Steve Crain
Live Oak, Texas
I read that the qualifying match between the U.S. and Mexico will be played at Foxboro Stadium, but the field dimensions listed were undersized. Doesn’t FIFA require FIFA-sanctioned matches be played on 80 by 120 yard fields? I thought that special permission was required to have the World Cup games played on small fields for World Cup ’94, and such permission was only in effect for that event. Couldn’t Mexico challenge the field size and force the game to be moved to a standard sized field, one with presumably a more favorable ethnic mix of spectators such as the Rose Bowl or RFK?
Ridge Mahoney: Your dimensions are the maximums stipulated by FIFA. The minimums are 70 yards wide and 110 yards long. Foxboro’s stated dimensions are 73 yards wide and 115 yards long, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
Ron Beals
Sacramento, Calif.
Wouldn’t it be smarter to simply use American terms in describing soccer fields (not pitches), cleats (not boots), timing (count down to 0, not up to 90)? It seems Americans have this urge to prove they are really cool soccer players/fans by using British terms, which only makes the game more foreign to the average sports fan. To make soccer as popular with “the masses” as possible, terms that are familiar to Americans should be used. Does it hurt the game if it is a sideline, rather than a touchline? I’d suggest Soccer America make an editorial decision to use common American phrases in all its stories, and encourage all American players who are quoted to do the same thing. One’s ability at soccer is determined by how well one plays, not by using the same terms an Englishman would.
Paul Kennedy: Thanks for your comments, Ron. Our style guide does include most of the things you cover — field not pitch, stadium not ground, stands not terraces, uniform not kit, etc., etc. — though we do not edit what someone else says in a quote unless it is a translation. Occasionally, some of these terms do slip through in text form, but we rigorously try to change them. We would unlikely ever change timing, though, since it is now accepted by just about every newspaper I know, as well.
Marianne Kissner
Akron, Ohio
The U.S. Cup was a fiasco for the U.S. men’s team, culminating in a 4-1 loss to a very weak Danish team. What is your opinion of measures the U.S. must take to improve its performance? I believe the selection of players is much too political, especially at the ODP level. Do we know talent when we see it?
Duncan Irving: Steve Sampson needs a `B’ team for one thing, and a damn sight more cooperation from and between MLS and U.S. Soccer to help him do it. Let’s remember that he’s wearing a number of hats — national team coach, head of “Vertical Integration” (jobs for the boys in any other language) et al.
As for your comments about ODP, you’re right. It is too political, demands an incredible amount of time commitment and money from players and parents alike, with the net result that a number of poorer players slip through the net.
U.S. Soccer also needs to stop paying lip service to the ethnic soccer community and start being far more active in getting those leagues involved in the program. It has revenues of $15 million, so I think it can spare a buck. Then again, the ODP is probably where a large chunk of their cash does come from!
Tim Hinkley
Milpitas, Calif.
What are the chances that San Jose will be able to get Mark Dougherty back to the Bay Area? What price will San Jose have to pay if there is a possibility of a deal being completed?
Ridge Mahoney: San Jose has tried to acquire Dougherty without success. He’s one of the better keepers in the league, so the Clash would have to give up a starter, at least.
Brian Sciaretta
Bernardsville, N.J.
Is the United States’ poor showing at the U.S. Cup a result of what many people worried about: that the poor quality of MLS has hurt the national team by failing to expose its players to top quality soccer? I know that the U.S. was experimenting with new players, but both the new players and the veterans looked rather poor. What are SA’s comments?
Duncan Irving: Would you prefer no pro league at all and even worse players? I doubt it, but you’re right, MLS is not at the level we need it to be to benefit the national team in the short term. The national team regulars also haven’t really performed at their best there, either. Things will probably improve with time, but not quickly enough to really help Steve Sampson on the road to France or when the team qualifies. He’ll have a tremendously difficult time filling slots 15-22. Without MLS though, that becomes an impossible chore.
R. Thompson
Columbus, Ohio
Would you provide a description of Project 40? Is this effort a response to the recognition of the abject failure of the ODP to provide a true development track for the young players? If so, how is Project 40 configured so that the errors of ODP are not repeated? There are exceptionally talented college players that receive no notice/opportunity to exhibit their abilities; is Project 40 designed to address this problem?
Mike Woitalla: See the following Soccer America issues for stories about Project 40: Jan. 20, 1997; Nov. 25, 1996; Oct. 21, 1996; Oct. 7, 1996.
In short, Project 40, which is currently being launched, is Major League Soccer’s program to identify the top soccer talent of ages 18 and 19 who wish to forgo a college career. The league plans on signing them to development contracts while also offering stipends for college tuition for those who wish to study. The program is designed to give young players year-round competition with MLS, A-League and USISL teams (they will be practicing with MLS teams).
Many of the players selected will indeed be ones who have gone through ODP, which does sometimes spot good talent. However, if Project 40 is to succeed, it most go beyond ODP. It must have scouts who find the players ODP ignores, particularly inner-city and ethnic youth who are not traditionally part of the system, either because they can’t afford it or because ODP coaches don’t look for them.
As far as college players who don’t receive the proper attention — they are not for whom Project-40 is designed. They will be steered to the USISL and the A-League to prove themselves.
Victor
Detroit
I know that you must be sick of people suggesting rule changes to your staff to “improve” the game of soccer. I agree with the premise that the rules of soccer have stood the test of time and should not be changed haphazardly as they are done with american football. But in no other sport do I see fouling rewarded like it is in soccer. A team attacks, a subtle foul disrupts their rhythm with the defense being allowed to set up. The yellow card system is much too harsh for such fouls. Might not an NBA style system work where after a given number of cumulative fouls, the offending team would be required to send off a player. This would clearly take away the incentive for a team to continually foul and destroy the flow of the game. What is your opinion on teams destroying the flow of the game with “ticky tack” fouls and do you have any suggestions to deal with this problem?
Dean Caparaz: Disruptive fouls are part of the game and I don’t think we need to change the rules in soccer to change that. I would just like to see referees clamp down harder on fouls, harsh and otherwise, and perhaps even call too many fouls. To use the NBA as an example as you did, that would be like making any hand-checking between the free throw lines a foul, as is supposedly the case now.
On the other hand I would like to see other ways of dealing with fouls — such as yours — tried out, in the lower divisions of foreign leagues and in the A-League/USISL here. If after such experiments officials want to change the rules in Premier Leagues/First Divisions, then we’ll have to live with it.
Ridge Mahoney: I think such fouls are exactly the kind that must be punished with a yellow card if the referee feels by using such foul play the defending team is illegally disrupting the attackers’ flow. If you lessen the punishment, teams are more encouraged to use such tactics. And with MLS teams playing more on weekends with less rest, tired players are more likely to use cheap fouls rather than defending properly. The idea is to discourage players from fouling.
Keeping track of individual fouls is much easier in a game like basketball, where the play and the clock stop automatically. Soccer moves too fast for such systems. And if a player keeps fouling, he should be sent off anyway, no matter how many fouls he’s accumulated. I believe the rules as they are written adequately address this issue; the problem is enforcement. In MLS, as the refereeing improves, so will the handling of these situations.
The league has a good idea by assessing points depending on the severity of the fouls to determine suspensions, although letting a player accumulate five yellows before he earns a suspension is too lenient. But I think keeping track of individual fouls — with a scorekeeper — disrupts the flow of the game even more than the fouls themselves. And I don’t believe time penalties a la hockey would work either; teams that lose a player to a red card during the game often win anyway.
In my opinion, enforcing the rules to crack down on hackers is the best solution.
Poul Swain: I don’t agree with you at all. In my opinion the system is sound, it just needs good referees to make it work.
Sure you’re going to have players who foul to disrupt the opponents’ rhythm. But there are rules in place to deal with those players. I think it is important for a referee to set the tone early in a game that “ticky tack” fouling won’t be tolerated.
If a player, or team for that matter, persistently infringes on the rules of the game, the referee should first verbally warn the player, or the captain if the team seems to be taking turns doing the fouling. The next foul should produce a yellow card.
At this point the warning has been given. If the player persists in his behavior, he should be shown the red and sent to the showers.
I want to stress, however, that soccer is a physical game. There are instances when players challenge for the ball and an inadvertent foul occurs.
A good referee should be able to differentiate between these and the more cynical fouls, where a player purposely takes someone down in order to gain advantage.
(Editor’s Note: In the recent Rio-Sao Paulo tournament, a preseason Brazilian competition, players had to sit out for five minutes after five fouls, and teams were awarded a free kick — with no wall — from the top of the penalty area for every foul the opposition committed after foul No. 15.)