The Eastern Division looks like a cakewalk for three-time MLS champion D.C. United – clearly the strongest team, if for no other reason than its continuity. With the MetroStars and Revolution undergoing major reconstruction and Miami running amok with attackers, United’s team chemistry alone – forget its wealth of talent – should be worth the division title. Its three rivals could be seen as three-chambered Russian roulette: One is bound to fire.
D.C. United
How about MIA United? Thomas Rongen’s preseason preparations would have been easier if he’d had three transparencies to lay over his MLS 2000 calendar- the schedules for the U.S. national team, the Bolivian national team and the U.S. Olympic team. That way he could, at a glance, survey just how many times this season the defending champs will be at less than full strength.
Even then, Rongen would have no way of knowing for certain which of the 10 starters who are candidates for these three teams would be involved at any given time of schedule conflict.
It starts right away, however. Forward Jaime Moreno probably will miss the team’s season opener against Los Angeles March 25 because Bolivia faces Uruguay in World Cup qualifying March 29. Marco Etcheverry, still regaining his fitness after minor knee surgery, may skip that first qualifier, but more will come.
Midfielder Ben Olsen and forward Chris Albright will miss some games because of the Olympic team, which plays its qualifying tournament in Hershey, Pa., in late April and presumably in the finals starting in mid-September. Olsen and defender Eddie Pope are the surest bets to be involved in the full national squad activities, which include the U.S. Cup in June and qualifying in late September-playoff time. Jeff Agoos and Carlos Llamosa are likely to join the U.S. team for most of it, and Richie Williams, Tom Presthus and Albright also could be called up.
Wear and tear on those same players may be as much of a concern as the actual conflicts. Eddie Pope had to pull out of the U.S.-Tunisia friendly because of a minor knee injury.
There is no question that Etcheverry is the most valuable player for D.C., but Carey Talley may rival the masterful Bolivian this season in terms of importance to the team. Talley is the proverbial finger in the hole in the dam when the national-teamers are gone, when he’ll slide into a central position between inexperienced Eric Denton and Judah Cooks. If Talley plays well enough to allow undermanned United to pilfer some results in those matches, people will begin asking if Bruce Arena should call on him again.
John Maessner, the only other starter who does not have outside commitments, will fight to keep his left midfield slot over Antonio Otero and, later, Steven Armstrong.
MetroStars
Zambrano’s fascinating blend The MetroStars remain a work – an odd work – in progress. A pair of 38-year-old central defenders, two 31-year-old forwards and two midfielders, 33 and 29, all are out to prove they’ve still got it.
If they do, they’ll be a formidable presence in the league. If they don’t, they will merely add to the rubble lying where the foundation of a team should have been laid. Either way, the MetroStars will be the most intriguing team to watch.
It appears Lothar Matthaeus is coming, after all, and any player who is starting for Germany and Bayern Munich, no matter how old, is bound to be an impact player in this league. For all his idiosyncrasies and glib comments off the field, Matthaeus always has been a tremendous competitor on it.
Talk in the Metros’ camp has been about the new attitude that Coach Octavio Zambrano has instilled. While that sounds great in preseason, it underscores the importance of Matthaeus. More than any one player, the veteran of five World Cups has the potential to galvanize that positive thinking – or completely disrupt it. How he responds to an Ecuadoran coach two years his elder over the course of a season is crucial.
Nobody knows what the Colombian striking duo of Alex Comas and Adolfo “El Tren” Valencia can accomplish in this league. They could score 15 goals apiece or they could flop and be discarded by midseason.
It seems impossible to fathom a healthy season from Tab Ramos, but what a treat it would be. Mark Chung scored 10 goals in 1997 but has just five in the past two seasons. Might his scoring touch return?
Thomas Dooley appeared to be coasting toward retirement until his feud with Tom Fitzgerald fueled the fire in his belly. It would be a personal triumph for Dooley if he played his way into July’s All-Star game in Columbus.
In addition to this core of motivated veterans, Zambrano has a quartet of capable young Americans in Mike Petke, Ramiro Corrales, Petter Villegas and Brian Kelly, and an eager Steve Shak, the No. 1 pick in the MLS SuperDraft.
Look for Matthaeus to start at sweeper and swap with Dooley to make long runs forward. Shak may run alongside Dooley or back him up when his legs get weary.
The MetroStars probably won’t pull off a miraculous worst-to-first coup, but they should nonetheless be fascinating to watch.
Miami
Ivo looks forward No, the Fusion will not field a throwback to the early 1900s with a 2-3-5 formation, nor will it show a 4-2-4 alignment like the one Brazil used in winning the 1958 World Cup. Even without the pouting Roy Lassiter, Miami has a surplus of attack-minded players.
Coach Ivo Wortmann, a Brazilian, insists this year is not like last year, when he brought in nine new players and changed formations and personnel continuously throughout the season. Yet during preseason, including a three-match trip to Guadalajara, he experimented constantly.
Here are the givens: Diego Serna is slated to be fully recovered from knee surgery in time to start at forward in the club’s March 18 opener against New England. Jeff Cassar is the starting goalkeeper. Everything else is subject to change.
Guatemalan Martin Machon and Rookie of the Year Jay Heaps appear to be secure on the Fusion’s flanks. Eric Wynalda, used as a midfielder late last season, is more likely to be at forward.
Defense is where the real quandary lies, and it starts in midfield. Miami allowed 59 goals last season; only the MetroStars surrendered more.
Newcomer Andy Williams has enthralled Wortmann during preseason and will be the team’s playmaker (and club officials also are hoping he will excite South Florida’s Jamaican community). That means Wortmann must weigh the idea of sitting the guy who led his team with 14 assists last season, Henry Gutierrez, against the potential liability of using two playmakers. Jim Rooney may be used to provide cover for Williams, but don’t expect Gutierrez to be content in a reserve role.
The Fusion is still looking to add an experienced defender, but Wortmann is not optimistic it will happen before the season starts. That leaves Brian Kamler, who has traded places with Leo Cullen, moving from the left into the center. A number of players have auditioned at right back, with Tyrone Marshall the apparent leader. Pablo Mastroeni could be a ball-winner in front of the defense or pair with Kamler in the center.
Regardless of how Wortmann ultimately decides to use his odd assortment of talent, he must get positive results early. Entering his third year, he no longer can claim that he is working with someone else’s tools. This is his team, but if it doesn’t win, it probably won’t be for long.
New England
Explosive mix of veterans Gunpowder might be the best analogy for what Fernando Clavijo has assembled for his debut season as Revolution head coach. The five players who will define this team – Leonel Alvarez, John Harkes, Mauricio Ramos, Eduardo Hurtado and Wolde Harris – all have strong, complex personalities, and the potential exists for things to backfire on Clavijo if he does not load his weapons with extreme care.
As a former player, Clavijo should relate well to his team, but the key will be maintaining his authority and credibility. If he bows to specific pleas early in the season, rifts could form quickly. If he commands respect from start to finish, Revs fans might be treated to the best squad they’ve seen yet.
The triangle of Alvarez, Harkes and Ramos almost forces New England into a five-midfielder configuration. Harkes doesn’t have the pace to play wide left anymore, and Ramos needs plenty of freedom to be effective.
Hurtado and Harris are experienced, but there is concern as to how many goals are left in “The Tank,” and Harris needs to prove he can be consistent. Rookie Fabio Zuniga and third-year project Jamar Beasley will be used to stretch defenses. Clavijo has toyed with a lone-forward formation in preseason.
Defensively, much will be learned in the first month of the season. Brian Dunseth, Ivan McKinley and Dan Calichman are all candidates centrally, but so is the possibility of an foreign addition. The competition for the marking slots is tight, with rookie Rusty Pierce leading the pack chasing incumbents Ted Chronopoulos and Mike Burns.
Scott Budnick and Jeff Causey appeared just about even in the duel for the starting goalkeeper spot, and the chance of a foreigner joining that fray has dissipated.
The most promising thing about this year’s Revolution is its depth. Clavijo has two legitimate options at almost every position on the field. Rookie Shaker Asad adds extra flair and may back up Ramos in the playmaker role.
All that remains is for morale and unity to remain intact long enough for it all to get sorted out, even if it means some early losses. One interesting subplot may be the captaincy. Clavijo will be tested as a psychologist as much as a tactician.
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns