Gary Zagha
Rumson, NJ
Why has Tony Meola not been invited to play for the National Team? Has he been overlooked by the federation for leaving the team to try a pro football career? After watching Tony play last year and this year for the MetroStars of MLS I think the federation should rethink their selection criteria. Brad Freidel has been a huge letdown in the posts and for him to be ranked as the second best keeper is a sham. He has not proven himself at all!
Paul Kennedy: Has Friedel been outstanding? No, but neither is his No. 2 ranking a sham. At this time, I do not believe Steve Sampson would want to “draw attention” to Meola’s joining the team, even assuming he would be happy with a backup job, which is what he’d have.
Tim Olson
Oakland, CA
Watching the US-Costa Rica match, I was surprised to see the strikers that were on the field and the ones that were available. I understand that Wynalda’s injury ruled him out, but Wegerle and Lassiter? Neither are international-quality strikers. What has happened to Kirovski? Is there a rift between him and Sampson? What about playing Preki in support of Kirovski? At least Preki looks to shoot.
Duncan Irving: You’re not the only one who was surprised by that lineup announcement. Steve Sampson had been very quiet about his starters against Costa Rica, which was an indication that Wynalda would start as The Big Surprise. It never happened, so he went with Wegerle (the other slated starter) and Lassiter, who is regarded as being more effective when coming off the bench. Neither were particularly successful. As for Kirovski, Sampson stated the day before the game that he had been called back by his German club, Borussia Dortmund, and that only players who were getting regular playing time with their European clubs would start (Claudio Reyna and Ernie Stewart). Make of that what you will: The Bundesliga was inactive that weekend (Germany was playing Portugal), so other than polishing boots, there was little for Kirovski to do in Germany. He had not been playing but was fit. Sampson also said that Kirovski had not shown great improvement since the summer. Against El Salvador, I felt he dropped back too deep. Wagner, the other starter, was very poor. Preki is regarded as another bench player at the moment, and he showed what he could do in the final 20 minutes against Costa Rica. Preki and Kirovski? I’m not sure: neither is an out-and-out goalscorer, and both are happiest playing behind the front two in a free role. That is unlikely to happen with this current squad. And yes, Preki looks to shoot, but Kirovski does not. Expect Wynalda to start against Jamaica. His likely partner? Joe-Max Moore.
Ferdie Adoboe
Amherst, Mass.
Every country in international soccer has goalscorers (#9) and playmakers (#10). Does the U.S. have a #10? Do we have a method of creating them?
Paul Kennedy: Probably the closest thing we have is Claudio Reyna, who wears No. 13 for Wolfsburg and No. 21 for the USA. You can’t teach the subtle skills (vision, timing, improvisation, teamwork) of a playmaker, just as you can’t teach the skills of a great point guard in basketball. The analogy to a football quarterback holds less true, since a quarterback needs to be taught a system and have size to make it.
Rob Connallon
Washington, D.C.
First, what is the status of Gregg Berhalter with Sparta Rotterdam and the U.S. national team? What are the chances of seeing him in MLS anytime soon? Finally, on a more philosophical note, how much does a player gain playing for a non-dominant club in Holland vs., say, MLS. Obviously Feyenoord, Ajax, and PSV are first-rate, but how much does one gain from playing against the likes of Willem II Tilburg, Vitesse Arnhem and Go Ahead Eagles?
Pete Bailey: Berhalter was a fixture in the Sparta lineup at the end of last season, starting nine of the team’s final 10 games after returning from an ankle injury. During the offseason, Sparta brought in a new coach, who in turn brought in several new players. In the shuffle, Gregg lost his place in the lineup, as one of the coach’s imports played the same position. Although he has played in Dutch Cup games, Berhalter only recently made his first appearance in a league match when he was a late substitute in a 5-0 win over Volendam. I recently spoke to Gregg’s brother Jay, who said that although Gregg’s contract is up after this season, Sparta has already begun to discuss renewing it. It is somewhat surprising that Berhalter hasn’t received a look from Steve Sampson, considering the national team’s defensive struggles. With respect to your question about the benefits of playing for a mid-level team in Holland, I think there are two. One is playing professionally in an environment where soccer is THE sport of choice, passionately followed by a large portion of the country. The second is that, while NEC Nijmegen and MVV Maastricht may be weak teams, MLS doesn’t afford a player the opportunity to square off against excellent clubs like Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV twice a year. (Also, Vitesse, Heerenveen, Roda JC and Twente Enschede are pretty quality teams as well, and don’t forget Ernie Stewart’s NAC Breda.)
Ed Barnes
Ft. Worth, Texas
What has happened to Jason Moore, the talented Virginia signee? I thought he graduated high school early to play with the U-20 team, but I noticed he was not included on the roster for the Youth World Championship tournament.
Paul Kennedy: Unfortunately, the knee injury Moore suffered in 1995, a year before the Olympics, was very serious. His progress stopped, ruling him out of both the Olympics and the World Youth Championship (U-20 World Cup) this past June. He is now a freshman at Virginia, but he is not expected to be quite the dominant player everyone expected a couple of years ago.
Harold Edwards
Boiling Springs, Pa.
I am still confused about the calls on two specific rules: tackling from behind and offside. On the first, even if the ball is touched first and the player that had possesion is not knocked down, is there a foul? On the offside, if the offense breaks past the last defender, with the exception of the goalkeeper, can an offensive player that does not have the ball, sprint ahead of the teammate that has the ball, while in the offensive zone, and once clearly ahead of the play have the ball passed to him. Would this player be offside?
Mike Woitalla: We’d say that the first scenario is not a foul, particularly because FIFA only issued a directive about tackling from behind. In the second scenario — if, when the ball was passed to him, the player who received the pass was closer to the endline than the ball, he was offside.
Cyrus Orandi
Visalia, CA
Does MLS (I mean the people who run MLS) intend to be a high-caliber league featuring the best players in the world, or does it want to be a playing ground for college players and U.S. stars, along with a handfull of foreign marquees? It seems to me that the only way that the league will rise in status among the world of soccer (and in turn carry the reputation of U.S. soccer with it) would be to use the marketing and business expertise of the U.S. to begin landing the best players in the world.
Paul Kennedy: The problem is not marketing and business expertise; it’s a simple matter of money. The salary of one big player based in Europe would equal that of an entire MLS team. Good players in Mexico make two or three times the salary of a very good MLS player (one who makes about $120,000). MLS does face a dilemma: sign big-name players and go bust, or go the route it has taken and hope the league will develop (or maintain) credibility.