it takes two or three years, heÆs going to get it done. IÆm very confident with him.
It will be a plus for all the teams. You can allocate your resources better for all your teams, and they should get better.
SA: Where do you think the national training center should be located?
BA: It doesnÆt matter what I think. In the end, if we get a national training center, itÆs a plus, no matter where it is.
by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney