Gelnovatch: ‘We’re the team dictating the pace’

The U.S. under-18 team is in Portugal competing in the Torneo Internacional de Futbol Cidade de Lisboa after finishing fourth at the Essent Eurovoetbal June 1-4 in the Netherlands. The Americans went 3-1-3 in Holland, beating PSV, Benfica and Feyenoord in group play before falling, 1-0, to FC Twente in the semifinals. Feyenoord won the third-place game on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie. Red Star Belgrade beat FC Twente for the title. Soccer America Senior Editor Scott French caught up with George Gelnovatch, the Americans’ coach (and also the coach at the University of Virginia) to see how things were going. SOCCER AMERICA: How did the team play in Holland? GEORGE GELNOVATCH: It went pretty good. We played with 10 men on the semifinal, and that’s a game I feel we should have won. We were better than FC Twente. I don’t think there was a team there we couldn’t have beaten, so that’s a positive sign. We had our best performances against Feyenoord [2-1 win], PSV [2-0 win] and Benfica [2-0 win], three very good teams. And on top of everything else, they’re all older than us. Feyenoord was the Dutch champion of their age group. It was a very positive experience. We finished fourth overall, but when the tournament was over, we had the most points and the most goals out of 12 teams. SA: And now you’re in Portugal … GG:SA: Which players have you been most happy with? GG: [Forward] Mike Enfield has probably been our best player. And Steve Cronin in goal — he’s been very sharp. Ned Grabavoy has scored three goals — he hasn’t been a starter, but he’s very good off the bench. [Midfielders] Miguel Saavedra, a Project-40 player for Dallas, and Ricardo Clark and Kirk Dinnal. SA: With what aspects of your game are you most pleased? GG: Other than winning, I’m happy that we’re scoring goals, creating chances, and we’re keeping the ball better than the other teams. We’re the team dictating the pace, not the team that’s chasing and being dominated and scoring only on restarts. We’re setting the pace in most of these games,. and with that comes the chances and goals. I’m very happy with that. I’ve got a very good team. In San Diego, we played the U-20s twice. We tied them once, and they beat us, 2-1, in the other game. SA: Do you have players who should be with the U-20s at the World Youth Championship in Argentina? GG: I would consider a couple, but it’s a little late in the game. I understand that. [U-20 coach Wolfgang Suhnholz] has a real talented group of attacking players. There are a couple players here who could probably play on that team. It won’t happen because it’s a little too late, but the next U-20 team will be very good. John Ellinger’s [U-17] group is very good, and my group is very good. We’ve played them a number of times. I can see how this is going to be a good group when they combine. SA: Speaking of the U-20s, you were on the U.S. U-20 team that played in the 1983 World Youth Championship in Mexico. What are your strongest memories? GG: I have a tape of the games, an ESPN tape, that I watch from time to time. It’s pretty funny: I actually had some hair. It was an awesome experience to have played and scored a goal [in a 1-0 win over Ivory Coast]. I know what these guys are going through. SA: In what ways has the program advanced most since you were a player? GG: The difference I see with the U-17s, with the U-20s and with the U-18s is that we’re now a team that is dictating the play instead of a team that is dropping off, chasing the ball, hoping to keep [opponents] off the board and score on a restart or a counter. We’re putting teams on their heels. SA: Why do you think the U.S. is suddenly creating all this attacking talent? GG: I would say it’s not just attacking talent, but young talent. On my team, the midfield is the most talented part of the team. It’s Major League Soccer, and it’s that we spend more time with our youth teams than any other country because we don’t have a youth system connected with the MLS club teams. We have to put the 17s into residency, and the 20s are basically in residency going into the World Championship. No [other] youth team in the world does that. They’re all associated with clubs. They get together with their [national] youth teams here, there, but no one is together as much as we are. And MLS is something to shoot for, and it’s signing kids earlier. We’re heading in the right direction. Ultimately, what we want is to not have residency for the 17s or 20s, but for them to be associated with MLS clubs, or even foreign clubs, where everyone is in a professional environment. In particular the 20s — all 20s at some point should be associated with a professional team. Then we’ll get together [as a national team] for a couple weeks here, a couple weeks there. That’s where we want to head. SA: Do you see that happening in the near future? GG: I can’t answer that. Everybody knows we need to have MLS clubs associated with youth development. It’s not a secret, it’s money. We have to keep the league floating first. Hopefully, down the road, in the next five to 10 years, as Major League Soccer’s roots take hold, the next step will be to get these youth teams associated with these MLS teams. Every club [will have] a reserve team, a youth A team, a youth B team, right down the line. When we get to that point, we’ll really be heading in the right direction.