Eric Oddo

Wilmette, Ill.

I would like to know when MLS will announce the signing of new players. It is getting pretty close to the end of the preseason and I don’t see any big names except Gough and Machon! Can list the players that are in the rumor mill and new foreign players in MLS? That would be very helpful.

Ridge Mahoney: By the time you read this response, many of the rumors may have been confirmed or disproven. But we expect Mike Lapper, Jorge Rodriguez, Ronald Cerritos, Daniel Guzman, Marcelino Bernal, Guido, Istvan Urbanyi and a few others to come aboard. MLS has had a lot of talks with Tom Dooley, but no deal has been signed.

David Watterson

Oxnard, Calif.

I’m ecstatic that a women’s pro league will finally be launched. What is the problem with the U.S. Soccer bigwigs? Women’s soccer in the U.S. is a treasure that deserves more support from soccer executives. They keep harping on the “right time” to start a women’s league while the rest of the world keeps improving. Look at Brazil. Hats off to the NSA.

Dean Caparaz: You’re right, U.S. Soccer does not support the NSA, or National Soccer Alliance, which would be the first women’s professional soccer league in the United States, if it does, indeed, come about. The reason U.S. Soccer does not support the league may lie in the rumors that MLS may start a women’s league after the 1999 Women’s World Championship. Alan Rothenberg is the president of U.S. Soccer but also the chairman of MLS. A women’s MLS may not want to have to compete with an existing women’s pro league for talent, advertising dollars, stadia, etc., as the WNBA will have to with the ABL in women’s pro basketball.

The WNBA, for example, has signed a few of the top players off of the U.S. women’s gold-medal winning Olympic team, such as Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo. However, all the players in the first-year ABL have signed one- or two-year contracts that do not allow them to play in any other pro leagues. (The one-year contracts run through August, which does not help the WNBA, because it will play during the summer.) So, the WNBA will have to fill out its rosters with foreign talent and older players, such as Nancy Lieberman-Cline.

Ryan Cameron

Pocatello, Idaho

After reading a story this morning about Caligiuri and others suing MLS, I was so disgusted that I felt compelled write. Since when do Caligiuri and others like Dodd and Trittschuh deserve world-class salaries? I appreciate those players that made a sacrifice to come home (or come to the U.S.) to play for less money. MLS is structured to survive in this world of overpaid, greedy athletes; look what has happened to MLB, NBA and NFL salaries, ticket prices, etc. over the past 5-10 years. I fully support MLS and credit those players who are playing for “less than market value” to help MLS succeed. Shame on Caligiuri and others who think they deserve more money to play the game. There are those of us who would gladly play for free given the chance. Maybe Caligiuri should try his hand over in Germany again so he could (again) see that he’s not as deserving of a marquee player’s salary as he thinks. What do you at SA think about this?

Ridge Mahoney: You make good points, Ryan. Most American players have little or no hope of playing anywhere else.

Yet many American players feel the league does not bargain in good faith when negotiating contracts, and there have been accusations that MLS deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati favors certain foreign and U.S. players in his dealings. “Less than market value” depends on who is defining market value, and too many players are listening to John Kerr and player agents insisting they should be paid a lot more. On the other side, Doug Logan and Alan Rothenberg have taken a hardline stance, which is bad news for everybody except for the lawyers.

Tony Albanese

Scotia, N.Y.

What is your impression of the current debate over the closing of the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y.? Is this a political aberration or is the Hall truly out of money? Is there any hope on the horizon to build the Hall in its entirety, as it is displayed in Oneonta?

Paul Kennedy: There is a great desire by the Oneonta community and the Hall’s backers to see a campus housing a museum similar to what the other sports have, but the funding remains the problem.

The concept is far grander than what the Hall can attract in terms of visitors. After all, soccer is a relatively young sport with little tradition, therefore little sense of history. All of us soccer lovers know there’s been soccer here for more than 100 years — with loads of characters and great stories — but they don’t mean a thing to the masses.

My guess is that unless an individual donates or leaves as part of his or her legacy a ton of money, this grand project may never get off the ground.

Patrick Ward

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus Crew defender Ricardo Iribarren will not play for the Crew this season because of Visa problems. Evidently the league and the Crew front office dropped the ball on obtaining his work visa. Why is the league so incompetent at times?

Ridge Mahoney: It’s still a new operation, and there are thousands of details to be worked out in handling the cases of numerous foreign players. In this case, the league botched it, and the miscue cost the Crew a very good player. Now, the league is reluctant to release names of new foreign player signings until a work visa is issued.

In England, Costa Rican internationals Wanchope and Solis may not play this season due to difficulties and delays in getting their work permits issued.

Randolph Robinson

Charlotte, N.C.

Steve Sampson always speaks about certain foreig-based players needing game time. What are the chances, I’m sure slim, of MLS obtaining young Americans such as Reyna, Kirovski, Wagner, and Mason at the end of the Bundesliga season? It seems like the USSF could help with any transfer fees, because of the benefit to the national team (i.e. closeness to train and increased playing time to benefit the squad in the future). What are your thoughts?

Duncan Irving: The chances of bagging these players are indeed very slim. They would cost a transfer fee (MLS would pay — confluence of interest between U.S. Soccer and MLS, not conflict, remember).

On a case-by-case basis, Reyna has spent more time in the U.S. camp than he has with Leverkusen this year. The German club is paying his salary, which makes the purse-holders at U.S. Soccer happy. Kirovski has spent about five years in Europe, trying to crack the lineup at Manchester United and latterly Dortmund with some success. Sampson does not seem keen to interrupt his progress in Germany and even when he’s had Kirovski in camp, he’s been used sparingly. Mason and Wagner were both born and raised in Germany (the training camp in Miami prior to the Jamaica game was Mason’s first visit to the U.S.) and are native German speakers. Both are trying to establish themselves with their team, so neither is likely to be in a hurry to up stumps and come here.

And anyway, to do what? Take a pay-cut to play in MLS where the level of play is far lower than in Germany? I doubt it.

Eric Warasta

Medford, Mass.

I am a student at Tufts University here in Boston. Last spring, it was announced that the Ellis Oval at Tufts was one of the 10 finalists to host women’s world cup games in 1999. I was wondering if the process has been narrowed down further and if Tufts has received any of the games?

Dean Caparaz: The venues for the 1999 Women’s World Champion have not been narrowed down further and the 10 finalists, including Tufts, may no longer be finalists.

That’s because U.S. Soccer and FIFA may be considering moving some games to different parts of the country than just the East Coast. U.S. Soccer president Alan Rothenberg recently met with FIFA officials concerning the 1999 Women’s World Championship. One of the things they discussed was the venues and dates of games. Originally, FIFA requested that U.S. Soccer hold the tournament in one time zone, or the East Coast. U.S. Soccer had to go along with that, but in the recent meeting, Rothenberg told me that U.S. Soccer proposed holding the tournament in more than one area of the country. Also, U.S. Soccer may look at using large stadiums for the tournament.

However, no further word has come out about the venues.

Jonah Tichy

Austin, Texas

Often during telecasts of either MLS or national team matches, the comment is made that our best players are our best because of their international experience (Reyna, Kirovski, Wynalda, Jones, Harkes, et al.). As much as we would love to see our top junior and U-23 players stay here and play MLS (Hejduk, Pope, Wood, et al.), is it in their best interest as players and our best interest as a country for them to go abroad for a few years to gain the requisite international experience?

Ridge Mahoney: To develop as players, they would be better off to go abroad — until you realize that they’d be competing with about two dozen players just to make the first team. For guys like Keller and Harkes and Wynalda, who stuck through some tough times to gain valuable experience, it worked out. But dozens of others have struggled, and that’s what’s happening now with Reyna and Kirovski. They can’t get a first-team game. Anybody can go overseas; the question is, can you play at a competitive level consistently overseas?

The players that stay for MLS aren’t playing against tough competition, and the guys that go abroad rarely play at all. Either way, player development suffers.

Elwood Del Gato

Washington, D.C.

I am curious if MLS is interested in signing either Waldir Guerra or Melvin Barerra, both of whom grew up in the United States but are playing professionally in El Salvador and have been called up recently to the Salvadoran national team.

Assuming both players are U.S. citizens, they seem like the ideal MLS candidate because they are national-team caliber, don’t take a foreign slot, appeal to the Latin community, are bilingual and probably not that expensive. I would think Colorado or San Jose, both of which need a playmaker, could use Guerra, and Barerra couldn’t be any worse than much of the goaltending in MLS last season.

Also, how old is Barerra, did he play college soccer in the U.S. and how long has he played in El Salvador?

Paul Kennedy: No takers so far on Guerra and Barrera.

Guerra did play in the APSL without ever being a standout.

Barrera is 23. He is not, to the best of my knowledge, a citizen. Even if had a green card, he would count as a foreigner now since he played for El Salvador’s Olympic team. He did not play college ball.

Both are currently at Division I leader Aguila.

The two Salvadorans MLS will bring in — Ronald Cerritos and Jorge Rodriguez — are legitimate Salvadoran attractions.