U.S. international Eric Wynalda believes Miami will have plenty of firepower this season: ‘We come at you pretty hard’
SOCCER AMERICA: There’s been no shortage of attacks and shots from the free-wheeling Fusion so far this year. ERIC WYNALDA: I think we’re going to be a very entertaining team. I don’t think any team wants to play against us or knows what to expect from us.
SA: Has head coach Ivo Wortmann implemented any kind of a system for the attackers? EW: There wasn’t a lot of thought to it. We just let Roy [Lassiter] and Diego [Serna] and Andy [Williams] and me do what we want to do. We’re still in the feeling-out stages, and nobody knows if it’s going to work or not, but it looked pretty good against New York.
SA: What does Roy Lassiter add to the mix? EW: Sometimes he’s not the best guy to take people on, but he makes good layoffs and he’s good at holding the ball, allowing his team to get out. He’s a different player than Diego Serna. If you give Diego the ball, there’s a very good chance you’re not going to see it again. I’ve gotten to the point I’m not going to give him the ball until I know I’m in a position to at least get the rebound.
SA: Can you win consistently with the 4-3-3 formation you played with against the Metros? EW: It will depend a lot on who we’re playing against. If Tab [Ramos] had been playing, we might have been hurt. But it’s fun to watch. We come at you pretty hard in a lot of different places. It’s fun, for the first time in my MLS career, to look at the table – as early as it is – and see us in first place. I’ve never had that situation.
SA: What’s the chemistry like? EW: We’re a pretty interesting group. We call ourselves the “Bad News Bears.” Jim Rooney is Tanner. Some guys have supposedly been big problems elsewhere. But for the reputations we have, we get along great. We have the potential to upset the balance with D.C. and L.A. We have the potential to mess up people’s plans.
by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney
